[tiestir]

New Comparison video

Hmm, they are saying the H95 beats out the PX8 in terms of sound quality. Can anyone that has both or has listened to both speak to this? I haven’t heard the H95 but have been curious as to how their sound compares to my PX8.

 

[jthomp72]

Hmm, they are saying the H95 beats out the PX8 in terms of sound quality. Can anyone that has both or has listened to both speak to this? I haven’t heard the H95 but have been curious as to how their sound compares to my PX8.

They are of similar quality. I think it’s a sound signature question. Do you like boomy energetic sound or a clinical sparkly sound?

 

[Livnmuskoka]

Just received the PX8's today. I ordered an HD600/BTR7 combo the same day as PX8 and got them over a week earlier, and have about 5 hours on them now.
After having a calibrated and accurate stereo system for a few years I'm loving these HD600's, even more in most ways than my previous LCD-3F/RME adi-2 dac combo.
I've only used them wired from my Samsung phone with Tidal so far, but have LDAC 990kbps available on my phone and the BTR7 if I want.
I already have MTW3 and wf1000xm4 for on the go, and the HD600/BTR7 are still portable to move from room to room. Just don't want to be tethered in one place anymore in the house.
So I'm returning the PX8 unopened. If the LCD-3F's weren't good enough, these probably aren't going to do it for me. Maybe when Aptx lossless and replaceable batteries are standard, then I'll give some top tier BT headphones a try. ✌

 

[mainguy]

Hmm, they are saying the H95 beats out the PX8 in terms of sound quality. Can anyone that has both or has listened to both speak to this? I haven’t heard the H95 but have been curious as to how their sound compares to my PX8.

Ive heard both side by side. The H95 is not on the same tier as PX8 or Bathys in my opinion. But ive only listened to a few songs on H95...I actually found it sibilant in some songs with female vocals. It felt like more of an Airpods Max competitor than a PX8/Bathys one.

 

[mainguy]

@angelom came back haunted nine inch nails. Tell me what you think… that’s only an example but in general I perceive as the driver of app2 doesn’t have the ability to give all frequencies the same treatment so for me it shows the “mess” when compared to px8. But that’s my ears and my opinion. Tell me yours.

I just compared All apologies - Nirvana on PX8 and APP2 for fun.
The difference was bigger than I thought. APP2 gives a brighter presentation which can give the illusion of a more energetic performance at a glance, but the detail loss is staggering. Cymbal crashes overwhelm the mix in busy passages and sound poor, the seperation of instruments in space is far less pronounced, the guitar riffs, both acoustic and electric, sound less detailed and thinner.

Everyone has different hearing and preferences. For my own tastes, the APP2 are a far lower quality listening experience to PX8 and Bathys. It is not even remotely close. I wish it was, as I have to use APP2 so often for convenience, alas, true wireless just isn't there yet and I'm yet to try a pair that comes anywhere close to good wired iems or bluetooth over ears. It's a lot of technology to squeeze into a tiny unit so I can understand why.

 

[jthomp72]

I just compared All apologies - Nirvana on PX8 and APP2 for fun.
The difference was bigger than I thought. APP2 gives a brighter presentation which can give the illusion of a more energetic performance at a glance, but the detail loss is staggering. Cymbal crashes overwhelm the mix in busy passages and sound poor, the seperation of instruments in space is far less pronounced, the guitar riffs, both acoustic and electric, sound less detailed and thinner.

Everyone has different hearing and preferences. For my own tastes, the APP2 are a far lower quality listening experience to PX8 and Bathys. It is not even remotely close. I wish it was, as I have to use APP2 so often for convenience, alas, true wireless just isn't there yet and I'm yet to try a pair that comes anywhere close to good wired iems or bluetooth over ears. It's a lot of technology to squeeze into a tiny unit so I can understand why.

That was what got me…the cymbals overwhelmed everything. That’s all I got.

 

[JoePR31]

Unfortunately, this is true (about your comment of "I don't think this thread is meant to be the Px8 fan club"). I saying this same comment before in this thread. And I see typical patterns here to others threads when one person isn't liking the sound that many liking, that others 'fans' looking for multiple excuses for explaining this.

The reality is that if you're coming from more neutral headphones, the px8 can sounding definitely bass heavy and with uneven, sometimes recessed treble. And this is why I insisting always, in my case, that I need EQ for this headphone, and that the EQ is responding well (not perfect but sufficiently good), and I'm gravitating from the beginning from -3dB in bass to -1.5db and from +2dB to +1.5dB in treble. This is ALWAYS with ANC and transparency off.

I mentioning too that is clear bass lift when ANC or transparency is on and some regular posters here dismissing my comment. Now suddenly is relevant after the FR results of Resolve.

And I saying too that the px8 have more low bass that px7, reaching more deep/low BUT that the treble is better (more linear in the p7w). I still thinking that in factory sound the p7w is more correct (in FR) than px8, but the p7w don't have EQ.

I've had to speed read through this thread to catch up because it moves very quickly, but it seemed to me like there wasn't much feedback on the difference between ANC off and on, but that those that did mention it, including you, noted hearing a bass "boost" when ANC is on. I agree.

What Resolve's FR results seem to suggest is that we're all hearing this wrong. His FR graph shows that the bass with ANC on and off is almost identical, and that the changes are further upstream in the FR. Despite the results of that graph, I'm still sticking to my original impression that the bass sounds boosted by about 2db with ANC on. Personally, I like this ANC on bass boost because it compensates for the masking effect that loud environments tend to have on lower frequencies when listening via headphones.

