The Sennheiser PXC 550-II are a very peculiar pair of ANC headphones. I don’t think that they live up to the fullest of their potential and I don’t recommend that you run out and get these headphones… but I also wouldn’t just right them off. Depending on your needs and on a very specific set of circumstances these headphones might actually be prefect for you, and for some other people these headphones will might be a disappointment. So lets see if these headphones are right for you.  

Since the Sennheiser PXC 550-II retail for $350 I gotta be a little hyper critical on them just cause theres so much competition in this price range. And personally I really wish Sennheiser brought their A Game here cause the PXC 550-II just barely manage to keep up with the rest of the competition. But non the less if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below. 

Now first off I want to address the carrying case here cause sennheiser is really lacking in this department in general. The PXC 550-II come included with this semi hardshell case. It looks and feels decent but since it still compress’s you still run the risk of crushing your headphones if you have them in your back pack or luggage. This carrying case just isn’t on par with what comes included with the Sony 1000XM3’s or the Bose NC 700’s. But at the very least it is better than the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s case which isn’t saying a lot. When ever you’re paying upwards of $300 on any pair of headphones a hardshell case is to be expected. And quite frankly this is just a disappointment. 

Now when it comes to included accessories these headphones come included with a decent 3.5 to 2.5 millimeter audio cable and they also come included with an airplane adapter which is something you don’t really see these days. But also these headphones come included with a micro USB to USB A charging cable… which mean these headphones are still charging via a micro USB port. Which is very odd cause these headphones are the only recently released premium ANC headphones to still charge via a micro USB port and its super weird cause the momentum 3’s which were announced along side these headphones charge via a USB C port. Which is what we all want. 

Now when it comes to the headphones themselves… personally im not all that impressed by their build quality. Compared to the rest of the competition these headphones feel a little cheap. The soft touch plastic on these ear cups dosnt feel as soft or smooth, the plastic used on these headphones looks like something I would expect on a pair of $200 budget headphones, and the leatherette on these headphones feels very plastic. But when it comes to actually wearing these headphones… thats a whole other story. These headphones are super comfortable, and they’re perhaps the second most comfortable headphones out there. First place still goes to the Bose QC35’s cause of their reduced clamping force and more luxurious feeling materials. But non the less the PXC 550-II’s are definitely big head approved and you forget that you have them on after a while. But one of the reasons that you forget that you have these headphones on and why im willing to look past these headphones so so build quality i cause they’re so freaking light weight. These headphones weigh in at a dainty 230 grams. Where as the Sony 1000XM3’s weigh in at 255 grams and the Bose NC 700’s weight in at a healthy 263 grams. But another reason why these headphones are so comfortable is cause of their spacious ear cups. The ear cups on these headphones are as spacious as the Bose NC 700’s and they put the Sony 1000XM3’s ear cups to shame. So the PXC 550-II’s has the best that both the Sony 1000XM3’s and Bose NC 700’s have to offer. The PXC 550-II’s Bose like spacious ear cups are going to have no problem fitting most ear types, and like the Sony’s they have less clamping force and a low profile headband. So over all since I really like the fit and design of these headphones Im willing to look past their lack luster build quality. 

But now I want to address the battery life on these headphones cause sennheiser is sneaky trying to run a fast one by you. Sennheiser claims that these headphones have a 30 hour battery life with ANC turned on… but thats when they’re used with a wired connection. Technically they’re not wrong but when used wirelessly they have an advertised battery life of 20 hours. 

Now a 20 hour battery life is ok and they should last you about a week in between charges but personally I would have at least like to have seen a 25 hour battery life on these headphones so that they could be more competitive. 

Now regarding bluetooth connectivity on these headphones they’re rocking bluetooth 5.0, but more importantly they can be connected 2 devices at the same time which means if you’re a power user you can easily hot swap from your phone to your computer. And regarding latency if you’re an android user you’re going to have zero latency across the board when watching movies and videos… and if you’re an iPhone user you’re going to have zero latency for the most part. The only caveat is that there is a slightly latency when watching youtube videos on an iPhone. Which is pretty common. 

But regarding audio codecs, if you’re an iPhone user these headphones have AAC support which is standard… but if you’re an android user you’re going to have APTX and APTX low latency support. Just like with the Momentum 3’s. 

