Bowers & Wilkins - PX7 S3

Momentum 4's are currently way cheaper than that and provide a great *balanced* sound. I've been researching a shitton of headphones in this range lately, so I'd say get that. If you can squeeze out another Benjamin - get the HDB 630. The Sennheisers may feel plasticky but they're pretty well built - you don't see many reports of them breaking compared to Sony forums. Oh, I completely forgot - Bowers&Wilkins Px7 S3 - those are great. Whathifi named them the best for sound quality (although the HDB630 was just released and is getting ton of praise from audiophiles), and they're very well built - metal stuff and all. If it's too expensive - wait for the Black Friday or get the S2e. I'd recommend to stay away from PX8 (1st gen), unless you want muddy bass all over the place.

NC700 are pretty light headphones (around 254 grams) so this surprises me a bit. The XM6 weight about the same, the QC a bit less and the really good ones I have (Bathys/Px8) and the Px7s3 a lot more. Would look at the XM6 which has a phenomenal microphone and ANC solid (if a bit bass forward) sound (EQ helps) and pretty comfortable although I don't like the shallow earpads. The Bose QC Ultra and QC are also right around the XM6 and NC700 in weight but may feel more comfortable for you as they don't use the same headband.

You need to be a bit more specific. Do you need/want ANC? Do you need/want microphones for calls? If not I'd get the Drop 6xx which is just a mass produced Sennheiser HD650. They are comfortable, light (a little too plasticky for me but that allows them to be cheaper and lighter) with very good resolution in the mid-range. Add a subbass low shelf filter by EQ and they are perfect. For ANC, I lean toward the Bose QC Ultra 1 or the B7W Px7s3 for comfort and decent but not great sound.

Same here, was really disappointed with the Px7 S3, sounded way too congested to my taste..

As a pretty invested audiophile  going on 5ish years now with many wired headphones and IEMs, I have to say that I hold these in high regard above most other wireless headphones out today. They have a very modern Bauhaus-inspired design with a great quality build, and of course a very deep, rich cinematic-type sound that is detailed but a lot of fun to listen to. I’m going to start with sound as that is the most important to me; I personally own both the Sony WH-1000XM5 and XM4, and these absolutely \*demolish\* them. The AirPods Maxes have some of the most detailed and cleanest sub-bass extension I’ve heard in a headphone period. Even when comparing to other high-regarded wireless headphones like the Focal Bathys, I would still pick the Maxes simply for their slimmer, more discrete profile, and a cleaner more impressive low-end kick, not to mention the better noise-cancelling and transparency functionality. The Maxes do have some mid-range and vocal scoop present, but it doesn’t feel \*dirty\* or masked like the Sonys. And, if you have an iOS device simply enabling the “balanced tone” + slight accessibility setting brings back those higher notes in a more natural and pleasing way. (Though for me personally, it does introduce some shimmer to the treble, so I like the more meatier vocal presentation in its default configuration)  Where the Maxes gave me grumbles at first was with its comfort and USB-C lossless functionality. These gave me wicked ear and head pains for the first couple of days, but seemingly overtime that completely went away. I can now wear these all day with no issues, but I would still say that this is where most other headphones excel at better. I found that the trick to have the best fit is to make sure the lower part of the ear cup doesn’t touch the upper part of your jaw. The USB-C functionality used to be bugged when it was first introduced, but with a recent firmware update it now works flawlessly on windows. However, it is still picky about certain DAPs. So to sum up, these headphones are excellent! It may be hard to justify these in terms of price, especially when things like the AirPods Pro 2s exist, but I don’t think anything will give you the same type of movie theatre-like low end. These are incredible for watching Atmos content in, and do an excellent job at providing a nice coloured sound response that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to suffocate you with muddy bass or shrill highs.  *If I were to consider this headphone as an all-in-one package (sound, ANC, comfort, smart features), I would put these at #1 above pretty much everything else on the market. Others may excel in certain areas, but no headphone will do all of it, as well as the maxes in my opinion.* Now some quick comparisons:  **Sony WH1000-XM6**: I can actually see these being a very good alternative to the maxes if you need something lighter, and more space friendly. The XM6s have much more natural sounding tuning than its predecessors, but It still sounds “compressed” and dull compared to the maxes. The maxes seem to sound “bigger”, with easier to separate details and better overall perceived technicalities. **B&W PX7 S3**: If you took my maxes away and forced me to use a different headphone, this would be it. It is B&Ws best tuning and headphone yet, it’s super slim, sleek, rich design, and good feeling materials in hand. The sound is much more exaggerated but it does so in a way where you don’t lose detail, it sounds as or more wider than the maxes at times with its much more brighter highs. The bass is a tad boomy, but it feels textured and fun. Some quality of life features also surprised me, like when you move one cup off the side from your ear, the music will automatically pause.  **Bose QC Ultra**: The QC ultras are more comfortable and lighter than the maxes, but don’t do much to inspire me sound wise. Very bland, and sometimes too bass heavy with thin vocals. It feels more like a “tool” for travel rather than a headphone to enjoy.  **Momentum 4**: I did not like the momentum 4s at all. Super boosted sub-bass that masks the rest of the frequency response, and what sounds like a scoop in the upper mids. Design and ANC also leave a lot to be desired. **Focal Bathys and MG**: Right off the gate the MGs just did not do it for me, sounded very tubby and echoey, heavy, big, mediocre ANC, and what felt like an overall worse product than the cheaper Bathys. I would still choose the APM over the bathys for being cheaper, and better a noise cancellation while still providing that really deep and rich bass response. 

