[Spartoi]

I got my S1+ today. I'm liking this quite a bit and I'm coming from the Sony MDR-1RBT MK2. I don't have the Sonys anymore nor am I qualified to make a comparison, but I think S1+ has a wider soundstage. This was the first thing I noticed when I put on the headphones. 
 
Anyways, I have a question about the volume beep. After raising the headphones volume high enough there is a beep. Is this beep suppose to indicate that the S1+ has reached maximum volume or is it just a warning of high volume? 

 

[mikesjc]

Hello, Spartoi,
I am glad to see that you are enjoying your new headphones!
 
We are required by the European Union to have a maximum volume level.
As we do not make a separate unit specifically for Europe, we had to incorporate this into our STANCE S1+.
 
Thank you,
 
Mike Johnson
VP Sales
Pendulumic

 

[warrenpchi]

Review: Pendulumic Stance S1+
by @warrenpchi, @mikemercer and @third_eye
 

---

 
Bluetooth? Really?!
 
Ethan:  As many of you know, Warren and I have been the organizers of several Head-Fi meets in California over the past few years. As the Lead Organizer, I routinely handle the reservation and booking of exhibitors, while Warren helps exhibitors prep for a good showing as Co-Organizer. It's a lot of work, but incredibly fun, as Warren and I work very smoothly together.
 
A few weeks before the Official SoCal Head-Fi Meet in March of 2014, I received a call from a gentleman by the name of Mike Johnson. Mike was representing Pendulumic, a new Singaporean company that was about to release it's first headphone, the Bluetooth-capable Stance S1.
 
Mike had heard about the mega meet that Warren and I were organizing, and wanted to make sure that Pendulumic had a spot at the meet. As luck would have it, we had one spot open up just that very day due to a cancellation.
 
And so, Pendulumic would officially introduce the Stance S1, their lead designer Chunbeng Quek, and their newly-formed company to the Head-Fi community at large - at our meet.
 
Warren:  When Ethan first told me about Pendulumic, I was pretty blase about it. Oh great, an unknown company is releasing a new Bluetooth headphone at a Head-Fi meet. Right… probably not gonna go over too well...
 

A new brand, debuting a Bluetooth headphone, at a Head-Fi meet - what could go wrong?​

 
Still, we had one table left, and this Mike Johnson guy seemed pretty enthusiastic about having something to offer. Sure, why not? It's a real world out there, best they find out how we headphone enthusiasts do things, sooner rather than later.
 
Over the course of the next few weeks, as we communicated more with Mike, Ethan and I began to realize something: he was pretty screwing serious about this launch. Venerated bovine aerial-rodent-sapien, was he ever serious about this launch.
 
They had hired a photographer and a videographer to cover the event. They were all over Facebook like white on rice. And they even hired a PR firm to churn out press releases and set up appointments with the various audio journalists and bloggers planning to attend.
 

Chunbeng "Quentin" Quek, Lead Designer, Pendulumic​

This fever-pitched excitement culminated in a loosely planned meeting the night before the meet. Chunbeng Quek (a.k.a. Quentin if you can't pronounce his first name properly) flew in (presumably from Singapore) just for the meet. And sometime after dinner, we all met downstairs in the hotel lobby for drinks.
 
As it turns out, Chunbeng used to design headphones - particularly wireless headphones - for… wait for it… Sennheiser. Well now, like a good stew, this plot thickened. Chunbeng, Ethan and I started chatting about wireless Sennheiser models like the RS 220, MM 550-X and others. We delved into the challenges of preserving fidelity via Bluetooth, both with and without AptX. And before long, we quickly abandoned consumer terms like Bluetooth and cabled, and chose to speak of active wireless and passive wired modes.
 
At this point, Mike Johnson leaned back and simply appreciated the geekfest unfolding before him with a slowly widening smile, as if to think to himself oh boy, did I ever hit the jackpot here.
 
Unfortunately, we had to cut our conversation short as Jason Stoddard, Mike Moffat and Tony Parrevecchio from Schiit Audio were over at the next table. We bid our farewells, wondering exactly how the next day would unfold for them. But, if nothing else, one thing was clear: we were less than 12 hours away from the start of the meet, and nothing was going to stop this train. Alia jacta est - the die was cast.
 
