[nunomeneses]

Gotta disagree too. I've tested the APM side by side with even the MW65, and the MW65 is a more resolving headphone, let alone Bathys/PX8.

I tend to agree with Resolve, APM is $100 wired headphone performance in a BT package, but while they have the performance of a $100 headphone they also have this unavoidable 'digital' feel most users notice. And the hollow mids. So I'd say most $100 wired options sound better.

Bathys is a totally different story, it has the Celestee/Clear driver and has much of the resolution and technical ability of those higher end wired options.

But I know some people love APM and it's sound signature. I wish I still had it around to properly compare, and try lossless as you mention. I've never tried wired on the APM.

I’ll triple your both comments

 

[LoryWiv]

Interesting post here in the Bathys thread about soundstage. Can someone whose heard both Bathys and PX8 weigh in on relative soundstage differences? Thanks!

 

[Denkmal]

With what device?

With Android they are not much better then any £300 Bluetooth headphones, but with iOS they are still unbeatable. Better then PX8/Bathys assuming = bluetooth/Apple Music Lossless/iOS device.

I purchased Bathys for audio from my Android Nvidia Shield Pro TV.

I HAVE DONE A/B testing between Bathys and my Airpod Max via my iPhone using Apple Lossless downloaded musuc.
The AirPod Max wins. It actually sounds higher resolution and cleaner.

However if i use USB DAC mode the Bathys is clear winner - into iPhone.

Not listened to PX8 yet.

Only my experience and others will be very different ofcourse.

How can you have an opinion?

 

[jthomp72]

Interesting post here in the Bathys thread about soundstage. Can someone whose heard both Bathys and PX8 weigh in on relative soundstage differences? Thanks!

It’s been said several times before but at 111 pages it’s not easy to find so here ya go.

Px8: detailed good separation but the sound is all in front of you, like you’re listening at a concert or to a good pair of loudspeakers

Bathys: very wide very airy extremely around you soundstage. Really a big bubble of all around sound. Much wider than most BT ANC models out there.

 

[Soundizer]

Bathys vs PX8 for sibilance.

I only have the Bathys so cannot compare to PX8, but sometimes in poorer recordings i do get a bit of sharp treble. So have reduced -2db in the App.

How is PX8 in comparison in this area?

 

[evhvis]

Bathys vs PX8 for sibilance.

I only have the Bathys so cannot compare to PX8, but sometimes in poorer recordings i do get a bit of sharp treble. So have reduced -2db in the App.

How is PX8 in comparison in this area?

In high ANC mode the Bathys is not kind to recordings with siblance. Low ANC (soft) it is balancing a fine line while mostly not causing any issues with siblance unless high volume. Can't remember the PX8 having any issues with siblance so it is so rare that I forgot about it. The PX8 is generally a better headphone for poor recordings, though the boosted bass can sometimes degrade tracks (not that often, but happens).

 

[jthomp72]

Bathys vs PX8 for sibilance.

I only have the Bathys so cannot compare to PX8, but sometimes in poorer recordings i do get a bit of sharp treble. So have reduced -2db in the App.

How is PX8 in comparison in this area?

Px8 is far more forgiving. Are you gonna lose some of the finest details in the process? Yes. But it also doesn’t punish pad recordings like the bathys does.

 

[qba3d]

Hey!
By no means is this a review, but I need to say this is the first time when my personal impression of a headphone is so off of what 80% of forum members write so I will share purely for the sake of discussion.

First, of all, I owned a lot of headphones in my life, also BW PX, that I hated initially but loved in the end. Odd. Remember replacing them with H9 and really feeling like I left an old friend. Currently, I use, Focal Clear OG at home, Sennheiser Momentum 3 ( EQ-ed), Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless ( EQ-ed), and finally my beloved Sony XBA-Z5+Kimber+nw503. I also listen to Focal speakers (Kanta2+Naim Nova), so I am used to focal sound, but I would not say that I consider it as the only one sounding right, I do love XBA-Z5 with its more full presentation, just as Momentum 3 ( toned down bass EQ).

Just recently, due to intensive trips planned I started looking into ANC headphones. I focused on 2: Bathys and PX8. To put Bathys of the discussion mostly, I would say they sound great overall, with little boxy/ boomy timber or echo around voice frequencies ( I did not like that on Radiance too ), wired base response sounding almost like slight lack of power in internal dac/amp compensated with EQ, and really so so looks and comfort to me. That is why I decided to try PX8.

