[n00b2]

  n00b2, if you raised your budget for bluetooth headphones, you should "run" not "walk" to the Sony store to pick up a pair of MK2... 

 
On my loss, it seems like it does come under my homeowner's insurance, so I might get some recovery. Come to find out I had more in the van. I was to pick up my street motorcycle from the shop that day, and I had two of my motorcycle race leathers in the van too. So, they go on my insurance claim too.

Haha I meant that I did raise my budget before I made this thread after reading up on bluetooth headphones. Hence the thread title. As for running to the Sony Store, I did once already and they had what seemed like faulty headphones. I'm actually going to run to the other Sony Store tomorrow along with the AKG dealer. They have finally got back to me and said to come in tomorrow and check them out so we will see how they go.
 
Good to hear that you are able to claim them out of your insurance and they aren't trying every trick in the book to get out of paying you (at least not yet).

 

[cehowardNote3]

 
Haha I meant that I did raise my budget before I made this thread after reading up on bluetooth headphones. Hence the thread title. As for running to the Sony Store, I did once already and they had what seemed like faulty headphones. I'm actually going to run to the other Sony Store tomorrow along with the AKG dealer. They have finally got back to me and said to come in tomorrow and check them out so we will see how they go.
 
Good to hear that you are able to claim them out of your insurance and they aren't trying every trick in the book to get out of paying you (at least not yet).

Oh, they are trying, you can be sure of that..
 
Tomorrow is the day..Great, we are on a roll with this thread... 

 

[birarda]

The AF62s just got here, and am giving them a listen now.
 
The sound is already way less muddy than the 10RBTs, which is a welcome difference. They also surprisingly feel more solid than the Sonys, even though they are plastic.
 
Will do some more A/B testing to confirm that I prefer them to the 10RBTs but I think these will be what go with, especially given the price difference.

 

[turbobb]

  How high is your budget for the perfect bluetooth headphones? Going through your reviews I noticed that you haven't considered many of the higher end models. I raised my budget after looking through many reviews though I'm still on the hunt.

 
Well in terms of price, there really aren't any costing more than the Zik's (that I'm aware of) but then again I got that refurb'd so was good value for what it is. I've considered the Senn's MM 550-X but held off due to the mixed reviews (despite the recent $100 drop too). Still considering the 1RBT MK2's and am on the sideline re: the Creative Aurvana Platinum (just can't see myself wearing these in public as they're a bit gaudy looking). The Phiation Chord MS 530 are unfortunately on ear's which I feel will be problematic comfort-wise. 
 
Out of these though, I think the 1RBT's will be my top choice (I know they are cehoward's) ;o)
 
@birarda - would love to hear your impressions re: the AF62 vs. the 10RBT's.

 

[cehowardNote3]

   
Well in terms of price, there really aren't any costing more than the Zik's (that I'm aware of) but then again I got that refurb'd so was good value for what it is. I've considered the Senn's MM 550-X but held off due to the mixed reviews (despite the recent $100 drop too). Still considering the 1RBT MK2's and am on the sideline re: the Creative Aurvana Platinum (just can't see myself wearing these in public as they're a bit gaudy looking). The Phiation Chord MS 530 are unfortunately on ear's which I feel will be problematic comfort-wise. 
 
Out of these though, I think the 1RBT's will be my top choice (I know they are cehoward's) ;o)
 
@birarda - would love to hear your impressions re: the AF62 vs. the 10RBT's.

 
You are right about that, however, to be fair, I have not auditioned the Senn MM 550-X, which I think would be a worthy competition to the MDR1RBTMK2. I will admit, I am using price as a criteria. They are equal in price.. I would really like to see somebody do some comparison on youtube between the MK2s and others.. However, since the MK2s are gray market to a lot of people, not many reviews have been forthcoming. The few that are out their are non-English, and no comparison headphones to compare.

 

[cehowardNote3]

  The AF62s just got here, and am giving them a listen now.
 
The sound is already way less muddy than the 10RBTs, which is a welcome difference. They also surprisingly feel more solid than the Sonys, even though they are plastic.
 
Will do some more A/B testing to confirm that I prefer them to the 10RBTs but I think these will be what go with, especially given the price difference.

 
IMO, if you give the AF62s a equal or better rating then the 10RBTs,  IMO, that is a 5 star rating.
EDIT: in looking at the price of these, they better not have the nerve to give the MDR1RBTMK2s a run..I mean come on these are going for $90, and the MK2s are going for $310+
Anyway, from what I am reading now, I might pick up a pair of AF62s and give to the wife, to keep her from wanting a pair of MK2s.. 