Ethan:  And so, the Pendulumic Stance S1 was officially introduced on March 22nd, 2014 at the Official SoCal Head-Fi Meet in Costa Mesa, California.
 

Pendulumic's exhibit @ The 2014 Official SoCal Head-Fi Meet; with Audio360's own Kevin Venable getting ready to try out their Stance S1.

For most of us who heard the Stance S1 for the first time, we had little to no positive expectations of what a $199 Bluetooth headphone would deliver. Wireless headphones were usually associated with lifestyle, and not necessarily with sound quality. And although the Stance S1 was using Bluetooth version 4.0 with aptX and had 40mm drivers, we still went in with managed expectations.
 
Of course, it's now safe to say that we were all quite surprised with what we heard. A musically coherent and satisfying presentation with the added benefit of being completely untethered. A definite WOW moment.
 
It was really cool to walk around the room with the headphones on and be over 25' away from the source with the music continuing to flow uninterrupted. In fact, the Stance is rated to operate up to 50' from the Bluetooth source.
 
And we were not alone in our surprise.
 
During the course of the day, our fellow Head-Fiers found themselves surprised as well. "did you hear that wireless headphone?" "Hey, that Bluetooth headphone is pretty good, especially for a wireless headphone." "I think I might get that wireless headphone those guys have over there." One of the highlights of the day, for me, was seeing the hotel's Director of Catering drop by to listen to the Stance S1, and then buying them on the spot.
 
Mike and Chunbeng were positively ecstatic with the great response and valuable feedback they received to the Stance S1. It was also exciting to see the positive reaction from the personal audio community at large. They had weathered a gauntlet of Head-Fiers, and survived intact, gaining a good reputation in the process.
 

Well what do you know, Pendulumic was a hit!

---

 
Changing Stances: S1 to S1+
 
Warren:  Over the course of the next two months, Pendulumic slid comfortably into a familiar pattern for new brands on Head-Fi. Enough community members had heard it and were beginning to mention it. Sporadic impressions began to pop up in the forums. And review units were starting to go out to those that had requested them. In short, Pendulumic was settling into a steady growth groove as they prepared to exhibit at T.H.E. Headphonium @ T.H.E. Show Newport in May.
 
And even if they never deviated from that path, they still would have enjoyed a fair amount of good and steady growth within the community. But then, something happened, something that neither Mike nor Quentin were prepared for.
Enter Michael Mercer.
 
Mercer:  I wasn't able to join my boys Ethan and Warren at the SoCal Head-Fi Meet earlier this year, so my first introduction to Mike Johnson and Pendulumic came at T.H.E Headphonium where Warren had booked them for us.
I'll be honest, right up until T.H.E Headphonium (powered by Audio360.org) at T.H.E Show in Newport Beach earlier this year, I would've never imagined that I'd be seriously listening to anything that was Bluetooth - much less writing about Bluetooth-anything sounding like actual music. Yet here I am.
 

Pendulumic's Chunbeng Quek had a fantastic weekend at T.H.E. Headphonium

Once I heard their Stance wireless cans, I knew that I would be reviewing them at some point. Even back then, I knew these Bluetoothed badboys had serious potential, so when Warren told us that we'd be covering them at 360, I was stoked to be giving them a proper shakedown soon.
 
Ethan:  The first incarnation of the Stance had a few minor issues, most notably that the ear cups were a little on the small side which did affect user comfort, and sound quality. There was also some grumbling within the community about the Stance S1's considerable clamping force. And finally, our fellow personal audio enthusiasts yearned for better bass response, in terms of quality (speed and texture). Luckily for us all, Pendulumic was listening.
 
When they resurfaced at T.H.E Headphonium, they brought along some modified units for feedback. The biggest modification came in the form of some new and larger ear pads. With these new pads, the Stance S1 instantly became a circumaural (over-ear) headphone, instead of being a supraaural (on-ear) headphone.
 
