[audio dilettante]

Out of curiosity do you have a different cable to try?

I do actually, and will give it a go. Not sure what difference it'll make though as the green light goes solid in the headphones.

 

[rosgr63]

I do actually, and will give it a go. Not sure what difference it'll make though as the green light goes solid in the headphones.

Thanks
Did you try cycle the batter?

 

[audio dilettante]

I have the Focal Bathys too and have followed that thread closely. That is far from a perfect headphone but sure, it offers a few things that it actually does better than the Px8, for me this is primarily the wider soundstage and a different tuning suitable for some music and/or ears. For me it is not a keeper though, I will most likely sell mine but keep my Px8 which suit me better.

Compared with Bathys I like the Px8 for
- looks (a matter of preference but if the Bathys is a neon green Lamborghini the PX8 is a black Aston Martin)
- build (actually a lot better)
- portability (Bathys too big for travel)
- fit and comfort (PX8 super comfy and Bathys a little heavy on the headband)
- multi point functionality
- ANC (PX8 is not perfect by better than Bathys)
- sound signature (again a matter of preference) - I like the warm mids and smooth treble of Px8 although I fully understand those who prefer Bathys.

Yeah I'm far from convinced on the Bathys but the ML5909 is a bit of a push pricewise for me. Maybe I give the PX8 another go. Decisions decisions.

 

[audio dilettante]

Thanks
Did you try cycle the batter?

Not sure what that means - as in run it flat then fully charge?

 

[rosgr63]

Yes just in case

 

[LoryWiv]

I have the Focal Bathys too and have followed that thread closely. That is far from a perfect headphone but sure, it offers a few things that it actually does better than the Px8, for me this is primarily the wider soundstage and a different tuning suitable for some music and/or ears. For me it is not a keeper though, I will most likely sell mine but keep my Px8 which suit me better.

Compared with Bathys I like the Px8 for
- looks (a matter of preference but if the Bathys is a neon green Lamborghini the PX8 is a black Aston Martin)
- build (actually a lot better)
- portability (Bathys too big for travel)
- fit and comfort (PX8 super comfy and Bathys a little heavy on the headband)
- multi point functionality
- ANC (PX8 is not perfect by better than Bathys)
- sound signature (again a matter of preference) - I like the warm mids and smooth treble of Px8 although I fully understand those who prefer Bathys.

Does Bathys not support multipoint too?

 

[Denkmal]

Does Bathys not support multipoint too?

Technically yes.
But it does not work as fast or flawlessly as the Px8.

 

[TK33]

Could be. In any case lets hope they do right by the ones suffering from battery issues.

Support is definitely not as great anymore. Maybe I just have really bad luck. Have had to do 3 warranty replacements now in the last few years (twice for PI7s before I got a good set) and it has been a process each time. Tthis time appears to be no different. They offered to replace the Px8 but didn't give me a shipping label (I had to pay shipping for my first PI7 replacement, free for second after I pushed back on them). I emailed them back earlier this afternoon asking for a label and have not heard back yet. Don't think I should have to pay to ship a defective pair of headphones at this price point.

 

[audio dilettante]

Kj

I have the Focal Bathys too and have followed that thread closely. That is far from a perfect headphone but sure, it offers a few things that it actually does better than the Px8, for me this is primarily the wider soundstage and a different tuning suitable for some music and/or ears. For me it is not a keeper though, I will most likely sell mine but keep my Px8 which suit me better.

Compared with Bathys I like the Px8 for
- looks (a matter of preference but if the Bathys is a neon green Lamborghini the PX8 is a black Aston Martin)
- build (actually a lot better)
- portability (Bathys too big for travel)
- fit and comfort (PX8 super comfy and Bathys a little heavy on the headband)
- multi point functionality
- ANC (PX8 is not perfect by better than Bathys)
- sound signature (again a matter of preference) - I like the warm mids and smooth treble of Px8 although I fully understand those who prefer Bathys.

I just watched the Mark Ellis comparison again and am going yo stay with the PX8. He even claims PX8 has a wider sound stage on a side by side test. Given that this is the Bathys only supposed advantage its obviously way too close to justify the extra cost. Annoyingly Amazon aren't offering a replacement, only a refund so looks like I'll have to get them somewhere else. Might just go direct from B&W.

