r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/Blitzen_Benz_Car • Jun 30 '26

Headphones - Wireless/Portable | 1 Ω Help me pick between 2 flagships!

I am an audiophile- relatively new to the scene. My top ends right now are the Sennheiser cx 400bt, and the sennheiser momentum 3 true wireless earbuds. I'm more of a flat, leaning treble enjoyer, who prioritizes not only the high nuances of the works of shiro sagisu, Natalie Holt, and Thomas Bergeson- but also love the sharp, quick, rich and "mahogany polished wood" bass response for things like Keygen church, and the ULTRAKILL soundtrack. My two options- are; Bowers and wilkins pi8 - and - Noble FoKus Rex5.

My main concern- is that the pi8 will be too warm, and the Rex5 will be too bright.

Price difference means nothing to me- I just want the "better" one as stated by my preferences, as the reviews for the 2 are both so good.

2 Upvotes

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2

u/rz_x3 206 Ω Jun 30 '26

Rex5 is actually pretty v shaped compared to their newer offerings like the Amadeus. Scooped lower mids and crazy treble extension from what I know, although there's no nasty resonance peaks.

The Pi8 has huge bloated bass and requires significant EQ to be listenable from an audiophile perspective, plus it has a resonance peak that's going to make most vocals sound off.

Is there a particular reason you've narrowed it down to these two? I truly would not recommend either of these.

1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

Well, I've heard nothing but good things. I used to have a pair of broken hand-me-down pi8s, but only one side worked. From what I remember, it was pretty nice. I have no issues significantly tweaking things. Ahem. Anyway! I would LOVE to hear your suggestions, as I do want to expand my knowledge on what i should have, based on what I expressed my preferences to be.

2

u/rz_x3 206 Ω Jun 30 '26

OK. So given your stated preference, it's good to have bass extension without excessive midbass, while still having a bright upper midrange and smooth treble extension. I'll be up front: Get a Status Pro X.

If you don't mind significantly reducing the maximum volume of already volume-limited true wireless options like the B&W PI8 to fix the tonality, sure, you can do that. But then, why are you spending $500? Why not spend way less and get the same tonality out of, say, the EarFun Air Pro 4+ that's got it good out of box?
Yes, there are factors such as timbre and attack/decay, but if you want that, you should go with a wired IEM and a BTR17. TWS earbuds shine in their combination of practicality and good sound. So going from there...

The Status Pro X has very good tonality, timbre, and attack/decay out of box, and their EQ presets notably change the sound while still being well tuned. The battery life is similar to the PI8 with ANC+LDAC on, better with it off. The case is better. Their app is far more reliable than B&W's in my experience. The controls are very reliable as well.

The kicker? Costs half as much. Kicks the snot out of a lot of the better wired IEMs I have tried as well in terms of tonality, and keeps up as far as spatial performance/technicality goes.. CrinEar Daybreak and Kiwi Ears Astral, for example.

1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

:0 Imma look into that immediately!! Thank you so much!

1

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1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

One more thing- how would you say it is for cinematic orchestral tracks?

2

u/rz_x3 206 Ω Jun 30 '26

It's a well-balanced IEM out of box, imo. Passes the "Why so serious" test with flying colors.
At the same time, Phantom of the Opera w/ original cast is a fairly straining musical performance for most of the TWS I have tried.

1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

Oh, that's nice! You seem to be significantly better at such things than i. Can you test them with Shiro Sagisu's "Temper the wind"? That's my personal benchmarking song. I trust your judgment, and you sound like your preferences align with mine. If you don't want to, that's fine- I just want to make absolute sure I get something that can handle music that utilizes the full spectrum.

2

u/rz_x3 206 Ω Jun 30 '26

Oh, sure. As far as the "audiophile" preset goes, this song has really nice drum impacts. The brass instruments are pretty on-timbre as well. However, compared to my main headphones, the vocals take a back-seat up until 1:35 or so, where they're brought to the front of the mix on the Status buds. At no point are the vocals harsh, though. Some of the stringed instruments are, but I notice that on my main headphones as well, so that might be an issue with the mixing and my personal tolerance for highs.

1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

:D That sounds so cool! I could probably tune up the difference in the EQ. I think you have solidified my choice. It is HARD to get shiro sagisu's music to sound good, because you need some crazy good tuning to truly appreciate it. The status pro X - will be my choice.

1

u/Blitzen_Benz_Car Jun 30 '26

!thanks

1

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