[MrWinkle]

Here you go ... https://www.dropbox.com/s/r8tjuzdq64epdck/171113_BluetoothUtilityInstaller_1.2.0_rc3_513.zip?dl=0

It indeed is a newer release of the utility. This version was released on November 13.

(also available again at the original link by the way http://www.bwfirmware.com/software/btutil/pc/latest )

Thank you so much updated and working as they should

 

[djsubtronic]

I received my pair of B&W PX yesterday. It came with latest firmware. Here are my initial impressions:

First thing is first, the Sound Quality: Out of the box, it sounded so bad as almost everyone in this thread said. I tested PX (ANC always off) with my LG V20 which has APT-X HD for bluetooth connection and a good internal QUAD DAC/AMP for wired conneciton. With a side by side comparison against my P7W with the same source and same songs (Extreme Quality Spotify, Flac files and some HD sound files) PX sounded exactly like djsubtronic wrote above. I totally agree "tube effect" description. I understood what he was experiencing as I'm experiencing same, but I'll try to use different wording: PX sounds like it had a virtualizaion effect that most equalizer apps (ie Equalizer Pro or Equalizer FX on Android) have. It is an active sound processing filter which I don't like. I think PX sound lacks some clarity, especially mids sound like shadowed.

I also tested punchiness of Bass with appropriate songs, I can say that PX had nothing missing here. I can say It has even better bass dynamics and punchier bass than P7W. With full volume, I felt more vibration around my ears with PX on songs with huge amount off bass. I was really surprised about that since most PX + P7W owners here in this thread says opposite about bass. Check below link, I think French website measurements are close to what I hear, more bass, crushed mids vs P7W.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bow...elling-over-ears.861606/page-33#post-13785077

Now I started to burn-in process with pink/brown/white noises I found in this post. I'll return PX and keep P7W if sound doesn't change enough after burn in. I'll report after-burn in results on weekend.

Bluetooth Floor Noise: P7W bluetooth floor noise was disturbing me on silent parts of songs. This is really reduced on PX, close to an amount hard to nice even by sensitive ears.

Wired Floor Noise: Unfortunately PX has a wired floor noise which P7W doesn't have at all. But the amount is not much. I can say it's less than half of bluetooth floor noise of P7W and it's not disturbing.

Look: I prefer P7W as I found rectangular earcups and full leather headband are more stylish. But this is completely a personal preference.

Comfort: I prefer P7W as I felt more room for ear inside earcups. Rectangular earcups also provides better fixing on head with P7W. But PX has softer earcup padding and pressure on ears are lighter, too.

Bluetooth + APTX HD: I had no connection problems. I had longer range with V20 (APTX HD), shorter range with usb dongle for PC (APT-X). Both distances are more than enough for me.

Wear Sensors: Works as advertised. I had no problem with wear sensors, no accidental play pauses, etc.

ANC: Not enough experience with ANC, but it seems to do its job. It blocked good amount of street noise when window is opened. I'll test commuting later.

Android App: As reported previously others, initial connection takes some time like 5-8 seconds. Once connection is established it works perfectly. I would love to see an equalizer option here in this App.

I think I was referring to the same type of sound. Maybe I was just spoiled by the P7's sound, maybe the headphones have worn in or maybe I have just gotten used to them now, but I am quite enjoying what the PX sounds like now.

 

[buyukbang]

I think I was referring to the same type of sound. Maybe I was just spoiled by the P7's sound, maybe the headphones have worn in or maybe I have just gotten used to them now, but I am quite enjoying what the PX sounds like now.

Which one do you enjoy?: Same sound you described before (called as brain burn in = by getting used to the sound character) or a changed sound after even more driver burn-in? Do you still hear same "tube effect"?

 

[djsubtronic]

Which one do you enjoy?: Same sound you described before (called as brain burn in = by getting used to the sound character) or a changed sound after even more driver burn-in? Do you still hear same "tube effect"?

The "tube" effect sound was much more pronounced when switching from P7 to PX. I have now packed up my P7s so can't do a direct side by side comparison but I would say it's probably a bit of both brain burn in and driver burn in.

 

[rabass6]

My iPhone is showing an update for the B&W app, changes are “improved performance and bug fixes”

 

[Jabbah]

Just found out these are very sensitive to how you wear them with regards to bass levels. I normally wear glasses so the fronts are slightly open where the arms go in. It makes a noticeable difference to the bass if I am wearing glasses or not. Will have to wear my contacts more.

ETA: Pretty sure this is the reason for me hearing high frequency noise even with ANC on too.

 

[BigBobbie87]

Just found out these are very sensitive to how you wear them with regards to bass levels. I normally wear glasses so the fronts are slightly open where the arms go in. It makes a noticeable difference to the bass if I am wearing glasses or not. Will have to wear my contacts more.

ETA: Pretty sure this is the reason for me hearing high frequency noise even with ANC on too.

I've found they do break in a bit as time goes on.

 

[buyukbang]

Having got a few hours listening in here are my thoughts:

• ANC is very good on low frequency noise but is fairly transparent to high frequency noises such as high pressure air escaping through a valve.
• There is a certain amount of EQ being applied to the different ANC modes with Office being closest to no ANC and most applied to Aeroplane. However this may be more than straight EQ and could be some form of DSP effect processing which is also active with no ANC. No ANC seems to have a boosted mid range and overall brighter sound.
  
• No ANC seems best for acoustic, classical and film scores. I listened to a bit of Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown which had more detailed highs and clearer vocals without ANC whereas it was much softer with muted highs when it was on.
• Rock music seems a bit out of luck, with ANC off it is very bright and almost tiring to listen to whilst bass is thin and lacking punch. With ANC on the bass is filled out but you miss the brightness with mid range a bit subdued too.
  
