Tag Archives: aptX Adaptive

Bowers & Wilkins Unveils New True Wireless Earbuds Line Up with the Pi6 & Pi8

September 23, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Bowers & Wilkins is expanding its earbuds lineup with two new entries. The new True Wireless earbuds – the Pi6 and Pi8 – are designed by the same team behind the category-leading Px7 S2e and Px8 headphones and represent a new leap forward from the previous Pi7 S2.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi6: Taking a Swing with Affordable, Premium Sound and Superlative Comfort

The Pi6 is the more affordable option of the two, designed to deliver excellent sound, features, and performance at a competitive price point. The company touts that the buds will be on par with the previous Pi7 S2.

The new wireless earbuds come with an unnamed advanced Qualcomm Chipset for improved wireless stability and reliable connectivity. The same chipset enables Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity with Multipoint for connecting to two devices simultaneously. It also allows the Pi6 to stream high-quality audio at 24-bit and 96KHz with aptX Adaptive Wireless Transmission.

Screenshot 2024 09 23 at 18 03 09 Pi6 In Ear True Wireless Earbuds Bowers & Wilkins

The Pi6 isn’t just about chipset and transmission technologies either, it also leverages 12mm Bio-cellulose Drive Units that allow for crisper high frequencies and fuller sound. The drive units also allow for brighter sounds and better audio clarity. The earbuds come with up to 8 hours of usage on a single charge with ANC on. You’ll be able to top this up twice with the case. The buds can get 2 hours of playback on 15 minutes of charge thanks to fast charge support and it’s even got IP54 water and dust resistance.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8: The New Flagship B&W Sound

Together with the Pi6, Bowers & Wilkins are reimagining its flagship sound when it comes to wireless earbuds with the Pi8. The new flagship one-up the Pi6 will be taking the spotlight from the Pi7 S2 with updated performance and features compared to the Pi6.

The Pi8 is gunning for higher quality and fuller sound with 12mm Carbon Cone Drive Units. These units allow the earbuds to reproduce sound with exceptional accuracy and depth. The earbuds support aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless Support over Bluetooth 5.4.

In addition to this, they come with a dedicated DSP, DAC, and Amplification that allow for high-resolution audio with support for up to 32-bit audio. You’ll also be able to personalise your sound with a User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ that will be accessible from the Bower & Wilkins app.

Screenshot 2024 09 23 at 18 02 47 Pi8 In Ear True Wireless Earbuds Bowers & Wilkins

The Pi8 comes with a smart charging case that supports wireless charging. However, the high-quality sound does take a little bit of a toll on the battery life. The Pi8 has up to 6.5 hours of playback time on a single charge with ANC on. You’ll be able to get another 13.5 hours with the casing.

Improved Design and User Experience

Both Pi6 and Pi8 benefit from a comprehensive design overhaul, focusing on comfort, usability, and aesthetics. The new design is created ergonomically for a wider range of ear shapes and sizes. However, it also maintains its stemless design that is now iconic of B&W.

The wider earbuds also come with improved touch controls that provide more responsive and reliable interactions. They also come with IR Proximity sensors that allow for more accurate wear detection. The earbuds also have enhanced antenna placement to prevent accidental blockages and disconnects.

Both models also prioritize call quality with strategically placed microphones for clear voice calls. Additionally, they boast advanced noise cancellation technology. The Pi6 utilizes the same noise-rejection platform as the Pi7 S2, offering effective noise cancellation. However, the Pi8 adopts the noise cancellation technology found in the flagship Px8 headphones for industry-leading performance.

The new Pi6 and Pi8 are also Google Fast Pair and Made for iPhone certified for platform agnosticism and better compatibility across both Android and Apple devices.

Pricing & Availability

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 and Pi8 will be available in Malaysia from October onwards.

The Pi6 will be available in Storm Grey, Cloud Grey, Forest Green, and Glacier Blue. It will be priced at RM1,399. Internationally, it’s priced at USD$249.

The Pi8 will be available in Anthracite Black, Dove White, and Midnight Blue. The Jade Green colourway will be available at a later date. It will be priced at RM2,399. Internationally, it is priced at USD$399.

Both models will be available for purchase through the TC Acoustic web store and the physical TC store – Sonos Concept Store by TC Acoustic – in Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

beyerdynamic Finally Gave into Peer Pressure – Introducing the Free BYRD TWS headphones

July 8, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Wireless earphones are all the rage these days. We do not think it is the first time we start an article with that. We doubt it will be the last time too.

It is a true statement though. Most smartphone owners today will, at some point, have owned a wireless audio solution. Most of them will have at least experienced truly wireless (TWS) headsets at least once by now. Most of them will succumb to the convenience of one and own at least one in their lifetime.

