****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Besides mediocre total battery, superb sound with user tunable EQ and excellent ANC makes it a beast! The physical button is nice to avoid accidental touchI've been really excited about this one for a little while now, ever since I got the TW-E5B and fell in love with it. The stock tuning on that is Yamaha's signature house sound for bluetooth sets. I have both their flagship headphones too, and you get a similar spin on that tuning for both of those. Highly underrated. Very premium. Basshead level bass that shoves itself right up to the point where it would begin to harm the rest of the sound signature. Thumping, boomy, and downright delicious.So why, Yamaha, did you decide to pull back the bass so much and do all that mucking around in the upper mids and lower treble? Ever heard recordings with sizzly 'sssss' sounds? The things everyone is trying to get rid of? Well, Yamaha is adding it back into the vocals. Even the passthrough audio in transparency mode does this, whereas the E5B is clear and natural in transparency mode. Yeah, the unit that's over $100 cheaper has better tuning and a better transparency mode.The E7B has a very premium design, feel, and comfort, and an improved technical performance that is noticeable. Likely a combination of the larger driver and "room" correction for your ear canal.As a side note, even though I don't use it often, the ANC is actually quite excellent on this unit.Still, you'll be begging the E7B to be gentler with your eardrum. Luckily, there's literally an EQ preset called "gentle" which mostly solves the issues with the stock tuning. Even with the bass bump in that preset, it still falls short of the E5B's stock tuning, and the traditional Yamaha house sound. However, it does sound quite nice in this preset, and I'm considering keeping them for that reason.Compared to most other units, I'd lean toward 4 stars, but comparing it to Yamaha's own offerings, specifically the E5B, I just can't go above 3. If you're on the fence, and want to save some money, I'd recommend just getting the E5B.
