i don't have a very scientific way to describe it, but i also have a fold 4 and it's not lossless. it just says aptx. however, i can say with 100% certainty that the bathys sounds better over aptx compared to my wife's iphone12 pro over aac. just sounds like seeing the sun through the clouds if that makes any sense lol.

The hissing i don't refute. but the light associated with the hissing i can't replicate. the hissing is there regardless. i should also state that I don't think it's that bad.

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.

so weird. i'm not currently experiencing what you're talking about. toggled it on and off like 10x to see if i can hear a difference in both ears. led on or off i don't hear any difference with transparency on. i wonder if you actually did have a dud.... i've never owned focals before, but from what i gather, aren't they prone to QA issues?

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.

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....

I still have my bathys. i had both the px8s and these and sent back the px8s. as for transparency, yes i agree on the noise floor when it's on, but it didn't bother me at all compared to the px8s. as for bluetooth connectivity, it's rock solid. and the noise floor in either of the ANC modes is extremely minimal compared to transparency. I'm not as active as you are. most of my use case is in my office working and monitoring things around me (dog, toddler). so i can't speak to activity related tasks. I know they purposefully didnt' go overboard on ANC to retain the best sound quality possible and it really shows on these cans compared to the px8s and for sure far beyond my ole trusty xm4s. everyone has a use case that's important to them of course.