There are also reasons why plenty of high-end audio gear manufacturers avoid offering TWS type headsets though. One of which is the fact that there will be some compromises with audio quality. Latency can also be an issue with TWS type headphones.

Still, manufacturers can no longer ignore the appeal of one. beyerdynamic finally gave into that pressure as well. Welcome to the Free BYRD. Yes, it comes with a few tricks from Beyerdynamic that is meant to elevate the TWS headset experience.

The beyerdynamic Free BYRD is their first TWS type audio gear, which is why they are pulling all the stops to make this as good as they can make it. It packs a 10mm driver, which is rather large considering that even the likes of Sony have reduced their driver sizes to about 6mm with the new WH-1000XM4. A larger driver has its advantages though. Because it is bigger than the regular drivers found in similar devices, it can push more air and drive more air pressure into your ears for punchier and more detailed bass notes.

The Free BYRD also features the latest aptX adaptive codec alongside AAC support. These codecs should work together with the 10mm drivers to produce sounds as they are intended and probably even better. beyerdynamic also introduces something they call MOSAYC. It is what they call “Attention to Detail with Mimi Sound Personalisation” to really elevate your listening experience. It automatically tunes the drivers to the listeners ears to create a more optimised listening profile. In that case, no two Free BYRD should sound completely the same. To customize the listening experience even more, there is the equalizer within the proprietary MIY app on Android and iOS.

beyerdynamic Free BYRD man — Source: beyerdynamic

Of course, there is active noise cancelling (ANC) baked into the TWS earbuds. The hybrid ANC should really ensure that users block the world out. For the best experience, you want to find the best fitting ear tips for yourself. beyerdynamics includes five sets of differently sized silicone ear tips and three additional memory foam earpieces for use in sporting activities. In those cases, you can be sure that the Free BYRD can withstand all kinds of grimes and sweat with IPX4 certification.

The Bluetooth 5.2 device with Google Fast Pair headphones offers Qualcomm’s dual 2-mic cVc technology. The new technology with four mics in total should offer highly natural phone calls with excellent pick-up. Obviously, the mics should also be excellent for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and even Apple’s Siri.

In terms of battery life, the Free BYRD offers up to 11 hours of battery life from a single charge in total. You can wirelessly charge the Free BYRD if you have a wireless charging pad. Of course, it is also charged via USB Type-C. A quick 10-minute plug-in can also give you up to 70 minutes in music playback time, if you are in a rush.

Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic
Source: beyerdynamic

The beyerdynamic Free BYRD is available in most of Europe via their official store on Amazon.com. It is available in Black and Gray colour options. It will set you back EUR€ 229, which is about MYR 1,029* or US$ 232**. The price range puts it squarely as a competitor of the Sony WF-1000XM4. Sadly, there is no word on its availability in Malaysia. Chances are, if you really want one, you have to get it from Amazon Europe and get someone to ship it to Malaysia for you. More information on the beyerdynamics Free BYRD can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.49 as of 08/07/2022 on xe.com

**Approximately based on exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = US$ 1.01 as of 08/07/2022 on xe.com

Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound Brings aptX Lossless

September 2, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Audio has gone through a mobile renaissance in the past few years. The number of companies developing technology to enable lossless, audiophile-quality sound has drastically increased. Just this year, services like Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL have started offering spatial and lossless music on their services. Now, Qualcomm is looking to complete the experience with high fidelity, lossless sound over Bluetooth with their new aptX Lossless. This new Lossless standard will come built-in to the aptX Adaptive standard.

Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless come as part of their Snapdragon Sound Technology which looks to up the ante when it comes to sound on mobile devices. The new standard will allow users to experience lossless CD-quality sound. Qualcomm claims that the new technology in the aptX Adaptive standard will produce high quality, lossless audio which will be mathematically bit-for-bit exact.

Qualcomm isn’t just revealing another standard with aptX Lossless, the technology behind it will also be ensuring better connectivity while streaming lossless audio. AptX Adaptive will work in tandem with Qualcomm Bluetooth High Speed Link technology to deliver sustainable bitrates to support lossless audio. Using these technologies simultaneously, Qualcomm is able to deliver data rates beyond 1Mbps yet seamlessly scale down to 140kbps in more congested RF environments. This helps minimize any dropouts or glitches for a more reliable listening experience.

pexels sound on 3394651 — Photo by **Sound On** from **Pexels**

While the technology sounds promising, we will only be seeing aptX Lossless capable devices become commercially available in 2022. It may still be a little bit before we see the aptX Lossless standard become ubiquitous. That said, we’re looking at a growing demand for lossless audio among consumers with technologies like Spatial sound and 360 Audio becoming more mainstream.

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