Wired IEMs sound BETTER than wireless! 

Thanks for doing this John. My motto is why pay more for inferior sound quality with Bluetooth headphones? BTW, the $250 wired FiiO FH5 in-ear is sooooo good!

Wired IEMs sound BETTER than wireless! In other news, the sky is blue.

More people need to be exposed to good sound. It is so sad to see that most people aren't paying much attention to what they hear, in comparison to what they see, taste, and smell. Wireless earphones are very practical, yes, but even the high-end wireless earphones can't compare to how a $100 wired IEM sounds. This is why many people are flexing with their Apple airpods, thinking that spending $200 more on a wireless earphone makes it cool. Nah, sit down, in the audiophile world, that's entry level. We have IEMs that goes up to $10,000 and we just don't flex, that's all. You want good audio, NEVER look at the brand, just try em all out before you buy em and then decide for yourself.

Damn... Jana is killing it with those shots, also John has a remarkable editing skill. Certainly the best way to say “wired is better than wireless”. Hahaha

Every time I watch a full-length video of yours that was shot on the streets of Berlin, I immediatelly begin to regret not taking German seriously in school and find myself wanting to go there, at least for a run or something. Enjoyed the review/showcase thoroughly.

Backstory: darko.audio/2019/12/a-short-film-about-3-x-wired-iems-ibasso-campfire-meze/ 10 more thoughts: darko.audio/2019/12/10-more-thoughts-on-3-x-wired-iems-campfire-meze-ibasso/

YET, for only a few bucks, one can attach the superior, wired earphones to a pair of Bluetooth adapters, and achieve at least 95% of the sound quality of the wired sound. I own no less than four such pairs of adapters (by TRN, Sennheiser, KZ).

Wow great soundtrack!!! i recently bought the Sanling ME500… what a great sounding IEM!!!👌🏼

The Bargain of the century : The BLON BL-03 , a remarquable (on the bassy side) 30 box pair of IEM's. Spacious with refined treble and powerful non leaking base line (too powerful with some recordings)

I’m not in to IEM’s or headphones for that matter, just love watching your videos. Again fantastic work. Even if I’m not interested in the gear in certain videos I still find myself being sucked in & totally enjoying your way of doing things. A very fresh way of doing it compared to the run of the mill RU-vid videos. Keep up the great work.

Yeah, they definitely do. However, if you do need to take your good IEM's and make them wireless, you want to try either the FiiO BTR3 (my own daily driver and favorite) or the Earstudio ES100. The Earstudio even has a 2.5 mm balanced output on it. People who keep whining on and on about how bad Bluetooth sounds needs to connect a good pair of wired IEM's to one of those, and then listen. Over AptX HD or LDAC, (so an Android phone version 8 or higher) the sound is amazing. The amp in the BTR3 is also super quiet, low low noise floor, so zero hiss. Alternatively, there's the big daddy of Bluetooth amps, the FiiO Q5s with the optional THX AAA amp. Never heard it, and it's not a small unit to carry, but what a gorgeous piece of machined aluminium and feature set (and it will set you back $500, not $100-ish like the Earstudio, or $70 like the BTR3.) Also, not only can wired IEM's sound better than true wireless, they can do it cheaper. A BTR3 + Advanced Model 3's for $40 a pair will easily beat a pair of Jabra 65T on, well, everything. Sound quality and fit and even battery life. For a grand total of around $100. Also - these units have mic's so they work like headsets.

love the background music. I love my Rai Solo, too :-)

I'm rocking the Shuoer Tape IEMs (another Chi-Fi product). These have me hooked and I've been using them as my daily drivers for a while now.

Big fan of your channel! You should give the blon bl03's a try. Absurdly cheap with an amazing sound. But put on other eartips and cable. The cable included tangles atrociously and the eartips hurt a bit after 2-3 hours of use

The KZ ZS10 pro have turned my audiophile world upside down and I’m now reluctant to spend on anything considered mid to high end. This also applies to the BLON 03 and anything from Tin hi-fi. Exciting times.

Exactly why I will continue to buy LG phones, as long as they make them with an excellent DAC/AMP combo. I have been using the Sony MDR-EX650AP for years and haven't found anything I like better. On my third pair from Japan.

