[TooFrank]

Rakuten is offering 12 percent cash back in Bose Ultra plus the sale price of 379. Erockg what say you? Hold out for the H95?

Ever been to Rakuten...?

 

[imagpie]

I gave up on Denon Perl Pro after going through two units that had the same technical issue. I'll return some day maybe, but anyway...

Went for the MTW3 after hearing rave reviews of the latest update with the personalised mode. I came in with hopes of this being best of the rest...and had some initial disappointment.

Both out of the box and after a lot of playing around with the personalised sound (mainly with the circle) I still couldn't get away from the treble being too harsh and percussion lacking punch.

Then in the initial step I tried lowering the volume of the strings and bass below where had seemed initially sensible, but boosting the hell out of the drums; then when I got to play with the circle again, going super bassy but keeping the treble and mids in balance, so the circle at about six o'clock.

Now they are performing at a level I didn't think they were capable of - once pancake-y drums now give me the thud I need, as if I'm in the room with them rather than listening through the wall, and the treble is way smoother! The bass and the sub-bass was already good, but now the whole picture is there. The process really rewards a bit of trial and error.

From the start they've been pretty stable too at either 24/96 or 24/48 Aptx Adaptive, and the ANC is very good, so now very happy all round!

 

[VICosPhi]

That really sucks! Maybe I'll see if can cancel my order and get something else. I'm starting to see reviews on YouTube echoing what you say.
I've been looking at Denon Perl pro again or the B&O EX. We'll see what Cyber Monday brings.

I got the JLABS TWS which seem to be neck in neck with MW09, except these are Bluetooth 5.3 and battery life is slightly lower. However, these cost 50% less and has a knowles tweeter so I am looking forward to see if these sound better than Buds 2 Pro, since these also have LDAC.

 

[dweaver]

Look forward to the Jlabs impressions

 

[PixelSquish]

Glad to hear you’re liking them so far.
For what else is out there, I find the Shure to be the total package. Like you mentioned, the Go might be have better tonality but the Shure does everything else much better. Don’t forget to pick the device in the Settings. When you pick the Aonic 215 it provides the most boosted power AFAIK.

I noticed at about the power, and keep them on the 215 setting.

I do find the tonality to be better with the Sony Z1R than my Volür. It actually works very well with those Sony's. I did prefer the Volur on the go pod sq wise.

The TW2 fit fine in the case with the Sony's attached to the devices. The Z1R are pretty chonky IEM's and they fit fine in the case. I'd like to think most other IEM would fit as well. Which is great.

 

[Gilroypro]

After more usage with the MW09 definitely keeping them. Will not say they are an upgrade but an improvement from the MW08. What make them better is the higher codecs, EQ, BT 5.4 (I'm limited to 5.3) and bit louder volume. ANC seems to be better too.

 

[Gilroypro]

I do notice when using Aptx Lossless with MW09 the sound quality does seem lower the quality once in a while but bounces back up fairly quickly. I'm assuming because these are now pushing Aptx Lossless from 44khz to 48khz. Guessing BT 5.4 will make them more able to hit the new Aptx Lossless benchmark more seemless

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Are the controls on the Jlabs customisable? They have one of the weirdest control schemes I've seen....xD

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Oh snap, didn't see the EQ in the app. Ok trying the Audiophile EQ. Does make them sound better. My opinion changed a bit about them. Guess need more time with them to give a better outlook

Is there a way to automatically pause then music when enabling ambient?

 

[maceto]

Flossy - Recommend 100%. Time to upgrade from MW08...
His four most noticiable pros:
Volume, BT 5.4/codecs, battery life (that's very good at 12h with ANC, and 16h without ANC) but most of all the EQ-possibility in the app.

he likes everything....

 

[Aevum]

What are your recommend under 100$ bluetooth 2pin adapters? Currently I use mostly the TRN BT3S Pro which works quite well. Ideally would like something similar to the kz az09 or fiio utws5 (but cheaper). Most of the inexpensive non wired adapters either dont take 2 pin .78 or have terrible quality (no aptx etc). If this is the wrong thread to ask apologies I will post elsewhere.

under 100 the KZ AZ20, i bought a pair and wasnt too impressed, if you want them, they dont have much use. plus its QDC connector so you might have to use an adaptor or trim them out nail clippers. As long as they didnt pull the same thing they did with the AZ09 pro (first run had APTX adaptive, and then the following production runs had a cheaper chipset and only standard APTX)

 

[palvy]

So I've decided to send my MontBlancs back.