In addition, we also learned that they were making some specific updates to address clamping force and bass quality. As we all left Newport, we were optimistic that they were on the right track.
 
Warren:  For most of the summer, Pendulumic was a little tight-lipped about the changes they were making. At one point, Mike and I had discussed the possibility of reviewing the Stance S1 here at Audio360. We scheduled review time with at least two of us here, got everything lined up in terms of timeline, and then - nothing. That Stance S1 review never happened. Here's why.
 
Shortly before the Stance S1 review units were to ship, Mike called me to let us in on a little secret: they were busy enhancing the Stance S1. Well yes, we already knew that. Would the new pads be an option? Or would they be included in-
 
No, it's more than than just the pads. Chunbeng is making a lot of tweaks.
 
I see, exactly how much is a lot of tweaks?
 
It sounds different. It feels different.
 
Really? Is this going to be a new model then?
 
I'm not sure yet, but it's definitely not the same.
 
Hmm, okay. When are you hoping to have this ready by?
 
I'll have to get back to you on that… but we'd like to have at least one
for the video, and then a few for auditions and reviewers at CanJam.
 
 

The video that Mike Johnson is referring to is the Head-Fi TV preview video that precedes CanJam @ RMAF every year. Jude Mansilla over at Head-Fi.org does a fantastic job with this comprehensive video, and it's quickly becoming a bellwether for which products to watch (or listen to, rather) during the fall product-launch season. As such, inclusion into this video is very much sought after.     Jude's preliminary verdict was simply that "the [revised] Pendulumic Stance S1 is a beast of a performer for a Bluetooth headphone - it's fidelity among the best I've heard for a Bluetooth over-ear." And from speaking to many of you at CanJam 2014, it's clear that a majority of you agree with that.

​

 
Okay, so Pendulumic wasn't going completely back to the drawing board, but the changes were significant enough where the final result could be considered a different headphone - and certainly would be considered a different headphone by Head-Fiers. Given that, Mike and I agreed that Audio360 would hold off on reviewing the original Stance S1, and concentrate on the new Stance S1+ instead.
 
Unfortunately, it fell to me to break the bad news to Mercer.
 
Once we got to CanJam 2014, Mercer was first to audition the S1+, taking immediate possession of his review unit. He clearly liked it right away, but it wasn't until CanJam 2014 was over that I understood exactly how much. On the last night that we were there, Mercer and I were trying to figure out which headphones he would pack, and which one he wanted to listen to on the way home.
 
The next morning, as I was leaving the hotel, I passed by Mercer's room on the way to the elevators. Housekeeping was already in there as Mercer had left hours before. Sitting there, on top of a half-eaten room service breakfast, was a discarded Stance S1+ box. And it was then that I knew, that the Stance S1+ was the headphone he'd chosen for the flight home.Introducing the new Pendulumic Stance S1+
 

---

 
Ethan:  With their larger ear cups and all new packaging, the Stance S1+ is a welcome update to a very strong first effort by Pendulumic.
 
The large colorful presentation box contains the Stance S1+, mini cable with in-line remote/mic, mini-usb charging cable, ¼" adaptor, airline adapter, and my favorite accessory of all, a hard shell flat storage case with carabiner. It's great to see this attention to detail in this price bracket.
 
Before even listening to music, the immediate difference I noticed with the Stance S1+ is the enlarged ear cup size and reduced clamping force on my head. User comfort is thus greatly improved and although the weight remains unchanged, the headphone does feel lighter on the head.
 
The controls are unchanged from the Stance S1 and are within easy reach on both the left and right ear cups.
 
The left side hosts the mini-usb charging port, the On/Off/Power Select switch, and the battery cover. The ability to add 2 AAA batteries for increased playback time is a great design feature and extends overall operation time to approximately 30 hours.
 
The right side has a small round volume knob with notched edges and enables volume adjustment in small increments while providing a tactile feel. Nice. I was able to make quick adjustments using my thumb and index finger. The volume button can also be pressed to pause and play music and also handle phone calls in conjunction with the built-in microphone in the Stance S1+.
 