Love the whole "package" of your channel. Übrigens ist dein Deutsch sehr gut ;-)

You can make IEM's wireless with a detachable cable :) so for on the road is use wireless cable. And when im at work or school i take out the cable

$25.00 bucks spend on the right pair of IEM today gets you a lot B A N G for your buck. My first pair IEM was the KZ ZSN Pro. Try it ... 👌

Have you ever heard the TinHiFi P1, they are great and only cost 160 euro ( 10 mm planar diaphragm) :-)

Of course you are right depending on the use. There are situations where wired would absolutely be the wrong choice. For example, I do very brisk walking of 4 miles a day. Anything in your ear in this situation can be bad. That is because it amplifies the ear bone noise by cutting of the ear from releasing sound pressure. As you stump your feet the noise level can be unsafe. Wires could also create additional microphonic noise to the ear. In this case wireless NC over the ear are best. I also find that to get the best bluetooth connection LDAC 990kb a dedicated player is much better than a phone. You will also need to equalize to adjust for frequency dilution that the NC has on sound. Phones have to much interference to keep a really stable 990kb connection.

I love how John takes us on a little tour everytime it's IEMs time on the channel; and the analogy between the sound and the surrounding is a very cool idea (y) For me, it's Fiio FH1s all the way at the moment, although I have had the FH5s under my radar for quite some time now (the FH7s would be ideal, though they are out of my budget)

Kz as10 OMG only $40 and amazing sound also I’m waiting for my tin T4 in the mail can’t wait to hear them.

I totally agree about the fit. I have a few pairs of IEMs and found myself listening most, not the best sounding one, but the most comfortable one that fits my ears best.

Absolutely in love with this content. Wired team for ever and ever.

Tin T2 is famously good for $50-ish, FiiO FH5 kick ass in the $200-range, and there are quite a few interesting options in various price ranges. Anyone who's new to IEM's should probably start with the T2 or my own budget fave, the Advanced Model 3's, both are under $50 and sound much better than they have a right to. A guy calling himself Crinacle also has a big list of IEM's he grades from his personal point of view; crinacle.com/rankings/iems/ - should not be taken as gospel obviously, but he does measure them and then give a subjective opinion. Obviously (I would say) the highest grade contains almost exclusively IEM's that are in the four figures. I believe he rates the FH5 quite high compared to its $250-ish price point though. Oh, another legendary model people swear by, the Etymotic ER4XR, $350-ish. Haven't heard those myself.

I bought the astell Kern Jerry Harvey Billie jeans for about $130 I like it alot but it's my first iem so nit sure how they match to others but in the us it goes for 359$ I got it on sale for 130

The 'JH Audio Layla' has remained my goto for a while now. It can do any genre and because it has 16 drivers, it plays dynamics with ease. It also pairs really well with the Mojo. If you can get your hands on one, I believe it's worth a review. I still try IEMs and I haven't found one I like more, yet.

Ik own: kz zs10 pro and Tfc T2. I can wholeheartly advice Them! True hifi on the cheap! I Just ordered sabaj da2, mobile dac and amp (like smsl Idea). To have a good dac on the go! Google reviews! Have fun!

Great video. On a similar note, I personally much prefer the sound of my Meze Penta Rai connected to Chord‘s Mojo Poly streaming crappy Bluetooth from my iPhone to the sound I am getting from direct-wiring the IEMs to the iPhone‘s dongle. Here, it seems the lossy Bluetooth signal is more than made up for by the superior DAC and headphone amplification in the Chord. This was certainly surprising to me as I expected the opposite to be true. At least to my ears, the Mojo Poly Bluetooth wins

Most natural sounding wired IEMs - ETYMOTIC. Though the wires are not robust.

I love iem... specialy what Linsoul brought. Whole bunch of Chi Fi Brand that are doing very good quality sound iem. Rather get a btu module for wireless needs than listening to real wireless IEM. That said. Very Happy that you brought that subject . Thanks again. I really love all your topic and video

This was amazing John & Jana. Production does matter! Loved the description of the sound by the looks of the video sequence. At the gym, I need Bluetooth - I need to put my chunky phone down (iPhone XS Max). I have found you can get pretty decent sound with IEMs and a Bluetooth adapter such as the Fiio BTR3 (which does just about every codec out there).

Try out the Sennheiser Momentum TW buds, they sound fantastic.

