[raymanh]

Just tried the PX7 S2. I have to say I'm a little disappointed as I have been with the countless wireless headphones I've tried in the last few months.

First of all, the ear cups are quite small and felt a bit stuffy and hot. I don't even have particularly big ears.

In terms of the sound, I thought they sounded much too energetic and over emphasised the bass and treble to the point where it sounded quite congested. For me it seemed the 'detail' they put out wasn't so much detail as it was just boosted treble. To be fair I mostly listen to older songs which aren't mastered particularly well. But even so, my M40x (what I want to replace) and Jabra 75t's sound much more clear and natural. I was listening to 'At Seventeen' by Janis Ian and some parts of her vocal at the start dip into the bass region and suddenly start almost reverberating. Even listening to podcasts, the voices felt very deep, dark, and just had too much energy.

I'm not sure if this is what high fidelity sound is and perhaps I just don't like it. Either way my M40x and Jabra 75t sound leaps and bounds ahead. They still boost the bass and treble, but it never feels too much and still sounds clear and natural.

Time to try the Momentum 4's I suppose.

 

[raymanh]

I went to the store again today to give the PX7 S2 another listen. This time I brought my M40x along with me to compare them. Spent a good 20 minutes listening to all kinds of genres of music.

First, the positives. The ANC seems to be much closer to Sony/Bose levels now, and they do feel nice to look at and hold.

However, I am truly stumped with understanding the appeal of the sound of these cans. The bass and treble is so emphasised to the point that they sound quite unbearable to me. I don't get it. Isn't this the kind of exaggerated-bass-treble-scooped-mids frequency response that Beats and other 'commercial' headphones are (rightly) ridiculed for? Why is it that if it's suddenly plastered in 'Bowers & Wilkins' logos does it suddenly become good?

Throughout my time listening to them I was trying to tell myself 'no, these are good', 'these are hifi', 'they have good reviews on an audiophile forum'. But I couldn't convince myself. I've listened to about 10 different wireless headphones and about 10 different wired headphones of all kinds of price ranges. These have to be some of the worst headphones in terms of sound I've tried. It's not even that I don't like boosted bass and treble. I'm not one of those people that looks for a flat FR. What I like is boosted bass and treble, but this PX7 S2 takes comically far. I cannot fathom paying $400 for this.

What am I missing here? At this point I'm honestly just confused how people can be satisfied with this SQ at $400.

 

[jthomp72]

I went to the store again today to give the PX7 S2 another listen. This time I brought my M40x along with me to compare them. Spent a good 20 minutes listening to all kinds of genres of music.

First, the positives. The ANC seems to be much closer to Sony/Bose levels now, and they do feel nice to look at and hold.

However, I am truly stumped with understanding the appeal of the sound of these cans. The bass and treble is so emphasised to the point that they sound quite unbearable to me. I don't get it. Isn't this the kind of exaggerated-bass-treble-scooped-mids frequency response that Beats and other 'commercial' headphones are (rightly) ridiculed for? Why is it that if it's suddenly plastered in 'Bowers & Wilkins' logos does it suddenly become good?

Throughout my time listening to them I was trying to tell myself 'no, these are good', 'these are hifi', 'they have good reviews on an audiophile forum'. But I couldn't convince myself. I've listened to about 10 different wireless headphones and about 10 different wired headphones of all kinds of price ranges. These have to be some of the worst headphones in terms of sound I've tried. It's not even that I don't like boosted bass and treble. I'm not one of those people that looks for a flat FR. What I like is boosted bass and treble, but this PX7 S2 takes comically far. I cannot fathom paying $400 for this.

What am I missing here? At this point I'm honestly just confused how people can be satisfied with this SQ at $400.

Do you want the honest answer? From what I can tell outside of a very small minority that admittedly would be the people in this forum… Studies of shown that people want that curve people consider that curve to sound good and that’s what sells we’ve had so many years of V and U shaped cans that they have become the norm

 

[Ernet]

@raymanh .. " However, I am truly stumped with understanding the appeal of the sound of these cans. The bass and treble is so emphasised to the point that they sound quite unbearable to me. I don't get it. Isn't this the kind of exaggerated-bass-treble-scooped-mids frequency response that Beats and other 'commercial' headphones are (rightly) ridiculed for?". What?! Have you really heard THAT kind of sound ? Thank listen to Technics EAH-A 800, latest Senheiser or Sony XM5 head phones. They have exactly you describe over. But Bowers Wilkinson PX 7 S2. ...they are the most balance I have heard do far. Moreover I agree with more reviewers who claim the same as I do.

