[3Putter]

So today the px7 carbon came by Mail. I had px until I had to use glasses so I sold them and bought momentum 3 to find bugs with Mac and iOS, delay on audio and the lows where too much for my taste and bought Bose nc700 and had them since... today I will compare these bit first impressions are not so good. I loved the sound on px. Pretty balanced and lows where tight excellent for rock. These just for a few minutes of listening seemed way v or u shape eq but I will listen carefully because if this doesn’t fit my genre I will get apm...

I felt my previous set of PX7's took a bit of getting used to before my brain was in sync with the sound. I really can't imagine the APM's sound that much better. But I've been wrong once before. Once...LOL

 

[nunomeneses]

I felt my previous set of PX7's took a bit of getting used to before my brain was in sync with the sound. I really can't imagine the APM's sound that much better. But I've been wrong once before. Once...LOL

So I remember how burn in made a difference on px and now with a few hours on px7 I enjoy them! Lows are more tamed and controlled as well as treble and upper mid are a bit more open. But now I can’t say if treble is rolled off early or if the peak in maybe 10k is putting almost all sound in treble area in that mark... but I considere this a really controlled and well balanced headphone. Sennheiser m3 are not as controlled and have less attack in music but mids are more forward and treble is more differentiated!? I wish someone with AirPods max and px7 would pronounce on sq as anc is a plus for me...

 

[tim440]

I'm sat on my room listening to Art Pepper in my PX7s and they sound pretty good to me. Some older vocal recordings sometimes don't sound quite how I think they should, but in general I think these get most things pretty tight.

I sold a pair of P7s to put towards the money for these and I think I maybe preferred their sound slightly but I love the convenience of Bluetooth.

 

[recondude]

Just wanted to share my experience with the Carbon edition of the PX7. On black Friday I bought the space grey version from Amazon UK for £219. I preferred the look of the Carbons but they were still full price. As luck would have it over the Christmas period the Carbons also came down in price for a short time to £219 and so I also ordered those. As such I have had the benefit of being able to A & B the space greys and the carbon's, volume matching as much as possible etc. The following is my experience of them both.

The space greys bass is portrayed as an impactful thud very similar to that provided by balanced armatures in IEM's. You hear the bass but don't feel it in anyway. I found it to over shadow the other frequencies particularly the mids as they sound recessed to my ears (old) across all genres. It was for that reason I had made the decision to return the space greys but then the carbon price reduction came along and I decide to hang onto them for comparison.

In relation to the Carbon's, right from the start I thought there were some minor differences between them and the space greys. At first I thought this may have just been down to natural driver variations from the production process. However the more I listened it became apparent to me that the tuning of Carbon's does seem to be different. The carbon's have slightly less bass and it resonates so that it can also be felt as opposed to the thud of the grey's. For me the bass is much more enjoyable on the carbon's and the mids are more forward on them than the grey's. I haven't noticed any particular difference in the highs but then again I do suffer from age related high frequency hearing loss. Other than that the sound stage appeared the same on both as did the imaging.

I am not totally convinced about driver 'burn in' as such. However I definitely believe in component part headphone burn in i.e. pads become less stiff and compressed more, headband stretches and reduces the clamping force etc all of which can affect the frequency response. My above impressions are based on both PX7's have been used on my head for the same period of time.

So there you go, in my view there is sound difference between the Carbon's and the other PX7's. It could be a placebo effect but I genuinely don't think so. It is interesting that the Carbon's are on firmware version V1.2 whereas the space grey's are on V1.1 without any outstanding updates. I think someone on here contacted Bower and Wilkins regarding any sound difference and the response was that they were tuned the same. I don't think that is entirely correct and bare in mind the number of space greys/silver out in the wild that are still to be sold.

Anyway the difference for me was sufficient that I have kept the Carbon's for good. The space grey's have been returned.

Just my impressions and I'm interested if anyone else has had the same experience.

