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If you want true aptX HD earbuds for music-first listening, choose ICESOMNUS Sabbat E16; if you need an aptX HD transmitter that turns any wired audio jack into a wireless stream for two listeners, choose Avantree Relay & SoundJet. These are not really rivals — they sit at opposite ends of the same chain. One is a pair of hybrid-driver in-ear headphones aimed at audiophiles and college students who want a wide soundstage in a dorm, a library or on a commute. The other is a compact adapter that adds aptX Adaptive and HD to a 3.5mm jack, most often on a plane or in a gym. If you are a college student deciding where your money goes, the real question is which problem you are trying to solve: better sound in your ears, or wireless freedom from a wired source.
• Sabbat E16's biggest strength: a coaxial dual-driver setup — a dynamic driver for bass plus a balanced armature driver for vocals and detail — with Qualcomm aptX support over Bluetooth 5.2.
• Sabbat E16's biggest trade-off: these are in-ear earbuds with button and voice control, not touch control, so they are built for listening rather than for the tap-and-swipe habits many people expect.
• Avantree Relay & SoundJet's biggest strength: it works with the headphones you already own, streams to two Bluetooth headphones at once, and runs up to 25 hours on a charge.
• Avantree Relay & SoundJet's biggest trade-off: it is a transmitter, not a listener's device — it needs a 3.5mm AUX source and is not compatible with phones, car stereos or hearing aids.
• Who each pick is for: the Sabbat E16 is for the person who wants better headphones; the Avantree Relay & SoundJet is for the person who already has good headphones and needs a better connection.
The Sabbat E16 is, in plain terms, a pair of audiophile-leaning in-ear headphones. Its headline feature is the coaxial acoustic architecture: a dynamic driver handles the low end while a balanced armature driver handles vocals and fine detail. That division of labor is the reason the soundstage is described as wider and more detailed than a single-driver design. The frequency range is listed at 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with impedance given as a 16Ω woofer plus a 4Ω tweeter, and sensitivity of 93 dB at 1 kHz per 1 mW. None of that guarantees you will love the tuning, but it tells you the E16 is engineered around music reproduction first and convenience second.
So who should buy it? College students who care more about how their music sounds than about gimmicks. A hybrid driver setup like this is the kind of upgrade you notice on well-recorded albums, and the 40 ms latency plus the noise-reduction calling make it usable for lectures, group calls and late-night study sessions. The Aurora Green finish and rounded-tip in-ear shape are a small style bonus. Who should skip it? Anyone who has settled into touch control earbuds and does not want to relearn button presses, and anyone whose main audio source is a wired 3.5mm jack rather than Bluetooth — the E16 has no headphone jack, because it is wireless by design.
Avantree Relay & SoundJet: Who It's For
The Avantree Relay & SoundJet is a different kind of product entirely, and it is worth being clear about that up front: it is a Bluetooth adapter and audio transmitter, not a pair of headphones. You plug it into a 3.5mm AUX jack and it streams that audio wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones. The spec sheet names airplane use and travel as the primary scenario, and it makes sense — in-flight entertainment systems still hand you a wired jack, and this device bridges that gap without asking you to buy airline-specific headphones. It is also pitched for gym sessions where the equipment has a wired output.
The connection side is where it earns its keep. It runs Bluetooth 5.3 with a premium Qualcomm chipset supporting aptX Adaptive and aptX HD, and it can pair with two Bluetooth headphones simultaneously so two people can watch the same movie or listen to the same music in sync. That dual-headphone support is the feature most people do not know they want until they are sharing a screen on a long flight. Play time is listed at up to 25 hours of continuous use, and the physical controls are deliberately simple: onboard buttons for pairing and volume, plus LED indicators that show connection status. The whole thing is lightweight and pocket-sized.
Compatibility is generous in one direction and strict in the other. It works with AirPods, Bose and essentially all Bluetooth headphones — but Avantree states it is not compatible with phones, car stereos or hearing aids. It is also black, compact and built to disappear into a bag. Who should buy it? Frequent travelers, students flying home for breaks, and anyone who shares media in a place where the only audio output is a headphone jack. Who should skip it? Anyone shopping for their first pair of wireless earbuds — this does not replace the Sabbat E16, it complements whatever headphones you already have.
• Best for music quality and soundstage → ICESOMNUS Sabbat E16. The coaxial dynamic-plus-balanced-armature design is the whole point of the product.
• Best for using the headphones you already own → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. It adds wireless audio to a 3.5mm source instead of replacing your headphones.
• Best for battery life → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. Up to 25 hours of continuous playback beats the E16's roughly 6 hours per charge, though the E16's case extends total listening to about 30 hours.
• Best for sharing audio with a friend → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. Two Bluetooth headphones can connect at once with synced playback.
• Best for everyday wireless listening and calls → ICESOMNUS Sabbat E16. Automatic pairing, CVC8.1 noise reduction for calls, and active noise cancellation make it the more self-contained choice.
• Best for charging convenience → ICESOMNUS Sabbat E16. USB-C plus Qi wireless charging on the case is more flexible than a single charging method.
• Best for travel essentials → Avantree Relay & SoundJet. Pocket-sized, lightweight, and explicitly built for flights and gyms.
• Best ear clip headphones for college students → neither, strictly speaking. Both are in-ear or adapter products; if ear-clip is a hard requirement you are shopping a different category.
If I were buying for myself, I would take the ICESOMNUS Sabbat E16. My reasoning is simple: it is a complete listening product. For a college student, that matters — you get the hybrid-driver sound, aptX over Bluetooth 5.2, low latency for video, call noise reduction, and a case that charges over USB-C or a Qi pad. It covers the whole day. The Avantree Relay & SoundJet is genuinely clever, but it only pays off if you already own good Bluetooth headphones and regularly plug into wired jacks on flights or gym equipment. If that is your life, buy it without hesitation. If you are still deciding what goes in your ears, start with the Sabbat E16.
FAQ
They do different jobs, so "better" depends on the task. The Avantree adds wireless aptX audio to a wired 3.5mm source and supports two headphones at once. The Sabbat E16 is the actual listening device, with dual drivers, noise cancellation and a wireless charging case.
Not directly — the E16 is wireless-only, with no headphone jack, and pairs over Bluetooth 5.2 at up to about 10 meters. If you want to use the E16 with in-flight entertainment, you would need a separate Bluetooth transmitter plugged into the seat's AUX output.
Avantree states the adapter is not compatible with phones, car stereos or hearing aids. It is designed to plug into a 3.5mm AUX jack and stream to Bluetooth headphones, and it works with AirPods, Bose and other Bluetooth headphones.
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