Bowers & Wilkins - PI7 S2

I’ve got the Pi7 s2’s, the WF-1000XM5s, AirPods Pro (latest), and the Denon Perl Pro - and they all have their pros and cons. The Denon Perl Pro are the sleeper though, they look bizarre, but once you run the tuning program they sound as good if not better than the others. Haven’t tried the Pi8’s yet, but love my Px8’s.

I have some B&W pi7 s2. Sound great last me the night whole schoolday from 7 till 3

I have been using the MTW4 for just about a year. At the same time I have Bose Ultra Quiet II and B&W pi7 s2. For most of the days I have the MTW4 with me. Bose was my first pair of wireless earbud and its ANC and sound quality (comparing with my original ancient iPhone wired earbud) blew me away, until I tried the MTW4. Yes its ANC and bass is not as strong as Bose, but its sound quality is much better with wider sound stage, more details and more clear, and it’s very well balanced that it won’t sound harsh to your ears. The Pi7 s2 has the most beautiful sound out of the three, but its lacklustre ANC and lack of control on the earbud makes me only use it at home when the surroundings are quiet. I heard Pi8 does better than Pi7 but the price keeps me away from giving it a try. MTW4 has accompanied me on hundreds of occasions when I need to separate myself from the noisy environment and let me live in my own world. I really love this pair of little things. Until recently, it started to malfunction from time to time. The ANC of the right earbud sometimes suddenly goes a little “transparent” and I can hear the noise outside. It is not very obvious but it makes you feel the imbalance between the left earbud. At first I thought maybe it’s due to the noisy environment, however, one day, I literary caught the moment when the right earbud went from normal ANC to abnormal, with a subtle “click” sound. Then I knew it was not my hallucination. Sometimes when I put it back to the case and took it out again, it fixed itself, but sometime it doesn’t. I don’t know where to turn to fix this problem but it’s really annoying to see the beloved earbud malfunction :(

My experience with b&w earbuds is there bluetooth connection always falls off after using it for a while, a staffmember from hifi klubben said they fixed it with the pi8 Ps i had pi7 and pi7 s2 and pi5. Very good sound and the pi8 is rather loud compared to older models but not bad tbh

My experience with b&w earbuds is there bluetooth connection always falls off after using it for a while, a staffmember from hifi klubben said they fixed it with the pi8 Ps i had pi7 and pi7 s2 and pi5. Very good sound and the pi8 is rather loud compared to older models but not bad tbh

People speak about the AZ100 with EQ but all buds and headphones are the same. They need tuning. I have AZ100 and out of the box they sound better than any Sennheiser I’ve had which all definitely need to go through Sound Personalisation to even sound reasonable. Anyway I agree, AZ100 and also B&W although I had Pi7S2 so the new ones may be even better

Comfort wise I found buds with stem design to be the most comfortable —AirPods pro 3 and B&O beoplay ex—the least comfortable for me would be Bose QC ultra, Xm3, 4, and Momentum 3 since those are very bulky. For ANC, AirPods Pro 3s and Bose QC Ultras are top tier and Sony a lil behind. In terms of sound quality, PI7 S2s, Beoplay ex and HiFiman sounds best to my ears. I usually daily drive either AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QC Ultra along with either Beoplay EXs, B&W PI7 S2s, or HiFimans. (One for good ANC and the other for good sound quality)

I purchased the Jbl tour pro 3 four days ago. I returned them yesterday. They sounded good, but my ears couldn't get a good seal on them. I tried all the ear tips. I got the B&O Pi7 S2, they fit perfectly.

