[matthewhypolite]

Introduction

Hello,

I've recently got a note 10 plus, which does not have a headphone jack. So I decided to check out some Bluetooth earbuds to see how far along they are in terms of features and sound quality. I ended up trying a few…. Lol.
Decided to put together another review similar to my TOTL Headphone Comparison, only for true wireless earbuds.

For the initial round-up of this comparison, I had all of them in my possession at the same time so I was able to compare them side by side. I've used a 5 point rating system for the below comparisons, and I was not too detailed in my analysis and I also did not test all sound quality aspects that I did in my Full Headphone comparison.

Having said that, I hope I'm able to paint a good enough picture to give folks a pretty good idea of what is what.
Without further ado:

Edit:

Forgot to also mention, i started this TWS Journey by getting the Sony WH-1000XM3 Headphones.
So i played with it for a couple of days before deciding to move to the earbuds. Did alot of reading and research on the sonys and they were looking like the best TWS i could get. Unfortunately i really did not like the sound quality of these. Having a full sized headphone on my head i really expected more, and the sound was bloated, veiled, and muddy to my ears. Given the size, it lacked the convenience from the earbuds and with underwhelming sound quality i ended up returning those. Also because of this i did not get the WF-1000XM3 (TWS Earbuds) as part of my comparison because i figured it would have a similar sound signature to it's bigger brother that i really did not like.


Samsung Galaxy Buds

Spoiler: Summary

These are small and portable, includes wireless charging, and a nice app. Sound quality results can be seen below, but due to the price and performance id spend the extra for the anker soundcore liberty 2 pro. The anker has a lot of the same features, wireless charging, higher IPX rating, better battery life, better sound quality. For just 40 bucks more and also more comfortable. If you're on a tight budget however, the buds get the job done. Dynamic mode on the equalizer sounds the best to my ears on this headphone.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro

Spoiler: Summary

The anker overall is one of the best values given its price point. It's very comfortable, and not bad sounding. The earbuds are oriented in the case in a weird way however, and takes some getting used to for removal and re-insertion. Anker stock EQ profile and Flat sound the best to my ears. The stock being a boosted version of what flat offers.

Hifiman TWS600

Spoiler: Summary

The hifiman earbuds are a departure from the "typical" sound quality of the previous 2, this is very much a hifi tuning. With a lot of emphasis on clarity and detail retrieval. Also they can be had at a steal of a price if you get them on one of those deals that are frequently running. They are comfortable enough to be used frequently without issues, but it does lack some of the features of some of the other headphones in this roundup. However I encountered an issue with my pair, where the left earbud produced constant noise/static anytime a connection was made to a phone/pc. They worked great initially but after a couple of days that issue cropped up. Because of this I can't personally recommend them. There is always the chance I got a lemon, but it is what it is.

Sennheiser Momentum TW

Spoiler: Summary

The senns are a really impress kit. They definitely sound and look the part. Like the hifiman, they have a hifi sound signature, but very much a senn flavor. Sounds similar to the sound signature of the HD650, so fuller sounding still with good details. The price of these are also good, 200 bucks for these are a nice buy. Battery life is not the best however, but I can look past that for the sound quality and overall package. Id choose the senns hands down over anything above. However it has to be mentioned, these very much need to be EQ'd from the app. Out of the box they are just too bloated and muffled, I had to dial the eq towards a flatter sound signature to really enjoy them. The senns also has a great fabric carrying case that feels very nice in the hands.

Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus

Spoiler: Summary

When listening to the samsung and anker, I thought that wireless earbuds still can't hold a candle to wired headphones, but the hifiman and senn started to make me think they are approaching something good sounding for the convenience of wireless. But when I heard the master & dynamic, I thought to myself, yes…these sound good.
I still think wired IEMs, especially amp driven ones, are superior, but these are the first true wireless earbuds I've heard where I didn’t feel like I was seriously compromising on sound quality to gain convenience of wireless. The beryllium quoted drivers are really flexing their muscles here, and have a very nice sound signature. Not bright, not veiled. Clean, precise, but still full bodied. Id say the closest sound signature comparison to my other headphones would be a Focal Utopia. Which is interesting as they use pure beryllium drivers. The MDs also have the best battery life, and packed filled with all the features you can want. It does not have an app, and thus no headphone level eq (you can still eq it from your music app if you like) but these sound great out of the box, so no need for an app to "make it sound good". The fast charging feature is also excellent, so though they don’t have wireless charging like the samsung and anker, I think the ability to quickly get 50% on 15mins charge to be more useful. They also have the best battery life, and an overall excellent albeit most expensive package. The carrying case for this unit also feel very premium and suiting its pricetag.

