Wireless IEMS

[Psycho Sonny]

https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-tws-under-100

Just bought the number one in the list for £45

Number two is less than £30 on ebay.

Seems like bargains to be had. Was going to pay £190 for XM3's thought why not buy these instead.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I ordered some of these as well yesterday for £50 - admittedly, it was early when I ordered (about 4:30am) but they're due to arrive today. From Italy. The postage was £1.79. Something's wrong here isn't it?

edit: nope, just arrived - charging them now, will report back

I ordered mine 2 weeks ago and just got dispatched yesterday. Did you order from gearbest or elsewhere?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

https://www.gearbest.com/bluetooth-headphones/pp_3009286923162898.html?lkid=78253245

Those?

Absolute bargain tbh, I will buy these right now as been looking for true wireless to upgrade from my JayBird X3s.

Thanks!

Yeah. If the reviews are anything to go buy these are 1/4 the price of XM3's and likely around the same sort of calibre. XM3's will likelye still come out on top but for £50 you can't complain.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Would love to see someone, anyone, compare the two. My xm3's usb-c port wont charge any more which renders the entire thing dead so I've got to send it off for warranty claim at some point but I'm really missing them thus far.

I doubt anyone would own both tbh other than youtube reviewers, etc.

I did see a review on youtube for both from the same person but sound is very subjective also. He said the XM3's were the best but tbh it would be pretty hard for someone to beat Sony with their current pedigree in ANC and the sound industry for 1/4 of the price.

I still haven't got mine yet however I am expecting them to be very good and likely nothing under £150 will be better.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Geekbuying - I could have had them dispatched from the far east or a warehouse in Italy (for about a quid more). There's all sorts of discount codes available too (though beware, one code that I used actually put the price up!).

Just had a quick play and they feel like a quality bit of kit - very quick to connect, reconnect etc and they sound great out of the box. I'm not sure if this type of equipment needs breaking in like high-end audio stuff but I'd be happy with them as they are to be honest, they clearly sound better to my ears than the Sabbat E12 I've been using. Not tried them outside yet but I have a route that i walk everyday and I know all the spots that the connection gets briefly interrupted so I'll see how that goes... though my son is eyeing them up as we speak

Do you own or have owned any premium or well known headphones to have a gist of what high end sound quality sounds like?

Sound is very subjective though as some people like loads of bass, etc. I found my hifiman 400's very fatiguing for instance. Yet they are highly rated everywhere.

The fact they sound clearly better though is a good sign. They have told me up to 25 working days for delivery. So I could be waiting another 5 weeks. Plus with all the virus stuff going on over there it may end up quarantined in a warehouse or set on fire lol.

It's got to the point I should have just paid the extra £10 and ordered from elsewhere but since it's a budget product I thought pointless paying 20% more for quick delivery. I can wait a few weeks.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I've used a ton of decent wired options and spent a fortune on a range of headsets. My current favourites are my Shure 425s so I know what *I* like as far as sound goes but I wouldn't describe myself as an audiophile. As for wireless, I'm still grumpy about losing headphone jacks so haven't invested as much (I'm still hopeful phone manufacturers will come to their senses). However, I've got the aforementioned Sabbat E12, a pair of RHA Trueconnect, Jabra 65t and some on-ear AKG y500.

Well it sounds like you certainly appreciate good sound.

I own the over ear xm3's and was going to get the in ears too but decided to do some research on head fi and these were getting rave reviews. There is a HUUUGE thread on headfi about wireless in ears and so many people pleased with these and other budget options.

I'm much like you I already have the Sony for plane use and I wanted something for the gym and possibly even work. I didn't want to spend big money as I have my proper home set up with q701's, HD600, hd700 and dt770's.

I'm hoping mine arrive soon now can't wait.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

https://www.scarbir.com/truewireless

Above is a great page to read through as well.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I've installed the fiil+ app and had a browse around, seems quite substantial really and has a serial checker too to verify a genuine pair. I also noticed a burn-in mode so this kind of shows fiil's higher end audio nature:



Can't check out the EQ pages as I have not go the T1Xs yet but so far the app seems quite cool for sure.

A lot of people have had issues getting access to the app or pairing. A tip is to keep location tracking on.

