I’m going to start off this video by saying that you’re almost always better off just getting over ear headphones instead of on ear headphones. But if for some reason you just really like on ear headphones then the Bowers and Wilkins PX5 are a great option. Honestly, I never thought that I would actually like a pair of on ear headphones like I do with the PX5’s. And unlike the Beats Solo Pro… the PX5’s are actually worth their $300 asking price. 

But I do want to stress that I think paying $300 for any pair of on ear headphones is a lot… so I’m going to link some cheaper over ear alternatives down below. But with that being said I do think the PX5’s justify their $300 asking price thanks to their build quality, sound, and feature set. Now just keep in mind theres also the PX7’s which are over ear headphones that retail for $400 and ultimately you’re better off getting the PX7’s over the PX5’s cause they’re more comfortable and they sound slightly better. They’re just not better for your pocket. But non the less if you want to pick any of the headphones mentioned in this video up they’ll be linked down below. 

Now first lets address the PX5’s carrying case cause in the past I’ve said that when ever you’re paying $300 of a pair of headphones a hard shell case is to be expected. And unfortunately the PX5’s come included with this stiff folder looking thing. The build quality of this thing is nice but ultimately I was hoping to see a hardshell case here cause I still worry about these headphones getting crushed when they’re in my back pack. But when it comes to the headphones themselves… these share the exact same design language as the PX7’s which is great. And just like the PX7’s… the build quality on the PX5’s is also great. Just like the PX7’s the PX5’s have fabric on the headband and ear cups, and the ear cups also have metal plates. The PX5’s also have the same carbon fiber composite arms as the PX7’s which look great… but keep in mind they’re not actually functional cause these headphones still weigh in at 241 grams which is average for on ear headphones. Now the leatherette on the PX5’s feels the same as the leatherette found on the PX7’s. It dosnt feel bad or cheap but it does feel fairly synthetic. It just dosnt feel anywhere near as good as the leatherette found on the Bose NC 700. But at least the leatherette on the PX5’s feels way better than the leatherette found on the Beats Solo Pro. 

Now when it comes to fit, obviously since the PX5’s are on ear headphones they’re not going to be as comfortable as over ear headphones… but these are fairly comfortable for on ear headphones. They’re definitely way more comfortable than the Beats Solo Pro. The PX5’s have significantly less clamping force than the Beats solo pro, but more importantly… the padding on their ear pads is significantly softer. And combined with the fact of me saying that their leatherette feels better than the leatherette used on the Beats solo Pro… the ear pads on the PX5’s just rest more comfortably and feel better than the ear pads on the Beats Solo Pro. But over all since the PX5’s still have a somewhat snug fit to be on the safe side I wouldn’t say that these headphones are big head approved but I can personally put up with them for a while and I can easily get through with an episode of the Mandalorian with these headphones on. 

Now when it comes to tech specs these headphones charge via a USB C port and they have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack. Which is something that I unfortunately gotta point out cause the Solo Pro’s don’t have an audio jack. And if you want to use a wired connection with the Solo Pro’s you gotta shell out 35 bucks for apple’s lighting to 3.5 millimeter audio cable. Which I think is ridiculous. But just so that you know, if you want to you can use the PX5’s USB C Port as a wired connection. 

Now reading battery life the PX5’s have an advertised battery life of 25 hours with ANC turned on. But I’ve actually been using these headphones with their ANC turned off for the last 2 weeks and they’re still at 50%. Now I’ll explain why I’m using these headphones with their ANC turned off in a minute… but regardless battery life on these headphones is not bad at all. 

Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity these headphones are identical to the PX7’s. They’re rocking bluetooth 5.0 but more importantly they can be connected to 2 devices at the same time, they have APTX adaptive, APTX HD, APTX, and AAC support… and they have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or android device. So really I have no complaints when it comes to bluetooth on these headphones. 

