[nc8000]

Thank you that candor is very nice to hear.

I guess if there is a big jump to what I’m hearing, in the places I want them to be clearer, resolving, and sparkly, I’m just not hearing it yet.

I’ll try them a bit more and hey….if they change, I’ll have to reconsider my take.

Any advice on changing tips or fitting better?

To me the included stock tips makes them somewhat muddy and recessed in the highs but deliver the best passive isolation. I have tried them with the Final E tips that I normally use, some SpinFits (don’t know which model) and SpiralDot++ which to me gives the best sound but poorer passive isolation. And then I use a slightly modded Treble booster EQ, anc and dsee disabled. This an iPhone11 Pro so with aac playing either local 320kb aac files or lossless Tidal streaming. To me out and about it sounds perfectly fine and is the best tws I have owned/tried

 

[nc8000]

Ah, really? Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I think these have way too low max volume overall. I listen to them usually on 80-100% even at home which I usually never do with other earbuds. It's not just that I listen to quiet music or anything, it's just overall what i've noticed. But there is probably also a difference in max volume depending on what device you're pairing them with, I think? So your 100% could potentially be higher than my 100 depending on the source.



Yeah, I get what you mean. My first impression was also that they were a bit bass boom-y but still not bass-y enough in the regions i prefer, and way too muddy/lacking in clarity in the treble and vocals sounding a bit veiled. But finding the right silicone eartips honestly made the sound a whole lot better. I tried around with the other eartips I had, unfortunately most of them didn't fit great, but they can sound very different depending on which tip you use.

I actually went back to the foams that are included, and using the same technique that Vitaly2017 here recommended with putting the foam tips a bit further out on the actual nozzle + EQ:ing them actually made them sound better to me in that regard, plus they actually feel a bit better in the ears because it puts the earbuds just a tiny bit further away from your ear. But it's still not the same clarity as you get with silicone eartips however.

Either you must have a very different max volume to what I have on my iPhone or you really like it LOUD, I’ve never been over 50% in the nosiest environment (train/bus/plane) and more like 30-40 at home

 

[gLer]

Either you must have a very different max volume to what I have on my iPhone or you really like it LOUD, I’ve never been over 50% in the nosiest environment (train/bus/plane) and more like 30-40 at home

I'm at 50% for comfortable listening. Tidal, LDAC, LG V30+, Absolute Volume disabled (phone on max and volume controlled by earpieces). 80%+ would be hearing damage territory (and I have moderate hearing loss, so listen louder than many people already).

 

[davidcotton]

Ah, really? Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I think these have way too low max volume overall. I listen to them usually on 80-100% even at home which I usually never do with other earbuds. It's not just that I listen to quiet music or anything, it's just overall what i've noticed. But there is probably also a difference in max volume depending on what device you're pairing them with, I think? So your 100% could potentially be higher than my 100 depending on the source.



Yeah, I get what you mean. My first impression was also that they were a bit bass boom-y but still not bass-y enough in the regions i prefer, and way too muddy/lacking in clarity in the treble and vocals sounding a bit veiled. But finding the right silicone eartips honestly made the sound a whole lot better. I tried around with the other eartips I had, unfortunately most of them didn't fit great, but they can sound very different depending on which tip you use.

I actually went back to the foams that are included, and using the same technique that Vitaly2017 here recommended with putting the foam tips a bit further out on the actual nozzle + EQ:ing them actually made them sound better to me in that regard, plus they actually feel a bit better in the ears because it puts the earbuds just a tiny bit further away from your ear. But it's still not the same clarity as you get with silicone eartips however.

From what I gather the original silicone tips by Sony fit if you have any of those around ?

 

[tkddans]

To me the included stock tips makes them somewhat muddy and recessed in the highs but deliver the best passive isolation. I have tried them with the Final E tips that I normally use, some SpinFits (don’t know which model) and SpiralDot++ which to me gives the best sound but poorer passive isolation. And then I use a slightly modded Treble booster EQ, anc and dsee disabled. This an iPhone11 Pro so with aac playing either local 320kb aac files or lossless Tidal streaming. To me out and about it sounds perfectly fine and is the best tws I have owned/tried

I’ll try my spinfits, my spiral dots, and whatever else I can throw at it then lol

 

[baiken]

yes that's the issue I had but once I changed to LDAC codec the issue is gone.

Ahh okay. I imagine that I can't change/force the codec on macOS so it'll be an ongoing issue. I can live with it and I'll keep my fingers crossed for a firmware update that magically fixes it.

Just out of curiosity, how do you describe the issue? I'm curious about other ways I can refer to it in hopes of finding more/better results from others with the same issue. Thanks!

EDIT: Found your post from a couple days and your post on reddit describing it. That's a good explanation - I'll keep an eye on it, thanks!

 

[jasonb]

I understand the concern, just wanted to ask what do you listen to that needs over 80% volume, If I go over 70% it gets painful so I don't ever see myself going over 80 or even reaching 100.

I never go over 50% on my Pixel. I'm usually between 24 and 40%.

