[cresny]

I never experienced crackling, but constant sensor-related shutoffs when walking around in the cold. I have only ever had these in winter so I can't be sure it's temperature related, and I just made a habit of turning sensors if when leaving the house.

 

[TJ Max]

First impressions:
- Sound to me is much better than all the other ANCs out there.
- The ANC to me is worse than Bose's and Sony's. No experience with the Sennheiser.
- Build quality is great, nothing to complain, probably the best of the bunch.

I agree with these notes.
-I tried the Bose QC35, Senheisser PXC550, Sony 1000x (gen 1), and the Sennheiser HD5 4.50BTNC and the Bowers &Wilkins PX does sound the best, both in Bluetooth and even better in USB mode.
-The Noise Cancellation is comparable to the HD 4.50BTNC, however there is more audible background hiss in the PX. Personally I don't think its terrible NC, but I admit there is much with the sacrifice of sound quality. Also its worth noting that the PX ear cups cover the whole ear and creates a tight seal, which passively blocks a lot of noise on their own.
-B&W have the reputation of building their headphones for battle. All metal and leather and other expensive materials, without any noticeable plastics. The down side is that their headphones are heavier as a result. They went all out with the P9 which feels like a 2 pound helmet on your head.
The PX feel just every so slight heavier than the P7 wireless, but weight is not the issue. Many seem to be put off my the clamping force and firm and thin ear cups. I see what they're talking about , but I'm not bothered by them. I can wear there them until I'm ready to take them off.

So far this is the best headphone Bowers and Wilkins have produced.

 

[canali]

i am looking at these or the sony 1000xm2...for late night tv listening:
for movies, rock concerts, even gaming....anyone tried with out with tv shows or gaming etc?
i can't imagine why either pair wouldn't do it all very well.
i do wear glasses, read that the sonys do some measurements initally via some software.

 

[pororom]

The manual says:

"Audio jack cable connection is useful if the headphones are to be used on board an aircraft or with a non-Bluetooth audio source such as a traditional hi-fi system"
"The headphone volume controls and Play/ Pause button will not function when a jack cable connection is in use"

So, if I connect them with the analog cable to the headphone amplifier output from my Bel Canto DAC, can I use the volume control from my DAC to raise and lower the sound as if I had connected passive headphones?

 

[ubs28]

I don’t understand how people can say the PX sound good. It sounds terrible and I wonder if the B&W engineers even listened to these headphones when they designed the ANC. Might as well remove the ANC feature because if I had the B&W PX I would only use it without ANC.

My top winner of 2017 of ANC headphones is Sony. But too bad it gets too hot and I don’t like it’s comfort. Else I would have bought it.

 

[seanpburke]

Has anyone tried these with a direct type C to lightning cable with an iPhone?

 

[TJ Max]

I don’t understand how people can say the PX sound good. It sounds terrible and I wonder if the B&W engineers even listened to these headphones when they designed the ANC. Might as well remove the ANC feature because if I had the B&W PX I would only use it without ANC.

My top winner of 2017 of ANC headphones is Sony. But too bad it gets too hot and I don’t like it’s comfort. Else I would have bought it.

All opinions are personal and subjective. I've heard all of B&Ws over ear headphones and the 1000x. And I do think the PX sounds the best, with the P9 sounding the worst. I like the PX for their relatively flat sound signature with a pleasing amount of warmth and punchiness to the lower end without any bloatiness that covers up the mid section like the P9. The 1000x rolls off a bit too soon, they lack the punchiness and extention into the sub bass as the PX. To me the low end of the 1000x is boring. The mids of the PX are well balanced with the rest of the frequency range and everything in this region has a detailed and natural sound to it. This is an improvement over the P7 Wireless and an even greater improvement over wired P7 whose mid ranges are pushed to the background because of their "V" shaped sound signatures. The treble of the PX rolls off at just right point for me, to preventing any harshess at loud volumes, but not so as to lose any sense of space and airyness around the instruments. And there's this rise around 10khz to maintain a good amount of detail and imaging. Again I thought the 1000x failed here, it rolls off the treble without maintaining any of the details leaving it a bit dull sounding.
It's true, the PX doesn't have the best active noise canceling, Bose still wins in this department. I've compare the ANC of the PX to the HD 4.50BTNC which is just decent enough for me.

Now what didn't you like about the sound of the PX?

 

[TJ Max]

The manual says:

"Audio jack cable connection is useful if the headphones are to be used on board an aircraft or with a non-Bluetooth audio source such as a traditional hi-fi system"
"The headphone volume controls and Play/ Pause button will not function when a jack cable connection is in use"

So, if I connect them with the analog cable to the headphone amplifier output from my Bel Canto DAC, can I use the volume control from my DAC to raise and lower the sound as if I had connected passive headphones?

Yes.

 

[ubs28]

All opinions are personal and subjective. I've heard all of B&Ws over ear headphones and the 1000x. And I do think the PX sounds the best, with the P9 sounding the worst. I like the PX for their relatively flat sound signature with a pleasing amount of warmth and punchiness to the lower end without any bloatiness that covers up the mid section like the P9. The 1000x rolls off a bit too soon, they lack the punchiness and extention into the sub bass as the PX. To me the low end of the 1000x is boring. The mids of the PX are well balanced with the rest of the frequency range and everything in this region has a detailed and natural sound to it. This is an improvement over the P7 Wireless and an even greater improvement over wired P7 whose mid ranges are pushed to the background because of their "V" shaped sound signatures. The treble of the PX rolls off at just right point for me, to preventing any harshess at loud volumes, but not so as to lose any sense of space and airyness around the instruments. And there's this rise around 10khz to maintain a good amount of detail and imaging. Again I thought the 1000x failed here, it rolls off the treble without maintaining any of the details leaving it a bit dull sounding.
It's true, the PX doesn't have the best active noise canceling, Bose still wins in this department. I've compare the ANC of the PX to the HD 4.50BTNC which is just decent enough for me.

