[Warlax]

Actually the 52% thing happened to me yesterday. I left it plugged in while I was out, maybe 7 hours. When I returned, the green light was blinking and... still 50-something percent. Left it plugged in overnight, back to 100% in the morning

Welp I tried charging it all night and my battery did charge to 100%...but after 2 1/2 hours it's down to 28%.

Guess I've got a bad battery, damn.

 

[Denkmal]

Welp I tried charging it all night and my battery did charge to 100%...but after 2 1/2 hours it's down to 28%.

Guess I've got a bad battery, damn.

That sucks, the battery should easily last you 30 hours when new. Oto it will be a solid rma case.

 

[Resolve]

I think the problematic point in your review is not the lenghty and initiated discussion about measurements, it is your comment that the PX8 would be outright ”unlistenable”. I mean, like them or not, but you make it sound like they are basically overpriced designer crap in a nice looking package.

That is... kind of how I feel about them to be honest. 'Unlistenable' is a bit of a tricky term, because like... yeah I've heard worse for sure. But at $799 I would expect better sound quality out of a headphone than what the PX8 delivers. The thing is, we create a lot of expectation around how well something should perform, and a lot of that is anchored to things like price, aesthetics, build quality and so on (there is actually research on this, as far as what influences the headphones people choose). But I don't think we should assume that just because it costs a lot and looks/feels nice that it's necessarily going to sound good - and the PX8 is a great example of that in my view.

 

[Laps]

Maybe I am old school, well very old school at age 71, but I have been an audio aficionado since in my teens, and have built a very enjoyable stereo system over the past 35 years. One thing I very much also enjoy is reading and researching amongst the multitude of "Hi-Fi" literature and several forums. But one thing I have learnt is to put almost zero credibility in FR graphs. The variability depends on too many factors many of which are not consistently controllable due to setup and analyzer equipment. And then there is the subjective impressions that always play a role in one's listening experience, be it good, bad or indifferent. My point being is that I very much enjoy the PX8's (which finally arrived in the tan model last week), and find nothing evenly remotely close to calling them inadequate or unlistenable.

 

[Soundizer]

Yeah, I think it's a good way to look at it - knowing what you like in relation to the reference point is really helpful.

Thank you.

I was surprised you didn’t mention that the ML5909 is marketed as a headphone tuned to match this Harman curve, but obviously your graph shows it to be considerably deviated in the treble.

Surely that’s a massive failing on Mark Levinson who claim it is based on Harman Curve.

?

 

[jthomp72]

That is... kind of how I feel about them to be honest. 'Unlistenable' is a bit of a tricky term, because like... yeah I've heard worse for sure. But at $799 I would expect better sound quality out of a headphone than what the PX8 delivers. The thing is, we create a lot of expectation around how well something should perform, and a lot of that is anchored to things like price, aesthetics, build quality and so on (there is actually research on this, as far as what influences the headphones people choose). But I don't think we should assume that just because it costs a lot and looks/feels nice that it's necessarily going to sound good - and the PX8 is a great example of that in my view.

Okay, setting aside BT/ANC/Wireless…what are your top couple of pairs of headphones? Like…given the entire range of headphones in the world, what are the couple you personally think sound the best? Genuine question.

 

[cresny]

Well I actually have a bad set of px8s. I first noticed it with the battery, very unpredictable charging and lifespan, and the percentage reporting is simply broken. But the worse problem is that they seem to have an amplification problem, sometimes dropping off about 20%, sort of like a low level switch on a hifi amplifier. Last night I had the opposite situation, where I was listening and suddenly they came alive with a much stronger sound. After listening that way much of the night I put them on this morning and actually heard them drop back after about 10 seconds. Sort of like Cinderella's night at the ball, the good times were over.

I don't mean to open up a can of worms, but I'm wondering if this is a widespread thing. I know it won't be of everyone's tastes but the below link happens to be what I was listening to before and after at high volume. For me I would say enjoyably loud was about 60% when my amplification was "on", 75-80% when "off". If someone is willing to do an experiment and report back their high volume percentage.



It's hard to say if quality suffers with less headroom but I think it does. I'll be contacting B&W tomorrow about it.

 

[Resolve]

Okay, setting aside BT/ANC/Wireless…what are your top couple of pairs of headphones? Like…given the entire range of headphones in the world, what are the couple you personally think sound the best? Genuine question.

I have a full ranking list here based on headphones I've had the opportunity to evaluate. My top picks if I couldn't EQ would be Susvara and Utopia for planar and dynamic respectively, but in reality I do EQ the Susvara by adding a bass boost as I like a shelf below 100hz that rises up into the sub bass.
Oh and here's a list of headphone measurements done on our GRAS put together by a kind forum member.