 

[Maukey]

I went to the store again today to give the PX7 S2 another listen. This time I brought my M40x along with me to compare them. Spent a good 20 minutes listening to all kinds of genres of music.

First, the positives. The ANC seems to be much closer to Sony/Bose levels now, and they do feel nice to look at and hold.

However, I am truly stumped with understanding the appeal of the sound of these cans. The bass and treble is so emphasised to the point that they sound quite unbearable to me. I don't get it. Isn't this the kind of exaggerated-bass-treble-scooped-mids frequency response that Beats and other 'commercial' headphones are (rightly) ridiculed for? Why is it that if it's suddenly plastered in 'Bowers & Wilkins' logos does it suddenly become good?

Throughout my time listening to them I was trying to tell myself 'no, these are good', 'these are hifi', 'they have good reviews on an audiophile forum'. But I couldn't convince myself. I've listened to about 10 different wireless headphones and about 10 different wired headphones of all kinds of price ranges. These have to be some of the worst headphones in terms of sound I've tried. It's not even that I don't like boosted bass and treble. I'm not one of those people that looks for a flat FR. What I like is boosted bass and treble, but this PX7 S2 takes comically far. I cannot fathom paying $400 for this.

What am I missing here? At this point I'm honestly just confused how people can be satisfied with this SQ at $400.

I'm not sure what you're listening to, but the way you describe these headphones is nothing like what my ears hear. I was a Beats Studio 2 and 3 fan when it came to workout headphones. I've listened to them for probably thousands of hours. The PX7 S2 sound nothing, and I mean nothing like the Studio 2, 3, or any Beats headphone for that matter. If you think the PX7 S2's treble is emphasized, please do not get the Mark Levinson 5909, Master & Dynamic MW75, Sennheiser Momentum 4, or Bose QC45, your ears will bleed. The PX7 S2 have a warm character and a mid and high bass emphasis, but they are not what I consider a V shaped headphone. I describe their character as warm neutral. I will not accuse you of lying as we all have different hearing, but the way you describe the sound is just completely opposite of what many users and reviewers are hearing. Are you sure you aren't listening to the original PX7? I could definitely see your description being more accurate for those.

 

[raymanh]

Do you want the honest answer? From what I can tell outside of a very small minority that admittedly would be the people in this forum… Studies of shown that people want that curve people consider that curve to sound good and that’s what sells we’ve had so many years of V and U shaped cans that they have become the norm

I read a study that showed most people, trained and untrained prefer the Harman curve. I haven't seen a graph of the PX7 S2, but the graph for the PX7 (here) has has more elevated bass than the Harman, and very peaky treble. Given that, these seem to be more bassy than what people consider to be good.

What?! Have you really heard THAT kind of sound ? Thank listen to Technics EAH-A 800, latest Senheiser or Sony XM5 head phones. They have exactly you describe over. But Bowers Wilkinson PX 7 S2. ...they are the most balance I have heard do far. Moreover I agree with more reviewers who claim the same as I do.

I've listened to the XM5 and indeed thought they were terrible. Very muddy bass. The PX7 by comparison isn't as muddy as such, but when vocals dip into the bass region for a brief time, it just becomes too much suddenly. For me it sounded very very warm and far from balanced.

I'm not sure what you're listening to, but the way you describe these headphones is nothing like what my ears hear. I was a Beats Studio 2 and 3 fan when it came to workout headphones. I've listened to them for probably thousands of hours. The PX7 S2 sound nothing, and I mean nothing like the Studio 2, 3, or any Beats headphone for that matter. If you think the PX7 S2's treble is emphasized, please do not get the Mark Levinson 5909, Master & Dynamic MW75, Sennheiser Momentum 4, or Bose QC45, your ears will bleed. The PX7 S2 have a warm character and a mid and high bass emphasis, but they are not what I consider a V shaped headphone. I describe their character as warm neutral. I will not accuse you of lying as we all have different hearing, but the way you describe the sound is just completely opposite of what many users and reviewers are hearing. Are you sure you aren't listening to the original PX7? I could definitely see your description being more accurate for those.

I'm really not great at describing the sound to be honest. All I know is that it didn't suit me and I'm struggling to understand why. The bass being too much I'm sure about. The treble... you could well be right. It could just be that it was too spikey or something, not necessarily too much. Or it could be that given the energy of the bass, any slight elevation in the treble may make it feel too energetic for me. The best description that comes to mind for the PX7 S2 was that it was too energetic.