 

[jthomp72]

I've had to speed read through this thread to catch up because it moves very quickly, but it seemed to me like there wasn't much feedback on the difference between ANC off and on, but that those that did mention it, including you, noted hearing a bass "boost" when ANC is on. I agree.

What Resolve's FR results seem to suggest is that we're all hearing this wrong. His FR graph shows that the bass with ANC on and off is almost identical, and that the changes are further upstream in the FR. Despite the results of that graph, I'm still sticking to my original impression that the bass sounds boosted by about 2db with ANC on. Personally, I like this ANC on bass boost because it compensates for the masking effect that loud environments tend to have on lower frequencies when listening via headphones.

I feel like measuring with ANC on his always complicated because positioning matters a bunch… At least, according to what he was saying the slightest change in the head position changed the graph, so I have no idea how to read this crap anymore

 

[JoePR31]

IMO momentum 4 and Bathys are just different flavors of 'good sound'. That's not something I can say of the PX8, both objectively and subjectively. But there are obviously people who like it, and if you like it, by all means enjoy!

Sorry to regurgitate posts that are a couple of days old here, but I'm playing catch up. I enjoy your reviews and usually find them to be very useful, but lifting the Momentum 4 up by referring to it as a different flavor of the same good sound quality as the Bathys and in doing so suggesting that the PX8 is worse than $300-$400 tier ANC headphones like the Momentum 4 seems a bit far fetched.

It definitely doesn't match up with what I heard when I listened to the Momentum 4, versus what I hear from my PX8. Differences in how we hear are to be expected, but even so, this seems pretty extreme.

 

[JoePR31]

I feel like measuring with ANC on his always complicated because positioning matters a bunch… At least, according to what he was saying the slightest change in the head position changed the graph, so I have no idea how to read this crap anymore

True. My biggest issue with Resolve's feedback was with his apparent suggestion that the Momentum 4 is superior to the PX8. He called it a different flavor of the same good sound as the Bathys. Funny thing is that that's exactly how I would describe the PX8...as a different flavor of the same good sound as the Bathys.

 

[Resolve]

so suggesting that the PX8 is worse than $300-$400 tier ANC headphones like the Momentum 4 seems a bit far fetched.

Oh, I don't mean to suggest that exactly. To my ear the PX8 sounds significantly worse than even some sub $200 ANC headphones, maybe even lower. And I know that may sound scathing, but it's just my honest opinion of it. It's the particular peaks in the treble that make it totally unlistenable to me. I think maybe for folks who aren't bothered by those harmonic imbalances, or for those who have a particular HRTF where this kind of frequency response is more appropriate might find it okay. But for me it's a hard pass because of those issues, and those issues aren't present on the Momentum 4. And if folks here prefer the PX8, please don't let me rain on your parade. This is just one person's opinion, one person's ears, one person's HRTF.

EDIT: and just one other thing. Please don't mistake me for suggesting the Momentum 4 is amazing or putting it on a pedestal here. It's... decent. I would just take the sound of it over the PX8 without hesitation. I would choose the Bathys over both, but that's also because of my particular use case being very suitable to the wired USB DAC mode on the Bathys, and I do find it to be the more 'technical' sounding of the two.

 

[tiestir]

Ive heard both side by side. The H95 is not on the same tier as PX8 or Bathys in my opinion. But ive only listened to a few songs on H95...I actually found it sibilant in some songs with female vocals. It felt like more of an Airpods Max competitor than a PX8/Bathys one.

Thank You. Just saved me quite a bit of hassle and cash
You had the chance to hear the MW75? Curious about those as well.

 

[jthomp72]

Thank You. Just saved me quite a bit of hassle and cash
You had the chance to hear the MW75? Curious about those as well.

It’s pretty v shaped but by all accounts solid. I just put one on order to compare.

 

[JoePR31]

Oh, I don't mean to suggest that exactly. To my ear the PX8 sounds significantly worse than even some sub $200 ANC headphones, maybe even lower. And I know that may sound scathing, but it's just my honest opinion of it. It's the particular peaks in the treble that make it totally unlistenable to me. I think maybe for folks who aren't bothered by those harmonic imbalances, or for those who have a particular HRTF where this kind of frequency response is more appropriate might find it okay. But for me it's a hard pass because of those issues, and those issues aren't present on the Momentum 4. And if folks here prefer the PX8, please don't let me rain on your parade. This is just one person's opinion, one person's ears, one person's HRTF.

EDIT: and just one other thing. Please don't mistake me for suggesting the Momentum 4 is amazing or putting it on a pedestal here. It's... decent. I would just take the sound of it over the PX8 without hesitation. I would choose the Bathys over both, but that's also because of my particular use case being very suitable to the wired USB DAC mode on the Bathys, and I do find it to be the more 'technical' sounding of the two.

Wow, doubling down, I see. We'll have to agree to strongly disagree regarding the PX8...but I'm now certain that there must be a fundamental difference in our ear shapes and the way the PX8 fits and interacts with our ears that is exaggerating the differences in how we hear it. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to respond. I greatly appreciate your contributions to the audiophile community.

 

[Resolve]

Wow, doubling down, I see. We'll have to agree to strongly disagree regarding the PX8...but I'm now certain that there must be a fundamental difference in our ear shapes and the way the PX8 fits and interacts with our ears that is exaggerating the differences in how we hear it. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to respond. I greatly appreciate your contributions to the audiophile community.

My pleasure! And yes I think you're right about those differences.