 

[birarda]

Wore the AF62s all day today.
 
No question that for my tastes the sound of the AF62s is better than the MDR-10RBTs. The Sonys are just too muddy in the low end, ruining most of the music I listen too.
 
The AF62s are as light as the Sonys, but feel less delicate, which is nice. The carry case is also an actual hard case and not the little pouch that comes with the MDR-10RBTs.
 
The biggest issue I'm having with the AF62s right now is comfort. I've got small ears and they just barely get over my ears. I also definitely feel them over my head more than I would want to, but I have been wearing IEMs for years, so it could be from that change mostly as opposed to the AF62s themselves. This needs more time.
 
I did experience a weird interference issue yesterday when I first got them, but since coming back to work and restarting my computer and charging them fully I have not had an issue all day. Can report back on this too.

 

[n00b2]

Ok well I auditioned both the AKG k845bt and the Sony 1RBT MKII yesterday one after the other. These are my thoughts overall on them. Basically a review comparison.
 
Sound wise overall they were both quite similar. Both had a good wide soundstage and good attention to detail in all ranges. The AKG extended deeper in the bass than the Sony and I felt the bass was more clean. The Sony wasn't muddy by any means but it seemed to have a slight mid bass hump which got annoying to me in some instances. The AKG was boosted in the bass but this was more in the sub bass region. The Sony also seemed to be slightly veiled in the vocals compared to the AKG when it came to male vocals. Female vocals didn't really have this issue.
 
Both headphones had some sibilance to them. The massive sibilance I experienced on the last Sony that I tested out wasn't there which makes me susupect that it was a burn in issue (don't think the MKII would have arrived at the store all that long ago before then). It was still annoying enough that I couldn't listen to a few songs with but didn't distract me most of the time. The AKG's sibilance was lower and didn't really bother me unless I looked for it. Other than that the sound was quite balanced for both of them. Definitely the best two bluetooth headphones I have heard.
 
Sound quality varied also depending on the source I was listening to. Youtube videos and low bitrate mp3 were definitely better on the AKG. The bass was cleaner and more even, the vocals were clearer though the upper mids and highs were pretty much the same for both of them. For  higher quality mp3 it was similar to the lower quality recordings though the sound was obviously much better. The bass and vocals I felt were still superior on the AKG in the same way though both were obviously much clearer than either one was on the poorer recordings. The Sony having aptx and the AKG not having them didn't make a difference so far to me. The AKG was still superior most of the time.
 
Earlier in the thread @tinyman392 had mentioned that aptx only really becomes an issue of importance for FLAC files. This was definitely the case here. When listening to FLACs the Sony came out on top. The AKG wasn't bad by any means and the quality was definitely better than any of the mp3's that I listened to but I did notice some artifacts that I don't normally hear in my FLAC files. These artifacts were not present in the 1RBT. To see how much impact aptx was having on the FLAC files I tried the Sony MDR 10RBT as well with the aptx enabled. The artifacts weren't present here either but the overall sound quality was still much poorer than the AKG. Lack of aptx did reduce the sound quality on the AKG below the similar quality 1RBT for FLAC files but not enough to make it sound worse than much lower quality headphones like the 10RBT. When I connected them both via cable the artifacts disappeared on the AKG and the sound differences between the two were similar to what I wrote earlier.
 
Comfort wise I've got big ears so I was expecting this but neither of them actually fit around my ear properly. I don't think the AKG was designed to actually fit around the ears anyway since they use round cups. They sat my my earlobes and the top of my ears. The Sony will fit around the ears of someone with smaller ears no problems I would imagine but for me they sat on my ears the same way as the AKG. The Sony was slightly heavier though they were both quite comfortable. The ear cups pivot a fair bit so crushing shouldn't be an issue. Had no issues concerning crushing of the ears though the AKG did make my ears annoyingly itchy after a while. I was worried the AKG would hurt the top of my head a lot since it lacked padding on the headband but I didn't find it an issue over my listening period. Other people have complained about this though.
 