Does anyone here know about the final VR3000 Wireless? Someone wants to trade it for my B&W Pi7 S2 with some added cash (+115 USD to be exact) Should I accept? For context, I literally hate how the Pi7 S2s sound. I want to know if the VR3000 is decent, if not, I'll just look for a full cash buyer

This is marketing and brand reach doing what it does best. There are plenty of brands doing great things in the market that aren't getting a lot of attention. JLAB's Epic Lab earbuds were fantastic; JBL, Moondrop, Nothing Ear, SoundPeats, numerous other brands tested very well against the top of my list, which consisted of the Denon Perl Pro, Technics AZ80, Sennheiser True Wireless Momentum 4, Sony XM5, AirPods Pro, B&W Pi7 S2 and Pi8. I have the AZ100s on the way, and I'm sure they'll occupy one of those top spots. It's important to note, however, that many of these brands do not need to push as many units to remain successful. At the economies of scale companies like Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose are operating at, the investment into their production, distribution, customer service, and operations pipelines is immense. They are likely expecting to sell tens of thousands of units, to the thousands that other brands need to turn a profit. And while you may see those more prolific brands everywhere, don't forget the communities of people on social media platforms that regularly market and recommend the opposing brands. They're not as common, but that's to be expected and will remain that way by nature. In other words, while the popular brands may be ubiquitous, that is by design. It doesn't mean opposing manufacturers are on a downward trajectory. This was the assumption when Jabra cancelled its TWS ANC lineup, and that may have been part of the decision, but Jabra had other, more profitable interests and chose to constrain their business goals around those interests because there was more opportunity there. As someone that's tested dozens of ANC earbuds (and has a wide ranging collection of dedicated, wired IEMs), I have very few biases when it comes to competing brands. If it works well, I'll use the thing. I have no qualms recommending a pair of Soundcore VR P10s, right alongside top-tier TWS sets if I think it fits the individual's use case. Recently, I took a long flight overseas and left all the other major TWS brands behind and took a cheap pair of PortaPros and a $20 pair of Aliexpress stem-style earbuds with me. Everyone else on the plane was wearing AirPods.

Apple AirPods Pro are near the bottom of my list for sound quality. Their value is in feature set and ecosystem integration. It no longer owns the top spot in ANC, which goes to the Bose QC Ultra. If you want the best earbuds for sound quality and balance of features, Denon Perl Pro with AAT, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 with Sound Personalization, Technics AZ100, Technics AZ80, Bowers & Wilkins Pi8, Pi7 S2, and the Sony WF-1000XM5. In that order. If you need a cheaper option, the JLab Epic Lab Edition is a great “budget” option. I don’t own the JBL sets, but I’ve heard good things. Which buds you choose should be based on personal preference. If I preferred a more neutral tuning, the Pi8 would probably be higher on my list. I prefer JM-1 or V-shaped tunings, with strong low frequency emphasis, and bright, clear treble. The best overall performer if you places ANC and sound quality on the same scale would be either the AZ100 or MTW4. Both have solid ANC, with the AZ100 coming out ahead, but the MTW4 beating the Technics in tuning due to the AZ100s strange upper mid/treble timbre. Anything below the JLab, you’d need to reassess your expectations. Some sets have decent enough sound quality, but below a certain budget you’d might as well shoot for a dedicated IEM and something like a Qudelix 5k for your wireless connection.

Here's my shortlist, based on sound quality: Sennheiser MTW4 (with Sound Personalization), Technics AZ100 (with Dynamic EQ), Technics AZ80, Denon Perl Pro (w/ AAT as well as personal correction, Immersion set to 1), B&W Pi8/Pi7 S2 in their stock tuning, Devialet Gemini II, Noble Fokux Rex5 (both with EQ). Much of the sub will argue which is the best between all of the above, and I'd say they each have their own list of pros and cons, but would otherwise please anyone looking for the best sound quality in an earbud. More critically, what you prefer will, obviously, be based on personal preference. My main genres are rock/metal, and thus the MTW4 performs better than the AZ100 in this case, due to how the AZ100's tends to compress or lose detail in the upper midrange and treble -- which can diminish some of the aggression and attack of high-gain guitars. Doesn't matter how great the AZ100s sound for any other genre, when I want to listen to tracks from specific genres, the AZ100s fall behind the MTW4 for me. However, when I want the best all 'rounder for travel and out-of-the-office work, I grab the AZ100s because of their superior battery life and ANC. I also strongly prefer their fit/comfort (with Dunu S&S tips). The key takeaway here is, there is a lot of nuance to which set is the "best." Reserve Sony and Bose for when ANC is your major priority. Both require far too much EQ to correct their stock tuning; Sony's Personalized EQ and Clear Bass feature cannot fully address its darker, muddier tuning and it's much harder to land on something you might enjoy -- unless you like their "house sound" (some do). Will add a bit of a budget banger in the JLAB Epic Lab Edition; this set doesn't get enough love and remains in my rotation. It comes with a dongle, fit is solid, and battery life is stellar -- it outlasts every set on my list above. ANC and transparency is average, at best, but it gets the job done. Avoid B\&O; they are poor value for money. Beyerdynamic roughly follows the same diffuse field tuning it uses in its over ear sets, and unless you prefer that type of tuning, I would not recommend their sets. Even as a mix engineer, I tend to steer clear of Beyerdyanmic products nowadays. I haven't tested Marshalls sets; I have a strong bias against collab/brand partnerships/white label products, for more reasons than just the performance of a particular headphone/earbud.