Guess that's a true review journey! Much more comfortable and real review as opposed to a desk! Great perceptive video as well as review content! Best videography award!!! Of course the handsome star helps?

Beautifully shot and the truth was spoken. Getting a perfect fit with an IEM is so important for bass performance and comfort is also paramount. Otherwise you'll not be happy - make sure to try before you buy.

Sony IER-Z1r, Audeze LCD-i4, Westone W80 are my top IEMs.

This is why I still haven't gone to wireless buds, the sound quality is just not quite there. Have a small selection, RevoNext NEX202, Tin T2 and T4's, Thinksound Rain 3, and some old Ultimate Ears Metro Fi 220's( 10 years old). My question, have you used them with a dedicated DAP, not just a phone?( which is what I saw you use) DAP's will have a better DAC/AMP combo and a little more power to open them up even more. The dongle DAC/AMPs work but just not quite the same as a DAP. Just a suggestion.

Great video, with an inflammatory title. As an audiophile, I can't disagree, though.

Another brilliant Video. I agree with the wired iem,It’s the only way to fly.

Subscriber and huge fan of the channel. I started buying true wireless IEMs years ago with the Bragi Dash, I then picked up a number of others and currently use the AirPods Pro and the Galaxy Buds (V2), for phone calls and podcasts. I only use wired IEMs for music, mostly the RHA CL2s, with dollops of the BGVP DM6, the Blon 03, the MoonDrop Kanas Pro and the LH Labs Stella (won in a raffle). Wireless IEMs don't touch the SQ, soundstage, instrument separation and cohesion of wired IEMs. I sometimes use a Bluetooth 5.0 cable for my IEMs and get about 70% out of them. The technology will get better and at some point soon the gap will close significantly. But we aren't there yet

New phone, OnePlus 7t, (Android) so it lacks a headphone jack. But OnePlus sell a connector for €6 (€9 delivered on Amazon) into which I have plugged my newest addition. The Venture Electronics Bonus. $5 on Ali-express. They are astounding. They have Bass punch, but they Excell at vocals. I've had them two days and listened to Mozart's Requiem mass on them twice yesterday. They're an ear bud, I put some soft foams on them for no fuss insertion. Highly recommend. However, I bought these for general purpose listening to RU-vid, etc. For music, I carry around four wired IEM's The Tin HiFi P1, planar magnetic, hard to drive, very much "in your head" but magical with Adele's album 21, I have linsoul HC08 cable on them. The Blon bl03, Kbear 16 core cable,ikko iPlanet foam tips. these are fantastic with rock. Deep Bass. Wide stage. The Shoer tape, an electret/electrostatic, Kbear 16 core cable. When they work they're fantastic. They have a fairly unique presentation. They move instruments about, excellent detail, but live music seems to defeat them. The ikko OH10 a heavy IEM, made of copper with looks to die for. Linsoul Tripowin C8 Cable. These are the complete package. A deep and wide sound stage. A taut controlled Bass that is available only when needed, goes deep but doesn't bleed. A true gem. I also carry a Little Beat B4-X dual mono block Valve amp with replaceable op amps. Balanced output as well as SE, battery powered. All of this is driven by a Hidizs Sonata HD II DAC USB-C to 3.5" it has a lot of power. It replaced the Dragonfly black in my pocket. Can easily drive the P1 at 85% volume. USB Audio Player Pro app.

I have the Sennheiser Momentum true wireless in ear and Apple Airpods gen 2. I use the Momentum when I workout, cables are not good at the gym. I use the Airpods when I’m watching videos at home. The Sennheiser sounds miles better when listening to music. But when you compare it to the TinHifi P1 in ear they cant keep up in terms of natural timbre/tambre and detail across the whole spectrum.

KZ ZS10 Pro's. Change my mind.

Well done, thx - I like my Moondrop KXXS with a better cabel from Fearless Audo (70 €) and the Dragonfly Cobalt. Really nice and not too expensive! (The new TRN 5BA is good, too and cheaper. I also like the Shuoer H27. Better cable do change the sound, finetuning possible! You see, I am a Chinafindelity guy from Munich. ;)

FIIO FH7 and you won't need anything else!👍 Good video!

