Got them today and I'm just listening to them since this afternoon.
Soooo... Here are some things I dare to say even though these are clearly very early observations:
To get you all on the same page, this is the setup I use for this "listening test" at the moment. I use the FiiO Music App for playing, since with this app you can fiddle around with the Bluetooth codecs a bit, as well as it has a good "integration" of the EH3 NC and despite the fact that the UI takes a bit getting used to, this player does sound just better compared to the Samsung Music Player on my Note 10+. I chose to go for LDAC and via the Android Developer Settings I set the playback quality to "Balanced" (~660kbps). The headphones I used so far only wireless with and without ANC.
These are some of my test FLACs I played (mostly space saving 24 Bit, 44.1kHz):
For Bass
> Aphex Twin - Produk 29
> Reso - Check 1, 2
> Mord Fustang - Champloo
> Flume - Insane (L D R U Remix)
> Submotion Orchestra - Backchat
For clarity, simplicity, instrument separation and sound stage
> Miles Davis - So What
> Jacintha - Danny Boy
> Terence Trent D' Arby - If you go before me
> Ulla Meineke - Die Tänzerin
> The Persuasions - Stuck in a moment you can't get out of
> Amber Rubarth - Tundra
> Anne Akiko Meyers - Concerto No.1 in E major, Op.8, RV 269, "La Primavera": III Danza Pastorale by Antonio Vivaldi
> Rebecca Pidgeon - Spanish Harlem
Early Pros and Cons:
Sound
+ Overall sound signature is really satisfying
> The low frequencies are not mushy like in the Sony XM3 and are more defined and present than in the Bose NCH700
> Sub bass is clearly there and feels energizing and well tuned and well under control
> Mid tones are also present in a good way and voices sound resolved and "in your face"
> The highs are maybe a bit too present, but I personally like a sharp upper end, that helps with instrument separation and sound stage a lot
and since I was so positively surprised by their performance, I didn't feel any listening fatique at all.
+ Nothing I threw at them so far sounded underwhelming, meaning that these cans could handle very different genres quite well
+ First impression of ANC is really good for a headphone in this price range and comes acceptably close to Sony's and Bose's NC...still, Sony and Bose are admittedly better. BUT I yet have to test them under "hard" noisy conditions. What I can say for sure so far is, that I didn't feel this (for me uncomfortable) ANC pressure what the Sony's and Bose's have when you put their ANC to the max., so this is a good thing.
+/- Damn, these cans can play loud! I am already near my uncomfortable loudness level at 4 out of 10
- There is only ANC On or ANC Off, so there is also no "ambient" or "environment" mode... be aware of that.
- You have to get familiar fiddling around with the buttons in a daily use scenario; I personally prefer a touch operation (provided that it better should work well^^). As I said, it's just my personal preference for ease of use.
For the moment, I don't have more cons to add... but with just a few hours of using them, we'll see what the future brings.
Wearing comfort, Handling and built Quality
+ For my totally average sized ears, the cups feel even spacious
+ The headband didn't give me any pressure marks after about 6 hours constant "power use" so far
+ Clamping force is just right for me, but I don't have a big head though
+ The protein leather ear pads feel quite soft (maybe I would like them to be a bit more firm, but they are for sure comfortable)
+ Battery life seems very good, they still show me all 5 LED indicator lights after about 6 hours, meaning the battery should be between 80% and 100% according to the manual
+ They fold nicely and the carry case feels sturdy to easily survive lots of travelling/commuting
+ For that price (155 Euro + 35 Euro customs and handling fee... thx Austria... NOT!) I won't complain
- Built quality wise, I can say they do not feel "built like a rock" and I can just guess that you better take good care of them when you travel/commute a lot, but for a sub 200 Euro headphone I guess this is what you can expect and it's actually OK. Long term use will tell.
- When wearing them and when you push the earcups on your head, I can clearly hear the diaphragms making a crackling noise. This isn't uncommon in closed circumaural designs, but it just struck me with these headphones more than with others I own.
- The folding mechanism works well, but the tolerances in the hinges are IMO a bit too much
- They did not shut down on their own so far... not even after 15+ minutes of not using them (music on stop in the app, Bluetooth connection on, shut off timer in the app set to 5 minutes idle time), but this may be a user error
...still need to get into them more.
- My girlfriend noticed just some sound leakage, so e.g. colleagues in a quiet office could possibly hear some music leaking out already with an average music volume range used
Ok, I call it a day now, it's late here... I hope you found my first impressions helpful.
(Edited for typos and such)