Drop + grell TWS1X IEM

Jan 12, 2022

Stickied

We cooked up a little something for your grell audio headphones! We constantly strive for perfection, and to reward our loyal users we have released a new firmware update, now available from the SoundID app! Firmware release log: https://grellaudio.com/en/content/view/Firmware%20Update%20Logs

EDIT 5/11/2022, Firmware 2.8.0: • Improved Bluetooth connection stability between earpieces… should help with dropouts and stutters! • Improved the command for ending calls (hold either touch field for 2S) to make it more intentional and less accidental. • Now you can hold the right touch field for 10 seconds to forget all Bluetooth pairings and connect fresh, or both left and right touch fields to reset everything to factory.

EDIT 4/13/2022, Firmware 2.7.0: • Improved preservation of battery charge in-between days of usage 1/13/2022: • Better connection stability • Increased volume range: 4dB (with a change in the SoundID app this will add 7dB in total) • Modified tap gesture: 160ms -> 240ms (The "tap" can be longer, more forgiving and responsive!) • Simplified ANC and NAR control • LHDC "license invalid" fix from Savitech (LHDC is working! And sounds great!!!)

Sonarworks also released a new app update (for both iOS and Android) which includes the following things to improve the Over The Air Update (OTAU) experience: • Silent audio playback by the app during OTAU process (The app self-maintains a good data connection to the earbuds) • Timeout and retry mechanism for separate stages of OTAU process (if there’s an error, you don’t have to start over from the beginning)

A thank you goes to Sonarworks who have been applying hotfixes since launch, collaborating and working hard with us! Drop has also been here, keeping us informed and pointing us to posts we have missed, as well as being great partners in the sales process. Another big thanks to our patrons (that means you!), we listened to your feedback and this should make your experience nicer! It’s always good to think about what you’re thankful for at the start of a new year, and of course make resolutions 😉 Bonus: Anyone else notice the green “Pairing” knife next to the Bluetooth headphones? 🤣

(Edited)

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pbergonzi

May 12, 2022

EvshrugKudos for the great what-seems-like-one-man-singlehandedly prolific support for the Drop + Grells. I can only imagine the number of customers you've saved, both for themselves and for Drop.

May 13, 2022

pbergonziIt is not every day I get kudos, thank you! I think Axel hired me because he knows I was on Drop and Head-Fi pretty much everyday anyway 😅 It’s something I do well, and Axel is good with headphones, so I’m all to happy to have a purpose and take some of the load off him so he can keep working on more cool stuff. I’m here for the folks, to serve as a bridge between what customers want and what Axel is innovating. I have to say, I think this new firmware is going to save me some work 😂. I took a 1 hour 15 minute walk outside in my park today (outside is harder on Bluetooth; nothing/ few things to bounce signal off of!), no skips or stutters!

EDC pocket dump!

kiyan

Nov 10, 2021

Crinacle graphed these and gave his impressions. https://youtube.com/watch?v=AALj3xbYkdc&t=10m34s

Dec 9, 2021

Hopefully he gets to take another look soon.

jaxtrauma

2103

Dec 10, 2021

Movin' on up ;-)

swross

Dec 9, 2021

I use Sonarworks SoundID in the studio. I’d want this for mobile. Any thoughts? With or without the app. The SW Reference app is now legacy. Otherwise this looks cool. Comments welcome.

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swross

Dec 10, 2021

Awesome. I’ll chk both / all. 😉 Sounds good! I’ve been a SW reference user and fan for years. The new ID system is excellent. Sounds like you like these! Thanks again… You rock!

Dec 10, 2021

swrossHaha, thanks! 100% honestly, mine don’t arrive till next week. I have heard that they are fun bass cannons.

But I trust Axel Grell, I believe he would have designed something with good latitude and resolution. Plus the fact that SoundID lets me tailor the frequency response anyway…

Xnightcrawl

198

Dec 10, 2021

I'm concerned with comfort. It looks huge and heavy. Price point is spot on considering all the features we can have. Pending enabling multipoint connectivity and if it works.

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jaxtrauma

2103

Dec 10, 2021

Hey I'm up for anything, lol. Thanks for the info and the link! Ya gotta love that guy ;-)

Meringo

166

Dec 15, 2021

XnightcrawlFit is fantastic, and I usually have all sorts of issues with TWS. Also very lightweight.

Scoobmx

Dec 14, 2021

So the firmware update is not working for me. I have restarted my iphone and tried again but it’s stuck at “updating”. Have let it sit there for half an hour.