Just below the volume knob is a 3 position mode selector which enables the Stance S1 to function in 3 separate ways: Wireless, Wired + Powered Amplifier, and Wired.
Overall, the Stance S1+ is very well-thought-out in terms of usability, and I am impressed by the amount of consideration they put into our experiences as owners and users.
 

Mercer:  To be honest, when I first got my pair, I really dug their style, but I wasn't sure if the younger generation would think the same way. That all changed when my friend Vince's 8-year old son Dominic, after giving the S1+ a listen, asked me if I could get him a pair!
 
Dom owns a pair of BeatsByDre Solo2s (on my recommendation - hell, if you gotta own Beats, the Solo2s are the pair to have) in black - so naturally I assumed the look of the PENDULUMIC might not appeal to him, but he said they looked "cool" and sounded "better" than his Beats. He told me they looked like a "cool pair of gaming headphones". Kid's comin' along huh? We gotta hook em while they're young!
 
Bonus: Vince (ten years younger than me) also dug their sound and style - so much if fact, that I've been tasked to get him and his son a pair after their first audition! That's a good sign. I didn't have to say much (pretty difficult for me admittedly) they sold themselves.
 
And what's not to like? The Stance S1+ is comfortable, musical, dynamically engaging, and I love the volume control on the right earcup! They also provide a 3.5mm input should you decide to rely on a traditional wired solution. However, given their musicality while running wireless, I can't imagine why anybody would wanna waste an opportunity like this to be un-tethered!
 
Pendulumic has obviously been busy; figuring out how to squeeze high fidelity out of Bluetooth technology, and reproduce it through lightweight, downright fun headphones! They also managed to make it look good and easy as hell to operate! I hate some of the other Bluetooth audio products I've got that take forever to pair, and you gotta reset the damn thing every time you try and sync it to your source device; stupid **** like that drives me nuts.
 
When it comes to a product like this - I wanna hit the power button, click on the Stance S1+ in my Bluetooth drop-down menu, and get right to playing music. Pendulumic has not only made Bluetooth audio a viable means of sending and playing back Hi-fi, but they've done so in classy, worry-free headphones.
 
Warren:  Ethan and Mercer are spot on in their analyses above, so I'd like to echo their sentiments first and foremost. For me, the best things about the Stance S1+ - from a usability standpoint - are the little things.
 
I fully agree with Mercer: the volume knob is simple genius. I mean think about it, how would you prefer to control volume? The switches that Ethan talked about are used for nearly everything, including pairing. For those of you who are experienced with Bluetooth headphones, you'll be glad to know that pairing doesn't require learning a cryptic pattern of holding down one or more buttons.
 
All these controls may not be slick, sleek or sexy - but who cares? They're intuitive, easy-to-use, and they don't make me work harder than I need to.
 

---

 
And how does the Stance S1+ Sound?
 
Ethan:  My preferred method of using the Stance S1+ was via a wireless connection to my iPhone 6. Streaming Tidal, the sound was far better than I expected.
 
It was toe-tappingly fun, especially in terms of bass, as any $200 closed-back headphone should be. But I was surprised by the presence of a midrange as well. The Stance S1+'s highs are too muted to be considered balanced or neutral, but treble energy was well under control and not offensive at all.
 
Since the Stance S1+ leans warm with its overall signature, it was only natural that I throw a little Deadmau5 at it. In Superliminal, the bass was a little one-note at times, and a tad bit muddy after the bass drop. But all in all, the Stance S1+ held everything together well enough that I don't have any serious complaints.
 
Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pools (Drank) took full advantage of the Stance's potent mid-bass. The beat provided a solid foundation with some very good impact to boot.
 
And with Radiohead's classic, Everything In Its Right Place, I very much enjoyed the contrasts between Thom Yorke's high-flying falsetto voice against the track's pervasive electronic organ tones. The S1+'s midrange detail and resolution was able to keep all the elements separated and layered. This was not something that I thought it would be capable of, but it was.
 
Again, I find myself both surprised and impressed by the Stance S1+, in very good ways.
 
