[A7ibaba]

I also bought it in HiFI cluben. But they returned my old px8 with headband in original state. I dont know if they fixed or just replaced headband

 

[MrManson85]

Sorry for deviating the thread from the headband issue xD
I've just tested px7s2 and px8 and, while with stock tuning I liked more the px7, after I adjusted bass and treble of the px8 to my preferences, I think the px8 is indeed a superior headphone with more room/soundstage and imaging/olographic sound.
I think initially I liked more the 7 because is more V shaped
Ah px8 were also more comfortable


Anyone with the same impressions?

Currently priced 400 and 500£ respectively, I would say at this price maybe is worth the difference, but the px7s2 is really really close imho

 

[b0redj0rd]

Hello everyone! I've been wanting to upgrade my listening experience and have been doing a fair bit of research into the wireless headphones which are available (and affordable - ish!) and have settled on making a purchase of the B&W PX8's.

Unfortunately, as there usually is I have found something of concern (not the headband issues!) - I would be using a Samsung S23 Ultra as the source for my music with a Tidal HD subscription and I've been reading lots of threads online from annoyed Samsung owners regarding the lack of aptx hd support in terms of Bluetooth codecs. From what I understand, the phone does have the aptx codec, but not the lossless version and my question to any hifi gurus who happen to read this post is - will I hear a noticeable difference in terms of quality if I use the S23 as my source of music?

Obviously, I want to get the most from these headphones, else what is the point in purchasing in the first place. If concensus says the non HD aptx codec is not up to it, what options are open to me? I have seen a small dongle from creative which apparently will give me aptxhd functionality but I wondered if this would conflict with the b&w app or give me some other unintended issues, so if anyone has any information about that I'd be greatful to hear it.

Aside from the above I fear the only other option open to me would be to pick up a secondhand Astell & Kern sr25 or etc but this is extra expense which I'd rather not have. I also would be quite annoyed if the OS on these devices is not snappy and up to task (I've never used one before).

So there we have it! Lots of research, all ready to pull through trigger when i came upon the codec issue with Samsung. Unbelievable really that these flagship devices do not support these standards, and smells like a company attempting to trap their customer base into using their rubbish earbuds.

If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it, thank you very much!

 

[streetbeat]

Hello everyone! I've been wanting to upgrade my listening experience and have been doing a fair bit of research into the wireless headphones which are available (and affordable - ish!) and have settled on making a purchase of the B&W PX8's.

Unfortunately, as there usually is I have found something of concern (not the headband issues!) - I would be using a Samsung S23 Ultra as the source for my music with a Tidal HD subscription and I've been reading lots of threads online from annoyed Samsung owners regarding the lack of aptx hd support in terms of Bluetooth codecs. From what I understand, the phone does have the aptx codec, but not the lossless version and my question to any hifi gurus who happen to read this post is - will I hear a noticeable difference in terms of quality if I use the S23 as my source of music?

Obviously, I want to get the most from these headphones, else what is the point in purchasing in the first place. If concensus says the non HD aptx codec is not up to it, what options are open to me? I have seen a small dongle from creative which apparently will give me aptxhd functionality but I wondered if this would conflict with the b&w app or give me some other unintended issues, so if anyone has any information about that I'd be greatful to hear it.

Aside from the above I fear the only other option open to me would be to pick up a secondhand Astell & Kern sr25 or etc but this is extra expense which I'd rather not have. I also would be quite annoyed if the OS on these devices is not snappy and up to task (I've never used one before).

So there we have it! Lots of research, all ready to pull through trigger when i came upon the codec issue with Samsung. Unbelievable really that these flagship devices do not support these standards, and smells like a company attempting to trap their customer base into using their rubbish earbuds.

If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it, thank you very much!

I would say that it's unlikely you'll benefit from aptX HD. But why believe a random stranger when you can do a quick test yourself using you current equipment (hopefully a pair of decent wired headphones).
Here's the test: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality.
The page gives you a number of songs in mp3-128, mp3-320 and uncompressed audio - to choose what sounds best for you. Regular aptX supported by your smartphone is already better than mp3-320.

