[Shinoke]

Can you H9 be used plugged in using USB to your computer and phone?
 
I don't think the 1000X can for some bizare reason?
 
No problem with the Momentum Wireless or Symphony 1s.
 
H9 cost a fair bit more but yeah, it's around £100 or $100 than typically plastic + pleather headphones.
So seems reasonable as you get a removable battery - so proper longevity without issue, longer lasting lamb skin, leather, and aluminium.
 
Hopefully not too heavy with those materials though.

 

[buzzlulu]

H9 does not arrive until tomorrow.

Which headphones can be plugged into a USB port? Bose QC35, Sony X1000, B&W P7 and B&O all cannot.

 

[Ling Vu]

H9 does not arrive until tomorrow.

Which headphones can be plugged into a USB port? Bose QC35, Sony X1000, B&W P7 and B&O all cannot.

There is DSR9BT from Audio Technica, the pair does not even have the normal 3.5mm jack, featuring aptx HD (first pair of headphones have this I think) and is being sold for around 600 bucks in Japan. Rumour has it the world debut will be at the coming CES and I am getting excited

 

[FYLegend]

It turns out the demo unit at Best Buy was made as such with no detachable cable and NC always on (none of the buttons work). It was also plugged into an extension cable that ends in TRS instead of TRRS, so the Quick Listen gesture is the only one that works. It also has creaking as did the MDR-100AAP on demo. Therefore I'm not sure how reliable demo units are for sound.
 
Are they just as bassy with NC off as NC on? With the demo unit wired I was listening to the orchestra version of Ryuichi Sakamoto's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (you can find it on Spotify), and during the buildup you can really feel depth of the tympani drum. My MSR7 and M50x doesn't seem to have that sort of punchiness so I'm not sure if it was meant to be like that or if the DSP is introducing some EQ to the lows. Also, Sakamoto is wearing headphones on the album cover, it's blurry but they're probably MDR-Z7
 
Not sure what to think of the DSR9BT. Audio-Technica should have released one product to kill two birds with one stone instead of a USB/Bluetooth-only and standard cable version. There was one review that suggested the SR9 was only a little step up from the MSR7 (they thought the bass was too airy) and has some traits of the WS1100. Not sure if the DSR9BT would be any better.

 

[mchurgin]

Head Band Padding?
 
I noticed the padding at the headband Is a different shape from front to back of the headphone to the other. The front is a smooth curve from bottom of padding to top of metal band while the back has a little bit of a straight piece going down about 1/4" from the top. Looks very uniform but one side different from the other. Just want to see if any others are like this. Is it by design?

 

[Chris Aubeck]

Head Band Padding?

I noticed the padding at the headband Is a different shape from front to back of the headphone to the other. The front is a smooth curve from bottom of padding to top of metal band while the back has a little bit of a straight piece going down about 1/4" from the top. Looks very uniform but one side different from the other. Just want to see if any others are like this. Is it by design?

I don't see or feel anything different between the front and back. If there is, how could it be not be by design?

 

[mchurgin]

I don't see or feel anything different between the front and back. If there is, how could it be not be by design?

Are you saying how could it be, or how could it not be by design?
 
I think the back of mine the foam is cut a slight bit straighter from top to bottom compared to the front. It is very uniform from left to right just more straight than the front. Have had them for three weeks now but never noticed. The leather is tight all around and shows no sign of not being the correct size for the foam, so it might just be cut slightly different.
 
Thanks

 

[Ling Vu]

Not sure what to think of the DSR9BT. Audio-Technica should have released one product to kill two birds with one stone instead of a USB/Bluetooth-only and standard cable version. There was one review that suggested the SR9 was only a little step up from the MSR7 (they thought the bass was too airy) and has some traits of the WS1100. Not sure if the DSR9BT would be any better.

Yeah, I did think they should include ANC as well. Some said the AT staff confirmed the drivers and some little stuff inside (a DAC?) the DSR9BT are designed for it only (yeah even different from the SR9) and that keeps me hopeful.

The 1000X just like other Sony phones I tried or currently own, I dont know to describe properly but their sound signature are the only ones that can stay vividly in my mind for a long time and most are positive impression. No other brand has that consistency to my ears, no longer a Sony fanboy since 7 years ago but maybe soon to be back

 

[tommat]

 
Just curious why you didn't give the Sennheiser PXC550 a try....?

Actually I have tried PCX550, the sound is excellent - I think better than Sony or Bose - and ANC is slightly worse but adequate. The problem with these however is that the maximum volume is not loud enough for anything but the mainstream highly compressed recordings. It has been flagged up on this forum as well as in many Amazon reviews, if you listen to any properly recorded music they are simply too quiet (at least for me and few other people who share this opinion). I guess it could be fixed by firmware, as if you apply a flat EQ and bump the volume by 6 dB or so they are clearly capable of going louder without distortion and the volume is then adequate. I do don't have this option on iPhone though which is my main source while travelling, at least not natively.  While easily fixable, I would not count on Sennheiser to do it, they must have had reasons for limiting volume to this level (battery life ?). 

