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Which are the best bluetooth IEMs?

Sony’s app has an onboard PEQ? Thanks!
Sadly no, the graphic EQ in their app is quite lacking tbh as you can see in @goat76 post, that's why I recommend using Wavelet or Poweramp on Android since they are way more powerful with at least the latter one got a PEQ if you pay for it, but the ten band GEQ in the free version does it for me :)

I'm all for higher resolution for music, but I don't find the AAC lacking when listening on earphones as I mostly use them on the go in environments where good noise cancellation makes a bigger difference than resolution.

According to measurements, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 and Sony WF-1000MX5 are both more bass-heavy than the Apple AirPods Pro.

View attachment 381045
View attachment 381044


Below are the measurements of Apple AirPods 3 (cyan) vs. Apple AirPods 2 (yellow) vs. Apple AirPods Pro (white).

Maybe you just prefer the elevated high-frequency response of the Airpods 3 and how they dive under 50 Hz, nothing wrong with that. Another reason could be that the Airpods have more bass leakage as they probably don't seal as well as the soft tips of the others.

View attachment 381046
All the above measurements are borrowed from https://www.soundguys.com/


The Sony WF-1000MX5 has an equalizer with the adjustment values stuck to certain frequencies and there is just a slider for the bass adjustment. Maybe you can still use that to make them sound like you want them, but it would have been better if the user could set the values in frequency and Q.

View attachment 381048

Anyway, I hope you find some earphones that will satisfy your personal sound prefereces. The different between ear canals is more at play when it comes to listening to headphones than loudspeakers, so it's likely a larger span of what people prefer when it comes to frequency curves. :)
The Airpods default curve do look better than the Sonys yeah, I'm not really that fond of hyped upper bass that the Sonys got, but seeing I'm on Android the Airpods ain't really an alternative, especially since they're so damn ugly!
 
View attachment 381044


Below are the measurements of Apple AirPods 3 (cyan) vs. Apple AirPods 2 (yellow) vs. Apple AirPods Pro (white).

Maybe you just prefer the elevated high-frequency response of the Airpods 3 and how they dive under 50 Hz, nothing wrong with that. Another reason could be that the Airpods have more bass leakage as they probably don't seal as well as the soft tips of the others.

View attachment 381046
All the above measurements are borrowed from https://www.soundguys.com/

It would require a longer post than what I have the time to write now, but Soundguys' measurements of the AirPods (in particular the APP2, perhaps the AP3 as well), haven't been properly primed and / or weren't made with the optical sensor triggered. They aren't valid.

AirPods need to be fed a broadband signal to be able to calculate their adaptive filters, and this in all modes (even ANC off). This will increasingly be a common situation as other companies catch up and implement more advanced active systems of their own (ex in some situations the new Buds3 Pro might require a similar priming approach), whether they rely on a "one-off" process like Bose's CustomTune or are continuously updated using playback content as measurement signal, like the AirPods.
 
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The AirPod Pro 2nd gen is your best option for iPhone.

some people will turn their nose up at it because it’s an Apple product, but it’s overall an excellent product.

With Bluetooth IEMs, I believe you need to view the product holistically. IMO, great fidelity is easily undone by other factors (like user controls and ergonomics) if they’re poor in this segment
 
I'm all for higher resolution for music, but I don't find the AAC lacking when listening on earphones as I mostly use them on the go in environments where good noise cancellation makes a bigger difference than resolution.

According to measurements, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 and Sony WF-1000MX5 are both more bass-heavy than the Apple AirPods Pro.

View attachment 381045
View attachment 381044


Below are the measurements of Apple AirPods 3 (cyan) vs. Apple AirPods 2 (yellow) vs. Apple AirPods Pro (white).

Maybe you just prefer the elevated high-frequency response of the Airpods 3 and how they dive under 50 Hz, nothing wrong with that. Another reason could be that the Airpods have more bass leakage as they probably don't seal as well as the soft tips of the others.

View attachment 381046
All the above measurements are borrowed from https://www.soundguys.com/


The Sony WF-1000MX5 has an equalizer with the adjustment values stuck to certain frequencies and there is just a slider for the bass adjustment. Maybe you can still use that to make them sound like you want them, but it would have been better if the user could set the values in frequency and Q.

View attachment 381048

Anyway, I hope you find some earphones that will satisfy your personal sound prefereces. The different between ear canals is more at play when it comes to listening to headphones than loudspeakers, so it's likely a larger span of what people prefer when it comes to frequency curves. :)
Hum, after a while I think what attracted my attention was the brand Sennheiser....

