[steelydanman9]

The Focal Bathys and PX8 are both at the very least just as loud as the AirPods Max. If my memory servers me correctly, both of these are a little louder than the AirPods Max.

That’s good to know, are you based in Europe or the US only Im not sure if the EU Focals are restricted volume wise or not. And finally rock, both classic and metal are my primary listens do you think either of these headphones when compared to my APM will hit the sweet spot. I do enjoy my AirPods but they are not as good sonically as my old bowers and Wilkins p7 wireless that I used to love. Thank you for your help

 

[Maukey]

That’s good to know, are you based in Europe or the US only Im not sure if the EU Focals are restricted volume wise or not. And finally rock, both classic and metal are my primary listens do you think either of these headphones when compared to my APM will hit the sweet spot. I do enjoy my AirPods but they are not as good sonically as my old bowers and Wilkins p7 wireless that I used to love. Thank you for your help

I'm US only so I can't speak on volume restrictions. I personally think either are good for Rock. I personally prefer the Focal Bathys in all cases when it comes to sound quality to the PX8, but I've seen other users who've had experience with both say they preferred the PX8 for Rock. Both should sound better than the AirPods Max for your preference.

 

[bronco1015]

@Maukey Can't wait to see where the M4u 9 ends up on the list with regard to sound quality.
I've used the Bose QC Ultra headphones off and on for a few days now, and my initial impressions have been over all good.
I like how light and portable they are. It's nice to see a new headphone return to the folding earcup form factor. i don't like how loose the earcups feel when they aren't being worn, they are quite loose and floppy. Not a fan.
The plastic is very conductive, and I hear the button presses quite loudly. So often this is something that i'm not bothered by with many headphones, but the sound I hear if the plastic is slightly bumped or if I press the multi-function button is very distinct and loud to my ears..
ANC I would say is better than what's offered on the XM5. It's more consistent, and seems to block a wider variety of noises better. one challenge i have for any ANC headphone is the shuttle I commute on to and from work when I go in to the office.
The rattling of the shuttle sometimes overpowers the ultras causing them to give hiccups of feedback in the earcups. It's not a pleasant sound when this happens, but fortunately it was infrequent. I do experience this sort of thing though with the Ultras, my QC35, QC Buds and QC buds II, but especially on the QC Buds II and QC ultra.
i'm not knocking Bose for this necessarily, it is partially a result of the environment I'm using them in, I'm only trying to explain that there is something distinct when I hear this that is unique to Bose products, and maybe it's more in how it occurs, how the mics are over powered and the specific sound i hear.
but plenty of headphones that don't have quality ANC suffer from this far worse.
The XM5 handle this sort of bumpy ride much better, but it does cause them to change the tone of the music at times, even though the headphones aren't moving off of my ears as the ANC tries to calibrate to the level of noise around it. I'm glad that bose has the option to keep the same ANC level at all times, but even if you let the headphones try to adapt to the environmental noise around you, the Ultras in my opinion, handle sudden changes much better with respect to sound quality. For those times when the jostleing movements of the Shuttle don't cause the feedback I mentioned earlier, the ANC seems to maintain a greater degree of noise reduction.
I had to give the bass a bit of a bump in the app, and the trebel a bit more of a bump, but over all I really enjoy the sound, and don't feel that ANC pressure when wearing them.
The sound is pretty natural sounding i think, where as the XM5 has more of a digital sound even with heavy EQ.
Also comfort is really great with the Ultras. I wore them all day yesterday, only taking them off once for 15-20 minutes, and didn't feel any discomfort. Transparency mode is the best I've heard on a headphone that I've purchased. I like the transparency mode of the H95, the other 2 headphones I have on this list are the MW75 and Sony WH 1000X M5. out of these 4 headphones, The QC Ultras transparency mode takes the cake.
The immersion I feel is just okay. The Yamaha YH-L700A has a suite of immersion like features, and while some of them sound a bit wonky, there are a couple that aren't to bad, and I was surprised how well they stacked up against the immersion preset of the QC Ultra, considering that they were released 2 years prior.
The YH-L700A is a very bassy, digital sounding headphone but if you're willing to eq, it is a real treat for watching movies and sporting events and is great with rock and metal.
Back to the QC Ultra, I think it's a great all arounder for a lot of people.
I haven't flown with the QC Ultras yet, but I feel like they will be my top traveling headphone going forward.
If the QC Ultra had the feature set of the XM5, but was otherwise the same headphone, to me that would be the perfect travel Headphone.

