Perhaps the most convenient and user-friendly way to listen to your favorite tunes, TWS IEMs have been a go-to for audio consumers far and wide. Whether it's taking the dog out for a walk, or an intense cycling workout, TWS earbuds provide a good solution for solid audio quality and with ease of use. But which TWS IEMs take their audio quality to the next level, which features go above and beyond for every scenario, and which ones are going to last the longest on a single charge? Let’s navigate the many audiophile TWS options together, and see which ones best suit your needs.
*all listening was done without transparency or ANC on*
Campfire Audio Orbit: $249
Straight to the point, Campfire kept their first TWS entry as simple as possible, offering you a pure listening experience with no ANC or transparency to go along with it. While it's commonplace in TWS to offer these features, Campfire wanted listeners to experience their house sound without any influence from noise filtering, or wires. Off the bat, Orbit pairs quickly and doesn’t experience many dropouts or stutters in its Bluetooth connection, setting up for a good experience. The app provides a good look at battery life, EQ, and the ability to key map your touch sensors. Overall, the package is simple, but effective.
Orbit delivers a bright sound signature that goes against the normal grain of most TWS sound signatures. Orbit aims for great treble extension, but it’s often too harsh, or too-brittle and dry. On some tracks, the treble can appear to have great resolution, but oftentimes it can come at the cost of being too sharp. However, vocals are right where they need to be, finding the perfect balance of not too forward, but not begging for the spotlight behind the lows and highs. Electric guitars sound natural and extremely well tuned, offering a good compliment to a hard hitting bass. When these two combine on a track, Orbit really finds its groove, and offers a high end Campfire tuning at the fraction of a cost. Even without an impressive feature set, Campfire Audio Orbit is able to offer some characteristics that make it a unique and distinctive product in the expansive world of TWS.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AAC, SBC, and AptX Adaptive |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Dedicated app |
8 Hours for earbuds, 30 hours with case |
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation): $249
AirPods have become synonymous with TWS, being the most recognizable out of the bunch, without anyone else on this list in a close second place. If you’re well situated in the Apple ecosystem, AirPods are going to provide you with the most convenient experience possible. If you’re on the outside looking in, however, these most likely aren't for you. With bluetooth 5.3 compatibility, the only TWS on this list to offer it, AirPods Pro will have you connected the second they’re in your ear, and offer excellent stability throughout your listening session. And with features like ANC, transparency, and spatial audio, Apple certainly gave it their all with the engineering of AirPods Pro 2nd Gen. Do they capitalize on all these features? Not entirely. While I’m not really interested in their spatial audio feature, AirPods transparency and ANC features are extremely impressive, but impact sound quality a lot, and they clearly sound their best with all the features off.
I gotta say I’m pretty impressed with how well AirPods Pro 2 stand up against some of the other HiFi titans on this list. Apple took a stab at a typical harman tuning and reaped the benefits of a neutral, balanced sound signature that will appease most listeners. I was quite surprised to be greeted with more subbass than I expected, making the low end of the AirPods Pro have good impact without bloat. Its bass is a bit textureless, and doesn’t extend deep much at all, but it lets a solid midrange and spicy treble shine. The overall cohesiveness of the sound signature plays well with a more forward midrange that does well by vocals, female and male alike, and the lower frequencies of the mids. With that shimmer up top, AirPods Pro can get a bit airy on some tracks, but most of the time the treble has solid detail and definition. Although the soundstage isn’t anything to write home about, it gives good space between instruments, and the stereo image isn’t congested by any means. Whether audiophile or consumer, if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, AirPods Pro 2nd Generation should strongly be considered.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AAC |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
Spatial Audio, ANC, Transparency |
6 Hours for earbuds, 30 Hours for case |
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: $279.95
Sennheiser, the bridge between consumer and audiophile, unites listeners with great usability, a recognizable house sound, and sleek manufacturing. Sennheiser packed the Momentum 3 with ANC and transparency, as well as an app that has everything you could possibly need. Bluetooth pairing is solid, not the strongest of the bunch, but definitely holds its own with no dropouts or consistent pairing issues. The fit is simple, and won’t have users fumbling around trying to get the best possible sound. Touch controls work great, and being able to navigate through tracks, and noise filtering options, offers great convenience.
Moving into the sound, the bridge I mentioned before seems to lead listeners more to the land of the consumer, as Momentum 3 fills your ears with boomy bass. While it’s quite full and lush, it does tend to bleed a bit into the midrange, making the overall sound signature a touch unbalanced. Is the bass fun and well textured? Of course, but for the more discerning listener, this may be a bit of a turn off. Aside from the low end, the midrange is good, and I do wish it was more of a focal point in the sound, as I really enjoy the lower frequencies of the midrange. Treble is well detailed and very clinical in its delivery, presenting good air up top. As for the soundstage and imaging, Momentum 3 is more narrow, which is surprising for a Sennheiser product. Although, there is a realistic sense of space between instruments that enhances the overall stereo image. Momentum 3 offers a really solid option of a fun, charismatic tuning that looks to stay neutral but offers quite a hefty bass boost. With its great features, and solid build, Sennheiser Momentum 3 offers some of the best value on this list.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
ANC, Transparency, Dedicated app |
7 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
Final ZE8000: $349
Final promises a lot with the ZE8000, offering features like 8K sound, ANC, Wind-Cut, Ambient sound, Voice Through, and even a dedicated app…and wow, did they deliver. 8K sound offers small, but noticeable improvements to the sound, and other features Final delivers make for a complete package. Perhaps my favorite being “Wind-Cut,” as I did not expect it to work as well as it does. I took these for a stroll, and had a “oh, woah!” moment when the wind that was infiltrating my music before disappeared after enabling the feature. The app is new to the US market, but I didn’t encounter any problems at all. The bluetooth pairing is excellent, quick and snappy with every device I paired ZE8000 with. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback of the ZE8000 is going to be the fit and touch sensors. With an interesting take on the classic TWS stem design, the ZE8000 requires a near too close for comfort fit, as a deeper insertion is required here for the best possible sound. And as for the touch sensors, ZE8000’s thin frame can sometimes make it tricky to navigate via touch.
