This is a question most people don’t ask others before giving them advice on what to buy. We typically have the thought, like most humans, that our beliefs and things that please us are everyone else’s. We think if it’s sounds great to us, then it will sound great to anyone. And if we love it, something is wrong with anyone else who doesn’t. We put ourselves as the ultimate judge of right and wrong, and we don’t see how anything we pick could be the opposite of another person. I know I’ve fallen into that mistake myself, and I’ve been on the opposite side of things where I was treated like that.
As much as I think the Az100 silver and white look is so sexy and utterly amazing in its sounds, there are tons of people who have different purposes for earphones other than the purposes I have them for. So I think we all have to start there and know first what specifically a person is looking for before we assume that our favorite will be theirs. What if they need the best sounding heavy metal earphone on the market? Would I tell them to get the Technics Az100, Sony’s xm5, pi8s, or even the Cambridge m100? What if they are looking mainly for the workout earphone? Would I suggest the Bose, Jabra, or something else entirely?
My taste might not be yours. We have to always start there as fact and accept things at this level. Black might be your jam, and you might hate the color white or silver. Or you could just hate the brand I push because of your personal experience with them vs. mine. Much like my experience with Bowers and Wilkins. My reasoning might very well be legit to have a certain view just as much as yours might be to you. All of this makes it almost impossible to truly direct a path for someone who isn’t you.
Even my mighty Az100’s aren’t for everyone. The things that make them so good for me are the Natural Tones/Timbre, the incredible Bass that doesn’t bleed, the Vocals, Soundstage width, clarity without distortion, and the amazing Battery. For others, the Pi8, Gemini 2, or any other brand out there might fit their needs. They might not have the issues I had out of the Pi8 battery leaks or had no problem with the Gemini 2 battery life. This would easily change my choices, too, admittedly because I’ve always stated that the sound area alone belongs to the Gemini 2’s, Pi8’s, then Az100’s and if the first two didn’t have the issues I had with them and the fact that their prices don’t equal their performance…my choices would be changed for my #1. But that’s not my world nor my experience. But this should never stop me from looking objectively at your needs to offer suggestions based on your views.
So without further ado…. My suggestions for different types and taste( no particular order)….
- For Classical and treble needs: The Pi8s and Cambridge Audio M100, az100.
- For RNB, House, Techno, Drum and Bass, Rap : Az100, Gemini 2’s, , Earfun air pro 4’s, Denon Perl Pros
- For ANC : Bose QC Earbuds 2nd gen and Soundcore liberty Pro 4’s.
- Best for Gym : Bose QC Earbuds 2nd gen, Earfun Air Pro 4’s, AZ100, Pi8, Gemini 2.
- Asmr and Audio books: Az100, Pi8’s, Gemini 2’s, Cambridge Audio M100, Denon Perl Pros
- Hear Thru/Ambient Kings: Gemini 2’s, Az100, Bose QC Earbuds 2nd gen, Soundcore liberty pro 4’s
- Battery life Kings : Earfun air Pro 4’s, Bose QC Earbuds 2nd Gen, Cambridge Audio M100, Az100
- Reliability : Az100, Cambridge Audio M100, Earfun air Pro 4’s, Gemini 2
- Soundstage and separation kings: Denon Perl Pro, Az100, Pi8, Gemini 2.
- Best Cost to Performance : Earfun Air Pro 4, Bose QC Earbuds 2nd Gen, Cambridge Audio M100, Denon Perl pro,
At the end of the day, you can clearly see why the az100 are my number 1 earphones, as being one the most suggested per category. I could add another category, but I think it’s probably unfair, device connection list, best timbre, or best comfort .. but we already know where that is going to go with the Az100 having the highest amount of connected devices at one time, best timbre, and one of best comfort. Even now, I’m starting to consider considering the Az100 my greatest and favorite earphones of all time!
But again, none of this applies to all people, and you may only need ONE category, not the rest. So I hope some of this helps, but you know where I stand.
Tech-N-Things 