XTZ Divine Headphones review

Amar

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I just bought a pair of these headphones and thought I'd share my thoughts and experience with them so far.

First of all I must point out, the customer service from XTZ has been typically excellent with emails of the invoice sent straight away, followed by shipping details and a tracking number. Any questions I had were responded to by Anders Haby promptly. The Delivery itself was very fast considering it came from Sweden and only cost €4.00. I placed the order on 7 October. Received headphones on 13 October, in time for my holiday.

The headphones came packed in thick card, ensuring the main package wasn’t scuffed in anyway. Praise has to be given to the presentation when you open the box. It all has a very high end feel to it. A pleasant surprise was the bag for the headphones, very high quality and luxurious feel. The build quality of the headphones themselves are as you would expect from the pictures. They feel solid with strong feeling plastics and metal hinges. The LED lights and subtle logos give a classy look and gives the impression of a high end product. My only issue is that I wear glasses and they fit quite tight so my ears get squashed, something I’ll have to play around with to get the right comfort levels.

I have to admit, when I first plugged them up to my PC, I was disappointed with the sound. Then I realised my audio drivers needed updating and I was listening to them in mono. After updating the drivers, they sound amazing! The best way for me to describe them would be for anyone who has heard/owns XTZ speakers, these headphones have a very similar sound. They deliver in the area that I love about XTZ….highly detailed without sounding harsh.

I paired them to my android phone via Bluetooth in minutes and all seems ok in this area. This is the area I’ll be testing a lot more over the next two weeks on holiday. I haven’t used the app yet but will do soon. I’ve also got the Dirac Audio Processor but haven’t registered it yet.

I’m still getting used to them as they are my first pair of headphones but I’m taking them with me on 13 hour flight on Friday so that will be the biggest test in terms of noise cancelling, prolonged listening period, battery power and comfort.

I was expecting them to be great but so far, XTZ have exceeded my expectations.
 
Typical

I did a searched for the Divines headphones on here and nothing came up.
I start a thread on the same subject and lo and behold, I get a list of XTZ links with this thread amongst them. Go figure o_O:)

So seeing as thisthread has already been started and if ok with the OP, I'll add my post here with 1 or 2 edits.


' Had these a few months now and thought I'd share my thoughts
on them.
I got a pair after I was approached by XTZ to see if would like to 'Pilot' the Divine headphones.
"For Free!!" I thought . Wishful thinking, but can have them for half price if I join the Pilot.

After they explained what these headphones were about and being their Customer Service has been nothing short of fantastic with any issues/information i have contacted them about ( I have XTZ speakers and Amp - see sig), I thought why not. A belated xmas present to myself and have been giving them a workout since mid jan.

To give a little background on myself with regards to headphones, I've never had expensive headphones like from Sennheiser, etc and always settle on a £20 pair- max and usually from Argos because (and my thinking was) since i don't use them for any seriously listening and only with my phone for journeys to and from work or where i won't be using the car, there's no need to spend a lot just to listen to the radio and some mp3's. And when they are not in use, they are sitting in my rucksack.


Up Until the Divines arrived I was using a pair of Sony ZX310 which cost me £15. And before that were Sony MRDV150 - £10. Nothing fantastic, but half decent to listen too. So to spend £££’s on headphones was a big step when considering my usage.

First Impressions.

They arrived in a very nicely packaged pristine box.
In with the headphones were the accessories (coming from argos jobbies, headphone accessories was a new thing to me).


USB cable
3.5mm jack cable
standard size phono jack adapter
European Plug
Protective case
Manual


They feel nicely weighted when held, comfortable to wear and look and feel solidly built. My el cheapo ones are lightweight in comparison. These are on-ear headphones which I prefer.

Charging only took a couple of hours and I should get a reported 14hrs continuous use. NO battery visible indicator of any kind that I can see, but you do get a bleeping noise when battery is low. I do not know what % of battery life left its starts to bleep at, but you hear 2 or 3 quick bleeps whichs repeats a while later.