All around: Sony XM6 Value: Bose QC Ultra (on sale) Sound quality alone: B&W Px7 S3

Check out the B&W Px7 S3. IMO, I the sound quality is better, particularly the sound stage. However, I don't think they'll be as good at everything else the XM6 is, particularly call quality.

I mean yes but no one does ANC better than sony. Thats the major selling point. I’ve found my favorite wireless headphones from a sound perspective are the Melomania P100’s with a very clean and neutral sound, but ANC and comfort on those are mediocre at best. I now have the Px7 S3 and they are also great sounding with DECENT anc (not amazing u need music playing as well). I saw some people say it too but the Momentum 4’s are great as well if ANC is not a priority

I have tried the px7 s2 and px8 s2 and today my 630s came in….quick answer is the px8 s2 sound better…to me it sounds fuller and the separation is better….the 630s are no slouch they have great mids but they did not have that “full” bass that the px8 or px7 has…vocals sound better as well in the bowers…the bowers also get louder not by much but they are louder than the 630s…again you wont be disappointed with the 630s but since I have the px8 I’m keeping them and returning the 630s…. Also…build quality of the bowers is just more premium…the 630s are just hard plastic…they don’t feel like a toy but the px8 is aluminum and Napa leather lol…the 630s do feel better than anything Sony tho so there’s that lol

I have tried the px7 s3 and px8 s2 and today my 630s came in….quick answer is the px8 s2 sound better…to me it sounds fuller and the separation is better….the 630s are no slouch they have great mids but they did not have that “full” bass that the px8 or px7 has…vocals sound better as well in the bowers…the bowers also get louder not by much but they are louder than the 630s…again you wont be disappointed with the 630s but since I have the px8 I’m keeping them and returning the 630s…. Also…build quality of the bowers is just more premium…the 630s are just hard plastic…they don’t feel like a toy but the px8 is aluminum and Napa leather lol…the 630s do feel better than anything Sony tho so there’s that lol

I mean we’re talking $30 difference between the px7s3 and the 630s…I never had the px7 s2 so I can’t speak on that…but I tried some of the pre existing eq in the 630s…to be honest they’re all crap lol I found all of them to reduce the volume by a bit except for the hip hop setting…so then I tried the parametric eq…I raised the Low bands a bit and the high bands to get more “air” but all in all it never came close to the px8 s2…I use the px8 in True sound mode and compared to the 630s it just sounds better to me…………… *I just realized in my original post I put px7 s2 but I never had the s2 I meant s3 smh my bad* I highly doubt the px7 s2 would come close to competing with the 630s

Well don’t get me wrong…the px7 s3 sounds AMAZING!!!like really close to the px8 s2…but the 630s just had a bit more separation than the px7…and the separation on the px8 puts me in a trance…I really can’t explain it…however my biggest deciding factor was the build quality…the px8 feels like a million bucks…the px7 feels like half a million and the 630s feel like they should cost $350 lol….

I've seen both in person and while the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 might look more premium in photos, in real life it looked really tacky and cheap, because of the shiny sides that reflect a bunch of light and are super unpleasant to look at. The sound quality on the QC Ultra Gen 2 was also atrocious (at least the store unit that I demod). It sounded extremely muddy and everything was muffled and the bass was over bloated AF. The XM6 on the other hand sounded surprisingly balanced and had great vocal presence. Also tried the PX7 S3 and found it more comfortable than the XM6 but much worse ANC and also worse sound because there's too much bass.

Paid $329 for them about 2/3 weeks ago and they’re easily the best headphones I’ve ever had. I’ve had a few different headphones/earbuds over the years. Started with first gen AirPod Pro’s in 2021, had to warranty them out I swear every 2 months (Apple replaced them 5 times under warranty), once they finally broke and Apple would not replace them for free, I fell victim to Beats and got Beats Studio Pro’s (I did not like them the second I pulled them out of the box). Ended up getting AirPod Pro 2nd generations (love those and they are serving backup duty to my Bose QC Ultra headphones. I also briefly got a pair of Bose QC’s 2023, but ended up giving those to my dad since I was honestly very content with my AirPod Pro’s. That was until I got the sudden urge to buy headphones again. Living in Iowa, I use my headphones as earmuffs when I walk around when the weather starts getting cold 🤣. Was between the Sony XM6 and the Bowers and Wilkins PX7 S3. The second I tried out the Sony in the store I immediately ruled them out. They look cheap, felt meh, no headband cushioning, and while the sound was decent and the tech features were nice, I just did not love them like I did the Bose when I tried them in store. The Bowers and Wilkins however would have gotten the sale if it wasn’t for their meh adaptive and noise canceling. Loved the sound signature over the Bose (not by much though, the Bose still sounded amazing in comparison) but as someone who uses transparency mode about 97% of the time, mic quality was very important to me and it just felt artificial on the B&W. I also liked that the Bose had the ActiveSense feature where in Aware mode it still filters loud sounds, similarly to my AirPods Pro. The only thing I wish the Bose did have from my AirPods is conversation awareness but honestly it’s easy just to swipe the volume control down when I start talking so I’ve gotten used to it. They get to join my growing Bose family. I’ve got a 10 year old Bose Wave in my room, a SoundLink Flex 2nd Gen, SoundLink Max, and now these!