[evhvis]

So why do you bother with the dongle, is it still an audible improvement over AAC or is it just that you want to use a ”better” codec even if the dongle messes up the signal?

The BTD600 is closer to wired USB than to AAC on the PX8. The difference isn't as great as it is on the Bathys, but the headphones sound more open, with the treble being more present and detailed with adaptive, even more so than with HD. HD is closer to wired in the midrange though. AAC is quite a bit behind.

The BTD600 doesn't like it when there are other BT signals very close by though so works. E.g. if you have the phone and the dongle BT on then there will be interference or if you have another BT source within 30-40cm of either the headphones or the dongle. The PX8 doesn't like to be connected to 2 sources at once either when running HD or adaptive codecs so I always power cycle mine before switching from phone to dongle connection and I also turn off the phone BT before connecting.

 

[Denkmal]

The BTD600 is closer to wired USB than to AAC on the PX8. The difference isn't as great as it is on the Bathys, but the headphones sound more open, with the treble being more present and detailed with adaptive, even more so than with HD. HD is closer to wired in the midrange though. AAC is quite a bit behind.

The BTD600 doesn't like it when there are other BT signals very close by though so works. E.g. if you have the phone and the dongle BT on then there will be interference or if you have another BT source within 30-40cm of either the headphones or the dongle. The PX8 doesn't like to be connected to 2 sources at once either when running HD or adaptive codecs so I always power cycle mine before switching from phone to dongle connection and I also turn off the phone BT before connecting.

Yeah I know but I was refering to the use of a different dongle ”worse than BTD600”.

Personally I just go with the USB-C to my iPad if I listen critically, or just AAC from my iPhone when on the go. No dongles, clean and simple and I would not hear the sound improvement over AAC on a train or airplane anyway. Doubt anyone would…

 

[Vette72]

I'm confused about this a bit.
Isn't firmware update done on the headphones? It shouldn't matter then what phone with what app version you're using, since the sound profile is saved on PX8, and unless there are different BT codecs (or a very different implementation), all devices should sound the same, with or without an app.

I'm confused by this as well. I'm currently going back and forth between the two phones and there's definitely a difference in sound and it's not really that subtle to my ears. On the phone where I updated the app to version 3.0 the sound I get on the headphones are more detailed and airy with vocals sounding a bit thinner and further away. Also, the mid bass is much more reduced. When I switch to the phone that's still able to play the original profile the sound is warmer and thicker with the vocals sounding a bit louder and closer to me. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that the sound coming from the PX8 was like sitting in the first row at a concert or in front of a pair of loudspeakers. With the new profile it sounds to me like I'm sitting a few rows further back. This is with both equalizers set at 0 for base and treble and NC turned off.

The only thing I can think could have happened was that the original profile is still stored somewhere in the headphones and is able to play version 1.0's profile as long as I don't connect it to the app. But whether I'm connected to the app or not with the phone I did the update with it still plays version 3.0's profile. It could be similar to what happens on a SD card in a camera if you delete photos without fully formatting it. Even if you start to record new images on the card you can still retrieve the deleted images with certain software. One of the reason I decided to join this thread was to find out if anyone had a similar experience or is willing to try to duplicate what I did if they haven't already updated to version 3.0.

I'm currently trying to decide which version I like better. To me version 1.0 is more fun sounding where as version 3.0 is a bit more analytical. It doesn't matter what I do with the equalizer on version 3.0 I can't quite duplicate what I get with version 1.0. But if I wasn't able to compare the two back to back I'd probably be happy with either version.

 

[Denkmal]

I'm confused by this as well. I'm currently going back and forth between the two phones and there's definitely a difference in sound and it's not really that subtle to my ears. On the phone where I updated the app to version 3.0 the sound I get on the headphones are more detailed and airy with vocals sounding a bit thinner and further away. Also, the mid bass is much more reduced. When I switch to the phone that's still able to play the original profile the sound is warmer and thicker with the vocals sounding a bit louder and closer to me. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that the sound coming from the PX8 was like sitting in the first row at a concert or in front of a pair of loudspeakers. With the new profile it sounds to me like I'm sitting a few rows further back. This is with both equalizers set at 0 for base and treble and NC turned off.

The only thing I can think could have happened was that the original profile is still stored somewhere in the headphones and is able to play version 1.0's profile as long as I don't connect it to the app. But whether I'm connected to the app or not with the phone I did the update with it still plays version 3.0's profile. It could be similar to what happens on a SD card in a camera if you delete photos without fully formatting it. Even if you start to record new images on the card you can still retrieve the deleted images with certain software. One of the reason I decided to join this thread was to find out if anyone had a similar experience or is willing to try to duplicate what I did if they haven't already updated to version 3.0.

Do both phones transmit the same codecs?

 

[Vette72]

Do both phones transmit the same codecs?

