You mentioned you are not convinced lossless streaming services are always 100% lossless. PLEASE do a video on this as I have often had my doubts over the years on the streaming services being bit perfect and how some sound "different" from others. Is it just different masters being used? Is it the amount of travel, number of different data hops, between the streaming services routers to our local feed? I would love to hear your viewpoints on them from your being a sound engineer and a very, unique audiophile!!! 😉 Great video!
Great to see Betty back, but I got to say I been watching many of your videos and you are a top man. Total respect to you because you tell it as it is. Thanks for taking your time to share your great videos with honesty.
I was just about to pull the plug on buying a DAC and some IEM's for travelling. I mainly I use my IPhone and your video has thrown a useful and well timed spanner in the works.
To differentiate between left and right, all of my headphones (and some of my earbuds) have a bump or bumps on the left channel. The lack of this feature makes them unusable by the blind without having someone sighted marking them in advance, unless they are asymmetrical.
@@AudioMasterclass Interesting. Nothing on the right for all three of my over ear headphones, but three bumps on my two Sennheisers, and one bump on my Sonys.
Ear tips are everything! especialy when some people have different sizes of ear canalle. Some ere tips that appere identical to other tips can produce a different seal and that often changes the sound you perceive
I love how Apple likes to claim their lossless is the "best" lossless. Lossless is lossless. And in that it should be completely transparent to the source. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference. And if you can, then it's not lossless.
I don’t recall any claims made by Apple saying their lossless is the best. Best as compared to what? Also, lossless audio is always presented in the CD-quality resolution of 16-bit/44.1kHz or better and may go all the way up to 24-bit/192kHz (at least for now). Can you hear a difference between them? Or anything in between them? I think most people can’t but perhaps a few can. And you have to take in consideration the amplification source? And the music source? Ultimately, those “lossless bits” are only as transparent as the power source will present them once they have been converted to analog. So, you should be able to hear subtle/not-so-subtle differences in lossless codecs depending on the resolution of the bits and the way they are presented once converted to analog.
@@housepianist It's right here in the video with a reference to the Questyle's marketing about how ALAC is the "epitome of high-quality audio formats thanks to it's Apple MFI certification". Itself a reference to Apple's ubiquitous "by Apple, for Apple" marketing. And you're talking about differences in hardware and recording/mastering techniques -- which should have no bearing whatsoever on how faithfully a lossless codec reproduces its source. Two separate lossless files of competing formats, properly-encoded from a single source, properly-decoded on the same hardware should be both sound identical to each other while at the same time being indistinguishable from the source file being played on the same hardware. In that environment (provided that everything is properly converted), if there are any detectable differences whatsoever, then the file is not lossless. Lossless is lossless -- i.e. no numerical loss in signal whatsoever. And if your hardware makes it so that one of the codecs sounds worse (or better) than the other, then that's not the fault of the codec, is it?
Hmmm well I just pulled the trigger on the NHB15 usb-c. Lets see how I hear them. These will be my first Hi-fi IEMs. Also building a Hi-Fi home setup. I do have Questyle's M15 dac, as I am waiting for Moondrop's Blessing 3 Dusk to release. Once getting the nhb15s i will be ditching YT music and going with apple music. Cant believe yt is 1/16th of lossless. Any one have recomendations for comply tips that fit these? I also want to compare how the built in dac sounds and the m15.
I got these for $150 on a lightening sale. I’m guessing because newer iPhones have c ports, I wonder how they compete with other iems in the $150 range. Either way that cable might be useful with my other iems.
A doubt on Android tips... If you ditch the included DAC, you are then using the Android phone's DAC and headphones amplifier. Goodbye "loseless" and everything this product claims to do. You just get a pair of good classic in-ear headphones which will sound as good as your phone analog circuits do... Isn't it?
As you say, there's always going to be a DAC whether it's inside the phone or out. I'd imagine in Android phones the quality of the DAC would be variable, as might be the headphone amplifier. I might search out some audiophile opinion on this.
In Ear KZ AS10 PRO. Unbelievably good sounding ear phones for fraction of the price. Comply™ Memory Foam Ear Tips make price double but it is worth it.