Of the headphones you've mentioned, I have tried the QC45 and I thought they sounded pretty good but a little bit boring, IIRC, there was quite a lack of bass. I haven't tried the new Momentum 4, but I have tried the Momentum 3 more than once and I really liked their sound.

Forgot to say, yes they were definitely the S2. I have tried the original PX7 before and thought the bass was much too harsh and aggressive. To me it was a bass head's headphone.

 

[sergeant blackburn]

what were you people talking about? HuH??

 

[Random Lunatic]

The don’t work for me. The b&w seem one of the better options on the wireless market atm, but major issue for me and some others I’ve talked to is the fit. The literally can’t seal on my head, at the bottom, at all. So unless I’m actively pressing the bottom of the cups I can’t use them - which is annoying cause I really wanted to get a pair of these.

 

[Tufuki]

I have one question about these headphones. I´ve read they have dac mode when wired. If I wire them to an iphone, may I enjoy the lossless audio from apple music?

 

[37mil]

I have one question about these headphones. I´ve read they have dac mode when wired. If I wire them to an iphone, may I enjoy the lossless audio from apple music?

Confirmed works with iPad with usb c.

Actually, the sound quality I've got from these phones is best using the iPad or Mac via usb. It's very mediocre with wired and BT on android phones. I'm not sure what's up with that.

Overall, even with usb it's a very average sounding pair of headphones. I'm not very experienced with the wireless and this price range but I don't know what the rave reviews are on about. These are very mediocre, sounding similar to something budget to mid range from 20 to 30 years ago.

Also, the ANC has a very obvious bass boost and closes down the soundstage, which isn't tremendous to begin with. Even with ANC off, the sound is very artificial leading me to believe there is constant DSP manipulation of the audio, probably a much cheaper way of EQ-ing the frequency response to achieve what they should have done with hardware engineering.

Overall, I feel it's an average performer but it's at a price that I find approachable. Inflation these past 30 odd years have done nothing good for sound quality in hifi unfortunately.

If anyone remembers the 20 year old Philips ANC headphones that retailed for $40 or $50, those performed excellently in sound and ANC considering it's considered low tech by today's standards.

 

[bassdad8]

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder I guess. When comparing my recently acquired Px7 S2s to my existing options (mdr Xb950n1, AirPods 2nd gen, HyperX Cloud Alpha), there is no doubt which is the superior listening device. I set my budget ($500), did my research, and at the last moment pivoted away from the trusted Sony brand (xm4, xm5), gave beats the heave-ho and kept my extra duckets, by ducking the Apple. Senns, Hifiman, and others were simply too much of an unknown. And what I think I have accomplished, is purchasing the best headphones for me. I mean, I put them on and whether it’s Coltrane, Mastodon, Nirvana, or Stapleton, Radiohead, or Portisehead, I am transported. Everything else just fades away. That’s all I really wanted anyway.
Now about which portable DAC… lol… another time maybe. My mistress is waiting.

 

[bassdad8]

I have one question about these headphones. I´ve read they have dac mode when wired. If I wire them to an iphone, may I enjoy the lossless audio from apple music?

I will do my best to let you know. I have been using a Fiio q3 and I will be receiving an Ifi hip-Dac 2 tomorrow. Both have full MQA decoding. As soon as my Tidal free trial is over, I will be upgrading from HiFi to HiFi plus which grants access to MQA recordings. So far, the only significant difference I have noticed in using the q3 is volume. There’s a whole lot of it, and the analog control is also excellent. Bass boost is okay, nothing spectacular, but I do use the gain boost. There’s a lot to play around with. As soon as I have had the chance to try both DACs with MQA, I’ll let you know.

 

[maserluv]

PX7 S2e is launched!

 

[Nehero]

I picked up a blue pair today

I've got the PX7 and H95's - will give the S2's some decent time and then I'll chuck up some impressions. Had them on for about 30mins and so far so good! Running them from my iPhone but through the Creative Bluetooth adapter (so codec is APTX HD). Certainly a lot clearer than the PX7!

Which BT adapter do you have from Creative?
Because I looked and they are all USB-C and none support iPhone

 

[jthomp72]

Which BT adapter do you have from Creative?
Because I looked and they are all USB-C and none support iPhone

Well considering the iphone 15 Is just out today I wouldn't think any would support it until now. We'll see when companies officially update their info to reflect that they will or won't work with the new USB-C iphone's. I imagine the pro and pro max variations will support more since they are true USB C 3.0 speeds and capabilities.