Trying to spread word of these and currently writing a followup to my review of Oluv's project, but r/headphones is maybe a bit too mainstream for it so thought to drop this here and within a few days I should have the followup ready with measurements etc and post it as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/?f=flair_name:"Review"
I usually don’t write long reviews as the things to consider and relay more often than not condense into a few straightforward comparisons, but this time it’s a bit different…
(there's also a tldr at the end)
Reviewer (about me)
I am an audio hobbyist, perhaps enthusiast with over two decades of love for music and thus audio behind me so far. In my early teens I noticed that the music that already gave me so much could improve as an experience by having better earphones than whatever I happened to have or by… sourcing… higher bitrate MP3’s to play on my Sony Walkman CD-player. A bit more bass energized my music, less bright and peaky could be listened louder with comfort. Simple things.
Nowadays I’ve systematically tested and/or measured around two hundred headphones and IEMs and spent some moments with much more, measured in-room responses of speaker setups for treatment and DSP, spent tens of thousands on the hobby and I’m currently wondering how I could get my HRTF measured to more deeply understand and optimize said experiences. I occasionally err on the side of getting lost in the sauces of empirics, partial objectivity, consumerism and even academics while forgetting to enjoy the music which after all is the actual prize. So far I have always found my way back to the true path and likely get the majority of my joy related to products from the cheapest successes on the market. I might have a $20k Revel+Hegel speaker setup, a few headphones costing thousands and what might actually be a hundred or so headphones and IEMs (naturally for scientific purposes only), but when a $7 KZ IEM scratches a certain itch, a criminally poorly constructed cheap gaming headphone EQ’s rather well, a mainstream bone-conducting headphone sounds pretty good actually or a free EQ preset ends up being the most valuable part of a fancy audio chain I’m deeply pleased and like to spend good time with them letting my LCD-5 wait for an anticipated album release or other such occasion. I don’t need much to enjoy music and keeping it that way is important, but I do enjoy the subjectively best things as well. Much like the daily glass of water with lime and an occasional run-in with a Sagrantino do nothing to diminish each other.
My preferences include the potential for louder playback having little fear of let’s say “rocking out”, a deep dislike of fatiguing or unpleasant sound, an enjoyment of highly capable bass reproduction and all these often come together in metal music, but I also love neutral and accurate sound aiming to as much as possible remove the medium from the equation leaving only the music to be evaluated.
Introduction
Oluv, for those unaware, is an occasionally grumpy or serious and more often suitably obsessive and devoted audio… content creator(?). Seems insufficient, but he has reviewed especially bluetooth speakers, worked with EarFun in tuning some products and made presets for headphones, TWS etc for his followers on Patreon. The core of his work has been putting his music production trained (though as he would put it average) ears to good use in making often otherwise mediocre products sound far better than most would expect possible and many of his appreciators, me included, have found immense value in the results. For example the EarFun Free Pro 2 presets made another audio hero’s of mine, Crinacle’s, efforts in tuning the Blessing 2 Dusk redundant for me simply losing in fidelity and smoothness of the response. He tuned a wireless speaker (EarFun Uboom L, a cult classic in relevant communities) which I’ve a few times played on top of my Revel’s (F35 and later F228Be’s) to an unsuspecting audience expecting to hear “serious audiophile” speakers and only realizing the scam upon being told.
Recently he’s been up to no good again and decided to see if he could bring his own product to market. This time a pair of wireless headphones meekly titled SpX-R (Speaker Experience Renaissance) and I was lucky to be the first with the affliction of audio(philia) to get to hear and test them properly. I don’t know Oluv personally nor are there any other relevant connections, but I happened to bother him about his EQ tinkering at the right time and here we are. Due to seasonal shipping delays I got them less than a day before leaving on a two week vacation and have spent as much time as possible with them testing every aspect of their performance though with a limited setup and less comparison possibilities than usual. Unfortunately time is limited as the few pre-production samples need to do the rounds and this has been one of the hardest products to review I’ve ever encountered, but more about that later.