Isolation wasn't the greatest on both (though decent enough) but the Sony did do a better job. I imagine though if listening on a train they both would be fine/ Leakage was a big issue for the AKG however. They seemed more like semi open cans than closed ones with the amount that was leaking. Not an issue at low volumes though when I cranked it up the guy next next to me could tell what I was listening to. Could also be due to me not really getting a good seal on them. When I pushed the ear cups to my ears leakage was no longer an issue. The ear pads use memory foam so perhaps after using them for a while the seal will get better and leakage drop. The Sony had no problems regarding leakage.
 
Call quality seemed fine for both of them though the AKG did a better job with the microphone. I could hear the other person fine with both but on the Sony they could tell I was using headphones. Not so with the AKG. The AKG does seem a bit fiddly with the bluetooth. Connecting is fine but it is hard to know whether bluetooth has turned off or not when you try to turn it off. Didn't use it long enough to know how big an impact it might have on the battery life (which is already low on the AKG) however. The Sony has a better array of buttons as well. The AKG seems to lack media buttons aside from Play/Pause. Both are said to have NFC though I didn't try it for either.
 
Overall neither of them are the ultimate bluetooth headphones for me and I wouldn't jump on either one just yet. Want to see some other ones first but if I had to pick out of the two, I'd pick the AKG. Suits me better for my needs.
 
tl;dr. The AKG was more balanced overall and sounded better for everything apart from FLAC files. Comfort and isolation though would be better on the Sony.

 

[n00b2]

   
Well in terms of price, there really aren't any costing more than the Zik's (that I'm aware of) but then again I got that refurb'd so was good value for what it is. I've considered the Senn's MM 550-X but held off due to the mixed reviews (despite the recent $100 drop too). Still considering the 1RBT MK2's and am on the sideline re: the Creative Aurvana Platinum (just can't see myself wearing these in public as they're a bit gaudy looking). The Phiation Chord MS 530 are unfortunately on ear's which I feel will be problematic comfort-wise. 
 
Out of these though, I think the 1RBT's will be my top choice (I know they are cehoward's) ;o)
 
@birarda - would love to hear your impressions re: the AF62 vs. the 10RBT's.

Not sure if you can test somewhere before buying where you are but if you can why don't you try out the MM 550-X (and the MS 530 if they are available). From what I've read most of the reviewers have complained that sound quality became rubbish on the MM 550-X once noice cancelling was turned on. When just using bluetooth pretty much all the reviewers said it sounded brilliant. I'm sure it will sound better than most of the headphones you have tried so far when just using bluetooth.  I tried out the 1RBT MKII and AKG k845bt and as you can probably see from my review above this post thought they were probably the best two best bluetooth headphones i've listened to. Also at the higher end of the spectrum price wise. The Philips Fidelio M1BT also seems to have pretty good reviews as does the Jaybird Bluebuds X. Not sure if you are considering in ear models but @batteraziiz earlier in the thread thought the Bluebuds X sounded better than the 1RBT MKII.

 

[red71rum]

The AF62s just got here, and am giving them a listen now.

The sound is already way less muddy than the 10RBTs, which is a welcome difference. They also surprisingly feel more solid than the Sonys, even though they are plastic.

Will do some more A/B testing to confirm that I prefer them to the 10RBTs but I think these will be what go with, especially given the price difference.

What shipping method did you use? I ordered mine Monday morning before posting the deal and they still have not shipped..

I am glad that you like them so far. You mentioned that you could feel that you had them on? Is that because of clamping pressure? I also usually wear iems, like my TF10s, and Etys HF-3, but for headphones I like ones that have some clamping pressure like my Senns Amperior.

 

[cehowardNote3]

n00b2, a super review. Many props..However, you are still undecided!!! 

 IMO, all headphones, even the four figure ones are going to have some weakness, there will never be the "perfect headphone".. What we have to do, it pick that one the meets OUR needs the most/best and at our price.
 
For me, the MK2 does it all, the Harman Kardon BT, takes up the slack, and from the  great review on the AF62, for $90 that is a no-brainer, ordering them today. 

It seems you have a liking for the AKG 845BT, and it performs, IMO, that should be your choice..To tell the truth, nothing else in this BT class except the Senn. MM 550 X..
 
With the AF62s, it seems I am going to have two Headphones in the 90 dollar range in my stable..Both pushing apt x too.. 

 

[turbobb]

  The biggest issue I'm having with the AF62s right now is comfort. I've got small ears and they just barely get over my ears. I also definitely feel them over my head more than I would want to...
 
I did experience a weird interference issue yesterday when I first got them, but since coming back to work and restarting my computer and charging them fully I have not had an issue all day. Can report back on this too.

