[charlescc2]

I leave it on adaptive as having to go into Developer options to change it is a pain and I have never even noticed a difference in quality anyways.

Entirely possible it's placebo. I've gone back and forth testing 990 vs other settings and feel like I am noticing a difference, but with how subtle it is, even though I am perceiving it, I can't say for certain there is a definitive difference. The thing I feel like I notice is the separation being increased ever so slightly. With vocals already being crisp at lower settings, on some songs it suddenly feels like the vocalist has their lips to my ear.

Like you said it's amazing either way, and I'll have to do more tests and try to have another person change the bitrate while I'm blind to it, but I feel like 990 Kbps makes a difference for me.

 

[Lurk650]

Entirely possible it's placebo. I've gone back and forth testing 990 vs other settings and feel like I am noticing a difference, but with how subtle it is, even though I am perceiving it, I can't say for certain there is a definitive difference. The thing I feel like I notice is the separation being increased ever so slightly. With vocals already being crisp at lower settings, on some songs it suddenly feels like the vocalist has their lips to my ear.

Like you said it's amazing either way, and I'll have to do more tests and try to have another person change the bitrate while I'm blind to it, but I feel like 990 Kbps makes a difference for me.

I'll have to do more testing when I get home.

 

[charlescc2]

I'm using 2x current on the 3.5mm non-balanced with LDAC and 2x FFT oversampling, relatively new set. I think I'm getting 6 to 8 hours per charge driving a 16ohm 116db headphone on 50-65% analogue volume.

Just left music running for 2.25 hours, had exactly 25% battery drain, so I'll unscientifically extrapolate that to nine hours of playback time; not bad I guess.

That was running 1x current on 3.5mm, LDAC 990 Kbps using a 38 ohm 99 db headphone on 81% analog volume (-6.5 db).

I'm still a little concerned that my battery isn't performing as a new one should. Either that or there is just something funny with battery life reading within the app. The battery care option says it will charge your device to 80-90% depending on the condition, but mine stops at 70% every time. If I turn off battery care and let the battery charge to 100%, it almost immediately drops to 90% with no in between.

If others are having similar experiences though that might quell my concerns.

 

[pstickne]

For anybody who has used this to listen to music for hours on end in a short period of time, how much playback time are you getting? Their Web site claims 14 hours of playback, and while I haven't tested it, from the little I've paid attention to the battery percentage indicator I don't feel like I'd get even half of that. Maybe it depends on the codec you're using and the quality/size of files you're transmitting and 14 hours is absolutely best case scenario?

If I'm being honest it feels like I have a device that has been sitting around for a couple years with a degraded battery, but I could be off base here.

From real-life experience, I achieved 8-10 hours with a fresh unit and AAC (9am to about 7pm, for the entire workday+.) Was connected to K10U IEMs, using balanced output and default settings. The K10U have 10BA and are easy to drive; volume at about 40% (50% on source). The battery indicator is not very trustworthy.

Of course my unit is one the defective ones that “stopped holding a BT connection” after a month .. maybe I used it too much.

Regardless, 14 hour claim is indeed rubbish and the unit really could benefit from a better battery / power system. I’m not quite sure why the battery isn’t just doubled considering how small it is..

In general, I only give about “2/3” of claimed battery life from electronics, so I guess marketing actually fits my expectations / experience.

 

[lukedss]

Has anyone got Es100 EQ settings they can share for the iSine20? The ones posted on the Audeze thread don't seem to correlate to our options.

 

[Lurk650]

From real-life experience, I achieved 8-10 hours with a fresh unit and AAC (9am to about 7pm, for the entire workday+.) Was connected to K10U IEMs, using balanced output and default settings. The K10U have 10BA and are easy to drive; volume at about 40% (50% on source). The battery indicator is not very trustworthy.

Of course my unit is one the defective ones that “stopped holding a BT connection” after a month .. maybe I used it too much.

Regardless, 14 hour claim is indeed rubbish and the unit really could benefit from a better battery / power system. I’m not quite sure why the battery isn’t just doubled considering how small it is..

In general, I only give about “2/3” of claimed battery life from electronics, so I guess marketing actually fits my expectations / experience.

Source volume should always be at 100%...

