@mlbrink There’s an app called “KENWOOD Smart Headsets” in the IOS app store, made by the JVC Kenwood Corporation, so it’s a pretty safe bet that they do.
@jake5snooze@mediocrebot
Slash commands have to be at the start of a new line, like mine below or your first attempt which almost worked, but not your 2nd attempt.
their website says that google is compatible with android phones, hope that helps. Whats with only buying 2 pairs? Now I have to prepare for bloodshed christmas morning between the three boys.
Pricing is all over the place, so 40-50 $ is probably what they’re worth, if that. Especially since there are 0 reviews, not even suspect ones on Amazon…
Guys, I found some reviews. But you know how the write up said these were made for the Japanese market… Well, the reviews are in Japanese. https://s.kakaku.com/review/K0001317064/
@mike808 I have a pair of those, FYI, Those are just ‘KZ’ earbuds Linsoul is just some reseller trying to create a unique name for their listing.
Great earbuds, but the tiny connecting piece of the cable is real delicate. Buy spare cables. Also, wireless can’t compare to wired. There’s a convenience factor to wireless but for sound quality wired is unmatched.
I saw Kenwood and reloaded multiple times, thinking Meh had been hacked. (Who would be selling a real name brand product on such a cheap sight?) Then I saw that these are for Japan.
You know the how technologically advanced Japanese are? Their second hand tech is really advanced to us. Too bad I don’t need any.
@hchavers Well, they’ve merged with JVC since 2008 and last time I saw JVC branded stuff was at family dollar so I think the brand is worth as much a J.D. Powers endorsement (not much)
@pixelated At least he recorded part of his review using the mic in these - a tad tinny, (and I still don’t understand Japanese) but acceptable imo! @8:52
@pixelated For this youtube video, one can turn on the autogenerated Closed Captions and then in the settings turn on autotranslate and Google will translate enough of it to English or any other language so one can get the gist of what’s being said. (Oh, I’m using a browser, and not the native android youtube app.)
@pixelated I love listening to this guy’s reactions even if I don’t understand a word of it. I did put captions on, which was pretty funny. I plan on using these with my macbook. I am tired of my airpods switching back and forth during a phone call. Even though I have the settings set correctly, so I just never use them with my computer.
Not sure why I feel limited in my choices since the Google ones were sold out, but since I don’t use any of the voice assistants, I suppose I should be content with my purchase…
Did they only have like five of the Google ones, because I clicked here right after I got the email and purchased one and it already said the Google ones were sold out.
I’m a little puzzled as to why this headset is limited to one assistant. Does anyone know why they would do that?
@kwatral Thanks. But damn JVC-Kenwood, it’s an HTML manual, I tend to like downloading PDF ones for future reference like years after they take down their webpage for it.
@bbf@kwatral It’s not necessarily convenient, but you can always print an html page to a pdf document (in windows, anyway, there’s a default “pdf printer” under printers… ).
@edsa As of now, 677 of them. They have to have at least one left for the 4pm. But let’s call it 700. The real question is how many of those were Google? 9?
@blaineg they sold it to Japan calling them “headsets” cuz they knew it’s too large to call them earbuds. But they pulling a fast one on the US market.
@guyfromhawthorn@phrostyphace I don’t think VMP memberships are available anymore, so you have to be one of the few <strikeout>suckers</strikeout> early adopters that started the VMP subscription years ago to access the 4PM Eastern resupply. Note this is not to be confused with the pause till (I forget when exactly) the morning eastern that meh sometimes places on quickly selling items, so people that don’t stay up to 3AM on the east coast have a chance at getting some “meh” for themselves.
@bbf@phrostyphace
Right, you can’t be on old school VMP like me, but I thought you could still sign up for whatever the heart icon version of membership is. I’m getting damned old so I forgot already what that one was, but I thought it was just mehmbership
Edit: just membership and you can see it on the FAQs https://meh.com/faq
Blendtec, Deebot in an IRK, BK Dutch Oven, these might be my in my top 5 meh purchases. I am not an audiophile, but have decent hearing, and these things really sound nice. Noise cancelling is quite impressive. I know these sold out quickly, but if meh procures more, I will max out. Awesome find.