Now when it comes to actually listening to music with these headphones… they should great. But these headphones are specifically geared towards people who like a neutral sound signature like the Bose NC 700’s or the Bowers and Wilkins PX7. They have a decent sound stage, instrument separation is great, and vocalists really come through on these headphones. But if you’re somebody that likes to feel the bass in your music then these headphones are not for you. Now these headphones have a somewhat adjust EQ. And personally I think these headphones sound best when they’re set to neutral. Their other EQ’s like club, movie and speech just don’t sound as good. Now you can also go into director and and adjust the a few perimeters. Personally I think that messing with the Spatial or Reverb settings on these headphones just ends up making these headphones sound very artificial. The only adjust that I kinda like is boosting the rumble on these headphones… but even then I still find myself wanting to brings the mids out a little bit. So this is why I just wish sennheiser would give us a fully customizable EQ. But non the less, like I said if you like a neutral sound signature these headphones are great, but if you’re some that likes to physically feel the bass in your music then stay away from these cause even if you boost the thump on these they’re not going to give you what you want. 

Now when it comes to controlling your music, these headphones have a touch pad very similar to the Sony 1000XM3’s. You single tap to play or pause your music. Swipe up or down to raise or lower your volume. And swipe front or back to skip through your  music. For the most part this touch pad is good and easy to use and I’ve also haven’t noticed any cold weather issues with this touch pad in this beautiful 39 degree Saturday after noon. 

But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones cause it a mixed bag and its like something that I’ve never seen before. First off the active noise cancellation on these headphones dosnt change how you’re music sounds which is good, and theres also barely any cabin pressure. Which is also good. And these headphones also block out a very decent amount of noise. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test. 

What I find really weird about the active noise cancelation on these headphones is that they do a better job of blocking out higher frequency sounds like chatter than they do at blocking constant low frequency sounds like road noise. Usually its easier for ANC headphones to block out low frequency sounds than it is higher frequency sounds. But the PXC 550-2’s are reversed. So personally I wonder if Sennheiser would be able to improve how these headphones  block out lower frequency sounds through a software update. Cause they’re clearly doing something right. But I also want to quickly address the microphone array on these headphones when it comes to wind noise. With active noise cancellation turned on and set to their maximum setting they do an okay job of blocking out wind noise when used out doors. But when compared to the Sony’s or Bose these do pick up noticeably more wind noise when used out doors. But these headphones don’t pick nearly as much wind noise as the Beats Solo Pro. So over all the active noise cancellation on these headphones is kind of impressive in the sense that they block out an impressive amount chatter with very little cabin pressure, but I do wish they blocked out more road noise for commuters and constant fliers.

But one of my biggest let downs on the PXC 550-II’s is the lack of a full fledged ambient mode. Now with these headphones if you double tap on the touch pad they’ll mute your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone like this. 

And this is identical to the Sony’s quick attention and Bose’s conversation mode. But with the PXC 550-II’s you can’t actually have ambient mode turned on and play music at the same time like with most other headphones these days. And this is a big deal cause having an ambient mode on headphones is standard these days and its a very usual feature for constant commuters so that they can still be aware of their surroundings when they’re walking around the city. 

But something that these headphones do have is that they have proximity sensors so that when you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music and they also power on and off when you collapse them. Personally I don’t care for either of these features, I would have very much preferred f sennheiser built in a fully customizable ambient mode. 

But when it comes to the microphone on these headphone for phone calls I think they sound great. But the only caveat is that S’s tend to peak a lot. But other than than I think these headphones give the microphone on the Bose NC 700’s a run for their money which is really saying something.

But over all, like I said at the beginning of this video. I think the Sennheiser PXC 550-II are a very peculiar pair of ANC headphones that frustratingly just don’t live up to the their full potential. These headphones fit great and they’re super comfortable cause of their light weight, and very spacious ear cups. They don’t look look bad. If you like a neutral sound signature these headphones sound great, and they manage to block out a good amount of chatter with very little cabin pressure. But I wish these headphones blocked out more road noise cause I think they can. I wish they had a fully customizable EQ. The build quality on these headphones is a little iffy for their price point. But where sennheiser really messed up on these headphones is not having a full on ambient mode which is standard these days and in my opinion necessary. Their included carrying case is a let down for this price point, and I just don’t get why these headphones didn’t make the jump to USB C charging. But non the less I still really enjoy these headphones. As an over all package they’re not better than the Sony 1000XM3 or the Bose NC 700’s but if you need a more comfortable alternative… then these are it. 

Cause I would still recommend these headphones over the more comfortable Bose QC35’s cause of the reduced cabin pressure found in their active noise cancellation. I just want to stress that these headphones aren’t bad, but they aren’t my first choice. But depending on your circumstances they’ll might be perfect for you.