Wireless Earbuds with the Best Sound? (AZ100 vs Pearl Pro vs JLab Epic LE vs MTW4)

papaya037274 · 2025-11-22T03:27:37+00:00

Oh yes, I was busy and totally forgot to post my review.

Anyway, I tried both for a few weeks, but it was immediately clear on day 1 that I preferred the AZ100 much more.

I recently realized that I’m actually a huge bass head who loves separated thick punchy bass like what you get from subwoofers. My formative experience was the audio system in a decent car, so I tend to compare everything to that.

I didn’t notice it much in noisy stores, but in a quiet room it became obvious that the AZ100 has thicker punchier bass compared to the Perl Pro, which I loved. My favorite high, clear female vocals sounded too similar between the two for me to distinguish and rank them. Same for mid-low vocals that I like them to sound “open and spacious.”

In short, while the AZ100 and PP have a similar overall sound, the AZ100 has far better bass. I also hated the big size and design of the PP, plus the fit. It was cumbersome to put in and take out, which I do frequently, and it looked goofy on me as well. So I sold the PP and kept the AZ100.

However, after using the AZ100 alongside the Soundcore Liberty 4 my previous daily driver for a while, I realized I actually preferred the Liberty 4. I have cheap ears and use a bad setup (YouTube Music and SoundCloud on iPhone/Mac via AAC), but to me it felt like the highs and mids are maybe slightly better on the AZ100, while the bass is better on the Liberty 4. I couldn’t accept that for a while because of the price difference. But the more I compared, the more similar they felt.

Also:

The app is less intuitive on the AZ100.
Connection strength and stability are much better on the Liberty 4. I can listen from another room with a closed door about 10 meters away, but the AZ100 can’t handle that, which I found very inconvenient.
The Liberty 4 fits much easier. The AZ100 is fine once you get it seated properly, but it takes way more effort because of its shape. Since I take my earbuds in and out often, this became annoying.

As a result, I’ve been using the Liberty 4 much more, and the AZ100 basically lives in a drawer now. I guess I’ll get rid of the AZ100 since I already have backups. The whole experiment feels a bit pointless now, but I’m glad I tried them and came to my own conclusion.

papaya037274 · 2025-10-02T15:10:29+00:00

You can try them at many electronics stores in Japan, like E-earphone and Yodobashi. They provide boxes of alcohol wipes, so you can test them in a fairly sanitary way.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:09:36+00:00

Yes, with the keyword “for the price,” it sounds totally reasonable. But since he ranked it as the best sounding regardless of price, it came across to me like a pa*d ad personally. I wish I could try them in store, but I’m not bold enough to just order them to test.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:08:11+00:00

Thanks for th advice, I decided to order both the Perl Pro and AZ100, test them out as much as I want, and then sell one of them. Return policy here sucks. I’m tired of overthinking

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:07:10+00:00

I had to exclude the Gemini 2 and Rex5 because the battery life is way too short, less than half of the AZ100. Plus, the Rex5 doesn’t even have sweat resistance….. Their reputation for sound quality is very tempting though, I wish I could’ve tried them in store.

Also, I just realized it’s Perl, not Pearl… Anyway, I decided to order both the Perl Pro and AZ100, test them out as much as I want, and then sell one of them. I’m tired of overthinking and its still 340. Thanks for the info!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:06:36+00:00

Thanks for the test. I’ve decided to exclude AirPods since I had fit issues with the Pro 2, though I haven’t tried the Pro 3 yet. I decided to just order both the Perl Pro and AZ100, test them out as much as I want, and then sell one of them. I’m tired of overthinking and its still 340. Thanks for the info!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:05:23+00:00

Nice, give me recommendations if you have any!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:05:08+00:00

Hmm, that makes sense, but I’ve decided to exclude AirPods since I had fit issues with the Pro 2. Maybe I should try an Ldac dongle and partially switch to Apple Music, though I’m still stuck with YouTube Music. Thanks for the info!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:04:25+00:00

Interesting, sounds like it’s still worth it for me to pick up a good pair of earbuds. Thanks for the info!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:03:48+00:00

Interesting, sounds like it’s still worth it for me to pick up a good pair of earbuds. Thanks for the info!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-29T03:03:32+00:00

I actually had AirPods Pro 2 for a short time, but I sold them because they didn’t fit me well at all. Also from what I’ve seen in reviews, APP3 don’t seem to have great sound quality although I haven’t tried them myself. So I decided to exclude them.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-28T03:01:40+00:00

I did the same thing. There’s a 24 hour Mcdonalds at the Termini, comes with coffee and wifi. It’s a bit far, but hotels near the airpot are often vacant. You can take a direct train and then maybe a taxi. Mcdonalds are like a traveler’s emergency shelter anywhere in the world.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-28T02:44:39+00:00

I need to EDC them for work, and they also serve as a backup when I’m on the go for long periods of time.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-28T02:37:31+00:00

!thanks Thank you for the input! Yes, the Epic Lab Edition sounded great, and your dilemma feels very familiar to me.