Does anyone else hear soft white noise when turning on ANC without any audio playing (mostly on the right ear)? I know it’s not noticeable with audio playing, but my Anker Q30 over the ears doesn’t do that. I’m wondering if it’s just my right earbud that’s defective or if everyone’s does it.
If I take off the right earbud then put it back in, there’s a few seconds when it isn’t there then the ANC kicks in and I hear it again. The left earbud has a very very faint noise but the right earbud is much more noticeable.
@Odi yeah, that’s the ANC. It sounds even for left and right ears to me. It should be most audible on high. I also hear it when Transparency is turned on.
@FirstLast87 hmm that seems to suggest that different units have different amounts of that static noise when using ANC. The left one is so soft compared to the right one for mine. Hopefully @troy and @KNmeh7 can chime in as they said the ANC was great and it may be something we can try to get exchanged under warranty
@Odi I have the same exact issue with the right side. In addition, if I turn ANC to max, I get feedback only on the right side. The feedback won’t go away until I turn it down to medium.
@ktkmr I don’t get any feedback, just the static noise. I am learning to live with it because I read that other ANC also do similar. I am quite impressed by the noise reduction and the static is almost indiscernible when audio is playing.
I contacted Kenwood and they said static shouldn’t be happening. They asked me to try different locations (I hear it at work and at home), try to do a factory reset (https://manual2.jvckenwood.com/accessory/headphones/contents/ws-a1/en/GOUMSYdsaupjri.php which didn’t help), and that I could contact them for exchange (I pay shipping to them and they send a replacement).
If we can be of further assistance, please let us know at customercare@ccc.kenwoodusa.com or by phone at 1-800-536-9663. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9AM to 9PM, Saturday 9AM to 6PM or Sunday 10AM to 5PM.
I don’t think I will be asking for an exchange because I bought a second pair on this deal, and I finally decided to open it up and test that one also. That one has exactly the same static sound. So it seems my left ear is less sensitive to the static than my right ear, as opposed to the right earbud having an issue. But your feedback might warrant getting it replaced, unless you don’t notice the feedback when changing locations.
I am impressed with the build quality and sound. This is a n exceptionally nice pair of earbuds for what we paid here. I wouldn’t call this audiophile quality but the sound isolation is pretty good. It’s interesting how you can use a slider to control how much external ambience you hear – right in the middle of the sIider is no enhancement (but good isolation), while going either direciton either increases the ANC or the enhanced input from the mics pulling in ambient sound.
I haven’t yet figured out how to keep a solid connection with my ear/head so I don’t see these as ideal for workouts.
Context: I own Beyerdynamic DT770, Ultrasones, Bower & Wilkins PX, Master & Dynamic MW60s and a pair of Etymotic ER4SR that just landed from Woot. I also have some of the Meh Libratone offerings from last year and use a couple sets of JBL/sports-type earbuds. So I have a mix of wired and Bluetooth.
@bmajazz is this your first ANC earbud? My ANC over the ear (Anker Q30) doesn’t have the white noise / static sound but these have it in my right earbud. Another here said both earbuds have the noise which leads me to think it is a unit by unit issue.
I read that someone got defective Sony WF-1000XM4 that had a low static noise when on ANC and would return/exchange them. The noise really gets on my nerves like how some laptop fans do, to the point I still use a fanless m5 6y57.
I got a good secure seal by using the small wing plus medium tip (as it arrived out of the box) and rotating it like my Anker Liberty 2 Pro (put them in then rotate the top of the earbud toward the back of the head around 45 degrees). However I cannot do this with the medium or large wings, which makes me think wearing it this way isn’t intended. The intended ways are all loose to me also.
@bmajazz if I use the medium wings, then all I can do is wiggle it around to try to seat it in better. I can get a good seal with minimal pressure with wiggling (good for wearing a long time), but it easily comes unseated with a slight nudge. If I use the small wings, then I can do the wiggle or rotate. Wiggle is similar to the medium, and the rotate makes the tip put a lot more pressure and doesn’t unseat as easily (good for up to an hour when I don’t want it to fall).
I got used to the rotate/pressure from the Anker Liberty 2 Pro and was surprised it worked well for this Kenwood. I want ANC earbuds because I fell in love with the quiet of the over the ears ANC. I know that earbuds can’t compare in noise reduction, but I can wear earbuds for much longer than headphones. Right now I’m using this Kenwood without ANC because of the static issue, but it is more comfortable for extended use than my Ankers
I think they are the small or medium. The case gets stuck when closed. I can pry it open but it requires putting a shim inside the crack between the case body and lid, then futzing around to give it enough clearance.
