[JoshG1217]

I bought and returned the HP70. They do sound a tad better than the Sony, but man do they look stupid when you put them on. Look great when you good them, but just stupid aesthetics when worn. Gym is my main use, and I just couldn't do it. They are superior to the PSB version.

 

[dweaver]

I can live with the look I think as I already use the HP50. But have to admit I haven't worn them out in public so I guess I will see .

I actually wear a flat cap and the headphones on top of that so you could say I am a bit of a fashion pariah LOL.

 

[dweaver]

Looky here at what just came in...


Like I said I wear a flatcap and headphones... LOL and this crappy picture if the grainy camera on my gaming laptop . I haven't even heard them yet. Plugged into the laptop using USB and immediately discovered as an audio device so will be testing them out momentarily. I compared them to my HP50 and they have larger pads and are slight bigger all around. Definitely more comfortable and classier looking.

Will be back soon with some initial impressions...

 

[dweaver]

OK playing with them in DAC mode and if the BT is even close to this good the Sony's will be gone. I am now playing around with ANC. With ANC off I can hear the TV but its muted so these do a decent job with noise reduction even without ANC.ANC turned on muted the voices of the announcers and the ball game a bit but not much maybe 25%. So it does appear to not block upper noise a lot. But it may be adequate enough for my needs. BTW I am only listening to Adele at 6 out 50 scale and it's loud enough at this low a volume so in DAC mode these things are going to PLENTY loud enough for most people. I didn't like going higher that 20/50. But I also heard distortion at louder volumes so will play with this more later.

I have just switched to Pink Floyd Shine on You Crazy Diamond Pts 1-5 as this was the song that made me realize how much detail I was losing in the cymbals and guitars on the 1000XM3. In this initial listen I am hearing similar levels of detail as the HP50 but it's not quite as detailed or articulate is much better than the 1000XM3 where I actually couldn't hear some of the detail at all. It will be interesting if the treble gains some of the HP50 delicacy. Right now it's a bit harsher and energetic than the HP50. But these don't have any time on them so I'm not placing to much stock on this staying status quo. Similarly the bass is also heavier than the HP50 but again these are less than an hour old in regards to being used.

If your wondering why I am using these in DAC mode. one word IMPATIENCE!!! The battery was completely dead so no BT testing but I really wanted to hear them and charge them so DAC mode it is .

So far pretty I am happy and suspect these are going to be an under appreciated gem.

Will be back with more impressions later. Going to stop typing and enjoy the music for a while.

 

[Tommy C]

I have the HP50 as well.
Sweet sound but ugly shape.
I used them less than 3 times and they are just sitting in drawer because of that but the sound quality is legit.
I demoed is the HP70 in the past and thought the mids were a bit recessed compared to the HP50.
Let me know your thoughts.

Edit: You just did

 

[JoshG1217]

They do have better clarity. You have hair and a cap, so looks okay. I'm bald. Looks super stupid on me. Hope you enjoy.

 

[dweaver]

Well, after a night of listening I was actually discouraged as these have a glare in the mids that makes guitars and initial cymbal crashes a bit harsh compared to the HP50. But I just switched over to the 1000XM3 and the HP70 sound better to my ears than the 1000XM3. But only if you can handle and want the extra midrange energy, for some it might be to fatiguing. I think these need to be left running for a 24 run playing music before I make a definitive judgement on the signature though. Will set that up for today/tonight.

I also posted incorrect info yesterday. The HP50 is slightly bigger than the HP70 by about a 1/4 in length on the inner diameter of the ear pad. But strangely the HP70 is more comfortable possibly due to the thicker pad.

For HP50 lovers though, I don't think the HP70 will scratch your itch in a BT format. But if they improve after letting them burn in I will post an update.

 

[ms1988355]

Hi,

To get the best quality for wireless you need a source device that supports the aptX HD codec with these headphones. If you are trying to compare with other wireless headphones you will be challenged, you need to make sure you are comparing with the proper settings. The Sony's support aptX HD and LDAC, so with those you want to make sure you are using a device that supports them. If you aren't using aptX HD or LDAC then likely you are using AAC. Apple only supports AAC. Apple's AAC implementation is good, but AAC on Android isn't good. AAC is not on the same level as aptX HD or LDAC.

