[nc8000]

I see and I'll admit that there have been moments where I have wished for the damn wire to not be there but the SQ advantage is real (or at least in my mind because that's what i've been told). On the other hand, for my application (streaming from Spotify) i'm wondering if it'll be a hugely noticeable difference between wired and LDAC if my source is already compressed.

For me out and about the XM3 streaming Tidal from my iPhone on aac is more than good enough

 

[davidcotton]

Hi there and excuse my inferior knowledge of TWS IEMs. I'm wondering if these would be worth picking up, in regards to sound quality mostly.
Currently my main IEMs are Massdrop EDC3 and TinHiFi T3 and I'm mostly just streaming on Tidal/Spotify, because I'm on a budget and that was the best I could afford ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Haven't owned any TWS headphones at all, but I've tried the WH 1000XM3 and liked them, but those are over ear headphones so I don't think it's a fair comparison.
Do you think I should jump on the TWS LDAC train, or save up and get something cheaper, or just stick to wired affordable IEMs¿

You can get dirt cheap tws on amazon and the like. Why not get one of those to see if you like the concept and then save up for a decent set?

 

[CoolerCat]

You can get dirt cheap tws on amazon and the like. Why not get one of those to see if you like the concept and then save up for a decent set?

I've never really thought about that because I've got my cheap-ish wired IEM-s and all of the cheap TWS i've ever heard in showrooms/friends have sounded worse to me. I only recently tried the over ear WH-1000XM3 because a friend bought them and i thought they sound nice and with some EQ can be daily driven, but i'm an IEM kind of guy so that's why i've been eyeing these.
Generally, i'm not against the concept of wireless audio, it certainly has it's advantages. It's just that I haven't tried any good implementation so far.

 

[bnupy]

I got mine yesterday.
I thought the stock tuning with the stock tips was overly dark, though the bass quantity was present.
I switched to sedna shorts and used the bright tuning, it started to sound better. The bass was a bit less though.
So after EQing they are perfect, surprised with the detail from a wireless, the staging, imaging and the bass quantity seem pre impressive. I can't wait to see what further improvements can come after this sound quality wise down the line.

 

[gdv brisbane]

I see and I'll admit that there have been moments where I have wished for the damn wire to not be there but the SQ advantage is real (or at least in my mind because that's what i've been told). On the other hand, for my application (streaming from Spotify) i'm wondering if it'll be a hugely noticeable difference between wired and LDAC if my source is already compressed.

Re TWS vs IEMs; you can buy a wireless adaptor and just use your existing IEMS. I pair my Moondrop Arias with the TRN BT20S Pro for something close to the best of both worlds. Not quite as convenient as my TWS sets but it's close.

As for Spotify and LDAC, the reality is that almost no one can tell the difference in a blind ABX test between Spotify's compressed 320kbps and a lossless track over wired IEMs and so the difference between AAC and LDAC will almost certainly also be imperceptible.

 

[544592]

The only difference is with BT the source audio from say Spotify will be decoded, sent through the audio stack, re-encoded with AAC/LDAC/whatever and then decoded again in the IEM(s). Again, how noticeable that'll be is down to the users ears.

 

[Joseph Lin]

Re TWS vs IEMs; you can buy a wireless adaptor and just use your existing IEMS. I pair my Moondrop Arias with the TRN BT20S Pro for something close to the best of both worlds. Not quite as convenient as my TWS sets but it's close.

As for Spotify and LDAC, the reality is that almost no one can tell the difference in a blind ABX test between Spotify's compressed 320kbps and a lossless track over wired IEMs and so the difference between AAC and LDAC will almost certainly also be imperceptible.

I think the amp module in TWS is the weakest point. When proper amp module is used in wired IEM, most people will definitely tell the difference. Sony tuned WF-1000XM4 such that the amp in the IEM is powerful enough to drive it properly, it is very impressive. The one thing that is lacking is resolution in the treble. It is very smooth though unlike CX400 implementation.

 

[dweaver]

almost every Sony headphone I own which includes the Z7 and my now dead XBAZ5, along with the WH-1000XM3, WH-950N, and a couple of TWS including the WF-1000XM3 all have a bit of a relaxed treble its more of a Sony house sound thing in my opinion, they all on the dark side as well ranging from really dark WH-1000XM3 to a bit bit more balanced (WH-950N, WF-1000XM3). The WF-XB700 surprising enough has more grain and bite in the treble but also has a bigger bass bunp making is a bit more V shaped and not as refined.

 

[gdv brisbane]

I think the amp module in TWS is the weakest point. When proper amp module is used in wired IEM, most people will definitely tell the difference.

You may well be right. Have a go at this ABX test with your best amp and IEM pairing to see if you can distinguish between Spotify 320kbps and Lossless.
http://abx.digitalfeed.net/spotify-hq.html

 

[Nintendam]

Arriving by 9pm! Excited. I bought the wf-1000xm3 but returned them a week later a few months back, looking forward to the improvements with the xm4.

All the reviews I've seen seem WAY too positive to be entirely true, tiding my expectations, but still excited.

 

[BLUDGEON]

You can get dirt cheap tws on amazon and the like. Why not get one of those to see if you like the concept and then save up for a decent set?

I second this - it's what I did. I bought a pair of Xiaomi Buds which cost like $25 or something just to see how I felt about the concept. I tried them first so I knew I liked the sound of them, and yeah I'm hooked on wireless.

I never had a really great set of IEMs to begin with, and I certainly appreciate the sound of my friend's $200 Fiios. But the combo of not having a tangle of cables and the freedom of movement has sold me and now a year or so later I'm looking for something higher end.

 

[home44]

Got a pair coming Saturday from Amazon. Be interesting to hear if they are 'better'than mt TW2's

 

[clerkpalmer]

For those who like a little more treble can you post your eq settings? Thanks.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Got a pair coming Saturday from Amazon. Be interesting to hear if they are 'better'than mt TW2's

The bar for sq in my opinion has been set by the pI7 and Gemini at this point so to me that’s the real test. I’m hoping with some equing these can equal or surpass those but my expectations may be too high.

 

[bnupy]

1k: +3
2.5k: +6
6.3k: +6
16k: +3

+1 true bass

is a setting I have. (I use this with the sedna shorts. I based it on the bright eq, till it felt balanced to me.

For those who like a little more treble can you post your eq settings? Thanks.