[Giogio]

Well, you said upper and higher, not lower and higher
 
Let's go step by step.
First thing, buy all possible HM5 versions (flat leatherette, flat velour, angled leatherette, angled velour, and flat hybrid) and see what happens. You should be able to find them in Amazon. If not, you find them in Mp4Nation.
Then, whatever you will want to EQ, you should change your way of EQing, because that is all very wrong what you are doing.
Then, well, if even with HM5 and even with a better EQ and a correct way to use it you still don't like the WS99BT, maybe it's just not meant to be.
Sometimes people are more sensitive to one or another frequency, or give importance to this or that aspect of the sound, and what is wonderful for one person is not for the other.
I have tested in the last 2 months almost 120 Bluetooth Headphones. Basically all the existing ones apart for the very cheap irrelevant ones.
I have not found many HP which can get close to the level of transparency and detail of the WS99BT. 5 or so... And they all are not perfect. One feels more detailed in something, and less in something else.
I personally had always the very opposite impression of you. One of the things I have always loved the most on the WS99BT is the detail and presence in the mids, especially in the female vocals.
I remember very well when I have compared the WS99BT with AKG K845BT and Momentum M2AEBT for @ruthieandjohn, and I used the songs he gave me, to tell him which one sounded better with those songs.
I remember that each time I was listening to Spanish Harlem of Rebecca Pidgeon with the WS99BT I was thinking "holy $h!t this is just amazing".
Maybe you are used to even better (wired) HP.
In that case I suppose you will have to go for trial and error because I think we describe the sound with different terms and I do not know what I should suggest you, because I just can't agree with your description of how the WS99BT sound. And I can't suggest you anything different till I do not understand what you can like.
 
But, as said, you should try them with the HM5 first.
And change way of EQing.

 

[ontheedges]

Sorry for the upper-higher thing, definitely a misspelling
 
All these differences in description lead me to think that either my device is defective or my musical setup is poor or is incompatible with ws99bt in terms of quality. But I will try the HM5 pads.
 
What about smartphones? Have you tried several smarphone models to arrive at the best pick for WS99BT? This may also be an important factor for high quality on WS99BT. My first impression is that when combined with an LG V10 or Iphone 6s, WS99BT will produce the best sound quality but this is just a preliminary opinion. I need real experiences

 

[Giogio]

Defective? I had rather supposed that you are just used to much better (wired) HPs.
It can also just be that you like the sound to be coloured and organized in a different way than the WS99BT do.
 
I have never noticed any particular difference between different devices with same codec while using the same player.
I used an Xperia before. Now I have an HTC.
Both have Aptx. In both I used Neutron.
On my PC I use Foobar. I used different Aptx BT Adapters, I noticed few to no real difference.
Sometimes a little difference in loudness makes one feel the sound different.
 
Your Toshiba does not support neither Aptx or AAC, so you are in SBC mode, and depending on which version of SBC your Toshiba uses, this may be resulting in the low quality sound.
Besides, as said, your EQ settings are quite wrong.
I strongly suggest you buying a good Aptx BT Adapter for your PC. It can either be a Dongle, like the Creative BT-W2 which is independent from the system, or the Azio BTD-V401 which comes with the CSR Harmony software and would give you some interface.
Or it can be the Avantree Priva II or Saturn Pro, which are 3.5 adapters.
All of them are good.

You do not necessarily need a different EQ, but given that you do not seem sure about how to use it I would suggest a graphical one so you can see the curve and have a better idea. There are many different free VST plugins for that.
 But for sure, you need to have a different approach to EQing.
 
As a mobile device, I have no idea about the two Samsung you have mentioned earlier, it is up to you too google for them and find out if they support Aptx.
If they do not, you should skip.
The LG V10 supports Aptx.
iPhone supports AAC, the WS99BT too, so you should be fine. Some people prefer Aptx over AAC.
 
On the LG I would use Neutron. But one note: there you do have a graphical Parametric EQ, but the EQ curve is not really reliable. The EQ is reliable, but the curve does not correspond to the real one, and if you compare it to other graphical EQ you notice it. He is working on that, it is a new feature.
Anyway, Neutron is imo the best player you can get in Android.
 
I would suggest ordering the HM5 and in the while reading about EQ.

 

[ontheedges]

Thank you. I will consider your suggestions.
What about your best EQ setting for WS99BT? Can you provide an exemplary illustration?

 

[Giogio]

First of all, I only use them with HM5 angled leatherette, so I can't suggest any setting for stock pads.
I do not do anything to their mids. At the beginning I was decreasing the low mids, but with the time the accent on the low mids went away (a comparison with a new unit showed me that it was real burn-in, not just my fantasy).
So the only thing I did in the last times was to push the bass when I am listening to bassy music. And for bassy music I mean music for Clubs, music made to be danced with huge speakers which makes you feel the bass in the bones.
That kind of music need EQ.
Then when I have tried the XTZ Headphone Divine, which have some of the most impressive highs among BT Headphones, I have realized that I liked to have some more highs on the WS99BT.
So basically now I only apply a low shelf and a high shelf.
Typically my low shelf is at 120, +3db, Q 0.9, and the high shelf is at 12000, +3db, Q 0.9.
I have became very minimalistic with EQ since when I have many HPs. I just pick a different HP when I want a different sound.
 In your case I would suggest this same EQ settings plus a third one at 900hz, -1.5db, Q0.9 or 0.6 (0.6 would have a wider effect).
Maybe with stock pads the high shelf is not good, due to a more direct sound, it could make the highs harsh, you must try.

 

[apaar123]

These vs xtz divine?

 

[keltor]

Do you think it would be better to go with the sheepskin or pleather Brainwavz pads?
 
(I picked these up on a while while at Frys Electronics and I will says I'm 100% surprised and delighted with them.)

 

[wackygoose]

 ­

Thanks god and google Ive stumbled upon this community and all that you have shared Giogio. Im now a proud WS99BT owner and boy this fone is indeed solid.

 

[TrixtonSk8]

To me, these phones sound much better going through my Magni/Modi stack than over BT. Like, almost night and day better. Over BT, the sound is overall anemic in the mid bass and sub bass, thin and lacking sparkle in the upper register, some sibilance at higher volumes. I'm new to BT headphones, so not sure how much of that is simply BT in general or these phones specifically.

I much prefer the sound of these phones with the stock pads over the flat leatherette HM5 pads. I actually stopped listening to these completely once I installed the HM5 pads. I gave them a fair chance, but they didn't cut it for me.

Impressions of pads with Magni/Modi stack:

HM5 leatherette pads - tighter bass, dry mids, decay seems faster (unnatural), hollow and airy (somewhat Nausea inducing for me) , overall clean sound, comfortable

Stock pads - bass fuller, soundstage tight, immediate upfront sound, mids lush, treble harsher yet has sparkle, better transient qualities, overall fun sound that scales better with volume, can't wear for longer than a couple hours due to shallow pad depth

YMMV but overall I prefer the stock pads as the sound of the HM5 pads just didn't jibe with me. I haven't tried other HM5 pads, but I might pick up the velour and/or angled pads. But right now, I'm happy with the stock pads for shorter listening sessions.

 

[wackygoose]

It seems that they won't produce the hm5 leatherette anymore. I can only find the memory foam, velour and hybrid. I'm getting the foam one as I'm out of options.

I love this phone and I take good care of it but I'm disappointed of how fast the stock pads went to crap, should come with at least one replacement kit. As of the moment I have a near useless phone without pads