But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Now even though these headphones don’t have an adjustable EQ… I don’t really care cause I think these headphones sound great just the way they are. What really stands out on the these headphones is their instrument separation and super wide sound stage just like with the PX7’s. But the biggest difference sound quality wise on these headphones verses the PX7’s is their bass. Now both the PX5’s and PX7’s have a neutral sound signature, but the bass on the PX7’s is unique cause even though you don’t physically feel the bass like you would like with lets say the sony 1000XM3’s… you can really hear it. Now I know that this might sound weird and it doesn't make senses but the bass on the PX7’s is very audible. And personally I love how the PX7’s sound. Where as the bass on the PX5’s has more of a reverb effect to it, its a little more physical. Actually I think the bass on the PX5’s is like a watered down version of the Bose NC 700’s bass. But regardless I really like how the PX5’s sound cause of their super wide soundstage and instrument separation. They don’t sound the same as the PX7’s but they still sound great.

But its very important to keep in mind is that these headphones sound best when their active noise cancellation is turned off, just like with the PX7’s. When the active noise cancellation on the PX5’s is turned on the soundstage on these headphones gets narrowed a little bit and the bass isn’t as dramatic. So for that reason i’ve been using these headphones with their active noise cancellation turned off for the most part. 

But non the less, the active noise cancellation on the PX5’s isn’t the main reason why you pick these headphones up. Now it does block out some noise, but the ANC on the PX5’s performs more similarly to a pair of mid tier ANC headphones rather than a pair of premium ANC headphones. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test. 

Like you may have just seen, the PX5’s block out just a little more noise than the Sony XB900N, but just as expected they don’t block out nearly as much noise as the Sony 1000XM3’s. But non the less the ANC on the PX5’s still block out a meaningful amount of noise and they do so with very minimal cabin pressure. Which plays a big role in comfort. 

But now I want to address the ambient mode on these headphones cause this was a big draw back when I first reviewed the PX7’s. Thanks to a software update you can now turn ambient mode on on these headphones and also raise the volume of your music. Which is something you couldn’t do with the PX7’s before the update. So now you can listen to your music and still be aware of your surroundings which is great for commuters or for when you’re watching movies or tv on your phone at home. But the ambient mode on the PX5’s isn’t without its flaws.  Wind noise can sometimes be heard when walking out doors and if you have ambient mode turned up past the half way point then you’ll start to notice a little bit of white noise that can be heard when watching movies with these headphones. So for that reason I like to keep my ambient mode on these headphones a little below the half way mark cause then you don’t really hear the white noise but you can still hear whats going on around you. But non the less I’m glad Bowers and Wilkins added a proper ambient mode to both the PX5’s and PX7’s. 

But still one feature thats still sorely laking on these headphones is a conversation mode like with whats found on the Bose NC 700’s where if you press and hold on their ANC button they’ll automatically lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off like this.

Instead since the PX5’s and PX7’s have wear sensors and Bowers and Wilkins thinks that you should just lift one ear cup like this.

I just think this method is very clunky and silly, I just hope Bowers and Wilkins puts out a software update so that if you press and hold this button their headphones will just do what Bose’s headphones do. 

But finally, heres the microphone test on the PX5’s. And unfortunately I can’t help but feel that it sounds little shallow and theres a lot of background noise. So I just wouldn’t take phone calls with these headphones. 

But for comparison heres the microphone from the 1000XM3’s which notoriously sound very muffled. 

Cause right now the microphone to beat is found on the Bose NC 700’s. 

But over all, I still really like the Bowers and Wilkins PX5’s. Even though yeah they’re a little pricey they make up for it with their incredible build quality, great sound and long battery life. Now even though their active noise cancellation isn’t their strong suit, its still usable. Now if you’re trying to choose between getting these or the PX7’s you’re without a doubt better off with the PX7’s. But if for someone reason you really want to get a pair of On ear headphones then the PX5’s are the way to go. Unlike the Beats Solo Pro’s, the PX5 do justify their $300 price tag.