Sound 10/10
Sound is amazing. It hits my sweet spot. And I do enjoy their EQ presets. Usually I never use EQ/presets, like, at all. Maybe 1-2 dials up/down on bass and that's it. But with MB I really enjoyed them and used them frequently. I haven't tried new BO and BW buds, so can't compare to those.
I just got Momentum 3 and will pick up AirPods Pro2 in a few days, but I have to send MB back before. I'll try to make a comperission from the memory, for what it's worth.
In general, I would describe MB as very open, pleasant sound. There is enough bass, tight and without overpowering the rest. Treble, guitar, attack - wow! I didn't expect such level of details from small buds. Vocals are good, but not magic (imo).

Fit/Comfort - 9/10.
I like them. Few times I had slight discomfort where I had to adjust them, but they are comfy even for a longer session. They sit right in the ear. For workouts, running, jumping - never had any kind of issue with them falling out (or a feeling they might fall out).

NC/ANC - 4/10.
They do provide solid passive NC, but active ANC is really below average. You will hear AC, cars passing buy, airplanes taking off in the distance. Of course, you will hear people talking etc. Obviously, the same story in the airplane. They are at their worst when listening to podcast/books. For songs and if you increase the volume, it is still possible to enjoy them a lot, even in higher noice environment (airplane).

Connectivity - 8/10
Solid. Once every few hours/days there is tiny glitch when left bud drops out for a split of a second. Did I notice it? Yes. Is it an issue for me? Not at all, since it happens so seldom. Once left bud didn't want to connect for a minute or so (putting it back to the case didn't help either). And I dont like when I make a call (at least on WhatsApp, their is very loud ringing sound (for a split second) before it comes back to normal volume.

Phone calls/mic - 6/10
No complain from my side. From people receiving calls they are OK. When out on the street its not ideal, they do pick up noises around, but still usable, even when I dont talk too loud (I dont feel like talking very loud when out on the street). The real issue if there are some wind - people on receiving end dont hear anything but the wind. And since I do use my buds mostly outside - it's a big issue for me.

Usability/features - 2/10
And this is the reason they are going back. Earbuds for me about convenience. Is sound important? Of course. But to enjoy the music, I have a pair of speakers at home. I have couple of cans I can connect to the DAC and enjoy my music. Earbuds for me is something to use "on the go".
MTB dont offer multi point connection (but to be fair, they do switch fast between sources when disconnecting/connecting other BT devices). They do have live/ambience mode. I never use it, so no comment.
The worst part for me - their touch controls. First of all, you can't configure/disable/change them. Second - there is no volume control on the buds. Third, they are horrible. Sometimes they'd not respond at all. I can push 5-6-10 times before anything happens. Other times, I tap 3 times for prev song - it does a single (pause). Or next song and pause. Several times I was so annoyed and fed up, I just dig into my pocket, get out the phone and change the song/ANC mode. Did Montblanc prioritise design over the proper controls/sensitivity? Perhaps. Might work for some people, but it aint for me.
And this is the main reason why they are going back. Would I keep them if ANC and phone calls were 10/10 as well? Sure. But when it's "only" amazing sound - it's not enough for me. Oh, not to mention the price tag of about 400€.

 

[VICosPhi]

Are the controls on the Jlabs customisable? They have one of the weirdest control schemes I've seen....xD

Seems so from the user manual for their older TWS:

 

[Gilroypro]

Is there a way to automatically pause then music when enabling ambient?

Just tried ambient mode. Only way to pause music is by pressing on one of the two physical buttons on the right earbud.

 

[jant71]

he likes everything....

You really don't go by what Flossy says. More what White Shoes thinks that you need to pay attention to.

Is there a way to automatically pause then music when enabling ambient?

The most misunderstood thing out there. Most still just activate it or just lower the volume when activated. Not rocket science to figure our the majority of ambient use is to hear something or converse so the first inclination should be pause and let one hear best what's going on around them. A nice mode, not sure if any have the option, would be to auto enable ambient whenever you pause. No harm in hearing more on pause and many times you'll want to. Then the ambient off or ANC comes back on when you press play again or leaves ambient if you had that on.