[samandhi]

  Cheers samandi, really useful posts.
 
Also have a HP laptop and Note 3, lol.
 
Will give this a go.
 
What's this DAC mode all about then?
 
Normally your device does Digital to Analogue Conversion, to send over the wire to your heaphones?
But using a USB cable you can send the digital signal so it uses a DAC in the headphones instead?
Which is what the headphones use for bluetooth too - but with bluetooth the bandwidth/data rate is obviously lower and there can be quality loss?
 
So you wanted to test the quality of the DAC in the headphones vs that in your device?
 
So actually if you can get a micro usb to micro usb cable, that's flexible - that'd be a great wired option no?
 
No need for inline controls as you can use the headphone. And provided the DAC in the headphones is good, better quality - certainly less coloured, than any high end cabling carrying an analogue signal?
 
And yes, on the comfort front you really want the headband arms to connect to the end of the cups by the cushion to get the correct curvature.
Doesn't matter how big or small your head is, as if you have a bigger head like I probably do, they just go wider, but again because of where the arms come down, only a small portion of the centre of headband comes into contact with your head, unless you have a very flat head I suppose.
 
The Samsung Level Over's overcome with by having a load of padding that fills the gap.
 
So the Momentum design would only really be properly comfortable and secure if the band ran along your head.
 
However I find I angle them back a bit, and most of the weight is taken around my ears instead, and then it isn't uncomfortable.
 
However the cushions do pinch the top of my ears a bit I think (7cm long ears), as after a few hours they hurt.
 
@Ahzari the Samsung Level Over are a comfortable and very good pair of ANC bluetooth headphones.
I gave my impressions and a bit of a comparison a few posts back.
They get a bit hotter - they're heavier, with a bit more clamping than the Momentum's, but a very plush solidly comfortable pair.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Cancelling-Wireless-Headphones-Smartphones/dp/B00KGGK71A/

  I would say yes on all accounts to your questions. As for the quality is concerned, you are right about bluetooth, there is some compression going on in order to send the amount of data some songs contain via the limited bandwidth that the bluetooth hardware has. Apt-X does use compression, but it is advertised as having cd quality sound. I guess I am thinking like a flac file might be. They can be compressed, but they are a lossless format.
 
  The quality of the sound coming from the micro USB is unmatched, compared to the other 2 options for these headphones. The imaging is boosted greatly, and the soundstage is just night/day compared to wired, or BT. I find no comparison at all. Give it a go.
 
  I don't think I would use this option on the go, however. My wife has ruined too many devices (with micro USB) due to moving about while it is plugged in. The micro USB port is not near as rugged as the headphone port. But, if you upgrade phones every year, it might be worth a shot to try anyway. 

 

[Laciel]

  I would say yes on all accounts to your questions. As for the quality is concerned, you are right about bluetooth, there is some compression going on in order to send the amount of data some songs contain via the limited bandwidth that the bluetooth hardware has. Apt-X does use compression, but it is advertised as having cd quality sound. I guess I am thinking like a flac file might be. They can be compressed, but they are a lossless format.

  The quality of the sound coming from the micro USB is unmatched, compared to the other 2 options for these headphones. The imaging is boosted greatly, and the soundstage is just night/day compared to wired, or BT. I find no comparison at all. Give it a go.

  I don't think I would use this option on the go, however. My wife has ruined too many devices (with micro USB) due to moving about while it is plugged in. The micro USB port is not near as rugged as the headphone port. But, if you upgrade phones every year, it might be worth a shot to try anyway. 

Sorry if I sounds like a noob here, but you mean I could pick up an otg adaptor from Amazon for like $7 and connect my phone with an usb cable to the headphone, then I will get phenomenon sound?

 

[Shinoke]

Sorry if I sounds like a noob here, but you mean I could pick up an otg adaptor from Amazon for like $7 and connect my phone with an usb cable to the headphone, then I will get phenomenon sound?

 
Aye, believe so.

