I purchased these through Amazon US and they arrived a few days ago. Coming from the Audio-Technica world, this is my first experience with B&W. I’m also new to Bluetooth apart from some cheap earbuds I got for exercise and convenience.
Out of the box I thought the PX sounded just okay in a brief listen. I then put them through about 50 hours of burn-in with various pink noise and frequency tracks on YouTube. The sound is now markedly better so I thought I’d share a few non-technical observations of a variety of musical styles.
Mila Repa from the album Que Alegria by the John McLaughlin Trio. This has been my go-to track for testing speakers and headphones for many years now. It features acoustic guitar along with a wide range of percussion effects from high cymbals to deep bass with a multitude of sounds in-between. On the PX I found the guitar to be rich and satisfying, and the bass controlled and powerful without ever booming (except for the intentional “boom” at 3:52).
Beethoven – String Quartet, opus 131, 1st Movement. This piece begins with a solo violin and gradually the other instruments join in. The PX rendered nice instrument separation – 1st and 2nd violins were clearly distinct, I could even pick up the viola, and the cello was full and balanced. I listened to a Philips recording of Quartetto Italiano from 1996, but any good quartet would be fine for this test.
Bach – Partita #6 in E minor, 1st Movement. Solo piano can be a real challenge for headphones because of the seven octave range of the instrument, plus timbre, pitch and pedal effects, not to mention the pianist, acoustics, and recording engineer. I chose Glenn Gould on a Columbia recording from 1957. It was marvelous. The piano was clear and a touch warm (as I like it to be without sounding flat), and with no harshness in the upper register. I could hear Gould’s faint “humming” on occasion, which is distinctly Gould and present in most of his recordings. So I give the PX high marks for revealing that even though some people find it annoying.
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 5 with Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic. This is a thrilling performance of a dynamically complex piece of music that really comes to life on the PX. It’s beautiful and spacious, capturing the subtle mood shifts and instrument variations exceptionally well. Bravo. Everyone should check this out.
Sarah Vaughan had a vocal range like no other. I listened to two versions of Send in the Clowns – a studio recording with the Count Basie Orchestra and a live performance backed up by a 3-piece ensemble that was, in a word, stunning. In fact it was almost too good. Like it did with Glenn Gould’s humming, the PX picked up some distant, muffled coughs from the audience in the live recording. These headphones can really bring out the subtle elements of sound, both the gems and the flaws.
Rebecca Pidgeon – Spanish Harlem from an album called Audiophile Vocal Recordings. Bring the volume down quite a bit, close your eyes, and it’s like having Rebecca sitting right next to you and singing this song just for you.
Ravi Shankar – Sandhya Raga. Warm and spacious, a gorgeous sound from the sitar master.
Santana – Caravanserai (several tracks). Latin percussion, drums, organ, and the sustained, signature sound of Santana’s guitar all sounded great with excellent stereo.
Nirvana – Come As You Are. I wasn’t expecting the PX to handle the bass requirements so well, but it delivered the goods. Impressive.
Led Zeppelin – Babe I’m Gonna Leave You from their first album. The opening minute with Jimmy Page’s guitar introduction and Robert Plant’s vocals (with great stereo separation) was the best I’ve ever heard on this song. So glad that such a favorite of mine sounded this good on the PX. (For you Zep fans out there, even better sounding was Whole Lotta Love (wow!) and Thank You from their second album).
Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond from the album Wish You Were Here. Totally immersive, just as it should be. The saxophone part near the end was particularly good.
In addition to sound quality, here are a few more thoughts . . .
Comfort is fine. They seem to be a good fit for my long and narrow head. They have enough clamp to create a nice seal, but not so much that it creates pressure. The pads don’t get hot and the weight is okay.
The controls are well placed and easy to use. I like the raised pause button because it helps me locate the volume buttons on either side.
The wear sensor seems okay although I did lose connection a few times today. I was playing music through my iPhone while doing something on my iPad so it may have been confused with the two devices (even though I disconnected if from the iPad). When I turned off the sensor everything was fine. Previously, when only one device was nearby, the sensor had no connection issues so I’m hoping that in most instances I can use the feature.
I listened to the 3 ANC modes, but only a little. I have some extended travel coming up that will give me a good opportunity to experiment more. ANC was one of the reasons I got these. As others have reported, there is a noticeable change in SQ when the ANC modes are engaged, particularly Flight, but I think I can live with that during the rare occasions when it’s needed. I’m glad the ANC modes can be used without listening to music, which will give me a chance to meditate in quiet while traveling on a plane or train. The Sony does not allow this, and that’s one reason I chose the PX.
I haven’t measured the battery life yet, but it held up fine during a couple of overnight burn-ins. Today I noticed a little battery indicator at the top of my iPhone 7 next to the phone’s battery indicator. That’s nice.
The app is okay for what it does, but it takes longer than it should to locate the PX and open.
Overall I’m very pleased with my first week with these headphones.
