[RedHotFuzz]

So my question is, based on the persistent theme around B&W headphones year after year, is why is the company so inept at designing for comfort? I imagine their field testing for ergonomics goes something like this:

“So how do they feel, Steve?”

“Meh, they kinda hurt my...”

“Stop right there, that’s good enough for us! Let’s sign off on the final design and send these to production!”

Sony and Bose seem to get it. Too bad all their stuff is plastic and vinyl, despite the high prices. B&O’s circular cups are dumb, but at least their products feel pretty good. Sennheiser understands. Frankly I keep hoping Apple (but not Beats) will throw their hat into the premium over-ear space, because Apple does a bajillion hours on field testing for user experience (hockey puck mouse notwithstanding). Give me leather and stainless steel/carbon fiber/aluminum that looks like a million bucks but also feels like a million bucks.

Every time I break out my P7W, my skull whimpers a little in anticipation. They are a work of art but just miserable to wear over time. Sounds like the PX isn’t much better, and I haven’t seen many raves for the comfort of the PX7 either.

What’s the problem, B&W?

(Side note: I just picked up a pair of Airpod Pros for my noise-cancelling needs. They feel great, and the user experience is fantastic. No, they aren’t top-tier for audio.)

 

[hifi80sman]

So my question is, based on the persistent theme around B&W headphones year after year, is why is the company so inept at designing for comfort? I imagine their field testing for ergonomics goes something like this:

“So how do they feel, Steve?”

“Meh, they kinda hurt my...”

“Stop right there, that’s good enough for us! Let’s sign off on the final design and send these to production!”

Sony and Bose seem to get it. Too bad all their stuff is plastic and vinyl, despite the high prices. B&O’s circular cups are dumb, but at least their products feel pretty good. Sennheiser understands. Frankly I keep hoping Apple (but not Beats) will throw their hat into the premium over-ear space, because Apple does a bajillion hours on field testing for user experience (hockey puck mouse notwithstanding). Give me leather and stainless steel/carbon fiber/aluminum that looks like a million bucks but also feels like a million bucks.

Every time I break out my P7W, my skull whimpers a little in anticipation. They are a work of art but just miserable to wear over time. Sounds like the PX isn’t much better, and I haven’t seen many raves for the comfort of the PX7 either.

What’s the problem, B&W?

(Side note: I just picked up a pair of Airpod Pros for my noise-cancelling needs. They feel great, and the user experience is fantastic. No, they aren’t top-tier for audio.)

I currently have the PX & P7W and I would not say, by definition, that either are actually comfortable. That being said, I can wear both for around 3 hours, so it's not a big issue for me. Others are more sensitive for various reasons, be it head size, shape, tolerance level, etc.

I do agree that some companies prioritize user experience and try to marry that as much as they can with raw performance. I think B&W is in a position to do both, so hopefully they can pull it off.

 

[Maukey]

I still own both.

If you get a good seal with the PX' horrible pads, you get a warm, relatively mid-centric sound signature. Bass is slightly north of neutral, mids are very lush and present, treble is sculpted but relatively linear and inoffensive. The PX7 has much more bass, which hits hard but has good speed and texture. Mids are taking the backseat, but a mild emphasis in the presence region keeps them from drowning. Lower treble is slightly muted, while mid/upper treble is emphasized to keep details and positional information. The PX7 sounds more spacious btw. and has better instruments separation.

The PX7 are a clear improvement over the PX for me. Their signature is different and very relaxed which is fine for me, because I use them for traveling and because of their noise cancelling function. The PX7's ANC is much better than the PX' and doesn't destroy the sound quality.

@hifi80sman complained about the mid/upper treble emphasis (around 10khz), which is a very personal thing. Some people are sensitive towards certain frequencies (that would be 8khz for me but 10khz for @hifi80sman ). If you cannot stand Beyerdynamic Headphones, you won't like the PX7.