Both Shuoer Tape and TFZ No.3 in clear transparent shell really impressed me a lot. Will check out for that Meze Rai Solo.

I see many internet reviews and what not, I have not seen such a great review in a long long time. No nerdy boring stuff, love the music and of course the whole urban landscape used as a visual background and narration... I would love to hear your opinion on those bluetooth cables, and the versatility of these iems to be converted to bluetooth. BUT, you know how this whole economies work... we had the crappy iems, then we bought bad bluettoth stuff, now hi quality iems... eventually proper bluetooth with no compression will show up, just to milk us better, to milk us more. BTW fuck all this overpriced crap, too late. Chi-fi is here to stay, ordered blon bl-03 on black friday. Looking now for a proper dac for my ipod classic.

Isn't it obvious tho? Like, I never met someone even the casual one who proclaim wireless is better than wired.

Improve their sound with a Fiio BTR 3 for instance and the wiring is not a problem anymore.

The Sennheiser Momentum TW is considered the best truly wireless iem´s when it comes to audio performance. Would be cool if you checked them out-

if you're spending over £100 in headpones/IEMs and actually care about sound, wireless is never an option- as a wireless set is compromising sound for convenience so if one chooses to go wireless, one must accept they are choosing to have an inferior sound for the convenience of no cable. which, truth to be told the amount of times my girlfriend has been unable to use her IEMs due to having to charge them would suggest that wireless brings its own unique inconveniences too also nice to see another audio enthusiast using an LG phone, that quad dac really does sound great 😎

Dragonfly cobalt when you want the best out of your wired iems,and radsone earsone es 100 when you want bluetooth on the go.

Agree! I actually no longer use wireless IM's. Wired is the way to go. P.S. the camera work and video editing is fantastic!

Great video John. Thanks as always. I have a pair of ancient (wired :) Shure SE-535s and I've been thinking about upgrading for a while. This video may push me over the edge... When I bought my SE-535s, I also ordered a pair of custom tips to go over the earpiece. It seems that's something to consider for perfect fitting IEMs.

Can you have a look into this again? Also please include the Fiio UTWS5

I use the Shure SE535 for my daily commute. They completely disconnects you from the world. They beats ANY noice cancelling headphones any day.

I like the comfort of true wireless, but the cabled ones are better, no question, but only use them at home.

Awesome video mate. Love the tracks used in this one. I just bought a pair of Tin Hifi T4’s for 89 usd. Would guess they would knock those TWM’s out of the park as well.

You can get your ears moulded to any of these IEMS at an Audiologist costs about £100 but worth it As for cables you can learn how to wrap them in a way that you will never have a tangling issue

As if anyone has to even say this! Of course wired sounds better. Always has, always will.

User of Campfire Solaris and it’s a beast. Very balance and laidback with a very wide holographic soundstage. Layers of details.

Akg n40 + audioquest dragonfly red. Sounding great but good fit is a must.

I owned the M&D MW07s and liked them quite a bit. But I totally agree that wired IEMs sound much better. Personally I love the FiiO FA7. They are V shaped, fun sounding, great IEMs. :) Thanks for your videos!

Bought the Rai Solo based on this review (took me years to get one but I got there back in May!) The 4.4mm cable is a bit nicer to live with than the bundled single-ended one. Thanks for the video John :)

Oh John, such huge step up in video quality. Neat job Jana.Fond of your posts.

I’ve used etymotic er4s in ear for years - paired with a dragon fly, quite nice. Not recommended, even for just walking around - the cable is too microphonic. For active gym use, I still prefer AirPod pros (sacrilege!) linked to my Apple Watch - no music, just audiobooks and pod casts - for that they are perfect.

My only IEM's are Tin T3's great bang for the bucks. 👍

Congrats :) hello I need some advice please! I’m from the UK, I use Apple Music and just brought the Fiio KA17 and need a list of good iems, I listen to mostly hip-hop, rap and dubstep what ones would you recommend?

Love your channel my dude, but also the camera work! Kudos to the camera man/woman!

Shuoer Tape (daily driver--just amazing), Oriolus Finschi (for chillax), Tin P1 (for aggressive mood), BLON BL03/modded Tin T3 (for different flavors), JVC HA-FW01 (for that woody timbre).