A cheapo 'Lightning to USB-C' adaptor should work with the DAC. I bought one for the iPhone users who connect to the DAC which is attached to the amplifier in the workshop. The main problem I have is people taking the adaptor home with them...
They looked like ovaries on the box and Mr Blobby is still getting on telly, what a time to be alive. Far to expensive for my battered ears and I much prefer 'over the ear' headphones even if I do walk around looking like a Cyberman...cheers.
Please don’t be disappointed with me but I gave up on my lossless/DAC venture and purchased a pair of AirPod pro usb c version installed Sonicfoam tips and left the DAC at home However these are intriguing 😎
AirPods Pro 2 are pretty great. Idk why they get so much hate, they are one of the best bt earbuds, imo better than Bose and Sonys….not quite as good as status between 3ANC.
My New Years resolution - I will continue to listen to the music and not the audio components. I have the privilege of listening on systems from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, It is never the system it is the music. The 10s of thousands systems are obviously better then the hundred dollar systems. However no matter what you spend it can't really change the music. The music sets its own value. The delivery system doesn't change the intrinsic quality of the music.
I could care less about marketing hype. I’m not an IEM person either. Further defining myself, I’m not a streamer either. While some love this way of doing things, I have nothing to do with it. What I will say is beware of marketing hype as these people know less about audio than they know about fornicating. I’d prefer to hear about their performance from you as you seem to know what you are talking about even if we don’t always agree. At least your opinion is professional. That I can respect!
Abyss Diana ULTIMATE Audio Experience, talked about BS baffles brain...... Me? I turn on headphone amp, put on my headphones, (listen to "I want to change the world-ten years after") I can hear all the instruments and the singing, wot more do I want? Ha! Ha! Ha!
I have the sennheiser true wireless momentum 3 and the aptx bt sounds better than any aux earbuds i ever owned im im pletty happy with them. Besides wired buds do have major distortion because 100% of vibration touches or bumps to the cables themselves cause a bunch of noise which has a way bigger impact imo than any loss in bitrate
Well, that's one thing lossless can mean. Another thing it can mean is the waveform out is indistinguishable from the waveform in at relevant frequencies through the a/d/a chain. But that means almost nothing is lossless. Now bring in detectors (microphones) and transducers (loudspeakers). Now bring in ears. And rooms. Or (worse) cars. Lossless is overrated; it's nonsense. It's obsession with a number, (not that objective measurements aren't helpful to engineers). Get me dynamic range; compression should happen mainly at playback if it happens at all. Get me headroom in amplifers, high slew rates, things that make recorded music musical. This nonsense about bit perfect delivery to a $1 amplifier and a 4mm in-ear transducer -- not one person in 10,000 could tell the difference.
Hey! Black Friday in USA so 20% off. So at the new price. Let's see. $210 of expensive packaging. $20 headphones. No IP rating so useless at the gym or out in the rain. Even if the diagram of the flat frequency response is correct - bet the bass is still rubbish for those of us from the 1970's..... Think I will stick with the $10 wired units from Amazon for my bike rides. The soundstage, spacing and clarity is just perfect for my needed 90 bpm music that keeps my riding cadence on point in the buffeting wind noise. They last about three months and I can buy an awful lot of them for the price of this unit. Android - last two years - most have been going USB-C.......
All these claims about being lossless kind of puts me off them, as the lossless truly stops at the DAC, to claim more means you are telling little fibs, this DAC is nowhere as good as a multi thousand dollar use - that they don't claim to be lossless...
You mentioned you are not convinced lossless streaming services are always 100% lossless. PLEASE do a video on this as I have often had my doubts over the years on the streaming services being bit perfect and how some sound "different" from others. Is it just different masters being used? Is it the amount of travel, number of different data hops, between the streaming services routers to our local feed? I would love to hear your viewpoints on them from your being a sound engineer and a very, unique audiophile!!! 😉 Great video!
Great to see Betty back, but I got to say I been watching many of your videos and you are a top man. Total respect to you because you tell it as it is. Thanks for taking your time to share your great videos with honesty.
That was some good unboxing 🎉
Thank you for that. I didn't used to be a fan of unboxing videos until I found how difficult it was. Some parts you only get to do once.
I was just about to pull the plug on buying a DAC and some IEM's for travelling. I mainly I use my IPhone and your video has thrown a useful and well timed spanner in the works.