 

[Maukey]

@Maukey Can't wait to see where the M4u 9 ends up on the list with regard to sound quality.
I've used the Bose QC Ultra headphones off and on for a few days now, and my initial impressions have been over all good.
I like how light and portable they are. It's nice to see a new headphone return to the folding earcup form factor. i don't like how loose the earcups feel when they aren't being worn, they are quite loose and floppy. Not a fan.
The plastic is very conductive, and I hear the button presses quite loudly. So often this is something that i'm not bothered by with many headphones, but the sound I hear if the plastic is slightly bumped or if I press the multi-function button is very distinct and loud to my ears..
ANC I would say is better than what's offered on the XM5. It's more consistent, and seems to block a wider variety of noises better. one challenge i have for any ANC headphone is the shuttle I commute on to and from work when I go in to the office.
The rattling of the shuttle sometimes overpowers the ultras causing them to give hiccups of feedback in the earcups. It's not a pleasant sound when this happens, but fortunately it was infrequent. I do experience this sort of thing though with the Ultras, my QC35, QC Buds and QC buds II, but especially on the QC Buds II and QC ultra.
i'm not knocking Bose for this necessarily, it is partially a result of the environment I'm using them in, I'm only trying to explain that there is something distinct when I hear this that is unique to Bose products, and maybe it's more in how it occurs, how the mics are over powered and the specific sound i hear.
but plenty of headphones that don't have quality ANC suffer from this far worse.
The XM5 handle this sort of bumpy ride much better, but it does cause them to change the tone of the music at times, even though the headphones aren't moving off of my ears as the ANC tries to calibrate to the level of noise around it. I'm glad that bose has the option to keep the same ANC level at all times, but even if you let the headphones try to adapt to the environmental noise around you, the Ultras in my opinion, handle sudden changes much better with respect to sound quality. For those times when the jostleing movements of the Shuttle don't cause the feedback I mentioned earlier, the ANC seems to maintain a greater degree of noise reduction.
I had to give the bass a bit of a bump in the app, and the trebel a bit more of a bump, but over all I really enjoy the sound, and don't feel that ANC pressure when wearing them.
The sound is pretty natural sounding i think, where as the XM5 has more of a digital sound even with heavy EQ.
Also comfort is really great with the Ultras. I wore them all day yesterday, only taking them off once for 15-20 minutes, and didn't feel any discomfort. Transparency mode is the best I've heard on a headphone that I've purchased. I like the transparency mode of the H95, the other 2 headphones I have on this list are the MW75 and Sony WH 1000X M5. out of these 4 headphones, The QC Ultras transparency mode takes the cake.
The immersion I feel is just okay. The Yamaha YH-L700A has a suite of immersion like features, and while some of them sound a bit wonky, there are a couple that aren't to bad, and I was surprised how well they stacked up against the immersion preset of the QC Ultra, considering that they were released 2 years prior.
The YH-L700A is a very bassy, digital sounding headphone but if you're willing to eq, it is a real treat for watching movies and sporting events and is great with rock and metal.
Back to the QC Ultra, I think it's a great all arounder for a lot of people.
I haven't flown with the QC Ultras yet, but I feel like they will be my top traveling headphone going forward.
If the QC Ultra had the feature set of the XM5, but was otherwise the same headphone, to me that would be the perfect travel Headphone.

I 1000% percent agree with this although I don't have the bumpy noise issues you experience. In fairness, I haven't used the Ultras running or on a very bumpy commute to test this.

 

[thevibes]

That’s good to know, are you based in Europe or the US only Im not sure if the EU Focals are restricted volume wise or not. And finally rock, both classic and metal are my primary listens do you think either of these headphones when compared to my APM will hit the sweet spot. I do enjoy my AirPods but they are not as good sonically as my old bowers and Wilkins p7 wireless that I used to love. Thank you for your help

If you listen to a lot of live music recordings, Px8 are the way to go. They sorta give me the feeling of being at a concert. Bathys sound is pretty different from the APM or Px8 from my limited experience.

 

[steelydanman9]

If you listen to a lot of live music recordings, Px8 are the way to go. They sorta give me the feeling of being at a concert. Bathys sound is pretty different from the APM or Px8 from my limited experience.