Mercer:  I couldn't believe the Stance's powerful, silky-smooth low-end when I hit play on Recondites' new album Iffy. "Baro" - the introductory track, has these hovering, panning bass sounds that ping from all over the soundstage. Toss in a couple of constant upper-frequency sweets and blips - the track is minimal compositionally, but far from it sonically.
 
The music is full-bodied and powerful. This record is like an audible looking-glass into our weekends for years - when my buddies and I used to DJ. It's dark, drivy, ascending/descending, and steady. I love this record, but I need a system with coherent, solid bass and lower mid-band clarity as well - even at high levels. I was pleasantly surprised at how the Stance S1+ handled the weight and velocity of the dynamics of Iffy.
 

 ​

​

 
 
Warren:  Mike Johnson doesn't know this… well I guess he knows it now… but I'm just about the last person that he would have wanted to review the Pendulumic Stance S1+.
 
You see, in my day job as a consumer electronics product developer, I've worked on several projects involving Bluetooth audio - lossless and low-latency Bluetooth audio in particular. As part of these projects, I've had the opportunity to survey the field of "high fidelity" Bluetooth audio devices, and have been largely unimpressed.
 
From a design standpoint, the vast majority of Bluetooth headphones in the market represent an ideal that I find offensive: the nearly wholesale abandonment of sound quality for the sake of convenience. And that is an antithesis, and an affront, to my inner Head-Fier.
 
Let me put it this way: with regards to sound quality, I tend to give Bluetooth audio the same amount of respect that I would give, say, Beats by Dre (and I don't mean the recent Beats models that sound better). That said, let's take a look - and a listen - to the Pendulumic Stance S1+ shall we?
 
Hey there now, this isn't bad… not bad at all… especially for a Bluetooth headphone!
 
The sub-bass output is very respectable, with bottom-end extension that is likewise quite reasonable. In terms of presentation, it doesn't dig as deep as many full-sized headphones, but it makes up for that by tapering off very subtly and gradually, as opposed to offering us a sharp sub-bass roll-off.
 
Bass response is also handled admirably here. It's fast and tight, with a good sense of impact, but not bloat. There is a slight mid-bass hump, but it's very well controlled. Kick drums sound like kick drums, and not indistinct low-frequency thuds. Even dense and complex double-bass passages are rendered cleanly with good note separation. I'm actually impressed so far.
 
The midrange is wonderfully done in the Stance S1+. The lower mids are ever-so-slightly recessed so as to avoid thickness and congestion, while the upper mids are accentuated to increase the perception of detail. As a result, vocals are richly-textured and detail-laden, and acoustic stringed instruments like guitars and mandolins are clean and pure. Percussion is very lively due to the slight upper midrange boost, though not harsh or fatiguing by any means.
 
As for the highs, the Stance S1+ does roll off earlier than I would prefer. However, I am very pleased with the compromise made here. That upper midrange boost extends into the highs a little farther than most closed-back headphones do, before finally succumbing to roll off. The end result is a sense of sparkle, a hint of openness, though not true airiness. It's not ideal in absolute terms, but relatively-speaking, it's better than anything that most closed back headphones can muster, Bluetooth or not, especially at this price point.
 
Staging is not particularly wide or deep. Like most closed back portables, the Stance S1+ is decidedly in your head. However, detail and separation are above average compared to other headphones at this price point.
 

I have to admit, I do like how the Stance S1+ sounds, despite my negative expectation bias against Bluetooth audio quality. Its engaging and musical sound signature serves as a textbook example of how to maximize sonic strengths while minimizing wireless drawbacks through a series of intelligent compromises.
 
But that's not the shocker here. Lawd, I can't believe I'm about to say this… I think I prefer the Bluetooth (Active Wireless) mode to the other modes! Here's why:
 
The Active Wired mode - a cabled connection that uses the Stance S1+'s internal amp - doesn't impress me. There's an annoyingly boomy mid bass, and a peaky upper mid-range spike, that combine to give the S1+ a U-shaped response that I'm not wild about. It's not nearly as flat or balanced as the Active Wireless mode being that it's much more of a consumer-oriented signature. I don't like it, and I don't think many of you will either.
 