This is very preference based, so keep in mind that, depending on the tuning you prefer, your list will be slightly different: For sound quality: Devialet Gemini II > Fokus Rex5 > Sennheiser MTW4 (with Sound Personalization) > Technics AZ100 > Denon Perl Pro (with AAT) > Technics AZ80 > Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 > Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 > JLAB Epic Lab > Sony WF-1000XM5 (Personalized EQ with Clear Bass on). For ANC and app features: WF-1000XM5 > Technics AZ100 > Sennheiser MTW4 > Technics AZ80 > Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 > Denon Perl Pro > the rest of the list What I'd actually buy (my personal list): MTW4 > Technics AZ100 > B&W Pi8 The MTW4 is probably the best balance of sound quality and features, followed by the AZ100s and Pi8. The Pi8's tuning is a little too well balanced and lacking energy, which doesn't work for my preferences and, unfortunately, there's not enough options to EQ them further. The AZ100s are closer to the MTW4, but there is some strange compression/artifacts through the upper mids and treble that impact, specifically, high-gain guitars -- which takes them down a notch for me. If it wasn't for this issue, the AZ100s would probably be in the top spot, with better overall battery life and ANC compared to the Sennheiser's. Secondarily, the EQ profiles/presets are not reproducible with the in-app EQ, which tells me there's further DSP impacting the stock presets. In other words, even though the EQ is more customizable, I wouldn't consider it an improvement over other 5-band EQs as nothing you implement can compete with the Dynamic EQ for sound quality. The Gemini II and Rex5 are both two of the best sounding earbuds on this list, that I wouldn't recommend buying unless you care about nothing else. They both sound excellent, but have issues with codecs, app/usability, features, etc. I'm waiting for the next iteration of these sets to see how they perform, but I don't think the value is there for either, as the entire point in a pair of earbuds/TWS is the balance of features and portability. If you care that much about sound quality that you'll sacrifice feature set, buy a Qudelix 5k with a pair of Xenns Tea Pros/Top Pros, or some other IEM in the midfi category.

Lol yeah, Acoustical engineering was the first of many passions in my life that never left me. The B&W Pi7 and Pi7s2 were garbage. Sound quality good, but fit was terrible, ANC terrible. The Pi8 are great.....except I hate the style - I preferred the Pi7 styling much more. But if they are not comfortable (many reports), I can't justify the price (even when they were on clearance at $250). The B&W Pi8 get great marks all around - improved sound, more comfortable, improved ANC, better call quality. So overall worth the money it seems. The B&O EX earbuds were a first gen product. Great sound quality, no complaints about comfort from what I gathered. But ANC was pathetic for the price tag and age of the product (no excuses, much cheaper $150 earbuds at the time had better ANC software and that should not have been the case) The B&O Eleven again fixed all those issues and made a great earbud. Personally if I were in the pursuit of premium sound quality, the Nobel and B&O earbuds would be high on my list. But yeah I really personally can not justify going to that level of premium earbuds just yet. I don't feel like we've reached the pinnacle of design to justify these prices. Because for me, it's not just about performance. When you're spending $500 on an ear piece, it better f*cking look good. I don't want some ugly tacky plastic piece on my ears. Why don't we see more metals and such in premium earbuds? I'd love some silver, gold or titanium trim accents! Let's make these fashion pieces instead of trying to hide them (or make them white to blend in with all other airpods..... sigh). Ok, stepping off my shoebox now haha