 

[audio dilettante]

Another thing I hadn't really considered are the M4s. I know they're not in the same league as the PX8 but a decent option in terms of bang for your buck? I got my PX8 for just over £500 an it's now going to cost me £600 to replace so I'm having to consider other options.

Update - so now my issue is that Amazon say I need to ship back to the UK myself and they will refund me up to £12 for shipping. Cheapest courier from Dubai to UK is £120 with insurance so this is a no go. I think my only option now is to hold onto them. I'm back in the UK in March so if they're still on the blink at that point I can still return them to Amazon under warranty and not have to fork out stupid money for postage. I know I won't be able to get a refund but I love the headphones so will be happy with a replacement anyway. I'm paying the price for taking the cheapest option now as I could have bought them direct from B&W in UAE for about £100 extra. Oh well.

 

[cresny]

Support is definitely not as great anymore. Maybe I just have really bad luck. Have had to do 3 warranty replacements now in the last few years (twice for PI7s before I got a good set) and it has been a process each time. Tthis time appears to be no different. They offered to replace the Px8 but didn't give me a shipping label (I had to pay shipping for my first PI7 replacement, free for second after I pushed back on them). I emailed them back earlier this afternoon asking for a label and have not heard back yet. Don't think I should have to pay to ship a defective pair of headphones at this price point.

I've been living with this battery issue for nearly as long as I had the headphones. I pretty much given up hope that it will fix itself, though it does seem like a calibration issue. That some people start getting it after varying times of ownership makes it clear to me that it's the battery itself, not some firmware incompatibility. Don't bother with factory resets, though I did find you can sometimes get it to "fix itself" by turning the unit off and on, plugging cable in and out or other such inane pastimes.

My guess is that the PX8 went with a different battery source than what they used for previous models. I have an old PX that I keep intending to pop the battery out of and use the headphones to experiment with a battery I would source myself. Since the PX has a clip connection it would be a better test device than the PX8 which would require some soldering. They all use the same 3.7 voltage battery, and maH capacity is simply a matter of how much battery they can squeeze into the space. From what I've seen all of these batteries have built-in overcharge protection.

But I agree with your sentiment. Shame on B&W for making returns a hassle, especially when it looks pretty clear they may have some faulty components. As I've mentioned before on this thread, mine are not under warranty. And even though B&W said the would credit me 25% of the purchase price if I send them in, they later said they won't let me use the PX8 yet under that program even if I wanted to. Very Nice company indeed!

 

[rosgr63]

I've been living with this battery issue for nearly as long as I had the headphones. I pretty much given up hope that it will fix itself, though it does seem like a calibration issue. That some people start getting it after varying times of ownership makes it clear to me that it's the battery itself, not some firmware incompatibility. Don't bother with factory resets, though I did find you can sometimes get it to "fix itself" by turning the unit off and on, plugging cable in and out or other such inane pastimes.

My guess is that the PX8 went with a different battery source than what they used for previous models. I have an old PX that I keep intending to pop the battery out of and use the headphones to experiment with a battery I would source myself. Since the PX has a clip connection it would be a better test device than the PX8 which would require some soldering. They all use the same 3.7 voltage battery, and maH capacity is simply a matter of how much battery they can squeeze into the space. From what I've seen all of these batteries have built-in overcharge protection.

But I agree with your sentiment. Shame on B&W for making returns a hassle, especially when it looks pretty clear they may have some faulty components. As I've mentioned before on this thread, mine are not under warranty. And even though B&W said the would credit me 25% of the purchase price if I send them in, they later said they won't let me use the PX8 yet under that program even if I wanted to. Very Nice company indeed!

Does that mean they show say 40% but the actual run time is still around 30 hours?

 

[audio dilettante]

Does that mean they show say 40% but the actual run time is still around 30 hours?

I'm starting to think this is the case with mine.

 

[rosgr63]

Can you please check it & confirm, I have my pair sealed ready to be opened so I wonder if I should.

 

[audio dilettante]

Can you please check it & confirm, I have my pair sealed ready to be opened so I wonder if I should.

I deleted my app then reinstalled it. My battery now shows 96% which is where I would expect it to be.