1. (tie) Anker Soundcore L2P
1. (tie) Cambridge Audio Melomania 1
3. Sony WF1000XM3
4. Sennheiser TWS
5. Jaybird Vista
6. Tranya T1
7. Lypertek Tevi
8. Jabra Elite 65t
9 (tie) QCY True Wireless
9. Anker Soundcore Liberty Neo (expected more)
11.Treblab XFit (didn't like them at all)
12. Apple Airpods (Gen 2). Could not get them to fit properly.
Also owned the IQ Buds (Nuheara) and the last gen Sonys (WF1000X, I think) and returned/sold them both, but memory of them is faded.
My musical preference is pop music. The SSK are not only the best sounding, but are also the cheapest on this list at $21 (Amazon), $30 (Aliexpress) USD.
1. Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro
2. Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus
3. Sony WF-1000XM3
4. Sennheiser MTW
5. Shanling MTW100(BA)(Tie)
6. SSK BT-03(Anbes alike)(Tie)
7. MEBUYZ
8. MEGIVEZ
This this is final verdict after most of a week. Sennheiser stock tuning is not great at all, can EQ Shanling to sound better really. The soundcore LP2 are really good and probably closest sound signature to MW07 Plus on Lounge. Acoustic setting might be flattest... But flat is good. Stock setting is too boomy. There really is a fuller sound somehow on soundcore than MW07 Plus. Think it's better mid bass response. Really comfort and random listening the Shanling are most comfortable with their warmer sound that rolls off the harsher highs. And the shape and design I think will be comfortable for more also. The soundcore are the winners for me though and will probably keep them as they are comfortable enough, have a fuller sound and better volume than shanling and really were only $20-30 more on the deal I got.
Added more spend options as I went to Best Buy and got some of the more recommended pricier options to see if any are worth the extra cash. Still unsure if any are worth extra overall. The thing is the Shanling feel more comfortable by far than all but M&D. M&D are still big and more same comfort than Shanling. Sony has least delay for video, Sennheiser second, and MW07 plus is same or worse than Shanling. Best explanation so far of why Shanling is not quite at same level is that vocals seem somewhat recessed and maybe a bit of an upper mid weakness I hadn't picked up on until comparing to these more expensive options. On lots of tracks it's tough to really pick out much difference if I have right tips on Shanling. This can make them seem a bit less open. Sony and Sennheiser are down for similar reasons, but might be better to say they are sorta boomy a bit. The Shanling aren't boomy, just a bit more like you're in cave or under water. Still a bit hard to say if any are worth the cost difference as the Shanling aren't way off on lots of tracks. It's tracks like Hotel California where you can really pick up on the weakness of the Shanling. That's a very open song that still has some bass lines and such.
The loudest are Sennheiser, the Sony and MW07 Plus seem to hit similar volume. I would say the Shanling have a bit less volume... SSK might be loudest, but have them to compare.
Will continue to listen and compare at work this week. Suspect after a few hours listening today the Shanling are closer than I expected. Did some EQ and it's not so far off. It seems to resolve as well as any of the others, maybe had tuning that isn't as flat. Something funny with EQing BA vs Dynamic drivers I am used to that is funny also though.
Shanling are probably more accurate overall and slightly cleaner than SSK, but won't get as loud. SSK have some very minor distortions that are normally not noticeable with most music, but pretty sure exist. I could see many preferring the SSK as I prefer the design approach and shape and they do have a more exciting sound by a bit if you aren't as super critical of accuracy and how clean something sounds...maybe the dynamic vs BA drivers as the sound isn't drastically different other than the SSK is maybe slightly bass boosted rather than flat. Basically if you care about price and don't need an ambient mode I got the Shanling to try...SSK is better as it's only minor differences in sound.
The last two are generic Qualcomm ones...the MEBUYZ technically more generic, but don't sound so bad. The Megivez sound horrible.
On pure SQ:
1. Senn MTW
2. M&D MW07 (very close SQ but so much better in almost every other way than the Senns)
3. Earin M2 (much better if you throw away the stock complys and put Spinfits on them)
4. Soundcore Liberty Lite (at $40 they were unbeatable, but they broke. Wish they still made these)
5. B&0 E8 (Two pairs, both sounded awful to me)
6. Airpods 1st gen (Could be the worst sounding wireless since my Radioshack transistor radio from 1977)
Everything below the Earins sounds worse than pretty much any wired headphone plugged into my ancient Sony MW1 bluetooth receiver.
Very interested in hearing the Airpods Pro - the feature set is pretty nice for IOS users.
I tried the airpods Pro for a couple of days and was impressed with their form factor, pretty effective noise cancelling and connection stability but not so impressed with the sound quality (considering their price) and, when compared to the Sony wf1000xm3's sounded pretty thin with slightly raised upper mids which I found a little fatiguing. Don't get me wrong, I they're really quite remarkable but I've realised that I don't need active noise cancelling in TWS type headphones.
And...... To be brutally honest the Mavin Air X sound pretty much just as good for less than half the price of the airpods.
The Sony WF1000XM3 bar none for me, however under $100 the Mifo O5 was the best overall beating out Sabbat E12, and Soundcore Liberty.
Under $50 the Anbes 359
I tried many others but ended up sending them back for various reasons within days and I can't remember their names.
I also bought a 2 pairs from Kick starter called Base Line and Base jump. They are just re branded stuff really, they are decent but nothing to write home about.
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