[bladefd]

Jabra have an adapter for UC called the Jabra link 380
It's advertised as for the jabra evolve2 series only but actually works with any recent Bluetooth headphone/earbud.

I actually use this with my pc and teams and it improvements connectivity massively ( I'm on a Windows PC)
Az80 and Sony xm5 work flawlessly with the link 380 and MS teams

Seems it only supports a2dp so music would be lower quality.

 

[cresny]

Have to be honest, using the Jabra Elite 10 right now and I'm incredibly impressed by them. If you're a Jabra fan, these are excellent. Listening to a lot of Maiden today with them and Harris' galloping bass and Nicko's drums sound great. Nice upgrade for sure. Better than the Devialet GII or the AKs? I'm not entirely sure yet. Don't think so, but time will tell. Again, ANC is very good here at the office. Nice to drown out the annoying folks.

I never considered Jabra but I'm definitely interested. Honestly, for TWS it's more about the tech for me now, and these are checking all the right boxes, including Dolby Atmos and LC3 (in Q1 along with a custom tuning feature-- anyone know how Jabra is about keeping its promises?). Seems to me that the playing field is rapidly leveling, especially with the customized tunings. Seriously, I am still happy at the moment with my $89 soundcore 4NC because of that, and the Jabra looks really good at $249.

 

[Gilroypro]

Before I place an order on the Bose QC ultra, one question. Was the previous model capable of loud volumes?

 

[helmutcheese]

Only SBC and AAC?

They are supposedly getting LC3 Codec (so support LE)) in Q1 2024 (heard that before).

 

[SynaestheticA]

Played them on Tidal...

Dimension - excellent, once the low end and bass kicked in honestly I was surprised how well it handled it, clear, deep and not distorted

Juno Reactor - bass clear, excellent decay, this is a good genre. Staging was excellent.

Threw in Infected Mushroom - Becoming Insane, this excelled incredible it appeared the drivers were asking for more

I am a little surprised, not sure why, how well these performed with this genre.

Dang. Looking for any reason not to get those and that ain't it.

I guess loudness could be an issue but seems everyone agrees they go plenty loud?

Yea the Astrix Junk Reactor track/album is wild. Technically it's progressive psytrance / psytrance but that album really is one of a kind.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Junk Reactor

 

[maceto]

Setting aside challenges of LDAC and focusing just on sound. Man do I love the sound of the Svanar Wireless. I wish they had just skipped the whole ANC/Ambient thing since these are meant for audiophile quality and their implementation of this functionality negates why someone would buy these. But I guess they are just trying to keep up appearances.

My advice to them would be to switch gears on the next version and go for full control (volume) functionality and drop ANC unless they figure out a way to incorporate it along with their best sound mode.

Agree as the high res is king the rest is crap

 

[cattboy]

Not sure if its been said but talking with Bose chat.
Bose Ultra Earbuds Bluetooth Codec SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive (including low latency)

Product page faq
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds is 44.1 kHz and will adapt up to 48.1 kHz when “high resolution” listening. The codec also has a low latency mode, aka “Gaming Mode”. Just as with audio quality, the codec will “adapt” to achieve the best (lowest) latency possible given the current wireless conditions.

 

[Juturna]

Guys, I truly think the Technics AZ80 might be the best earbuds overall right now.
They sound PHENOMENAL on my S23 Ultra on LDAC, set to treble+ and then further EQ'd with Wavelet and on top of that some Poweramp EQ. Don't ask me why I have several layers of EQ as in theory it's unnecessary, but to me it just makes it simpler. With Poweramp I just sort of select a preset EQ that exists and dials in the bass and treble with the "knobs" in the interface, and then Wavelet for fine-tuning because I think it's simpler to do so...
And then using the Pentaconn Coreir Brass eartips on them as well.
Really sounds good to me with every single genre of music as well.

Anyway, they sound fantastic. I personally think they can output sound that's better and sometimes more detailed to my ears than the Svanar but without that sibilance from the Svanar, but the Svanar does have a larger soundstage.

 

[newworld666]

I don't know if it can help some to decide but, it's a few months now that I am switching between WF1000XM5, EAH-AZ80, Soundcore Liberty 4, HA-FW1800 ... and my wireless reference combo Go Pod+IER-M9+IER-Z1R Silicon Tips..

As plane traveller, my search is looking for a very good ANC and best sound quality available for 24hours or more..

1) first thing to be noticed, is that none of these TWS can approach the SQ with details and nearly perfect timbre of the Go Pod + IER M9 ... but there is no ANC and it's really uncomfortable to lay down on the side, even in planes.

2) Liberty 4 is comfortable but far too weak .. it's the second time in less than 4 months that the control button is out of order on one driver.. so I can't recommend these.

3) Strangely, as I am usually more a Sony's fan since my first blue Walkman in 1980 for most of portable sound devices, but, for me, with W1 Spinfit Tips, the Technics EAH-AZ80 is actually the best compromise I can use with the most decent sound quality of all my TWS, with a very good range in LDAC mode @ 990Kbps and a really convincing ANC.