I believed that they will keep usual low bass profile of Harman curves, as my 560s, but they don't.
 
Which phone?

Otherwise Sennheiser Momentum tw4 or Apple's junk if you have an iphone.

If anyone had an iPhone I would specifically NOT recommend the airpods pro.

If you have an Android phone though, you can correct the frequency response and enjoy some of the best noise cancellation, battery life, and form factor in one package. Use the app called Wavelet.

If you own an iPhone, you can't correct their sound, which is their primary function, so they are functionally busted and you would need to get something with better compliance to the Harman curve like Samsung Galaxy buds.
 
If anyone had an iPhone I would specifically NOT recommend the airpods pro.

If you have an Android phone though, you can correct the frequency response and enjoy some of the best noise cancellation, battery life, and form factor in one package. Use the app called Wavelet.

If you own an iPhone, you can't correct their sound, which is their primary function, so they are functionally busted and you would need to get something with better compliance to the Harman curve like Samsung Galaxy buds.

I have an iPhone and Airpods 4 (not so bad, but lows hit a little so much to me).

I connected to WiiM Ultra with some effort, because they tried to pair with the iPhone till I switch “forgot this device on settings” and even after the pair process failed a couple of times.

I cannot equalize them, or perhaps I lost my hearing faculties, despite selecting EQ to Bluetooth on the app and choosing the most aggressive high pass I could find, they sound unchanged.

Why can this happens? Are EQ resistant ? :D
 
Technics AZ-80 and Final Audio ZE8000 sound better than the AirPods Pro. Nothing Ear apparently punches above it’s weight for the price but I’ve not heard it.

Sennheiser probably has the best ratio of sound and convenience.

I personally opted to keep my AirPods for the ANC and order a Moondrop Littlewhite neckband and better sounding IEMs for listening. Planning on grabbing the Qudelix 5k.
 
If anyone had an iPhone I would specifically NOT recommend the airpods pro.

If you have an Android phone though, you can correct the frequency response and enjoy some of the best noise cancellation, battery life, and form factor in one package. Use the app called Wavelet.

If you own an iPhone, you can't correct their sound, which is their primary function, so they are functionally busted and you would need to get something with better compliance to the Harman curve like Samsung Galaxy buds.

I just wish Apple would let you manually adjust EQ levels on their iOS Music app. They let you do it on their Android Apple Music app, ffs.
 
Technics AZ-80 and Final Audio ZE8000 sound better than the AirPods Pro. Nothing Ear apparently punches above it’s weight for the price but I’ve not heard it.

Sennheiser probably has the best ratio of sound and convenience.

I personally opted to keep my AirPods for the ANC and order a Moondrop Littlewhite neckband and better sounding IEMs for listening. Planning on grabbing the Qudelix 5k.

The Technics are interesting with the three point multi pairing thing, but they are so expensive. I'd need them to cancel noise at least as good as the Airpods.
 
I just wish Apple would let you manually adjust EQ levels on their iOS Music app. They let you do it on their Android Apple Music app, ffs.
Knowing Apple’s “no-freedom” tendency in all fields, I think they only let EQ if some regulations turn mandatory individual tuning by health reasons… :)
 
I find the Apple AirPods Pro sounding balanced enough out of the box, and more so than most other in-ear headphones I have owned over the years. I was pleasantly surprised by how natural they sounded to me and I don't think they need any EQ adjustments at all.
 
For value and possibly sound - Sony CF500 (now 510) - no ANC
or the similar CF700 (with ANC)

Great value, great sound, great fit. One for Black Friday
 
I find the Apple AirPods Pro sounding balanced enough out of the box, and more so than most other in-ear headphones I have owned over the years. I was pleasantly surprised by how natural they sounded to me and I don't think they need any EQ adjustments at all.
This is the problem, some users will find them so bad to need EQ, some others don’t. The lack of personal tuning apart from the pinna scan that Apple offers is inexcusable

There are some presets in Accessibility section of settings at iphones and ipads though.
 
I picked up the AirPod Pro 2s on a whim, intending to use them for calls and such and have been pleasantly surprised at how listenable they are. I find them enjoyable on their own, and my preference for my "reference" earphones only become apparent when comparing back to back.
 
Ill tell you now, the best value TWS are the Moondrop Space Travel available for less than $20
 
I picked up the AirPod Pro 2s on a whim, intending to use them for calls and such and have been pleasantly surprised at how listenable they are. I find them enjoyable on their own, and my preference for my "reference" earphones only become apparent when comparing back to back.
Don’t you find them lacking in highs and trebles?
 
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