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 the AirPods Max… which to my discontent… are more popular than id like.
Now first there’s pricing… the PX7 S2’s retail for $400… which is pretty expensive for a pair of ANC headphones… But they’re not as expensive as the AirPods Max which have a retail price of $550… and with these if you want to complete package that you’d expect when you get a pair of headphones… you’re going to have to buy your own proper carrying case and you’ll also have to buy a separate audio cable if you want to use these headphones with a wired connection. Overall, im not the biggest fan of the AirPods Max… nonetheless if you want to pick either of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about these cases. Now this is one of the first things that I really dislike about the AirPods Max. They don’t actually come included with a proper case. So personally, I don’t think that these are the best headphones if you plan on traveling cause you’re going to be worried about damaging these headphones if you have them in your carry on. Where as with the PX7 S2’s, these come included with a very high quality and very stiff case. So these headphones are going to be perfectly safe if you throw them into your backpack. My only complaint here is that this case is a little on the larger side. Now this case isn’t as large as the Sony XM5’s case… but it is noticeably larger than your XM4’s case and Bose QC45’s case. Nonetheless, the PX7 S2’s come included with a very premium feeling case… where as the AirPods Max don’t… and I do think that it rather ridiculous given their retail price.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Now both of these headphones have more premium build quality and more premium material choices than your standard pair of headphones. And for some people that could be a big deal. With the PX7 S2’s we’ve got a mix of fabric on the ear cups and headband, we’ve got some beautiful looking brushed metal arms on the headband and we’ve got some great feeling leatherette on both the headband and earpads. Where as with the AirPods Max… these headphones also have very premium build quality, but very different martial choices. Now the headband has this mesh canopy which is very breathable and very comfortable. The headband is also wrapped in silicon, we’ve got chrome on the arms of this headband, we’ve got these huge aluminum ear cups and we’ve got these fabric ear pads. Overall, both of these headphones feel very premium in your hands…
However when it comes to comfort… the PX7 S2’s easy outclass the AirPods max. For starters there are the earpads on these headphones… yeah they’re both fairly spacious, but the fabric earpads on the AirPods Max are very course. So I’ve found that these earpads can get very itchy at times. Where as itchy ear pads aren’t an issue with the PX7 S2’s cause this leatherette is very soft and its very supple. My only complaint about the ear pads on the PX7 S2’s is that they can get a little warm after awhile cause they’re do have a considerable amount of surface area coming in contact with your skin. Where as the ear pads on the AirPods Max are more breathable. But also, as a side note, the earpads on both of these headphones are easily removable, which is nice. However, with the PX7 S2’s these ear pads are clip on, where as the ear pads on the AirPods Max are magnetic. Now I don’t expect you to constantly remove your ear pads… but this was a note that I wanted to point out.
But returning to the topic of comfort… another reason why I find the PX7 S2’s are more comfortable than the AirPods Max is simply their weight. The PX7 S2’s weigh in at 307 grams. Now this is a little heavier than your more popular ANC headphones like the Bose NC 700’s which weigh in at 274 grams, which is average. The Sony XM4’s which weigh in at 254 grams and Sony XM5’s which weigh in at 250 grams, which are relatively light weight. And the Bose QC45’s which weigh in at 234 grams which is super light weight… But then there are the AirPods Max which weigh in at a whooping 384 grams… which is a lot. Now with the PX7 S2’s these are a pair of headphones that you never really forget that you’re wearing even while you’re sitting down, and you’re defneitly going to notice them shifting around when you’re walking around with them on. But they’re doable. Where as with the AirPods Max, these are a pair of headphones that you will never forget that you’re wearing and after awhile, they do get uncomfortable cause they apply a lot of pressure on the back of your neck. But finally there’s clamping force. The AirPods Max have a very firm fit to them they are border line not big head approved. Now the PX7 S2’s also have a firmer fit to them, but they fit noticeably looser than the AirPods Max. And with the PX7 S2’s I can say that these are big approved cause I can wear them for hours on end without any problems. So overall… both of these headphones have very premium build quality and they are both using very premium materials… but when it comes to overall comfort, the PX7 S2’s easily outperform the AirPods Max cause they are lighter, they have a slightly looser fit and their earpads don’t get itchy.
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life this is an area where the PX7 S2’s easily out preform the AirPods Max. The PX7 S2’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on. And a battery life of 30 hours is still a little above average for ANC headphones in mid 2022. But fi you want to you can always extend their battery life by using them with their ANC turned off.
