[JoshG1217]

Well even az60 or mtw3 are better than xm4.

It's always subjective. The xm4 fit me really well. Mystique have huge stems amd create suction for me. They are certainly beautiful, but I didn't care for them in the end. Perhaps I should say I didn't care enough to keep them for $350 given that I had the xm4. I should add that the azla sedna tips make a huuuuuge difference.

I have not heard the new senns, as I didn't care for the previous version, but yes there are other good sets, including the az60, evo, akg, and Gemini. I simply didn't find them compelling. I certainly wanted to. And yes, I overstated the case.

 

[Canabuc]

I am really loving the sound on my GB2PRO. I honestly think with a good source and a Samsung phone they are fantastic.

 

[JoshG1217]

Maybe clean up the typos before you trash everyone’s favorite tws? Just a suggestion. The ze8000 is solid. I fear I gave up on them too fast.

To be clear, my frustration isn't with what individual consumers like. People can like whatever they want. My frustration is the hype trains. It's always the next thing, which often isn't better than the last thing and doesn't really fill a niche. How many single dd iems with mediocre anc do we need? I can see why people like the pi7 and others, but they sounded thin to me and didn't pass the bath fan test. The az60 are solid but not better than the xm4 in SQ and I couldn't get them to stay in my ears. Best combo to date was a blessing 2 with utws5, but the mic on the utws5 makes phone calls pretty bad for the person I'm talking to.

If someone loves this or that, great. To each their own. At this point, I'm using a Shanling m6u at the gym with my Sony xba z5. It sounds great and the 2 pair well, but it's not super practical.

 

[clerkpalmer]

To be clear, my frustration isn't with what individual consumers like. People can like whatever they want. My frustration is the hype trains. It's always the next thing, which often isn't better than the last thing and doesn't really fill a niche. How many single dd iems with mediocre anc do we need? I can see why people like the pi7 and others, but they sounded thin to me and didn't pass the bath fan test. The az60 are solid but not better than the xm4 in SQ and I couldn't get them to stay in my ears. Best combo to date was a blessing 2 with utws5, but the mic on the utws5 makes phone calls pretty bad for the person I'm talking to.

If someone loves this or that, great. To each their own. At this point, I'm using a Shanling m6u at the gym with my Sony xba z5. It sounds great and the 2 pair well, but it's not super practical.

I don’t think the mystique are really hyped. Maybe here on headfi which isn’t really the real world and deservedly so imho. They aren’t a single dd with ANC. I’m surprised you prefer the xm4 to them but to each their own. You are definitely an outlier on that. I do agree we’ve got the stage where manufacturers are just pumping out new models of the same stuff. Cell phone stage basically. There’s extensive discussion here on the topic.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I am really loving the sound on my GB2PRO. I honestly think with a good source and a Samsung phone they are fantastic.

If Samsung makes a phone with a battery that can hang with an iPhone someday I’d love to try them….

 

[Canabuc]

If Samsung makes a phone with a battery that can hang with an iPhone someday I’d love to try them….

S23 ultra hangs with the iPhone 15 pro max. Watch all the online videos. It is a spectacular phone. Amazing camera battery .....

 

[clerkpalmer]

S23 ultra hangs with the iPhone 15 pro max. Watch all the online videos. It is a spectacular phone. Amazing camera battery .....

I assume you mean the 14 but I’d be shocked if that were actually the case. Maybe in a video drain test or something but standby drain in every Samsung phone I’ve ever owned is terrible and I’ve owned a lot of them. That said, I will definitely read up and hope I’m proven wrong.

 

[Canabuc]

I assume you mean the 14 but I’d be shocked if that were actually the case. Maybe in a video drain test or something but standby drain in every Samsung phone I’ve ever owned is terrible and I’ve owned a lot of them. That said, I will definitely read up and hope I’m proven wrong.

Standby drain is fantastic as well.
Most days I amaveraging 8 hours + screen on time and at least 24 hours or more total.

This phone blows every Samsung I have ever owned for battery life and I have owned

S2,S5,S7+,NOTE4,8,9,10,20 Ultra,S22 ultra and now this one.
All the reviewers are shocked that it hangs with the 14 pro max.

