N54TT t1_itm0hkm wrote on October 24, 2022 at 5:09 PM

Reply to comment by LikesTheTunaHere in Returned my Bathys and I'm kinda disappointed by attlo996

I had both. I returned the PX8s. listening to them back to back was surprising based on what others have said. the px8s were dark and claustrophobic compared the bathys. also the transparency mode on the px8s was inferior (not that either are winning any awards). I also found i preferred the controls on the bathys more than the px8s thanks to a dedicated anc button, and a dedicated assistant button. I realize sound is subjective, but to me, the bathys were the clear winner here coming from someone who really loves open backed headphones (hifiman edition xs). from a looks perspective, i did prefer the px8s. but it's not like i'm staring at them when they're on my head so....

LikesTheTunaHere t1_itm0y6k wrote on October 24, 2022 at 5:12 PM

awesome thanks.

Sadly nowhere local that has both so cant really do a back to back test.

N54TT t1_itm3l8u wrote on October 24, 2022 at 5:29 PM

yeah, it's tough. i just tossed them both on credit and returned what i didnt' like. i thought the the decision was going to take weeks to make a decision. it literally took a couple of days max. at one point, i just didnt' want to reach for the PX8s anymore. that's when i knew.

LikesTheTunaHere t1_itm45g7 wrote on October 24, 2022 at 5:33 PM

Deff an option, Id rather just not have to do it that way. I just got the QC45's in as bose had a pretty damn good deal on refurb pairs so might just go do comparison with each compared to the QC45 and see what i like the most.

Thought i needed the full anc of the qc45's but i dont think its the case anymore so wouldn't mind some better sound if possible.

N54TT t1_itmuepj wrote on October 24, 2022 at 8:21 PM

the qc45s would murder the bathys' in ANC. my sony's simply destroy them in that aspect. sound and soundstage wise for me it's no match.

LikesTheTunaHere t1_itmvguy wrote on October 24, 2022 at 8:28 PM

Since ive got the QC45's in hand now I'm just going to go test the px8's and the bathy's vs the QC45 and see what one i prefer and see what i think of each's ANC.

I really don't think i need all of the qc45's ANC so gotta do some science, i could just order both pairs but i might as well go take the trip and oogle some other nice audio shit at the shops.

ShrodingersElephant t1_itowan6 wrote on October 25, 2022 at 6:06 AM

For me the Bathys didn't have enough guts. I felt like when the song had a stirring moment, for example, when the cellos kick in on the Arrival song from the Transformers OST, the Bathys felt disappointing. Maybe they needed to be burned in more but I gave them a few longer listening sessions and found myself disappointed. I will grant you this was mostly over Bluetooth (AptX) but that's my primary use case so that's where I expect them to do well.

I have heard the PX8s have a narrow sound stage and that's not what the Bathys suffer from. The Bathys have a wide sound stage for sure and it feels like you can easily localize each instrument. I loved this aspect of them for sure. I just wish it didn't sound anemic at those higher energy moments. I think the way I would describe it would be at the point where the energy really kicks in it feels like the dynamic range cuts out a bit in the mid to low range. No amount of EQing changed this for me. When I'm listening while working I love those higher energy moments to keep my heart pumping and my heart just wasn't into these headphones.