[Maukey]

fwiw I did have to plug and unplug mine several times before it started to do the charge thing. If you see 100% in the app, you need to unplug, plug again. But yeah, you probably already know that. Sorry it didn't work for you.

I did that. It would charge for like 60 secs and then stop. After about 10 tries I gave up. No offense to you, but I'm not a person who's going to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a headphone to function the way it's suppose to, especially a premium one of this sort. I've been fortunate not to have many quality control issues with headphones, the PX8 are one of only a couple in my lifetime. Not even the PX7 or PX7 S2 gave me any issues. This doesn't change the fact that I think it's a great headphone, especially for someone who wants one do it all ANC headphone. It just may be a sign for me that I should move on. We'll see. The unique sound signature is definitely addicting.

 

[Denkmal]

Listen to them for a little bit then charge again and see if they go past 25%. If so, rinse and repeat. Once you get to 100 they should discharge and charge normally after that.

I dont see any issues reported in the PX7/S2 thread. And I do assume there are many more on the market of those, and that the battery is exactly the same.

 

[Denkmal]

I did that. It would charge for like 60 secs and then stop. After about 10 tries I gave up. No offense to you, but I'm not a person who's going to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a headphone to function the way it's suppose to, especially a premium one of this sort. I've been fortunate not to have many quality control issues with headphones, the PX8 are one of only a couple in my lifetime. Not even the PX7 or PX7 S2 gave me any issues. This doesn't change the fact that I think it's a great headphone, especially for someone who wants one do it all ANC headphone. It just may be a sign for me that I should move on. We'll see. The unique sound signature is definitely addicting.

I hope these are isolated incidents.
I have owned five B&W headphones prior to the PX8 (P5s2, P7, P7W, PX and PX7), all with pristine build quality and impeccable functionality. Only minor issue has been some ear pad leaking a small drop of glue after use in super warm climate. B&W replaced the entire set (P7) even though they were out of warranty.
Would expect B&W to stand by their product here as it is their brand new flagship product.

 

[cresny]

I did that. It would charge for like 60 secs and then stop. After about 10 tries I gave up. No offense to you, but I'm not a person who's going to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a headphone to function the way it's suppose to, especially a premium one of this sort. I've been fortunate not to have many quality control issues with headphones, the PX8 are one of only a couple in my lifetime. Not even the PX7 or PX7 S2 gave me any issues. This doesn't change the fact that I think it's a great headphone, especially for someone who wants one do it all ANC headphone. It just may be a sign for me that I should move on. We'll see. The unique sound signature is definitely addicting.

Yeah, they're probably isn't anyone else in my boat (bought from a reviewer, no warranty). But at least there is a fix in case anyone happens to be in the same predicament.

 

[Denkmal]

Finally, a real review from Flossy and White Shoes!

Could barely finish watching the video, this guy and his cat stress me out.
Also, first thing he does is setting both the bass AND the treble to MAX for his sound test.
I think he and I have different ways of appreciating headphones.

 

[Laps]

Could barely finish watching the video, this guy and his cat stress me out.
Also, first thing he does is setting both the bass AND the treble to MAX for his sound test.
I think he and I have different ways of appreciating headphones.

Totally agree. His personality and channel are popular on YT (over a million subscribers) because he is an entertainer who happened to have chosen audio gear as his platform, and obviously he has been very successful at that. His cat adds to his appeal no doubt. But as far as credibility, well that is questionable by many I'm sure. And as much as I enjoy YT I imagine I have an affinity for the myriad of channels of less than .001% (someone else can do the math on that one).

 

[BooleanBones]

Could barely finish watching the video, this guy and his cat stress me out.
Also, first thing he does is setting both the bass AND the treble to MAX for his sound test.
I think he and I have different ways of appreciating headphones.

I can't watch them anymore. The only thing I find useful in them is when he does the BT range tests. Watching him listen and sing to his "test" song is brutal regardless how humorous the videos are.

 

[mainguy]

Could barely finish watching the video, this guy and his cat stress me out.
Also, first thing he does is setting both the bass AND the treble to MAX for his sound test.
I think he and I have different ways of appreciating headphones.

no way, he EQd them up to max in the b&w app? lol

 

[Maukey]

Could barely finish watching the video, this guy and his cat stress me out.
Also, first thing he does is setting both the bass AND the treble to MAX for his sound test.
I think he and I have different ways of appreciating headphones.

