So the new Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S2 is mostly a cosmetic upgrade from the PX7’s. The PX7 S2’s look better, they feel better and they fit better too. Now personally, I enjoy the PX7 S2’s and their more premium build quality and elegant design… but they defiantly aren’t perfect and they aren’t for everyone. But today we’re going to compare the PX7 S2’s to both the Bose NC 700 and Bose QC45’s two very comfortable headphones that are very popular for traveling.
Now firs there’s price, the PX7 S2’s have retail price of $400… now the NC 700’s also used to have a retail price of $400 when they first came out… but now they have a retail price of $380 and they like to go on sale for $300 on a regular basis probably cause they are on their way out. These came out in the summer of 2019… so these are due for an upgrade. But then there are the Bose QC45’s which came out in the fall of 2021 and these have a retail price of $330 but they like to go on sale for $280 and as a disclaimer… these are currently my favorite ANC headphones for traveling. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below, or you can press on the YouTube shopping button. Give it a try.
Now first lets talk about these cases. Now the PX7 S2’s come included with a very premium feeling case. It is very stiff, so they’re going to protect your headphones, they’ve got a great feeling fabric outside and the inside, the velvet is very soft. Overall, I like this case. However, the PX7 S2’s case is a little on the larger side… so these aren’t as conveinte to travel with when compared to Bose’s headphones cause Bose’s case are noticeably smaller than B and W’2 case. But without a doubt, the QC45’s have the smallest case… making them super convivnet to travel with. However, this case isn’t as stiff and the PX7 S2’s case, and it doesn’t feel as premium either. But it definitely still gets the job done.
But now, lets talk about the headphones themselves. One of the standout characteristics about the PX7 S2’s is simply their build quality. The S2’s have these fabric wrapped touch surfaces on both the ear cups and headband which feel very nice… we’ve got these exposed brushed metal arms on the headband, and we’ve got some very supple feeling leatherette on both the ear pads and headband that also have a very nice grain to it. Overall, the PX7 S2’s feels very sturdy both in your hands and on your head. But then there are Bose’s headphones. With the NC 700’s they’ve got an exposed metal headband that is wrapped with super padded silicon, the ear cups are mostly made out of plastic and we’ve also got some great feeling leatherette on the ear pads as well. And then, there are the Bose QC45’s which have plastic on both the earpads and headband… and we’ve also got a great feeling leatherette on both the ear pads and headband. Overall, all of these headphones have good build quality… but the PX7 S2’s are using finer materials and they feel much sturdier.
However, when it comes to design… the QC45’s look like your conventional pair of headphones. These are rather inconspicuous… where as with the NC 700’s… their design calls a little more attention cause of their very thin and bulbs headband. But then there are the PX7 S2’s which I feel call the most attention here because of their martial choices, and cause of the way the arms on their headband bend. Overall, I think the PX7 S2’s are an elegant looking pair of headphones… where as the QC45’s are super subtle.
But when it comes to fit, the Bose QC45’s are the clear winner here and for multiple reasons. First off there’s their weight. The QC45’s are the lightest headphones here weighing in at 234 grams, which is rather light weight. Where as the Bose NC 700’s weigh in at 274 grams, which is rather standard… but then there are the PX7 S2’s which weigh in at 307 grams. Now, the PX7 S2’s aren’t super heavy like lets say the AirPods max which weigh in at 384 grams… so they don’t get super uncomfortable… but with the PX7 S2’s these are a pair of headphones that you never really forget that you’re wearing and you’re defiantly going to feel them shifting around when you’re walking around with them on. Whereas with the Bose QC45’s these are a pair of headphones that you can forget that you’re wearing… which contributes to their overall comfort. But also, with the Bose QC45’s, these headphones have the loosest fit here, which is great if you have big head and or if you like to wear hats. Now the PX7 S2’s are also big head approved cause I can wear these headphones for hours on end without and problems… but they do have a noticeably firmer fit to them. And then there are the NC 700’s they don’t fit anywhere near as snug as the PX7 S2’s but they aren’t as loose as the QC45’s. But finally there are the earpads on these headphones. Now all of these headphones have very spacious earpads that should have no problem accommodating most ear types. However, both of Bose’s headphones are more spacious than the PX7 S2’s earpads. But the crucial difference here is surface area. The ear pads on both of Bose’s headphones have less surface ear coming in contact with your skin than the PX7 S2’s ear pads. So with Bose’s earpads, these earpads do a better job of staying cooler for longer than the PX7 S2’s earpads. Now I’m not saying that the PX7 S2’s have an over heating problem… but Bose’s headphones stay cooler for longer, which again contributes to their overall comfort. Overall, the Bose QC45’s are the most comfortable headphones here cause they’re the lightest, they have the loosest fit here, they have the most spacious ear pads here, and they stay the cool for a long time. However, the PX7 S2’s the most premium feeling and most elegant headphones here, and for some people that matters. And at the end of the day, they aren’t the most uncomfortable headphones here.