I 100% agree with this. I don’t still own the PX, but going off of memory, this pretty much mimics my thoughts with what I remember of the PX. Just being able to listen to the PX7 with ANC on and not hate them is huge. Only minor hits to the sound this go round as oppose to the massive drop off you get with the PX.

 

[hifi80sman]

I 100% agree with this. I don’t still own the PX, but going off of memory, this pretty much mimics my thoughts with what I remember of the PX. Just being able to listen to the PX7 with ANC on and not hate them is huge. Only minor hits to the sound this go round as oppose to the massive drop off you get with the PX.

Agreed. If you need ANC, then the PX7 are the way to go. ANC on the PX kills the sound. For my use, I don't need the ANC, I just like the sound of the PX.

 

[JoePR31]

I still own both.

If you get a good seal with the PX' horrible pads, you get a warm, relatively mid-centric sound signature. Bass is slightly north of neutral, mids are very lush and present, treble is sculpted but relatively linear and inoffensive. The PX7 has much more bass, which hits hard but has good speed and texture. Mids are taking the backseat, but a mild emphasis in the presence region keeps them from drowning. Lower treble is slightly muted, while mid/upper treble is emphasized to keep details and positional information. The PX7 sounds more spacious btw. and has better instruments separation.

The PX7 are a clear improvement over the PX for me. Their signature is different and very relaxed which is fine for me, because I use them for traveling and because of their noise cancelling function. The PX7's ANC is much better than the PX' and doesn't destroy the sound quality.

@hifi80sman complained about the mid/upper treble emphasis (around 10khz), which is a very personal thing. Some people are sensitive towards certain frequencies (that would be 8khz for me but 10khz for @hifi80sman ). If you cannot stand Beyerdynamic Headphones, you won't like the PX7.

Thanks for the feedback. When it comes to sound signature, it sounds like the PX are better general purpose headphones that sound good with any type of music, and the PX7 are more “fun”, but don’t get along as well with certain types of music or recordings. How do they compare when it comes to detail retrieval?

By the way, the pads on version 2.0 of the PX, the version that ships with the hard case, are a bit softer than the ones on the original. It’s still not a comfortable headphone, but it is wearable for a couple of hours at a time, which is much longer than I was able to wear version 1.0...which I wanted to take off almost immediately. Where it does make a bigger difference is in their ability to maintain a seal. They’re still not glasses friendly, but they easily maintain a seal while I walk around, eat, and even when I’m laying down (of course, you’re mileage may vary).

 

[ilatimer1]

Thanks for the feedback. When it comes to sound signature, it sounds like the PX are better general purpose headphones that sound good with any type of music, and the PX7 are more “fun”, but don’t get along as well with certain types of music or recordings. How do they compare when it comes to detail retrieval?

By the way, the pads on version 2.0 of the PX, the version that ships with the hard case, are a bit softer than the ones on the original. It’s still not a comfortable headphone, but it is wearable for a couple of hours at a time, which is much longer than I was able to wear version 1.0...which I wanted to take off almost immediately. Where it does make a bigger difference is in their ability to maintain a seal. They’re still not glasses friendly, but they easily maintain a seal while I walk around, eat, and even when I’m laying down (of course, you’re mileage may vary).

That's the frustrating thing about these headphones. I had my daughter try and compare these to the M3s. She picked a song Westworld by Enan Giia and she said the PX7s sounded more fun and alive than the M3s (which is the opposite opinion I have). So I listened to her song and the PX7s sounded fantastic. Then I went and played more of my music like Slipknot and the PX7s sounded dark and muddy. I wish the were more consistent because I do like the fit of the PX7s better.

 

[hifi80sman]

Thanks for the feedback. When it comes to sound signature, it sounds like the PX are better general purpose headphones that sound good with any type of music, and the PX7 are more “fun”, but don’t get along as well with certain types of music or recordings. How do they compare when it comes to detail retrieval?

