Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Excellent sound only goes so far

All merchandise really helpful by Engadget are chosen by our editorial staff, unbiased of our father or mother firm. A few of our tales embrace affiliate hyperlinks. When you purchase one thing by certainly one of these hyperlinks, we might earn an affiliate fee. All costs are right on the time of publishing.

Bowers & Wilkins is on a little bit of a roll. The corporate debuted two stellar-sounding units of headphones in 2022: the Px7 S2 and the Px8. To kick off 2023, it revealed revamped variations of its true wi-fi earbuds. The extra premium Pi7 S2 sits above the Pi5 S2 within the firm’s lineup, providing assist for aptX Adaptive and 24-bit/48kHz streaming from appropriate gadgets and companies. The retooled Pi7 additionally packs in adaptive lively noise cancellation (ANC) and a case succesful audio retransmission to set itself aside from the brand new Pi5. Nevertheless, the S2 variants of the corporate’s high-end mannequin are significantly costlier than the very best wi-fi earbuds we’ve reviewed they usually lack polish in a number of key areas.

Design

Bowers & Wilkins didn’t reinvent the wheel when it got here to the design of the Pi7 S2. The corporate caught with the general look from 2021’s Pi7, but it surely did change up the colours. Just like the earlier mannequin, this IP54-rated S2 model is available in black and white choices, however the beforehand copper-hued elements at the moment are silver. That change is primarily to the spherical exterior panel the place the corporate’s branding and contact controls reside. There’s additionally a brand new third coloration – darkish blue – which has gold accents. Bowers & Wilkins calls it Midnight Blue, however in individual it’s extra purple than blue to me.

All informed, the Pi7 and Pi7 S2 have a novel form that’s a flat oval with a round contact panel on prime. They aren’t probably the most snug earbuds to put on for lengthy durations of time, however they keep in place whenever you transfer round. When it comes to on-board controls, fundamental playback features are right here they usually’re mirrored on each side. A protracted press on the correct facet will summon your voice assistant, whereas doing the identical on the left cycles between ANC and off. The Pi7 S2 does keep in mind in the event you had the earbuds set to common noise cancellation or the corporate’s auto-adjusting possibility. Nevertheless, there’s no option to set off transparency mode on the earbuds themselves and there’s no possibility for quantity controls. Each are fairly large omissions for a $400 set.

Software program and options

Like latest Bowers & Wilkins headphones, the Pi7 S2 settings are accessible inside the corporate’s Music app. Right here, you may choose your noise cancellation mode (on, auto or off), activate passthrough (transparency mode), handle connections (multipoint accessible for 2 gadgets), disable the wear and tear sensor (computerized pausing) and decide streaming high quality. The primary view for the Pi7 S2 additionally shows battery life for the earbuds and the case individually, however you solely get one quantity for the buds – not a person share for every one. The app additionally permits you to join a handful of music companies to make use of the software program as your media participant. Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer, TuneIn, SoundCloud and NTS are the supported choices right here.

And that’s actually it. There’s no possibility to regulate EQ to pick out from presets the corporate made for the Pi7 S2. Even with its latest headphones, Bowers & Wilkins included treble and bass sliders so you possibly can make changes. Certain, the modifications from these controls are fundamental and pretty refined, however the possibility is there. You can also’t swap up the on-board controls, like reassigning the lengthy press motion. Which implies you’re caught with the left facet biking between ANC on or off, with no fast entry to transparency mode.

One function that units the Pi7 S2 aside from a lot of the competitors is its wi-fi transmission case. You may take the included USB-C to three.5mm cable and use the earbuds with gadgets the place a straight Bluetooth connection isn’t doable – like an in-flight leisure system. All you must do is plug the cable into each the case and the opposite machine and the earbuds will mechanically join. The charging/pairing indicator on the skin of the case will slowly blink white when every thing is in sync. Bowers & Wilkins isn’t the one firm to supply this and it included the device on the Pi7 too. Nevertheless, the function is way from commonplace at this level although it’s popping up extra often on new fashions.

Sound high quality

Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S2 headphones had been a number of the greatest we reviewed final 12 months when it comes to pure sound high quality. The corporate took issues a step additional with its high-end Px8, persevering with its observe report of well-balanced tuning with excellent readability and element. Whereas the Pi7 S2 aren’t fairly on par with the corporate’s headphones, the general audio right here remains to be excellent. I wouldn’t put these earbuds forward of Sennheiser’s premium true wi-fi possibility, however Bowers & Wilkins isn’t far off. Actually, in relation to reproducing refined particulars, I’d argue the Pi7 S2 is barely higher than the Momentum 3 – however solely on that one particular standards.

The beautiful element is clear whenever you hearken to Makaya McCraven’s In These Occasions and different jazz albums. Ditto for multi-instrumental bluegrass. These genres showcase what the Pi7 S2 is able to in relation to readability and subtlety. Within the case of McCraven, it’s not simply a kick drum, you may hear the nuance that that is that trademark, type of muffled bass drum that’s a mainstay of the musical fashion. Horns float on prime of every thing else once they’re current, giving the instrumental tracks a vocal cadence even when there isn’t one.