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life, this is an area where the PX7 S2’s easily out preform both of Bose’s headphones. The PX7 S2’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on… and you can always extend their battery life by using them with their Active noise cancelation turned off.
But then there are the Bose NC 700’s which have an advertised battery life of 20 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on… now even though a battery life of 20 hours is doable… a battery life of 20 hours for a pair of premium ANC headphones is below average. But at least you can always extend their battery life by using them with their ANC turned off.
And finally there are the Bose QC45’s which have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on… which is average. But unfortunately, you can’t use the Bose QC45’s with their active noise cancellation completely turned off. You either have to have their ANC turned on or have them with their ambient mode turned on. You can’t completely turn off their ANC.
Regarding connectivity, all of these headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time, which is great if you’re a power user. And when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device.
And when it comes to audio codecs… both of Bose’s headphones only have support for SBC and AAC… now AAC is going to work perfectly fine whether you’re an iPhone or an android user. But the PX7 S2’s do have support for high quality audio codecs. Now the PX7 S2’s have support for SBC and AAC, just like the Bose… but they also have support for APTX, APTX HD and APTX Adaptive. However, if you want to take advantage of APTX you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC.
But if you want to you can always use any of these headphones with a wired connection. Now with Bose’s headphones… you can only use their 2.5 millimeter audio jacks. Where as with the PX7 S2’s, they don’t have an audio jack, but you can use their USB C port as a wired connection. Now you can either use a USB C to USB C cable… or you can use a USB C to audio jack cable… and unlike the AirPods Max… the PX7 S2’s do come included with this cable. So that’s why I’m not upset that they don’t have an audio jack.
But now, lets talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now all of these headphones are mainly geared towards someone who likes a more neutral or vocals focused EQ cause none of these headphones have a whole lot of physicality in their bass that’s going to rattle your head like lets say the Sony 1000XM4’s, AirPods Max or Sennheiser Momentum 3’s. The bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. However, if you were to go in and raise the bass on the PX7 S2’s… they will rattle your head, somewhat. They’re not going to rattle you head as much as the other headphones that I just mentioned… but at least its something. And anything past 2 decibels on the bass slider on the PX7 S2’s is going to rattle your head way more than either of Bose’s headphones if you have their bass set to ten. But bass aside, where all of these headphones shine is when it comes to their instrument separation. However, the PX7 S2’s sound much more open than either of these two Bose headphones. Specifically, with the PX7 S2’s the lows and mids lows have much better detail to them, allowing the instrumentals to breath much better even when the vocals really get going. Where as with both of Bose’s headphones… they have more of an emphasis on the mids and treble. So when the mids really get going on Bose’s headphones… those instrumentals do seem to get lost when compared to the PX7 S2’s. Simply put, the PX7 S2’s sound much better than the Bose cause they have better instrument separation. But also, the PX7 S2’s are more flexible than Bose’s headphones cause if you want some physicality in your bass… they can provide enough bass if you’re someone that like a more neutral EQ. Where as with Bose’s headphones… if your taste change and you want to feel your bass… they’re going to have much harder time adapting to you.
Now when it comes to controlling your media, the NC 700’s are using a touch pad. Now this touch pad is fairly accurate… but it is rather small and sometimes it does miss inputs. Where as with these other two headphones, they’re using physical buttons, and this alone could be a deciding factor for some people, cause some people just don’t want to have to deal with a touch pad on their headphones.
However, something the PX7 S2’s have that neither of these two headphones do are wear sensors. So if you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music, and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. However, there are two problems with the wear sensors on these headphones. First off they are very slow to react when compared to other headphones out there that have wear sensors. But also, I have noticed that these wear sensors will randomly pause my music even if I’m sitting still. Now I have already tried using the different sensitivity levels for these wear sensors… but I’m still having this issue. However, I do expect Bowers and Wilkins to fix this issue through a software update cause this has been a known issue with their headphones in the past.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now overall, the PX7 S2’s block out a decent amount of noise for a pair of premium ANC headphones. However, both of Bose’s headphones have better preforming ANC than the PX7 S2’s. They both block out more noise and with less cabin pressure. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC Test.