On that note, I use mine with LDAC on a decent volume via balanced, maybe 5 hours a week and only need to charge every other week or so. I have no issues with the battery life.

 

[twiceboss]

Source volume should always be at 100%...

On that note, I use mine with LDAC on a decent volume via balanced, maybe 5 hours a week and only need to charge every other week or so. I have no issues with the battery life.

i use es100 everyday. I charge everyday after work. That's it. Mostly about 5 hours of listening i believe. But i dont always play music on it. So, it doesnt use battery that much.

 

[Crandall]

An Amazon Third Party seller is currently offering the device for $49 new with prime shipping available. Looks like they have about 20 in stock.

 

[Mouseman]

Must.....avoid....buying. I don't need a 2nd, but with that price, how can I resist?

I have to wonder why they're 1/2 price all of a sudden.

 

[pstickne]

Just left music running for 2.25 hours, had exactly 25% battery drain, so I'll unscientifically extrapolate that to nine hours of playback time; not bad I guess.

That was running 1x current on 3.5mm, LDAC 990 Kbps using a 38 ohm 99 db headphone on 81% analog volume (-6.5 db).

I'm still a little concerned that my battery isn't performing as a new one should. Either that or there is just something funny with battery life reading within the app. The battery care option says it will charge your device to 80-90% depending on the condition, but mine stops at 70% every time. If I turn off battery care and let the battery charge to 100%, it almost immediately drops to 90% with no in between.

If others are having similar experiences though that might quell my concerns.

I believe it’s largely in the ability (or lack of) to measure the remaining level of such a small battery. There is also something I read about limited power reporting support to Apple devices as well..

Source volume should always be at 100%...

On that note, I use mine with LDAC on a decent volume via balanced, maybe 5 hours a week and only need to charge every other week or so. I have no issues with the battery life.

Why should source (over BT) be at 100%?

Isn’t that just digital as ES100 has separate independent analog gain? I set to 50% with the (still to be tested) hypothesis that such would mitigate digital signal clipping. Other BT devices have ‘absolute volume’ control.

The ES100 also has pre-gain (pos and negative) settings, which I found best left alone.

Maybe when I get my ES replacement I can test 100% source, but that would be like 5% analog gain in the ES. (Unless fiddling with the pre-gain by massively pulling it back?). At such low analog gains levels, sound would be effectively on-or-off with the ES volume adjustments..

Having 100% source is also borderline fatal for switching between ES and direct phone jack (Did I mention sensitive easy-to-drive IEMs?)

 

[CactusPete23]

Must.....avoid....buying. I don't need a 2nd, but with that price, how can I resist?

I have to wonder why they're 1/2 price all of a sudden.

Don't see them at that price; Now I see the normal $99. Either missed it, or seller corrected their mistake. ... Though it does say can get $60 off, if you apply for an "Amazon.com Store Card"?

 

[Crandall]

Don't see them at that price; Now I see the normal $99. Either missed it, or seller corrected their mistake. ... Though it does say can get $60 off, if you apply for an "Amazon.com Store Card"?

Looks like they're sold out at that price and from from that seller now.

 

[Lurk650]

if you click the "?" for the Source volume is has an explanation and says to always leave at the max volume. Other than that, I always have my source volume on anything at 100%, such as if I were to connect an aux cord to a phone or ipod. Or BT from my phone when they don't have the paired volume control.

Source volume over BT is different from source once the ES100 is disconnected.

 

[pstickne]

Must.....avoid....buying. I don't need a 2nd, but with that price, how can I resist?

I have to wonder why they're 1/2 price all of a sudden.

Word about terrible economics (buttons) and “meh” sound spreading after the year of hype? (On sound, it’s all subjective, but I think so many reviews focused on more sterile-than-fun.)

I think the ES team (if learning lessons) can have much better products in the future. Right now there is stronger market competition as well with introduced W5 and more upcoming BT receivers. ES100, BTR3, A&K have been pretty much exclusive in this area / price range for a year or so..

Might also maybe general inventory unload? In any case, plenty of markup to be had on these devices (read: could have spent more in material).

Also, “new promos” aren’t really a discount, as they are paying for sign-up.

 

[Cevisi]

So there will be a bluetooth amp but not a bluetooth dac coming. Thats sad