[HiFiRebel]

@HiFiRebel what do you think of them?

I like them! I have only been testing them at home in my home office while working. I put my music on shuffle and listened to them for a few hours while working. I didn't test any of noise cancelling and the like. But sound quality wise, they are good. I had to max the bass on my custom EQ, but other than that they seem to work well for me.

However, I mostly need wireless headphones for the gym and while cycling. So the main tests still remain. Tomorrow gym, day after cycling.

 

[HiFiRebel]

I can't seem to decide on EQ custom curve settings. I think I lack bass, then the next track comes along and the bass is too boomy. I think I have changed the curve a hundred times already.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I can't seem to decide on EQ custom curve settings. I think I lack bass, then the next track comes along and the bass is too boomy. I think I have changed the curve a hundred times already.

The bass is boomy, no doubt about that. Not sure how one can find it lacking as even at Treble+ it can be excessive comparing to traditional hi-fi tunning of most IEMs.

 

[HiFiRebel]

The bass is boomy, no doubt about that. Not sure how one can find it lacking as even at Treble+ it can be excessive comparing to traditional hi-fi tunning of most IEMs.

I like bass. I'm a bass head It's boomy on some tracks, on others is not too bad. I seem to be struggling with the amount of bass. Some tracks sound flat, while others there seems to be too much of it. More testing is needed

 

[HiFiRebel]

I'm happy to report that the headphones survived my hard workout session. However, there are a couple of things I've noticed.

1) the sound quality drops a little when noise cancelling is enabled. I'm not sure if that's normal and a feature of the noise cancelling technology. I guess there have to be some kind of drawbacks. The difference is not massive, but is noticeable. I'm not sure if that's just my unit, or that's normal.
2) when I have noise cancelling enabled, I can hear faint cracking in both headphones from time to time. Only noticeable when there is a quiet part of a track, especially if there is bass at the same time. Again, I'm not sure if this is just my unit or that's across the board. It disappears completely when I disable noise cancelling. Also it's not there all the time. I'm not sure what's causing it.

Anyone else noticed these?

 

[Deathman666]

1) ANC always reduces sound quality, it's like that for all models.

2)I haven't noticed this, but I use ANC very little, precisely because of the worse sound

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I'm happy to report that the headphones survived my hard workout session. However, there are a couple of things I've noticed.

1) the sound quality drops a little when noise cancelling is enabled. I'm not sure if that's normal and a feature of the noise cancelling technology. I guess there have to be some kind of drawbacks. The difference is not massive, but is noticeable. I'm not sure if that's just my unit, or that's normal.
2) when I have noise cancelling enabled, I can hear faint cracking in both headphones from time to time. Only noticeable when there is a quiet part of a track, especially if there is bass at the same time. Again, I'm not sure if this is just my unit or that's across the board. It disappears completely when I disable noise cancelling. Also it's not there all the time. I'm not sure what's causing it.

Anyone else noticed these?

Active noise cancelling is a noise, inverse phase of what headphones microphones can pick up from the environment. It will impact sound quality.
I suggest to map Noise Cancelling Off to touch control, only ANC and Ambient Sounds are mapped by default.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Haven't noticed that either.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Thank you all. More testing is needed.

I don't plan on using noise cancelling that often too. I was just playing with it while at the gym. It works well, but my gym is not a very loud place, so I don't need to have it on. Especially when it impacts the sound quality. I much rather have an odd noise coming to my ears than drop sound quality.

EDIT: yes, I have noise cancelling off option enabled without touch inputs. I have re-mapped inputs to be the most logical and easy to remember

 

[galaxygrrl]

EDIT: yes, I have noise cancelling off option enabled without touch inputs. I have re-mapped inputs to be the most logical and easy to remember

Sony's don't let you do that.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Sony's don't let you do that.

I know. That's crazy. Unless it's this way ↓↓, then I don't mind. This is the way it should be (in my opinion)

 

[davidmthekidd]

My pair also exhibit the same drop in SQ when ANC is enabled, from my understanding it is somewhat expected; but if I recall, Sennheiser's or Sony's dont drop in SQ as much as the AZ80.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

I know. That's crazy. Unless it's this way ↓↓, then I don't mind. This is the way it should be (in my opinion)

There is no right or wrong when it comes to controls assignment, except may be default mapping.
I prefer it this way.

 

[davidmthekidd]

Has anyone else noticed the AZ80's Bass response & Performance changes based on the song? Sometimes I'm shocked at how well the bass response is and in some cases I feel meh.

 

[HiFiRebel]

I just came back from my cycling session and here are my thoughts:

OK, WOW! I'm DEFINITELY keeping these!

That's all! Thank you for reading!

OK, no, I have more to say.

I left the house with the buds in my ears (noise cancelling was off, no music was playing). Locked up, sat on my bike, got the phone out and thought to myself, I'll check the noise cancelling again. I switched it on... and SILENCE! I couldn't believe my ears. No wind noise, nothing. A total silence! I decided to cycle with it on and wow! What a difference. No wind noise! It felt like I was watching a music video where someone removed the sound and replaced it with music. I'm amazed. It has totally transformed my ride. The lack of wind noise meant that I could listen to music on much lower volume. I could think and concentrate on the ride, etc. A totally different experience. I know the novelty will wear off and it will become a normal thing, but that first ride was magical! It felt like my mind was in a music room, relaxing and listening to music, while my body was riding a bike

Disclaimer: I cycle offroad around my local woods and dirtroads, so there is no traffic at all. Only maybe 10-15% of it is on (not very busy) roads. Your mileage can vary. I suspect it would be a different experience when cycling on busy city streets. I'm not sure I would want to be totally cut off of the world then. Even though I cycle in quiet places, I kept noise cancelling to 75%, just so I'm not totally cut off.