So like you may have just seen, the PX7 S2’s block out a decent amount of noise… but the NC 700’s block out a little more noise. But more importantly, the NC 700’s block out a little more noise than the PX7 S2’s… and they do so with a little less cabin pressure, which is going to contribute to their overall comfort. But then there are the Bose QC45’s which are currently my favorite ANC headphones to recommend if you plan on traveling a lot. Thanks to a firmware update that they got earlier this year… they got a measurable improvement to their ANC. And like you may have just seen… the QC45’s block out noticeably more noise than the PX7 S2 and NC 700’s. And they do so with less cabin pressure as well. Now the Bose QC45’s don’t block out as much noise as the Sony 1000XM5’s which are currently the king when it comes to ANC… but they still block out a lot of noise. And personally, I think the QC45’s have a really good amount of noise blocked out to cabin pressure ratio… cause these also have noticeably less cabin pressure than the XM5’s. Overall what I’m trying to say is… if you’re planning on traveling a lot with your headphones and if you want to block out a lot of noise… then the Bose QC45’s are the way to go here cause they block out the most amount of noise here and with not a whole lot of cabin pressure.
But now lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Now all of these headphones have a decent sounding ambient mode… however, with both the PX7 S2’s and QC45’s, you can’t adjust it to your liking like you can with the NC 700’s. Now overall, the ambient mode on these other two headphones sounds fine and it gets the job done… but the customization option on the NC 700’s is nice. However, something the NC 700’s have that these other two headphones don’t is a conversation mode where they will quickly 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 remove your headphones… like this.
And then, when you press any of their buttons… they will go back to normal. Now if you’re a constant flyer or commuter, this feature is very useful. And I really with both the Bose QC45’s and PX7 S2’s had this feature cause it is sorely missing. And they can easily get this feature through a firmware update.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now even though the microphone on the Bose QC45 is decent… it is the worst preforming microphone in this lineup. It does sound a little hollow
Where as the NC 700’s have a little better clarity to them.
But then there are the PX7 S2’s which have even better clarity
But where the PX7 S2’s really shine is when it comes to blocking out noise pollution. Cause right now this microphone is doing a really good job of blocking out this road noise, while still keeping my voice front and center. Cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise… but if we were to switch back over to the PX7 S2’s it is severely reduced.
Now the NC 700’s are also trying to block out this road noise… but these let in more noise pollution and they are interfering with my voice.
And then there are the QC45’s which are letting in even more road noise.
And the same thing can be said when it comes to blocking out chatter, the QC45’s are letting in a decent amount of chatter.
And with the NC 700’s even though this microphone is trying to block out this chatter, there is some interference with my voice.
Where as with the PX7 S2’s, these are doing a good job of blocking out this chatter without interfering with my voice too much. Overall, the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S2’s have the best performing microphone here.
But with all of that being said… the Bowers and Wilkins PX7 S2’s aren’t for everyone… and they aren’t the most feature packed headphones out there. And if active noise cancellation is your top priority… than you’ll might want to look elsewhere. However, the PX7 S2’s offer a very premium build quality and their elegance is going to make them stand out. Plus, these headphones offer incredible instrument separation and if you want, you can raise the bass on these a little bit and get a fun listening experience out of them. But when compared to either the Bose NC 700’s or Bose QC45’s… the PX7 S2’s aren’t my top pick if you’re planning on traveling a lot with your headphones. Instead, I would recommend the Bose QC45’s. The Bose QC45’s are way more comfortable to wear for multiple hours on end cause of their lighter weight, looser fit, and more spacious and cooler earpads. Plus, they also have a much smaller case which is super convenient. But more importantly, the Bose QC45’s block out a ton of noise, and they do so with very little cabin pressure. As of mid 2022, the Bose QC45 are my number ANC headphones… behind only the AirPods Max and Sony 1000XM5’s. But then there are the Bose NC 700’s… personally I wouldn’t recommend that you get them right now cause the Bose QC45’s out perform them where it matters most. ANC, Battery life, and fit. But I am really looking forward to the Bose NC 700 2’s which I imagine aren’t too far off.