As for the sound of the ZE8000, the technical capabilities are the best I’ve heard in a TWS. With excellent instrument separation, a wide and realistic soundstage, it’s hard not to be taken back by what Final has achieved with ZE8000. Vocals are front and center, and accompanied by great detail in the treble, most notably with brass instruments and a peaky cello. The midrange is bold, offering great weight to the strums of a guitar and phenomenal resolution with drums. The naturalness of the music is something that I’ve found to be quite rare in TWS, but ZE8000 makes it the norm, reproducing your music with excellent character and natural timbre. While the evolution of TWS continues to happen before our very eyes, it appears as though we have a look into the future, here in the present with ZE8000.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SBC, AAC, Qualcomm aptX, and aptX Adaptive |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
ANC, Wind-Cut, Ambient Sound, Voice Through, Dedicated app |
5 Hours for Earbuds, 15 hours for Case |
Noble Audio FoKus Mystique: $359
Similarly to the Campfire Orbit, Noble wanted a “music first” approach, focusing solely on what Mystique can achieve without all the bells and whistles. In theory, that sounds great, but sometimes it can come at the cost of some basic essentials that have come to be expected at this point in TWS. Bluetooth pairing can be a headache, especially when one pairs and the other doesn’t, requiring you to repair. Although this may be a minor inconvenience, the convenience of having other TWS options pair quickly certainly factors in. And while you still get a dedicated app that can enable “ambient sound” mode, at this price point, I would’ve loved to see a stab at transparency and ANC. However, Noble sticks to what it knows best, creating a tuning that's pleasant and technically capable.
FoKus Mystique offers great resolution, particularly in the treble and low end. With great resolution up top, Mystique pairs its airy, shimmering treble with bass that has thick and full rumble. The bass cannot be understated, as you’re getting really great texture and extension in those low frequencies. Moving to the midrange, I found that Mystique has a problem with letting its vocals get lost in the overall mix of the music. With a punchy bass and well defined highs, it’s a shame that the vocals are linear, and don’t stand out amidst the crowd of good qualities from Mystique. Electric guitars and other strings have good definition, but the midrange itself is overall a tad bit muddy. Staging and imaging are solid, offering a wide and open sound for a lot of tracks. With all that said, It’s hard to look at the Mystique's lack of features and price tag and choose it over some other TWS options, but there's no denying that Noble crafted a well tuned and great sounding TWS IEM.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
Dedicated app, Ambient Mode |
7.5 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
HiFiMan Svanar Wireless: $499
Svanar Wireless made a splash in the TWS world with its price tag when it was first announced. Being the most expensive on this list by good margin, what does Svanar wireless do to justify its large price tag? For the bold headline, Svanar is the only TWS option on this list to provide LDAC support, a huge advantage over its competitors. Features such as ANC, transparency, and “high-fidelity” mode can be activated through Svanar’s touch controls, however not having an app feels like a swing and miss from HiFiMan. Bluetooth pairing is seamless and easy, and the overall user experience is extremely efficient and intuitive. Though HiFiMan had struggles with their previous TWS option, the TWS800, Svanar wireless clearly has all the kinks ironed out.
Svanar brings an extremely balanced and well tuned sound signature to the table, including an extremely textured low end, great vocal presentation, and well defined highs. To say it's the most balanced sound signature on this list would be an understatement, checking all the boxes for fun, detailed, and accurate. In the bass, particularly the subbass, there's great rumble and punch. This can add an extra layer of warmth to the sound signature that does well for Svanar Wireless. The midrange is well bodied, present, and lush, providing great cohesion to the sound signature. The imaging and sound stage is the best in TWS currently, bringing HiFiMans usual holographic imaging to a TWS, which I would never have imagined being possible. In layman's terms, there's no debate as to who is the king of sound, Svanar wireless is the one.
|
Available Codecs |
Bluetooth Capability |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AAC, SBC, LDAC |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
ANC, Transparency |
7 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
Conclusion
TWS evolution is happening quickly, and a multitude of excellent sounding options are hitting the market at a frequent rate. Whether it's the highly convenient Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation, or the beastly titan that is Svanar Wireless, TWS IEMs continue to offer great features and convenience while coming closer and closer to the best wired audiophile IEM sound quality in the sub-$500 price range.
|
Price |
Available Codecs |
Features |
Battery Life |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$249 |
AAC, SBC, and AptX Adaptive |
Dedicated app |
8 Hours for earbuds, 30 hours with case |
|
|
$249 |
AAC |
Spatial Audio, ANC, Transparency |
6 Hours for earbuds, 30 Hours for case |
|
|
$279.95 |
SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive |
ANC, Transparency, Dedicated App |
7 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
|
|
$349 |
SBC, AAC, Qualcomm aptX, and aptX Adaptive |
ANC, Wind-Cut, Ambient sound, Voice Through, Dedicated app |
5 Hours for Earbuds, 15 hours for case |
|
|
$359 |
SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive |
Dedicated app, Ambient Mode |
7.5 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
|
|
$499 |
AAC, SBC, LDAC |
ANC, Transparency |
7 Hours for earbuds, 28 hours for case |