Betty is so articulate...and knowledgeable!
Well, she wasn’t born yesterday! Or was she???
To differentiate between left and right, all of my headphones (and some of my earbuds) have a bump or bumps on the left channel. The lack of this feature makes them unusable by the blind without having someone sighted marking them in advance, unless they are asymmetrical.
My headphones yes - three bumps left, four bumps right - Braille for L and R. These earphones, nothing.
@@AudioMasterclass Interesting. Nothing on the right for all three of my over ear headphones, but three bumps on my two Sennheisers, and one bump on my Sonys.
Ear tips are everything! especialy when some people have different sizes of ear canalle. Some ere tips that appere identical to other tips can produce a different seal and that often changes the sound you perceive
I love how Apple likes to claim their lossless is the "best" lossless. Lossless is lossless. And in that it should be completely transparent to the source. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference. And if you can, then it's not lossless.
Real its either lossless or not
I don’t recall any claims made by Apple saying their lossless is the best. Best as compared to what?
Also, lossless audio is always presented in the CD-quality resolution of 16-bit/44.1kHz or better and may go all the way up to 24-bit/192kHz (at least for now). Can you hear a difference between them? Or anything in between them? I think most people can’t but perhaps a few can. And you have to take in consideration the amplification source? And the music source? Ultimately, those “lossless bits” are only as transparent as the power source will present them once they have been converted to analog.
So, you should be able to hear subtle/not-so-subtle differences in lossless codecs depending on the resolution of the bits and the way they are presented once converted to analog.
This is a common problem.
The companies produce hifi and say its accurate.
Then the reviews say something Is wrong with it.
Therefore it's not hifi...
@@housepianist It's right here in the video with a reference to the Questyle's marketing about how ALAC is the "epitome of high-quality audio formats thanks to it's Apple MFI certification". Itself a reference to Apple's ubiquitous "by Apple, for Apple" marketing.
And you're talking about differences in hardware and recording/mastering techniques -- which should have no bearing whatsoever on how faithfully a lossless codec reproduces its source. Two separate lossless files of competing formats, properly-encoded from a single source, properly-decoded on the same hardware should be both sound identical to each other while at the same time being indistinguishable from the source file being played on the same hardware. In that environment (provided that everything is properly converted), if there are any detectable differences whatsoever, then the file is not lossless. Lossless is lossless -- i.e. no numerical loss in signal whatsoever. And if your hardware makes it so that one of the codecs sounds worse (or better) than the other, then that's not the fault of the codec, is it?
@@chuckmaddison2924 true.
Hmmm well I just pulled the trigger on the NHB15 usb-c. Lets see how I hear them. These will be my first Hi-fi IEMs. Also building a Hi-Fi home setup. I do have Questyle's M15 dac, as I am waiting for Moondrop's Blessing 3 Dusk to release. Once getting the nhb15s i will be ditching YT music and going with apple music. Cant believe yt is 1/16th of lossless. Any one have recomendations for comply tips that fit these? I also want to compare how the built in dac sounds and the m15.
I got these for $150 on a lightening sale. I’m guessing because newer iPhones have c ports, I wonder how they compete with other iems in the $150 range. Either way that cable might be useful with my other iems.
I love this guy he's so bold.
Was hoping for Audio Phil to have the final say 😂😂
Nice review. Might have yo grab a pair myself. Perfect Audiophile jewellery 😊
I can’t imagine Phil holding out on eartips for long.
MFi, so me (before the explain) is Medium Fi, as in not that good
You have a point.
A doubt on Android tips... If you ditch the included DAC, you are then using the Android phone's DAC and headphones amplifier. Goodbye "loseless" and everything this product claims to do. You just get a pair of good classic in-ear headphones which will sound as good as your phone analog circuits do... Isn't it?
As you say, there's always going to be a DAC whether it's inside the phone or out. I'd imagine in Android phones the quality of the DAC would be variable, as might be the headphone amplifier. I might search out some audiophile opinion on this.
In Ear KZ AS10 PRO. Unbelievably good sounding ear phones for fraction of the price. Comply™ Memory Foam Ear Tips make price double but it is worth it.
I had to pick myself up off the floor after reading the title. I may have come close to stroking-out in laughter (but hey, if you're gonna go...). . .