SpX-R review I: Product overview
The core idea behind the headphones are four modes (presets) based on how neutral speakers sound in different spaces called Studio, Listening Lounge, Living Room and Boom Boom Room. Oluv used industry standard Neumann speakers, his ears and what I expect is absurd amounts of time and repetition to bring the sound he heard to headphones. He has tools such as in-ear microphones and experience in doing similar things, but in simple terms that is the recipe. The four presets can be viewed as gradations from neutral to V-shaped, but in the nuance it’s quite a bit more complicated than that.
Build and comfort
The design of the headphones (pre-production units missing logos etc and some changes are possible) is nothing particularly unique, but the construction feels solid with metal used in the right places while avoiding making them much heavier than common wireless options. The comfort is rather good since there is not much clamp and they feel like a beanie on my head with the pressure/weight being distributed evenly on my above average sized head. The clamp might in fact be lacking for smaller heads though my wife wasn’t bothered by it and she certainly fits the description. The headband is thick and padded enough to do the job. They’re not a Bose for comfort, but I’ve had them on for hours and had no issues including heat which builds up initially a bit, but doesn’t become an issue like it has with some others. The pads are very soft and can accommodate my ears with some touching, but no discomfort.
The internal/setting voice lines have been read by Oluv’s wife Joy and add a fun reminder these are not a basic consumer product, but have a twinkle in the eye so to speak. The included carrying case I also found to be sturdy and thin enough to see actual use unlike some.
ANC, transparency, USB audio, volume
My first proper testing session with these was on a six hour flight to Gran Canaria so I got a good idea of how they perform in more demanding circumstances. The ANC handles bass pretty well muting much of the engine and plane noise, but the mids are less affected. That can be a design choice taken to minimize the impact on the sound (Sennheiser said the same about HDB 630) or simply engineering incompetence, but luckily here we have some amazing next-gen tech rarely found in wireless products: decent passive isolation. Together the ANC and isolation made music listening a perfectly good experience on the plane though low volume listening or podcasts etc might leave a bit to be desired for.
The transparency mode is okay in normal circumstances, but at least this pre-production unit boosted the highs of the plane noise to compensate for the isolation in a way that it caused a fatiguing droning sound. Could also be related to cabin pressurization which bothered me during the flight.
There is USB audio in the final product for skipping bluetooth altogether, but it was omitted in this pre-production unit.
The volume with all modes and ANC on reaches “a bad idea” levels so shouldn’t be an issue for anyone without hearing aids. I did some bass boosted clipping/distortion testing and found none at volumes unsuitable for human consumption.
SpX-R review II: The sound
So there are four meaningfully different sound modes, ANC which at least for me adds a bit of bass and different listening levels making from eight to twenty-four aspects to consider if not fully test. On top I have massive expectations, predict some rather nuanced things from Oluv’s tunings needing AB comparisons to catch fully, hope to do an accurate, thorough and reasonably objective job and have only a few days to do it. I said these weren’t easy.
I began testing these with the usual approach of listening to test songs to find aspects to praise or critique and with the bass I could at least point out that it is not a bass cannon planar that can reverberate your skull if necessary. The Boom Boom Room mode does offer more bass than many listeners ever want to hear, but the most depraved bassheads are unlikely to get their fix with these. That said even the bassiest mode has a surprising amount of detail and texture in the bass so there’s a particular joy in it regardless, having bass lines feel complete even if overdone.
Past that I have a conundrum wanting to describe the mids and treble. Nothing stands out. It’s all just very correct. In Studio and large extent the bassier modes as well nothing feels emphasized, nothing is muted. Being in review mode I initially had only superficial thoughts like “bit less bass than my preference” or “bit more upper mids to treble than my preference”, but it felt off writing such notes. I didn’t feel like bass was missing nor that there was any fatigue at high volumes so how are they my preferences? I spent a decent amount of time comparing the modes and trying to have simple and direct things to say, but I was struggling until I started listening just for enjoyment to whatever music I felt like instead of a testing playlist.