Yes. Both phones are Samsungs running the default SBC codecs. The phone that can still play version 1.0 is an older Galaxy S9plus while the phone with version 3.0 is a Galaxy S22plus.

 

[Denkmal]

Yes. Both phones are Samsungs running the default SBC codecs. The phone that can still play version 1.0 is an older Galaxy S9plus while the phone with version 3.0 is a Galaxy S22plus.

I would drop all other thoughts you have on this until you get a better codec. SBC is crap compared to all others. You can plug the headphone to a laptop or something over USB-C and compare. Night and day and a much, much bigger difference than the firmware update would render.

 

[Vette72]

I would drop all other thoughts you have on this until you get a better codec. SBC is crap compared to all others. You can plug the headphone to a laptop or something over USB-C and compare. Night and day and a much, much bigger difference than the firmware update would render.

The thing is that I bought the PX8 to use them wirelessly. I have no doubt that I will get a much better sound plugged in but that's not how I will be using them the majority of the time. I'm considering get an android phone that supports the higher quality APTX codecs just to use with these headphones since Samsungs don't support them.

 

[Denkmal]

The thing is that I bought the PX8 to use them wirelessly. I have no doubt that I will get a much better sound plugged in but that's not how I will be using them the majority of the time. I'm considering get an android phone that supports the higher quality APTX codecs just to use with these headphones.

I get that wireless is your use case, I was just proposing a way for you to see the difference vs SBC.
I use iPhone (i.e. AAC) wirelessly and that is an ok solution since PX8 has a great implementation of that codec. Apt-X is not quite as good, but Apt-X HD and even better the Apt-X Adaptive are great.
SBC is really so bad you might as well get a cheaper headphone unless you want to upgrade your phone.

 

[Vette72]

I get that wireless is your use case, I was just proposing a way for you to see the difference vs SBC.
I use iPhone (i.e. AAC) wirelessly and that is an ok solution since PX8 has a great implementation of that codec. Apt-X is not quite as good, but Apt-X HD and even better the Apt-X Adaptive are great.
SBC is really so bad you might as well get a cheaper headphone unless you want to upgrade your phone.

After you mentioned how bad SBC was I decided to play around with the codecs that are available on the Galaxy S22plus and compatible with the PX8 and saw that it automatically switched to the basic Apt-x while playing music so that's what I've been listening to all this time. I also tried out the other two codecs and SBC was the worst with AAC being a bit better and Apt-x the best to my ears. You're right, no sense and paying all this money on a pair of headphones if I'm not using them to their fullest potential.

Anyone have any recommendations on an Android phone that supports Apt-X HD or Adaptive? It doesn't have to be anything fancy since I'll just be using it just to stream music.

 

[johnston21]

Yes. Both phones are Samsungs running the default SBC codecs. The phone that can still play version 1.0 is an older Galaxy S9plus while the phone with version 3.0 is a Galaxy S22plus.

If you were to press update on your backup phone it would then show that 3.0 is already updated.

 

[jthomp72]

I’m just gonna throw a completely random question out there for all of us since the thread here is sort of heating back up again… What’s everyone listening to these these days? Recommend me some good music to push these headphones

 

[Vette72]

If you were to press update on your backup phone it would then show that 3.0 is already updated.

Yes, but if I update the backup phone I will no longer have access to the original sound I got with 1.0 and I do like its big, warm and fun signature for some songs when compared to 3.0. So depending on what I'm listening to I like the option of being able to switch back and forth. For the type of music I listen to with the PX8 I may be spending more time with 3.0.

 

[571175]

The BTD600 is closer to wired USB than to AAC on the PX8. The difference isn't as great as it is on the Bathys, but the headphones sound more open, with the treble being more present and detailed with adaptive, even more so than with HD. HD is closer to wired in the midrange though. AAC is quite a bit behind.

The BTD600 doesn't like it when there are other BT signals very close by though so works. E.g. if you have the phone and the dongle BT on then there will be interference or if you have another BT source within 30-40cm of either the headphones or the dongle. The PX8 doesn't like to be connected to 2 sources at once either when running HD or adaptive codecs so I always power cycle mine before switching from phone to dongle connection and I also turn off the phone BT before connecting.

I am doing the same but I still have problems.
Have you still the old firmware on your BTD600?

 

[Denkmal]

Yes, but if I update the backup phone I will no longer have access to the original sound I got with 1.0 and I do like its big, warm and fun signature for some songs when compared to 3.0. So depending on what I'm listening to I like the option of being able to switch back and forth. For the type of music I listen to with the PX8 I may be spending more time with 3.0.

It is utterly weird that your headphone is able to shift between different firmware versions… since the firmware is stored in the PX8 and not the app or the source device…

 

[evhvis]

I am doing the same but I still have problems.
Have you still the old firmware on your BTD600?

I have the latest firmware on mine, at least according to the updater.