[Mani ATH 87]

So, I received my pair yesterday and here are my observations.

• Do I hear the hiss? Yes. The second I turn them on. So far I've only done USB to PS4 and bluetooth paired to phone. Does the hiss go away? I don't think it does and instead gets drowned out sometimes, like when a lot of sounds happening at once in a game, or lots of stuff going on in a song.. But during quieter moments during games and songs (either due to lower volume elements or fewer things happening), I can easily hear the hiss. Unfortunately it isn't being buried enough by having an active source feeding sound to the Mobius.

Damn, this is so disappointing to hear another account of this frustrating and annoying hiss being audible over top of the audio track.

 

[RMA192AK]

So, I received my pair yesterday and here are my observations.

First of all, when I opened my case, I saw this:

Yep, the ear pad was popped off on the right cup (also odd to me these were placed in the case back side down instead of face down). I panicked a bit, but thankfully it easily snapped back on. Incidentally, I found that the serial number sticker is placed under the right ear pad on the driver housing.

I then put them on and as I was getting them adjusted, I was hearing a crinkling sound in the left ear cup, similar to plastic wrap or wrapping paper. I thought the silver sheet under the ear cup (is that the actual diaphragm or a guard/protector piece in front of the diaphragm?) was being damaged. I looked at it and noticed some small creases that the right side didn't have. I assume this is normal, especially after finding this article on Audeze's support site. But if I should be concerned about these horizontal creases, please let me know:

Ok, physical damage concerns aside, on to the sound.

• Do I hear the hiss? Yes. The second I turn them on. So far I've only done USB to PS4 and bluetooth paired to phone. Does the hiss go away? I don't think it does and instead gets drowned out sometimes, like when a lot of sounds happening at once in a game, or lots of stuff going on in a song.. But during quieter moments during games and songs (either due to lower volume elements or fewer things happening), I can easily hear the hiss. Unfortunately it isn't being buried enough by having an active source feeding sound to the Mobius.
  
  That said, the discussion about clamping force is interesting and I'm curious to hear for myself if I notice a difference. I am a glasses wearer and while the arms are a very thin metal, the parts that curve over my ear are a bit thicker. I also had the cups extended from the headband a little over the halfway point. Overall, looking forward to hearing how Audeze intends to address this.
  
  
• How's the 3D for Gaming? Quite impressive. I played God of War and even though it's just 2 Ch, with the 3D effect on, I was really getting a great sense of space and position of elements. As for EQ, I kept switching between Default and RPG. I'm usually leery of EQ presets unnaturally emphasizing portions of the sound and moving it too far away from the original intent of the mix, but I quite liked what RPG did to the sound. Added a bit more weight to the soundscape (possibly has a bass boost), without drowning out other details.
  
  
• How's the 3D for Music? Equally great. In fact I think I like it more than with 3D off. Typically, my headphone usage is games and movies with VSS (Dolby Headphone has been my go-to for a long time) and then occasional music listening. So, I'm a bit biased towards surround sound, but regardless feel it adds a lot to the presentation. The Auto 3D here is interesting and as @GenEricOne mentioned in his thoughts, it can come off a bit rubber-bandy as it tries to keep itself centered around my changes in position or location as I walk around. But it's def a nice feature for mobility.
  
  
• That "Planar Bass" These are my first planars. Only ever used dynamics up until this point. Initially I'm feeling these are a touch bass light (I don't consider myself a bass head, but like a bit of kick), but I think this has more to do with me getting used to a new type of sound presentation. I'm eager to continue trying out more content though and get a better feel of what it's like.

Additional thoughts:

• As much as I like the 3D right out of the box, and how at moments the sound does feel speaker-like, it doesn't always, and the generic HRTF becomes apparent. I look forward to installing the software and setting up my personalized HRTF to see how much the effect improves.
  
  
• I very much like having the omnipresent voice confirming the changes you make as you click all the various buttons, but the volume of it is unnecessarily loud. I hope the software offers an option to tweak the volume of her voice.
  
  
• The fit is interesting, but overall good. The ear cups surround my ears really nice and comfortably. The pressure, while a touch higher than I thought it'd be, isn't unbearable. I like that the clamp is firm enough that they easily stay put with normal movement. However, the headband padding feels a little thin by comparison. That said, I think it's more of my own personal issue, as I have a cranial high spot which regardless of headphones I wear (save for the Phillips Fidelio X2 for some reason) gets sore after a short while by taking the brunt of the weight of a headphone. I use a memory foam seatbelt cover for car seats on my other cans and will have to give that a shot on these as well.
  
