[Powerwolf]

I´ve used the MDR-1000X for almost two years and i am very pleased with it. But sometimes i wished there is more bass in heavy metal songs.

Can someone tell me the XM3 bass boost is ideal for metal ?

Thank you very much

 

[davidmthekidd]

Android 8/LDAC question. Do you guys also have to change LDAC playback quality to 990kbps from adaptive bitrate each time you connect the phone/headphones? Is there a way to keep it on 990kbps?

I leave mine at "Quality", the signal can cut off at times when walking around NYC.

 

[iamkornholio]

I´ve used the MDR-1000X for almost two years and i am very pleased with it. But sometimes i wished there is more bass in heavy metal songs.

Can someone tell me the XM3 bass boost is ideal for metal ?

Thank you very much

I listen to a lot of Papa Roach, Shinedown, etc. After dialing the bass BACK some, i think they sound great. EQ settings I use are posted earlier in the thread.

 

[betula]

I leave mine at "Quality", the signal can cut off at times when walking around NYC.

I only experienced cut offs at very busy places like Heathrow. 'Optimised for audio quality' is the same as 990 kbps. 'Best effort' is the same as adaptive bitrate. Each time I reconnect the headphones I have to change this setting to 'Optimised for audio quality'. It automatically falls back to 'Best effort' if I disconnect the headphones. My question is if there is a way to keep the settings at hq.

 

[heartnsoul45]

It distorted

Is that suppose to be normal cos too much bass? If the app has the extra bass feature shouldn’t the headphones be able to take it without distortion ? I’m wondering cos on mine the left ear has a crackling noise when playing a high bass song it almost sounds like the speaker has blown. But just the left side. Anyone else having this issue ????

 

[davidmthekidd]

Rtings uploaded their review and comparison of the M3's.

 

[Yreme]

This is hilarious ^_^ But is the bass really that bad out of the box? I read and watched a number of reviews and formed an initial impression that these are *the* ANC cans to get. But then I came over here to get the real scoop and everyone is crapping all over the XM3’s when listened to with the stock EQ. So, it’s a pretty strong signal to me that they’re not even worth trying since I don’t really want to EQ them across my iPhone / iPad / Mac / PC

 

[ryanmatic]

But is the bass really that bad out of the box?

I don’t think so. It’s more emphasized than it should be, but that’s not always a bad thing when listening in a noisy environment, even when NC is on. And it’s not that hard to tame the extra bass, either by using the EQ in Sony’s app (which persists on the headphones themselves), or by using a better wired source (eg. a Dragonfly Red).

So yes, the ANC is exceptional. The sound out of the box is fun, and becomes pretty great with a little extra effort.

 

[SilverEars]

Rtings uploaded their review and comparison of the M3's.

Seems like they didn't have much to change so they changed the frequency response. Why is there slightly more lag on the newer headphone over the dated one? AptX and SBC has slightly (5%) more lag on the M3 compared to M2. There should be improvements, not worse performance.

Pads are better as well (I personally love the feel of these pads). They are very comfortable for sure, but the look of these when worn, it protudes a bit much compared to the QC 35, and not as roomy inside the cups. I find them comfortable, but may not be for everybody (for those that need more cup room).

Other than that, these sound fantastic with high quality recordings with LDAC-HQ connection with my little Shangling M0. I've been blown away by how good the Marantz Demo CD FLAC files sound with these. No EQ either. I must have played this particular horn track over and over again due to how detailed and smooth it sounded. I like the stock response, and bass doesn't really interfere with majority of the recordings (it doesn't warm up the response if the mids aren't too rich).

Yup, the sound is very good. I noticed that these do perform very good after trying high quality recordings, and it does indeed output high quality sound with the LDAC-HQ connection. I'm very happy with these, but would be happier if I can get access to music on my PC via usb with LDAC-HQ connection.

 

[SilverEars]

Rtings seem to be a bit biased toward Bose. I steer to the side of not agreeing with their subjective impressions at times.

The measurement guy states that QC 35 is more linear across the spectrum, and I think it's because he sees it that way with his eyes. Because seeing they get close to the dotted line in the avg.

But, if you look at it carefully, the treble isn't a continuous line with low tolerance, but squiggly line. Which means there are several peaks there that just happens to line-up evenly. That is not an even response. That squiggly treble creates a shrill treble sound. I found the treble to be not refined and emphasized. I think it's due to the treble response being peaks and valleys (look at 6.5k, that's a peak. It's a peak since it's surrounded by significant dips). I found the M3 to be more even sounding by ear.

 

[ubs28]

Does this new Sony MX3 finally supports multiple bluetooth devices and intelligently switches between the bluetooth devices without having the user to select the source that is playing like the Bose QC 35II does? If not, I will happily wait for the new Bose QC then.

 

[rkw]

Is there a usb to BT transmitter with LDAC or AptX HD?

I don't see any with USB input, but there are aptX HD transmitters that have optical Toslink input, for example:
https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Adapter-Headphone/dp/B07D1JJBJR
https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-HiGoing-Digital/dp/B07FSFF3M9
You can achieve what you want by combining it with a USB to Toslink converter:
https://www.signstek.com/goods.php?id=42

 

[SilverEars]

You can achieve what you want by combining it with a USB to Toslink converter, which are common:
https://www.amazon.com/Signstek-Coaxial-Converter-Convert-Analogue/dp/B00FEDHHKE

These are usually limited in bandwidth.

If you look at the spec it states: Supported Sample Rate: 16Bit 32k, 44.1k, 48k

I think all USB to optical are 16 Bit, and it's better to get a PCI soundcard with optical output.

AptX and AptX HD are both lossy due to the 4:1 compression algorithm. Both doesn't get to 16/44 lossless. However, LDAC can transmit lossless 16/44 no problem '

It's a shame there is no LDAC transmitter. I don't know what's up with Windows, and no codec support.

 

[SilverEars]

I don’t think so. It’s more emphasized than it should be, but that’s not always a bad thing when listening in a noisy environment, even when NC is on. And it’s not that hard to tame the extra bass, either by using the EQ in Sony’s app (which persists on the headphones themselves), or by using a better wired source (eg. a Dragonfly Red).

So yes, the ANC is exceptional. The sound out of the box is fun, and becomes pretty great with a little extra effort.

Does this mean the EQ setting from the app will be save on the headphone so that EQ will remain active no matter what device you connect to?

That Sony EQ is so watered down that it's almost useless. I wish they have EQ like Jaybird apps. I really don't see why Sony can't provide better EQ like Jaybird. Would be nice to be able to save this EQ to the headphone.

 

[rkw]

I think all USB to optical are 16 Bit

Just search around, higher res is available,:
https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN®-CM6631-Coaxial-Optical-Convertor/dp/B017QP1WHG/
https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Coaxial-Optical-Converter-Recording/dp/B075882K4X/

However I think obsessing over this (or LDAC vs aptX HD) is unproductive compared to things that make a real difference such as the choice of headphone. For a PC source and in a relatively quiet environment, you can choose from headphones that may have lesser (or no) ANC but better sound, such as the B&W PX or one of the high-end AT models.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/21/16140238/audio-technica-dsr9bt-wireless-headphones-review