By the way, the pads on version 2.0 of the PX, the version that ships with the hard case, are a bit softer than the ones on the original. It’s still not a comfortable headphone, but it is wearable for a couple of hours at a time, which is much longer than I was able to wear version 1.0...which I wanted to take off almost immediately. Where it does make a bigger difference is in their ability to maintain a seal. They’re still not glasses friendly, but they easily maintain a seal while I walk around, eat, and even when I’m laying down (of course, you’re mileage may vary).

Those were my EXACT issues with 1.0.

- Hard earpads that seemed to have a thinner footprint and "cut" into my skull.
- Poor seal retention, especially when chewing, laying, etc.

The headband in the 2.0 is also softer (you can also see the leather is not as tight) and the earpads are certainly improved to allow for a seal. No, they are definitely not cross-country, international staples, but I can wear them for 3 hours and feel pretty good.

 

[hifi80sman]

That's the frustrating thing about these headphones. I had my daughter try and compare these to the M3s. She picked a song Westworld by Enan Giia and she said the PX7s sounded more fun and alive than the M3s (which is the opposite opinion I have). So I listened to her song and the PX7s sounded fantastic. Then I went and played more of my music like Slipknot and the PX7s sounded dark and muddy. I wish the were more consistent because I do like the fit of the PX7s better.

First impressions, the PX7 sound more immersive and exciting. However, when listening to certain genres, they definitely have a darker tilt. What you're hearing as dark some dampening in the presence region (anywhere from 2 kHz to 4 kHz). What people are hearing as exciting, is the peak at around 10 kHz (which for me is too sharp). Mix that in with deep, rich bass, and you basically have a movie theater strapped to your head. Not necessarily tuned for rock, etc.

 

[chriscym]

Hi Guys, anyone can help to test this song "O Holy Night" by Celine Dion, I copy the spotify link here. On my PX7 from 3:15 onwards especially at 3:40 region where the high pitch chorus starts did u guys hear some distortion on the right side? or only my set have this or maybe PX7 is unable to handle this song?

 

[Ziar]

I just tested it using tidal mine px7 seem to handle it fine.it could be that tidal quality is slightly better also have you updated to latest firmware 1.1 I think my sound has become better after update less harsh

 

[chriscym]

I just tested it using tidal mine px7 seem to handle it fine.it could be that tidal quality is slightly better also have you updated to latest firmware 1.1 I think my sound has become better after update less harsh

thanks I have yet to update to firmware 1.1. I will try tidal and see if the same issue happen. It sounds like a broken driver on certain frequencies , I hope its just software.

 

[chriscym]

I just tested it using tidal mine px7 seem to handle it fine.it could be that tidal quality is slightly better also have you updated to latest firmware 1.1 I think my sound has become better after update less harsh

I did another test, I tried with wired connection using the 3.5mm audio cable. Correction : same amount of distortion. I will try update firmware and test again

 

[Asspirin]

Hi Guys, anyone can help to test this song "O Holy Night" by Celine Dion, I copy the spotify link here. On my PX7 from 3:15 onwards especially at 3:40 region where the high pitch chorus starts did u guys hear some distortion on the right side? or only my set have this or maybe PX7 is unable to handle this song?

It's a compression artifact in the track itself. Has nothing to do with your headphones. I can hear it with any headphone I use. It's just a poorly mastered track,

 

[chriscym]

It's a compression artifact in the track itself. Has nothing to do with your headphones. I can hear it with any headphone I use. It's just a poorly mastered track,

Thanks buddy for testing, I'm glad it is not headphone problem.

 

[Jazz1]

I'm now using the newest firmware with my iPad and iPhone. That fixed my problem with the "ambient sound pass-through" not working. Well it works well now, if fact if you really crank the slider right you get super hearing

But, I see another problem. When I shut the headphones down or maybe just close the app. the feature shuts off and has to be turned on again.

Anyone else seeing this issue? I'll probably report it to B&W. Also, I'm going to let B&W know that they need their app. to accommodate landscape modes on an iPad. I hate it when apps. force me to re-orient the iPad.

Happy Holiday everyone. The spiraled ham is in the oven!