TWS suggestions under 20k

[altair21]

I know another repeat thread but hear me out folks, I have explored other recommendations but none exactly fit my criteria:

I am pretty much an amateur when it comes to Speakers/DACs or anything related to it, I prefer using earphones which do not exaggerate anything, with a preference for clearer vocals, with a let's say a strong distaste for bass, I have been lately listening to instrumentals a lot, so anything that'll be good for them is a major plus for me,

from my initial search and looking at reviews, IEMs seems to be the best bet for me, but getting a Bluetooth DAC for them is a little out of my range for now, so TWS it is (main priority is no physical connection to my phone, I have damaged the ports of nearly all the phones I have used with earphones/headphones) and from my shortlist only Sennheiser Momentum 4 seems to fit the bill, they are a little out of budget but should hopefully be cheaper by next year or at least around 15-16k mark.

Are there any other recommendations for me?

 

[altair21]

folks, any suggestions?

 

[shibashis]

For 20K you can get a BT DAC and IEM that will be leagues and eons better than any TWS. Get the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Fiio BTR15, call it a day and thank me later.
If you want the convenience of calls and things then the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are the best I have heard and are quite good at other things as well. But as I have stated, the Buds 3 are no match sonically for the Sennheiser and Fiio.

 

[altair21]

For 20K you can get a BT DAC and IEM that will be leagues and eons better than any TWS. Get the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Fiio BTR15, call it a day and thank me later.
If you want the convenience of calls and things then the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are the best I have heard and are quite good at other things as well. But as I have stated, the Buds 3 are no match sonically for the Sennheiser and Fiio.

can you give some suggestions? for the DAC, I looked into BT DACS but decent ones alone were costing almost 20k,

I dont need them for calls, I have a daily driver for them, I just want pure sound

 

[ItsBabu]

I know another repeat thread but hear me out folks, I have explored other recommendations but none exactly fit my criteria:

I am pretty much an amateur when it comes to Speakers/DACs or anything related to it, I prefer using earphones which do not exaggerate anything, with a preference for clearer vocals, with a let's say a strong distaste for bass, I have been lately listening to instrumentals a lot, so anything that'll be good for them is a major plus for me,

from my initial search and looking at reviews, IEMs seems to be the best bet for me, but getting a Bluetooth DAC for them is a little out of my range for now, so TWS it is (main priority is no physical connection to my phone, I have damaged the ports of nearly all the phones I have used with earphones/headphones) and from my shortlist only Sennheiser Momentum 4 seems to fit the bill, they are a little out of budget but should hopefully be cheaper by next year or at least around 15-16k mark.

Are there any other recommendations for me?

have you checked Bose quitecomfort(Ultra) and Sony sony wf-1000xm5 yet? Sony's LDAC Bluetooth codec is capable of transferring HiRes audio wirelessly.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

can you give some suggestions? for the DAC, I looked into BT DACS but decent ones alone were costing almost 20k,

I dont need them for calls, I have a daily driver for them, I just want pure sound

If you looking for the most accurate sounding twos then this would be it https://amzn.in/d/i83LEr3

It’s ranked at no.1 by crinacle in the tws category.

I had 2 tws earphones which he had reviewed in the past(Momentum tws gen 1, Sony 1000xm3) and have 2 others now ,from his list(AirPods pro 2, galaxy buds v1.0). to me both of them are good in their own ways and I agree with his views on all these 4 tws I had.

Personally I haven’t tried the buds2 pro but he is one person I trust when it comes to earphone / headphone reviews

 

[altair21]

have you checked Bose quitecomfort(Ultra) and Sony sony wf-1000xm5 yet? Sony's LDAC Bluetooth codec is capable of transferring HiRes audio wirelessly.

right now both of them are out of budget, I'm not sure about XM5s but I did try my friend's XM4 and they were not comfortable for me

 

[altair21]

If you looking for the most accurate sounding twos then this would be it https://amzn.in/d/i83LEr3

It’s ranked at no.1 by crinacle in the tws category.

I had 2 tws earphones which he had reviewed in the past(Momentum tws gen 1, Sony 1000xm3) and have 2 others now ,from his list(AirPods pro 2, galaxy buds v1.0). to me both of them are good in their own ways and I agree with his views on all these 4 tws I had.

Personally I haven’t tried the buds2 pro but he is one person I trust when it comes to earphone / headphone reviews

damn! thanks, I didnt know about Crinacle, will def check their reviews out

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

damn! thanks, I didnt know about Crinacle, will def check their reviews out

He is not reviewing anymore but there won’t be another person who had hands on so many iems. He collaborated with many brands eventually to create lot of giant killer iems in the last few years.