I gave these a perfect sound quality rating and will be using as my benchmark of the "best" TWS sound I've heard.
Can't wait to see how these progress in the future with better iterations. Good stuff.

Master & Dynamic MW07 Go (Projected)

Spoiler: Summary

I did not personally have my hands on these, but seeing that they use the same exact drivers as the Plus model, I've projected how I think they would line up based on that. So I just gave them the same scores in sound quality, and factored in the other features/specifications and graded accordingly. Based on this, I'd say the MD07 Go is a steal.
They lack a lot of the features of the Plus model, but if you're willing to give those up, you'll have arguably one of the best sounding TWS headphones, @ $200. Seeing that I use the Ambient Sound and ANC of the Plus, I personally would spend the extra $100 to upgrade to the flagship, but if you're on a tight budget, id chose the Go over everything else in the lineup primarily because of the sound quality.

Jaybird Vista

Spoiler: Summary

The Jaybird vista has a similar sound signature to the anker soundcore liberty 2 pro. There is a bit of a harsh upper end. Hi Def Audio present was used as this presented the best sound to my ears. The jaybirds are comfortable and get the job done. It's lack of features and sound quality however does not line up with the asking price of this unit. For 50 bucks less the anker is preferred over the jaybird. And for the asking price of the jaybird the MD MW07 Go can be had for the same price offering far superior sound quality and a couple other features.

Apple Airpods

Spoiler: Summary

The airpods are well built, very small, lightweight and very portable. They have a very edgy and harsh sound, lacks bass and mids, and don’t seal very well so lets a lot of outside noise in. The lack of gel/foam tips cause irritation in the ear after a while and there is no size adjustment for different size/shape of ears. The unit also lacks features and does not have the best audio quality. Coming in at $160 it's the same price as the Jaybird vista which sound significantly better, a lot more comfortable, and a better product overall. The anker soundcore liberty 2 pro at just $150 is still walking away with the best value among these lower priced units and nothing has changed with the MW07 go being great value for the sound quality it offers. All in all I can recommend most of the earbuds on the list but I cant see myself recommending the airpods. I'll see what the improvements in the pros bring to the table.

Also, FYI, on first listen the left earbud was a lot lower level than the right, I read on a forum if you cup the earbud with your mouth and pull/suck it resolves the issue, I tried that….and it did indeed resolve the issue….

Apple Airpods Pros

Spoiler: Summary

I was not happy at all with the original airpods and would not recommend them to anyone especially after hearing the pros. The pros is a huge improvement in sound quality. They also look better aesthetically for my tastes. If you're on IOS this TWS is an easy recommendation. They don’t quite reach the level of the Master & Dynamic, but they were a pleasure to listen to.

Master & Dynamic MW08

Spoiler: Summary

The new MW08 retains Master & Dynamic's impeccable build quality and even steps it up just a bit. The case has just a bit more polish and more precise dimensions that ensures their attention to detail in creating this case is observed. The earbuds themselves are about the same as the 07. The sport version however steps things up even more with Kevlar charging case and sapphire glass for the earbuds, yes, amazing. As for features, the MW08 are the same as the MW07 but the new sport version adds wireless charging which is a welcome addition, to me it's worth the extra $50 to get wireless charging and a better build/materials but also ups the aptx to Adaptive which is also welcome. Now onto sound quality. With a 1mm larger beryllium driver (11mm) the sound signature is exactly the same as the MW07. So if you love the 07 you're going to love these. They do step things up a bit though with slight improvements in the upper registers. So Treble, Clarity, Resolution are all slightly improved. Mids/Bass remain about the same. The ANC performance appears to be about the same also. As far as call quality, the mw07 actually appears to be a bit better. The MW07 is louder on the other end of the phone but background noise and some distortion is picked up. The MW08 removes this background noise and distortion but to the caller on the other end I sound a bit distant compared to the MW07. Everything else found on the 07 is present here on the 08, quick Bluetooth reconnection, amazing battery life, all here.