In the review he was going to give the app 5 stars until lots of readers sent him emails complaining about the app and he deducted 2 points for this. It works flawlessly for him though. So it's an all or nothing situation with the app.

https://www.scarbir.com/tws/fiil-t1x-review

full review here which includes several different category breakdowns.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I bought some Cambridge Melomania's around two months ago and they are awesome.
I use Inairs Air2 buds, I cycle every day and they've never come loose.

Do you have anything to compare them against? As at £110 it puts them at double the price of the T1X's and into XM3 territory I saw a deal for them on HUKD at £150-£160 the other day. Probably now gone but if I hadn't bought these I would have likely jumped on those.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Another thing I'll say is that over the past 50 years of buying products/toys you can quite often wish you may have spent a little bit more for a product to get something a bit better.
I can honestly say with the Melomania's I haven't had that thought.

If I was going to spend £100 I'd honestly just spe d the extra and buy xm3's.

Which is why I went with these.

These will always be a temporary measure until I end up with the Sony version

 

[Psycho Sonny]

XM3s are full sized headphones though?

No I already have those xm3 comes in 2 different types. Wireless iems and wireless full sized. Both with active noise cancelling.

The wireless iem version were on hukd for £150 ish they are the best of the best.

If I was going to spend more than £50those are what I would get.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I'll look into it. Hopefully can pick them up on store and use my blue light card discount if I comes to it and the Fiils aren't up to it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-WF-10...words=xm3&qid=1581268509&s=electronics&sr=1-2

£164 on amazon - these are the best of the best. it's what i would be buying if i was looking to spend more than £50. i now it's a big jump but I'd end up getting these anyway so pointless buying something inbetween.

i wanted to see how much use the £50 ones get. as I already have the full sized version and they don't get any use outside of travelling on planes.

the wireless iems are my gym set so £50 seemed ideal as a starting point to see if i get enough use to upgrade to sony

 

[Psycho Sonny]

get the sony then. there is nothing better than them. every reviewer rates them as the best. head fi, youtube, etc.

if my fiil's get enough use. i'm going to gift the fiil's to the wife and get the sony for myself.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

https://www.scarbir.com/tws/alien-secret-qcc010-review

£25 warmer airier alternative to fiil t1x

At £25 I'm tempted to give these a go too tbh. At £25 of I don't like them I can always give them away as a gift.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/goi...too-soon-or-are-we-there-yet.861024/page-1320

Here's the huge thread on head fi where loads of people really like the fiil t1x and some don't.

After all sound is very subjective.

Edit:

https://www.scarbir.com/about

After reading that I'm convinced that this guy is the real deal and I should get the above too.

I also read which and they rate the Cambridge Audio behind sony with Sony being number one.

Again if you are looking for the best I think you need look no further than the Sony.

However if you are looking for value for money then this guys site and the head fi link will get you top quality at a low price.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I am all confused for choice now hah... battery life and sound quality are high up on my needs but sound quality that can be EQ tweaked as I have a certain style of sound I am accustomed to so if I can adjust the built in DAC via EQ or an app to get the "NAD sound" I've known and liked for the last decade then that's me sorted.

Those QCs above also support Qi charging on the case, so that's me pretty much fully wire free for charging all my portables, and at the price, no brainer it seems?

Edit I will not bother with the QCs havign read the review fully.
- Not able to use just one bud and switch between the two as one charges
- Cannot adjust volume on the buds themselves so you have to reach into a pocket to tap the volume buttons on the phone or if the phone is charging inside a bag in a powerbank etc it's tedious.

I will wait for the Fiil's to arrive and make a decision after a week listening to those. I can then sell my Jaybirds and easily recoup any costs from the Fiil purchase and add toward the Sony XM3 purchase if it comes to that.

I decided against trying them after reading on headfi that fiil are better.

There is another company being mentioned in the thread but I checked and theirs cost £170 on amazon UK and I think that price is legit.

So I'm amazed people are buying them over Sony.

Going to stick with fiil t1x. See how much use they get and if it warrants it buy the Sony xm3.

The fiil are better suited for the gym to to the wings. Which will be my usage and main reason for purchase.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I've gone the total opposite after my xm3s charger case broke (still need to send to Sony for warranty repair).

