It’s hard to track and post comparison in all three thread, and since many people will be choosing between these three, here is my comparison. I haven’t used over-ears for many years, but I lost my 64 Audio A12, so I bought a M3. But its battery life and design was terrible, so I returned it. Now I have PX7 and IO6.
I came in as a fan of all three companies. I used to have Dali speakers and before that, a Zeppelin. HD700 were my favourite ever over-ears.
Summary: Sound
1. IO6
2. M3
3. PX7
Summary: Everything Else
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
Summary: Which is best?
M3 is out of the question because of battery life and design. PX7 sounds overly forwards and harsh compared to IO6. But in every way other than sound the IO6 leaves you feeling it could be so much better – ANC is barely there, the ear cups are bulky yet claustrophobic, and it lacks an app and so on. With no long haul flights on the horizon until the new year, this shootout leaves me wanting to wait.
Sound
1. IO6
2. M3
3. PX7
IO6 has a larger soundstage than PX7. It sounds much more balanced. Separation is better. Lows are not bad but PX7 is much punchier. PX7 has much more more forward mids and feel comparatively claustrophobic.
From what I remember, the M3 had a prominent lows and overall was somewhere between the two.
Overall I prefer the IO6 by far. Side-by-side PX7 is very unimpressive.
Fit: ear pads and cups
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
I have average ears and the IO6 slightly squeezes my ears at the top and bottom. It’s not a question of depth, but ear height/length. It is not painful at all, but it makes my ears much warmer than the PX7 or M3 and this means I cannot use them for very long. It sounds trivial but this is a fatal flaw for me. Top to bottom of the inner rim of the IO6 pad is 5mm shorter than the PX7. The PX7 ear cups feel more spacious in terms of length and depth, and much cooler to my ears overall. Despite being much more compact, they are the most spacious. This also means that the PX7 is least noticeable on your head while walking or wearing a jacket with a high collar.
Fit: headband
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
PX7 headband has a longer range of padding than IO6, but the plastic portions on the IO6 do not come into contact with your head due to the angle.. M3 has less passing than both.
Adjusting the headband is better on PX7 and IO6 because of the grippier movement. The over-the-top headband of the M3 is loosest and I often ended up with an imbalanced headband.
ANC
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 is much better than M3 on Auto and High. PX7 especially is night and day compared to IO6. In fact it‘s barely noticeable on the IO6. In the PX7 thread someone mentioned wind noise on High but not on Auto. In the box or app tutorial it notes that High is best for consistent noise such as aeroplane. Also, no adjustability for IO6. Likewise the M3 apps has low ear pressure mode equivalent to Auto, but I never felt any pressure on High. The IO6 box says “immersive noise-cancelling” but it really isn’t.
Passive isolation
1. IO6
2. M3 (not 100% sure though)
3. PX7
IO6 has best passive isolation. M3 was probably very slightly better than PX7. PX7 isn’t terrible though.
Transparency
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
The transparency level is adjustable on PX7. On high it works as it should and you can hear things around you, whereas on the IO6 it doesn’t make any noticeable difference unless you pause audio. It was decent enough on M3 but not adjustable.
Controls
1. IO6
2. PX7/M3
They all use buttons instead of touch, which I prefer. As I wrote above, the play/pause button on the IO6 is large and easy to press. This is great on your head, but it also means that it is easy to accidentally hit play while in your hand or on a flat surface. On the IO6 and M3 it is a small button on the rim of the ear cup.
The volume button are separate and use by hitting the top or bottom of the black ring around the Dali plate. This is much easier than feeling your way to the buttons on the rim of the IO6 and M3, for fear of hitting the wrong one.
Ear detection (auto play/pause)
1. PX7
2. IO6/M3
PX7 has auto-pause/play with adjustable sensitivity and the normal setting works perfectly. It was not adjustable on M3 and was overly sensitive. It would be triggered by a turn of the head, so I deactivated it.
IO6 lacks this feature and although the play/pause button is huge and easy to press (the coloured Dali plate on the ear cup), the sound if you temporary take them off your head will disturb people in quiet places.
