[Drivenby]

I'm disappointed about the hiss but I doubt it will be a deal breaker for me.

Keep in mind that sound is very subjective. Some people are more sensitive to this than others, me personally I mind it but again not a deal breaker. I can definitely see how it may be for some.

So if you think the hiss will be a deal breaker then don't open your mobius and sell it on eBay for a profit. I'm sure you won't have trouble finding a buyer.

 

[Kazekeil]

Can someone verify whether the Mobius defaults to 7.1 at the driver level when connected to USB? For some reason when I go to sound control panel, it kicks me off when I click on the properties so I can't tell.

Each usb mode acts as a separate audio device with its own name. If your device says 8ch that will be 7.1 by default.

 

[RMA192AK]

It's all good. I don't see Sankar being the type of person to cherry pick units. I see him as someone proud of his babies, per se, and wouldn't wanna give people a less than stellar experience.

I will see how these do with gaming soon enough and will give impressions whether the hiss is more audible with gaming. That is a definite possibility. So far with music however, it's def been a non-issue.

Sankar himself has asked me if the hiss is an issue and sounds concerned if it;'s a thing he may have to fix. If he had cherry picked my unit, I would think he wouldn't be concerned with what I think about a n issue with the product that isn't similar to what everyone else is listening to. IMHO.

It’s good to know that Sankar is on top of it. Audeze has normally been very active in this thread, but in the past day has gone dark. The past 24hrs have been the most active on this thread since Mobus’s announcement. Both the hissing thing came up and Audeze was communicating to us through the first person that had the issue (@AlwaysForward), who has been great explaining it all.

Then most peoples shipments that were in transit were sent back to sender because Audeze or there 3PLwas sending them out not in compliance with shipping regulations for not have a label on the box indicating that there is a lithium ion battery inside. This was confirmed by several people who had received them that they had no label on the box.

Then you showed up on here to an already quite riled up crowd of people very quickly talking about the hissing and it not being an issue. We are just patiently awaiting some kind of direct communications from Audeze. At this point the shipping issue is probably a greater deal since they said one of the delays was due to the complexity of shipping with their batteries, then they ship them out without the battery labeling? A little hard for us to understand at this point.

Oh come on, Mad Lust Envy has been a headphones for games reviewer on Head-Fi for almost a decade, working underpaid as a security guard and sometimes picking up a paid slot to review for Headphone Guru. He was not “sent here for damage control” by Audeze, that’s just panicking due to giving in to group think. Also, while a company can hand-pick wood with a really nice grain, or wrinkle free pads, they can’t hand pick one with a better amp design that has less hiss.

The truth almost always falls in the middle of the extreme views. No hiss? Hiss that sounds like a TV on a channel with no signal (if you can remember those days)? I haven’t heard it either, but if MLE says he can hear it a little but only when there’s no other audio to compare it to, that doesn’t sound like he’s sugar coating it to me, or going the other extreme you seem to be in the camp of. I think it’s fair, after hearing it for yourself, to decide if you are of the opinion that it is disruptive or a non-issue, for you, but objectively there probably is an audible but low-level hiss.

Like the video that was just posted said, “There’s no due process in the court of public opinion.”

I don't know anything about them as you clearly know them very well and I apologized for it, but the two of you come in here all of the sudden right when multiple issues are coming up really got us regulars in this thread going.


Edit: Audeze has given an official response to the shipping issue, it was the 3PL's mistake. I love Audeze products but sometimes you have to be critical and not a fanboy, if my recent posts have offended anyone I'm sorry that's not my intention. We are just patiently waiting and its getting harder every passing week. Thank you for the update @KMann

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Each usb mode acts as a separate audio device with its own name. If your device says 8ch that will be 7.1 by default.

Wait, there's different USB modes? Lol. The software doesn't seem to wanna connect to the Mobius itself. But the sound panel does see it as ADZ Mobius (Audeze Mobius 3D 8ch).

Guess I better read the literature. I was used to the pre-production, but looks like the finalized version has more tricks up its sleeve.

 

[trellus]

The hiss is more or less like I remember. Something that is THERE, absolutely, but not something that detracts from anything when there is some form of playback going on.

But yes, keep assuming the worst out of people just because you expect wired quality from a non-exorbitantly priced headphone. You sound like a typical nutcase that expects literal perfection. Not gonna happen. But keep dreaming.

For the rest of us, be realistic. Bluetooth headphones usually have some minor hiss here or there, but generally don't have an issue when there is playback occurring. The Mobius is no different. If you have realistic expectations of wireless quality, you'll understand that you can't expect miracles or something compared to a discrete dac and amplifier with a high end headphone.

The Mobius so far sounds as good as I remember when there is playback. I'm not here to review zero audio hiss. I'm here to review how it sounds when you actually FEED IT SOMETHING.

Uh, I have on my non-exorbitantly priced Audio Technica ATH-SR5BT headphones, original MSRP $199, on Amazon for $140 right now, and I paid $99 brand new at Fry's last year... and I turned them on just now and ZERO hiss. None. Zilch. Nada. I press play on my SiriusXM on phone it's connected to -- no background hiss on CNN (so plenty of empty space between words, unlike music) -- pause, still no hiss.