@bmajazz I just did some testing, if I align the arrows on the wings to the arrows on the earbuds, then I get this issue on the large wings and large tips (earbuds scrape against the case when closing and opening requires using a fingernail to pull open more than a crack). But if I align it so that the L and R printed on the wings are “upright” as opposed to tilted (the arrows are apart by about 1cm, where the arrow of the wing is pointing to the closest charging contact), then the case closes and opens without any resistance.
It might just be my experience, but these have been much quieter then similar headphones at the same volume. It’s fine, just need to crank it a bit more. Sound quality is good. Don’t love it as much as my Bowers and Wilkins PI7s, but still quite enjoyable.
It’s a shame they made these for people with small ears. I’m 6’ tall with normal guy size ears and these fall out. A lot. Can’t get the tips deep enough to stay in securely and the volume is thus very low as a result. Bought 2 pairs and wanted to love them, anyone know which foam aftermarket ear tips will work with them? I’ve tried ones that fit everything from Beats to AirPod Pros to Bose QC you name it.
@Lear70 My Anker Liberty 2 Pro tips fit the Kenwood. Although I find the Kenwood tips provide a better audio seal than my Anker tips with less pressure.
Right now, I wear my Anker if I want to be sure it stays on, and I wear my Kenwood if I’m just sitting in my cubicle. The Anker puts a lot more pressure on my ears, while the Kenwood has very little pressure for extended usage comfort.
I found I can make the Kenwood more secure with more pressure by following the Anker manual (but it only works with the small wings). But it’s nowhere as secure as the Anker using the same procedure.
@Odi Thanks, I’ve tried just about everything. I wear Comply foam tips for my Clarity Aloft Flex TSO aviation headsets and they work great because I can get them down in my ear canal just a cm or so and then they seal. I have Comply tips for both my QC’s and my AirPod Pros and they are better but not as long as my work headsets. Just wish people would figure out how to make a headset fit, it’s not rocket science.
@Lear70 I’ve read about Comply for Sony WF but didn’t know they made models for many different earbuds. I just ordered the TW-200-A from Amazon, I’ll report back on Sunday if they fit the Kenwoods also.
@Lear70 The TW-200-A does fit. It’s a bit harder to put on than on my Anker Liberty 2 Pro (because the soundport flange is a bit larger on the Kenwood) but it does go on once you find the correct angle to push.
I don’t like the Comply on my Ankers, even the large size doesn’t seal completely and there is no bass anymore. The Comply is acceptable on the Kenwood for me, but the Kenwood tips give a better seal for more bass and more noise isolation. The Comply also doesn’t feel any more secure in my ears (I tried the rolling and letting it expand as per the instructions, but I probably need an XL to get more foam to fill up my ears).
I can get a secure fit by using the Comply and then rotating as the picture I posted from the Anker manual, but I lose the seal and bass. With the Kenwood tips, it is a bit less secure (as in I pull and lose the seal, but it stays in my ear) while the Comply doesn’t provide a seal in the first place, so I pull and it stays in my ear.
@Odi again, my problem is LENGTH. The original Kenwoods don’t fit because they’re not LONG enough. I have this problem with a lot of headphones, and a lot of other people do too judging by the online reviews of the Kenwoods.
It’s not a diameter problem, it’s a LENGTH problem. My ear canal doesn’t taper until it’s WAY down the canal. If you have FLAT ears then you get the narrowing of your canal right out by where the earbuds sit and these work fine.
If, however, you do NOT have FLAT ears, the earbud sits out further and nothing goes into the canal to seal. This is why the best Comply professional tips are OVER twice as long as the TW-200-A’s I just got in from Amazon.
There needs to be an industry standard for ALL earbuds how the tips attach to the earbuds themselves, then you could simply interchange different tips for proper fit. Instead they’ll eat the product on the return or, like Kenwood, have to sell them for ten cents on the dollar here on Meh to get rid of them.
I own a manufacturing business so I know a little something about making sure you get your product right before launch or you lose your shirt. Like Kenwood did on these.