Soon I figured out that I’m hearing the music with so little coloration that I can’t discern much to mention which indeed is my explicit goal in audio. The timbre is impeccable all the way up to bells and chimes, vocals sound very complete and lifelike, the bass is snappy, punchy and tactile and everything has room to breathe with separation that feels better than with some of my fancy planar and AMT driver headphones. This was not only a challenge, but a learning experience. Usually I can hear obvious issues and list what works, what doesn’t and how easy the issues might be to EQ in minutes, but with the SpX-R I just don’t have the ear to fault them. The hundreds of hours spent listening to over two hundred headphones usually with EQ presets and some personalizations on top haven’t sufficiently prepared me to judge these exhaustively. I’m just enjoying them and feel annoyed that I spent a few of the limited days trying to technically figure them out and have to send them forward sooner than I’d like. I’m sure there is further improvement that could be done to the tuning (as Oluv has said as well) and this headphone is not the ideal platform, but I honestly haven’t been able to EQ my LCD-5 or HEDDphone Two to this level after at least some hours of work so their presumed inherent benefits aren’t realized in a way that makes them obviously superior at all. I was less comfortable making light hearted jabs at the product's name at this point feeling there’s some real renaissance potential for my own listening here.
Starting to worry that I’m overselling the point or being on vacation has positively colored my experience I wanted to do some AB comparisons. Unfortunately I only have the Monarch MKIV with me and not for example the headphones I already mentioned, but they should be a suitable anchor. After an hour of going back and forth it was clear as day. The Monarchs were not even close having a generally averaged out or safe allrounder tuning lacking nuance. For sheer bass quantity they could do better, but that’s about it. The bass (in either mode) was far less nimble and energetic than with the SpX-R.
SpX-R review III: Conclusion
I just watched Headphones.com’s video about their favourite releases this year and was thinking about the same. I got the Monarch MKIV about two weeks ago, but it didn’t feel like anything new or exciting. Nothing much stands out. My favorites remained the same from last year until these which aren’t even released yet.
The SpX-R are the most interesting and exciting thing I’ve listened to for some time. They feel like a next level of tuning and remind me that there is nothing much beyond FR. They challenge me as a listener by offering sound that deviates from my presumed preferences and yet surpasses them in naturality, nuance and ease. Studio mode is well below my usual levels of bass and yet I love the bass it produces. I’m listening at lower volumes than usual because all the subtlety and structure in the music is very apparent without trying to force it out. I also tested all the modes at far too loud volumes and found no fatigue which I often run from with easier tunings/EQ’s that lower the upper mids and treble. There is more treble energy, but it’s just in the right places to sound very pleasant even with my treble test tracks. I’m hearing and/or paying attention to new things in music that I have literally used to test hundreds of headphones, IEMs, speakers and electronics. The last time I had a similar feeling with a product was Moondrop Dusk DSP which changed how I understand IEM sound being the first JM-1 tuned and actually open and normal sounding one I’ve heard, but these are a good few steps further in that direction.
I’m sad about having to send these forward to the next person getting to test them and wondering when I’ll get my own pair realizing the Indiegogo project might not even succeed. Without having heard these and having the same level of high expectations from Oluv’s work as I do they are a hard sell for sure. I can only hope the reviews of more known audio influencers align with mine and convince people to give them a try. I have quickly made measurements of these so maybe I can use them as a basis to push my own Oratory+tweaks level EQ’s towards the promised land, but I expect I’ll fall short without actually relying on my ears.
SpX-R review: tldr
Oluv’s latest audio project is a triumph beyond the previous ones which already have their dedicated cult followings. The difference in sound quality (or simply tuning) between these and other common wireless options is not even funny and I can only meaningfully compare these to the best things I’ve heard like HEDDphone Two, LCD-5, Dusk DSP and Monarch MKIV all of them needing EQ to make the cut. The SpX-R are a solid reminder of how frequency response is (almost) everything in audio achieving so much in what I assume is just a simple and decent wireless headphone design. The balance and effortlessness of the sound makes things like breaking a review into separate bass, mids, treble and technicality sections superfluous since it is holistically working on a higher level. I’m entirely aware of how suspicious this kind of praise can seem, but I stand by it, feel confident in my assessment and wholeheartedly suggest anyone interested to have a further look on Indiegogo and help bring these to a lot of people, me included. Doesn’t matter if you’re looking for passive open-backs or closed wireless headphones the sound is just that good and I don’t really know what I would take or suggest others to take over these. The SpX-R is a product offering serious hi-fi in consumer packaging which risks misleading both target groups into not taking them as seriously as they deserve.
