Ahzari
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2011
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I am afraid that this I cannot answer it. Maybe other users here tried both?
How differently can different people perceive (even before than judging) the sound.
For me the H8 cabled sound much better with ANC off. With it on I would not say that the dynamics are better, I would rather say the opposite For me the ANC introduces a hiss on high frequencies and boost them a bit, and at same time it is very clear to me that both wired and wireless the ANC decreases the low region (including low mid and partly also mids).
So, with ANC on all sounds a bit brighter but also thinner, colder, less lively, and definitely less punchy. I would not call this "better dynamics".
So, in few words, for me, wired or not, the sound is much better without ANC. And between wired and wireless, for my tastes I prefer wired because it goes a bit deeper and the bass gains not only in quantity but also in quality. Besides to my ears the whole sound, wired, gains in detail.
About the distortion, Beagle, I have tested 30 BT Headphones, with that track, and those EQ Settings.
I am VERY sure that the problem is not the track, not the settings, not the source.
Only the H8 did that.
Anyway, if you do not have it, it may be my unit. I will see it myself when I receive the new unit.
But, let me understand, did you or not use the links I gave you?
Because the distortion does not happen on all tracks. The bass must be particularly deep.
Limit to your Love of James Blake is perfect for this test, and in Youtube when you write Limit to your Love the first result is an official video of jamesblakeproductions. Take that one.
Cable the H8, be SURE that the ANC is ON (= the power button must be in the ON position), turn all volume at max (just to be sure, I would turn the volume of the H8 at max with the touch control BEFORE wiring it. Just in case that once wired it remembers the volume of before wiring it).
If you can download that track with something like youtubedownloader or similars, and maybe also the other link I gave you (Balloons Club Mix by Nils Hoffmann), then you can play them with your player with the EQ boosting the low region, from 30 to 150hz, of a few db (I generally boost more the lower freq and less the 150, because most bt headphones do better so).
In my unit the distortion on wireless mode is only present at very max vol and with EQ boosted, while with wired is also at non max (but loud) vol and with EQ flat (like in youtube).
I think that if you do not use those tracks, we cannot be sure that we are putting the H8 under the same frequency stress.
Thanks for the comparison.
You forgot to mention that besides not offering a rigid or at least semi rigid carrying case, the H8 have a banal rubber audio cable, not covered with fabric, not equipped with mic or any other controls.
Could you rate particularly the performance on the bass? I am interested in knowing the performance out of the box (no EQ), and then the potential which can be reached with EQ. Quantity, and quality.
But I would invite you to do it (copying and pasting the whole comparison too) in the comparison thread. So it can help other users too.
To be fair, none of the ANC bluetooth headphones I compared except for Beats offer a better cable with mic and controls.. Sennheisers equally priced Momentum wireless offers just a simple cable just like the H8. I agree its silly to not include a better cable, but at least the H8 uses a standard 3.5mm (so a 3rd party one can easily be purchased) whereas the Sennheiser uses a much harder to find 2.5mm.
Out of the box the bass on the Momentum Wireless (IMO) was fuller and hit harder than the H8 - I never tried the Momentum wired before returning it so I can't really say if wired it sounded different.
Momentum was warmer and more neutral than the H8, which i feel has some treble boost (yes more apparent with the ANC on). There is also a more audible hiss from the H8 in comparison to the Momentum, but in turn the noise reduction is slightly better so its a trade off.
You have to remember if you're looking at any ANC headphone with a audiophile perspective you will never be happy - all ANC headphones to some degree add background hiss and change audio character, bluetooth 4.0 with APTX has come a long way but is still not as good as a wired headphone. So for what it is I think both the Momentum Wireless and the H8 are excellent headphones, the Momentum sounds better, comes with a proper case, and has better battery life - but the H8 has a much more appealing (subjective) design, uses better materials, has better controls, and is more compact in size and shape (thus more portable). I can see the argument for either one, I chose the H8 because the design / portability was more important for me than pure audio quality for a ANC bluetooth headphone.