 

[hornytoad]

I have a full ranking list here based on headphones I've had the opportunity to evaluate. My top picks if I couldn't EQ would be Susvara and Utopia for planar and dynamic respectively, but in reality I do EQ the Susvara by adding a bass boost as I like a shelf below 100hz that rises up into the sub bass.

So 5-6 k headphones ! How do they compare to Sennheiser HD 800 S at 1300 bucks?

 

[jthomp72]

I have a full ranking list here based on headphones I've had the opportunity to evaluate. My top picks if I couldn't EQ would be Susvara and Utopia for planar and dynamic respectively, but in reality I do EQ the Susvara by adding a bass boost as I like a shelf below 100hz that rises up into the sub bass.

Taking a quick glance at the list I think I understand why you feel the way you do about the Px8. You have a type you prefer and it’s not anywhere near the Px8. No biggie. I get it.

 

[Resolve]

So 5-6 k headphones ! How do they compare to Sennheiser HD 800 S at 1300 bucks?

The PX8? The HD 800 S is in a completely different league for sound quality, and also sounds very different. HD 800 S has a somewhat shifted ear gain away from the upper mids and towards the lower treble, with a bit of 6khz peak, but apart from that it's a very clear sounding headphone. The bass is a bit... meh on the HD 800 S. So I actually prefer the planar bass of the Arya because it's easier to add the bass boost I like.

 

[Denkmal]

But I don't think we should assume that just because it costs a lot and looks/feels nice that it's necessarily going to sound good - and the PX8 is a great example of that in my view.

I am the first to admit I LOVE the look and feel of the PX8, and sure they are expensive. But I also own and appreciate Bathys even though they look like a thirteen year old youtuber designed them.

That is... kind of how I feel about them to be honest. 'Unlistenable' is a bit of a tricky term, because like... yeah I've heard worse for sure. But at $799 I would expect better sound quality out of a headphone than what the PX8 delivers. The thing is, we create a lot of expectation around how well something should perform, and a lot of that is anchored to things like price, aesthetics, build quality and so on (there is actually research on this, as far as what influences the headphones people choose). But I don't think we should assume that just because it costs a lot and looks/feels nice that it's necessarily going to sound good - and the PX8 is a great example of that in my view.

Well you refer to Susvara and Utopia as kind of your favourite headphones, are you sure you have eliminated all your bias there? I mean, these are headphones 7-8 times more expensive than the ANC cans in your review - of course they are great. Right?

 

[Resolve]

Well you refer to Susvara and Utopia as kind of your favourite headphones, are you sure you have eliminated all your bias there? I mean, these are headphones 7-8 times more expensive than the ANC cans in your review - of course they are great. Right?

I was asked what my favorites were haha. But also, no they're not better just because they're expensive. There are other headphones on that list that are just as expensive that are in the lowest tier. Also, the ranking list covers the inexpensive stuff too. So if you're wondering about sound quality at a comparable price point, or even lower, I'd suggest the HD 600, Sundara, Edition XS, Ananda, Elex for open-back, and K371, DT770, Aeon X Closed, for closed-back. Granted those aren't ANC, so if you're asking about ANC headphones, the UX3000 sounds a lot better than the PX8 at just $150. Seriously, try it if you get the chance.

 

[jthomp72]

I was asked what my favorites were haha. But also, no they're not better just because they're expensive. There are other headphones on that list that are just as expensive that are in the lowest tier. Also, the ranking list covers the inexpensive stuff too. So if you're wondering about sound quality at a comparable price point, or even lower, I'd suggest the HD 600, Sundara, Edition XS, Ananda, Elex for open-back, and K371, DT770, Aeon X Closed, for closed-back. Granted those aren't ANC, so if you're asking about ANC headphones, the UX3000 sounds a lot better than the PX8 at just $150. Seriously, try it if you get the chance.

Yeah, my greater point had nothing to do with Price and everything to do with a preferred sound signature. You just happen to be the most knowledgeable and I don’t wanna say famous, but in this community famous person who has tried the Px8 and hated the sound signature categorically. Which? Fine. It makes more sense now once I looked at what you did like. So cheers.

 

[Resolve]

Yeah, my greater point had nothing to do with Price and everything to do with a preferred sound signature. You just happen to be the most knowledgeable and I don’t wanna say famous, but in this community famous person who has tried the Px8 and hated the sound signature categorically. Which? Fine. It makes more sense now once I looked at what you did like. So cheers.

hahah I don't know about 'famous' - maybe when Crin gets his hands on these he'll give us his take. But yeah getting a sense of what people like is helpful. Not everyone has the same sense of 'neutral', or the same preference for that. For me though, I do give most open-back headphones a bass boost, but the key thing is that I put it below 100hz with a rise into the sub-bass. What I don't like is when headphones have that boost that dominates over the lowest part of the ear gain like on the PX8, as that causes things to sound a bit thick and muddy.