[wslee]

I have the same issue on Android, where the battery level shown in the OS isn't the same as the one shown in the app. I believe the issues on iOS and Android share a root cause, so a fix for one should fix the other.

@Coconut Wireles:
As we check the Apple Bluetooth Accessory design guideline,
it seems that iOS can get 0~9 integer number of battery status from the connected Bluetooth device, while the current version of ES100 F/W delivers just six different levels to iOS.
That's the cause of the difference between iOS widget and ES100 mobile application on displaying battery level.
We're now fixing the issue following Apple Bluetooth Accessory design guideline.

@Soaa-:
May I have your Android device model and OS version?
It seems that Android doesn't have any general way of getting the battery status from the remote Bluetooth device.
We'll have further research shortly.

Thanks and Regards,
WS

 

[wslee]

WS, correct me if I'm wrong.
I think the oversampling option performs a simple digital upsampling and runs the DAC at a higher sample rate. I don't think there's any sonic benefit for doing this, but some might... feel better about oversampling for some reason.

@Soaa-:

You're right.

I would say:
The primary benefit, that we might expect with 2x, 4x oversampling before D/A conversion, is the immunity to clock jitter and power ripple.

Controlling the pulse width is relatively much easier and more accurate than controlling the voltage output.

That's why delta-sigma DAC converts the PCM into the unit level of a pulse width, which represents the PCM level by the width.
The analog circuit in DAC would filter those analog pulses, and the final continuous analog wave would come out from DAC.

Ideally, if the unit level of the pulse is constant and the clock to control the pulse width has no error,
and there would be no difference across 1x,2x,4x oversampling.

Practically, since because there is voltage ripple and clock jitter,
the D/A conversion at higher sample rate would provide more immunity to those errors.

That's the general thought of mine for any delta-sigma DAC.
However, it depends on each DAC's specific design secret, the stability of the power and others.

Please try and set what you prefer.

Thanks and Regards,
WS

 

[Soaa-]

@Soaa-:
May I have your Android device model and OS version?
It seems that Android doesn't have any general way of getting the battery status from the remote Bluetooth device.
We'll have further research shortly.

I use a Google Pixel with Android 8.1.

@Soaa-:

You're right.

I would say:
The primary benefit, that we might expect with 2x, 4x oversampling before D/A conversion, is the immunity to clock jitter and power ripple.

Controlling the pulse width is relatively much easier and more accurate than controlling the voltage output.

That's why delta-sigma DAC converts the PCM into the unit level of a pulse width, which represents the PCM level by the width.
The analog circuit in DAC would filter those analog pulses, and the final continuous analog wave would come out from DAC.

Ideally, if the unit level of the pulse is constant and the clock to control the pulse width has no error,
and there would be no difference across 1x,2x,4x oversampling.

Practically, since because there is voltage ripple and clock jitter,
the D/A conversion at higher sample rate would provide more immunity to those errors.

That's the general thought of mine for any delta-sigma DAC.
However, it depends on each DAC's specific design secret, the stability of the power and others.

Please try and set what you prefer.

Thanks and Regards,
WS

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Personally, I set it at 1x as I hear no benefit from oversampling, but it's nice that the option is there.

 

[antdroid]

@Coconut Wireles:
As we check the Apple Bluetooth Accessory design guideline,
it seems that iOS can get 0~9 integer number of battery status from the connected Bluetooth device, while the current version of ES100 F/W delivers just six different levels to iOS.
That's the cause of the difference between iOS widget and ES100 mobile application on displaying battery level.
We're now fixing the issue following Apple Bluetooth Accessory design guideline.

@Soaa-:
May I have your Android device model and OS version?
It seems that Android doesn't have any general way of getting the battery status from the remote Bluetooth device.
We'll have further research shortly.

Thanks and Regards,
WS

My Android 8.1 Oreo (Essential PH-1) android phone also displays 100% in BT settings, but less than that (currently 84%) in the Ear Studio app.

I usually just rely on the app's info though.

 

[Tanelorn]

I read that the ambient system is nor really usable for conversation for example or in the office use, when you want to listen to music but want to answer questions from colleagues also (especially when being isolated by using custom iems)

Can someone share experience with this ambient option especially regarding SQ, noise and delay?

@wslee any information about this?

 

[Coconut Wireles]

I read that the ambient system is nor really usable for conversation for example or in the office use, when you want to listen to music but want to answer questions from colleagues also (especially when being isolated by using custom iems)

Can someone share experience with this ambient option especially regarding SQ, noise and delay?

@wslee any information about this?

Yeah I agree with that assessment. If you turn the ambient setting to about 70-80+ and increase the mic sensitivity it is almost workable but it all depends where you have the ES100. I have it attached to my shirt and the mic is somewhat hidden so I don't really hear my coworkers talking to me very well unless I aim my ES100 at them at which point its just silly. It does work for if you're outside and just want to be aware of people or things around you but I'd prefer to unseal my IEM a bit rather than use ambient. It is a neat feature and I'm sure some people can make a lot of use of it but it just isn't for me personally.