Joy&Oluv’Sone SpX-R wireless headphone review
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/?f=flair_name:"Review"
I usually don’t write long reviews as the things to consider and relay more often than not condense into a few straightforward comparisons, but this time it’s a bit different…
(there's also a tldr at the end)
Reviewer (about me)
I am an audio hobbyist, perhaps enthusiast with over two decades of love for music and thus audio behind me so far. In my early teens I noticed that the music that already gave me so much could improve as an experience by having better earphones than whatever I happened to have or by… sourcing… higher bitrate MP3’s to play on my Sony Walkman CD-player. A bit more bass energized my music, less bright and peaky could be listened louder with comfort. Simple things.
Nowadays I’ve systematically tested and/or measured around two hundred headphones and IEMs and spent some moments with much more, measured in-room responses of speaker setups for treatment and DSP, spent tens of thousands on the hobby and I’m currently wondering how I could get my HRTF measured to more deeply understand and optimize said experiences. I occasionally err on the side of getting lost in the sauces of empirics, partial objectivity, consumerism and even academics while forgetting to enjoy the music which after all is the actual prize. So far I have always found my way back to the true path and likely get the majority of my joy related to products from the cheapest successes on the market. I might have a $20k Revel+Hegel speaker setup, a few headphones costing thousands and what might actually be a hundred or so headphones and IEMs (naturally for scientific purposes only), but when a $7 KZ IEM scratches a certain itch, a criminally poorly constructed cheap gaming headphone EQ’s rather well, a mainstream bone-conducting headphone sounds pretty good actually or a free EQ preset ends up being the most valuable part of a fancy audio chain I’m deeply pleased and like to spend good time with them letting my LCD-5 wait for an anticipated album release or other such occasion. I don’t need much to enjoy music and keeping it that way is important, but I do enjoy the subjectively best things as well. Much like the daily glass of water with lime and an occasional run-in with a Sagrantino do nothing to diminish each other.
My preferences include the potential for louder playback having little fear of let’s say “rocking out”, a deep dislike of fatiguing or unpleasant sound, an enjoyment of highly capable bass reproduction and all these often come together in metal music, but I also love neutral and accurate sound aiming to as much as possible remove the medium from the equation leaving only the music to be evaluated.
Introduction
Oluv, for those unaware, is an occasionally grumpy or serious and more often suitably obsessive and devoted audio… content creator(?). Seems insufficient, but he has reviewed especially bluetooth speakers, worked with EarFun in tuning some products and made presets for headphones, TWS etc for his followers on Patreon. The core of his work has been putting his music production trained (though as he would put it average) ears to good use in making often otherwise mediocre products sound far better than most would expect possible and many of his appreciators, me included, have found immense value in the results. For example the EarFun Free Pro 2 presets made another audio hero’s of mine, Crinacle’s, efforts in tuning the Blessing 2 Dusk redundant for me simply losing in fidelity and smoothness of the response. He tuned a wireless speaker (EarFun Uboom L, a cult classic in relevant communities) which I’ve a few times played on top of my Revel’s (F35 and later F228Be’s) to an unsuspecting audience expecting to hear “serious audiophile” speakers and only realizing the scam upon being told.
Recently he’s been up to no good again and decided to see if he could bring his own product to market. This time a pair of wireless headphones meekly titled SpX-R (Speaker Experience Renaissance) and I was lucky to be the first with the affliction of audio(philia) to get to hear and test them properly. I don’t know Oluv personally nor are there any other relevant connections, but I happened to bother him about his EQ tinkering at the right time and here we are. Due to seasonal shipping delays I got them less than a day before leaving on a two week vacation and have spent as much time as possible with them testing every aspect of their performance though with a limited setup and less comparison possibilities than usual. Unfortunately time is limited as the few pre-production samples need to do the rounds and this has been one of the hardest products to review I’ve ever encountered, but more about that later.