The Passive Wired mode - a cabled connection that bypasses all of the Stance S1+'s active electronics - sounds the best to my ears. It's the most balanced, neutral and flattest of the three operating modes, with a comforting touch of warmth in the bass, and moderately good extension at both ends.
 
That said, and I could not agree more with Ethan and Mercer here, the Active Wireless (Bluetooth) mode comes stunningly close to the Passive Wired mode. So close in fact, that I am comfortable with losing that last inkling of sound quality in exchange for the convenience afforded by the Bluetooth connection.
 
Well played Pendulumic, well played.
 
 

---

 
 
Drawing Conclusions
 
Ethan:  I am really amazed at how musical and fun these headphones are and I think they can reasonably be compared to non-wireless portable headphones in this price category which is pretty remarkable. Adding in the convenience of being wireless and added comfort that the Stance S1+ offers a really compelling package for $199.
 
Mercer:  The Pendulumic Stance S1+ headphones completely re-wired my thinking about the possibilities for sonic integrity utilizing Bluetooth technology. I wrote a full review of the S1+ at Headphone.Guru a few weeks ago.
 
Since then, my pair has only broken-in further, sounding better and better the more signal I feed em'. Pendulumic knocked it outta the park with these cans. Plus: The sound quality (the most important product attribute of course) is matched by their look, feel, and ease-of-use.
 
For two hundred bucks (hell they'd be a steal at three hundred) this is going to be my most popular response to the question I often get at Christmas and Chanukah time: "What headphones should I get for 1-200 bucks?" It's a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. Get the Pendulumic Stance S1+. I reach for mine at least twice a day!
Pendulumic has, for me, set a new benchmark in Bluetooth headphone technology that all from this month forward will be judged against.
 
Warren:  Going into this review, I honestly thought that I'd have to suffer through auditions of the Stance S1+. But I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the case. The truth is, I didn't want to put these down when it was time to move on to the next headphone in the queue.
 
The Pendulumic Stance S1+ is a refreshing eye-opener into how Bluetooth audio can be done well, if not right. It easily slots into my top three list of best Bluetooth headphones so far - standing alongside worthy candidates like the Philips M1BT and a now-discontinued headphone called the Melody from a French company named Supertooth.
 
Given its exemplary sonic presentation - and its highly functional form factor and feature set - I have a sneaking suspicion that the Stance S1+ was designed, optimized and refined with Head-Fiers in mind... and not rank-and-file consumers. I am looking forward to Pendulumic's future offerings, nearly as much as I am currently enjoying the Stance S1+.
 

---

 
Original content provided by Audio360.org (http://www.audio360.org/headphones_a0036_review_pendulumic_stance_s1+.php).

 

[warrenpchi]

Hmm, Jude's write up for the Pendulumic Stance S1+ seems to be missing from this thread... here ya go!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/a/head-fi-buying-guide-wireless-headphones#user_pendulumic_stance-s1

 

[Currawong]

Nice work Ethan, Warren and Mercer! Since we're at it, mine, with video is here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/pendulumic-stance-s1-bluethooth-wireless-headphones/reviews/11889

 

[mikesjc]

Thank you, guys, for the posts, and staying current!
 
Getting ready for the holidays, and need to find that perfect something for a tween, teen, college student, young professional, or even a middle aged geezer like me? The Pendulumic STANCE S1+ is a PERFECT gift for any age!
 
All the best,
Mike Johnson
Pendulumic

 

[UNOE]

I had a listen to these today.  They were great nice surprise.

 

[Noodlz]

Had a chance to listen to these at the end of can jam. Instant buy for me. Met just about every checkbox i was looking for. ridiculous amount of battery / options + crazy good sound quality + siiick design. Plus super comfortable. These are now my everyday just about for everything cans. I hope to write a little review for this in the coming days. as far as closed cans under $400 these are no brainers to me, even without the blutooth. probably the most impressive thing i saw at canjam next to the riva speakers.
 
