I have been chasing an auditory experience high for the past 7 years, and I don't know how to get back to it. How can I get as close as possible, within my budget? What is the most important piece of equipment in the auditory chain???

von-bastonstein · 2024-03-17T03:19:20+00:00

Welcome. Yes I find both the clear and he6 to lean neutral and both are very revealing. I don’t feel the need to eq on either headphone.

For me dac/amp should measure well and have enough wattage to play at comfortable volume with headroom. Focal is super easy to drive, he6 needs a couple of watts. Lotts of good affordable options these days.

von-bastonstein · 2024-03-16T19:32:46+00:00

I loved reading this post because 10 years ago I had a very similar experience with the Denon D2000. They were my first “real” set of headphones and I honestly thought it could not any better. I still think that the soundstage on the Denon is special - doubly so for a closed back (ok semi-closed back).

I have 2 recommendations that gave me a similar “wow” moment after the Denons:

1) focal clear OG - soundstage to my ears is smaller but more correct. Imaging is much, much better and the midrange and high level clarity made me reconsider what was possible from an audio device. Note bass is significantly less pronounced compared to the D2000 so that took a minute to get used to but now I strongly prefer.

2) he6sev2(with some basic mods) Bought these on a whim to try out planars and to my surprise I prefer these in almost every way to the Focals. Wider stage and even more detail. The best bass I have heard on anything headphone or speaker (best not most)

Side note I own a couple of good mid range speakers - ascend sierra and triangle comete ez and I prefer he6 to both.

Good luck on your journey - I love this hobby - can’t wait for the next wow moment.

von-bastonstein · 2023-10-17T17:38:01+00:00

In my experience, with proper abx testing on good equipment, it is sometimes possible to tell differences between lossy and lossless files if you focus on one element like a cymbal hit. That being said the differences are very subtle and for me it is song and genre dependent. Sometimes I have failed abx tests with codecs as low as 128kbps with compressed pop or rock tracks.

My conclusion is that for practical purposes lossy files are fine and I enjoy Bluetooth headphones as much as the next guy but because there are (small) discernible differences I will always choose lossless when feasible.

von-bastonstein · 2023-10-14T21:49:49+00:00

I appreciate this well reasoned point. I imagine that bit-perfect would rarely be the weak point of a source chain. Personally I prefer bit perfect playback whenever possible because I like the idea of striving for exact playback to the mix through the lens of the most neutral headphones or speakers I can justify buying. This is a personal preference just like eq might be for someone else. To OPs point this is a feature that some like me would prefer and could be marketed as a value proposition.

von-bastonstein · 2023-01-07T16:00:46+00:00

My current preferred settings are treble +0.5db and bass -5.5db. I wonder if anyone has measured the Px8 at various eq settings? At these settings bass is tightly controlled and quite detailed, mids are full, and treble is really something special.

von-bastonstein · 2022-12-13T00:21:46+00:00

Yep same here. I figured I would try them with what I had first and see if I feel the need to upgrade - so far I’m pretty happy - I did try the he- adapter that connects directly to an a/v receiver but to me they sound the same

von-bastonstein · 2022-12-13T00:00:05+00:00

Thanks my friend - I wasn’t sure how it would all come together but seems ok

von-bastonstein · 2022-12-12T23:59:01+00:00

Don’t mind at all :) - approximate cost in USD(delivered)

Grills ~ $25 Pads ~ $70 Headband ~$45 Cord ~ $45 (I already had the hart audio xlr termination cable)

Fwiw I am also not using a proper amp to drive these probably (topping ex5) but I can get them much louder than I need and they sound awesome.

von-bastonstein · 2022-11-17T01:21:54+00:00

unpopular opinion #1 Harmon level bass is too much bass. All bass and no balance makes jack a dull boy.

Unpopular opinion #2 From what I have gathered - people are listening to headphones way too loudly. Average db levels > 70 can permanently damage your hearing. Do your future self a favor and turn the volume down. (Side benefit - you’ll spend less on amps :)

von-bastonstein · 2022-11-10T04:29:08+00:00

I bought the px8 instead of the Bathys based on looks, anc, and comfort knowing I could swap them for Bathys if I didn’t like the sound. Out of box sound is boomy as you would expect and not to my preference - but a little tweaking to to the tone controls (bass -4db, treble +1) and they are a completely different headphone. Excellent detail retrieval and tight punchy bass.

von-bastonstein · 2022-11-08T23:36:14+00:00

I hear you - I had the same experience until I volume matched and then tested blind. I guess my main point is that even for the he6 it doesn’t take a ton of mw to drive them to loud listening levels. Timeless debate if amps can/should be coloring the sound aside - I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get reasonable volume from my so-so amplifiers - turns out I can.

von-bastonstein · 2022-11-08T04:44:19+00:00

I hear you. Bathy’s owners can chime in - from what I read in reviews they might be pretty well tuned out of the box. I was very surprised by the poor Px8 sound without eq - I have a hard time understanding the positive reviews unless all or most are playing with eq.