There are also other variables that can cause issues such as volume normalization done by source audio programs and the quality of the source audio.

Make sure when you test you consider all of these things.

I find the HP70 to be just fine if you get all these things setup properly. They do not have best in class noise cancelling, but for me audio quality/clarity is more important.

There is a great recent article on SoundGuys you can read that covers these topics well.

I never got a chance to listen to the Sonys I gifted to my son, so I have no comments on those.. Did try the noise cancelling and it was better in my opinion.

-Scott

 

[dweaver]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been playing with the BT codecs available on my phone plus using DAC mode and will be trying 3.5 connection today. I do have a challenge BT wise with my S9 as it does not support APTx HD so have been stuck with just APTx and AAC. Fortunately I also have my old LG V20 which supports APTx HD so will be doing some testing on that source as well.

The challenge sonically has been a glare in the midrange that makes guitars and cymbals sound rough when compared to the HP50. But I did still like the HP70 more than 1000XM3 for the most part sonically speaking.

I have let the HP70 play music since yesterday so they now have around 24hrs of use on them. Hopefully that glare has lessened and the bass has softened a bit. Will post back if I notice any changes sonically.

Will also post any changes using the LG V20 as these might just be very source defendant as well.

 

[JoshG1217]

I thought the cymbals wounded a little funny when doing am A and B with the Sony, but still greater clarity overall. Sony really needs BT 5, as well. Otherwise, the 990 ldac doesn't work very well, unless you are within 3 feet.

 

[dweaver]

I am not exactly sure which level of LDAC I am using when I listen to my 1000XM3 but generally get good connections up to 20 feet away unless in a heavily congested area.

Both products show the issue with BT still in regards to too many standards and immaturity of products. Here we have 2 products that offer great sonic fidelity that are still hobbled by missing key features such as LDAC or BT 5 etc.

Heading down stairs to see if the HP70 have settled down after a solid 24 hours of music being played. Fingers crossed...

 

[dweaver]

Checked LDAC and I was using the variable version that erred for connectivity. I switched to 990 and could walk at least 15 away (in house so an able to test longer distances) and that was with 2 wireless routers running in my house and 5 wireless devices.

Definitely helps running at 990. Some of the cymbal loss I noticed is actually there using the WI1000X but is still almost non existant on the 1000XM3, being reduce to nothing more than a single sound versus what's actually in the recording. This might also shed some light on why I am not enjoying theHP70 as much as my S9 can only do APTx so the level of detail being lost might be impacting that treble area. I also find APTx has a bit of a brittle quality to it as well which doesn't help.

Tried using the 3.5 connector which would eliminate BT codec issues and the brittle nature of the mids still exist. It's like the crash of the cymbal is so harsh it over whelms the decay if that makes sense.

Unfortunately I forgot to set my music to rotate last night so when I checked the music had stopped playing though so I am going to let these cook some more. Can't hurt to see if time played will help.

 

[dweaver]

Ok, I am thinking all issue lead to source. I switched to my old LG V20 and the HP70 sounded much better in APTx HD and actually so did the 1000XM3 in LDAC on that phone as it gained back the missing treble I though didn't exist on that headphone. So this looks to be more an issue with the Samsung BT stack that anything with the headphone.

I am using my S9 with the HP70 as I type and they are not as harsh as before though so I think the driver is starting to settle down though as well. I discount simple brain burn in as the cause because I am using a pair of Nighthawk headphones when I have not been testing these so am actually more accustomed relaxed upper mids and treble so dont think it's just me getting used to the sound.

It sucks that the best I can get on the S9 is APTx (no HD) though as I hate leaving sound on the table so to speak.

Will continue to let these burn in and see if they continue to improve. If my battery life wasn't so bad on my LG V20 I would be tempted to switch back to that phone just for the better music, but I have balance music with practicality.

 

[Solomyr]

What is the comfort like on the HP70? I have already ditched the PX as it was so uncomfortable and am having issues with my XM3 (dropouts and driver flex), so am now looking at these but views on the HP50 comfort seems mixed.

 

[dweaver]

I find them to be more comfortable than the HP50 by a smidge.

Having said that I personally have had more connectivity issues than I get from my 1000XM3, this on my Samsung S9 though so may not be an issue with other phones.