I think you might have swung me in the px8 direction thank you both. I loved the sound of the old B&W p7 wireless but have been previously disappointed with the PX and px7 which didn't have anywhere near the impact of the p7w for me. Hopefully the px8 are better than the original px7 to my ears because I do remember being a little deflated, definitely not the dynamism of the p7w. My go-to track is 'Sultans of Swing' by Dire Straits off the live Alchemy album full of fantastic knopfler guitar work. Px7 didn't provide the excitement and feel of the much older p7wireless for me but then again nothing else that I've had since from the poor xm4's to the fairly decent momentum's 3 have. Perhaps the fact the the p7 wireless was non nc is a reason for this when it comes to the newer B&W's.

 

[TooFrank]

I have fell in love with the H95. I am fairly certain that there are 2 different versions of this headphone. Let me explain. When the H95s were first released, I ordered them in Black from the B&O Website. My impressions of the sound was a little relaxed with an excellent bass response, a very natural midrange, and a treble that had a weird tone. The main issue for me though was that it was not loud enough for times I wanted to jam out. I still kept them anyway because of everything else they did well, and at the time they were one of the most accurate sounding anc headphones on the market. After some time went by I sold them to make room for other headphones I was trying. A few months ago I decided to order them again to get a more recent comparison to some of the newer anc headphones on the market. This time I ordered them in Blue from Amazon here in the US. This time my initial impressions were not what I remembered from my previous experience. This time the volume wasn't an issue and the treble sounded much more correct in tone to my ears. Something was different but it had been so long since I owned them I wasn't sure. I thought maybe it was firmware updates. Even updated my comparison to share my experience. Some weeks went by and I had noticed that B&O had released a special edition Ferrari version of the headphone. I sold my Blue one and ordered that one directly from B&O. As soon as I put the Ferrari Edition on my head I could tell immediately that this wasn't the same headphone in sound as my Blue one. Volume was again an issue and I did not like the treble tone. I was almost certain now that there are 2 versions. 2 weeks ago I returned the Ferrari Edition to B&O and ordered the Brown one from Amazon US. I am certain now that there are 2 versions. Is it possible there's a US and EU version? When comparing the Brown one and Ferrari one, the Brown one is around 3 DBs louder (About 2 or 3 clicks on my iPhone). The treble is much better in it's tone. It's a slightly bigger, more enjoyable sound while still maintaining it's excellent midrange and accuracy. They've been on my head a lot lately. It's a very fun headphone to use because of how well it's designed. The dials for volume and anc control, plus the most responsive touchpad on a headphone. One of the more portable options too, only defeated in portability by the Bose QC Ultra. But you may be right LOL. I love the Dali. I've just been moving around a lot lately and the H95 are much better to take out the house.

FWIW, I think that your experience may reflect some stricter restriction in EU as regard volume (dB) control. I recall, some years ago, where DAP were more in focus, and where EU people tried to buy out of Japan or US to avoid the volume cap. Don't know, but this could also apply to today's BT headphones? But haven't heard of any examples (haven't search for it though). I have an EU version of H95, that I am very happy about - maybe I don't know what (if) I am missing

 

[thevibes]

FWIW, I think that your experience may reflect some stricter restriction in EU as regard volume (dB) control. I recall, some years ago, where DAP were more in focus, and where EU people tried to buy out of Japan or US to avoid the volume cap. Don't know, but this could also apply to today's BT headphones? But haven't heard of any examples (haven't search for it though). I have an EU version of H95, that I am very happy about - maybe I don't know what (if) I am missing

Just did a very unscientific test with my H95 and Px8. Px8 seem to get 6-9db louder than H95 at full volume.

 

[angelom]

FWIW, I think that your experience may reflect some stricter restriction in EU as regard volume (dB) control. I recall, some years ago, where DAP were more in focus, and where EU people tried to buy out of Japan or US to avoid the volume cap. Don't know, but this could also apply to today's BT headphones? But haven't heard of any examples (haven't search for it though). I have an EU version of H95, that I am very happy about - maybe I don't know what (if) I am missing

I'm in the EU and the H95's more low than average maximum volume isn't because of EU regulations, is because of B&O's decision for limiting the max volume. The ML 5909 and Solitaire T have a similar max volume than the H95. The EU regulations about max volume are only for DAPs.

By contrast, the Bathys, the new iO-12, the AirPods Max and PX8 have more max volume than the 3 headphones above, and all of this 7 headphones I buying in the EU.