Hi John, I've lived with JH Audio Roxanne Universal IEM's using Moon-Audio Silver Dragon cables since 2013. I must say I haven't really felt the need to upgrade since I got them and they've never stopped working so I keep listening. The JH in the name is Jerry Harvey - he's one of the inventors of the IEM market, he previously founded Ultimate Ears which he sold to Logitech, and I think you'd actually enjoy his rock n roll sensibilities. He kits out a ton of top acts their IEM's on stage and I really like his tuning. If you're really into wired - you might want to check out Jerry's latest work. Regardless of what's on the new on the high end market these are some top flight IEM's he's been making for years. I'd recommend you check out his Universals (or if you're all in go custom) and if you want ultimate performance Drew at Moon-Audio makes compatible upgraded cables with single ended and balanced topologies that include the JH Audio Bass Pod that lets you dial in the bass to specifically what level you want which is another amazing feature that is useful to both the on stage rockstar that wants to squeeze that little bit of extra bass as well as the audiophile that wants to dial in their bass just slightly north of neutral (which is the 0 setting on the pod). I'm really glad you've reached this conclusion on wires because no matter where bluetooth has come so far - I just doesn't sound anywhere near as good as what I'm getting wired with you're previous bluetooth review I thought we'd lost you. Well done on the video.

I recently bought KZ ZS10 Pros and am really enjoying them with my ES100. I enjoyed them enough that I bought a better 16 core cable for it and the increase in detail is amazing. Replaced my old 1More quads with CCA C16s and couldn't be happier with them either. IEMs really do make music more enjoyable to listen to and I'm glad I've invested in them!

Which ANDROID mobile music player supports streaming HiRes Audio from MICROSOFT ONEDRIVE...???

I am using iBasso DC02 with my Xperia One for 2 months. The sound is so good and even better than my LG G6. This is highly recommended when your phone do not have a 3.5mm jack

Earstudio ES100 + anything half decent (Tin t series for example, any Chi-fi triple drivers like the Pink lady) and you’re done.

VERY nice video! In topic, analysis and picture/coverage! Nice job Jana! Really dig the whole attitude towards Hifi/Hi-end, John! Two thumbs up! I listened your argumentation on cabled IEMs with attention. Sure thing, they probably sound better than wireless IEMs, but as you said, we need convenience as we commute. You cannot approach the phone's mic to your face in the train....Most of the times your hands must be free! Comfort and fit is another thing. It's crucial, ask me...I own a pair of Shure SE846s as of 2017 at ~900 euros here in Greece, and only the biggest foam ear-tips suit my small ears while get a nice isolation and bass deepness, but on the other hand it' like someone is trying to open my ears with a damn tool! So they are incredible and enjoying -as long as my ears can stand them! Btw, I noticed that Campfire's cables are far more comfortable, possibly they have MMCX plugs as my 846s. Maybe someone of you knows if they're compatible....I want to replace the awful Shure cable with something more comfortable & better in construction. A silver one maybe. Moon Audio Cables stopped the production of their Silver Dragon and was dissapointed. Fyi, the 846s are connected to my Mojo -a heavenly pair!- and then to my old Samsung S7 running USB Audio Player Pro. A SUPERB app for all Android users. I will be pleased if you comment on above. Thank you.

for me the benefits of a wireless IEM (in my case the sony) weigh up to the wired better sounding versions

If you want the best out of both worlds, you can check out EarStudio ES100 with 3.5 und 2.5 Balanced Output + All major Bluetooth formats like LDAC

I'm not even an audiophile, I'm more than happy with my Airpods Pro, but I like watching your reviews for the aesthetics and the music.

I got a free pair of true wireless buds with my Samsung note 10 plus that I sold. I normally listen to music with full size headphones with a portable rig, but for the mundane things like shopping I use iems. I own a pair of sennheiser momentum full size headphones that I call my jack of all trades they fold up small and have noise cancelling, and there style cans so you dont look to much of a cock wairing them.

I prefer wireless for my daily commutes via rail. I recently picked up two sets of Tranya's (Rimor & T3) for $100 US combined and they sound great for the price. Furthermore I don't have any wires or have to rap anything around my ear lobe to enjoy them.

