Panasonic RZ-S500WE-W True Wireless Earbuds with Dual Hybrid Noise Cancelling, Alexa Built-In and IPX4 Water Resistance - White

So far I’ve been through: Last two generations of Sony’s top end buds. Apple AirPods Pro gens 1 and 2. LG UF9 wireless earphones, Cambridge Audio’s latest effort, Beats Fit Pro and Beats X, Sony linkbuds S (the in-ear noise cancelling model and not the “O” ring driver that just seems dumb and counterintuitive).So that’s a good spread of the generally perceived pack leaders.As an Apple centric user, the AirPods Pro gen 2 are the ultimate in overall sound, ANC, and Spatial Audio (Atmos). They’re also comfortable for my ears.The Sony’s have great battery life and should be the winners. I find them bulky, irritatingly hit and miss touch sense response, and a real struggle to constantly fit in a way that allows their best sound and ANC to manifest. They are clever and oh so close to genius. But they fundamentally don’t perform to their advertised standard and are ludicrously expensive. It’s actually the cheapest of the trio, the LINK S pair that have the best fit, comfort, and controls. ANC is better than average but not exactly stunning. They are my go to pair when listening in bed. They don’t have false reads from the touch sensors and they stay comfortable enough to fall asleep in, even if you might wake up to find one bud in your nostril and another up your … you do the math!The LG’s were bought in a deep sale and are worth every penny. I tend not inuse them so much though because they are basically a close cousin to the AirPods, so why bother eh? They are good though and highly recommended if you see them in a hefty discounted offer.Beats… The Ones with the little silicon tales… Excellent sound and battery. Controls are switch based so can’t really be used at night if you sleep on your side. Fit is very comfortable and ANC is good. But fiddly to put in and take out without fumbling, and case is a bit of a disaster, but that’s not really the point.Beats X are a bit blah. Dead cheap though and excellent battery life. Not “true wireless” with a connecting band, but it’s very flexible and doesn’t really cause any harm. It’s just that once your sold on true wireless buds, the Beats X are a touch backwards. They work which is about the best compliment you can give them.Cambridge Audio. Again bought at deep discount. Again, “OK”. Actually sound quite nice but very vanilla and have no “features” at all. Fit is a dark art and my pair have a switch based button that loses its “click” when it warms up. Doesn’t impact the functions, but it does keep you guessing if you’ve pressed hard enough. They’re again, “OK”.Now… now the Panasonic! And by crikey what’s this? Not only deep, deep, deep discount, but the soundstage out of the box is truly remarkable! I don’t know if it’s the slightly larger driver (8mm as opposed to the 5/6 of the others) or there’s some kind of stage expansion going on, but this is the closest I’ve come to open backed large driver headphones. The companion app is very straight forward and intuitive. Yes, the LED lights on the buds can be disabled. The base enhancemnt is actually useful and not a setting that is usually a no brainer to leave on by default likemany other brands. It’s a subtle enhancement that doesn’t just increase the mix to a base heavy thump. It seems to clarify the entire range of frequencies in a way that holds all of the high excitement tones whilst allowing more room for the body to spread out. It something you need to hear rather than have explained.The equaliser is again subtle. The basic tone of the buds seems very natural and unprocessed, which is a clever thing to achieve in such a small spaceship. Again, I have to assume it’s the little bit more real estate that the driver has over its competition that accounts for this. The effortless default soundstage allows for a more subtle variation in eq settings to have more of an effect than something that’s already pushing the envelope of what it can physically reproduce.The touch sensors are fantastic. Best I’ve come across, hands down. The Sonys in particular leave you constantly fighting with the various taps and combos because the touch sensor simply doesn’t register half of your inputs. It’s more than annoying and no amount of patience or concentration seems to help. Ther is just no consistency. The Panasonics are so far bang on every time. And because you’re not constantly slapping your lug holes, they don’t cause any discomfort at all.ANC is again surprisingly extremely good. I’d say for me it even rivals the top end Sony ANC and the sealed in ear fit makes it more isolating than the AirPods. The pass though and “ambient” settings are also excellent. Not overdone in the slightest and the surrendering between the three settings is really noticeable. It’s actually useful and not just for show.The fit again, is counterintuitively brilliant. They look like they should be annoying and unstable. I wore them today for the front time in the wild and they stayed put for three hours without once feeling unstable or loose. They didn't hurt at all and there was no after effect of abrasion etc.The case and bud fit is a little fiddly, but once you get used to the angles, it’s second nature and the slight magnesium allows for a satisfying and reassuring fit in to the case enclosure.That’s all so far.In summary, I’d have been happy to get these at full price as an Apple user. They support the AAC codec and basic Bluetooth default, but that’s all. They are a cracking little pair and perform way above expectations. I have nothing bad to say about them. I’ve had no signal dropouts, even in a very busy entertainment section of a major department store. The instrument separations, vocal nuances, percussion and volume across allmusic I’ve played so far are absolutely delightful.In summary, if you see these around the £60 mark, get two sets. If it’s closer to £100 you won’t be disappointed. If it’s any more, be patient unless you really do have a desire for them.They are everything the Sony flagship models should be, and if it wasn’t for the AirPods almost incestuous relationship with Apple devices, these would probably be my top pick, without question.The AirPods win for Apple integration and Spatial Audio support. The Panasonics are filler and more spacious without signal processing. They are more comfortable and the ANC is incredible, to the point where I can’t understand why more fuss isn’t made about it. The Panasonics are a hidden gem in the ever expansive range or wireless earbuds, and when discounted as much as they were when I purchased them, they are golden! Absolutely golden!(Apologies for typos. Small screen and tiny preview window make proofing nigh on impossible. Hopefully the idea gets across regardless.)

Lurarna är jättebra!Mycket bra ljud och ANC funkar bra!Men motparten klagar på att de knappt hör mig prata, vid mobilsamtal.

Aanvankelijk lastig te verbinden. Maar nadat dit gelukt is valt hij nooit meer weg en verbind hij direct. Mooie geluidskwaliteit en fijn is ook de equalizer met verschillende geluidsinstellingen. Ook noice canchelling werkt zodanig dat het weinig meer doorlaat. Last but not least even experimenteren welk dopje het fijnste is en daarna draait hij makkelijk in je oor…en zit hij muurvast. Hij draagt ook prettig.

Cuffie dal suono accattivante...qualità audiofila...il confort è discreto ma indossarle è complicato perché se non le metti per bene possono cadere....insomma non adatte per lo sport...anche l'estetica lascia a desiderare perché sporgono un po' dall'orecchio. Ma il suono è così equilibrato e ricco di dettagli oltre ad un basso corposo che ti dimentichi il resto...

Excellent à tout point de vue !