There are controls on the back of the Right speaker - Forward, Reverse, Pause/start and volume. The power button is also on that speaker and a 3.5mm jack socket on the left speaker. Though the speakers are labelled (R/L), they felt comfortable either way.

So a good start so far.

Size adjustment is not easy to do when on the head and had to remove them to get the size I want but on the other hand, once adjusted, not easily mistakenly re-adjusted either.

Bluetooth.
Pairing with Apple, android devices and Windows phone was straight forward, but you have to reset the headphones every time you switch devices. Pairing with a win 7 laptop proved troublesome and not as straight forward. It took a few attempts before success but lost connection when screen is locked. Maybe it was my laptop as its my work one but my Mac airbook Was easier with less drama.

Playback
Straight out of the box and for this test I used them with my LG phone seeing as that is where it will be used 99% of the time. Staring with the cable.

Played the first track (mp3) and I was not happy. Bass had disappeared and it sounded flat compared the cheap Sony headphones. I tried a couple more tracks and same thing. Thought I just wasted my money. Then i tried one of those sample tracks that come with the phone which are Flac and there was good improvement.

Tried Bluetooth (which was ready to pair straight out of the box) I repeated the process. Same results. I knew i had to get use to how they sound as XTZ don't make rubbish and has always impressed and the sample Flac track was good. So a bit Underwhelmed but not writing them off just yet. Also, the MP3, though flat, had a bit more clarity than with the Sony's headphones.

I copied some albums and single tracks of various genre which are flac onto the LG phone and while much better still not quite there for my liking.

Just to add that to my ears, there was no difference or drops in sound quality between using the cable or Bluetooth (apt-x).

Radio (FM and internet)
Didn't expect much as broadcasting SQ was never going to be great and not much one can do about that, but as above, Has more clarity

XTZ DSP Player app (iOS and Android)
The headphones will work with any onboard player (as it should) but its only the XTZ Player app that you will get the benefit of the DSP. Pure audiophiles maybe up in arms with the use of this but i tell you what, it does bring the music to life. The dacs in phones are not the best so this DSP app helps out a lot .
Easy to use and nIcely laid out lwith some customization options. Theme skin, background colour (Black or White), fonts, etc. Personally, I like it as it is and didn’t see the need to start playing around with fonts and colours.

You have 6 DSP options
Boost 1-4 - Gives a little bass boost with each option
REF - All enhancements off
Bright = Self-explanatory - very detailed – Too detailed for me and would get fatiguing after a while.
There is also a Gain control for a more finer volume control.

It only plays music that is locally held. So cannot stream from my nas. I reckon they've missed a trick there. Maybe it is due to licences or the amount of work required for it to be done, but it would be greatly appreciated if was able to access music across a network

Replayed all the same tracks and wow - massive difference. Warmer, fuller sound with good separation. Good quality mp3's sounds great but crap ones are seriously exposed even more so. Flac sounds great and shines even more so when ripped from Good quality recordings.

Unfortunately, the Player does not work with radio - FM or Internet (with cable). It does have access to a streaming service, but it something that's either not completed or what XTZ has put up as a sample. Not sure on that.

The app is also only available on iOS and Android. No Windows version as yet.


Usage.

PRO: The Freedom of wireless headphones is bliss. Not getting trapped or caught on something when removing them or my ‘Man’ bag. (Yes, I have one of those). The controls on the speaker are handy but it takes a while to know where to press, so you end up removing them to have a look anyway. No sweaty ears but it is still winter though a mild one.

CONS: The flashing Bluetooth indicator is like a beacon to the unscrupulous and if some brave or stupid thug tried to nick them off your head, there not much stopping them from being on their toes while removing them if unaware. So I was kind of vigilant when walking home late at night or in places where people might try their luck. Which is all of Central London.

Conclusion

After a 2 months of constant usage i have to say that i am enjoying these more as time passes. The sound quality is much better than I have known for headphones which isn't hard to do , but much like my main setup, i do not tire of listening to them.
They are very comfortable and Battery life should be sufficient enough even for the heaviest usage before you need to charge again or reach a place where you can charge them. The controls may take little while to get use to but are very useful and saves reaching for he phone.
Like XTZ other product, these ooze quality. Not only in looks and build but also sound.