App
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 has an app for settings and updates. It lacks an equaliser. The M3 app did not work in the month I had it. Its equaliser was overly simple. No app for IO6.
Announcements
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
* I turned off the M3 announcements from the app because they didn’t always help, especially battery life. IO6 announcements can’t be turned off and they are not perfectly clear because the same button runs the sequence of ANC and transparency, and at the end of the sequence it just says “off” and “on”. IO6 also announces battery level each time you turn it on. PX7 notifications felt just right and can also be turned off from the app.
Multi-point pairing
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 can connect to two devices at once and this works. You can quickly adjust these two devices in the app. This is not a big deal until you have to disconnect/connect between devices having had this luxury. IO6 seemed painful after using PX7. The M3 was supposed to do this too but it didn’t always work. It also annoyingly called each device a phone (“phone 2 connected”) regardless of what it was.
Appearance
1. PX7
2. IO6/M3
PX7 and M3 are more obviously designed with external appearance in mind. Carbon fibre on PX7 is more discreet than it looks. IO6 is about as safe looking as possible. The exposed wires on the M3 seem out of place in 2019 regardless of previous designs. The cloth around the PX7 ear cups looks like it will attract lint.
Battery life
1. PX7/IO6
2. M3
Estimates for PX7 and IO6 seem accurate. Ultimate the threshold for me is the duration of a long haul flight, which both meet with ease. M3 battery life is much lower on paper and lower still in practice. No more than 8 to 10 hours for me, which meant that I had to charge it on some flights.
Portability
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
M3 has to be folded up to be turned off. This is a terrible idea. You can’t keep it on a stand, hang it on a headphones hook or lamp during a flight. You can’t wear it around your neck. You can’t hold it in your hand by the band. The PX7 and IO6 has an ideal solution to saving power for people who forget to turn their headphones off: they go into standby mode. On the PX7 you can adjust this period.
Case
1. PX7/IO6
2. M3
M3 has a thin, cheap-feeling fabric case that is no less bulky than the others. The cases are good for PX7 and IO6. PX7 case is more compact but IO6 case has a handle. Only IO6 comes with a flight adapter.
I came in as a fan of all three companies. I used to have Dali speakers and before that, a Zeppelin. HD700 were my favourite ever over-ears.
Summary: Sound
1. IO6
2. M3
3. PX7
Summary: Everything Else
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
Summary: Which is best?
M3 is out of the question because of battery life and design. PX7 sounds overly forwards and harsh compared to IO6. But in every way other than sound the IO6 leaves you feeling it could be so much better – ANC is barely there, the ear cups are bulky yet claustrophobic, and it lacks an app and so on. With no long haul flights on the horizon until the new year, this shootout leaves me wanting to wait.
Sound
1. IO6
2. M3
3. PX7
IO6 has a larger soundstage than PX7. It sounds much more balanced. Separation is better. Lows are not bad but PX7 is much punchier. PX7 has much more more forward mids and feel comparatively claustrophobic.
From what I remember, the M3 had a prominent lows and overall was somewhere between the two.
Overall I prefer the IO6 by far. Side-by-side PX7 is very unimpressive.
Fit: ear pads and cups
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
I have average ears and the IO6 slightly squeezes my ears at the top and bottom. It’s not a question of depth, but ear height/length. It is not painful at all, but it makes my ears much warmer than the PX7 or M3 and this means I cannot use them for very long. It sounds trivial but this is a fatal flaw for me. Top to bottom of the inner rim of the IO6 pad is 5mm shorter than the PX7. The PX7 ear cups feel more spacious in terms of length and depth, and much cooler to my ears overall. Despite being much more compact, they are the most spacious. This also means that the PX7 is least noticeable on your head while walking or wearing a jacket with a high collar.
Fit: headband
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
PX7 headband has a longer range of padding than IO6, but the plastic portions on the IO6 do not come into contact with your head due to the angle.. M3 has less passing than both.
Adjusting the headband is better on PX7 and IO6 because of the grippier movement. The over-the-top headband of the M3 is loosest and I often ended up with an imbalanced headband.