@Lear70 Sorry to hear that it won’t help for you. And thanks for the info about other Comply professional tips, I was baffled why lots of people were raving about the brand in Sony WF threads. I guess this particular model is just mediocre.
Thanks for that diagram, I couldn’t get these to stay in my ears until I saw that you need to twist them to get them to stay. Not sure I love the feel of them, but I really wanted a dedicated set of wireless for my macbook that will NOT disconnect to my iphone randomly. As much as I love my airpods, the disconnect/reconnect business drives me insane. I often am working on my computer while talking on the phone.
I went ahead and bought a pair of Master & Dynamic MW07’s on woot for $33. I couldn’t get these to stay in, particularly the left one. Plus the M&D’s sound much better.
Life is too short for this sort of nuisance. Lesson learned!
Had to use the “warranty” from JVC because the left unit would lose charge while in the case over a few days, but charge back up when reinserted.
Called JVC support, they told me to send it in on my dime and when they received it, they said they were discontinued, so would only send me my purchase price back or choose a comparably priced ($40) item from their MSRP catalog. They did not tell me that before I spent $16 to send it in, else I would have just sent it in in an envelope for a few bucks.
So I’m $16 out for the defective Kenwood product. Terrible service from JVC/Kenwood. I’d take a 90 day meh! warranty over this any day.
Specs
Kenwood WS-A1 Active Noise Canceling Smart True Wireless Earbuds
Condition: New
Model#: WS-A1G or WS-A1
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
$79.95 at B&H
Warranty
1 Year Manufacturer Warranty
Estimated Delivery
Standard: Monday, Sep 26 - Thursday, Sep 29.
Enhanced: Friday, Sep 23 - Monday, Sep 26.
Say what?
They sound like they’re wonderful…but no reviews? Sus.
Ha ha, you said “ear butts”.
What’s the catch?
Zero reviews but my headphone addiction is telling me to go for it!
Do they work with iPads ?
@mlbrink Check the Apple store for their app. If there isn’t one, the answer is probably “Nope.”
@mlbrink - Basic functions should work over Bluetooth.
@mlbrink There’s an app called “KENWOOD Smart Headsets” in the IOS app store, made by the JVC Kenwood Corporation, so it’s a pretty safe bet that they do.
@mlbrink According to the indiegogo FAQ, either version should work with Siri
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/virtual-assistant-enabled-smart-headsets#/faq
@mlbrink @Odi Thanks for the indiegogo link, it was interesting and informative.
and @mlbrink for the app info too
@mlbrink
Depends on the iPad!
Ear buds feel like pine cones to my ears.
@werehatrack Try pinecones and report back.
@erthian @werehatrack Do a side by side comparison as well.
@Achromatter @erthian I already know that pine cones smell better.
@Achromatter @erthian @werehatrack That is exactly why gawd gave us 2 ears
Another coupon used from my 90 dollar IRK
/giphy remarkable unused burst
/buy
@jake5snooze Sorry, this deal contains 2 unique items and I’m not sure which one you want. You can review how to pick one, or just try ordering from the checkout page.
@mediocrebot /buy --“voice assistant” google
@jake5snooze @mediocrebot
Slash commands have to be at the start of a new line, like mine below or your first attempt which almost worked, but not your 2nd attempt.
/buy --“voice assistant” google
/bye
@phendrick /see you later!
@phendrick /eighty oats and a hasty banana (for scale)!
So it can’t connect to both Alexa and Google? I have to choose one or the other? Makes me wonder if it’s iOS device compatible
Must… resist… urge… to buy more headphones…
@accumulator
/buy --“voice assistant” google
@jake5snooze It worked! Your order number is: thrilling-distrustful-sponge
/image thrilling distrustful sponge
their website says that google is compatible with android phones, hope that helps. Whats with only buying 2 pairs? Now I have to prepare for bloodshed christmas morning between the three boys.
@ypwulby good news, you can get a third pair today!
/giphy liable-tremendous-tub
Pricing is all over the place, so 40-50 $ is probably what they’re worth, if that. Especially since there are 0 reviews, not even suspect ones on Amazon…
Don’t know about this, theyz ugly too!