 

[Tanelorn]

Yeah I agree with that assessment. If you turn the ambient setting to about 70-80+ and increase the mic sensitivity it is almost workable but it all depends where you have the ES100. I have it attached to my shirt and the mic is somewhat hidden so I don't really hear my coworkers talking to me very well unless I aim my ES100 at them at which point its just silly. It does work for if you're outside and just want to be aware of people or things around you but I'd prefer to unseal my IEM a bit rather than use ambient. It is a neat feature and I'm sure some people can make a lot of use of it but it just isn't for me personally.

Mh okay thats what we need this device for.. too bad.
anyone experience the same issues?

@wslee you have a comment on this, or suggestions on how to get this feature more usable?

 

[wslee]

Mh okay thats what we need this device for.. too bad.
anyone experience the same issues?

@wslee you have a comment on this, or suggestions on how to get this feature more usable?

@Tanelorn:
We just wanted to utilize every resource of the given H/W, with additional F/W works, as much as possible.
That's the primary reason for having the ambient sound, USB, EQ, DFU, mobile app and other features.
For sure, those auxiliary features might not be able to satisfy your expectation.
For example, USB just supports 48KHz/16Bit only, DFU works only with Windows, due to the given H/W limitation.
The ambient feature is just one of those auxiliary features and might not be able to deliver enough quality and user experience that you expect.
I would say the ambient sound feature couldn't be the principal purpose of getting ES100.
Hope this helps you.
Thanks and Regards,
WS

 

[waynes world]

@Tanelorn:
We just wanted to utilize every resource of the given H/W, with additional F/W works, as much as possible.
That's the primary reason for having the ambient sound, USB, EQ, DFU, mobile app and other features.
For sure, those auxiliary features might not be able to satisfy your expectation.
For example, USB just supports 48KHz/16Bit only, DFU works only with Windows, due to the given H/W limitation.
The ambient feature is just one of those auxiliary features and might not be able to deliver enough quality and user experience that you expect.
I would say the ambient sound feature couldn't be the principal purpose of getting ES100.
Hope this helps you.
Thanks and Regards,
WS

I really like your style WS - you just tell it like it is without any BS (while often providing a lot of interesting info). Kudos.

 

[Tanelorn]

@Tanelorn:
...For example, USB just supports 48KHz/16Bit only, DFU works only with Windows, due to the given H/W limitation.
The ambient feature is just one of those auxiliary features and might not be able to deliver enough quality and user experience that you expect.
I would say the ambient sound feature couldn't be the principal purpose of getting ES100.
...

@wslee I understand your arguments.
but the ambient sound function makes the ES100 worth buying over the XB10 we have in place, and that does an excellent job. So we wont switch to another device doing the same that we already have (it is a perfectly balanced device with a gorgeous sound when it comes to aptx and aptx HD).
So for us, exactly these additional features like ambient sound and USB support make the difference here.

Another Thing:
Just curious, why do you use HW that has these USB limitations?
would the use of better Hardware make it too expensive? Or are the limits not a hardware thing?

 

[wslee]

@wslee I understand your arguments.
but the ambient sound function makes the ES100 worth buying over the XB10 we have in place, and that does an excellent job. So we wont switch to another device doing the same that we already have (it is a perfectly balanced device with a gorgeous sound when it comes to aptx and aptx HD).
So for us, exactly these additional features like ambient sound and USB support make the difference here.

Another Thing:
Just curious, why do you use HW that has these USB limitations?
would the use of better Hardware make it too expensive? Or are the limits not a hardware thing?

@Tanelorn:
Thanks for your comments.
ES100 has only three chipsets:
- Qualcomm CSR8675
- Two AK4375a
We made CSR8675 to handle both Bluetooth as well as USB, supporting USB DAC without any additional H/W IC.
However, because CSR8675 was mainly designed for Bluetooth audio, its USB capability has some limitation.
Thanks and Regards,
WS

 

[m4rkw]

According to USPS tracking my ES100 has arrived in London! Hoping to receive it early next week.

 

[Coconut Wireles]

@Tanelorn:
We just wanted to utilize every resource of the given H/W, with additional F/W works, as much as possible.
That's the primary reason for having the ambient sound, USB, EQ, DFU, mobile app and other features.
For sure, those auxiliary features might not be able to satisfy your expectation.
For example, USB just supports 48KHz/16Bit only, DFU works only with Windows, due to the given H/W limitation.
The ambient feature is just one of those auxiliary features and might not be able to deliver enough quality and user experience that you expect.
I would say the ambient sound feature couldn't be the principal purpose of getting ES100.
Hope this helps you.
Thanks and Regards,
WS

I appreciate this honest answer and it was reading stuff like this here that convinced me to try out the ES100 and after using it for almost a week now, I'm very glad I did.

I think the ambient mode works as intended but I didn't buy the ES100 for ambient mode, I bought it to deliver the best bluetooth audio I could get and it does just that.

 

[daniel1st]

@wslee
I am just highly curious that have your team considered to use the AK4375a's successor AK4376a to form the dual-drive solution as initial design. It seems that AK4376a is getting popular in latest products with its better specs, so is there any technical or cost concern on the preference? And how do you evaluate the audio performance between a single AK4376a DAC and the AK4375a dual-drive DAC solution.

 

[jeffhawke]

My 3 ES100s just landed at Milan airport...