P.S. Qurious about your results I personally don't hear any improvements with lossless on selected songs.

 

[b0redj0rd]

I would say that it's unlikely you'll benefit from aptX HD. But why believe a random stranger when you can do a quick test yourself using you current equipment (hopefully a pair of decent wired headphones).
Here's the test: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality.
The page gives you a number of songs in mp3-128, mp3-320 and uncompressed audio - to choose what sounds best for you. Regular aptX supported by your smartphone is already better than mp3-320.

P.S. Qurious about your results I personally don't hear any improvements with lossless on selected songs.

Thanks for that, it is interesting and to be truthful - I got 3/6 for the WAV files but my 3 incorrect responses were actually the most compressed versions of the files! It was very difficult to distinguish the 'worst' file out of the 3 options, I am only using a pair of Sennheiser ie80's plugged in to my laptop though if that makes a difference.

Perhaps I'll be OK to go ahead and just go for it with the PX8's in this case - Although that doesn't make me want to cut Samsung any slack for the lack of codec support on their phones.

 

[streetbeat]

Thanks for that, it is interesting and to be truthful - I got 3/6 for the WAV files but my 3 incorrect responses were actually the most compressed versions of the files! It was very difficult to distinguish the 'worst' file out of the 3 options, I am only using a pair of Sennheiser ie80's plugged in to my laptop though if that makes a difference.

Perhaps I'll be OK to go ahead and just go for it with the PX8's in this case - Although that doesn't make me want to cut Samsung any slack for the lack of codec support on their phones.

Yes, my point was that one should use what's convenient to them. Headphone tuning is much, much more important than any codec. Hopefully you'll find your sound with Px8
Speaking of codecs, I personally find aptX Adaptive great. However not because of its hi-res part, but rather a noticeably more stable transmission quality.

 

[Jazzophile]

Thanks for that, it is interesting and to be truthful - I got 3/6 for the WAV files but my 3 incorrect responses were actually the most compressed versions of the files! It was very difficult to distinguish the 'worst' file out of the 3 options, I am only using a pair of Sennheiser ie80's plugged in to my laptop though if that makes a difference.

Perhaps I'll be OK to go ahead and just go for it with the PX8's in this case - Although that doesn't make me want to cut Samsung any slack for the lack of codec support on their phones.

The PX8 is a colored, thick sounding headphone lacking in transparency. It doesn't resolve at a high enough level to make a difference. If you like the tuning and sound then get them in spite of your Samsung's codec limitations. I didn't and returned them.

They are very comfortable and the ANC is quite good. And the build quality is fantastic.

I have similar codec issues with my Google Pixel 8. Google's Tensor chip which does not offer APTX Adaptive. And the headphone chipset on in-ears defaults to AptX and not AptX HD when AptX Adaptive is not available. On over ears the headphone chipset defaults to AptX HD when Adaptive is not available.

 

[peterinvan]

I am enjoying my PX8s paired with my FiiO Android DAP, using AptxHD. Listening to Tidal. No issues whatsoever.

The B&W app allows me to tune the bass/treble to my ears

 

[TK33]

Thanks for that, it is interesting and to be truthful - I got 3/6 for the WAV files but my 3 incorrect responses were actually the most compressed versions of the files! It was very difficult to distinguish the 'worst' file out of the 3 options, I am only using a pair of Sennheiser ie80's plugged in to my laptop though if that makes a difference.

Perhaps I'll be OK to go ahead and just go for it with the PX8's in this case - Although that doesn't make me want to cut Samsung any slack for the lack of codec support on their phones.