Got a fiio btr5 mobile amp & dac (earsound es100 does similar too) which makes wired IEMs wireless using LDAC Bluetooth and in my case using it with fiio FH7 IEMs. I get the price point is significantly higher (it wouldn't be with £100 IEMs like iBasso it10 or something) but the sound is almost as good as using with a desktop amp and dac in all honesty, so much better than the Sony true wireless, and my phone isn't physically tethered to my headphones which is the kind of mobility I was looking for anyway.

A bluetooth mobile amp and dac may be an option for some of you who have already invested in good wired IEMs previous. They can clip onto you or go into a pocket or something never to be touched again.

i was already using Sony SBH24 which is basically a cheaper version of what you have. i used that as a stop gap for XM3's then i got the t1x's.

I don't want something that i need to clip onto me when i'm in the gym it's just messy and the wire is annoying and gets in the way.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

After spending a full day with the Fiil T1X's yesterday. I did have to equalise them to get them to my liking. I didn't try out the range of tips as I have given them to my wife as a gift and used what suits her. However the fit wasn't that great as a result I think she is using one of the middle tips and I need ones a bit larger (which are supplied but I didn't have them to hand).

They sounded great tbh after equalisation. I only got 1 dropout and that was when I was walking through a very busy train station in the city centre. Possibly too much interference or people around me? I walked through the same spot later on in the day on the return journey and they stayed connected the whole time so possibly an anomaly?

I'd say for £45 these are pretty much a bargain. I've also realised unless I'm going to take going to the gym seriously again then probably not worth the upgrade to XM3's as these once equalised are very good. The sound out the box though is very harsh and fatiguing for me. I had to up the bass and get rid of the top end somewhat. I just used the bass setting in the app to do this for me.

My phone also has lots of magic software which supposedly makes things sound better. Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium. I had this all turned on and was using amazon music as my source on the highest quality settings.

I will try a few podcasts tonight but for £45 I can recommend these as a good buy.

Will spending £200 get me something better? Most likley. How much better though is up for date and since I have owned headphones ranging from £20 all the way up to £800. I have enough nouse to know in the world of sound these will likely be good enough for most people and they honestly wouldn't notice the difference.

However I would love some XM3's to A-B them against to verify.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I picked up the qcy t2s off ebay for about 16 quid.

honestly I would doubt if you gave me a 300 quid set us super whatevers I think id struggle to tell the difference. Maybe I'm just getting old

QCY T5 which are rated as 5 stars (the best rating) on the website I linked are only £19 on ebay too.

I might buy them. I ended up giving the Fiil T1X's to the wife. I never had much use for them outside of running and I only do that in summer really so going to get myself £19 ones for the odd occasion.

The Fiil's are good but without anything to A-B against no idea how good they are compared to others. I certainly couldn't fault them. As for people talking about more bass you could equalise any headphone to do that albeit some may not be capable of reproducing large amounts without distortion.

I already have XM3's (over-ears) for portable use. Need something for use in bed / gym / running so sound quality doesn't need to be stellar. I have also AKg Q701's for gaming. HD600 for music and HD700's for competitive gaming. DT770's for if someone else is in the room whilst listening to music or gaming.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Thanks for the link, really useful. I had been using some really old Anker headphones for the gym, fall asleep to podcasts in. And they were falling apart. Ordered a set of QCY T5 and really surprised at how good they sound given the low price. They fit well, pair easily and charging case is handy. Find I'm using my Bose QuietComfort 35 less and less these days. (still great for plane journeys, although they aren't going to be happening any time soon).

I ordered them too 2 months ago - still not arrived yet. i'm currently in a dispute with aliexpress.

it's been 60 days so you reckon they would just refund me or send me another pair.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Needed a set of cheap wireless earbuds so I got a pair of the QCY T5's for ~£18 delivered, I am superbly impressed for the money.

Lovely balanced sound and nice to see three sizes of removable tips included, I am so impressed that I will be ordering some foam tips for them to get a better seal/isolation. Battery life is only 4 hours, but they won't be used for anywhere near that amount of time between being put back in the charging case.

If I had blind tested these and was asked to guess the price it would have been way, way higher.

I have these now as well and my fiil t1x has developed a charging issue. Going to see if I can get a replacement or refund. Otherwise I'll get a second pair of the qcy t5's