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Mattari

Dec 17, 2021

Take an upvote, my good man! I tried several times by forgetting the device, trying to factory reset them (which never made a sound so idk if that even works), and all failed. I turned off Wi-Fi, and it didn't work the first time or two, but I double-checked that they were properly connected, and with Wi-Fi still off, it finally got past "updading" woo! Also didn't know these were dadpods apparently (that 'updading' typo in the app lol)

Scoobmx

Dec 17, 2021

ScoobmxI got it to work on a different wifi network. Definitely took like half an hour.

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pathf1nder

Feb 10, 2022

Would like to make a post about my usage experience of TWS/1 bought at https://grellaudio.com/. (not TWS/1X) Pros:

Sound is great! Seem to be on par (or even better) with Sony WF-1000XM3/4 (i had both).
Microphones quality is exceptional. The best microphones among earphones i had. Voice is heard clear either in loud environments or strong gust
Somehow secure fit (depends on eartips). Sony were either falling out (XM3) or breaking the ear canal (XM4). I tried a lot of eartips to make a good fit and noise isolation. Symbio W eartips (without foam, as the foam is not that soft, therefore causes pain) were the best choice so far among foam tips and SpinFit CP100.
Best touch controls among everything i used. They are really similar to Sony WH-1000XM3/4.
Robust case + wireless charging.
Best earbud design so far.

Cons:

SoundID profile has veeery boosted mid frequencies, despite the actual graph is V-shaped (support case with SoundID team is raised), therefore the stock sound is way better than any of the SoundID EQs because of that issue.
Touch panels remain sensitive when earbuds are in case.
Case does not indicate whether individual earbud is charging or not. Sometimes i open the case and realize that one of the earbuds is fully discharged.
Ocassionaly, random earbud dies for no reason (quite often, i would say). Full reset fixes the issue. Touch controls are working, ANC/NAR/Transparency modes are still working for 'dead' earbud but mode toggle notifications or music don't play.
There is no low-battery notification in the earbuds themselves. I often get caught by surprise, when listening to music or even talking to someone.
I have to first unpair earbuds from one device to begin using them with another. Not really convenient.

Surprise: Didn't know that original TWS/1 does not have wingtips and case cavity for those. Was a bit frustrated in the beginning, but after i found proper eartips, this is not an issue anymore for me. Would recommend to mention this difference at https://grellaudio.com/

Summary Considering issues mentioned in Cons, these earbuds are still incredible because of sound, mics and touch controls. Hovewer, i believe these issues could be easily fixed by firmware updates. And after they are fixed, those buds will offer a way better quality and user experience in overall, than most of the flagship TWS earbuds.

(Edited)

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pathf1nder

May 23, 2022

Discharging to zero helped, thanks a lot. No issues since then

May 23, 2022

pathf1nderHuzzah! Excelsior!! 😎👍👍

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MaverickAH

747

Dec 23, 2021

Okay......... I can't formally leave a review because I got the Grell versions & not the Drop collabs. Here are my preliminary thoughts: I appreciate the simple packaging. Costs into the product & not the packaging is always a good thing. My experience with TWS earbuds is limited so bear with me. The case is beautiful, well made & pocket friendly. The first thing that caused some initial confusion was right earbud on the left side of the case & left earbud on the right side. Is that normal? If there was anything that Grell should've spent some money on, it should've been a proper instruction manual. The supplied pictograph booklet is inadequate. A few things are not self-explanatory. They take some time to learn & understand. Sound, even straight out of the box is pretty good. I've had zero issues with updating the earbuds or with using SoundID. I've looped through the sound & hearing test a couple of times & I not sure whether I prefer the adjusted or the stock sound. Supposedly, every time you go through the tests, the TWS/1 dials in your preferences even better. Time will tell....... Issues:

I don't like foam tips & the supplied silicone tips are not providing what I feel is a proper fit. Yes, they're staying in my ears well but I'm getting ZERO isolation. I am still playing around with tips to see if I can get a better, more comfortable fit.
The ANC & NAR (still don't know if I fully comprehend what it is.), is useless! Yes, I know that I'm saying this without first getting a proper seal, but I just can't envision a proper seal being the thing that would improve either to the level they need to get to.
The touch controls are finicky & inconsistent! Sure, I expected there to be a learning curve & I have gotten better over the last few days in understanding how they work, but they're still a long way from being reliable & consistent.

