[Phaethon]

I love mine. New version blows away the first gen. I use the QCII every day. ANC is spectacular. Sometimes I use them without music just to silence the world. Sound is great. The form factor is soooooo much better that the first gen which were huge. No issues on calls or Zoom with them. Very curious to hear more feedback about the ANC vs APP2. I'm experiencing a few bugs whereas the buds will not power on and/or connect right away. Have to put them in the case and reconnect. The B&O EX used to do this, but seems to have sorted it out. The Bose Music app sometimes won't connect with the QCII. Reboot fixes it. Doesn't happen often. Frustrating, but I'm sure Bose will fix this at some point. I still wish the case had Qi.

Agreed. The sound is so up my alley. I find these are the ones I keep grabbing, as well as the Galaxy Buds Pro 2 which work just fine for me in the Apple ecosystem. If I need to do work type stuff, I grab my APP. If I’m driving, the GBP 2. And for walking around in and out of the house (or kicking back on the couch), it’s the QCII.

 

[dweaver]

Just got an email from Anker about the Soundcore Liberty 4 that look interesting. I assume the Liberty model is a step down from the Liberty Pro line, correct? Or more of a side grade as it's a stem design?

It has dual dynamic drivers versus BA/Dynamic. It looks interesting. The heartbeat thing would be interesting to see how accurate my Fitbit Sense is .

Anyone trying this baby out?

 

[erockg]

Just got an email from Anker about the Soundcore Liberty 4 that look interesting. I assume the Liberty model is a step down from the Liberty Pro line, correct? Or more of a side grade as it's a stem design?

It has dual dynamic drivers versus BA/Dynamic. It looks interesting. The heartbeat thing would be interesting to see how accurate my Fitbit Sense is .

Anyone trying this baby out?

I just ordered the other pair they released - new Sleep A10 buds with a 20% off coupon SLEEPWELL. I'm always on a quest to find more sleep. Never happens!

 

[erockg]

Agreed. The sound is so up my alley. I find these are the ones I keep grabbing, as well as the Galaxy Buds Pro 2 which work just fine for me in the Apple ecosystem. If I need to do work type stuff, I grab my APP. If I’m driving, the GBP 2. And for walking around in and out of the house (or kicking back on the couch), it’s the QCII.

I was actually going to sell my APP1 and get the 2nd gen but just read they're adding that Adaptive Transparency mode to APP1 in iOS 16.1. They got me with the on bud volume controls. Damn Apple, always late to the party with expected features! Decisions decisions.

 

[dweaver]

I just ordered the other pair they released - new Sleep A10 buds with a 20% off coupon SLEEPWELL. I'm always on a quest to find more sleep. Never happens!

Those look very interesting! Like you I am also on the lookout for things that help my sleep.

 

[Caipirina]

There's a Soundcore Liberty 4 now? but no 'Pro'?



Still watching this myself



Not to be outdone ... our very own @regancipher has the new Soundpeats Life on YT

 

[FYLegend]

Bought a pair of Liberty 3 Pro's from a dude on a local Android forum, and wouldn't you know it... EXTREME channel imbalance. Went into wavelet and had to lower the right earbuds volume by about 8-9 dB to make them even in volume... I felt like I got fooled like you wouldn't believe it.
Fortunately the guy I bought them from seems to be a class act and instantly sent me my money back and said that I could keep the earbuds as well. But I managed to convince him to try and RMA/send the earbuds in as a warranty claim so he can hopefully get a new set of earbuds sent out to him that he can sell for a higher price than the ones he sold to me.
It was lucky that neither of us were crappy people, I guess?

That's really bad luck. I've encountered channel imbalance with many products (ANBES 359 clones, Tronsmart Onyx Neo and 2 Sabbat E12s) but L3P is not one of them out of the box. However, after long term usage they seem to clog with ear wax and possibly driver flex too and one side gets slightly quieter. A jet of canned air seems to do the job but you have to do this at an off angle or you could risk damaging the driver.