Nice video as ussual, very entertaining👍 Btw, CA is too expensive for me to afford at this moment. I am using the Sony Ericsson MH-1 for on-the-go purpose and I really like the sound. It is warm, nice vocal, low noise and good treble. I wonder if you want put this US$ 10 earphone on your review so I can wondering how much improvement if I am going to expensive IEM compares to this MH-1. Anyway, MH-1 is OMTP connection so you need to convert to CTIA or true stereo config. Thanks.

Way more expensive , but the Ue 11 pro/csx , I know you reviewed the 7 but I think you'll appreciate the more powerful bass for your EDM with the 11, it's awesome. Also comes with Bluetooth cable so you can swap from wired for a workout or a jog , and of course the perfect seal gives you passive noise cancelling.

The final quality of the output signal is all down to the dac/amp or whatever decoding chip is in the wireless earphone. Until the day they can make a module small enough to fit in an earphone shell that rival the sound quality of say at least a USB DAC (eg. iBasso DC02), true wireless IEMS will alway be a long way behind.

Nice video John very informative. I purchased a pair of the linsol tin t3 pros have you tried them? You should give them a try. I know there was a lot of hipe about the t2 and now they have the t4`s out now as well but having said that I'm really enjoying the t3 pros very spacious.

Thanks John, great video. I see you’ve reviewed the CA Comet last year, as well as the Io and Polaris this year. From what you’ve described I think I would prefer the Polaris over the Io. How does the Comet sound signature compare with those two?

I have both the Etymotic ER4SR and the ER4XR. The noise isolation with the 3 flange tips is amazing. At work they complain that I don't react when I drown out surrounding sound. I use them with a Dragonfly Cobalt, and like the combo quite a bit. The difference between red and cobalt is around 20-25% better (100% = MacBook Pro or iPhone built-in DAC to DF red), listening to FLACs through PureMusic on MB or Flacbox on iPhone. I am rather bass averse (my regular cans are Grado R2s on a Woo WA6 SE), and I am a bit torn between which of the ER4s I like better. Depends a bit on the mood, and whether I feel more punchy with bass on the XR, or more relaxed with flat response of the SR. Re noisy cable, I think this is mostly because of the excellent isolation from environmental sounds, so I don't need to turn up volume much to hear music over external sounds to just hear my music. The downside is that then the faint cable sound is proportionally stronger.

Excellent content thank you. Can you recommend wierd IEM for music genres Reggeaton?

As you mention fit is everything with IEM's so I use a pair of UE 5 Pro customs which do also support a mic & phone calls!

Wonderful video and use of visuals to describe the different sound characters. I'm using a pair of $40 YinYoo V2's with the eartips from some cheap Sony earbuds which fit my ears perfectly. Yep, the perfect fit is crucial for optimal sound. Smashing video from Jana and John 🥰

Same. I was looking for these wireless earbuds and I read that even at $300+ price tag the sound quality is no better and the voice mic is bad. Sure, it looks cool.

Another great video, John! I’ve been rocking the IT01s for a couple years now and for the price it doesn’t get much better. Quality is very, very good, and I’ve had great experience with iBasso’s customer service & support. I use the IT01s with a Dragonfly Black at work, and an Oppo HA-2SE when traveling. They sound killer with both DACs, and for the last two years haven’t had the urge to upgrade. Even though I’d really, really, really love to own a pair of Campfire IEMs some day.

Have you ever tested any of the Etymotic in-ears? It seems that they were very early to the game of HQ IE's and was wondering if they have fallen behind the competition?

I have the iBasso IT01, but they sound really bad without any EQ. I had to tune them a bit in the lows and mids, but especially in the highs, as there's a spike in the 4-8kHz range and it just sounds horrible. And even with that EQ, they just don't sound as good as the reviewers say they do. Should I return them or am I just too sensitive and are they supposed to be a little higher in that range?

What a quality video John. Really loved your serious opinion here which is a rare thing with reviewers . Its so good i am gonna see it again and again. Keep up the good work . You have a wonderful and talented team behind you . Cheers and best wishes .

When a graffiti features the word “Techno”, you know you’re in Berlin. 🤓

For now I am using wired overears in public transport (since a few days with dragonfly) how would these compare with same cost wired overears?

KZ ZS10 sound better then the sony 1000, and for 25% of the price of the sonys upgrade the wire and tips and you will have a winner

Exceptional video, both visually and content-wise. The most sincere congratulations from Tenerife