I have a lot of bluetooth headphones, and except for the ANC ones, I don't recall hiss on any of them, although I admit I don't have others besides the SR5BT here with me now, which I am 100% certain has no hiss, but I don't recall hiss on my Beats Solo2 Wireless, or the AKG K845BT.

 

[Kazekeil]

Wait, there's different USB modes? Lol. The software doesn't seem to wanna connect to the Mobius itself. But the sound panel does see it as ADZ Mobius (Audeze Mobius 3D 8ch).

Guess I better read the literature. I was used to the pre-production, but looks like the finalized version has more tricks up its sleeve.

Yea there's even a "hi-res" 2 channel mode for music listening. It's a really sweet device

 

[Philosobyte]

This hiss situation reminds me of the JBL LSR305 studio monitors (not headphones). Similarly to the Mobius, they have a built in DAC which cannot be bypassed, and similarly to the Mobius, have a very slight hiss when in a perfectly quiet room and nothing is playing on them. To be fair, the hiss on the LSR305s are probably at a slightly lower level than on the Mobius (most people could only hear the hiss if they put their ears 6 inches from the speakers), but the LSR305s are still hugely successful.

 

[Evshrug]

Thanks Evshrug, I don't know what i'm reading here.

Truly, it’s people expressing their passion.

Speaking generally, personal thresholds for tolerance will be different for everyone... but we should respect that it’s valid for any trait to be ok or too much for someone else.

More useful, if someone who has a unit has the chance, would be to be able to compare the hiss volume to something else with similar hiss. Is it quieter than central air conditioning? Probably. Is it about as loud as rubbing your fingertips slowly on the belly of your shirt? I could cope with that, others may not.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yea there's even a "hi-res" 2 channel mode for music listening. It's a really sweet device

Oh yeah, that I remember. I thought you meant like each preset had it's own profile in sound devices. I was like O_O;;


Oh and @trellus I should've clarified. I meant ANC wireless headphones always tend to have some hiss. I have a Koss PortaPro wireless that I get zero hiss from my phone, as well as a Creative Soundblaster Jam that also has no hiss. Both are not ANC.

 

[majnu]

There are moments in PUBG, CSGO (Some of the biggest most trending and played games today) where there is silence during clutch or final stages. Last thing I want to hear is an annoying hiss.

 

[KMann]

Shipment issue

Yesterday, some customers received a “Return to Sender” notice from the shipping company. Unfortunately, our 3PL did not place appropriate labels for the Li-Ion battery on the packaging. The issue has been corrected and the units are with the carrier. These units have already passed customs, however, and there is no easy way to re-route them. They should be delivered to customers by end of the week.

Furthermore, we take the comments and feedback from our customers very seriously and are now conducting additional diagnostics on Mobius. These tests and measurements are being completed and we will post a more detailed response once we have data. Our goal has always been to deliver the highest quality headphone possible, and to that end, we have put further shipments on hold until we completely review the issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

[RamSpencer]

Thanks for the update @KMann

 

[corrupt_undead]

Shipment issue

Yesterday, some customers received a “Return to Sender” notice from the shipping company. Unfortunately, our 3PL did not place appropriate labels for the Li-Ion battery on the packaging. The issue has been corrected and the units are with the carrier. These units have already passed customs, however, and there is no easy way to re-route them. They should be delivered to customers by end of the week.

Furthermore, we take the comments and feedback from our customers very seriously and are now conducting additional diagnostics on Mobius. These tests and measurements are being completed and we will post a more detailed response once we have data. Our goal has always been to deliver the highest quality headphone possible, and to that end, we have put further shipments on hold until we completely review the issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

@KMann, will there be any change to the tracking numbers because of this?

 

[Evshrug]

I don't know anything about them as you clearly know them very well and I apologized for it, but the two of you come in here all of the sudden right when multiple issues are coming up really got us regulars in this thread going.

I know Mad pretty well; I joined head-fi before him, but his gaming headphone review thread got me to stay and actually get invested in headphones. So, yes I am going to point out that he has an easy to trace history documented through his years on Head-Fi. I don’t always 100% agree with him (He has a taste for a bit more bass than me, while I’m crazy about soundstage, but overall we’re not far off), but calling him an agent on “damage control” was a bit too much.

 

[Kazekeil]

Truly, it’s people expressing their passion, but a pressure to call it a 10/10 and anything else as a failure. If this hisses less than a Mixamp 5.8, which I also have, then I wouldn’t consider it enough of an issue to miss out on everything the headphone has to offer. Of course, personal thresholds for tolerance will be different for everyone... but we should respect that it’s valid for it to be ok or too much for someone else.

More useful, if someone who has a unit has the chance, would be to be able to compare the hiss volume to something else with similar hiss. Is it quieter than central air conditioning? Probably. Is it about as loud as rubbing your fingertips slowly on the belly of your shirt? I could cope with that, others may not.

My only on hand reference is the sony wireless iem with anc. The Mobius hisses slightly more. Closest approximation is lightly rubbing my fingers about 6-8inches straight out of my ear(so to my left and right, perpendicular to my head.)

For further reference I live in a very surprisingly quiet little apartment. The AC is definitely louder than the hiss but of course when you put on the headphones, that cuts the AC and now the hiss is louder than the AC through the headphones.