/giphy terrestrial-devilish-sunflower
Guys, I found some reviews. But you know how the write up said these were made for the Japanese market… Well, the reviews are in Japanese.
https://s.kakaku.com/review/K0001317064/
@FirstLast87 Well, at least Google translate makes it interesting, but not very helpful.
@FirstLast87 @heartny Yeah it was pretty funny to read some of them, do you think Translate missed anything?
But you get the general idea at least.
I loved this bit:
“It was sold at a super bargain price on Amazon’s prime sale on Friday night, and I drank 600cc of One Cup Ozeki, and I drank it.”
/giphy mulish-damp-hour
Hmm. Tempted. I’m looking at IEMs like the Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pros ($50).
Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro 4BA+1DD 5 Driver in-Ear HiFi Metal Earphones with Stainless Steel Faceplate, 2 Pin Detachable Cable (with Mic, Purple) https://a.co/d/aAtPd9L
@mike808 I have a pair of those, FYI, Those are just ‘KZ’ earbuds Linsoul is just some reseller trying to create a unique name for their listing.
Great earbuds, but the tiny connecting piece of the cable is real delicate. Buy spare cables. Also, wireless can’t compare to wired. There’s a convenience factor to wireless but for sound quality wired is unmatched.
I saw Kenwood and reloaded multiple times, thinking Meh had been hacked. (Who would be selling a real name brand product on such a cheap sight?) Then I saw that these are for Japan.
You know the how technologically advanced Japanese are? Their second hand tech is really advanced to us. Too bad I don’t need any.
@hchavers Well, they’ve merged with JVC since 2008 and last time I saw JVC branded stuff was at family dollar so I think the brand is worth as much a J.D. Powers endorsement (not much)
Sold!
@pixelated At least he recorded part of his review using the mic in these - a tad tinny, (and I still don’t understand Japanese) but acceptable imo! @8:52
@pixelated For this youtube video, one can turn on the autogenerated Closed Captions and then in the settings turn on autotranslate and Google will translate enough of it to English or any other language so one can get the gist of what’s being said. (Oh, I’m using a browser, and not the native android youtube app.)
@pixelated I love listening to this guy’s reactions even if I don’t understand a word of it. I did put captions on, which was pretty funny. I plan on using these with my macbook. I am tired of my airpods switching back and forth during a phone call. Even though I have the settings set correctly, so I just never use them with my computer.
But I am tired of being wired.
Hey, that’s kinda catchy.
The autogenerated captions though…
@Dakini @pixelated
Sounds so much more … erotic?
Not sure why I feel limited in my choices since the Google ones were sold out, but since I don’t use any of the voice assistants, I suppose I should be content with my purchase…
/giphy navigable-electrical-kingfisher
/giphy dramatic-unwilling-thunder
Don’t use either voice assistants, and would have preferred Google’s if I had a choice, but why not? They seem decent.
Did they only have like five of the Google ones, because I clicked here right after I got the email and purchased one and it already said the Google ones were sold out.
I’m a little puzzled as to why this headset is limited to one assistant. Does anyone know why they would do that?
@phrostyphace it’s built into the headset. now as to why they would do that I’m not sure. Maybe if you used these with a laptop
@phrostyphace the emails go out way later than they go on sale.
here’s a link to the manual
https://manual2.jvckenwood.com/accessory/headphones/contents/ws-a1/en/index.php
A few things to note:
@kwatral Thanks. But damn JVC-Kenwood, it’s an HTML manual, I tend to like downloading PDF ones for future reference like years after they take down their webpage for it.
@bbf @kwatral It’s not necessarily convenient, but you can always print an html page to a pdf document (in windows, anyway, there’s a default “pdf printer” under printers… ).
/buy --“voice assistant” google
@vin314 We’re sold out except for a small amount we set aside for existing VMP members to be released at 4pm ET.
For serious, how many did Meh have?
@edsa As of now, 677 of them. They have to have at least one left for the 4pm. But let’s call it 700. The real question is how many of those were Google? 9?
@edsa @KNmeh7 200 were Google
@edsa @KNmeh7
Wow, they only held 22 for 4pm… And I wasn’t fast enough to snag one even with a reminder
So you can use them for 8 hours in your ears and then have to hang the charging case from them while they are in your ears to continue using them?
@Kidsandliz Sounds more like the buds themselves hold an 8-hour charge, then the case holds enough charge to recharge them twice more.
