I don't normally review things but I feel I have something to say about these so here goes.
The Pi7 S2 are true wireless earbuds offered as a revamped version of the original Pi7, which I've never owned and didn't know about until recently. For earbuds they are expensive - £350, a full £100 premium over apple's Airpods Pro 2 and £80 more than Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds 2.
I have been a user of the Airpods Pro 2 since they were released and loved them, to a point. The ANC is fantastic, they're always in your pocket and if you use iOS devices the convenience factor is huge. ANC is very important to me because I work in a busy office and often travel there on the tube so am constantly exposed to noise. Headphones aren't really a luxury for me they're a necessity. The APP2 are very convenient and have great ANC but there's something about their sound that makes me never want to listen to music, just TV or podcasts. It's hard to describe but I just don't enjoy music through them, it sounds kind of flat, clinical and just unenjoyable somehow.
So I was umming and erring about changing headphones as I often do being an overpaid tech nerd, and was considering the Bose Quietcomfort 2 earbuds. They reportedly sound better and have better ANC so seemed like a good choice. And then after reading a few reviews of other buds I decided to take a punt and try the Pi7 S2. I'd seen one review on amazon where someone raved about them and wanted to see what the fuss was about. At this point I had read several reviews and the detailed reports on rtings so I had a fairly good idea about them and was fully expecting to be returning them in short order. Weak battery life, sub-par ANC, finicky controls, no ability to switch to transparency mode through the touch controls.. etc etc. I was expecting a flawed product but was totally unprepared for what was about to happen.
I put these things in my ears and my whole world changed in the space of a couple of minutes. There's a great saying - "talking about sound is like dancing about architecture" and nothing makes me cringe harder than audiophile-style reviews where people try to describe qualities of audio with language. All I can say here is that i haven't heard anything that sounds so LOVELY in a long time. The sound through these buds to my ears is glorious, magical, almost other-worldly. It's barely believable that something so small can sound so good.
Within a few minutes I was hooked, I couldn't stop listening. It just so happened that my family were away that weekend visiting friends so I spent a full two days with them almost entirely uninterrupted and I just couldn't put them down. They make me want to dance rather than just listen, the sound is so good. I haven't listened to any podcasts since I got them and have been exploring loads of different kinds of music that I rarely listen to or haven't listened to in years. They've rekindled interest in genres I'd long disregarded. Simply put they make the experience of listening to music a conscious joy rather than just a distraction. I have hifi separates that cost over £1000 that don't sound this good. In fact I can't remember the last time I heard sound this good - anywhere.
Now, the compromises of these buds are very real. The controls are annoying and inconvenient. The ANC is practically useless and for some reason seems to dramatically increase the bass. Transparency mode sounds terrible and can only be activated through the app which often requires about 10 seconds to connect. Make no mistake the money you pay for these things is for the sound and some nice industrial design, but mostly the sound. To sum it up they are annoying as hell to actually use, and are less comfortable than the APP2 to boot (I'm still experimenting with aftermarket tips).
The bluetooth connection has been very stable, no drop-outs that I've noticed so whatever issues plagued the Pi7 appear to have been fixed. The case doubles as a wireless transmitter which is pretty cool, not only can you connect it to a 3.5mm jack source but you an also connect it to a computer via USB-C and stream hires audio to the buds from the case. I tried an iPhone with a lightning to USB-C cable but that didn't seem to work. I checked with B&W, this feature uses the standard Apt-X codec which may be slightly better than the AAC that macs and iphones are normally limited to. However, I would absolutely trade this feature for better ANC, less annoying controls and a transparency mode that was actually usable.
But despite all the problems, how could I go back after experiencing this? The APP2 were sold on ebay the very next day, there was no other choice I could make. And now I'm stuck with all this inconvenience and earbuds that don't mask any noise in the noisy environments I need to use them in. I've started wearing ear defenders over the top of them on the tube to work and in the office, which is crazy but it works well enough. It's a bit of an awkward compromise when buds like the QC 2 exist though. If I'd bought them instead my life might still be reasonably coherent right now.
As well as ruining the APP2 forever for me they've also ruined my AudioEngine A5+ desktop speakers which until this I absolutely loved and raved about to anyone who'd listen. But now they seem dull and lifeless and I've started looking into B&W hifi speakers, which require a separate amp and will likely eventually end up costing £1000 or so.
I feel like someone who's been given a small wrap of heroin to try and become an addict overnight. This was an expensive mistake but one I'm still very glad I made.
Pi7 S2 is annoying, deeply flawed, and magical.