 

[Shinoke]

 
  I would say yes on all accounts to your questions. As for the quality is concerned, you are right about bluetooth, there is some compression going on in order to send the amount of data some songs contain via the limited bandwidth that the bluetooth hardware has. Apt-X does use compression, but it is advertised as having cd quality sound. I guess I am thinking like a flac file might be. They can be compressed, but they are a lossless format.
 
  The quality of the sound coming from the micro USB is unmatched, compared to the other 2 options for these headphones. The imaging is boosted greatly, and the soundstage is just night/day compared to wired, or BT. I find no comparison at all. Give it a go.
 
  I don't think I would use this option on the go, however. My wife has ruined too many devices (with micro USB) due to moving about while it is plugged in. The micro USB port is not near as rugged as the headphone port. But, if you upgrade phones every year, it might be worth a shot to try anyway. 

 
Ahh cheers.
 
Yeah I tried it already, but my laptop doesn't pick it up.
 
Running Windows 7 and plugging in the headset via USB cable did nothing.
 
Using a bluetooth dongle it provides the correct name for the device, but doesn't find any suitable drivers, so I can't use it using that either.
 
And no drivers or info on the Sennheiser site.
 
So for some reason Windows isn't finding and installing the drivers for me.

 

[Lidster]

Just been on custom-cable.co.uk  The headroom2015 code is still working for me.  The wireless version in black are available at £322.99.  Thats £57 discount.  Get em quick!

 

[samandhi]

   
Ahh cheers.
 
Yeah I tried it already, but my laptop doesn't pick it up.
 
Running Windows 7 and plugging in the headset via USB cable did nothing.
 
Using a bluetooth dongle it provides the correct name for the device, but doesn't find any suitable drivers, so I can't use it using that either.
 
And no drivers or info on the Sennheiser site.
 
So for some reason Windows isn't finding and installing the drivers for me.

  Make sure all of your bt devices are shut down (for first time). Then after you plug in your headphones to computer, turn power on... does anything happen then? You'll need to go to change your default play device, this will also verify if your pc is seeing it. I think the drivers for this mode are stored on the headphone (hence no download first time it is installed).
 
  For BT, you will have to turn on power to the bt on the pc, make sure it is scanning for new device. Instead of turning on power like you normally do, with the headphones, keep holding it down until you hear the voice from the phones saying "Pairing", then go to pc and pair it. You should be set from there...
 
  If that doesn't work for BT, make sure you are online when you do this, or maybe a windows update (after it fails), will find the driver for you. It would be under suggested updates, not the "Important" updates, if there were one. It SHOULD do it for you automatically....
 
  I have a windows 7 pc here. I will give it a try and see what I can see... I'll report back later....

 

[samandhi]

Sorry if I sounds like a noob here, but you mean I could pick up an otg adaptor from Amazon for like $7 and connect my phone with an usb cable to the headphone, then I will get phenomenon sound?

  More than likely. I have only tested this on a Note 3 phone, so I can't speak of the other phones at this point. But, you could at least hook it to your pc and bypass the sound card in it for the same thing, as if you hooked it to your phone.

 

[samandhi]

  Just been on custom-cable.co.uk  The headroom2015 code is still working for me.  The wireless version in black are available at £322.99.  Thats £57 discount.  Get em quick!

  (is jealous)......

 

[samandhi]

 
  Make sure all of your bt devices are shut down (for first time). Then after you plug in your headphones to computer, turn power on... does anything happen then? You'll need to go to change your default play device, this will also verify if your pc is seeing it. I think the drivers for this mode are stored on the headphone (hence no download first time it is installed).
 
  For BT, you will have to turn on power to the bt on the pc, make sure it is scanning for new device. Instead of turning on power like you normally do, with the headphones, keep holding it down until you hear the voice from the phones saying "Pairing", then go to pc and pair it. You should be set from there...
 
  If that doesn't work for BT, make sure you are online when you do this, or maybe a windows update (after it fails), will find the driver for you. It would be under suggested updates, not the "Important" updates, if there were one. It SHOULD do it for you automatically....
 
