I'm genuinely interested to know how people weigh the pros & cons of wireless IEMs.
The only advantage I can see are (obviously): no cables. But the disadvantages are many (as far as I can tell):
- price
- another item to remember to keep charged
- limited battery run time
- limited battery service life
- exhausted battery = IEMs in the bin
- no cable means if you accidentally drop one it may be gone forever
- potential wireless connection issues (to be fair, cables can get damaged so maybe a fair trade-off)
- potential for functional obsolescence through software revisions
- (tiny) battery fire risk, but if it does happen whilst wearing that is potentially irreversible catastrophic hearing damage
Are cables really such a hindrance?
CAVEAT: I don't have IEMs and only wear wired over-ear headphones, so no experience with wired IEMs.
From my experience. No TWS has come close to sounding like a true wired iem. A Noble Fokus Prestige or Hifiman Svanar while amazing for a TWS does not come close to something like a Thieaudio Hype 4 or Hisenior Mega 5Est that are around the same price. You sacrifice a fair amount of sound quality but gain in convenience. I see at as this. If you want sound quality, go for a proper iem. You don't need an expensive dongle dac/amp, the iem does most of the work while a good dac/amp can help scale the iem.
A TWS should be treated as something for more portable use. But have in mind, SQ is going to take a major hit. Now, TWS against other TWS and what's good sounding or great sounding especially for the price, how good are the functions. Build, battery, etc. That's what matters most. I don't see any reason in spending hundreds on a TWS iem. Knowing that if I want serious listening, I'll get that sound quality from a iem costing more. If someone wants to spend more money and try to get a TWS that offers the best SQ possible, by all means go for it. But a TWS product should be viewed as something that will be upgraded sooner or later, maybe lost, or die eventually.
Best bang for the buck should be the main priority. There is no wires, no amps/dacs that need to be worried about. It's simple, connect to your device, do what you need to do. For most people, they'll be on the move and wires can seriously get in the way to the point of being a hazard. A TWS eliminates that hazard of a wire getting snagged or caught on machinery. (my experience) You have a little more freedom. Calls can become easier, as all you need is a little press of a button.
But as you mentioned, price, charging, battery life and run time, connection issues, etc. They are all common issues a TWS will bring sooner or later. The biggest reason why TWS iems become expensive is tech. Trying to cram all extra stuff in a little shell. BT reciever, amp/dac, drivers, battery etc. The focus isn't sound quality but functionality. If everyone can have that mindset and remember that they may upgrade soon, a right earpiece may be dropped and lost, the battery could die any moment. Price to performance is extremely important. I've had a Technics AZ80 and while they were good, I accidently lost the right earpiece. My fault, but it happens.
So my goal now is, what offers sound quality similar for far less, similar functions and what I'd use them for. Jogging, work, out and about. Luckily, great TWS iems are coming out that cost far less and offer far more. But I always have in mind, for serious listening, my Thieaudio Prestige LTD is my go to.
Sorry for the extremely long paragraph... Just thoughts and feelings of TWS
, does anyone else do that? You could just talk about a subject for hours and hours hahahaha
And should have my Alpha & Delta KS100 soon. I needed a TWS that has no fancy features. Just can be reliable, sound good, comfortabe, easy to use. And no worry that I spent hundreds and if I accidently break one, or get it dirty at work, while still a lil pricey, it's not too bad. I'll post impressions of how it sounds, use eq and post impressions of that. Comfort, and try to compare to some wired iems.