SpX-R review I: Product overview
The core idea behind the headphones are four modes (presets) based on how neutral speakers sound in different spaces called Studio, Listening Lounge, Living Room and Boom Boom Room. Oluv used industry standard Neumann speakers, his ears and what I expect is absurd amounts of time and repetition to bring the sound he heard to headphones. He has tools such as in-ear microphones and experience in doing similar things, but in simple terms that is the recipe. The four presets can be viewed as gradations from neutral to V-shaped, but in the nuance it’s quite a bit more complicated than that.
Build and comfort
The design of the headphones (pre-production units missing logos etc and some changes are possible) is nothing particularly unique, but the construction feels solid with metal used in the right places while avoiding making them much heavier than common wireless options. The comfort is rather good since there is not much clamp and they feel like a beanie on my head with the pressure/weight being distributed evenly on my above average sized head. The clamp might in fact be lacking for smaller heads though my wife wasn’t bothered by it and she certainly fits the description. The headband is thick and padded enough to do the job. They’re not a Bose for comfort, but I’ve had them on for hours and had no issues including heat which builds up initially a bit, but doesn’t become an issue like it has with some others. The pads are very soft and can accommodate my ears with some touching, but no discomfort.
The internal/setting voice lines have been read by Oluv’s wife Joy and add a fun reminder these are not a basic consumer product, but have a twinkle in the eye so to speak. The included carrying case I also found to be sturdy and thin enough to see actual use unlike some.
ANC, transparency, USB audio, volume
My first proper testing session with these was on a six hour flight to Gran Canaria so I got a good idea of how they perform in more demanding circumstances. The ANC handles bass pretty well muting much of the engine and plane noise, but the mids are less affected. That can be a design choice taken to minimize the impact on the sound (Sennheiser said the same about HDB 630) or simply engineering incompetence, but luckily here we have some amazing next-gen tech rarely found in wireless products: decent passive isolation. Together the ANC and isolation made music listening a perfectly good experience on the plane though low volume listening or podcasts etc might leave a bit to be desired for.
The transparency mode is okay in normal circumstances, but at least this pre-production unit boosted the highs of the plane noise to compensate for the isolation in a way that it caused a fatiguing droning sound. Could also be related to cabin pressurization which bothered me during the flight.
There is USB audio in the final product for skipping bluetooth altogether, but it was omitted in this pre-production unit.
The volume with all modes and ANC on reaches “a bad idea” levels so shouldn’t be an issue for anyone without hearing aids. I did some bass boosted clipping/distortion testing and found none at volumes unsuitable for human consumption.
SpX-R review II: The sound
So there are four meaningfully different sound modes, ANC which at least for me adds a bit of bass and different listening levels making from eight to twenty-four aspects to consider if not fully test. On top I have massive expectations, predict some rather nuanced things from Oluv’s tunings needing AB comparisons to catch fully, hope to do an accurate, thorough and reasonably objective job and have only a few days to do it. I said these weren’t easy.
I began testing these with the usual approach of listening to test songs to find aspects to praise or critique and with the bass I could at least point out that it is not a bass cannon planar that can reverberate your skull if necessary. The Boom Boom Room mode does offer more bass than many listeners ever want to hear, but the most depraved bassheads are unlikely to get their fix with these. That said even the bassiest mode has a surprising amount of detail and texture in the bass so there’s a particular joy in it regardless, having bass lines feel complete even if overdone.
Past that I have a conundrum wanting to describe the mids and treble. Nothing stands out. It’s all just very correct. In Studio and large extent the bassier modes as well nothing feels emphasized, nothing is muted. Being in review mode I initially had only superficial thoughts like “bit less bass than my preference” or “bit more upper mids to treble than my preference”, but it felt off writing such notes. I didn’t feel like bass was missing nor that there was any fatigue at high volumes so how are they my preferences? I spent a decent amount of time comparing the modes and trying to have simple and direct things to say, but I was struggling until I started listening just for enjoyment to whatever music I felt like instead of a testing playlist.