 

[shibashis]

With all due respect, I had the Buds 2 pro and the 3 Pro are quite a bit better than their previous iteration. Plus, OP did mention that he has a daily driver and is looking for a BT solution that is purely meant for music. In a situation like that the Fiio BTR15 and Sennheiser IE 200 fits the bill perfectly and within his budget too.
I can say so because I have the Sennheiser with Fiio BTR5, these are the older brothers of BTR 15, and no TWS solution in the consumer segment comes close to it, even headphones like the Sony XM5 fell short.

When LG discontinued their phones I had to find a solution with acceptable sound quality on the go and the Fiio has more than served that purpose.

 

[altair21]

With all due respect, I had the Buds 2 pro and the 3 Pro are quite a bit better than their previous iteration. Plus, OP did mention that he has a daily driver and is looking for a BT solution that is purely meant for music. In a situation like that the Fiio BTR15 and Sennheiser IE 200 fits the bill perfectly and within his budget too.
I can say so because I have the Sennheiser with Fiio BTR5, these are the older brothers of BTR 15, and no TWS solution in the consumer segment comes close to it, even headphones like the Sony XM5 fell short.

I think the dac is really appealing, just one thing, how's the battery and is it user replaceable? I looked up reviews for Fiio and batterry issues seem to be really common, I dont really want to sink in 15k for a DAC and then another 4-5K on IEMs and have it go bust in a couple years. And i know it sounds contradictory, but I'd rather just pay 12-15k for TWS at that point

 

[shibashis]

I think the dac is really appealing, just one thing, how's the battery and is it user replaceable? I looked up reviews for Fiio and batterry issues seem to be really common, I dont really want to sink in 15k for a DAC and then another 4-5K on IEMs and have it go bust in a couple years. And i know it sounds contradictory, but I'd rather just pay 12-15k for TWS at that point

I do not know if the battery is user replaceable or not. I use it sporadically and have not faced any issues with battery myself, that is all I can tell you.

 

[vinothkumar]

Oppo enco x2, you will be surprised with the sound againts the giants. Price is around 10k only.

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

Astell&Kern - AK UW100MKII is selling at a discounted price in headphone zone.com @ INR4,999/- .​

 

[altair21]

Astell&Kern - AK UW100MKII is selling at a discounted price in headphone zone.com @ INR4,999/- .​

have you used them? online reviews seem to be mixed, it sounds good but thats about it, no ANC or any modern features, but the price is really good, way too good ngl

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

have you used them? online reviews seem to be mixed, it sounds good but thats about it, no ANC or any modern features, but the price is really good, way too good ngl

I haven't used it myself, but seeing the huge discounted price, I thought of sharing the information in case anyone is interested. By the way, I have ordered one for myself.

 

[altair21]

I haven't used it myself, but seeing the huge discounted price, I thought of sharing the information in case anyone is interested. By the way, I have ordered one for myself.

can you share a review here if possible? would love to order one too but reviews on global Amazon and headphonezone are really mixed and I haven't found any reputed reviewer having done a review on it

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

can you share a review here if possible? would love to order one too but reviews on global Amazon and headphonezone are really mixed and I haven't found any reputed reviewer having done a review on it

Sure, I might be able to tell if I like the sound signature, but beyond that, I may not be able to provide much insight since I'm not very familiar with using headphones for music.

 

[altair21]

Sure, I might be able to tell if I like the sound signature, but beyond that, I may not be able to provide much insight since I'm not very familiar with using headphones for music.

just need a general review, and atleast somewhat of a comparison to other tws in the range. Sound looks like exactly what I need but it's the tws in general that seem to be a bit iffy to me

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

just need a general review, and atleast somewhat of a comparison to other tws in the range. Sound looks like exactly what I need but it's the tws in general that seem to be a bit iffy to me

I have received my AKUW100MKII, and I am very satisfied with its overall performance. The sound is well-balanced, making it one of the best-sounding Bluetooth headsets I have experienced. However, please note that my experience with headsets is quite limited. I also own Apple AirPods (2nd Gen) and Pixel Buds Pro, so my impressions are based on comparisons with these devices.

Cons: The fit inside the ear is a bit of a challenge, as the supplied ear tips are either too small or too large for my ears. However, considering the exceptional sound quality, I’m more than willing to overlook this drawback.