First, they do look amazing. Like stellar really. I would not change a thing here. They are also amazingly comfortable for me, I almost forgot I was wearing them at the shop. It was a freshly opened box so, probably it would get even better. For me, it was an amazing experience of a classy look and comfort. Definitely worth the price in this regard. But then I started listening. I need to say, I read the forum here with all that prises, and my experience was totally the opposite really. Maybe they need to burn in? Anyway, this is what I heard. The Sound is really a "tiny bit" boomy in the mid-base, with DSP lifting a lot of echoes in the lower mids / mid-base, creating a full sound. To my ears, it was a bit overdone. As result, yes I did hear a lot of background sounds in this frequency, but the sound felt really 2d in terms of depth and artificial. I also felt like mentioned approach reduced the dynamic range a lot, making everything sound artificially equally loud but to me lifeless and a tiny bit dull. Don't get me wrong, I love a strong base, even elevated. In the IFI amp I use the base boost to make Clears slightly above Harman in the base region, but, it needs to be tasteful.XBA-Z5 are base monsters, love them, they are basehead's audiophile dream. But the PX8 base was bloated in this fresh pair I heard and it operates too high in freq response. The vocal range was on the other hand flattened and recessed, lacking energy a lot. It would work, but with much greater separation and detail provided. Maybe the iPhone 14pro/TIDAL was just a terrible source. The sound reminded me of the B&O Bluetooth speaker I heard recently, where the smooth and elegant presentation was trying to make it sound classy, elegant, and easy to pick all the frequencies. The gain of that is that it's super easy to listen to as a piece of background music, it's fun and rhythmically easy to follow. I played with EQ and could not get the vocals to sound more natural and separate them from the mix a little bit.

It was not a bad sound, no, it was super smooth and elegant yet some genres do not really have the right depth or sweetness in the voices. Say, listening to Ane Brum felt really not engaging, as her voice really felt mixed back with the background. App also felt really so-so, at best. It's on par with Focal & Naim App, both being poor to me.

Then I found measurements of PX8 and Basthys and felt like that perfectly mimicked what I heard with my ears. I am still considering PX8, as their use form factor is beyond amazing, but to my ears, they really do sound like BT Headphones with a bit of that extra classy smoothness in the presentation. Maybe they need to burn in a lot, but if not they are not - to my ears and this super short 1h session - on the same level as Bathys. They are though, much better ANC headphones for daily use.

Kuba

 

[Denkmal]

Hey!
By no means is this a review, but I need to say this is the first time when my personal impression of a headphone is so off of what 80% of forum members write so I will share purely for the sake of discussion.

First, of all, I owned a lot of headphones in my life, also BW PX, that I hated initially but loved in the end. Odd. Remember replacing them with H9 and really feeling like I left an old friend. Currently, I use, Focal Clear OG at home, Sennheiser Momentum 3 ( EQ-ed), Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless ( EQ-ed), and finally my beloved Sony XBA-Z5+Kimber+nw503. I also listen to Focal speakers (Kanta2+Naim Nova), so I am used to focal sound, but I would not say that I consider it as the only one sounding right, I do love XBA-Z5 with its more full presentation, just as Momentum 3 ( toned down bass EQ).

Just recently, due to intensive trips planned I started looking into ANC headphones. I focused on 2: Bathys and PX8. To put Bathys of the discussion mostly, I would say they sound great overall, with little boxy/ boomy timber or echo around voice frequencies ( I did not like that on Radiance too ), wired base response sounding almost like slight lack of power in internal dac/amp compensated with EQ, and really so so looks and comfort to me. That is why I decided to try PX8.

First, they do look amazing. Like stellar really. I would not change a thing here. They are also amazingly comfortable for me, I almost forgot I was wearing them at the shop. It was a freshly opened box so, probably it would get even better. For me, it was an amazing experience of a classy look and comfort. Definitely worth the price in this regard. But then I started listening. I need to say, I read the forum here with all that prises, and my experience was totally the opposite really. Maybe they need to burn in? Anyway, this is what I heard. The Sound is really a "tiny bit" boomy in the mid-base, with DSP lifting a lot of echoes in the lower mids / mid-base, creating a full sound. To my ears, it was a bit overdone. As result, yes I did hear a lot of background sounds in this frequency, but the sound felt really 2d in terms of depth and artificial. I also felt like mentioned approach reduced the dynamic range a lot, making everything sound artificially equally loud but to me lifeless and a tiny bit dull. Don't get me wrong, I love a strong base, even elevated. In the IFI amp I use the base boost to make Clears slightly above Harman in the base region, but, it needs to be tasteful.XBA-Z5 are base monsters, love them, they are basehead's audiophile dream. But the PX8 base was bloated in this fresh pair I heard and it operates too high in freq response. The vocal range was on the other hand flattened and recessed, lacking energy a lot. It would work, but with much greater separation and detail provided. Maybe the iPhone 14pro/TIDAL was just a terrible source. The sound reminded me of the B&O Bluetooth speaker I heard recently, where the smooth and elegant presentation was trying to make it sound classy, elegant, and easy to pick all the frequencies. The gain of that is that it's super easy to listen to as a piece of background music, it's fun and rhythmically easy to follow. I played with EQ and could not get the vocals to sound more natural and separate them from the mix a little bit.