The removal of the ear wing I thought would be a problem at first, but it did prove to slightly improve the comfort in wearing these.

All in all this is a great addition (especially the sport version) and remains and excellent entry in the Master & Dynamic TWS lineup. If you already own the MW07, the MW08 at this stage is probably not worth the upgrade, the MW08 Sport however, yea, I'd upgrade for that.

Master & Dynamic MW08 Sport

Spoiler: Summary

Identical sound quality as the MW08, with the addition of Wireless Charging, The case is Kevlar, and the Earbud glass is sapphire. The $50 premium over the MW08 I think is worth it and id upgrade from the MW07 to these. The MW08 Sport is now my daily driver.

Bower & Wilkins pi7

Spoiler: Summary

I'll start by saying these are the best sounding TWS I've heard to date, even surpassing the excellent sounding M&D MW07/08. The build quality is not up to the standard of the MDs (and let's be honest, nothing else really is), but they are "good" quality compared to the other TWS on the market that I've tested. It's all plastic, but the quality feels good and it doesn’t look cheap. The earbuds themselves however are built quite well, it's just the case doesn’t hold a candle to the MDs. The pi7 does however bring a couple of extra features that the MDs doesn’t have. All the usual features you'd expect from a TWS at this price are present, and even improving on some of the standard features. Adaptive ANC, aptx Adaptive, fast wireless charging, IPX54, fast usb c, all here. The adaptive ANC can auto adjust the quantity of ANC based on the surrounding environment. The Ambient passthrough mode also adds something extra allowing you to dial in the quantity of pass-through you want. The headset also allows you to enable ANC and Ambient simultaneously. At first I thought there's no point to that, however the combination of ANC and about 80% Ambient Passthrough allowed me to hear external voices clear and natural whiles blocking out other background noise. Pretty useful if you don’t want to take your earbuds out and want to have a quick conversation with someone and return to your music after. The ambient mode does have to be activated via the app however, which allows you to configure the Adaptive ANC as well (a shortcut on the earbuds themselves to activate this would be great).

Another great feature is during phone calls the headset appears to automatically enter ambient mode, allowing you to have a more natural conversation as you can now clearly hear the volume of your own voice and not have to be speaking overly loud whiles both earbuds are in especially if you're using ANC when the phone call comes in. It works great and another little extra B&W included in this kit. The sound quality of phone calls are also great and the caller on the other end said they could not tell I was on a headset. Which is great.

The battery life however doesn’t compare to the MDs, if you always have a QI pad around this shouldn't be a big deal, but if you do go on long trips and just want to crank music the whole time, the MDs has a lot more endurance than the B&Ws. Also the controls are touch (which I don’t like, much prefer hardware buttons). They also excluded volume control on the touch pad for whatever reason, so get used to changing the volume on the phone if you do that often. Hopefully they can add the ability to configure a touch gesture for volume in a future update but I won't hold my breath for that.

1 other feature present here that I've not seen on other TWS is the audio retransition of the charging case, which allows you to plug the case into a 3.5mm source and the case will transmit the audio to your earbuds directly. Useful if you have something that doesn’t support Bluetooth I suppose. They can also pair with up to 2 devices simultaneously which is a feature I missed from the MDs.

The comfort is ok thought I think I prefer the M&D fit, but these are not bad but I do notice them more in ear than the M&D, which I also do notice, but the sound quality of these I can easily overlook that bit. I also have to point out that on occasion I've had some connection issues where the earbuds would appear to just disconnect & reconnect. Or the touch pad to play/pause music would just stop working until I put the unit back in the case and take them back out. Another is id answer the phone with the right earbud, but when I try to put the left in my ear it doesn’t connect. Seems to be firmware/software issues that hopefully B&W will resolve with an update. This didn’t happen frequent so it doesn’t distract too much from the rest of the earbuds, but it did happen so has to be mentioned.