 

[Chris Aubeck]

Are you saying how could it be, or how could it not be by design?

I think the back of mine the foam is cut a slight bit straighter from top to bottom compared to the front. It is very uniform from left to right just more straight than the front. Have had them for three weeks now but never noticed. The leather is tight all around and shows no sign of not being the correct size for the foam, so it might just be cut slightly different.

Thanks

Ha, that's what happens when I multitask.

In any case, I don't see any anomalies or asymmetries in my headphones, so I hope yours are otherwise perfect.

 

[Level]

 
Actually I have tried PCX550, the sound is excellent - I think better than Sony or Bose - and ANC is slightly worse but adequate. The problem with these however is that the maximum volume is not loud enough for anything but the mainstream highly compressed recordings. It has been flagged up on this forum as well as in many Amazon reviews, if you listen to any properly recorded music they are simply too quiet (at least for me and few other people who share this opinion). I guess it could be fixed by firmware, as if you apply a flat EQ and bump the volume by 6 dB or so they are clearly capable of going louder without distortion and the volume is then adequate. I do don't have this option on iPhone though which is my main source while travelling, at least not natively.  While easily fixable, I would not count on Sennheiser to do it, they must have had reasons for limiting volume to this level (battery life ?). 

Thank you for the reality check as this could be an issue for me, definitely needs to be further explored before I acquire. It is frustrating to observe so many qualifying models, yet each with their own peculiar defect/s: that one squeaks, this one isn't loud enough, that one doesn't have the necessary features, this one has weak ANC implementation, that one has mediocre BT implementation, this one has less than stellar sound quality, that one has poor battery life.
 
With all their R&D experience, with vast resources, and with years and decades of experience it's as though all of these major manufacturers are totally incapable of hitting a home run every now and then. How stupid is that?
 
You know the Bilderberg group has been busy....and what they've been up to. The organization responsible for the dissemination of global stupidity.

 

[dweaver]

Actually I have tried PCX550, the sound is excellent - I think better than Sony or Bose - and ANC is slightly worse but adequate. The problem with these however is that the maximum volume is not loud enough for anything but the mainstream highly compressed recordings. It has been flagged up on this forum as well as in many Amazon reviews, if you listen to any properly recorded music they are simply too quiet (at least for me and few other people who share this opinion). I guess it could be fixed by firmware, as if you apply a flat EQ and bump the volume by 6 dB or so they are clearly capable of going louder without distortion and the volume is then adequate. I do don't have this option on iPhone though which is my main source while travelling, at least not natively.  While easily fixable, I would not count on Sennheiser to do it, they must have had reasons for limiting volume to this level (battery life ?). 

I actually listen to a lot of older music much have a massive dynamic range especially the classical stuff and the PXC550 is adequate (for me) but it is an area of concern that needs to be tested for each buyer because they definitely are not as loud as most headohones. I bet Sennheiser being EU has to make the headphone to EU standards so has deliberately capped the volume. For what it's worth I can crank the volume to max and still listen BUT it is not a volume level I find comfortable to listen at for more than a few minutes.

 

[Level]

I actually listen to a lot of older music much have a massive dynamic range especially the classical stuff and the PXC550 is adequate (for me) but it is an area of concern that needs to be tested for each buyer because they definitely are not as loud as most headohones. I bet Sennheiser being EU has to make the headphone to EU standards so has deliberately capped the volume. For what it's worth I can crank the volume to max and still listen BUT it is not a volume level I find comfortable to listen at for more than a few minutes.

That pretty much kills the PXC550 for me, for now at least. Not that I like blasting my brains out....don't do that, but it seems like it is semi-seriously disabled. Acting on the presumption this is a software / firmware solution, where are the hackers when you need them?? And if this EU issues is indeed the case, where is the Americas version Sennheiser???

 

[Shinoke]

I really don't get the volume stuff. I've not tried them but most headphones I don't come anywhere near the max volume. Not even half way I think.
Be kind to your ears. Who wants to go deaf in old age.

 

[Shinoke]

H9 does not arrive until tomorrow.

Which headphones can be plugged into a USB port? Bose QC35, Sony X1000, B&W P7 and B&O all cannot.

 
Definitive Technology Symphony 1 and Sennheiser Momentum 2 Wireless, and the Sennheiser PXC550
 
Can't believe the X1000 can't be plugged in, seeing as that was a big feature of the MDR-1ADAC
 
To me plugging in usb and going all digital seems like the way forward. That's what they marketed with the MDR-1ADAC, but I wonder if the actual end result matters?
E.g. you can have that technical advantage, which seems much better on paper - on a spec sheet/marketing material, but other heaphones could simply produce better sound.
 
Anyone tried the MDR-1ADAC?