Bowers & Wilkins PI7

[TK33]

I don't understand you guys. The midrange is muddied and veiled somewhat. It is not transparent in any sense of the word. If the vocals are clear then so is almost every wireless iem.

Boomy sounding is an understatement

Not sure if you already said this somewhere but what tips were you using? Were they stock? I think the PI7s with the stock tips (has a filter in them t) had the tuning I expected from B&W and I can see why someone might describe them as "veiled" or "muddy" in comparison to other sound signatures but I did not think they were boomy. They do have a bit of a warm signature but that is to be expected from them in my opinion. Using Spinfits really cleared up the sound for me (Final Audio Type E did something to the bass so I stuck with Spinfits).

I think vocals sound excellent and are definitely better than my MW07Go, which is what I would describe as V shaped. I would not really describe the PI7 as V shaped (especially with stock tips) but maybe we just hear differently? I dont think I have really used my MW07Go since I got the PI7s.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I don't understand you guys. The midrange is muddied and veiled somewhat. It is not transparent in any sense of the word. If the vocals are clear then so is almost every wireless iem.

Boomy sounding is an understatement

This isn’t my experience particularly with a simple tip change. I’m very sensitive to warm/muddy/boomy. The pI7 have a warmish quality to them but it’s done in a tasteful way. Again ymmv but I think they did a nice job with the tuning going for their house sound without going overboard. The MW08 on the other hand to me goes too far.

 

[h1a8]

Compare them side by side to other tws then. Theyre better than the mw07+ and airpods pro by an absolute mile in the mid range to my ears. Much more body and detail, the other two sound very flat in comparison

I have the airpod pro and no they aren't better sounding than them. Pi7 are terrible sounding for anything above $250. Super muddy and boomy. They sound good for a $150 or less price range. The airpod pro sounds better to me (wish it had a little more bass though).
Even the graph shows that the mid bass is way too much. I have the jabra elite 75t, 85t, momentum 2, jbl live300, jbl club pro+, akg n400, and several more. And pi7 only sounds better than the elite 75t.

Now here is a consolation. I used wavelet app (android) to eq the sound and they improved 1000 percent (still not perfect due to the limitations of that eq). They became one of the best sounding true wireless i heard so far (and i heard almost everything popular).

So all we need is an app that has a 10 band eq (preferably a parametric eq) and that they become louder and they are worth more than $400. Facts.

P. S. I used stock tips.

 

[mainguy]

I have the airpod pro and no they aren't better sounding than them. Pi7 are terrible sounding for anything above $250. Super muddy and boomy. They sound good for a $150 or less price range. The airpod pro sounds better to me (wish it had a little more bass though).

If you dont think they sound better than the airpods pro I think our ear biology differs so much we could almost be different species. Each to their own.

 

[HaliHarry]

I have the airpod pro and no they aren't better sounding than them. Pi7 are terrible sounding for anything above $250. Super muddy and boomy. They sound good for a $150 or less price range. The airpod pro sounds better to me (wish it had a little more bass though).
Even the graph shows that the mid bass is way too much. I have the jabra elite 75t, 85t, momentum 2, jbl live300, jbl club pro+, akg n400, and several more. And pi7 only sounds better than the elite 75t.

Now here is a consolation. I used wavelet app (android) to eq the sound and they improved 1000 percent (still not perfect due to the limitations of that eq). They became one of the best sounding true wireless i heard so far (and i heard almost everything popular).

So all we need is an app that has a 10 band eq (preferably a parametric eq) and that they become louder and they are worth more than $400. Facts.

P. S. I used stock tips.

So you mean without EQ this pairs are trash but with EQ, this is the best SQ true wireless compare with all others high-end pairs such as Sen 2, MW08, Gemini ?? Thanks so much

 

[corgifall]

Stock tips with the stock foam that’s inserted into the tips make the PI7 sounds like muddy/boomy trash. I had the best overall sound via some large CP100 tips. Taking the foam out of the stock tips does clean the sound up a little bit, though I found the treble to sound too harsh. If you can find the right combo tips wise, these sound very good(only listened to TWS under $500 so far). The main big problem is that tip rolling is required since no EQ options exist via the B&W app. I think letting people tweak the sound of a wireless unit makes sense and should be standard. With the tips I’m using, I have zero issues with the sound signature.

 

[scubaphish]

Stock tips with the stock foam that’s inserted into the tips make the PI7 sounds like muddy/boomy trash. I had the best overall sound via some large CP100 tips. Taking the foam out of the stock tips does clean the sound up a little bit, though I found the treble to sound too harsh. If you can find the right combo tips wise, these sound very good(only listened to TWS under $500 so far). The main big problem is that tip rolling is required since no EQ options exist via the B&W app. I think letting people tweak the sound of a wireless unit makes sense and should be standard. With the tips I’m using, I have zero issues with the sound signature.