Soon I figured out that I’m hearing the music with so little coloration that I can’t discern much to mention which indeed is my explicit goal in audio. The timbre is impeccable all the way up to bells and chimes, vocals sound very complete and lifelike, the bass is snappy, punchy and tactile and everything has room to breathe with separation that feels better than with some of my fancy planar and AMT driver headphones. This was not only a challenge, but a learning experience. Usually I can hear obvious issues and list what works, what doesn’t and how easy the issues might be to EQ in minutes, but with the SpX-R I just don’t have the ear to fault them. The hundreds of hours spent listening to over two hundred headphones usually with EQ presets and some personalizations on top haven’t sufficiently prepared me to judge these exhaustively. I’m just enjoying them and feel annoyed that I spent a few of the limited days trying to technically figure them out and have to send them forward sooner than I’d like. I’m sure there is further improvement that could be done to the tuning (as Oluv has said as well) and this headphone is not the ideal platform, but I honestly haven’t been able to EQ my LCD-5 or HEDDphone Two to this level after at least some hours of work so their presumed inherent benefits aren’t realized in a way that makes them obviously superior at all. I was less comfortable making light hearted jabs at the product's name at this point feeling there’s some real renaissance potential for my own listening here.
Starting to worry that I’m overselling the point or being on vacation has positively colored my experience I wanted to do some AB comparisons. Unfortunately I only have the Monarch MKIV with me and not for example the headphones I already mentioned, but they should be a suitable anchor. After an hour of going back and forth it was clear as day. The Monarchs were not even close having a generally averaged out or safe allrounder tuning lacking nuance. For sheer bass quantity they could do better, but that’s about it. The bass (in either mode) was far less nimble and energetic than with the SpX-R.
SpX-R review III: Conclusion
I just watched Headphones.com’s video about their favourite releases this year and was thinking about the same. I got the Monarch MKIV about two weeks ago, but it didn’t feel like anything new or exciting. Nothing much stands out. My favorites remained the same from last year until these which aren’t even released yet.
The SpX-R are the most interesting and exciting thing I’ve listened to for some time. They feel like a next level of tuning and remind me that there is nothing much beyond FR. They challenge me as a listener by offering sound that deviates from my presumed preferences and yet surpasses them in naturality, nuance and ease. Studio mode is well below my usual levels of bass and yet I love the bass it produces. I’m listening at lower volumes than usual because all the subtlety and structure in the music is very apparent without trying to force it out. I also tested all the modes at far too loud volumes and found no fatigue which I often run from with easier tunings/EQ’s that lower the upper mids and treble. There is more treble energy, but it’s just in the right places to sound very pleasant even with my treble test tracks. I’m hearing and/or paying attention to new things in music that I have literally used to test hundreds of headphones, IEMs, speakers and electronics. The last time I had a similar feeling with a product was Moondrop Dusk DSP which changed how I understand IEM sound being the first JM-1 tuned and actually open and normal sounding one I’ve heard, but these are a good few steps further in that direction.
I’m sad about having to send these forward to the next person getting to test them and wondering when I’ll get my own pair realizing the Indiegogo project might not even succeed. Without having heard these and having the same level of high expectations from Oluv’s work as I do they are a hard sell for sure. I can only hope the reviews of more known audio influencers align with mine and convince people to give them a try. I have quickly made measurements of these so maybe I can use them as a basis to push my own Oratory+tweaks level EQ’s towards the promised land, but I expect I’ll fall short without actually relying on my ears.
SpX-R review: tldr
Oluv’s latest audio project is a triumph beyond the previous ones which already have their dedicated cult followings. The difference in sound quality (or simply tuning) between these and other common wireless options is not even funny and I can only meaningfully compare these to the best things I’ve heard like HEDDphone Two, LCD-5, Dusk DSP and Monarch MKIV all of them needing EQ to make the cut. The SpX-R are a solid reminder of how frequency response is (almost) everything in audio achieving so much in what I assume is just a simple and decent wireless headphone design. The balance and effortlessness of the sound makes things like breaking a review into separate bass, mids, treble and technicality sections superfluous since it is holistically working on a higher level. I’m entirely aware of how suspicious this kind of praise can seem, but I stand by it, feel confident in my assessment and wholeheartedly suggest anyone interested to have a further look on Indiegogo and help bring these to a lot of people, me included. Doesn’t matter if you’re looking for passive open-backs or closed wireless headphones the sound is just that good and I don’t really know what I would take or suggest others to take over these. The SpX-R is a product offering serious hi-fi in consumer packaging which risks misleading both target groups into not taking them as seriously as they deserve.