Funny note, Actually showed these off to a friend of mine day after can jam. I said "blutooth headphones", he gave me a doubtful look and was like "wireless? psh they're trash." Then he had a listen. and then he listened some more. and then it was instabuy from him as well lol 

 

[Kerrigan]

I just listed to my friend's S1+ and wow. I read through this whole thread to find more information. I'm still in disbelief that these cans are a wireless Bluetooth headset. I regret not buying these at CanJam last weekend. 

 

[MadMusicJunkie]

In addition to my obsession with finding the best in-ear portable set of phones, I also dig for the best bluetooth set.  I am a long-time believer that wireless technology is the way of the future.  However, it wasn't until these that I have been able to point to something and say "LOOK AT THIS!"  I do love my UE9000's and the Backbeat Pro's, but those are just fun and functional.  These are a push toward audiophile calibre.  FINALLY!  It hasn't been since I heard the Heaven VI's that I have heard this great mid clarity and seperation.  These look cool, too, like steampunk or like a viet nam-style military camoflauge.  The battery life is phenomenal and I enjoy having the dial for volume as well.  
Downside to these?!  Call quality.  If you plan on speaking in your conference call, you'd better make sure that your environment is pretty quiet.  Otherwise, everyone will likely hear your keyboard typing, the dogs barking to come inside, and the toilet flushing in the other room.  I'm on a quest for a set of phone that sound great and have use for my sales calls to my clients.  These are not them.  However, remarkably, I find myself unable to part with them.  They sound THAT good to me.  Soundstage is wide, the mids are 3D, the highs are clear and non-fatiguing, and the bass is still present.  
Having made the latter comment, these do not shake the pee out of you with their bass.  That goes to the UE9000 or Backbeat Pro, but sound quality in these are the best I have heard from any bluetooth headphone I've come across so far.  Are they HD598's?  Nope.  But, they're different and aren't playing in the same league.... yet.  KEF M500's... well, now you're a lot closer.  I VOLUNTARILY signed up for their email list (something I never do), because I want to know THE DAY that they're next upgraded version comes out.  I beg for dual microphones with noise cancellation.  But with just that, maybe a touch better improvement on their already near-impeccable SQ, and you've got yourself a bluetooth phone that puts all others to shame. Then, I'd consider doing an A-B comparation of the HD598's and NAD Viso.  Will there be a comparison with the HD800's?  Give them five years, and then maybe. 
 

 

[mikesjc]

"These are a push toward audiophile calibre. FINALLY!" .....
"Soundstage is wide, the mids are 3D, the highs are clear and non-fatiguing, and the bass is still present." 
 
MadMusicJunkie, thanks, very much, for your observations and kind words!
 
And just to let you know, we are having serious discussions regarding the potential of utilizing noise cancellation in the microphone....
 
We will keep you posted.
 
Feel free to contact us with your questions or comments.
 
All the best,
Mike Johnson
Pendulumic

 

[dc8222]

NICE~ 

 

[redmaw]

The S1+'s I received in the mail the other day have a mid-to-high tone present in the right audio channel when in wireless mode. Anyone know if this is normal?

 

[MadMusicJunkie]

The S1+'s I received in the mail the other day have a mid-to-high tone present in the right audio channel when in wireless mode. Anyone know if this is normal?

If you're talking about one that beeps at you, this could be because you're pushing the power buttoN UP instead of down. Then you're playing off of regular batteries instead of the rechargeable ones. I finally realized that it was telling me low battery even though I had just charged it! Then I read the instructions. Duh!. But, if you ask me, the symbols for running off rechargeable battery and on disposables is very ambiguous.

If it's not some alert is giving you, then you maybe got a lemon. Just make sure you've got It set right and have eliminated all possibilities first.

The customer service that I got from these guys was quick and they were very passionate about their product, so I'd be very confident that they'd make it right if it is a bad unit.

Let me know how it turns out either way. These have great clear sound and awesome soundstage, so give them a chance.

 

[redmaw]

Unfortunately it's not a beep, just a constant noise when in wireless mode. At first I thought my ear was ringing lol.