Can’t they make earbuds even larger so everyone can see me wearing them?
@blaineg they sold it to Japan calling them “headsets” cuz they knew it’s too large to call them earbuds. But they pulling a fast one on the US market.
The 80’s and 90’s era comes to mind whenever I hear of brands like Kenwood and Pioneer mentioned
Are there any more Googke ones left for VMP?
might have bought them, but still not getting the daily emails, so didn’t get here till now
@catthegreat Whut? You don’t obsessively navigate to meh.com at the stroke of midnight EVERY DAY?!?! Pshaw.
How do you know if there’s any left for the 4:00 release? Because I’ve been refreshing the page but it doesn’t seem to ever not say sold out
@phrostyphace
You have to have been a mehmber since the day before to qualify, so I’m guessing it only shows up if you are one
@guyfromhawthorn @phrostyphace I don’t think VMP memberships are available anymore, so you have to be one of the few <strikeout>suckers</strikeout> early adopters that started the VMP subscription years ago to access the 4PM Eastern resupply.
Note this is not to be confused with the pause till (I forget when exactly) the morning eastern that meh sometimes places on quickly selling items, so people that don’t stay up to 3AM on the east coast have a chance at getting some “meh” for themselves.
@bbf @phrostyphace
Right, you can’t be on old school VMP like me, but I thought you could still sign up for whatever the heart icon version of membership is. I’m getting damned old so I forgot already what that one was, but I thought it was just mehmbership
Edit: just membership and you can see it on the FAQs
https://meh.com/faq
@bbf @guyfromhawthorn @phrostyphace
FIFY: few
suckersearly adopters…(to get that to happen use 2 ~ before and after the word(s) you want the line thru.)
If anyone missed out, the progenitor of meh, woot, is having a sale on a bunch of earbuds. So maybe there’s a decent dral or two over there.
Got my pair today… really love them! Especially the adjustable noise canceling and ambient modes.
Mine came in today…honestly sound great.
Blendtec, Deebot in an IRK, BK Dutch Oven, these might be my in my top 5 meh purchases. I am not an audiophile, but have decent hearing, and these things really sound nice. Noise cancelling is quite impressive. I know these sold out quickly, but if meh procures more, I will max out. Awesome find.
POPSOCKETS! SPROCKETS! DAVY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
Damn good earbuds.
Yeah, a little large. Get over it.
Does anyone else hear soft white noise when turning on ANC without any audio playing (mostly on the right ear)? I know it’s not noticeable with audio playing, but my Anker Q30 over the ears doesn’t do that. I’m wondering if it’s just my right earbud that’s defective or if everyone’s does it.
If I take off the right earbud then put it back in, there’s a few seconds when it isn’t there then the ANC kicks in and I hear it again. The left earbud has a very very faint noise but the right earbud is much more noticeable.
@Odi yeah, that’s the ANC. It sounds even for left and right ears to me. It should be most audible on high. I also hear it when Transparency is turned on.
@FirstLast87 hmm that seems to suggest that different units have different amounts of that static noise when using ANC. The left one is so soft compared to the right one for mine. Hopefully @troy and @KNmeh7 can chime in as they said the ANC was great and it may be something we can try to get exchanged under warranty
@Odi I have the same exact issue with the right side. In addition, if I turn ANC to max, I get feedback only on the right side. The feedback won’t go away until I turn it down to medium.
@ktkmr I don’t get any feedback, just the static noise. I am learning to live with it because I read that other ANC also do similar. I am quite impressed by the noise reduction and the static is almost indiscernible when audio is playing.
I contacted Kenwood and they said static shouldn’t be happening. They asked me to try different locations (I hear it at work and at home), try to do a factory reset (https://manual2.jvckenwood.com/accessory/headphones/contents/ws-a1/en/GOUMSYdsaupjri.php which didn’t help), and that I could contact them for exchange (I pay shipping to them and they send a replacement).
I don’t think I will be asking for an exchange because I bought a second pair on this deal, and I finally decided to open it up and test that one also. That one has exactly the same static sound. So it seems my left ear is less sensitive to the static than my right ear, as opposed to the right earbud having an issue. But your feedback might warrant getting it replaced, unless you don’t notice the feedback when changing locations.
