Wireless IEM's
 

I'm thinking about getting a pair of wireless (bluetooth) in ear monitors to pair with my FiiO DAP. Right now I have a pair of NuForce Massdrop IEM's and a pair from Denon. Both are wired.

The NuForce have great vocal clarity, but are sorely lacking in any realistic bass reproduction. The Denon's have bass in spades and sound fairly well balanced overall.

Has anyone found a reasonably priced wireless IEM that sort of checks all the boxes. Good bass weight, clear mids and highs, general coherence, etc.

Right now I'm considering Sennheiser, Klipsch and B&W. Need some suggestions please.

Wireless IEM's
 

Wireless IEM’s use Bluetooth. No matter what codec is used they always will be lossy. I use Sony WF1000 XM3’s for convenience and casual listening but practically any wired IEM will outperform them. For serious listening I use a wired setup. All things considered the Sony’s sound Ok for what they are. I see their price dropped considerably...maybe the XM4’s are waiting in the wings.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...2&d=1574422545

There are a few options for wireless IEMs.

The smaller and more portable ones have a built in battery and once the battery stops holding charge, you are left holding a (light) paperweight.

My original AirPod has joined the paperweight gang.

I still like the form factor and portability so I have gotten the AirPod Pro and the Master and Dynamic MW07 plus. The MW07plus has a beryllium driver and it’s really really good for a wireless IEM. I prefer the sound signature on those IEMs. It’s not the best at noise cancellation or for voice calls but I never use the M&D for those reasons.

The other option would be to get a BT adaptor for your current IEMs. This way the IEMs can continue to be used even when the battery runs out. Most IEMs have a pretty common connector - MMCX or 2 pin (SL)

I have a Shure 846 with the BT2 kit which strictly speaking isn’t wireless but it does convert my Shure into a BT compatible kit.

Shure and Filo also make a more “wireless” Bluetooth adaptor now

Something like this

https://www.fiio.com/utws1

https://headphone.guru/wp-content/up...FiiO-UTWS1.jpg

The Filo actually has two variants. One for MMCX and one for 2 pin.

Make sure the BT specs match your phone or playback source.

The highest quality supported by Apple devices is AAC.

The highest supported by most Android devices is AptX HD and Sony uses their own LDAC along with the AptX.

Wireless IEM's
 

Good post

With what I know now, I would go with the Bluetooth adapter and invest in better wired IEM’s and use the adapter when convenience is preferred over quality.

True.

In the other thread, I saw Ivan is now a dealer for Meze Audio.

I’ve been playing around with the Rai Solo and it’s remarkably good for an entry level IEM - with an all metal construction.

Having heard the Empyrean headphones, I’m left wondering how good the Rai Penta with 5 drivers will sound like.

Since the Meze Rais use MMCX connectors, they would be compatible with the Filo or Shure Aonic wireless adaptors.

Thanks for the replies. Is there some way to understand Bluetooth compression in terms of audio bandwidth? Rather, what's the highest resolution it transmits in? That would make a difference to me. I can't abide low quality sound.

This article explains it well. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/b...uetooth-audio/

Bluetooth Blind Test (to be used with wired headphones for best results)

http://www.brentbutterworth.com/blue...lind-test.html

Thanks Serge. I'm cured! :yes:

I have Westone W80s. These are really a pretty excellent set of IEMs although in the past few years others have surpassed them. Still excellent though, they still are. And they fit incredibly well and comfortably. They are wired and come standard with a rubber coated copper wires and ALOaudio silver over copper wires as well. In the past year Westone started including a bluetooth add-on so you can use them either wired or bluetooth.

I use them with my Astell & Kern DAP and walking the dog is just a musical pleasure. Air travel likewise. When I got mine it was a 1/3 off sale. Just some food for thought.