 

[nunomeneses]

Ok I liked that view of things when compared with the space gray. Thank you!

in my case with the carbons I almost fell in love except for the treble area where it seams centered to a certain frequency... but the speed of drums and instruments with tight low end is gorgeous... don’t know what to do since I don’t have here the AirPods max to compare Them with...

 

[3Putter]

Just wanted to share my experience with the Carbon edition of the PX7. On black Friday I bought the space grey version from Amazon UK for £219. I preferred the look of the Carbons but they were still full price. As luck would have it over the Christmas period the Carbons also came down in price for a short time to £219 and so I also ordered those. As such I have had the benefit of being able to A & B the space greys and the carbon's, volume matching as much as possible etc. The following is my experience of them both.

The space greys bass is portrayed as an impactful thud very similar to that provided by balanced armatures in IEM's. You hear the bass but don't feel it in anyway. I found it to over shadow the other frequencies particularly the mids as they sound recessed to my ears (old) across all genres. It was for that reason I had made the decision to return the space greys but then the carbon price reduction came along and I decide to hang onto them for comparison.

In relation to the Carbon's, right from the start I thought there were some minor differences between them and the space greys. At first I thought this may have just been down to natural driver variations from the production process. However the more I listened it became apparent to me that the tuning of Carbon's does seem to be different. The carbon's have slightly less bass and it resonates so that it can also be felt as opposed to the thud of the grey's. For me the bass is much more enjoyable on the carbon's and the mids are more forward on them than the grey's. I haven't noticed any particular difference in the highs but then again I do suffer from age related high frequency hearing loss. Other than that the sound stage appeared the same on both as did the imaging.

I am not totally convinced about driver 'burn in' as such. However I definitely believe in component part headphone burn in i.e. pads become less stiff and compressed more, headband stretches and reduces the clamping force etc all of which can affect the frequency response. My above impressions are based on both PX7's have been used on my head for the same period of time.

So there you go, in my view there is sound difference between the Carbon's and the other PX7's. It could be a placebo effect but I genuinely don't think so. It is interesting that the Carbon's are on firmware version V1.2 whereas the space grey's are on V1.1 without any outstanding updates. I think someone on here contacted Bower and Wilkins regarding any sound difference and the response was that they were tuned the same. I don't think that is entirely correct and bare in mind the number of space greys/silver out in the wild that are still to be sold.

Anyway the difference for me was sufficient that I have kept the Carbon's for good. The space grey's have been returned.

Just my impressions and I'm interested if anyone else has had the same experience.

I'm pretty certain the difference in the Carbon edition to the Grey is just that, color only. Everything else is the same. Same tuning, drivers, etc etc. Could be v1.2 is a different sound but I'm skeptical. There have been others who have contacted B&W and confirmed they are the same units outside of color.

 

[nunomeneses]

I'm pretty certain the difference in the Carbon edition to the Grey is just that, color only. Everything else is the same. Same tuning, drivers, etc etc. Could be v1.2 is a different sound but I'm skeptical. There have been others who have contacted B&W and confirmed they are the same units outside of color.

If the version is different something is different and not only color thats for Sure...

 

[3Putter]

If the version is different something is different and not only color thats for Sure...

Maybe but I can't find any B&W evidence that suggests or states the Carbons are any different other than finish and that includes firmware updates.

 

[recondude]

I'm pretty certain the difference in the Carbon edition to the Grey is just that, color only. Everything else is the same. Same tuning, drivers, etc etc. Could be v1.2 is a different sound but I'm skeptical. There have been others who have contacted B&W and confirmed they are the same units outside of color.

I can understand your point of view. I would never expect anyone just to accept my opinion alone. As always the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so if you can listen to the carbon's a to b with the silver/space greys, you may feel differently.

The main point of my post was to say, folks if you have tried the silvers/space greys and the bass response puts you off, then don't write the PX7's off completely give the carbon's a try first. As I said in the silver/space greys I found the bass to be very similar to that of balanced armatures, and an annoying always present thud at that. The carbon's bass sounds like what it should be - a dynamic driver. This is particularly noticeable when watching films etc.