The Pi7 S2 are true wireless earbuds offered as a revamped version of the original Pi7, which I've never owned and didn't know about until recently. For earbuds they are expensive - £350, a full £100 premium over apple's Airpods Pro 2 and £80 more than Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds 2.
I have been a user of the Airpods Pro 2 since they were released and loved them, to a point. The ANC is fantastic, they're always in your pocket and if you use iOS devices the convenience factor is huge. ANC is very important to me because I work in a busy office and often travel there on the tube so am constantly exposed to noise. Headphones aren't really a luxury for me they're a necessity. The APP2 are very convenient and have great ANC but there's something about their sound that makes me never want to listen to music, just TV or podcasts. It's hard to describe but I just don't enjoy music through them, it sounds kind of flat, clinical and just unenjoyable somehow.
So I was umming and erring about changing headphones as I often do being an overpaid tech nerd, and was considering the Bose Quietcomfort 2 earbuds. They reportedly sound better and have better ANC so seemed like a good choice. And then after reading a few reviews of other buds I decided to take a punt and try the Pi7 S2. I'd seen one review on amazon where someone raved about them and wanted to see what the fuss was about. At this point I had read several reviews and the detailed reports on rtings so I had a fairly good idea about them and was fully expecting to be returning them in short order. Weak battery life, sub-par ANC, finicky controls, no ability to switch to transparency mode through the touch controls.. etc etc. I was expecting a flawed product but was totally unprepared for what was about to happen.
I put these things in my ears and my whole world changed in the space of a couple of minutes. There's a great saying - "talking about sound is like dancing about architecture" and nothing makes me cringe harder than audiophile-style reviews where people try to describe qualities of audio with language. All I can say here is that i haven't heard anything that sounds so LOVELY in a long time. The sound through these buds to my ears is glorious, magical, almost other-worldly. It's barely believable that something so small can sound so good.
Within a few minutes I was hooked, I couldn't stop listening. It just so happened that my family were away that weekend visiting friends so I spent a full two days with them almost entirely uninterrupted and I just couldn't put them down. They make me want to dance rather than just listen, the sound is so good. I haven't listened to any podcasts since I got them and have been exploring loads of different kinds of music that I rarely listen to or haven't listened to in years. They've rekindled interest in genres I'd long disregarded. Simply put they make the experience of listening to music a conscious joy rather than just a distraction. I have hifi separates that cost over £1000 that don't sound this good. In fact I can't remember the last time I heard sound this good - anywhere.
Now, the compromises of these buds are very real. The controls are annoying and inconvenient. The ANC is practically useless and for some reason seems to dramatically increase the bass. Transparency mode sounds terrible and can only be activated through the app which often requires about 10 seconds to connect. Make no mistake the money you pay for these things is for the sound and some nice industrial design, but mostly the sound. To sum it up they are annoying as hell to actually use, and are less comfortable than the APP2 to boot (I'm still experimenting with aftermarket tips).
The bluetooth connection has been very stable, no drop-outs that I've noticed so whatever issues plagued the Pi7 appear to have been fixed. The case doubles as a wireless transmitter which is pretty cool, not only can you connect it to a 3.5mm jack source but you an also connect it to a computer via USB-C and stream hires audio to the buds from the case. I tried an iPhone with a lightning to USB-C cable but that didn't seem to work. I checked with B&W, this feature uses the standard Apt-X codec which may be slightly better than the AAC that macs and iphones are normally limited to. However, I would absolutely trade this feature for better ANC, less annoying controls and a transparency mode that was actually usable.
But despite all the problems, how could I go back after experiencing this? The APP2 were sold on ebay the very next day, there was no other choice I could make. And now I'm stuck with all this inconvenience and earbuds that don't mask any noise in the noisy environments I need to use them in. I've started wearing ear defenders over the top of them on the tube to work and in the office, which is crazy but it works well enough. It's a bit of an awkward compromise when buds like the QC 2 exist though. If I'd bought them instead my life might still be reasonably coherent right now.
As well as ruining the APP2 forever for me they've also ruined my AudioEngine A5+ desktop speakers which until this I absolutely loved and raved about to anyone who'd listen. But now they seem dull and lifeless and I've started looking into B&W hifi speakers, which require a separate amp and will likely eventually end up costing £1000 or so.
I feel like someone who's been given a small wrap of heroin to try and become an addict overnight. This was an expensive mistake but one I'm still very glad I made.
Pi7 S2 is annoying, deeply flawed, and magical.
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