[jthomp72]

This is so well said. I completely agree.

I didn't like their sound signature and returned them. The build quality and tech was all good and fine. The 2 band eq is not enough to correct the sound deficiencies adequately. But I also do not prefer to EQ. If it's deficient out of the box it's deficient.... but I'm a purist.

Any current BT ANC cans cannot compare to wired headphones or an external 24/192 hi resolution DAC. But current BT ANC headphones can and do sound more accurate and better than the PX8.

Montblanc MB01 and B&O H95 are two I own and sound more accurate and neutral than the PX8. Another would be the Mark Levinson 5909, which I have not heard. I plan to explore these and the Master & Dynamic MW75. I own the MW65 and they are good but a bit bright and the ANC is marginal.

Do not expect the PX8 to be audiophile nor accurate. They are an otherwise great package but I don't like their sound.

I own many other headphones. One pair that sounds great, provide great passive isolation and are wired are Audeze EL8. They are planar dynamic closed backs. They sound amazing and put the PX8 to shame soundwise. But they are wired and not as portable.

I’ve been thinking about the statement for a couple of days now and I know you’re technically correct. But I can’t help but think the majority of people aren’t going to benefit from the higher end headphones.

The longer I sit and listen to all of these different admittedly, not super super high end headphones, but we’re at $1000 for some of these and the more I listen to a typical rotation of modern day music and shows and videos on YouTube and streaming services and whatever… The more I realize that all this extra detail that these headphones provide are kind of going to waste.

I’m not saying that the headphones aren’t worth money but when I’m feeding them a bootleg copy of a Broadway musical that I have on a YouTube video the diminishing returns are evident real quick. I can tell the difference between a pair of beats and the PX8 but at some point after that it’s not gonna make that much of a difference.

Part of me feels like the same thing goes from most of the music that I’m streaming I mean it’s Apple Music lossless but at some point again it’s diminishing returns. The thing is true a lot of modern mixing is?

I don’t know I’m rambling but at the end of the day I’m feeding these headphones mediocre source material that sometimes they add a detail only frustrates me because I notice all the stuff I don’t want to notice. I think that’s part of why I like these headphones because they provide a fun sound signature to wear anything I throw at them is just pleasing to listen to.

 

[Jazzophile]

I’ve been thinking about the statement for a couple of days now and I know you’re technically correct. But I can’t help but think the majority of people aren’t going to benefit from the higher end headphones.

The longer I sit and listen to all of these different admittedly, not super super high end headphones, but we’re at $1000 for some of these and the more I listen to a typical rotation of modern day music and shows and videos on YouTube and streaming services and whatever… The more I realize that all this extra detail that these headphones provide are kind of going to waste.

I’m not saying that the headphones aren’t worth money but when I’m feeding them a bootleg copy of a Broadway musical that I have on a YouTube video the diminishing returns are evident real quick. I can tell the difference between a pair of beats and the PX8 but at some point after that it’s not gonna make that much of a difference.

Part of me feels like the same thing goes from most of the music that I’m streaming I mean it’s Apple Music lossless but at some point again it’s diminishing returns. The thing is true a lot of modern mixing is?

I don’t know I’m rambling but at the end of the day I’m feeding these headphones mediocre source material that sometimes they add a detail only frustrates me because I notice all the stuff I don’t want to notice. I think that’s part of why I like these headphones because they provide a fun sound signature to wear anything I throw at them is just pleasing to listen to.

You make good points for the general use case of people listening to low-fi or medium-fi material, bit rates and content. YouTube, Pandora, etc.

I tend to listen mostly to music, lossless or Ultra Hi Def, via AptX HD, AptX Adaptive or LDAC on my wireless in-ear headphones and over the ear headphones. And when wired, I use either a FIIO or Helm DAC for up to 24/192 decoding. I do use wireless headphones / in-ears when watching TV or movies occasionally to avoid disturbing my significant other or kids.

Still, tonality, timbre and general sound quality matter. And yes, the PX8s do sound better than a lot of other headphones out in the market....plenty good for most.

 

[evhvis]

I’ve been thinking about the statement for a couple of days now and I know you’re technically correct. But I can’t help but think the majority of people aren’t going to benefit from the higher end headphones.

The longer I sit and listen to all of these different admittedly, not super super high end headphones, but we’re at $1000 for some of these and the more I listen to a typical rotation of modern day music and shows and videos on YouTube and streaming services and whatever… The more I realize that all this extra detail that these headphones provide are kind of going to waste.

I’m not saying that the headphones aren’t worth money but when I’m feeding them a bootleg copy of a Broadway musical that I have on a YouTube video the diminishing returns are evident real quick. I can tell the difference between a pair of beats and the PX8 but at some point after that it’s not gonna make that much of a difference.

Part of me feels like the same thing goes from most of the music that I’m streaming I mean it’s Apple Music lossless but at some point again it’s diminishing returns. The thing is true a lot of modern mixing is?

