It's sound quality. It's simply the way they are tuned with the 6 different dynamic drivers. Holographic sound stage meaning, every thing is detailed. You will hear every instrument. Ive not heard anything wireless that sounds better than these. They don't have anything to offer except 2 dozen eartips, two cases, and good battery. No Anc, no call crap, nothing but just incredible sound. And they get loud. You got noble prestige encore out there charging almost double for subpar sound quality. Rex5's are more expensive and they don't compare.. Devialet gemini are more expensive too and they don't compare. I just wish these would last a lifetime. That's my only gripe with wireless esrbuds, they have a lifespan. I need to get into wired as well, just don't have enough savings to do it right.
I guarantee you will absolutely love them. They aren't perfect. The app is in Chinese but hit a few buttons to find English and your good. You can use the eq on it or do what I do and use the power Amp app. Personally I'd be pissed if I spent 500- 700 dollars for stuff just to discover these. But also, not everybody can afford them and I get that. But these are a real treat. Full stop.
I recently got the technics az100 since rtings.com rates them as the best. Love them in every way, especially getting them $80 off from $300 base price. I wear them at busy kava bars.
my point is, i've eq'd my technics az100 to my preferences. If I had to listen to the ear-piercing signature of the Anni without eq i'd take my tws.
And that's the subjectivity of this hobby, some like bright stuff some don't. Not only is it due to preferences but literally due to anatomy.
Till 300 dollars the sound is somewhat proportional to the amount you spend, maybe one can extend it to 500 even but I'd argue otherwise.
Anything more and you're paying more and more for design, build quality and most importantly the exclusivity/luxury factor. The luxury tax applies. The BMW M3 is like double the price of the 3 series, is it double the car? Hell no. Is it better? Hell yes. But the improvements are minor if you think about it and the same couldnt be truer for audio.
IEMs are a compromise in sound compared to headphones, which themselves are a compromise in sound compared to speakers.
I personally havent heard expensive iems but i have heard expensive headphones and good speakers. The improvement is there but it's not too drastic. I have a Moondrop X Crinacle DUSK and a Hifiman HE1000 V2 Stealth but I still end up using my Technics AZ100 a lot and still loving it. Technicalities are my main reason for paying more but enjoying music is my ultimate goal and my wireless set is just as enjoyable for me.
Don't fall for FOMO, it's the biggest trap in this hobby. If you're scared of EQ, find a signature you like, set a max budget then get the most technical iem that fits that signature. Even then, you need to worry about the thing fitting you and being comfortable for you. So yeah, loads of different things to think about but at the end of the day remember, what's good for someone else can be SHIT for you, that's the subjectivity of this hobby. I mean music itself is subjective so it kind of makes sense this hobby is as well
PEQ with Chu2 can make em sound amazing. Their range is super wide depending on your taste. I have AZ100 and a bunch of headphones and IEMs including an endgame (Arya Organic), and I still use Chu2 regularly because of sound and comfort.
AZ100 is great too after EQ.
In early Oct. during Amazon’s special I got the Technics AZ100s (used-mint) for $115 (that was with a $35 reward points credit). They live up to the hype for me. I’d always shied away from buying used buds but they really were mint condition.) I’m sure during Black Friday week you will find a similar deal.
For me, they are comfortable but I’m pretty light on use (a couple hours max at a time). I tested all the tips they came with, etc. until I found a good fit. I don’t exercise in them though. YMMV
Technics AZ80 is currently discounted and costs 220 usd in my country. I recommend them, used them hapilly for a long time, recently I switched to AZ100 which is similar.
It’s more complicated, and I actually think AZ80 users don’t miss that much by not moving to the newer model. The thing is, they went for a warmer consumer friendly tuning with the AZ100. So out of the box, they actually sound worse for someone who prefers a more balanced signature with good space. The AZ100 is almost muddy, similar to Sony XM lineup.
But they’re using a new type of driver and that driver takes EQ like a champ. You can tune it in the app, and lowering the deepest bass, lifting the mid-bass, and boosting the upper mids and treble opens up the sound. After that, they deliver a balanced, sparkly presentation with much better sub-bass and bass thump than the AZ80 (which is exactly where the AZ80 falls short for semi-basshead listeners). The mids and treble are the same quality and the mudiness disappears completely.
Even better results come from using Direct LDAC in combination with a parametric EQ like Wavelet (Android) or PeaceAPO (Windows). There you can really fine-tune the sound and upload a parametric profile to shape the headphones to your liking. This is another area where the AZ100 is a much better performer than the AZ80. The AZ80 started to distort very early, and using the Dynamic preset in the app was pretty much the limit of what the AZ80 could handle.
From this description it may sound like the AZ100 sucks or is overpriced, but it’s actually the other way around. You can start using them, set Dynamic EQ in the app, and be totally fine. You get three-device multipoint, LDAC, ANC that’s a solid 7/10 (Bose is my benchmark here), a compact size, good battery life, and surprisingly great call quality.
But once you get better at EQing, maybe start exploring what Squiglink can do (Google it-it’s a measurement database where you can AutoEQ and then fine-tune your headphones) you end up with an almost audiophile-grade TWS set with all the benefits I mentioned above. AZ80 is still a great set and I loved them. AZ100 were a big letdown for me, but they really needed a proper tuning.
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7Hz
7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2
76% positive of 497 users
Budget gaming pick, but poor cables and polarizing bass.
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