 

I am glad that you like them so far. You mentioned that you could feel that you had them on? Is that because of clamping pressure? I also usually wear iems, like my TF10s, and Etys HF-3, but for headphones I like ones that have some clamping pressure like my Senns Amperior.

 
Precisely the same problem I'm having in that the cups just fit over my ears and the clamping pressure isn't particularly strong so it tends to rest on top of my head. I feel that slightly larger and deeper cushions using memory foam would greatly enhance the comfort on these cans.  As for the interference, not sure if you know but BT runs on 2.4Ghz so if you have any devices (wireless router), try turning those off first then shutting off BT and re-enabling it and finally turning back on the wireless devices. In general while BT uses frequency hopping to avoid interference, it's my understanding that it isn't as good as a wireless router at managing interference. I've used this method with some success on my BlueBuds X.
 
I've tested my friend's Amperior and the AF62's don't feature as strong a clamping pressure and needs to rest on the head for stability.
 
 

 
Not sure if you can test somewhere before buying where you are but if you can why don't you try out the MM 550-X (and the MS 530 if they are available). From what I've read most of the reviewers have complained that sound quality became rubbish on the MM 550-X once noice cancelling was turned on. When just using bluetooth pretty much all the reviewers said it sounded brilliant. I'm sure it will sound better than most of the headphones you have tried so far when just using bluetooth.  I tried out the 1RBT MKII and AKG k845bt and as you can probably see from my review above this post thought they were probably the best two best bluetooth headphones i've listened to. Also at the higher end of the spectrum price wise. The Philips Fidelio M1BT also seems to have pretty good reviews as does the Jaybird Bluebuds X. Not sure if you are considering in ear models but @batteraziiz earlier in the thread thought the Bluebuds X sounded better than the 1RBT MKII.

Thanks a lot for your impressions and comparo review. I'll definitely try to check out additional headphones at stores (in NYC) before I make another purchase. I do have the BlueBuds X and they are definitely outstanding but aging and encountering lots of interference nowadays (that I can't resolve using method above) as opposed to when I first got them.
 
 

  With the AF62s, it seems I am going to have two Headphones in the 90 dollar range in my stable..Both pushing apt x too.. 

Definitely looking forward to your impressions whenever you get the AF62. I'm keen to see how it faces off against the 1RBT MKII's.

 

[n00b2]

@turbobb My bad. Didn't see it in your review list so assumed you hadn't tried them. How do you feel the bluebuds X compares to the other bluetooth headphones you have? Like the Harman Kardon BT, Parrot Zik and AF62. Really considering getting them for when I really want IEMs. As for checking them out in store, why don't you just order them from Amazon and return it if you dont like it? Don't know how you feel about doing that but the option is always there. I don't get that luxury here in Australia.

 

[n00b2]

  n00b2, a super review. Many props..However, you are still undecided!!! 

 IMO, all headphones, even the four figure ones are going to have some weakness, there will never be the "perfect headphone".. What we have to do, it pick that one the meets OUR needs the most/best and at our price.
 
For me, the MK2 does it all, the Harman Kardon BT, takes up the slack, and from the  great review on the AF62, for $90 that is a no-brainer, ordering them today. 

It seems you have a liking for the AKG 845BT, and it performs, IMO, that should be your choice..To tell the truth, nothing else in this BT class except the Senn. MM 550 X..
 
With the AF62s, it seems I am going to have two Headphones in the 90 dollar range in my stable..Both pushing apt x too.. 

Yeh its true theres not much else in this class for bluetooth headphones. I'm going to see if I can find a way to try out the Senns or the Bluebuds or the Philips Fidelio bluetooth models. But I guess I've got one hand on the AKG atm. Decision time will approach soon. You checked out if your best buy has the AKG k845bt? I tried the AKG k545 out as well while I was at the AKG dealer and the k845 through wire sounded exactly the same as the k545. Can't remember if you said Harman screwed you over with a k545 or k550 but its worth considering if you are still looking for a wired pair.

 

[red71rum]

I don't know if you guys have tried these(Logitech UE9000), but I found these refurbished and posted on SD:
 
http://slickdeals.net/f/6903529-logitech-ue-9000-bluetooth-headphones-149-refurbished?p=67810685#post67810685
 
 
I wonder how they compare to my Meelec Matrix2 AF62's that I have coming (but have not shipped yet)?