Going fully Wireless IEMs. Too soon? Or are we there yet?

[erockg]

Well, I guinea-pigged the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC. I don't have much to say yet, I have had them for a day, but not much usage time. I will say I loathe the case, it is a bad design. I guess it is strictly designed to hang from a backpack or something. The other comment I will make is that the comfort is fantastic. Also, iPhone users are fine, AAC or SBC.

So very tempting…

 

[subguy812]

Also, I wasn't sure if the EX or Eleven owners were aware that they can expand the staging dramatically by moving the circle to overlap the edge of the bigger EQ circle.

 

[audioaura]

Well, I guinea-pigged the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC. I don't have much to say yet, I have had them for a day, but not much usage time. I will say I loathe the case, it is a bad design. I guess it is strictly designed to hang from a backpack or something. The other comment I will make is that the comfort is fantastic. Also, iPhone users are fine, AAC or SBC.

Edit: There are worth 99.00 without a doubt.

I think that you can't go wrong for 99.00 for the Skullcandy. The sound is tuned fairly well. If you want heavy bass it is there in the preset eq's. The ANC is above average. Comfort is great. App is so-so, Skullcandy IQ. I haven't done a custom equipment, but on the music preset, they are fairly balanced sounding with nice clarity.

Nice review! I agree on the case – definitely not the most practical. For $99, though, the sound and ANC seem like a solid deal! Comfort and preset EQs definitely make it worth considering, especially for bass lovers.

 

[SilverEars]

Agree. I bought the FreeBuds Pro 4 about a month ago and was surprised how good the sound is. The ANC is sufficient too and seems to dynamically adjust really well after the latest software upgrade. The calls are the best I’ve seen.

And they don’t have significant bugs unlike some others I have….

TWS wise they are great all rounders especially if your company is addicted to Teams and/or Zoom. Relegated my Jabra Elite 10s to infrequent use.

ANC is beyond sufficient. The best in the industry. This is better than any Apple or Samsung product.

 

[howdy]

Got the Pi8s in early. Large tips fit perfect. One thing to note is Damn these things get loud! I can only go 4 clicks up on my S24U. I don't know know how Flossy listened to theses at full blast and can still hear.

 

[subguy812]

Let me copy the edit on my last post regarding the Skullcandy, since HF as that weird posting reply rule...

I think that you can't go wrong for 99.00 for the Skullcandy. The sound is tuned fairly well. If you want heavy bass, it is there in the preset EQs. The ANC is above average. Comfort is great. The app is so-so, Skullcandy IQ. I haven't done a custom equipment, but on the music preset, they are fairly balanced sounding with nice clarity. Aside from the case being annoying, the voice prompts are also super annoying. Hopefully, in a F/W update, they will allow you to turn them off.

 

[voicemaster]

Its almost mid 2025 and people still believe LDAC is the best HI-FI CODEC out there?
Those BIG BOLD "HI-Fidelity" on the box must be working out wonderfully.

 

[subguy812]

Its almost mid 2025 and people still believe LDAC is the best HI-FI CODEC out there?
Those BIG BOLD "HI-Fidelity" on the box must be working out wonderfully.

It is the best I have access to based on my choice of phones.

 

[ZMan2k2]

So, I’m itching for the next step in wireless nirvana. I have the Denon PerL Pros’, and love them! But, well, you know…it’s a hobby. So I’m looking at the B&W Pi8s. Upgrade, downgrade, sidestep? Another option?(keeping in mind I’m in Canada)

 

[dweaver]

So, I’m itching for the next step in wireless nirvana. I have the Denon PerL Pros’, and love them! But, well, you know…it’s a hobby. So I’m looking at the B&W Pi8s. Upgrade, downgrade, sidestep? Another option?(keeping in mind I’m in Canada)

London Drugs in Calgary is clearing out the Technics AZ60M2 for $140 and the AZ80 for $250 (think Amazon has the AZ80 and $250 as well.

I have owned the 80 and it's a more neutral sounding TWS. The AZ60M2 is warmer sounding but also very nice sounding. I actually prefer it a bit to the 80.

 

[galaxygrrl]

So, I’m itching for the next step in wireless nirvana. I have the Denon PerL Pros’, and love them! But, well, you know…it’s a hobby. So I’m looking at the B&W Pi8s. Upgrade, downgrade, sidestep? Another option?(keeping in mind I’m in Canada)

I wrote a bunch about this a while back - you can search this thread for it. I compared the Pi8, AZ100s, Rex5, and Beoplay Elevens.

PI8's are good, but buggy and the ANC is only OK. The app is not very good either. It's not a complete package.

Here are three to consider.

Rex5 - best sound. They are awesome. No water resistance, though. Good but not great ANC.
Beoplay Eleven - great sound, full package, good ANC, water resistance etc.
AZ 100 - best all-around package. Sound is not as strong as the other two and not as good as the Pi8, but it's still good. Awesome all-around package. Everything it does, it does well.

 

[ZMan2k2]

London Drugs in Calgary is clearing out the Technics AZ60M2 for $140 and the AZ80 for $250 (think Amazon has the AZ80 and $250 as well.

I have owned the 80 and it's a more neutral sounding TWS. The AZ60M2 is warmer sounding but also very nice sounding. I actually prefer it a bit to the 80.

I wrote a bunch about this a while back - you can search this thread for it. I compared the Pi8, AZ100s, Rex5, and Beoplay Elevens.

PI8's are good, but buggy and the ANC is only OK. The app is not very good either. It's not a complete package.

Here are three to consider.

Rex5 - best sound. They are awesome. No water resistance, though. Good but not great ANC.
Beoplay Eleven - great sound, full package, good ANC, water resistance etc.
AZ 100 - best all-around package. Sound is not as strong as the other two and not as good as the Pi8, but it's still good. Awesome all-around package. Everything it does, it does well.

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for. I tend to zero in on something, to the loss of all others. Thanks you two.

 

[pgravili]

I wrote a bunch about this a while back - you can search this thread for it. I compared the Pi8, AZ100s, Rex5, and Beoplay Elevens.

PI8's are good, but buggy and the ANC is only OK. The app is not very good either. It's not a complete package.

Here are three to consider.

Rex5 - best sound. They are awesome. No water resistance, though. Good but not great ANC.
Beoplay Eleven - great sound, full package, good ANC, water resistance etc.
AZ 100 - best all-around package. Sound is not as strong as the other two and not as good as the Pi8, but it's still good. Awesome all-around package. Everything it does, it does well.

In the end I decided to return the AZ100s and just keep the Rex5s With the Divinus Velvet Wide Bore they sound fantastic!

 

[galaxygrrl]

In the end I decided to return the AZ100s and just keep the Rex5s With the Divinus Velvet Wide Bore they sound fantastic!

Yep, Rex5 is amazing, I also kept the Beoplay elevens which I think it a super strong all rounder. I needed something I could work out with and run in the rain.

Eartips are so weird. People love the Divinus Velvet Wide Bore with the Rex5 and they did not work for me at all.

 

[Aevum]

the problem with bluetooth codecs is that LDAC and APT-X Adaptive are widley supported,

Then you get people like Huawei or Samsung that go "yes, we have this special lossless codec but you need to get one of our latest flagships and specific models for it to work"

Huawei at least still supports LDAC, Samsung straight goes, either you have a S24, S25 or the latest fold or flip or its AAC for you.

i have nothing to say to that, samsung can jump off a bridge as far as i care.