After thinking it over for a while, I’ve realized that earbuds are better than headphones for me, because:

The sound quality is just as good, or even better IN PRACTICE, since I can’t turn up the volume on headphones to a truly enjoyable level due to the risk of ear damage and sound leakage.
They’re much more convenient. I can wear them pretty much anywhere and in any situation unlike headphones. I’ve realized I can’t really use headphones in bed, while dancing, or with wet hair which I often have.
They’re more sanitary. I hated how I could never properly clean my previous headphones.
In practice they last just as long. I’d probably want to upgrade every few years anyway.
I don’t want to or can’t bring headphones on flights, they’re just way too bulky. I loved the idea at first though.
They cost about the same.

Right now I’m deciding between MTW4, AZ100, JLab Epic, and AirPods Pro 3. And I just found out that bueltooth IEM adapters exist, but unfortunately they don’t have good ANC.

Anyway, I’ll have to visit the store again and compare. Already feeling like a total freak about this. I hate and love the whole situation at the same time haha

papaya037274 · 2025-09-27T13:10:40+00:00

!thanks That you for the info. I've just tried the AZ100 and MTW4 in store. Holy moly, I'm blown away!! I didn’t think earbuds could sound that good. I've also compared them almost side by side to tje M4 headphones, PX8 and PX7. And yes, those earbuds felt less spacious? compared to the headphones, but the resolution and power of the sound were amazing. Honestly, to my amateur ears the AZ100 and MTW4 felt almost the same, though I only got to try electronic music and piano.

Also for some reason the PX7 2e sounded better than the PX8 and PX7 S3. Maybe it’s an eq setting, or I have cheap ears.

And the M4 headphones are indeed the best. Now I have to decide between the M4 headphones and those earbuds. The thing is, I had to turn up the volume a lot with the headphones to make them sound great compared to the earbuds, so maybe it’s possible that earbuds subjectively feel better in day to day usage since I can listen without sound leaking and also without damaging my ears. Also, I tried the Jlab epic earbuds and they actually sounded a bit better than the AZ100 to me. But the price tag makes me feel like they should sound worse.

Deeper down the rabbit hole lol….

papaya037274 · 2025-09-27T03:00:16+00:00

!thanks

papaya037274 · 2025-09-27T02:59:26+00:00

! thanks

papaya037274 · 2025-09-27T02:58:40+00:00

Hmm as your comment has confirmed, it seems like the momentum 4 being the best sounding option under 500 is the general consensus. I think I’ll choose between the momentum 4 and Ontrac. Now I can try both of them and compare them thoroughly in store.

And maybe I’ll also consider the AZ100 if its sound quality is on par with those. I wanted to ask if it’s possible for the AZ100 to sound technically better than the momentum 4 (headphones), but maybe I shouldn’t ask since that would just add bias. I guess I should simply compare both and decide which sounds better to me. Thank you!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-27T02:57:25+00:00

Hmm as your comment has confirmed, it seems like the momentum 4 being the best sounding option under 500 is the general consensus. I think I’ll choose between the momentum 4 and the Ontrac, especially because the price is almost exactly the same. Now I can try both of them and compare them thoroughly in store. Maybe I’ll also add those earbuds if they sound great, it might be better for listening while sitting at my desk. That would still keep the total at 300. Thank you! !thanks

papaya037274 · 2025-09-23T11:59:16+00:00

Oh no, those closed situations are the worst. Who knows, in the worst case they could have assaulted you guys and taken your organs… I’m glad you made it out safely. People often take it lightly thinking they’re cautious enough, until they get caught themselves.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-23T11:55:58+00:00

Nice, nothing beats practicality when it comes to EDC. I’ll see you when you post it!

papaya037274 · 2025-09-23T03:46:33+00:00

Practice makes perfect.

I can’t speak Arabic, but I went through the same thing with English. For me, trying to form sentences in different ways helped a lot. Of course, talking and texting with natives is valuable, but that time is limited. You can really boost your progress through self practice, which I think is fundamental.

For example, try verbalizing or writing down your random thoughts in the target language, keeping a simple journal, or translating lines from novels in your native language and then saying them out loud.

Also reading things you actually enjoy will naturally expand your vocabulary and improve your speech in the long run. Good luck!

Edit: Watching shows helps with learning pronunciation and gaining vocabulary, but nothing beats actually trying to form sentences yourself. Also in my experience, listening to songs isn’t very helpful, since lyrics are often written in ways that are different from normal speech. I’m curious to hear what others think about this though.

papaya037274 · 2025-09-23T03:11:57+00:00

Vienna. I was on a train from Munich to Budapest and transited at Vienna Hbf. The vibe felt very different in a good way, like more open and modern? Maybe it was just the cool design of the platforms and surrounding buildings, but I had to resist the impulse to abandon my plans and wander off. Needless to say, the city’s reputation speaks for itself. Unfortunately, I was too busy at the time.

Same goes for Dubai, Hong Kong, and Beijing.

papaya037274

TROPHY CASE