It was not a bad sound, no, it was super smooth and elegant yet some genres do not really have the right depth or sweetness in the voices. Say, listening to Ane Brum felt really not engaging, as her voice really felt mixed back with the background. App also felt really so-so, at best. It's on par with Focal & Naim App, both being poor to me.

Then I found measurements of PX8 and Basthys and felt like that perfectly mimicked what I heard with my ears. I am still considering PX8, as their use form factor is beyond amazing, but to my ears, they really do sound like BT Headphones with a bit of that extra classy smoothness in the presentation. Maybe they need to burn in a lot, but if not they are not - to my ears and this super short 1h session - on the same level as Bathys. They are though, much better ANC headphones for daily use.

Kuba

Everybody has their own preference and ears.
But in your case I am wondering if you didnt get a faulty unit. Describing a bloated bass, recessed vocals and lack of energy… this is quite the opposite of what most others hear with PX8.

 

[qba3d]

Could be, and yet frequency response seems to prove my observation quite literally.

 

[jthomp72]

Could be, and yet frequency response seems to prove my observation quite literally.

But not what nearly a dozen people in this thread have said. So, you may not like the particular sound signature offered, but I’d hardly describe them as bloated. A lot of bass? Oh for sure. Bloated? Ehhhh

 

[qba3d]

That's exactly what I stated at the beginning of my post, that my experience with px8, the short one, was totally different than 80% of members here. Also, I did mention, that I have nothing against a signature with a lifted base.

 

[jthomp72]

That's exactly what I stated at the beginning of my post, that my experience with px8, the short one, was totally different than 80% of members here. Also, I did mention, that I have nothing against a signature with a lifted base.

Oh yeah nothing wrong with having a different opinion. I am always fascinated when your opinion runs extremely counter to the norm. Not a bad thing, just always like understanding why.

 

[qba3d]

Well, it's not only mine, to be honest. Resolve, a core team member of Headphones.com wrote:

"
I’ve been holding off on giving my thoughts on the Bathys because I’ve been waiting for the B&W PX8 to come in to compare, and folks have been comparing them to one another.

I now have that one in and no, it’s not on the same level as the Bathys for sound quality - along just about all dimensions of sound quality I can think of, but in particular the tuning on the PX8 sounds very weird to me. Boomy and muddy bass with a strong low to mid treble resonance causing some percussion compression.

I think the stiffer competition for the Bathys in terms of sound quality comes from the Sennheiser Momentum 4."

I think it's important where You come from expirience-wise, headphones-wise, and what You compare it to. Maybe it's the fact that say I like the warm sound, of say, Dynaudio Confidence speakers, and can respect that calm warm sound when it's done in a certain way. I like bassy headphones with a LOT of base when its balance like in XBA-Z5. Probably, if I would listen to PX8 for a few weeks I could get used to those, and love them, but as a first not "burned in" impression that is what I heard. But that is why, in my intro, I described where I come from with my gear and experience that naturally impacts my perception.

 

[Denkmal]

Well, it's not only mine, to be honest. Resolve, a core team member of Headphones.com wrote:

"
I’ve been holding off on giving my thoughts on the Bathys because I’ve been waiting for the B&W PX8 to come in to compare, and folks have been comparing them to one another.

I now have that one in and no, it’s not on the same level as the Bathys for sound quality - along just about all dimensions of sound quality I can think of, but in particular the tuning on the PX8 sounds very weird to me. Boomy and muddy bass with a strong low to mid treble resonance causing some percussion compression.

I think the stiffer competition for the Bathys in terms of sound quality comes from the Sennheiser Momentum 4."

I think it's important where You come from expirience-wise, headphones-wise, and what You compare it to. Maybe it's the fact that say I like the warm sound, of say, Dynaudio Confidence speakers, and can respect that calm warm sound when it's done in a certain way. I like bassy headphones with a LOT of base when its balance like in XBA-Z5. Probably, if I would listen to PX8 for a few weeks I could get used to those, and love them, but as a first not "burned in" impression that is what I heard. But that is why, in my intro, I described where I come from with my gear and experience that naturally impacts my perception.

I am not sure what point you are trying to make? That PX8 has boomy, muddy, bloated bass, poor recessed mids and should be compared against far cheaper headphones such as the Momentum? If that is your take I guess you could try the PX7s2, maybe that offers more value.