I don’t how they compare to comparative version like from SennHeiser, Sony, Bose, etc as I've not heard them, but have heard Beats which I didn’t think much of other than being easy on the eye and cost way too much for very little. The Divines are more on point in terms of SQ and a all round better experience.
For around £150 (i believe that's the rrp) it money well spent and well worth considering against others in its class and maybe some above
 
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Are these the ones that they did the Kickstarter project for a couple of years ago? I missed out on that one, but I'm in the market for some Bluetooth headphones at the moment. I've got some XTZ 'earphone 12' in ear's which are about 3 or 4 years old now, but they're still my favourite earphones. They sound really good to me when paired with the app so I'd be interested in the Divine's too.
 
I forgot all about this thread.

Miss Mandy - these are indeed the kickstarters XTZ introduced a couple of years ago and I'd say, even at full price, these are worth it. I couldn't agree any less with Don Dadda's review of them.

Don Dadda - how are you getting on with them?

I must say I'm very impressed with how long the battery lasts. I'm pretty sure I've used them for more than 15 hours without recharging. I took them on a trip to Bali last year and they were perfectly comfortable for the long flight. Plus XTZ supply a travel adaptor to use on the plane. I'm off another long haul flight this weekend and they'll be going with me for sure.
 
I forgot all about this thread.

Me too and only remembered a year and half later :facepalm:. Sorry for the very late reply.

Still going strong and loving them. They get used 5 days out 7 every week and any journey i make when not driving. Taken them with me on a few trips to the Caribbean and Europe and battery had no probs lasting the journey. I use them instead of the crappy in flight ones they give you so are brilliant for the 9hrs flight to the Caribbean. They've died on me only once but that was after 3 weeks without charging. I simply forgot to do so as the battery is that good.

Price is still at £150/€170 and well worth it. You can pay for a lot more for a lot less
 
does anyone know if these phones are low latency? All I got from the manufacturers was that they are aptx 4.0 which really doesn't mean very much to me. I want to use the phones with a Yamaha soundbar and a Bluetooth transmitter
 
Low latency isn't a feature you'll see on headphones specs, it's more to do with external Bluetooth transmitters/receivers.
 
Low latency isn't a feature you'll see on headphones specs, it's more to do with external Bluetooth transmitters/receivers.
and yet a member of a manufacturer that makes transmitters told me it is important that the headphones themselves should be aptx low latency, hence my confusion.I am very tempted to buy a pair of Divines but will only do so when I think I have made the right choice.
Thinking about it he probably meant that if I particularly wanted low latency for,say, gaming purposes, then i would need headphones that supported that, otherwise any Bluetooth phones should pair and work ok
 
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As long as the headphones themselves support APTx, low latency comes with the turf.
I think I probably overcomplicated things in my mind and misunderstood what he was trying to tell me.I originally thought I would find it difficult pair the two devices if the codec standards did not match but I see low latency is more of a video thing as in lipsynch and gaming and it probably wouldn't be an issue besides he might have wanted me to buy a pair Trond low latency headphones
 
Thread bump.

I have these headphones and I want to use them with the Dirac DSP for PC but the page at XTZ - Dirac Audio Processor Registrering
asks for the serial number of the Product.

Problem is that there is No Serial Number anywhere on the box or the Product itself.

Can anyone help?
Does your headphones have a serial printed anywhere?
 
Thread bump.

I have these headphones and I want to use them with the Dirac DSP for PC but the page at XTZ - Dirac Audio Processor Registrering
asks for the serial number of the Product.

Problem is that there is No Serial Number anywhere on the box or the Product itself.

Can anyone help?
Does your headphones have a serial printed anywhere?

Unfortunatley not or at least its not visible on the outside. It maybe behind one of the ear sponges - easy to get off but a pig to get back on
 
Unfortunatley not or at least its not visible on the outside. It maybe behind one of the ear sponges - easy to get off but a pig to get back on

I don't see how i can pop them out.
I also asked xtz 2 days ago but till now no answer..
 

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