I am impressed with the build quality and sound. This is a n exceptionally nice pair of earbuds for what we paid here. I wouldn’t call this audiophile quality but the sound isolation is pretty good. It’s interesting how you can use a slider to control how much external ambience you hear – right in the middle of the sIider is no enhancement (but good isolation), while going either direciton either increases the ANC or the enhanced input from the mics pulling in ambient sound.
I haven’t yet figured out how to keep a solid connection with my ear/head so I don’t see these as ideal for workouts.
Context: I own Beyerdynamic DT770, Ultrasones, Bower & Wilkins PX, Master & Dynamic MW60s and a pair of Etymotic ER4SR that just landed from Woot. I also have some of the Meh Libratone offerings from last year and use a couple sets of JBL/sports-type earbuds. So I have a mix of wired and Bluetooth.
Interestingly it appears this was also an Indiegogo last year: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/virtual-assistant-enabled-smart-headsets#/
@bmajazz is this your first ANC earbud? My ANC over the ear (Anker Q30) doesn’t have the white noise / static sound but these have it in my right earbud. Another here said both earbuds have the noise which leads me to think it is a unit by unit issue.
I read that someone got defective Sony WF-1000XM4 that had a low static noise when on ANC and would return/exchange them. The noise really gets on my nerves like how some laptop fans do, to the point I still use a fanless m5 6y57.
I got a good secure seal by using the small wing plus medium tip (as it arrived out of the box) and rotating it like my Anker Liberty 2 Pro (put them in then rotate the top of the earbud toward the back of the head around 45 degrees). However I cannot do this with the medium or large wings, which makes me think wearing it this way isn’t intended. The intended ways are all loose to me also.
@Odi I couldn’t figure out all the rubber wings / earbuds for a good fit, but to be fair I haven’t spent much time on it.
These are my first ANC earbuds, in fact my first earbuds that don’t have a wire connecting them.
I’m trying to keep my level of expectation in line with the purchase price
@bmajazz if I use the medium wings, then all I can do is wiggle it around to try to seat it in better. I can get a good seal with minimal pressure with wiggling (good for wearing a long time), but it easily comes unseated with a slight nudge. If I use the small wings, then I can do the wiggle or rotate. Wiggle is similar to the medium, and the rotate makes the tip put a lot more pressure and doesn’t unseat as easily (good for up to an hour when I don’t want it to fall).
I got used to the rotate/pressure from the Anker Liberty 2 Pro and was surprised it worked well for this Kenwood. I want ANC earbuds because I fell in love with the quiet of the over the ears ANC. I know that earbuds can’t compare in noise reduction, but I can wear earbuds for much longer than headphones. Right now I’m using this Kenwood without ANC because of the static issue, but it is more comfortable for extended use than my Ankers
It’s rather annoying that the charging case requires the wings to be removed!
@bmajazz odd, I put the largest ones on and it didn’t have any problems charging. What size ear tips did you use? Mine are the smallest.
@bmajazz The mediums mine came installed work for me.
I think they are the small or medium. The case gets stuck when closed. I can pry it open but it requires putting a shim inside the crack between the case body and lid, then futzing around to give it enough clearance.
@bmajazz I just did some testing, if I align the arrows on the wings to the arrows on the earbuds, then I get this issue on the large wings and large tips (earbuds scrape against the case when closing and opening requires using a fingernail to pull open more than a crack). But if I align it so that the L and R printed on the wings are “upright” as opposed to tilted (the arrows are apart by about 1cm, where the arrow of the wing is pointing to the closest charging contact), then the case closes and opens without any resistance.
It might just be my experience, but these have been much quieter then similar headphones at the same volume. It’s fine, just need to crank it a bit more. Sound quality is good. Don’t love it as much as my Bowers and Wilkins PI7s, but still quite enjoyable.
It’s a shame they made these for people with small ears. I’m 6’ tall with normal guy size ears and these fall out. A lot. Can’t get the tips deep enough to stay in securely and the volume is thus very low as a result. Bought 2 pairs and wanted to love them, anyone know which foam aftermarket ear tips will work with them? I’ve tried ones that fit everything from Beats to AirPod Pros to Bose QC you name it.
@Lear70 My Anker Liberty 2 Pro tips fit the Kenwood. Although I find the Kenwood tips provide a better audio seal than my Anker tips with less pressure.