A cheapo 'Lightning to USB-C' adaptor should work with the DAC. I bought one for the iPhone users who connect to the DAC which is attached to the amplifier in the workshop. The main problem I have is people taking the adaptor home with them...
Jeh, I love this guy!
Please place time stamps on either side of the time stamp.
They looked like ovaries on the box and Mr Blobby is still getting on telly, what a time to be alive. Far to expensive for my battered ears and I much prefer 'over the ear' headphones even if I do walk around looking like a Cyberman...cheers.
Will I be able to talk on the phone with these?
Please don’t be disappointed with me but I gave up on my lossless/DAC venture and purchased a pair of AirPod pro usb c version installed Sonicfoam tips and left the DAC at home
However these are intriguing 😎
AirPods Pro 2 are pretty great. Idk why they get so much hate, they are one of the best bt earbuds, imo better than Bose and Sonys….not quite as good as status between 3ANC.
It will only be as "lossless" as the source recordings you play through it.
There is also the nhb15 for usb c users.
This is correct. They were not available at the time of the review but they are now. I aim to own an iPhone 16 sometime around 2028.
About 50 years ago I bought some Bayer DT100's and I still see professionals using them. Why is that? PS I still have them and use them,
Reliability and maintainability I'd guess. They sound decent enough for recording purposes.
How are the rubber bits pre-fitted if they are already on the earphones?
Oh, I see... you mean fitted.
😜
My New Years resolution - I will continue to listen to the music and not the audio components. I have the privilege of listening on systems from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, It is never the system it is the music. The 10s of thousands systems are obviously better then the hundred dollar systems. However no matter what you spend it can't really change the music. The music sets its own value. The delivery system doesn't change the intrinsic quality of the music.
I could care less about marketing hype. I’m not an IEM person either. Further defining myself, I’m not a streamer either. While some love this way of doing things, I have nothing to do with it. What I will say is beware of marketing hype as these people know less about audio than they know about fornicating. I’d prefer to hear about their performance from you as you seem to know what you are talking about even if we don’t always agree. At least your opinion is professional. That I can respect!
Abyss Diana ULTIMATE Audio Experience, talked about BS baffles brain......
Me? I turn on headphone amp, put on my headphones, (listen to "I want to change the world-ten years after") I can hear all the instruments and the singing, wot more do I want?
Ha! Ha! Ha!
I have the sennheiser true wireless momentum 3 and the aptx bt sounds better than any aux earbuds i ever owned im im pletty happy with them. Besides wired buds do have major distortion because 100% of vibration touches or bumps to the cables themselves cause a bunch of noise which has a way bigger impact imo than any loss in bitrate
Well, that's one thing lossless can mean. Another thing it can mean is the waveform out is indistinguishable from the waveform in at relevant frequencies through the a/d/a chain. But that means almost nothing is lossless. Now bring in detectors (microphones) and transducers (loudspeakers). Now bring in ears. And rooms. Or (worse) cars.
Lossless is overrated; it's nonsense. It's obsession with a number, (not that objective measurements aren't helpful to engineers). Get me dynamic range; compression should happen mainly at playback if it happens at all. Get me headroom in amplifers, high slew rates, things that make recorded music musical. This nonsense about bit perfect delivery to a $1 amplifier and a 4mm in-ear transducer -- not one person in 10,000 could tell the difference.
One can't get a sense of the 30 foot long Bass tone with headphones
Hey! Black Friday in USA so 20% off. So at the new price. Let's see. $210 of expensive packaging. $20 headphones. No IP rating so useless at the gym or out in the rain. Even if the diagram of the flat frequency response is correct - bet the bass is still rubbish for those of us from the 1970's.....
Think I will stick with the $10 wired units from Amazon for my bike rides. The soundstage, spacing and clarity is just perfect for my needed 90 bpm music that keeps my riding cadence on point in the buffeting wind noise. They last about three months and I can buy an awful lot of them for the price of this unit.
Android - last two years - most have been going USB-C.......
All these claims about being lossless kind of puts me off them, as the lossless truly stops at the DAC, to claim more means you are telling little fibs, this DAC is nowhere as good as a multi thousand dollar use - that they don't claim to be lossless...
I won't buy Apples .