 

[Luchyres]

I know. It's like talking politics. Lol. I get it. People want to believe their thing is great because they paid for it, but again having purchased probably... he'll, I don't know, just about everything and compared extensively (thanks amazon return policy), I haven't heard anything better or more functional. B and O and B and W were meh, evo is decent, mystique is about equal in sound, but everything else is worse. Az60 and akg are pretty good. Mw07 just sucks. Talk about hype. Cambridge audio one plus is the best value on the market for $60. Ze8000 is on the way.

Haters can bring it.

I mean I think everyone knows that things like this are subjective (arguably more than politics) so I recognize this is your opinion and respect it for that. For example for me, also having bought more tws than I’m comfortable admitting, the xm4 I wanted to love but were an insta return for me sound wise (as were the xm3). I am quite enjoying the mystiques though.

The latest to pique my interest are those nuarls helmutcheese just posted….

Glad you’re enjoying your xm4s, to each their own!

 

[PixelSquish]

With the Mystique, I can sell my XM4 and either my AZ60 or MTW3, and I'd keep the MTW3 most likely, though the AZ60 has better battery life. I need two pairs in my life, and one with a decent mic and ANC, of which the Mystique has neither. But this is a very subjective hobby. At this point I think I am going to force myself to wait until either Noble or someone else does a 2xBA and 1XDD set with good ANC and good mics before upgrading again. It will be tough but I have to do it. I love hybrid IEM's done well - although getting the IE600 really reminded me how damn good a single DD driver can be. Those things are magical.

 

[potix]

To be clear, my frustration isn't with what individual consumers like. People can like whatever they want. My frustration is the hype trains. It's always the next thing, which often isn't better than the last thing and doesn't really fill a niche. How many single dd iems with mediocre anc do we need? I can see why people like the pi7 and others, but they sounded thin to me and didn't pass the bath fan test. The az60 are solid but not better than the xm4 in SQ and I couldn't get them to stay in my ears. Best combo to date was a blessing 2 with utws5, but the mic on the utws5 makes phone calls pretty bad for the person I'm talking to.

If someone loves this or that, great. To each their own. At this point, I'm using a Shanling m6u at the gym with my Sony xba z5. It sounds great and the 2 pair well, but it's not super practical.

Many people here are more sensible to technical qualities (resolution, layering, staging ecc...) than tuning and some are prone to operate with eq, that's the reason why the new product is often more compelling. The tws technology is evolving faster than the iems one. Anyway I agree with you, I think the tuning comes first, infact my way to go is xm4 when I'm out and utws5+blessing2 when I'm at home. Companies should start to rival more on the features and technology of their tws instead of offering bizarre tunings or aggressive v-shape sound.

 

[JoshG1217]

Many people here are more sensible to technical qualities (resolution, layering, staging ecc...) than tuning and some are prone to operate with eq, that's the reason why the new product is often more compelling. The tws technology is evolving faster than the iems one. Anyway I agree with you, I think the tuning comes first, infact my way to go is xm4 when I'm out and utws5+blessing2 when I'm at home. Companies should start to rival more on the features and technology of their tws instead of offering bizarre tunings or aggressive v-shape sound.

Blessing 2 with utws5 is a good combo. Utws5 really needs a sensitive iem to work at its best. Can't drive the z1r for sure. Wasn't bad with variations, except it never quite locked in with variations because of the iem shape. I'd be at the gym and the iem would disconnect from the 2 pin and fall on the ground!

 

[krenzler]

What's currently the best sounding TWS for AAC/iPhone? Or a top-3?

I have APP2 which I enjoy very and the MTW2 which don't see much use.

 

[raymanh]

Just managed to snag a pair of Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 on eBay for £30.

Any tips to snag a pair for that cheap?

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Blessing 2 with utws5 is a good combo. Utws5 really needs a sensitive iem to work at its best. Can't drive the z1r for sure. Wasn't bad with variations, except it never pulled locked in with variations because of the iem shape. I'd be at the gym and the iem would disconnect from the 2 pin and fall on the ground!

I have mine hooked up to Monarch Mk2s. Sounds amazing. (Thanks @erockg !)