  I have a windows 7 pc here. I will give it a try and see what I can see... I'll report back later....

  I suspect that it might be one part of something that you are not quite doing right (I could be wrong though, and you really do have a problem). I have tested both BT, and USB on my windows 7 machine and both modes are working fine for me.
 
  I am using an Asus G73JH gaming laptop, with a Targus BT dongle. I have updated windows 7 as much as it will (including the suggested drivers). I did notice that when it goes to install the M2s, I click on the installing device drivers bubble to watch what it is doing, and I see several things it is installing. It DOES have a problem installing "Bluetooth Peripheral", and leaves an exclamation mark next to the device in Bluetooth manager when done, but it doesn't effect the operation of the BT mode (albeit not Apt-x).
 
  I don't know if this has any bearing on the headphones or not, but when I was trying to hook up my Wii U Pro game controller to another machine, I had to NOT use the internal Bluetooth device. I had to plug in my Targus BT dongle, and download and hack the config file for Toshiba stack drivers, and install it that way (simply put, using a different driver than the manufacturers drivers). This was because the controller was/is not compatible with the Windows stack, nor the Targus stack. I am hoping that this is not the case with these HP. I suspect it is not, because I have now hooked these up with my Windows 8.1 machine, using the native windows BT stack, and this pc using the Targus driver stack.
 
  I then deleted the BT profile (just to make sure I get the USB connection and not the BT connection), and hooked up the USB, turned on the headphones, it downloaded drivers for it (unlike what it did in Windows 8.1), and then said it was ready. I am playing music through it even as I type this.

 

[thisisthesam]

I presume wired mode on the wireless set is better than bluetooth as it's direct to the source?
 
You're saying it could be even better than wired by doing what? (I have a Macbook) but you mention USB to headphones?

 

[Shinoke]

USB now works for me great thanks, just got it working
 
It was the bloody cable, 2, perhaps 3 didn't work. I can charge from them fine (at least 2), but perhaps they're a bit knackered.
 
Yes, listening to it as I type too.
 
Sounds awesome, although not done a comparison.
 
Really appreciating old music with these headphones - hearing things I didn't before.
 
Volume control is great.
 
Wondering if I should rip my CDs to FLAC in addition to the 320kbps mp3s I have of them currently.
 
Thumbs up on the Wii U, man of taste.

 

[Soundofmusic]

I presume wired mode on the wireless set is better than bluetooth as it's direct to the source?

You're saying it could be even better than wired by doing what? (I have a Macbook) but you mention USB to headphones?

Yes wired analog is better. And depending on the current DAC of your signal source, USB could be better or worse than that again.

 

[samandhi]

USB now works for me great thanks, just got it working

It was the bloody cable, 2, perhaps 3 didn't work. I can charge from them fine (at least 2), but perhaps they're a bit knackered.

Yes, listening to it as I type too.

Sounds awesome, although not done a comparison.

Really appreciating old music with these headphones - hearing things I didn't before.

Volume control is great.

Wondering if I should rip my CDs to FLAC in addition to the 320kbps mp3s I have of them currently.

Thumbs up on the Wii U, man of taste.

Good for you. I personaly think it is miles better than wired analog, but I can say this, listening in USB mode is how Sennheiser meant for them to sound.

If you have the cds, you nothing to lose by rippimg to flac (eexcept time), but everything to gain. You may find they are worlds better, but may find them the same as your 320s.

Yessir, WII U all the way. Thanks.

 

[samandhi]

I presume wired mode on the wireless set is better than bluetooth as it's direct to the source?

You're saying it could be even better than wired by doing what? (I have a Macbook) but you mention USB to headphones?

Read back a page or two. There are some instructions on how to hook it up. They are for windows, but I dont see why mac wouldn't work as well. Give it a go and let us know if it worked for you.

 

[Soundofmusic]

To those of you who experience better sound using the built in DAC of the headphones, what DAC/amp were you previously using?