Back to sound quality. The pi7 uses a Dual Hybrid Driver design, where there are 2 drivers per earbud. They've split the upper frequencies onto their own driver and independently amp each driver. What this resulted in is more bass, better mids and better highs than the M&D which was my previous best sounding TWS. They shine exceptionally well with higher quality music, so feeding it some high quality digital audio they sounded great. With lesser quality music it can sound a bit harsh up top however. The isolation of these are great though, and just putting them on without anything playing and ANC on it just quiets the room, playing music I can't hear anything on the outside, much better ANC than the M&Ds. They also have more volume than the M&Ds so if you like good quality and high volume, that's here too. The sound signature is still that of a hifi signature, but not completely natural like the MDs. These sound richer, bass goes deeper yet still impactful, the mids are smooth and the highs still sore. It's a more lively presentation overall, but because the quality, clarity, detail retrieval and general refinement of the sound is still there, I prefer these. The beryllium drivers in the MDs rock, but what B&W have done here is also special, and edge out the MDs and has now become my new fav TWS.

I'll be daily driving these moving forward.

Edit:

So after daily driving this for 2 weeks, I'm taking it off my recommended list entirely. There are definitely connection issues with this headset. The blurb I experienced initially just got progressively worse. Random static, left earbud just wont connect, long connection times out of the case, wont answer calls, etc. It's unusable. And I've tried it on 3 different phones now. Surface Duo, Note 9, Galaxy Z Fold 3. Did the same crap on all. Can't recommend until these issues are addressed.

Ratings Breakdown (All Headphones)

Photos

 

[leftside]

Thanks. Any of these have ANC/noise reduction?. I have the Bose SoundSport Free, and the sound quality is quite good (for wireless). They are great for running, as I like to be aware of my surroundings, but the lack of ANC makes them a poor choice for the gym and the loud "music" played there.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Thanks. Any of these have ANC/noise reduction?. I have the Bose SoundSport Free, and the sound quality is quite good (for wireless). They are great for running, as I like to be aware of my surroundings, but the lack of ANC makes them a poor choice for the gym and the loud "music" played there.

Yes, the Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus has ANC.
The ANC in the sony overears were definitely better, but the MD work good enough to block out some noise. I usually listen with ANC on.

I'll add the bose soundsport to my shortlist for the next batch to check out.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Are you planning to audition any more higher end wireless IEMs?

 

[matthewhypolite]

Are you planning to audition any more higher end wireless IEMs?

Yes, open to suggestions of what folks want me to audition.

 

[Infoseeker]

Yes, open to suggestions of what folks want me to audition.

Not higher price tiered, but the Noble Falcon truly wireless.

 

[SilverEars]

I don't know how TWS600 has such high ranking for SQ.

 

[ScottPilgrim]

I don't know how TWS600 has such high ranking for SQ.

holy crap. I think I just had a stroke. What is that graph? Lol

 

[funkymartyn]

Nice thread, I only have the liberty 2 pro from your list. And they're very good, price amazon UK was £110.. And for that these are very good. Mine do not have the hissing that a few people have had... I read somewhere that the hiss could be from using a I phone ? Mine work great from samsung phone, tablets and cheap mp3 players.

 

[pauliunas]

You could just get a DAC

 

[cr3ativ3]

Bose release a new pair of TWS iems next monday , will anyone check them out ?

i currently use air pods pro.. but the sound doenst hold up to wired iems.. i also had sennheiser MTW2 sounded way better but their ANC and transparency mode was really way way worse than apples... would just be nice to have a tws set which come closer to the sennheiser in sound but with tech of apple... maybe the new bose ?

 

[logiatype]

Bose release a new pair of TWS iems next monday , will anyone check them out ?

i currently use air pods pro.. but the sound doenst hold up to wired iems.. i also had sennheiser MTW2 sounded way better but their ANC and transparency mode was really way way worse than apples... would just be nice to have a tws set which come closer to the sennheiser in sound but with tech of apple... maybe the new bose ?

A few initial impressions already:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/going-fully-wireless-iems-too-soon-or-are-we-there-yet.861024/

 

[cr3ativ3]

A few initial impressions already:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/going-fully-wireless-iems-too-soon-or-are-we-there-yet.861024/

release is on monday here , i think i´ll check them out

 

[matthewhypolite]

Hi All,

updating thread with a couple more of these i got my hands on and listened too:

Jaybird Vista

Spoiler: Summary

The Jaybird vista has a similar sound signature to the anker soundcore liberty 2 pro. There is a bit of a harsh upper end. Hi Def Audio present was used as this presented the best sound to my ears. The jaybirds are comfortable and get the job done. It's lack of features and sound quality however does not line up with the asking price of this unit. For 50 bucks less the anker is preferred over the jaybird. And for the asking price of the jaybird the MD MW07 Go can be had for the same price offering far superior sound quality and a couple other features.