Right now, I wear my Anker if I want to be sure it stays on, and I wear my Kenwood if I’m just sitting in my cubicle. The Anker puts a lot more pressure on my ears, while the Kenwood has very little pressure for extended usage comfort.
I found I can make the Kenwood more secure with more pressure by following the Anker manual (but it only works with the small wings). But it’s nowhere as secure as the Anker using the same procedure.
@Odi Thanks, I’ve tried just about everything. I wear Comply foam tips for my Clarity Aloft Flex TSO aviation headsets and they work great because I can get them down in my ear canal just a cm or so and then they seal. I have Comply tips for both my QC’s and my AirPod Pros and they are better but not as long as my work headsets. Just wish people would figure out how to make a headset fit, it’s not rocket science.
@Lear70 I’ve read about Comply for Sony WF but didn’t know they made models for many different earbuds. I just ordered the TW-200-A from Amazon, I’ll report back on Sunday if they fit the Kenwoods also.
@Lear70 The TW-200-A does fit. It’s a bit harder to put on than on my Anker Liberty 2 Pro (because the soundport flange is a bit larger on the Kenwood) but it does go on once you find the correct angle to push.
I don’t like the Comply on my Ankers, even the large size doesn’t seal completely and there is no bass anymore. The Comply is acceptable on the Kenwood for me, but the Kenwood tips give a better seal for more bass and more noise isolation. The Comply also doesn’t feel any more secure in my ears (I tried the rolling and letting it expand as per the instructions, but I probably need an XL to get more foam to fill up my ears).
I can get a secure fit by using the Comply and then rotating as the picture I posted from the Anker manual, but I lose the seal and bass. With the Kenwood tips, it is a bit less secure (as in I pull and lose the seal, but it stays in my ear) while the Comply doesn’t provide a seal in the first place, so I pull and it stays in my ear.
@Odi again, my problem is LENGTH. The original Kenwoods don’t fit because they’re not LONG enough. I have this problem with a lot of headphones, and a lot of other people do too judging by the online reviews of the Kenwoods.
It’s not a diameter problem, it’s a LENGTH problem. My ear canal doesn’t taper until it’s WAY down the canal. If you have FLAT ears then you get the narrowing of your canal right out by where the earbuds sit and these work fine.
If, however, you do NOT have FLAT ears, the earbud sits out further and nothing goes into the canal to seal. This is why the best Comply professional tips are OVER twice as long as the TW-200-A’s I just got in from Amazon.
There needs to be an industry standard for ALL earbuds how the tips attach to the earbuds themselves, then you could simply interchange different tips for proper fit. Instead they’ll eat the product on the return or, like Kenwood, have to sell them for ten cents on the dollar here on Meh to get rid of them.
I own a manufacturing business so I know a little something about making sure you get your product right before launch or you lose your shirt. Like Kenwood did on these.
@Lear70 Sorry to hear that it won’t help for you. And thanks for the info about other Comply professional tips, I was baffled why lots of people were raving about the brand in Sony WF threads. I guess this particular model is just mediocre.
Thanks for that diagram, I couldn’t get these to stay in my ears until I saw that you need to twist them to get them to stay. Not sure I love the feel of them, but I really wanted a dedicated set of wireless for my macbook that will NOT disconnect to my iphone randomly. As much as I love my airpods, the disconnect/reconnect business drives me insane. I often am working on my computer while talking on the phone.
@Dakini Note that the diagram is for my other set of Anker earbuds but I found it works on these Kenwood too (only for the non protruding wings).
I went ahead and bought a pair of Master & Dynamic MW07’s on woot for $33. I couldn’t get these to stay in, particularly the left one. Plus the M&D’s sound much better.
Life is too short for this sort of nuisance. Lesson learned!
Had to use the “warranty” from JVC because the left unit would lose charge while in the case over a few days, but charge back up when reinserted.
Called JVC support, they told me to send it in on my dime and when they received it, they said they were discontinued, so would only send me my purchase price back or choose a comparably priced ($40) item from their MSRP catalog. They did not tell me that before I spent $16 to send it in, else I would have just sent it in in an envelope for a few bucks.
So I’m $16 out for the defective Kenwood product. Terrible service from JVC/Kenwood. I’d take a 90 day meh! warranty over this any day.