  
• When I initially hooked it up the PS4 via USB, it was in 7.1 channel mode by default. While in the Audio Devices section, it only listed the Output Device as "TV or AV Amplifier", but for the Input Device it said "USB Headset (Audeze Mobius 3D 8Ch)". While I realize this may be nothing more than a device label the Mobius is communicating to the PS4, it made me hopeful that if licensing arrangements ever get worked out between Sony and Audeze, it may be nothing more than a simple firmware update and a flip of a switch, so to speak, to allow the PS4 to feed the Mobius with full mutli-channel audio.

Overall I like these quite a lot and am happy to finally have them in hand, though I do look forward to possible resolutions with the hiss. Also I need to dive into the software for the personalized HRTF and I need to work out some personal comfort fixes.

For you and anyone else who have never had planar’s before the “crinkling sound” is normal, it’s from when you put them on and a vacuum seal is created, if you change the pressure inside the cups by pushing the pads in, it's that air trapped inside pushing up against the diaphragm causing the crinkling sound, just be very careful when you hear it. If you were to abruptly push in the cups against your head then you could damage the drivers diaphragm.

I didn’t think this would be as noticeable on Mobius because it has thinner ear pads than LCD’s for example, the LCD-2 Classics have a crazy good seal with their thick memory foam pads, you really notice the crinkling sound with them, I admit it kind of scares me every time I hear it too!

 

[Netherwind]

I then put them on and as I was getting them adjusted, I was hearing a crinkling sound in the left ear cup, similar to plastic wrap or wrapping paper. I thought the silver sheet under the ear cup (is that the actual diaphragm or a guard/protector piece in front of the diaphragm?) was being damaged. I looked at it and noticed some small creases that the right side didn't have. I assume this is normal, especially after finding this article on Audeze's support site. But if I should be concerned about these horizontal creases, please let me know:

Crinkling is totally normal it's because it's sealing around your ears the air moving makes the paper crinkle.

Sine's had a ton of crinkle when I had a pair

 

[RamSpencer]

One important note is that the hiss is a constant volume, so you may be listening louder than some others which would more easily drown it out. I've kinda settled into 28 or 30/100 for the volume level of my mobius in windows. Anything higher is too loud for me but I will say that louder drowns the hiss out better.

Whether you listen at 10 or at 90, the hiss itself is the same volume. At 45+ I find the hiss much more easily masked but that's an uncomfortable volume for me personally.

The hiss is at a constant volume regardless of volume level? Wow. So it's not just a high power amping issue. Wouldn't it be some kind of electrical interference that isn't actually before or in the amping path then? what would make that noise show up that isn't being amplified when you give the signal more juice?

@Audeze

 

[RMA192AK]

For you and anyone else who have never had planar’s before the “crinkling sound” is normal, it’s from when you put them on and a vacuum seal is created, if you change the pressure inside the cups by pushing the pads in, it's that air trapped inside pushing up against the diaphragm causing the crinkling sound, just be very careful when you hear it. If you were to abruptly push in the cups against your head then you could damage the drivers diaphragm.

I didn’t think this would be as noticeable on Mobius because it has thinner ear pads than LCD’s for example, the LCD-2 Classics have a crazy good seal with their thick memory foam pads, you really notice the crinkling sound with them, I admit it kind of scares me every time I hear it too!

Also, in addition, be aware that if you damage the drivers diaphragm from change in air pressure it's not covered under warranty per Mobius user manual Warning/Cautions page:

Sorry for the second post, it would not let me edit it and insert an image.

 

[antdroid]

So, I received my pair yesterday and here are my observations.

First of all, when I opened my case, I saw this:

Yep, the ear pad was popped off on the right cup (also odd to me these were placed in the case back side down instead of face down). I panicked a bit, but thankfully it easily snapped back on. Incidentally, I found that the serial number sticker is placed under the right ear pad on the driver housing.

I then put them on and as I was getting them adjusted, I was hearing a crinkling sound in the left ear cup, similar to plastic wrap or wrapping paper. I thought the silver sheet under the ear cup (is that the actual diaphragm or a guard/protector piece in front of the diaphragm?) was being damaged. I looked at it and noticed some small creases that the right side didn't have. I assume this is normal, especially after finding this article on Audeze's support site. But if I should be concerned about these horizontal creases, please let me know:

I just checked the Audeze Sine i have at work and it doesnt have creases that apparent but it does have surface ruffles and imperfections.

