(Update: This is being posted post-humorously; I've already returned the HD1 Free IEMs as they were god awful. How do these things sell at 270 dollars!? I didn't even bother to take photos of these as they went back to quickly!)
The Pixel 3 is USB-C only. Goodbye headphone jack! Not
exactly cool, my dudes, but it’s a sign of the times, I guess. I don’t really
feel much like prematurely wearing out the USB-C port, and a good USB-C DAC on
a dongle is something like 45 CAD normally, so I’m going to try retiring my
Etymotics in favor of a Bluetooth option. I honestly don’t feel I’ll be able to
tell the difference between LDAC or AptX and a wired connection at this point,
so I may as well jump on a few. Can we find something as perfect as Etymotic’s
offerings? Let’s find out.
First up! The Momentum HD1 Free. Fairly light weight
Bluetooth neckbuds, mostly plastic construction. The cable is long and awkward,
and the 6 hour battery life is mostly uninspiring for a 170 dollar (on sale!)
pair of Bluetooth IEMs.
Initial impressions: I couldn’t get a fit with the stock
tips. Even the large size didn’t fit my right canal properly. This is kind of
expected as I’ve got big and weirdly shaped canals, so I normally gravitate
toward a deeper fitting IEM. I threw on a pair of “medium” gel filled silicone
Monster Super Tips and the fit was extremely good. The Super Tips in medium
were a fair bit larger than the large from Sennheiser… Weird. Once fitted they
were barely noticeable thanks to the weight of about 40 grams.
Sound quality wise… These are most likely getting returned. I’m
streaming AptX from my Pixel 3 with high quality Google Play music source, and
they’re muddy, sloppy, and veiled. They lack the clarity, speed, articulation,
and intimacy of the Etymotics I’m used to, favoring a more inflated low end and
recessed mids and highs. There’s also some weird sibilance on certain
consonants, depending on the artist that’s likely to get fatiguing. Sound
improves slightly with EQ, but it still kind of sounds like you’re smothering
the music with a pillow. There are tracks they do well with, for instance
Kygo’s “Here for You” comes across fantastically, and Ella’s voice is well
articulated and smooth, but something like Fall Out Boy’s “The Phoenix” is an
absolute mess with the midrange details a complete jumble – You can’t pick
anything out.
There were very few cutouts with the Bluetooth connection,
being 4.2. I expect a few as I believe the antenna is on the opposite side of
where I keep my phone, and I got some barely noticeable drops, but overall
solid connectivity.
In conclusion, these are great for some genres like
electronic and hip hop, but not great for others like rock. I’ll likely give
them a few more days but will be sending them back. I have a few more goodies
on the way, so the hunt continues… Up next is the Sony WI-1000X which seem
really promising with a dual driver setup (Single dynamic and single balanced
armature, which I’m hoping will offer a more neutral, detailed sound), and a
bunch of cool tech like ANC and a better battery life. I also snap-bought the
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless, which look like the first good pair of true
wireless buds to me. Initial reviews seem to be positive, slightly v-shaped but
not lacking in clarity. We’ll see what they’re like when they get here.