Hopefully 2 & 3 can be addressed though software updates but I'm not sure how much can be done as both are, IMHO, far away from where they should be. I want to like these better than I do because the basis is there for a great product. As of now, I have to consider these as unfinished. I kind of wished that they just had not bothered with ANC or NAR & just offered these at half the price with touch controls. That's all for now........

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MaverickAH

747

Dec 26, 2021

Evshrug, Thank you so much for the timely response! You tip about the touch controls has proved to be invaluable! Again, it's not the kind of thing you get from a pictograph & why written instructions would have been better. Please suggest to the powers that be to put a formal user manual on-line in PDF download format. Also, after trying a few silicon tips, I finally took the leap & switched to foam. They make a world of difference for the ANC & NAR. I wasn't expecting that! I'm going to have to retest to dial in the tuning though as the bass has become more prominent with the foam. Soundstage is crazy good though! I'm also able to reduce volume as well. 60% to 75% is now more than enough. Your tips & suggestions have definitely earned the TWS/1 an extra star! *****

Dec 26, 2021

MaverickAHPhew, glad to hear it!!! Yes, foam tends to absorb just a bit of high frequencies, which on balance makes everything else stand out more. Not much of an issue when we can apply DSP, eh? For me, personally it’s the only way to go. I actually prefer foam tips over my custom in-ears; that may have just been poor impressions at the audiologist, but I think I also benefit from foam’s ability to expand and shift and not be a hard rigid structure. A written version of the directions is probably going to fall to my lap… I had planned on doing a video anyway, to demonstrate pairing, firmware update, and controls, but my first sample unit seems to have gotten lost in shipping, and the second unit we sent right before Christmas seems to have suffered from holiday confusion, having arrived in my state’s sorting system only to be shipped back out to Kentucky! Holiday struggles are real!

(Edited)

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T.Fernandez

800

Collabs

Dec 9, 2021

Stickied

We are introducing an exciting new collaboration with the venerable acoustic engineer Axel Grell just in time for the holidays. Anyone who has been a fan of Sennhesier probably needs no introduction, but if you’re wearing a pair of Sennheiser’s right now then there is a good chance that Axel designed them. We were fortunate enough to be able to work with Axel on an exclusive partnership to develop his first independent product under his new company Grell Audio. While Axel oversaw the acoustic tuning of the project, Drop worked to provide a mix of different silicone wingtips to improve the fit and seal in the ear while also designing our own black colorway for the charging case and earpieces. Providing a nice contrast against the blue accent color of the wingtips while maintaining that professional look. The result is a sleek and modern true wireless IEM with class leading ANC performance at a price everyone can afford. The punchy and warm sound signature gives the kind of listening experience you can enjoy whether you’re on the go or relaxing in the comfort of your home.

cybergalaxy

Dec 10, 2021

How does this compare against sony xm4 if anyone know?

pinky999

Jun 22, 2022

Hi, even with firmware 2.8.0.0. nothing changes in the negative battery behavior of the TWS. Unused in the charging case, the TWS are empty after a week at the latest, as is the charging box, of course. If you listen only 1h a day and then leave them outside the charging box, they are also empty the next day. The very fact that the TWS discharge in the charging case with charging case is alarming. How many charging cycles have the TWS already consumed? Everyone knows that the charging cycles determine the battery life. The more, the faster the battery dies. The TWS are then $200 worth of electronic scrap. With the way they're doing it right now, I'm guessing they won't last more than 1 year. What I don't understand is that in this day and age they are not able to program such a product in a reasonable and sustainable way. This is the only way to enjoy the product for a long time. I don't see that in the current beta status. Actually, it's not even beta. It is worse. And only the good sound, does not compensate for that in the meantime, when I am permanently annoyed that the stupid parts are already empty again. Without that I have used them. We'd rather not even talk about the touch surfaces. By the way, the original firmware worked best. What was that? 1.7.0.0 or something? I don't remember. But at least it was clear what I had to press to make it work. The battery didn't work back then either. By the way, the developers should be aware that the life of the battery, determine the life of the TWS and thus an extremely negative user experience is inevitable! Is that the goal? As it stands today, I would return the parts immediately, because in this important point --> battery <-- absolutely nothing happens! Unfortunately, I have the TWS now 6 months and must keep them. Absolutely disappointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a nice day.

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pinky999

Aug 22, 2022

the website where i ordered my tws/1 is no longer accessible. great stuff! grellaudio.com