He always does this for his first listen. He likes to see how the headphones handle max treble and bass. He always goes off camera and does more realistic tests with multiple genres, he typically states so in his videos. Part of his appeal is catering to the average, modern day consumer. They typically listen to a lot of hip hop, pop, and other modern day music. They like it loud and with a lot of bass. Of course most of us on Head-fi don't listen this way, but I completely understand why he does it and the usefulness of it for his followers.

 

[Denkmal]

no way, he EQd them up to max in the b&w app? lol

Yep. Max everything as more is probably better

 

[Denkmal]

He always does this for his first listen. He likes to see how the headphones handle max treble and bass. He always goes off camera and does more realistic tests with multiple genres, he typically states so in his videos. Part of his appeal is catering to the average, modern day consumer. They typically listen to a lot of hip hop, pop, and other modern day music. They like it loud and with a lot of bass. Of course most of us on Head-fi don't listen this way, but I completely understand why he does it and the usefulness of it for his followers.

I get the direction of that youtube channel and I do think it is a conscious choice to ”entertain” rather than inform. It seems there are enough consumers who appreciate this.
I was just a bit shocked by the tone, the tempo of speech and the ”max everything” test. But he reviews head jewelry and not sound gear.

 

[Mikael]

I've seen lots of discussion regarding the Px8 bass in this thread. I got my Px8 a couple of weeks ago and have been using them quite a lot. I would probably qualify myself as an audiophile, having had a genuine interest for the last 25 years or so. My preference is generally towards a pretty flat frequency response. When it comes to headphones, I have lots of experience with HD 650, HD 600, HD 25-1, Momentum over ear (original wired), AKG K550, ATH-SR5BT. Also experienced various other sets, such as HD 800 (my brother owned these), AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2, Bathys, H95, Momentum 4. I would of course not characterize all of these as neutral/flat, but I'd say that the HD 650 probably is my overall favorite that I keep coming back to and that's a decently neutral sounding headphone (although definitely lacking in the sub-bass region). Especially if you compare to pretty much any wireless headphone.

Anyway, regarding Px8 bass: I saw someone comment on a frequency response graph for the Px8 and saying that they couldn't believe they would be 6-9 dB above the reference curve. I have no trouble believing that. These headphones are very bass heavy. It's not just a sub bas hump, as it extends into the low mids (~350 Hz) as well. The effect of this is that tracks with lots of bass and lower mid energy sound very thick. I personally listen a lot to rock and metal and the result of this boost is that chugging guitars and bass drums have an overpowering effect on the upper mids and treble. It quite simply sounds like the presentation is skewed and the lower range has an unnaturally high volume.

To me, this effect is quite uncomfortable and fatiguing. I know there are headphones with more bass, so it's of course not the worst offender. [I tried my buddy's XM3 a couple of years ago and sat there in disbelief at the thick, boomy mess...] Still, I would not characterize the Px8 as having a mild bass boost and I think it's important to make that point to prospective buyers.

With all this said, I must say I'm very happy with my Px8. How come? Fortunately, they offer bass and treble controls that work quite well and are stored in the phones and applied to all sources. After having compared them to most of my other headphones as well as the AirPods Max, Bathys, H95 and Momentum 4, I ended up setting the bass to -6 db and the treble to -1 dB. For context, I usually listen in pretty quiet environments with ANC off. At these settings, sound is still warm and the bass level slightly boosted compared to what I'd say is a neutral sound, but I very much like the result. For much of the music I listen to, I'd probably consider them sounding overall better than my HD 650. One area where the HD 650 wins is vocals. They just sound more natural and lifelike. I also easily preferred the Px8 to the H95, as I found the H95, while pretty spacious sounding, had weird/unnatural mids. It was a short listening session, though, so would want a bit more time with those.

Interestingly, my friend also bought the Px8 last week. He compared them to his AirPods Max and AKG K712 and ended up unknowingly setting the bass and treble to the exact same values as I did. He's not really an audiophile, but he does appreciate good sound quality and he thought the bass boost on the Px8 was pretty heavy as well.

The only wireless headphones I tried that could really compete with the Px8 are the Bathys. They clearly have much more space in their presentation, as mentioned here many times. The stock/flat EQ setting on them is much less thick sounding than the Px8 and they overall felt more dynamic in the lower end. I would also consider them to sound more natural with voices. While I think the Bathys have the edge in terms of sound quality, the overall package with the Px8 is great. They sound really good, are not overly big, very comfortable (more so than the Bathys) and look absolutely stunning. Therefore I am quite happy with my choice and will definitely be keeping them for a long time!