Now what didn't you like about the sound of the PX?

If you active the ANC on the PX, it just sounds very wrong. It is if some weird combo filters are activated which cuts threw the sound. Normal headphones do not sound like that.

Beats Studio Wireless 3 and Sony still are able to provide much more aggressive ANC without having these strange artifects in the sound that the PX has.

Imo, nobody is winning in the sound quality department at the moment. However the Sony is on it’s own level on the ANC department and thus is the best ANC headphone.

Also the PX doesn’t fold.

I am going to wait and see what 2018 will bring.

 

[chancans]

I agree completely. If ANC is what you’re after - the Sony 1000x is the winner. If sound quality is what your after, it’s not the Sony. I stuck with the P7W, and couldn’t be happier, although wish t had USB-C. The PX for me sounds to ‘tinny’ - better after the burn in period, but still a bit metallic imo. They do have an appreciated flatter quality that is appreciated for diversity in genres.

 

[bedlamite]

The P7W has now been deprecated by the PX, it was already a few years old anyway so getting USB-C on the P7 (when even the new stuff coming out isn't always USB-C) would have been wishful thinking. Woulda been nice, for sure, but kind of impossible.

 

[chancans]

Oh, just to be clear - I didn’t expect for the P7W to have USB-C. They were released before it’s time, obviously. Just expressing that was for me the only draw to the PX...

 

[nerad]

Just bought this a couple days ago and I also noticed that the sound is thin (I wear glasses). The second I take my glasses off and get a good seal, the bass is restored.

What’s strange is that if I enable the stronger noise cancellation modes (City or Flight) the bass comes back despite me wearing glasses. It isn’t any stronger compared to when I take the glasses off and create a good seal though. Go figure. I don’t think I’ve ever worn another pair of headphones where the bass is so severely affected by glasses for me.

For me, it's definitely about the seal and how these cans are less forgiving than my other headphones. My experience mirrors Napilopez's. It would be awesome if alternative earpads were available. For now, I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to turn ANC on 95% of the time (as I wear glasses that often).

Hi there, I'm new to Head-Fi. To all who have been posting, it has been great reading all your thoughts and opinion on the B&W PX.

I'm currently deciding between the PX or the Audio Technica DSR7BT. I like the sound quality from both these headphones. However, I'm not too pleased with the overall build quality of the DSR7BT and worried about the seal for the PX (I wear glasses). I have been trying to find out more about the seal and whether the ear pads break-in over time, but couldn't find the answer yet. I hope someone here can shed some light over this as I've demo-ed the PX a couple of times over the past few weeks, and similarly have experienced the whole "wearing glasses = headphones sound thin, glasses off = headphones sound awesome!" issue.

Can you or anyone else (especially people who wear glasses regularly) comment on whether the ear pads do eventually break-in and conform over the arms of your glasses to provide the much needed seal? I too am wearing glasses for the better part of the day, so it's really crucial for me to know if the ear pads do eventually break-in or not. Thanks!

 

[kismetsky]

Hi there, I'm new to Head-Fi. To all who have been posting, it has been great reading all your thoughts and opinion on the B&W PX.

I'm currently deciding between the PX or the Audio Technica DSR7BT. I like the sound quality from both these headphones. However, I'm not too pleased with the overall build quality of the DSR7BT and worried about the seal for the PX (I wear glasses). I have been trying to find out more about the seal and whether the ear pads break-in over time, but couldn't find the answer yet. I hope someone here can shed some light over this as I've demo-ed the PX a couple of times over the past few weeks, and similarly have experienced the whole "wearing glasses = headphones sound thin, glasses off = headphones sound awesome!" issue.

Can you or anyone else (especially people who wear glasses regularly) comment on whether the ear pads do eventually break-in and conform over the arms of your glasses to provide the much needed seal? I too am wearing glasses for the better part of the day, so it's really crucial for me to know if the ear pads do eventually break-in or not. Thanks!

I wear thick plastic framed glasses and have been using the PX's daily for the past three weeks. The ear pads have broken in quite a bit and are much more comfortable now (no fatigue or soreness after 2-3 hour listening sessions). The sound has improved, with better base response and a more accurate midrange. I attribute this to a combination of both burn-in and an increased seal. They do, however, sound slightly better with my glasses off.

 

[dickydoo]

Hi there, I'm new to Head-Fi. To all who have been posting, it has been great reading all your thoughts and opinion on the B&W PX.

I'm currently deciding between the PX or the Audio Technica DSR7BT. I like the sound quality from both these headphones. However, I'm not too pleased with the overall build quality of the DSR7BT and worried about the seal for the PX (I wear glasses). I have been trying to find out more about the seal and whether the ear pads break-in over time, but couldn't find the answer yet. I hope someone here can shed some light over this as I've demo-ed the PX a couple of times over the past few weeks, and similarly have experienced the whole "wearing glasses = headphones sound thin, glasses off = headphones sound awesome!" issue.

Can you or anyone else (especially people who wear glasses regularly) comment on whether the ear pads do eventually break-in and conform over the arms of your glasses to provide the much needed seal? I too am wearing glasses for the better part of the day, so it's really crucial for me to know if the ear pads do eventually break-in or not. Thanks!

For me, the ear pads have softened up a bit, but not enough to provide a better seal with my glasses on. I still need to activate ANC 95% of the time, but when I do have the opportunity to wear them sans glasses and with ANC off, the sound is divine. When ANC is activated the sound is compromised, but still very good.