[Maukey]

Thank you for sharing your first impressions with us.
I would like to know, if you don't mind, a little more information about the sound quality of the Dali iO-12.
Question: “The sound quality of the Bathys is inferior to the Dali iO-12”?
Thank you for the information provided.

Yes, the Dali iO-12 sound better than the Focal Bathys to my ears. More resolution, detail, and stage (Bathys are very close here). It's not a night and day difference. You can argue that the Bathys are a better value.

 

[ekjellgren]

Which of all these would be best for usage with glasses?
I guess it depends most on the pads..

 

[iaingamer]

Which of all these would be best for usage with glasses?
I guess it depends most on the pads..

I find no issues with the Focals or the PX8’s.

I would say focals are better for me but I do tend to only wear these at home.

 

[FlatListener]

@Maukey Picked up the solitaire T after reading your praise for it. Loving it mostly, much clearer and revealing than AirPods Max that I had before. However I miss some bass here and there, especially passive/wired mode. Any suggestions I might try?

DAP
I am still using that old FiiO X5 1st gen. Am I to gain much by getting an A&K or the like? What would you recommend? SP3000 looks fantastic but the solitaire T may be the limiting factor. Also 4000 bucks is way too much, looking to spend around 1000.

Thanks!

 

[ekjellgren]

@Maukey Picked up the solitaire T after reading your praise for it. Loving it mostly, much clearer and revealing than AirPods Max that I had before. However I miss some bass here and there, especially passive/wired mode. Any suggestions I might try?

DAP
I am still using that old FiiO X5 1st gen. Am I to gain much by getting an A&K or the like? What would you recommend? SP3000 looks fantastic but the solitaire T may be the limiting factor. Also 4000 bucks is way too much, looking to spend around 1000.

Thanks!

Perhaps you should also post this question in the Solitaire T specific thread as well?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/t-a-solitaire-t-wireless-headphone.964925/

 

[Maukey]

@Maukey Picked up the solitaire T after reading your praise for it. Loving it mostly, much clearer and revealing than AirPods Max that I had before. However I miss some bass here and there, especially passive/wired mode. Any suggestions I might try?

DAP
I am still using that old FiiO X5 1st gen. Am I to gain much by getting an A&K or the like? What would you recommend? SP3000 looks fantastic but the solitaire T may be the limiting factor. Also 4000 bucks is way too much, looking to spend around 1000.

Thanks!

Glad you're enjoying it. The most bass are going to come from listening to it with ANC enabled. If that's not enough for you, then you'll have to look at EQ. There is a Solitaire T specific thread with users that are focused on this specific headphone. Maybe you can find better suggestions there. While I do own it, my focus is on multiple headphones, and I usually don't EQ or modify headphones default sound profile. I promise this is not a flex, but I have so many headphones, when I want more bass, I choose one with that sound profile

 

[bronco1015]

@Maukey Have you tried the PSB M4u9?
i've thought about picking it up but haven't yet. i suspect it won't have much on non sound features, but but if the M4u 8 is a good indicator of what you get with the M4u 9, it will probably sound fantastic.

 

[Maukey]

@Maukey Have you tried the PSB M4u9?
i've thought about picking it up but haven't yet. i suspect it won't have much on non sound features, but but if the M4u 8 is a good indicator of what you get with the M4u 9, it will probably sound fantastic.

I have not yet. I actually still own the PSB M4U 8 MKII. Never included it in my comparison because of the barebones features outside of the customized sound profile for your hearing via Audiodo. I do agree that it sounded great. I've been going back and forth on whether I'm going to pick up the M4U 9.

 

[sindavide]

Very good review, thank you.

However, when speaking about ANC headphones, IMO the first and foremost feature that should be discussed and compared is the ANC itself. The sound comes after. Unfortunately, as good as this review is, lacks any serious discussion and comparison about the most distinctive trait if this category of headphones, that is the ANC. Quite unfortunate

 

[bronco1015]

Edit, please delete this post. In attempting to edit I've further screwed it up.

 

[bronco1015]

Very good review, thank you.

However, when speaking about ANC headphones, IMO the first and foremost feature that should be discussed and compared is the ANC itself. The sound comes after. Unfortunately, as good as this review is, lacks any serious discussion and comparison about the most distinctive trait if this category of headphones, that is the ANC. Quite unfortunate

I feel like the original post is pretty clear, and this is part of what makes it great. Here are the things @Maukey says he considers for these rankings. From the first post. "I will rate on 4 categories, Sound, Convenience/Features, Comfort, and Overall, "

Looking at it through that lens, i feel the post is very thoughtful and thorough.

Especially when you consider strengths of different headphones. E.g. one headphone has objectively better ANC than another, but the headphone with worse ANC might have objectively better sound based on how it's voiced, the drivers etc.

 

[Javawocky]

Very good review, thank you.

However, when speaking about ANC headphones, IMO the first and foremost feature that should be discussed and compared is the ANC itself. The sound comes after. Unfortunately, as good as this review is, lacks any serious discussion and comparison about the most distinctive trait if this category of headphones, that is the ANC. Quite unfortunate

I'm the other way round. Sound first, ANC second, as in my case the ANC is a nice-to-have rather than absolutely essential. My priority is wireless.

 

[Maukey]

Look at my new friend! @bronco1015 you're not a good influence. You just had to mention it and peak my curiosity

 

[bronco1015]

Look at my new friend! @bronco1015 you're not a good influence. You just had to mention it and peak my curiosity

You're welcome! look forward to your thoughts on it.

 

[sindavide]

I'm the other way round. Sound first, ANC second, as in my case the ANC is a nice-to-have rather than absolutely essential. My priority is wireless.

Well, priorities are personal. Nevertheless, a comparison between ANC headphones that does not compare the effectiveness of the ANC is only half job.