 

[Denkmal]

I've seen lots of discussion regarding the Px8 bass in this thread. I got my Px8 a couple of weeks ago and have been using them quite a lot. I would probably qualify myself as an audiophile, having had a genuine interest for the last 25 years or so. My preference is generally towards a pretty flat frequency response. When it comes to headphones, I have lots of experience with HD 650, HD 600, HD 25-1, Momentum over ear (original wired), AKG K550, ATH-SR5BT. Also experienced various other sets, such as HD 800 (my brother owned these), AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2, Bathys, H95, Momentum 4. I would of course not characterize all of these as neutral/flat, but I'd say that the HD 650 probably is my overall favorite that I keep coming back to and that's a decently neutral sounding headphone (although definitely lacking in the sub-bass region). Especially if you compare to pretty much any wireless headphone.

Anyway, regarding Px8 bass: I saw someone comment on a frequency response graph for the Px8 and saying that they couldn't believe they would be 6-9 dB above the reference curve. I have no trouble believing that. These headphones are very bass heavy. It's not just a sub bas hump, as it extends into the low mids (~350 Hz) as well. The effect of this is that tracks with lots of bass and lower mid energy sound very thick. I personally listen a lot to rock and metal and the result of this boost is that chugging guitars and bass drums have an overpowering effect on the upper mids and treble. It quite simply sounds like the presentation is skewed and the lower range has an unnaturally high volume.

To me, this effect is quite uncomfortable and fatiguing. I know there are headphones with more bass, so it's of course not the worst offender. [I tried my buddy's XM3 a couple of years ago and sat there in disbelief at the thick, boomy mess...] Still, I would not characterize the Px8 as having a mild bass boost and I think it's important to make that point to prospective buyers.

With all this said, I must say I'm very happy with my Px8. How come? Fortunately, they offer bass and treble controls that work quite well and are stored in the phones and applied to all sources. After having compared them to most of my other headphones as well as the AirPods Max, Bathys, H95 and Momentum 4, I ended up setting the bass to -6 db and the treble to -1 dB. For context, I usually listen in pretty quiet environments with ANC off. At these settings, sound is still warm and the bass level slightly boosted compared to what I'd say is a neutral sound, but I very much like the result. For much of the music I listen to, I'd probably consider them sounding overall better than my HD 650. One area where the HD 650 wins is vocals. They just sound more natural and lifelike. I also easily preferred the Px8 to the H95, as I found the H95, while pretty spacious sounding, had weird/unnatural mids. It was a short listening session, though, so would want a bit more time with those.

Interestingly, my friend also bought the Px8 last week. He compared them to his AirPods Max and AKG K712 and ended up unknowingly setting the bass and treble to the exact same values as I did. He's not really an audiophile, but he does appreciate good sound quality and he thought the bass boost on the Px8 was pretty heavy as well.

The only wireless headphones I tried that could really compete with the Px8 are the Bathys. They clearly have much more space in their presentation, as mentioned here many times. The stock/flat EQ setting on them is much less thick sounding than the Px8 and they overall felt more dynamic in the lower end. I would also consider them to sound more natural with voices. While I think the Bathys have the edge in terms of sound quality, the overall package with the Px8 is great. They sound really good, are not overly big, very comfortable (more so than the Bathys) and look absolutely stunning. Therefore I am quite happy with my choice and will definitely be keeping them for a long time!

Nice summary of your impressions. I can definitely see that the bass on PX8 is too much for many people. Especially with ANC on, which elevates the bass further. Someone said that they thought PX8 was neutral which is ridiculous.

I tried your eq settings and must say that for certain tracks I thought it sounded good, but I am not sensitive to bass and appreciate the normal setting or maybe -1 or -2 dB.

But you should definitely try the ”Max all” settings from the youtuber Flossy and White Shoes!

 

[Soundizer]

I read about this guy in the Focal Bathys thread who got a faulty driver. Twice.
Another case with M&D MW65.
Multiple issues with Focal and Hifiman cans. And other brands of course.
I had issues with a Sony XM3, other problems with Sennheisers.

There is probably no consumer electronics out there with zero defects.

it’s the game we are playing in

 

[Mikael]

But you should definitely try the ”Max all” settings from the youtuber Flossy and White Shoes!

Haha, yeah, well... That's a lot of everything. Since the tone controls are applied pretty broadly, the whole frequency range is pulled up to some degree, making the curve perhaps slightly less dramatically V shaped than one might expect. Still, it's not very pleasant.

BTW, I did some experiments with the tone controls and a tone generator app. It seems the tone controls overlap somewhere around 900 Hz, i.e. the treble and bass controls have similar effect at this point.