Extra chaotic genres like exhausting rock and metallic are a blended bag. Some tracks are open, ethereal and bombastic whereas others come throughout barely muffled and subdued. There’s ample bass all through although, which implies the kick drum is tight and punchy irrespective of the remainder. With regards to hip hop and digital music – something with a relentless, driving bass line – the Pi7 S2 does higher. Extra particularly, these earbuds are among the many few that assist you to nearly really feel the low-end tone in a rap observe when it hits that sure frequency. Earl Sweatshirt’s SICK! displays this high quality nicely. For synth-heavy types, like Sylvan Esso’s electro-pop No Guidelines Sandy, the Pi7 S2 completely captures the oscillation in Nick Sanborn’s composition on songs like “Echo Get together.” There’s a variety of finer synthesizer work right here and the Pi7 S2 doesn’t miss a single element.

One space the place the Pi7 S2 is simply OK is canceling out noise. The earbuds do an admirable job in most eventualities, combatting fixed annoying sounds that might in any other case hinder productiveness. Like many units of true wi-fi buds, these aren’t the very best with human voices and different sounds will sometimes pierce by. The Auto noise canceling setting does enhance ANC efficiency over the default “on” possibility, however the Pi7 S2 is nowhere near what Sony, Bose and others on the prime of the heap can muster. And, once more, whenever you’re evaluating a set of $400 earbuds, enough simply isn’t ok.

When it comes to name high quality, the Pi7 S2 is a succesful possibility. They’re not the best possible, they usually don’t deal with background noise nicely, however the earbuds received’t go away you sounding such as you’re on speaker telephone, which is the case with a lot of the competitors. You’ll positively need to activate transparency mode right here, although that setting isn’t as natural-sounding as it’s on Apple’s AirPods Professional and others. Bowers & Wilkins permits you to hear what’s happening round you, so that you received’t really feel the necessity to shout to listen to your self. Nevertheless, the earbuds don’t feed your voice again by, so it’s not practically the pristine expertise as utilizing the AirPods Professional or AirPods Max for calls.

Battery life

Bowers & Wilkins guarantees as much as 5 hours of battery life on a cost on the Pi7 S2, up from 4 hours on the Pi7. You’ll additionally get a further 16 hours within the case and the power to cost wirelessly. Throughout my checks, I used to be in a position to hit this mark reliably with ANC on although the corporate’s estimate relies on it being turned off. Nevertheless, not like latest Bowers & Wilkins headphones I’ve examined, the Pi7 S2 didn’t surpass the acknowledged figures. The corporate has additionally included a quick-charge function that offers you two hours of use in quarter-hour.

5 hours is considerably lower than a lot of the competitors. Sony’s WF-1000XM4, for instance, clocks in at eight hours with lively noise cancellation. For a set of $400 earbuds, I’d anticipate a minimum of that a lot or extra.

The competitors

Regardless of being practically two years previous, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are nonetheless the very best true wi-fi earbuds you should purchase proper now. Merely put, no different firm comes near providing the truckload of options Sony has crammed into its premium buds. On prime of nice sound high quality and succesful noise cancellation, the M4 can mechanically pause whenever you begin speaking, is supplied with a fast consideration mode and might change sound settings based mostly in your exercise or location. At the moment $278, they’re an enormous financial savings over the Pi7 S2 and you’ll usually catch them on sale for even much less.

When it comes to pure sound efficiency, the closest competitors to the Pi7 S2 is Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wi-fi 3. They’re accessible for half of what you’ll pay for the most recent Bowers & Wilkins premium earbuds, the audio high quality is excellent they usually pack in additional battery life than the Pi7 S2 – seven hours on the earbuds with three full prices within the case. When you’re on the lookout for the very best noise-canceling chops, Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II ought to be thought-about. They’re $100 lower than the Pi7 S2 and do a a lot better job of blocking out distractions.

Wrap-up

Bowers & Wilkins has established itself as top-of-the-line audio corporations when it comes to pure audio efficiency. The corporate’s Px line of headphones are sonically among the many greatest you should purchase and that development continues for its newest high-end earbuds. Nevertheless, for a set of $400 earbuds, the Pi7 should be practically flawless to justify the premium worth that’s over $100 greater than a number of the closest rivals. Whereas the general sound high quality is nice, these earbuds fall brief when it comes to battery life, customization and ANC efficiency. Bowers & Wilkins’ skill to persistently ship pristine sound isn’t sufficient to make up for what the Pi7 S2 lacks, which is sadly fairly a bit.

Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2

Whereas the general sound high quality is nice, the Pi7 S2 fall brief when it comes to battery life, customization and ANC efficiency – and people are a variety of sacrifices to make in a pair of $400 buds.