Apple Airpods

Spoiler: Summary

The airpods are well built, very small, lightweight and very portable. They have a very edgy and harsh sound, lacks bass and mids, and don’t seal very well so lets a lot of outside noise in. The lack of gel/foam tips cause irritation in the ear after a while and there is no size adjustment for different size/shape of ears. The unit also lacks features and does not have the best audio quality. Coming in at $160 it's the same price as the Jaybird vista which sound significantly better, a lot more comfortable, and a better product overall. The anker soundcore liberty 2 pro at just $150 is still walking away with the best value among these lower priced units and nothing has changed with the MW07 go being great value for the sound quality it offers. All in all I can recommend most of the earbuds on the list but I cant see myself recommending the airpods. I'll see what the improvements in the pros bring to the table.

Also, FYI, on first listen the left earbud was a lot lower level than the right, I read on a forum if you cup the earbud with your mouth and pull/suck it resolves the issue, I tried that….and it did indeed resolve the issue….

Apple Airpods Pros

Spoiler: Summary

I was not happy at all with the original airpods and would not recommend them to anyone especially after hearing the pros. The pros is a huge improvement in sound quality. They also look better aesthetically for my tastes. If you're on IOS this TWS is an easy recommendation. They don’t quite reach the level of the Master & Dynamic, but they were a pleasure to listen to.

Master & Dynamic MW08

Spoiler: Summary

The new MW08 retains Master & Dynamic's impeccable build quality and even steps it up just a bit. The case has just a bit more polish and more precise dimensions that ensures their attention to detail in creating this case is observed. The earbuds themselves are about the same as the 07. The sport version however steps things up even more with Kevlar charging case and sapphire glass for the earbuds, yes, amazing. As for features, the MW08 are the same as the MW07 but the new sport version adds wireless charging which is a welcome addition, to me it's worth the extra $50 to get wireless charging and a better build/materials but also ups the aptx to Adaptive which is also welcome. Now onto sound quality. With a 1mm larger beryllium driver (11mm) the sound signature is exactly the same as the MW07. So if you love the 07 you're going to love these. They do step things up a bit though with slight improvements in the upper registers. So Treble, Clarity, Resolution are all slightly improved. Mids/Bass remain about the same. The ANC performance appears to be about the same also. As far as call quality, the mw07 actually appears to be a bit better. The MW07 is louder on the other end of the phone but background noise and some distortion is picked up. The MW08 removes this background noise and distortion but to the caller on the other end I sound a bit distant compared to the MW07. Everything else found on the 07 is present here on the 08, quick Bluetooth reconnection, amazing battery life, all here.

The removal of the ear wing I thought would be a problem at first, but it did prove to slightly improve the comfort in wearing these.

All in all this is a great addition (especially the sport version) and remains and excellent entry in the Master & Dynamic TWS lineup. If you already own the MW07, the MW08 at this stage is probably not worth the upgrade, the MW08 Sport however, yea, I'd upgrade for that.

Master & Dynamic MW08 Sport

Spoiler: Summary

Identical sound quality as the MW08, with the addition of Wireless Charging, The case is Kevlar, and the Earbud glass is sapphire. The $50 premium over the MW08 I think is worth it and id upgrade from the MW07 to these. The MW08 Sport is now my daily driver.

