[Xintaur]

Hello everyone,

today I received a new pair of ATH-DSR9BT, which i was super excited about. They look and especially feel really nice. Also the build quality is amazing, even though they still do have some plastic parts. Now after getting a first listening experience my impression is, that they even sound really good. Considering that we are talking about Bluetooth headphones, extremely good. Overall a considerable upgrade to my ATH-M50X, which are great for the price, but obviously come with a lot of downsides in therms of build quality, looks and portability.

The only thing that makes me want to send the DSR9BT back is the fact, that the left side sounds louder. Especially in the low frequencies. First i thought my right ear is stressed or something, but it turned out that when putting them on the other way, the left (or now right side) is still louder. So far i tested it with multiple Bluetooth sources, with the result being the same everywhere.

Now i would like to know. Is that a common problem with these headphones? Do they need some burn in and could it perhaps fix my problem? Or is it just a manufacturing error and i should send them back and get another pair.
Of course i would prefer to keep them, but while they sound good, i can't really listen to them comfortably with this difference in volume on some frequencies.

Thank you guys for some answers already, Cheers!

 

[jant71]

Try them with the USB cable and see if it still happens. Burn them in some cause stranger things have happened and it is worth a try Also if there is some sort of reset that could be tried as well.

 

[Xintaur]

Try them with the USB cable and see if it still happens. Burn them in some cause stranger things have happened and it is worth a try Also if there is some sort of reset that could be tried as well.

Oh, i did not know they work with the cable as well, heh.
I did try the reset already, nothing changed. Also tried to switch the codex, but still the same. But yea, lets see if it will sound balanced with the cable.
If that does nothing I'll let them burn in for a day or two. Still got a month to send them back after all, so there is time to try things ^^

 

[Xintaur]

Alright, the result with only the cable is the same. Just to be sure i took my mic and did a dirty frequency response test:

Left side:

Right side:

Just for comparison, my ATH-M50X:
Left:

Right:

Well, seems like the guys from Audio Technica like to have their left sides louder
Although on the m50x is usually not audible. Only when putting them on backwards after listening for a while, I can notice a slight difference.
Guess i will give the burn in a try, although i doubt it will change anything...