I don’t know I’m rambling but at the end of the day I’m feeding these headphones mediocre source material that sometimes they add a detail only frustrates me because I notice all the stuff I don’t want to notice. I think that’s part of why I like these headphones because they provide a fun sound signature to wear anything I throw at them is just pleasing to listen to.

People set the goalposts differently. For some the PX8 is a great do it all option while others will want more dynamics, better sound stage, more resolution etc. Personally I love the PX8 on the go, but when at home I will mostly reach for the Radiance or one of my other wired pairs and run it on good electronics. I would probably put the radiance 2-3 steps up from the PX8, but it has aprox. €2500 worth of electronics ahead of it so completely different price brackets. They work well with all kinds of material for me and I also have 5 or so wired pairs in total that would be 1-2 steps up from the PX8.

Good headphones scale a lot with equipment, especially with amplifiers. For me it is worth it to run a good wired pair over both the Bathys and the PX8. For people less into head-fi the up market wireless headphones are often good enough for everything. Probably a lot of people that will be perfectly happy with a Bahtys, PX8 or similar as a do everything headphone. Important part is that people are happy with their solution and enjoy the music. Enjoying the music should always be the end goal and the gear should be tools to get there, not the end goal.

 

[jthomp72]

People set the goalposts differently. For some the PX8 is a great do it all option while others will want more dynamics, better sound stage, more resolution etc. Personally I love the PX8 on the go, but when at home I will mostly reach for the Radiance or one of my other wired pairs and run it on good electronics. I would probably put the radiance 2-3 steps up from the PX8, but it has aprox. €2500 worth of electronics ahead of it so completely different price brackets. They work well with all kinds of material for me and I also have 5 or so wired pairs in total that would be 1-2 steps up from the PX8.

Good headphones scale a lot with equipment, especially with amplifiers. For me it is worth it to run a good wired pair over both the Bathys and the PX8. For people less into head-fi the up market wireless headphones are often good enough for everything. Probably a lot of people that will be perfectly happy with a Bahtys, PX8 or similar as a do everything headphone. Important part is that people are happy with their solution and enjoy the music. Enjoying the music should always be the end goal and the gear should be tools to get there, not the end goal.

I think my rant was more reflection in my mind on the source material than it was money or convenience with wired versus wireless. I’m gonna go pop in some really high-quality mixes and see if I can really really really tell a huge difference this afternoon.

 

[Jazzophile]

I think my rant was more reflection in my mind on the source material than it was money or convenience with wired versus wireless. I’m gonna go pop in some really high-quality mixes and see if I can really really really tell a huge difference this afternoon.

I would hardly consider your comments a rant.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Just finished putting them back together. Just as tight as before. We will see if it holds up or if I need to open it again.

A quick write-up for what I did to fix it:

- Took a plastic pry tool and gently pushed it into the middle of the headband and twisted to pop the plastic tabs out. Worked my way towards the edge on each side.
- Pulled the offending leather away and dropped a decent amount of leather glue on the inside edge that rolls into the headband, one side at a time. I also put some where the leather meets the headband cushion so it would bond and not pull further out if it were to break free from the top.
- Held the leather in place while it bonded, did this one side at a time.
- Reinstalled the headband cover. Was a little harder to install than it was to take off but it flexes quite well, it doesnt break. I was pushing decently hard on the cushion while trying to install the headband cover and the leather didnt pull away from where I glued it.

If I can get the pictures to upload I'll add them, but for now problem *potentially* solved! Audio quality and sound is the same as before, bass is punchy and I dont hear anything different/loose connections or rattles, fortunately.

If you sit down and do this all at once it would take 10-15 minutes at most. Good luck to those who try it themselves, be gentle!

Can you please provide a photo of the pry tool you used to separate the headband? Or a web-link to something similar.
I have a kit for opening phones / screens but not sure what would work best.
Thanks!

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Never had any battery issues during my one year of use.

A few days ago I saw my battery go from around 46% to 15% red light in one day.
I said "hmm, weird..." but didn't really bother too much. Recharged fully (I thought), used them the next day without looking at the battery level, and then the second day battery was 51%. At this point I started monitoring. Used for another two days - battery "stuck" at 51%. Third day in the evening red light and 15%, and 1 minute later 5%.
Suspecting a calibration issue I continue listening at 5% for another hour and a half and the meter kept reading 5%.
Gone to bed, turned them on today - they went from 5% last night to 86% with no charge or anything.

I knew something about battery problems from older reports and people saying the latest 3.0 firmware fixed all that.
Well I guess not... I'm on 3.0 since it was released and now I have this.

Looking back at the discussion between
this https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bow...less-discussion.964955/page-216#post-17409135
and this https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bow...less-discussion.964955/page-217#post-17409801

these are the exact same problems as I have them now.

And my headband leather separating at the top gets more serious day after day.
I still don't want to return them because I love the sound a lot, but B&W it's making it very hard for me not to...

Will this battery issue solve itself by re-calibrating - fully discharging and recharging several times or not?
Reading back it looks like it should have been solved just by 3.0 firmware which doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[IbexMoon]

Hello

Have other people had a white noise problem (when turning the head witch ANC On) ?

thx

Hi,

Yes I had the issue with two pairs and returned both. The third set has no such issues.