Bower & Wilkins pi7

Spoiler: Summary

I'll start by saying these are the best sounding TWS I've heard to date, even surpassing the excellent sounding M&D MW07/08. The build quality is not up to the standard of the MDs (and let's be honest, nothing else really is), but they are "good" quality compared to the other TWS on the market that I've tested. It's all plastic, but the quality feels good and it doesn’t look cheap. The earbuds themselves however are built quite well, it's just the case doesn’t hold a candle to the MDs. The pi7 does however bring a couple of extra features that the MDs doesn’t have. All the usual features you'd expect from a TWS at this price are present, and even improving on some of the standard features. Adaptive ANC, aptx Adaptive, fast wireless charging, IPX54, fast usb c, all here. The adaptive ANC can auto adjust the quantity of ANC based on the surrounding environment. The Ambient passthrough mode also adds something extra allowing you to dial in the quantity of pass-through you want. The headset also allows you to enable ANC and Ambient simultaneously. At first I thought there's no point to that, however the combination of ANC and about 80% Ambient Passthrough allowed me to hear external voices clear and natural whiles blocking out other background noise. Pretty useful if you don’t want to take your earbuds out and want to have a quick conversation with someone and return to your music after. The ambient mode does have to be activated via the app however, which allows you to configure the Adaptive ANC as well (a shortcut on the earbuds themselves to activate this would be great).

Another great feature is during phone calls the headset appears to automatically enter ambient mode, allowing you to have a more natural conversation as you can now clearly hear the volume of your own voice and not have to be speaking overly loud whiles both earbuds are in especially if you're using ANC when the phone call comes in. It works great and another little extra B&W included in this kit. The sound quality of phone calls are also great and the caller on the other end said they could not tell I was on a headset. Which is great.

The battery life however doesn’t compare to the MDs, if you always have a QI pad around this shouldn't be a big deal, but if you do go on long trips and just want to crank music the whole time, the MDs has a lot more endurance than the B&Ws. Also the controls are touch (which I don’t like, much prefer hardware buttons). They also excluded volume control on the touch pad for whatever reason, so get used to changing the volume on the phone if you do that often. Hopefully they can add the ability to configure a touch gesture for volume in a future update but I won't hold my breath for that.

1 other feature present here that I've not seen on other TWS is the audio retransition of the charging case, which allows you to plug the case into a 3.5mm source and the case will transmit the audio to your earbuds directly. Useful if you have something that doesn’t support Bluetooth I suppose. They can also pair with up to 2 devices simultaneously which is a feature I missed from the MDs.

The comfort is ok thought I think I prefer the M&D fit, but these are not bad but I do notice them more in ear than the M&D, which I also do notice, but the sound quality of these I can easily overlook that bit. I also have to point out that on occasion I've had some connection issues where the earbuds would appear to just disconnect & reconnect. Or the touch pad to play/pause music would just stop working until I put the unit back in the case and take them back out. Another is id answer the phone with the right earbud, but when I try to put the left in my ear it doesn’t connect. Seems to be firmware/software issues that hopefully B&W will resolve with an update. This didn’t happen frequent so it doesn’t distract too much from the rest of the earbuds, but it did happen so has to be mentioned.

Back to sound quality. The pi7 uses a Dual Hybrid Driver design, where there are 2 drivers per earbud. They've split the upper frequencies onto their own driver and independently amp each driver. What this resulted in is more bass, better mids and better highs than the M&D which was my previous best sounding TWS. They shine exceptionally well with higher quality music, so feeding it some high quality digital audio they sounded great. With lesser quality music it can sound a bit harsh up top however. The isolation of these are great though, and just putting them on without anything playing and ANC on it just quiets the room, playing music I can't hear anything on the outside, much better ANC than the M&Ds. They also have more volume than the M&Ds so if you like good quality and high volume, that's here too. The sound signature is still that of a hifi signature, but not completely natural like the MDs. These sound richer, bass goes deeper yet still impactful, the mids are smooth and the highs still sore. It's a more lively presentation overall, but because the quality, clarity, detail retrieval and general refinement of the sound is still there, I prefer these. The beryllium drivers in the MDs rock, but what B&W have done here is also special, and edge out the MDs and has now become my new fav TWS.

I'll be daily driving these moving forward.

Edit:

So after daily driving this for 2 weeks, I'm taking it off my recommended list entirely. There are definitely connection issues with this headset. The blurb I experienced initially just got progressively worse. Random static, left earbud just wont connect, long connection times out of the case, wont answer calls, etc. It's unusable. And I've tried it on 3 different phones now. Surface Duo, Note 9, Galaxy Z Fold 3. Did the same crap on all. Can't recommend until these issues are addressed.

Ratings Breakdown (All Headphones)

 

[Andreeww]

noble audio fokus? B&O eq(which I own) please?