For years, it’s been an understanding position that Bluetooth earphones just can’t keep up with their wired brotheren. Most people in the know just never bothered trying to compare them. But lately there have been a great many Bluetooth earphones that have hit the market with some incredible sound that have a lot of people wondering for the first time, is this finally the push to equalize the Bluetooth sound with wired? Even companies like Bowers and Wilkins and Noble Audio have placed some amazing examples of great sounding Bluetooth earphones in the world today. Even I have been wowed by some of the latest Bluetooth brands and also thought that just maybe this gap had closed.
And then a $55 dollar IEM is tested and destroys even the best Bluetooth earphones in the world today costing $400+. So the answer to my stupid question is No! Heck No! The Truthears Red is one the cheapest IEM on the market and has been on the market for some time now. And yet their Resolution, Tuning, and Tonality is still so superior to anything offered by Noble or Bowers and wilkins. Frankly put, Bluetooth has a ways to go before they can ever truly say they are on par for sound.
Look I get it. I was two steps away from considering this very notion as well before I dove back into my IEMs and realized how embarrassing the notion that Bluetooth earphones could ever be on par with an IEM was. It can happen to any of us because our ears adapt to whatever we are listening to more and it makes that frequency set the standard to our brain. And if you stay away from IEMs long enough you can believe that just maybe the Bluetooth world has caught up, but it hasn’t. And the sad part to all this was that the entry level IEM that isn’t even $70 should have struggled to beat a $400-$469 Bluetooth in sound quality but it didn’t and that was without any EQ adjustment like I have in the app for the Bluetooth earphones.
The Truthears Red beat every Bluetooth I have in resolution and tonality and naturalism. Asmr has never sounded this good ever on any Bluetooth device I’ve ever had, realism on timbre has never been this good,vocals and instrument separation so balanced with perfect representation to real life sounds. They are very lightweight to have a wire for them, which plays an important part in comfort. Normally, I hate using IEMs on walks. The cord phonics sound bothers me and the weight of the cable pulling the earphone down bothers me. I typically only use them sitting down with my feet up. But this particular IEM is so light and has no microphonics sound to the cable so I can use them out and about. And again this earphone cost $55, not the $500-$2000 I’m used to spending. So you can imagine what kind of damage those would do to a Bluetooth contenders.
Sure things like wireless ability, touch controls ANC, and other features are the reason why Bluetooth has an argument of which is better. But if the conversation is always the seeking of the best sound, it will still reside in the realm of the Wired IEMs, not Bluetooth. Yes, Bluetooth has gotten better but obviously wired IEMs have to when you can take a $50 IEM and beat Bluetooth earphones in sound that cost in the range of $500. Influencers like Crinncle and others have been collaborating with companies to help push more affordable IEMs to the market while delivering great sound still and it’s working. No longer do you have to buy a $1000 IEM to get something good in sound from an IEM. Many are found under $100. And that should ring the bell to the Bluetooth world to wake up and stop overcharging for their products.
And to be honest, with all the issues with features that don’t work on Bluetooth, firmware needs, software glitches, phone call issues, and even battery life and charging needs of the Bluetooth world, it’s really freeing to have something superior to all of them in sound that don’t need charging, don’t have features that don’t work, or just the overall headaches of having to compromise on things that the price tag should do well in, only to settle for what sounds the best in the first place. If this is the case, just go with a wired IEM.
Again, I understand that even IEMs get overpriced for very little differences. I’m not going down that rabbit hole again, been there, done that. But at least if I buy cheaper, they just work unlike buying cheaper with Bluetooth results in features that don’t work, comfort sacrifice, or other compromised issues and things. For me it’s something very freeing about the simplification of having the best sound with a wired connection for less than $60. No more looking at the battery life %, charging light, or waiting on the battery warning, skips, stutters, or other issues to happen. They just plug into my Sony Xperia and I move on with my life without ever caring about the hours of use, crashes, or even the EQ settings. It does one job, delivers sound and comfort.
Tech-N-Things 