[dmphile]

Hey all!

I love these earbuds. I just got the Sony wf-1000xm5 and I still like MTW3 better. I'm thinking about getting the Technics eah az80 or the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2. Does anyone have any insights comparing the MTW3 to those two.

Thanks
Beth

Saw in the AZ80 thread that you got rid of the MTW3 for them. Would you share some insights why chose the AZ80's over the MTW3?

 

[galaxygrrl]

Saw in the AZ80 thread that you got rid of the MTW3 for them. Would you share some insights why chose the AZ80's over the MTW3?

That is a good question. Let me start by framing where I am on the audiophile spectrum. I'm a bit of junior intermediate, there are people here who are far, far, more sophisticated than me. So, I have a basic understanding of this stuff, but generally I know what I like with sound and can play around with settings to find what I like. And I'm a bit of a gearhead, but not too tricked out.

So, I tend to like a bright sound and I'm not a huge fan of base. I listen to a lot of Rock, Jazz, acoustic, and classical. I don't really do hip-hop or electronic.

I'm a huge fan of the Sennheiser MTW line. I owned all three generations. They were my go-to for years. I had the Sony WF1000XM4's but always grabbed my MTW3's. I thought they sounded better and in every timeI did a comparison I always ended up with the MTW3.

I knew the new Sony's were coming out and my Sony's broke, so I got the replacement and sold them waiting for the XM5's. I bought the new Sony's and given that the AZ80's were out, I figured I'd do a bake-off.

Then, I lost my MTW3's. So, I bought a new pair and played around with the settings again. Compared to the Sony's and AZ80's they sounded a just a little less clear. I fooled around with the settings, because they did not sound as good as the AZ-80's or Sony's. And they did not sound as good as I remembered them no matter what I adjusted. And I also wondered if I had a new baseline from the sound quality of the other two earbuds I was testing too. In any event, the bottom line is they sounded a just little less clear compared to the other two.

But I have super high hopes for the MTW4's. Next spring.....right?

As for comparing these three, here is my take.

Sony's - most comfortable, super clear sound, can't customize whats tapping on the earbud can do (you are stuck with Sony's choices). The sound stage is NOT as full as the AZ80s. Pretty cool equalizing tool and you can get it to sound like you want. Very good ANC. Most comfortable of all the ear buds. Mids and Highs are better than the XM4 - this was really the only sound improvement from what I could remember of the XM4's.

AZ80 - Super clear sound. These have the best sound detail of any of three I hear detail on these I don't hear on the others. Wide, and robust sound stage (this rocks!!!!) I like the app much better than the sony. ANC is very good, Sony might be just a better though. There a about few moments, I thought they sounded a little tinny, but I have the highs set to high.

MTW3 - Sound was not as clear as I liked. I always thought MTW3's did mids so well well and highs too, while I thought the Sony XM4's kind of failed at this compared to the MTW3s. But now the AZ-80 and new Sony's are doing mids and highs so well. I think the app is poorly designed too.

They are all great earbuds though. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I'm still a little back and forth on whether the AZ80's or Sonys will be my go to. I figured I'll see which one's a tend to use.

Hope this helps.

 

[dmphile]

That is a good question. Let me start by framing where I am on the audiophile spectrum. I'm a bit of junior intermediate, there are people here who are far, far, more sophisticated than me. So, I have a basic understanding of this stuff, but generally I know what I like with sound and can play around with settings to find what I like. And I'm a bit of a gearhead, but not too tricked out.

So, I tend to like a bright sound and I'm not a huge fan of base. I listen to a lot of Rock, Jazz, acoustic, and classical. I don't really do hip-hop or electronic.

I'm a huge fan of the Sennheiser MTW line. I owned all three generations. They were my go-to for years. I had the Sony WF1000XM4's but always grabbed my MTW3's. I thought they sounded better and in every timeI did a comparison I always ended up with the MTW3.

I knew the new Sony's were coming out and my Sony's broke, so I got the replacement and sold them waiting for the XM5's. I bought the new Sony's and given that the AZ80's were out, I figured I'd do a bake-off.

Then, I lost my MTW3's. So, I bought a new pair and played around with the settings again. Compared to the Sony's and AZ80's they sounded a just a little less clear. I fooled around with the settings, because they did not sound as good as the AZ-80's or Sony's. And they did not sound as good as I remembered them no matter what I adjusted. And I also wondered if I had a new baseline from the sound quality of the other two earbuds I was testing too. In any event, the bottom line is they sounded a just little less clear compared to the other two.

But I have super high hopes for the MTW4's. Next spring.....right?

As for comparing these three, here is my take.

Sony's - most comfortable, super clear sound, can't customize whats tapping on the earbud can do (you are stuck with Sony's choices). The sound stage is NOT as full as the AZ80s. Pretty cool equalizing tool and you can get it to sound like you want. Very good ANC. Most comfortable of all the ear buds. Mids and Highs are better than the XM4 - this was really the only sound improvement from what I could remember of the XM4's.

AZ80 - Super clear sound. These have the best sound detail of any of three I hear detail on these I don't hear on the others. Wide, and robust sound stage (this rocks!!!!) I like the app much better than the sony. ANC is very good, Sony might be just a better though. There a about few moments, I thought they sounded a little tinny, but I have the highs set to high.

MTW3 - Sound was not as clear as I liked. I always thought MTW3's did mids so well well and highs too, while I thought the Sony XM4's kind of failed at this compared to the MTW3s. But now the AZ-80 and new Sony's are doing mids and highs so well. I think the app is poorly designed too.

They are all great earbuds though. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I'm still a little back and forth on whether the AZ80's or Sonys will be my go to. I figured I'll see which one's a tend to use.

Hope this helps.

Appreciate you taking the time/effort into explaining your decision!