Second person to recommend CP100 with these. So I’ve gone looking and now they have CP100 Plus…looks like different silicon. Has anyone tried the Plus model?

update; found a review of CP100 that talks about the Plus version. For one thing, I think they should fit better as the core is supposedly larger, at 4.5-5.5 vs 3.8

However…“In terms of sonic impressions, there are subtle differences compared to the original CP100 model. For example the CP100+ has a slight bass elevation and more control over the higher frequencies than its original counterpart.”

Elevated base, huh?

 

[scubaphish]

Please let me know. Maybe I will try a 3rd set.

Been a couple of days and so far…
1) Bluetooth is better. I’m able to walk further from source and maintain connection/sound. At least 15 feet with no drops. At 30 feet with walls in between it stuttered but came back.
2) ANC still makes amp-like sound, but less jarring. Barely noticeable outside. Wish it was smoother, but not a deal breaker
3) volume is fine for me. iOS has a volume meter now; and I’m usually listening at 50%-60% with meter showing 75-80 decibels. Sources are mostly Apple Music and SiriusXM
4) not that I had issue with microphone before, but this one seems good, too
5) answering calls is still weird, but could be my phone. If answer by tapping earphones, no problem. But answer with phone it doesn’t hand off to earphones smoothly

maybe interesting, maybe not, but lower serial number on replacement.

They really sound like little loudspeakers in my ears

just ordered a set of CP100+…looking forward to trying those out

 

[corgifall]

Second person to recommend CP100 with these. So I’ve gone looking and now they have CP100 Plus…looks like different silicon. Has anyone tried the Plus model?

I have both the regular and plus versions. The plus versions have a different medical material and they end up staying in the ear better. Not super sticky but they seem to hold better. If that makes sense.

 

[mainguy]

Nice iOS boost

Download Onkyo hifi player

Go into EQ (waveform icon) you can boost the volume at all frequencies. This works to a point then distorts, i got a pretty good result with it and would say it’s getting a lot closer to aptx-hd. Not there, but a lot better than stock.

 

[veilrealm]

If you dont think they sound better than the airpods pro I think our ear biology differs so much we could almost be different species. Each to their own.

alright so i’ve been reading through this thread and i thought you were completely lying about aptx changing the sound of these headphones, so i tried plugging the case into my ipad pro and wow you were completely right. as an ios user i’m kind of bummed, everything just sounds clearer and more vibrant so i can only imagine what aptx-hd sounds like with your xperia, i’m tempted to buy one just to try. can anyone confirm if the creative dongle setup on iphone changes it even more compared to the case?

moving these headphones from aac on iphone to apt x is like performing cpr on them, kind of insane b&w haven’t mentioned this anywhere i can only imagine the amount of ios users who have no idea

 

[mainguy]

alright so i’ve been reading through this thread and i thought you were completely lying about aptx changing the sound of these headphones, so i tried plugging the case into my ipad pro and wow you were completely right. as an ios user i’m kind of bummed, everything just sounds clearer and more vibrant so i can only imagine what aptx-hd sounds like with your xperia, i’m tempted to buy one just to try. can anyone confirm if the creative dongle setup on iphone changes it even more compared to the case?

moving these headphones from aac on iphone to apt x is like performing cpr on them, kind of insane b&w haven’t mentioned this anywhere i can only imagine the amount of ios users who have no idea

Haha I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I was lying. I see so much DAC/dongle/DAP nonsense, but this time it really is a big change.

I haven’t tried the dongle, im very tempted to though as I’m missing my iPhone.

 

[veilrealm]

Haha I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I was lying. I see so much DAC/dongle/DAP nonsense, but this time it really is a big change.

I haven’t tried the dongle, im very tempted to though as I’m missing my iPhone.

yeah i’m tempted to get an xperia but then i remember how completely awful android is compared to ios and am immediately turned off. i’m going to try out this creative dongle thing first, and maybe buy an xperia off amazon so i can return it just to compare the sound

 

[veilrealm]

Haha I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I was lying. I see so much DAC/dongle/DAP nonsense, but this time it really is a big change.

I haven’t tried the dongle, im very tempted to though as I’m missing my iPhone.

Actually, if you could try out the dongle and compare it to your Xperia that would be pog

 

[scubaphish]

Actually, if you could try out the dongle and compare it to your Xperia that would be pog

Weird, but I just checked codec with my MacBook Pro listening to Apple Music and it seems to be transmitting via AptX

Even stranger, AAC from phone much louder than AptX from MacBook.
My USBC->Lighting adapter arrives today; Creative dongle tomorrow...looking forward to AptX HD trial

edit: I’m an idiot and had volumes messed up. MacBook gets plenty loud