 

[Juturna]

I'm at 50% for comfortable listening. Tidal, LDAC, LG V30+, Absolute Volume disabled (phone on max and volume controlled by earpieces). 80%+ would be hearing damage territory (and I have moderate hearing loss, so listen louder than many people already).

Either you must have a very different max volume to what I have on my iPhone or you really like it LOUD, I’ve never been over 50% in the nosiest environment (train/bus/plane) and more like 30-40 at home

I do enjoy loud music to be honest, but I feel like they’re definitely not loud enough to be listened to anywhere below 50%, but I can agree that 65% is an ok volume for listening outside, but there’s no oomph to the music at all at that level on my iPhone.

I checked my hearing a couple of months ago and I had no hearing loss or anything like so I guess YMMV but they’re not too loud at 100% and it doesn’t hurt my ears in anyway that I can TELL (I know it might hurt my hearing but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to my ears) but I guess I should try changing the EQ when I’m not blasting the volume and I might enjoy them more at these levels. Wish they didn’t change the sound at higher levels. so I could at least keep the same EQ no matter the volume.

edit: now it makes sense why people said “you really like treble” when I posted one of my EQ’s here. Because it probably sounds like hot tinny garbage on lower volumes lmao.

 

[davidcotton]

Spent the evening with the XM4, extremely happy with the purchase, no connection issues at all with iPhone. Sound is clearly a step up from XM3. Fit is excellent on me, almost as good as the Melomania touch (which I still rank as the best fitting tws out there).

Things got interesting when I switched to LDAC on the Astell and kern kann alpha. I’m not kidding when I say this but it’s very much in the vein of the z1r I have too. Obviously not as polished and lacking the soundstage and impact of the bass but cut from the same cloth clearly. I will take that as a portable solution!

ANC is top notch, blocked out traffic noise and people talking outside apartment.

Really dig the design and packaging, it looks small in all the photos and videos we have all seen but it is so dinky when you see it in person!

I can say hand on heart, this is the one for me for portable wireless use. No longer need to look around and waste money.

This being headfi…..

 

[mt877]

I do enjoy loud music to be honest, but I feel like they’re definitely not loud enough to be listened to anywhere below 50%, but I can agree that 65% is an ok volume for listening outside, but there’s no oomph to the music at all at that level on my iPhone.

I checked my hearing a couple of months ago and I had no hearing loss or anything like so I guess YMMV but they’re not too loud at 100% and it doesn’t hurt my ears in anyway that I can TELL (I know it might hurt my hearing but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to my ears) but I guess I should try changing the EQ when I’m not blasting the volume and I might enjoy them more at these levels. Wish they didn’t change the sound at higher levels. so I could at least keep the same EQ no matter the volume.

edit: now it makes sense why people said “you really like treble” when I posted one of my EQ’s here. Because it probably sounds like hot tinny garbage on lower volumes lmao.

Not telling you what to do or anything, just some advice. I'm sure you're well aware that prolonged exposure to loud music, noise, etc. can affect your hearing. Once your hearing is damaged there's no return to good hearing. So protect what you have and enjoy your good hearing. This is coming from someone that has some military related hearing loss in his right ear.

 

[Juturna]

Not telling you what to do or anything, just some advice. I'm sure you're well aware that prolonged exposure to loud music, noise, etc. can affect your hearing. Once your hearing is damaged there's no return to good hearing. So protect what you have and enjoy your good hearing. This is coming from someone that has some military related hearing loss in his right ear.

I’m aware! I listen on way lower volumes now than I used to when I was younger, and I’ve stopped going to loud concerts without earplugs at least.
Not only do I turn down the volume more in general these days, but to me these are at least 15-20% lower in max volume than most other TWS earbuds that I’ve tried.

 

[Outside75]

Is there any way of forcing particular Playback Quality in?

I'm using Sony ZX Premium phone (Android 10)

I have two working options available: optimised for audio quality (990kbps) and Best Effort (Adaptive bit rate)

Manually selecting balanced (660kbps) in developer settings doesn't work. It reverts to either 990kbps if Sound Quality Preffered is selected in "Sound Effects" or to Best Effort if it's, well, Best Effort.

Or maybe I don't understand how it all works together. I have bluetooth output setting available in Sony's Music Center, Headphone Connect app and then there's a Sound Effects drop down notification as well.

My current settings:

Music Center: Prioritise Ldac and Priority on Sound quality
Headphones app: Priority on sound quality
Sound Effects: Sound Quality at home because 990kbps is very unstable outside and Best Effort when I'm out.

 

[jasonb]

I force mine to 990 all the time and I haven't been having any issues since turning off the disable absolute volume setting in the developer settings. No dropouts shopping at Walmart, no drop outs waking my dog outside, none at home in my apartment.

 

[Outside75]

Interesting. I didn't try it yet. I've disabled Location services and WiFi but no luck. Thanks for this suggestion.

 

[jasonb]

Interesting. I didn't try it yet. I've disabled Location services and WiFi but no luck. Thanks for this suggestion.

I don't see why the absolute volume setting would have an effect on the connection stability though. But I was having some random glitches and random connection stutters and dropouts prior to turning the setting off.