• Electronica, Drum & Bass etc seems a lot better with ANC on. Without it Outremer off Hyper Opal Mantis lacks the deep reverb off the bass drum. The Day Is My Enemy sounds brash, overly bright and lacking in bass. Searching from Biome & Fallen is very clear and bright but rather thin bass. In general with ANC enabled (Aeroplane) you get a flatter response, much better bass but lacking a bit of brightness.

My old portable phones are Sennheiser Amperiors and I've been using those for 5 years or so and am very used to that sound. The PXs sound closest to them when using ANC in Aeroplane mode but still lack the brightness. It could be that I just need to get used to a new sound, but it is frustrating that there seems to be some EQ / effects processing being applied depending on the mode they are in.

I just tested this with my 10 hours burned-in PX. I'm pretty sure that ANC decreases bass amount and its punchiness for my mears. I prefer ANC off for better SQ and better bass response.

 

[buyukbang]

I added "Edit after 10 hours of burn in" to my "PX impressions" post.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bow...elling-over-ears.861606/page-80#post-13853794

 

[josler]

I just tested this with my 10 hours burned-in PX. I'm pretty sure that ANC decreases bass amount and its punchiness for my mears. I prefer ANC off for better SQ and better bass response.

Agreed. Crazy Love by Van Morrison has incredibly punchy bass without ANC. Once the PX is burned in, ANC off is universally better.

 

[Jabbah]

Agreed. Crazy Love by Van Morrison has incredibly punchy bass without ANC. Once the PX is burned in, ANC off is universally better.

After listening to Crazy Love I was about to write that I hear the opposite and it is clearly slightly louder bass and muted mids to highs with ANC on, and then took my glasses off and tried playing it again. And what a difference. It's now as you say, nice deep bass without ANC. I've been spending a lot of time listening to various tracks without ANC getting used to the sound and have definitely changed my mind, ANC off is much better. Putting Aeroplane ANC on now makes it sound like listening through cotton wool in comparison. Making a good seal really makes a difference to the performance of these.

 

[josler]

After listening to Crazy Love I was about to write that I hear the opposite and it is clearly slightly louder bass and muted mids to highs with ANC on, and then took my glasses off and tried playing it again. And what a difference. It's now as you say, nice deep bass without ANC. I've been spending a lot of time listening to various tracks without ANC getting used to the sound and have definitely changed my mind, ANC off is much better. Putting Aeroplane ANC on now makes it sound like listening through cotton wool in comparison. Making a good seal really makes a difference to the performance of these.

Interesting. I've noticed this too with my glasses (wearing contacts a lot more as a result). I'm starting to think that the choice by B&W to use leather on the earcups is partially to do with sound performance rather than wholly to do with aesthetics. Leather generally creates a stronger seal, and seal seems to make-or-break the bass on the PX.

 

[st0nefish]

ok, so after having these for a month and a week, I finally got the new firmware update today, so will add a few notes

1. after getting the "new firmware available" notification, the app REFUSED to connect at all until I rebooted the phone. Note: I was listening to music ON THESE HEADPHONES at the time
   
2. transferring the new firmware took 26 minutes (yes, I timed this)
3. installing said transferred firmware took 2 minutes
4. after firmware update the app appears to connect MUCH faster and more reliably
5. I've noticed literally no other changes due to the new firmware (although I already had the wear sensor sensitivity reduced to minimum)

A few extra notes unrelated to the firmware, but relevant to the time of ownership

1. I haven't noticed any additional SQ improvements for several weeks. Either I finally hit the end of the burn-in or it's happening so minutely that I can't tell anymore
2. earpads are SO MUCH BETTER now that they've softened up. That being said, they're still probably the least comfortable headphones I use with any regularity (comparing to Sennheizer HD700, AKG K7XX, Oppo PM-3). turns out I'm willing to put up with some discomfort in return for the improved convenience of no wires
   
3. headband still leaves hotspots after extended time, but not as bad as it used to

 

[josler]

ok, so after having these for a month and a week, I finally got the new firmware update today, so will add a few notes

1. after getting the "new firmware available" notification, the app REFUSED to connect at all until I rebooted the phone. Note: I was listening to music ON THESE HEADPHONES at the time
   
2. transferring the new firmware took 26 minutes (yes, I timed this)
3. installing said transferred firmware took 2 minutes
4. after firmware update the app appears to connect MUCH faster and more reliably
5. I've noticed literally no other changes due to the new firmware (although I already had the wear sensor sensitivity reduced to minimum)

A few extra notes unrelated to the firmware, but relevant to the time of ownership

1. I haven't noticed any additional SQ improvements for several weeks. Either I finally hit the end of the burn-in or it's happening so minutely that I can't tell anymore
2. earpads are SO MUCH BETTER now that they've softened up. That being said, they're still probably the least comfortable headphones I use with any regularity (comparing to Sennheizer HD700, AKG K7XX, Oppo PM-3). turns out I'm willing to put up with some discomfort in return for the improved convenience of no wires
   
3. headband still leaves hotspots after extended time, but not as bad as it used to

What firmware are you on after update? The app sent me a notification that new firmware was available, but I'm still on 1.062 and there is no option to upgrade within the app. I'm super annoyed.

 

[st0nefish]

What firmware are you on after update? The app sent me a notification that new firmware was available, but I'm still on 1.062 and there is no option to upgrade within the app. I'm super annoyed.

my upgrade brought me TO 1.062, I was originally on 1.052