An example of a good a to b is the soundtrack to Blade runner 2049. The opening 2049, is full of really deep sub bass and it shines on the carbon's.

If it didn't I would have sent both back, my money would have been better spent elsewhere.


Ultimately let your own ears make the decisions.

 

[3Putter]

I can understand your point of view. I would never expect anyone just to accept my opinion alone. As always the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so if you can listen to the carbon's a to b with the silver/space greys, you may feel differently.

The main point of my post was to say, folks if you have tried the silvers/space greys and the bass response puts you off, then don't write the PX7's off completely give the carbon's a try first. As I said in the silver/space greys I found the bass to be very similar to that of balanced armatures, and an annoying always present thud at that. The carbon's bass sounds like what it should be - a dynamic driver. This is particularly noticeable when watching films etc.

An example of a good a to b is the soundtrack to Blade runner 2049. The opening 2049, is full of really deep sub bass and it shines on the carbon's.

If it didn't I would have sent both back, my money would have been better spent elsewhere.


Ultimately let your own ears make the decisions.

Placebo effect. If the drivers and insides of the units are exactly the same how could it be possible they sound differently? Firmware? A defective unit, maybe. I think alot of what I read here is simply human nature - always wanting something better.

 

[nunomeneses]

Placebo effect. If the drivers and insides of the units are exactly the same how could it be possible they sound differently? Firmware? A defective unit, maybe. I think alot of what I read here is simply human nature - always wanting something better.

Well that’s you guessing since you are speaking without having listen to them. All I can say is that having the carbon ones I don’t hear some of the negatives I read here on the other colors... but I can’t judge because I haven’t heard the other colors....

 

[3Putter]

Well that’s you guessing since you are speaking without having listen to them. All I can say is that having the carbon ones I don’t hear some of the negatives I read here on the other colors... but I can’t judge because I haven’t heard the other colors....

Perception is reality in many cases. I'm not saying you're making up things. I'm saying that there shouldn't be any reason they sound different. But we all know, having multiple sets of IEMs and headphones that one day a set can sound outstanding and the next another set can as well. I won't be wanting to try the B&W Carbons because one person said they sound better than the exact same thing in another color. Because if I did and my ears told me they are exactly the same or perhaps worse, I'd be angry. I'm glad you're liking your Carbons! Have a great week!

 

[garethr]

Placebo effect. If the drivers and insides of the units are exactly the same how could it be possible they sound differently? Firmware? A defective unit, maybe. I think alot of what I read here is simply human nature - always wanting something better.

Given there is a difference in firmware versions between the originals and carbons and that the newer firmware version isn’t available for the originals it is a clear indication of a hardware difference of some kind. It is entirely possible that it isn’t intentional and is down to a simple component swap or similar, but there is clearly some kind of difference between the versions regardless of whether B&W believe that have ‘tuned’ them to be the same.

 

[greentea76]

kind od conspiration theory that i am not a fan of at all in general. but, when manufacturer states they are meant to be tuned the same and yet consumers believe there are some differencies and improvements in carbons it is win - win situation for manufacturer. they do not give official reason for cannibalising silvers and space greys by carbons. yet they can enjoy increased demand for carbons among space grey and silver owners if they expect some improvement.

 

[3Putter]

kind od conspiration theory that i am not a fan of at all in general. but, when manufacturer states they are meant to be tuned the same and yet consumers believe there are some differencies nad improvements in carbons it is win - win situation for manufacturer. they do not give official reason for cannibalising silvers and space greys by carbons. yet they can enjoy increased demand for carbons among space grey and silver owners if they expect some improvement.

Why do we all assume this is what is going on? Couldn't be all the distrust of information, social media, and politicians could it? Anyway, when I went on B&W website it said v1.1 is the current firmware out but that dated back to Nov. 2019. Probably inaccurate. To hell with it, I'm buying a set of APM's. LOL