I'm on the fence for the AZ80's. I have the original AZ60's and they were terrible on battery life and ok with everything else generally. I really like the MTW3 sound and ANC is very good, just the mic and phone quality is lacking. I tried the XM5's and I returned them pretty much the next day since the fit was not working for me.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Appreciate you taking the time/effort into explaining your decision!

I'm on the fence for the AZ80's. I have the original AZ60's and they were terrible on battery life and ok with everything else generally. I really like the MTW3 sound and ANC is very good, just the mic and phone quality is lacking. I tried the XM5's and I returned them pretty much the next day since the fit was not working for me.

AZ80 battery life is fine about the same as the MTW3. I would give them a try. I like them a lot.

 

[Blazebro]

Appreciate you taking the time/effort into explaining your decision!

I'm on the fence for the AZ80's. I have the original AZ60's and they were terrible on battery life and ok with everything else generally. I really like the MTW3 sound and ANC is very good, just the mic and phone quality is lacking. I tried the XM5's and I returned them pretty much the next day since the fit was not working for me.

The problem you will have is any wireless earbuds will be binned in 3 years time. Either the batteries will fail, or the bluetooth protocols will have moved on, or 2-3 years of enhancements simply have moved things on sufficiently.

I like my MTW3's, but everything considered I wouldn't pay £200+ for a pair (I paid £170), so there's no way I'd pay £250 for the AZ80's.

Despite the MTW3's still being towards the top of many reviewers lists, a pair of wired earcans which sell for around £100 still offer better sound (I use Audio Technica XM50).

It might be worth considering a cheaper pair of in ears, then buying some reasonable earcans to give you some oomph.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Head-fi welcome message.
"Sorry for your wallet".

MTW3 MSRP is about the same as AZ80, it's just discounted heavily due to the age and pressure from competitors. AZ80 is pretty new, might be discounted as everything else down the road.
But even right now $100 for a better user experience and SQ with LDAC support sounds like a reasonable deal, but everyone's financial situation is different plus there are much cheaper TWS than Momentum 3 if you really want to save money.

 

[Blazebro]

Head-fi welcome message.
"Sorry for your wallet".

MTW3 MSRP is about the same as AZ80, it's just discounted heavily due to the age and pressure from competitors. AZ80 is pretty new, might be discounted as everything else down the road.
But even right now $100 for a better user experience and SQ with LDAC support sounds like a reasonable deal, but everyone's financial situation is different.

If you can get AZ80's for $100 then it's a no brainer. In the uk they're £250, which is closer to $300.

Even so a pair of decent wired headphones still sound better and in 3/5/10/20 years time, they're still the same headphones you bought today. There are some manufacturers, Sennheiser being one, that still make the same headphones, that they made in the 1960's.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Well I appreciate your perspective, but I generally use my earbuds running, hiking, running around town, etc. The flexibility is worth the money to me. To each his own. Gotta catch my plane to Iceland, where i will use them on hikes, climbs, and horseback riding. Wires would be a hassle. Do Carry some wired Westone's for when I sit still.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

If you can get AZ80's for $100 then it's a no brainer.

Meant extra $100 as a difference between two. Sorry.

 

[jasonb]

I’m still thoroughly enjoying my MTW3’s. I like the freedom of wireless, even just for use around the house, and I think they sound pretty damn good after running the EQ.

I have “better” wired gear, but I like these a lot too.

 

[dmphile]

AZ80 battery life is fine about the same as the MTW3. I would give them a try. I like them a lot.

I may give them a shot when they're heavily discounted. Thanks again for the feedback.

The problem you will have is any wireless earbuds will be binned in 3 years time. Either the batteries will fail, or the bluetooth protocols will have moved on, or 2-3 years of enhancements simply have moved things on sufficiently.

I like my MTW3's, but everything considered I wouldn't pay £200+ for a pair (I paid £170), so there's no way I'd pay £250 for the AZ80's.

Despite the MTW3's still being towards the top of many reviewers lists, a pair of wired earcans which sell for around £100 still offer better sound (I use Audio Technica XM50).

It might be worth considering a cheaper pair of in ears, then buying some reasonable earcans to give you some oomph.

To be honest, I would be willing to pay top dollar if it had TOTL ANC, call quality and sound and comfort. Those are the areas where I need the best of the best since my morning commute is a pain and I value my cocoon of silence with decent fidelity of wireless sound.

 

[jasonb]

What tips is everyone using?

I’m currently using the Comply foam tips that came with my AKG N400. I wanted more isolation than the stock tips and these are providing that.

 

[Techguy17]

Currently using Azla Xelastec. Tried quite a few but find the cleanest sound with these. Unfortunately Azla doesn’t make these in TWS and I have to trim the stem, but results are great.

​

 

[jasonb]

Currently using Azla Xelastec. Tried quite a few but find the cleanest sound with these. Unfortunately Azla doesn’t make these in TWS and I have to trim the stem, but results are great.

​

I tried an old pair of Azla tips that I had and didn’t like the results on these.

 

[Arafel]

I bought these a couple months ago to mainly use for travel. A flight to the Pac NW went great to and from. Then the next time I used them I got the dreaded chirping in the right earbud. I can get rid of it by turning off ANC, but no solution (cleaning off earbud with isopropyl alcohol, etc.) works to fix it. Seems that Sennheiser has serious QC issues with these earbuds, given how this is a known issue and a routine Google search for "Momentum TW 3 chirping" reveals many threads with complaints about it. Have to wonder about a company that hasn't recalled an obviously defective product.

Also, quite frankly, the app is terrible and the buds often disconnect and need to be reset.

Thank goodness for Amazon, because they are taking these poorly designed defective earbuds back. I'm going to try Sony. Sennheiser, if you are listening, recall this product!