 

[Barker-]

With reference to the 'crinkle' noise that can be heard if you pressurise the trapped air in the headphone cup is there any difference between the extent of the effect on open back or closed back headphones. This phenomenom is not something I have experienced with my LCD X's and I don't think it's one I will be trying to replicate lol

 

[Taowolf51]

• The fit is interesting, but overall good. The ear cups surround my ears really nice and comfortably. The pressure, while a touch higher than I thought it'd be, isn't unbearable. I like that the clamp is firm enough that they easily stay put with normal movement. However, the headband padding feels a little thin by comparison. That said, I think it's more of my own personal issue, as I have a cranial high spot which regardless of headphones I wear (save for the Phillips Fidelio X2 for some reason) gets sore after a short while by taking the brunt of the weight of a headphone. I use a memory foam seatbelt cover for car seats on my other cans and will have to give that a shot on these as well.

My guess would be because the X2 has a suspension headband, which more easily molds to your head shape and more evenly distributes weight. I think I have a similar high spot, I'm sensitive to poor headband comfort.

Honestly, every headphone should use a suspension headband, it's a much better design IMO.

Quick question, do your ears touch the cup or pads when wearing the Mobius?

 

[Netherwind]

Also, in addition, be aware that if you damage the drivers diaphragm from change in air pressure it's not covered under warranty per Mobius user manual Warning/Cautions page:



Sorry for the second post, it would not let me edit it and insert an image.

They mostly fixed that problem, there was a longstanding issue where you could blow up a pair of LCD2's by letting the cups snap together. Haven't heard of it happening in a long while though, wouldn't worry about it.

 

[RMA192AK]

With reference to the 'crinkle' noise that can be heard if you pressurise the trapped air in the headphone cup is there any difference between the extent of the effect on open back or closed back headphones. This phenomenom is not something I have experienced with my LCD X's and I don't think it's one I will be trying to replicate lol

I don't think there would be much of a difference between open and closed, I have only noticed it a few times with my Sines, they have much smaller pads and are on-ear so don't have as good as a seal. It has become a lot more noticeable recently since Audeze switched from foam pads to memory foam pads with the LCD-2 Classics. I don't know if all the new LCD's with leather pads also have been switched to memory foam?

I only ever experienced it with my LCD-2's maybe a few times with the foam pads. But with the LCD-2 Classics it's almost every other time I put them on, the memory foam pads compress in much more than the non-memory foam pads, and creates a much better vacuum seal. I have the suspension headbands on both my LCD-2's and LCD-2C's, but wear them with a two notch adjustment difference ( 1 notch left at top for LCD-2, 3 notches left at top of LCD-2C's) because of how much more the memory foam pads compress in. The Mobius also uses memory foam pads, so they would compress in a little bit too, creating a better seal.

 

[musicday]

I am wondering how difficult it is to replace the earpads? If Dekoni won't make any leather ones maybe we can find alternatives on the market.

 

[Barker-]

@RMA192AK Thanks for the info and insight. Much appreciated

 

[Taowolf51]

Strangely enough, I don't ever remember hearing a crinkling sound on my Classics when putting them on. I even tried manually pressing them into my head (slowly) and didn't hear any crinkling. Wonder why mine don't do it.

 

[Nuwidol]

Strangely enough, I don't ever remember hearing a crinkling sound on my Classics when putting them on. I even tried manually pressing them into my head (slowly) and didn't hear any crinkling. Wonder why mine don't do it.

Same with mine. Had 4 pairs of audeze in total & never heard it on any of them. All open backs though

 

[RMA192AK]

Strangely enough, I don't ever remember hearing a crinkling sound on my Classics when putting them on. I even tried manually pressing them into my head (slowly) and didn't hear any crinkling. Wonder why mine don't do it.

It could be due to head size, clamping force difference related? Kind of like how head size might be changing the level of the hiss people are mentioning today. You might just be really good and always very careful every time you put them on, it's usually when I'm putting them on quickly that it happens. To make sure it doesn't happen I start to put them on my head at the top of the pads, slowing going down letting them rest on my head, so it could just be in a difference between the way people put them on. Also, when did you get yours? I got mine on launch week last December, so maybe they changed something to reduce it.