hifi80sman
Headphoneus Supremus
Your journey is very much similar to mine. I just went to Best Buy to re-purchase the M3, did an A/B comparison in the car (yes, I was the creepy guy if anyone saw me in the parking lot for 50 mins switching headphones) and ended up returning the PX7 and driving off with the M3. This is the 3rd version of the M3, but the sliders on this one feel firmer than the other 2 I had. They stay in place, and although they are not as smooth as the M2, I can live with them. The hard 10k spike on the PX7 just did me in. They're good with older remastered tracks (classic rock, etc.), but a lot of the newer stuff just sounded harsh, which in turn created an odd characteristic: warm, yet hard downturn with veiled upper mids/low treble, and an icepick 10k spike. Depending on the source, as @Dougeefresh put it, they are bipolar, which is very apparent if you're switching genres throughout the day. The sound on the M3 is consistently good for a wider range of music and the mic is a bit better, which fit my needs in the office more than the PX7. I also wish the PX7 had a sidetone when you're on a call, as I just tend to yell on the phone when I'm wearing them and i get crazy looks when people walk by my office. Maybe it has more to do with my bipolar rotation of headphones on a daily basis.The comparison between the PX7 and M3 is tough for me. I think that overall, the PX7 is the superior overall wireless ANC headphone. Better ANC, Better passive isolation, Better Battery, Better multi device pairing and connection management with the app, and Better carry case. The only thing that the M3 has on the PX7 is a more consistent SQ and a better mic for calls, although I’m not having any issues with people hearing me on the PX7 since repurchasing them on Friday. The thing with the PX7’s SQ is that at times I love it. I actually prefer it to the M3. It just depends on source. There are times where I feel it’s not natural sounding. The M3 is just great consistently with no matter what I throw at it. Also the PX7 has a volume limiter. Although it gets plenty loud for me at around 75% on my Apple products, I can see people wanting extra volume being disappointed with the limiter. It basically prevents certain frequencies from getting louder on the PX7 past a certain point. It helps if you adjust the volume from the headphones itself because it goes up in smaller increments than on the device.
I’ve actually purchased the M3, returned them for the PX7, repurchased the M3, returned the PX7, and just Friday repurchased the PX7 LOL. Now I’m thinking I’m going to keep the PX7 and that will be final. I have the Dali io-4 for home use which is where I prefer to use the M3. I honestly feel that the PX7 is the better headphone for portability than the M3. In that scenario, the SQ plays less of an important role. I prefer the Dali io-4 for home use. It’s the most neutral wireless headphone I’ve heard. The only thing that can get in the way of the PX7 at this point is my Bose N700 that I have up for sale. If it doesn’t sale, I may just return the PX7 and go with the Bose N700 and Dali io-4 as my dual threat headphones.
Fabrication quality of the M3 is great, the overall build quality is still very good (just not as good as the M2), but I love the PX7 build quality and utilization of carbon fiber. Get rid if the 10k spike, update the firmware to include an EQ, add the option for sidetone when on calls, improve the ambient mode to allow for instant on & the ability to play music at normal levels, and improve the mic quality in terms of better vocal refinement (people can hear me fine, but my voice sounds a little muffled). I actually sent an email to B&W on Monday regarding the possibility of addressing these issues via firmware update, but I've not heard back (supposedly a 48 hour turn time, which has now passed).