I initially thought it may be the seal but when I experimented by intentionally breaking the seal it wouldn't always happen.

The first set also had zero mid and upper bass as well as hissing in the left ear cup so a definite fault. Strangely when the hissing occurred the bass would briefly increase.

 

[Jazz1]

Hi,

Yes I had the issue with two pairs and returned both. The third set has no such issues.

I initially thought it may be the seal but when I experimented by intentionally breaking the seal it wouldn't always happen.

The first set also had zero mid and upper bass as well as hissing in the left ear cup so a definite fault. Strangely when the hissing occurred the bass would briefly increase.

I've had the white noise things also. I had to re-adjust/reseat my right ear cup to get it to go away. But it does occasionally happen.

 

[SussyTofu420]

The leather has now started peeling off from the earcups as well as the headband. It's ridiculous how badly these things handle normal use, my old Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 looked the same as the day I bought them after years of use, the PX8 is fu**ed after a year of use. I wish there was an alternative, the Dali IO-12 is huge and also made of leather, the Focal Bathys are big, ugly and has low quality buttons, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 has no buttons and sounds worse. I wish B&W made a more rugged version.

 

[AnnR]

The leather has now started peeling off from the earcups as well as the headband. It's ridiculous how badly these things handle normal use, my old Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 looked the same as the day I bought them after years of use, the PX8 is fu**ed after a year of use. I wish there was an alternative, the Dali IO-12 is huge and also made of leather, the Focal Bathys are big, ugly and has low quality buttons, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 has no buttons and sounds worse. I wish B&W made a more rugged version.

It really is such a shame, great BT headphones spoiled by inferior materials and a bit of shoddy workmanship. I returned two pairs for the leather issues and have now moved on. Having spoken to B&W customer services there is not yet a replacement in the pipeline but one can only imagine the PX8 will have a limited/shortened life due to the amount of production/quality issues. As long as you remember its a BT headphone it pretty much ticked all the boxes for me other than the leather issues and lack of durability. Gone back to wired for the next coupe of years, see what hits the market next, but I won't be a first adopter of B&W ever again. It has just taken me over two months to get refunded from Amazon after many heated customer service chats there. In these modern times should it really be this difficult to get a "premium product" ?

 

[SussyTofu420]

It really is such a shame, great BT headphones spoiled by inferior materials and a bit of shoddy workmanship. I returned two pairs for the leather issues and have now moved on. Having spoken to B&W customer services there is not yet a replacement in the pipeline but one can only imagine the PX8 will have a limited/shortened life due to the amount of production/quality issues. As long as you remember its a BT headphone it pretty much ticked all the boxes for me other than the leather issues and lack of durability. Gone back to wired for the next coupe of years, see what hits the market next, but I won't be a first adopter of B&W ever again. It has just taken me over two months to get refunded from Amazon after many heated customer service chats there. In these modern times should it really be this difficult to get a "premium product" ?

B&W told me they'd replace my pair if I brought them to their office in another city, during weekdays before 4pm. Too bad I have work during weekdays. Wired isn't really an option for my use case so I'll probably look into TWS (already have Aviot TE-ZX1 on pre-order).

 

[AnnR]

B&W told me they'd replace my pair if I brought them to their office in another city, during weekdays before 4pm. Too bad I have work during weekdays. Wired isn't really an option for my use case so I'll probably look into TWS (already have Aviot TE-ZX1 on pre-order).

I replaced my first pair but unfortunately just got more of the same, hence for now a change of direction and i will see what the future brings.

 

[jthomp72]

It really is such a shame, great BT headphones spoiled by inferior materials and a bit of shoddy workmanship. I returned two pairs for the leather issues and have now moved on. Having spoken to B&W customer services there is not yet a replacement in the pipeline but one can only imagine the PX8 will have a limited/shortened life due to the amount of production/quality issues. As long as you remember its a BT headphone it pretty much ticked all the boxes for me other than the leather issues and lack of durability. Gone back to wired for the next coupe of years, see what hits the market next, but I won't be a first adopter of B&W ever again. It has just taken me over two months to get refunded from Amazon after many heated customer service chats there. In these modern times should it really be this difficult to get a "premium product" ?

I don’t think it’s shoddy craftsmanship actually. Maybe I’m in the minority here but it feels like a design choice that uh…didn’t work out so to speak. The idea to tuck the headband under that way makes it look neat with no seams and no lines, but yeah, feels like the design just…isn’t it. Maybe that’s just me

 

[AnnR]

I don’t think it’s shoddy craftsmanship actually. Maybe I’m in the minority here but it feels like a design choice that uh…didn’t work out so to speak. The idea to tuck the headband under that way makes it look neat with no seams and no lines, but yeah, feels like the design just…isn’t it. Maybe that’s just me

its a tuck and adhesive process, a lack of adhesive is a QA issue that is not being addressed and therefore is a shoddy process. However the bigger issue is the fact that it continues over a two year period.