4) the Sony WF1000XM5, though it's a bit more compact than Technics EAH-AZ80, is clearly behind the AZ80 for mid high and high frequencies with less details with any of the tips I tried .. I couldn't find any Parametric EQ with the powerful PowerAMp EQ to compensate this lack of high/ultra high frequencies... everything other features of the 1000XM5 are the best or at least on par with other (comfort, ANC, battery playing time, LDAC range, )

5) I have no idea why, but the JVC HA-FW1800 is always really enjoyable when I listen to most of my tracks, though with any A/B SQ comparison with AZ80 and 1000XM5 the FW1800 seems to be behind for high frequencies and it is also without LDAC (just APTX), a more limited ANC, a a shorter battery playing time, ... but sound is addictive because maybe there are a bit better low frequency textures ?



PS : Because the AZ80 is really convincing for sound quality, and as the price dropped by 30%, I just ordered a EAH-A800E though I was first going to buy a WH1000XM5... I could find on internet some limited sound comparisons through some youtube videos reviews and almost all these made me reminded the SQ difference between the WF1000XM5 and EAH-AZ80...

I will have beginning of 2024 some twice 26 hours overseas trip (from door to door), and I expect to fully enjoy such travel with a Z Fold 5 + T7 2Tb SSD + EAH AZ80 + EAH-A800E.... and a Nacon Mg-x compact gamepad ( I am a Grid Player )..
If the EAH-A800E is not at the intended SQ level I expect, I will wait a bit and buy a WH1000XM5 or even try a Philips Fidelio L4 ?

 

[PsiCore]

With Poweramp I just sort of select a preset EQ that exists and dials in the bass and treble with the "knobs" in the interface, and then Wavelet for fine-tuning because I think it's simpler to do so...

Heh, I do it the other way around - I use PowerampEQ to tune the bass (to me it's more powerful) and Wavelet for the overall sound tuning (earphone selection + little eq).

 

[subguy812]

Dang. Looking for any reason not to get those and that ain't it.

I guess loudness could be an issue but seems everyone agrees they go plenty loud?

Yea the Astrix Junk Reactor track/album is wild. Technically it's progressive psytrance / psytrance but that album really is one of a kind.

Not trying to sell you either way, but loudness is a non issue for me. Originally, until I figured out to manually ensure the buds volume is full, by touching the buds, it was soft. I think the same thing @erockg did.

 

[subguy812]

Further points on the AK;

The Bad -

• The app is not ready for prime time. The eq settings need to be set each time you re-open the app.
• The ear tip selection, while good, didn't work for me, I went through my vast supply and settled on the Final TWS. All of the Azla tips I tried worked
• Weird volume control, it gets plenty loud but even with the volume up full on your device if you touch the ear bud and increase the volume on the earbud itself it gets super loud
• If you want software ANC, look elsewhere

In the Middle

• Pricing is on the high side but not the highest
• Google quick connect, my devices quickly recognize the buds, but seemed like a weird handoff between the app and the device. Not a negative and you may never notice, once connected it is fine. More during an initial install or after reset.
• Codecs, it supports SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, none of my devices have aptX Adaptive, so I have to use aptX( will support 48000Hz and 16 bits in my devices)
• Has a 32 bit DAC but I think I need aptX Adaptive to utilize it
• Build quality is on par with most at this price point, but no WOW, although I do like the looks

The Good -

• The sound quality is really nice. It has a warm, full BA tonality and timbre, great for long listening sessions. Bass has a BA rumble(particularly on Bass eq setting) treble is smooth and never sharp. Handled every genre I threw at it. Staging excellent. I hear width and height, not as much depth.
• The call quality, although I was indoors, my brother sounded like we were in the room together and he said the dam on his end. I will take them on my walk this morning to test them outdoors.
• For passive noise cancellation, they have the design down. It would be similar to isolation on a wired IEM. The isolation is better than many IEMs I have tried.

Overall - I am enjoying them. Fortunately they are getting the love because I don't have any new options but them. Thus no sensory overload.

 

[webvan]

Been happy with my Earfun Air Pro 2 (Air¨Pod type) and Free Pro 2 (IEM type) combo for a good year, now. Good sound, good ANC, crap calls (but I don't really need that) what's not to like for less than 70€, especially after being disappointed by the last high-end TWS I tried, the Bose QC 2 that were very annoying with the lack of a passive mode for biking or even walking in windy environments. The ANC (my pet peeve) was possibly marginally better than on the Earfuns...
I see there are quite a few new high-end TWs though so...I'm tempted !
Looks like the candidates would be the AZ80, Jabra 10 (with "Atmos" ?) and...QC Ultra (provided they now offer a passive mode). Will go fishing for reviews.
Has anyone used/enjoyed the Earfuns and compared them to these high-end TWs ?

EDIT - it looks like Bose have discontinued their sports line-up, too bad the latest sport earbuds weren't bad, apart from their price.

EDIT 2 - ok so the Jabra 10 seem to be out based on this "short" where they say their ANC isn't great, the "semi-open design" probably doesn't help too. Will watch their full review.

 

[Juturna]

Heh, I do it the other way around - I use PowerampEQ to tune the bass (to me it's more powerful) and Wavelet for the overall sound tuning (earphone selection + little eq).

No, I think we're doing it mostly the same, the only difference is that I usually use the "middle" preset (the second one) that usually puts the vocals a little bit more forward first, then I do the wavelet sound tuning that becomes the fine tuning to my preference, and then depending on my mood or the genre of music I listen to, I will dial in more or less bass/treble with the knobs in wavelet.