ANC
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 is much better than M3 on Auto and High. PX7 especially is night and day compared to IO6. In fact it‘s barely noticeable on the IO6. In the PX7 thread someone mentioned wind noise on High but not on Auto. In the box or app tutorial it notes that High is best for consistent noise such as aeroplane. Also, no adjustability for IO6. Likewise the M3 apps has low ear pressure mode equivalent to Auto, but I never felt any pressure on High. The IO6 box says “immersive noise-cancelling” but it really isn’t.
Passive isolation
1. IO6
2. M3 (not 100% sure though)
3. PX7
IO6 has best passive isolation. M3 was probably very slightly better than PX7. PX7 isn’t terrible though.
Transparency
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
The transparency level is adjustable on PX7. On high it works as it should and you can hear things around you, whereas on the IO6 it doesn’t make any noticeable difference unless you pause audio. It was decent enough on M3 but not adjustable.
Controls
1. IO6
2. PX7/M3
They all use buttons instead of touch, which I prefer. As I wrote above, the play/pause button on the IO6 is large and easy to press. This is great on your head, but it also means that it is easy to accidentally hit play while in your hand or on a flat surface. On the IO6 and M3 it is a small button on the rim of the ear cup.
The volume button are separate and use by hitting the top or bottom of the black ring around the Dali plate. This is much easier than feeling your way to the buttons on the rim of the IO6 and M3, for fear of hitting the wrong one.
Ear detection (auto play/pause)
1. PX7
2. IO6/M3
PX7 has auto-pause/play with adjustable sensitivity and the normal setting works perfectly. It was not adjustable on M3 and was overly sensitive. It would be triggered by a turn of the head, so I deactivated it.
IO6 lacks this feature and although the play/pause button is huge and easy to press (the coloured Dali plate on the ear cup), the sound if you temporary take them off your head will disturb people in quiet places.
App
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 has an app for settings and updates. It lacks an equaliser. The M3 app did not work in the month I had it. Its equaliser was overly simple. No app for IO6.
Announcements
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
* I turned off the M3 announcements from the app because they didn’t always help, especially battery life. IO6 announcements can’t be turned off and they are not perfectly clear because the same button runs the sequence of ANC and transparency, and at the end of the sequence it just says “off” and “on”. IO6 also announces battery level each time you turn it on. PX7 notifications felt just right and can also be turned off from the app.
Multi-point pairing
1. PX7
2. M3
3. IO6
PX7 can connect to two devices at once and this works. You can quickly adjust these two devices in the app. This is not a big deal until you have to disconnect/connect between devices having had this luxury. IO6 seemed painful after using PX7. The M3 was supposed to do this too but it didn’t always work. It also annoyingly called each device a phone (“phone 2 connected”) regardless of what it was.
Appearance
1. PX7
2. IO6/M3
PX7 and M3 are more obviously designed with external appearance in mind. Carbon fibre on PX7 is more discreet than it looks. IO6 is about as safe looking as possible. The exposed wires on the M3 seem out of place in 2019 regardless of previous designs. The cloth around the PX7 ear cups looks like it will attract lint.
Battery life
1. PX7/IO6
2. M3
Estimates for PX7 and IO6 seem accurate. Ultimate the threshold for me is the duration of a long haul flight, which both meet with ease. M3 battery life is much lower on paper and lower still in practice. No more than 8 to 10 hours for me, which meant that I had to charge it on some flights.
Portability
1. PX7
2. IO6
3. M3
M3 has to be folded up to be turned off. This is a terrible idea. You can’t keep it on a stand, hang it on a headphones hook or lamp during a flight. You can’t wear it around your neck. You can’t hold it in your hand by the band. The PX7 and IO6 has an ideal solution to saving power for people who forget to turn their headphones off: they go into standby mode. On the PX7 you can adjust this period.
Case
1. PX7/IO6
2. M3
M3 has a thin, cheap-feeling fabric case that is no less bulky than the others. The cases are good for PX7 and IO6. PX7 case is more compact but IO6 case has a handle. Only IO6 comes with a flight adapter.
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