I have a Px7 S2 and Px8. I do have a Pixel 7 Pro (aptX HD) that I use primarily for music (used to be my camera too until Google messed up the the video camera with an update). I also have the Creative BT-W3 and BT-W4 dongles that I don't bother using anymore and a LG V60 that is capable of aptX adaptive. However, when I want to travel light, I just take my main phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 and enjoy my music just the same over regular aptX. I did the same with my Sennheiser MTW3 earbuds, which I primarily used with my Fold 5 before the MTW3 started acting up. I also have my headphones paired with a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE for watching Netflix and that works great as well. I have probably said this before on different threads (and possibly here) but I personally try not to worry about codecs too much anymore. Can enjoy my music and headphones just the same and never really feel like I am missing much.

 

[b0redj0rd]

Thanks for all the information & advice everyone, based on what I've read I'll go ahead and grab a pair of the PX8's and enjoy them with my phone for the time being. I'll keep an eye out on eBay for a dap and take the plunge when I see a bargain - I missed a fiio m11s for £250 last night, which seems like a good buy so hopefully something similar will come along.



Thanks again!

 

[Sonic Defender]

You are absolutely never going to hear a difference between the competent codecs, and you certainly would never hear any difference if you bought a DAP.

Better idea is to use a phone, which you are doing. People make all of these assumptions about what they THINK they can hear and spend all kinds of money to avoid inaudible issues. Seriously, use your phone with AAC or Aptx and enjoy.

 

[WillieS]

I would say that it's unlikely you'll benefit from aptX HD. But why believe a random stranger when you can do a quick test yourself using you current equipment (hopefully a pair of decent wired headphones).
Here's the test: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality.
The page gives you a number of songs in mp3-128, mp3-320 and uncompressed audio - to choose what sounds best for you. Regular aptX supported by your smartphone is already better than mp3-320.

P.S. Qurious about your results I personally don't hear any improvements with lossless on selected songs.

Thanks for posting that . I did the test with my PX8s , admittedly on Bluetooth and only got 2/6 , same as you would expect on average with guesswork alone . I will check with wired USB-C connection to my MacBook . I do suspect as someone above suggested some people convince themselves they hear differences due to a sort of Placebo effect . It would be interesting if those people did a blind test like this one . Some people seemed to take offence when I suggested this before but I am not suggesting any individual is guilty of this but the Placebo effect is very strong if you have an expectation something will be better . For me I have convinced myself the PX8s sounds good to me either wired or over Bluetooth and it's not worth it , for my ears , to play around with DACs or other things to get true lossless sound. I think my hearing is reasonably good for my age , 66 , but I am sure many on this Forum will have better hearing than me .

 

[WillieS]

I am enjoying my PX8s paired with my FiiO Android DAP, using AptxHD. Listening to Tidal. No issues whatsoever.

The B&W app allows me to tune the bass/treble to my ears

Just curious , listening to Tidal which should give you lossless sound I believe , did you try the test posted by streetbeat and if so how did you score ?

 

[WillieS]

Thanks for posting that . I did the test with my PX8s , admittedly on Bluetooth and only got 2/6 , same as you would expect on average with guesswork alone . I will check with wired USB-C connection to my MacBook . I do suspect as someone above suggested some people convince themselves they hear differences due to a sort of Placebo effect . It would be interesting if those people did a blind test like this one . Some people seemed to take offence when I suggested this before but I am not suggesting any individual is guilty of this but the Placebo effect is very strong if you have an expectation something will be better . For me I have convinced myself the PX8s sounds good to me either wired or over Bluetooth and it's not worth it , for my ears , to play around with DACs or other things to get true lossless sound. I think my hearing is reasonably good for my age , 66 , but I am sure many on this Forum will have better hearing than me .

I did the test again with my PX8s wired to my MacBook with USB-C cable and again got 2/6 . For most questions I would have answered " Don't know " if that had been an option . Maybe I'm a bit too cynical but when people make comments like " These headphones sound vastly better if you , use this DAC , or this cable to connect or whatever I really wish they would do a blind test to see if the difference is real . No offence meant to anyone .

 

[sgiesen]

I did the same test with my DAC and my wired HiFi headphones and got a 4/6 The better the chain (transparent, not coloured and linear), the better the result.