Wavelet is a major disappointment for the L3P. The clipping is insane in some tracks. The inbuilt EQ is ok but lacks true versatility to get them closer to the Harman sound.

After listening to L3P I feel like everything else sounds rolled off in treble or low in subbass

 

[TIEM]

There's a Soundcore Liberty 4 now? but no 'Pro'?



Still watching this myself



Not to be outdone ... our very own @regancipher has the new Soundpeats Life on YT

Damn! I have to say Soundcore ace the packaging every time.

 

[Caipirina]

I didn't know QCE2 was released already. It says Oct 3 on the webpage. I was impressed with the soundstage and bass with the first one. I hope this one is just as good or better with smaller formfactor because I hated the bulk.

Thought it already came out in the US on 9/15, here in Japan rls date was 9/29, delivery was spot on

 

[Caipirina]

I love mine. New version blows away the first gen. I use the QCII every day. ANC is spectacular. Sometimes I use them without music just to silence the world.

but you DO hear the white noise? Maybe also not much bothered by it?

Sound is great. The form factor is soooooo much better that the first gen which were huge. No issues on calls or Zoom with them. Very curious to hear more feedback about the ANC vs APP2. I'm experiencing a few bugs whereas the buds will not power on and/or connect right away. Have to put them in the case and reconnect.

Also a few minor bugs in that direction .. especially now that I have included my mac in the device list ... it connected fine just now, but somehow only one side .. and the ANC would not go on ... few kinks they hopefully work out with FW updates

 

[Benedict Leung]

I had a comical moment yesterday. I had my B&O EX at the pool and someone noticed them and inquired. I switched to an ultra hd track and said here you go. He put them in his ears and the gradual grin turned into an out and out toothy smile. He took them out and said WOW and I thought my AirPods were good. Then he raved about them looking so quality. He asked about the price, I told him, and he said "Wait, I see you in the pool with these and they are $400"?

Magical moment for this dude. LOL

Next up is the ATH-TWX9, hopefully I receive a shipping notice this week.

I really hope I can hear your impressions and comparison of the EX and the TWX9, I'm torn between the two....

 

[webvan]

Yeah the QCII have a pleasant sound and good ANC, thought it was the best yet...until I used them in a loud food court and found they just didn't deal well with all the voices. Still that's a marginal case.
Biggest oversight is the lack of a passive mode (and absence of wind cancelation) like on the QCI, what's wrong with BOSE!

 

[J_3000]

Lets talk about earwax!

so, I noticed my right EX is a bit quieter than the left one. Before thinking its a techical flaw and real channel imbalance, I would think to clean the protective meshes. How do you people do this? to me every way of cleaning feels like pusing everything deeper and tighter in to the mesh. Have you guys tried any dissolving liquids? i think there are some even for ear canals, could that work?

 

[Caipirina]

Yeah the QCII have a pleasant sound and good ANC, thought it was the best yet...until I used them in a loud food court and found they just didn't deal well with all the voices. Still that's a marginal case.
Biggest oversight is the lack of a passive mode (and absence of wind cancelation) like on the QCI, what's wrong with BOSE!

I actually did a 21K run with them today and after some initial struggle (unseal noise on each foot fall) once I somehow reached the perfect fit / seal, they became surprisingly low-thud (there’s actually an Amazon review describing pretty much the same. Lemme see if I can find again) Maybe my ears and or the silicone warmed up and bonded, guess milage greatly varies with fit. But I was very happy. No connection issues whatsoever. Brilliant & dynamic sound. Guess that’s my TotL for a good while. I might grab the APP2 when I get to North America next year. At current prices here (or EU) they are a no no.
Wonder if Sony will have an XM5 in the pipeline.



And while I really enjoy the new Bose, I can totally understand how the white noise could be a deal breaker for ppl (or the reported call quality, which i cannot comment on, I don’t do calls)

 

[webvan]

Good news for the "thud" that works for you but what about the wind 'noise? Even when walking you can hear it so when running it's really bad. Did you find a setting that cancels it? There "running" mode is just ANC set to 50% AFAICT.