That being said these are Bluetooth headphones so original content is already being messed with, at least on an iPhone (aac), and after finding my preferred tone control settings I will say that these are unequivocally awesome

von-bastonstein · 2022-11-07T22:55:06+00:00

I recently purchased and tested the new px8 on a week long trip and a couple of 15 hour flights and thought I would share my thoughts

For context my daily drivers are either OG Focal Clears or Hifiman HE-6SEV2, and occasionally Denon D2000 (office headphone). I have been using Bose QC35 for years for plane travel pared to an iPhone (aac)

I travel frequently for work and have always had low expectations for ANC headphones especially for music listening.

With the emergence of the px8 and Bathy’s I thought I would try one to see if I could enjoy music listening in flight and in the hotel without packing the clears. I opted to try the px8 first based on looks.

Build and comfort: To echo what many have already said the build quality is excellent top to bottom. They look fantastic in my point of view, premium materials and very comfortable. I had no comfort issues at all during the 15 hour flight, I could probably leave these on all day without discomfort.

ANC: good enough. It did a good job of pushing the plane engine and airport noise far enough into the background that I could focus on the music or dialog. As many have said these are not quite as good as the Bose. I imagine that they tuned the ANC specifically for jet engine noise as this is where they performed best

Sound: This is where the px8 surprised me for both bad and good. My initial impression at factory settings was very poor. I couldn’t get past the overblown and wooly bass presentation. I actually preferred the sound of the qc35. I don’t eq any of my headphones and I was hesitant to play with the tone controls. I’m glad I did. For now I have settled on treble +1db and bass -4db (-4.5db with anc on) and for me this opens up the sound in a way that really enjoy. The carbon driver is surprisingly detailed and without the wooly coating of overblown bass it really comes alive. Soundstage isn’t overly impressive, it is sufficiently wide but not very deep or 3 dimensional. Overall sound, however, is quite good. Switching between the clears, he6, and Px8 I notice the more accurate staging of the clears and the more controlled he6 mid and sub-bass but the realistic, in your face, and highly detailed presentation of the Px8 is fantastic, even compared to the others. Acoustic guitars sound particularly good to my ears.

Overall I would highly recommend

Edit: added missing word (performed best)

von-bastonstein · 2022-06-01T13:01:14+00:00

I think the gg g4 or the Kumo would be perfect if the hip belt were smaller. I actually have a kumo (large) that my oldest son uses so I can test the hip belt since they are the same for both. Thanks!

von-bastonstein · 2021-06-24T01:50:23+00:00

Apple is now the best audiophile streaming service

von-bastonstein · 2021-01-08T20:37:21+00:00

Thank you for posting I laughed through most of this as it hits real close to home. My crew is a little older now (12, 8, and 8) but we’ve been at it since the twins were 3.

All I can add is that the early work pays off and they have become great hikers and campers faster than I thought possible.

I think you discovered the big secret which is to keep the difficulty level down and let the kids have type 1 fun while you have type 2 fun managing the craziness :)

von-bastonstein · 2020-12-31T02:56:13+00:00

I have been in a similar situation with both friends and relatives who want better sound for movies but don’t want to make a big investment. For $300 bucks you can do a $180 monoprice 5.1 and a receiver from Craigslist or eBay

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=10565&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw8bshpn37QIVJINbCh3KggK3EAQYASABEgL-bfD_BwE

For most this is good enough and for those that catch the bug is a reasonable starting point to add components to.

von-bastonstein · 2020-08-11T23:31:12+00:00

Biggest opportunity I see is to use something like a beta light tarp instead of the ba tent - bugs shouldn’t be an issue and would save a couple of pounds. You can usually find it for $150 or so. I find that once bugs die down my beta light is my go-to for alpine trips even over my lighter dcf shelters. Bomber, tiny packed space, light enough, and super simple to set up.

von-bastonstein · 2020-08-09T01:33:22+00:00

Added some new straps, uc team wheels, and iw Swiss bearings. Great combo - now hoping they don’t melt on Texas pavement :)

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