 

[TooFrank]

I'm in the EU and the H95's more low than average maximum volume isn't because of EU regulations, is because of B&O's decision for limiting the max volume. The ML 5909 and Solitaire T have a similar max volume than the H95. The EU regulations about max volume are only for DAPs.

By contrast, the Bathys, the new iO-12, the AirPods Max and PX8 have more max volume than the 3 headphones above, and all of this 7 headphones I buying in the EU.

Thanks for clarifying - then I guess, a volume cap cannot be the explanation for Maukey's different experience with the H95s (EU vs US)?

 

[Maukey]

Thanks for clarifying - then I guess, a volume cap cannot be the explanation for Maukey's different experience with the H95s (EU vs US)?

I have no idea, but my current Brown H95 was definitely louder than the Lamborghini Edition I purchased from B&O. I'm not saying it's night and day, but it's about 2 clicks louder on my iPhone. Or let me phrase it like this, with the Ferrari Edition, to jam out, I would have to go to max volume on my iPhone, and for certain songs, that wasn't loud enough. With the Brown color, I can jam out 2 clicks down from max, and sometimes go up a click from there for certain tracks. At max I never feel like I sometimes need a little more. There's a different Treble tonality as well that I prefer in the Brown color. I do agree with Angelom in that the Dali iO-12, PX8, and AirPods Max are louder than the H95 and 5909. For me, the Solitaire T in High Quality Mode is a little louder than it's other modes. In High Quality Mode it's comparable in volume to my Brown H95.

 

[Rockin_Zombie]

Love this thread, looking forward to your PSB M4U 9 impressions! I got the M4U TWM recently and really digging the sound signature. The RoomFeel DSP is pretty awesome. Won't mind pouring more money into a Canadian company

 

[angelom]

I have no idea, but my current Brown H95 was definitely louder than the Lamborghini Edition I purchased from B&O. I'm not saying it's night and day, but it's about 2 clicks louder on my iPhone. Or let me phrase it like this, with the Ferrari Edition, to jam out, I would have to go to max volume on my iPhone, and for certain songs, that wasn't loud enough. With the Brown color, I can jam out 2 clicks down from max, and sometimes go up a click from there for certain tracks. At max I never feel like I sometimes need a little more. There's a different Treble tonality as well that I prefer in the Brown color.

Is difficult knowing exactly what is happening here because for 100% exact assessment is necessary comparing the 2 headphones at the same time -- unfortunately, our auditory memory isn't always so good, and sometimes is a simple variable like the mood we have in one moment, the time of the day when we're listening (this is very real), or maybe even more/less earwax in the ears in one time or other time.

What is true, for example, is that T+A releasing a FW update soon after releasing the Solitaire T where they increasing the maximum volume of this headphone by 3 dB (T+A mentioning this max volume change in the FW release notes and we have corroboration from me and from others users that this is true). Is apparent, too, that B&W changing a little the tonal balance of the PX8 with a FW update few months ago, but I'm not 100% sure if this really true because I don't know if some people comparing directly the 2 FW versions with 2 headphones (one with pre, and the other with post, FW update). So, FW updates have a real possibility of changing sonic aspects of a headphone.

 

[TooFrank]

I have no idea, but my current Brown H95 was definitely louder than the Lamborghini Edition I purchased from B&O. I'm not saying it's night and day, but it's about 2 clicks louder on my iPhone. Or let me phrase it like this, with the Ferrari Edition, to jam out, I would have to go to max volume on my iPhone, and for certain songs, that wasn't loud enough. With the Brown color, I can jam out 2 clicks down from max, and sometimes go up a click from there for certain tracks. At max I never feel like I sometimes need a little more. There's a different Treble tonality as well that I prefer in the Brown color. I do agree with Angelom in that the Dali iO-12, PX8, and AirPods Max are louder than the H95 and 5909. For me, the Solitaire T in High Quality Mode is a little louder than it's other modes. In High Quality Mode it's comparable in volume to my Brown H95.

Hmmm... strange. Although I never have problems with volume - rarely play louder than 50-60% (on my "EU" version)

 

[Maukey]

Hmmm... strange. Although I never have problems with volume - rarely play louder than 50-60% (on my "EU" version)

I'm a 20+year professional drummer so I'm sure my hearing is not the best . I don't listen that loud all the time, only on days I'm in the mood to jam out. All of these headphones get loud enough for relaxed, everyday listening.