What dac you running again? TBH while the GT was a hair spicy I dont remeber it being super bad, so maybe dont go masskobo or CFA3 (which are both on the spicier side). You considered Orr?
I technically still have the Amber 3 but I’m going to downgrade (unless I get a single-ended amp that pairs well with it).
My current source gear is a mess;
Lamp Amber 3
CMA fifteen
GS-X Mini
I’m going to get rid of at least two of these three lol. I still haven’t decided on which.
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I mean, have you thought about quick silver? Cavalli liquid fair may also be a solid option. Given the C15 is the only other thing you have for a dac I would probably keep the amber just TBH.
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Never crossed my mind lol. I’ll do some reading on it.
Other options would be a&s forge (or maybe even of mogwai) and Mz2 fwiw
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This is almost entirely off topic, but I seem to be travelling more this year than I have for a while.
So I’m looking are potentially replacing my Bose QC15 (circa 2009) noise cancelling headphones.
The replacement must be
Extremely comfortable - somewhat subjective, but nothing heavy, on Ear or in Ear
Have excellent noise cancellation - this has to have improved since 2009
Be reasonably compact when stored
Sound quality here is just a nice to have, I use them exclusively on planes, predominantly for the noise cancelling, often with no source connected to them at all.
Bluetooth is a bonus, since modern phones don’t have headphone sockets, and I really don’t want to carry a DAC or adapter around unless it’s necessary.
I suspect the Bathys fail on at least the “Extremely Comfortable” and “Compact” fronts, though I’m interested in feedback to the contrary. So I’m probably looking at some of the more usual consumer noise cancelling headphones front.
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I remember @elementze having the Bathys for a time. Maybe he can chime in?
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I had the Bathys for a few longer trips last year. They are fine. If you can get a set used for ~$500 it could be a good buy. New for $800 is a hard no for me.
Comfort was good for the first hour (on my egg shaped, bald head). But then I got tip of head hotspots.
Compactness wasn’t particularly great either, flatter than other Focal in their case, but since they don’t fold more than headphone swivel, the overall footprint isn’t much smaller than a Radiance.
Noise cancelling was mediocre by modern standards. Maybe on par with OG Sony or Bose noise cancelling. Useful/good enough, but not great.
Tuning is much better than Sony/Bose. But to really get the best from them you have to use DAC mode, and at that point might as well have a DAP with wired IEMs.
Maybe there have been firmware updates since I had mine, but there were weird volume control issues in DAC mode (conflicting between phone volume and headphone hardware volume).
I sold mine mainly due to comfort not being good enough for long international flights. I use a DAP with IEMs and/or Focal Radiance for travel now. Or I go full convenience mode with wireless noise cancelling IEMs (ie airpod pro, pixel bud pro, Sony “some long letter/number combination”, etc…). The Bathys had too many compromises to work for me.
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That was pretty much what I’d assumed, it has to be something I can wear for 4+ hours at a time without fatigue.
I just can’t do IEM’s for that long, so those are all out.
Why not a QC45? The 25 I had was one of the most comfortable headphones I ever wore… 16hr flights without taking them off. Most of the flight without music just cancelling noise
Very short flights I just take my AirPods Pro 2 these day
EDIT: I might actually hunt down a new QC35 as it seems the 45 is a newer design. I don’t know if it’s as comfortable as the previous gen. Seems less so. I’d miss the USB-C though.
Radiance? Passive isolation, but does it well and with good comfort on my head.
If sound is secondary, and comfort, noise cancelling, battery life are the priority, I would probably try the Sony WH-1000XM5. When I tried then, they folded good enough.
I was actually talking to a fellow Onkyo A800 enthusiast about Bluetooth headphones last week. Someone recommend me the below link. Basically, you could try to turn one of your close back headphones with good noise isolation and turn them into a Bluetooth headphone. I myself never tried this yet, but it’s a pretty cool idea.
https://www.plussoundaudio.com/cust…e=X8-Series-Custom-Bluetooth-Cable-p250275677
HD800 blutooth cable
It would be my default, I really like the comfort of the 15 just wondering what other suggestions are out there. Sony was the big competitor with arguably better noise cancelling years ago. I just don’t really keep track of noise cancelling headphones.
The whole focal form factor is too much for me travelling I think, and passive isolation just isn’t enough for me on planes.
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I haven’t heard a pair myself, but what about the Sennheiser Momentum 4? I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews and the feedback I’ve read is mostly positive.
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For Bluetooth for pure noise cancellation that is pretty cheap, I use the Sony WH-XB910N. Everything is pretty mediocre, but the noise cancellation is pretty amazing. For better sound quality, LDAC codec and turn the bass EQ all the down make it sound pretty ok. Comfort is pretty good for me on 4 hours flight, but your ears will get hot.
I had those, they are pretty ok. For noise cancellation though, it’s not better than Sony’s. They sound better though, for sure. Actually, I do remember them being very comfortable. I never used them on planes, but the noise cancellation wasn’t that bad. So the Sennheiser Momentum 4 might be a good choice.
They look super comfortable compared to other ANC headphones I’ve seen. In the past I’ve tried the Sony WH-1000XM3 and the Bose QC25. Sound was decent for both and comfort definitely was best with the Sony.
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Thanks for the pointer, I think it’ll probably be one of the Momentum4, 1000MX5 or Bose 700.
The noticeably worse ANC might knock the Sennheiser out, one of my primary use cases is no music playing, while reading on a plane, but I can’t imagine it’s any worse than my 10 year old QC15’s.
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I had a pair for a short time and would pick the regular QC series 10/10 times over it
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What was the reason for preference?
Just comfort.