[Falc7]

I need to eat a little crow, or whatever it is you eat after realizing that you publicly and unfairly maligned some headphones.

After disabling ANC the Creative Aurvana Ace have become a keeper for me. The bass is now very controlled and the sound stage is cohesive. I was up late last night replaying everything anything I could think of. The xmems driver is truly more revealing than anything else I've heard.

Also, enabling what my pixel 8 pro calls Experimental LE Audio in the Bluetooth connection settings now allows these to connect without issue, but I can't get into the app. I'm not sure what codec it is using because developer options now only shows this

All told it is sort of hard to describe the sound that xmems bring. They somehow broaden the soundscape tremendously, but at the same time, at least with these, the depth is sometimes lacking. Raising the volume helps, though, which in this case is not too bad because there is no discernible distortion.

At $150 spent ages ago, these are very much worth keeping for. But I think It's probably worth waiting for whatever Noble cooks up with its xmems Fokus. Given the whole dual driver thing, I think it may be a case where ANC could be a sound spoiler, so I wouldn't be concerned for now if that's not a feature. I'll wait for the xmems Cyprus for that.

Aside from the effects on the sound, how is the quality of the ANC on the Aurvana Ace compared to other earbuds like Sony Sennheiser ect?

 

[cresny]

Aside from the effects on the sound, how is the quality of the ANC on the Aurvana Ace compared to other earbuds like Sony Sennheiser ect?

It's actually quite good. It's been a while since I used Sonys, but on par with other decent ones like Soundcore 4NC. But the tap controls are crap, and passive NC is good so I don't really bother. Actually I noticed the ambient mode was quite clear.

 

[Lead Belly]

Hi merry X-Mas to all !

I am on the market for new IEMs and I would like some help choosing.

I had previously Sony XM4s (victim of the battery issue twice, including once outside warranty period meaning they're e-waste now) and Technics AZ80 (I loved the sound and ANC, but fit was an issue). Would you recommend any models (flagship or not) which could fit my priorities:
- Sound quality (i listen to diverse genres but I do prefer a slight V signature)
- ANC
- as a bonus, APTX or LDAC capabilities

I do have a budget around 300 USD.

Thanks for your help

I’ve been through a couple generations of Sony and Bose wireless earbuds for commuting and am on the Bose QC Ultra. I’m really loving them - they’re the first wireless buds I’ve experienced that don’t make any major compromises on sound quality. The previous generation was better than the Sony XM5 by a good stretch (much more natural sounding), and these are a clear step up from those. Gone are the occasional rough mids. The sound is very clear, warm and smooth throughout the range, from deep, fun sub-bass to crisp, clear treble. The only issue I had was with my previous gen. Bose, which were Amazon “renewed” and lasted only a year (lesson learned).

 

[clerkpalmer]

QC Ultra are a rock solid as they come.

 

[taubenuss82]

The AZ80 are definitely to try, ANC is only very slightly below the XM4s and the sound quality is incredible. Be aware of the fit though !

The Master and Dynamic are way out of my range at 400€ sadly.

Sorry this is not my experience. And I am not alone with this. Look at the Screenshot at Amazon reviews.
It's in German and means: that there is nearly no difference between ANC on or off...

 

[helmutcheese]

The ANC on the AZ80 (at launch) was nearly as good (lets says different) that Sony/Bose for me, it was the SQ I did not like apart from female vocals sounded really nice.

A review or two means sh1t, they either are faulty or do not have a good seal.

 

[Jhericurls]

Nothing wrong with ANC for AZ80, found them on par with the Sony WF-10000XM5. The issue is having the ANC on with the AZ80 affects the sound quality a lot.

 

[Rayners]

I’ve been through a couple generations of Sony and Bose wireless earbuds for commuting and am on the. I’m really loving them - they’re the first wireless buds I’ve experienced that don’t make any major compromises on sound quality. The previous generation was better than the Sony Bose QC Ultra XM5 by a good stretch (much more natural sounding), and these are a clear step up from those. Gone are the occasional rough mids. The sound is very clear, warm and smooth throughout the range, from deep, fun sub-bass to crisp, clear treble. The only issue I had was with my previous gen. Bose, which were Amazon “renewed” and lasted only a year (lesson learned).

I had them in mind, but my phone does not support APTX Adaptative

I also tried the Freebuds Pro 3 and while I quite like the sound and ANC the fit is a bit problematic.

The Aurvana Ace 2 seems to fit all my criteria, but how sound and ANC compares to XM4/5 and AZ80 ?

 

[taubenuss82]

Seems like Technics has a problem with the quality control. I tested the Technics AZ-80 and the Sony WF-1000XM5 side by side. Sony's ANC was 3x times better; no comparison...

 

[regancipher]

I had to use one of the large sets of tips (which Technics recommended in the app fit test) to get the ANC to function properly. Usually I'm a medium, sometimes even small, so I recommend going through the tip test process

 

[helmutcheese]

AFAIK I used my AZLA tips as 99% of included tips with any earbuds even so called L or XL do not fit me and I would not be using SpinFit's if aiming for best ANC.

The AZ80's shape by design fit the ear very nicely.

 

[taubenuss82]

That's exactly what I did. I am not a newbie with In Ears...maybe mine was defective...

 

[helmutcheese]

Well return them instead of posting Amazon reviews from others saying the ANC is non existent.

 

[taubenuss82]

Well return them instead of posting Amazon reviews from others saying the ANC is non existent.

Maybe you haven't read my post before. I did a comparison on my own with this three TWS: Sony WF-1000XM5, Technics AZ-80 and Huawei Freebuds Pro 3...the Technics AZ-80 are every good TWS if you don't need ANC...

 

[Lead Belly]

QC Ultra are a rock solid as they come.

Couldn’t agree more. Wanted to add that the noise cancelling is out of control - by far the best I’ve heard, and I just use the included silicone tips rather than aftermarket foam ones. They are spooky quiet (but you can change the levels if you need to). Given how good they are on SQ and NC, my Airpods Max max aren’t seeing any use and will likely be up for sale soon. And FYI, they’re the only Bose product I own, so I’m no fanboy