Where as with the AirPods Max, these have an advertised battery life of 20 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on… now a battery life of 20 hours is doable, but it is a little low and above average. But the main problem with the AirPods Max is that I’ve found that their battery drain while they are in stand by mode is bad. Ill put them away with an 80% charge and come back a week later and they’re down to 50% battery… And this isn’t and issue with the PX7 S2’s and a lot of other headphones out there.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity. The PX7 S2’s can be connected to any two devices at the same time, which is good if you’re a power user. Where as with the AirPods Max, thanks to the H1 chip if you have multiple apple devices then you can easily hot swap between them. But if you’re a power user with devices from different eco systems… the AirPods Max aren’t as convenient as the PX7 S2’s.
But when it comes to overall performance, both 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. But when it comes to audio codecs, the AirPods Max only have support for SBC and AAC. Now AAC is going to work perfectly fine whether you’re an iPhone or and Android user. But the PX7 S2’s do have support for higher quality audio codecs. The PX7 S2’s have support for SBC and AAC just like the AirPods Max, But they also have support for APTX, APTX HD and APTX Adaptive. But if you want to take advantage of APTX you do have to be an android user.
But if you want, you can use either of these headphones with a wired connection. Now neither of these two headphones have an audio jack. But with the PX7 S2’s you can use their USB C port as a wired connection. You can either use a USB C to USB C cable… or you can use their included USB C or Audio Jack cable. Now with the AirPods Max, if you want to use them with a wired connection you have to use their Lighting to Audio Jack cable. But unfortunately, this cable is sold separately. And this is why I am upset that the AirPods Max don’t have an audio jack, where as with the PX7 S2’s I’m cool with it. Bowers and Wilkins isn’t charging you extra for basic feature, unlike apple.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now both the AirPods Max and PX7 S2’s are great sounding headphones and they both sound much better than your more popular options like the Sony 1000XM5’s, XM4’s, Bose NC 700’s or Bose QC45’s. Both the AirPods Max and PX7 S2’s have far better instrument separation than all of these other headphones. But personally, I feel the PX7 S2’s sound a little more balanced than the AirPods Max, cause I can’t help but feel that the AirPods Max have a little more emphasis on the treble than the PX7 S2’s. But the biggest difference between these two headphones is going to be the bass. The bass on the PX7 S2’s is mostly on the audible side, and in general, the PX7 S2’s are mainly meant for someone who likes a more neutral or vocals focused EQ. Where as with the AirPods Max, they have more physicality in their bass. So these will rattle your head somewhat. Now with the PX7 S2’s you can go in and adjust their EQ to your liking, and if you were to raise their bass, these will rattle your head a little bit, but these still won’t rattle your head as much as the AirPods Max. Nonetheless, I really enjoy the PX7 S2’s… but I do feel the AirPods Max sound a little better than the PX7 S2’s. These sound a little more open, and plus they have that kick in their bass which I like, cause it makes listening to music with the AirPods max more fun… but still the PX7 S2’s are a pair of great sounding headphones. The only thing is… these are better suited for someone who like a neutral EQ. If you want your head to shake, these aint it.
Now when it comes to media controls, both of these headphones are using physical buttons. The AirPods max have their crown where as the PX7 S2’s have your more conventional 3 button layout. However, something the AirPods max have over the PX7 S2’s is Hey Siri support, so you can control your media playback and do a lot more without even having to touch the headphones themselves… just as long as you’re using an iPhone.
Now both of these headphones also have wear sensors, so it you take these either of these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music, and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. However, the wear sensors on the PX7 S2’s are much slower to react than the wear sensors on the AirPods Max. And also, with the wear sensors on the PX7 S2’s I’ve noticed that they will randomly pause my music even when I’m sitting still. Now I’ve already tried using the different sensitivity levels on these wear sensors, but I’m still having this issue. But I do expect Bowers And Wilkins to fix this issue through a firmware update cause this isn’t new for them.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the PX7 S2’s block out a decent amount of noise for a pair of premium ANC Headphones in 2022. However, the AirPods Max block out noticeably more noise… and up until the Sony 1000XM5’s came out… they were the king of ANC. 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 AirPods Max do block out noticeably more noise. Now the AirPods Max brutally go after those constant low frequency sounds… that is why they do a really good job of blocking out road noise. But when it comes to blocking out chatter… yes they still block out a lot of noise… but the Sony 1000XM5’s do a better job of blocking out chatter than the AirPods Max cause they do a better job of blocking out higher frequency sounds. Nonetheless, if you’re trying to choose between the PX7 S2’s and AirPods Max… and if ANC is very important to you, then you’ll might be tempted to go with the AirPods Max. And you’re not wrong. The only thing that you want to be mindful about the AirPods Max is that they have a lot of cabin pressure. For me, the AirPods Max have so much cabin pressure that they regularly give me headaches. And this increased cabin pressure on the AirPods Max does hurt them when it comes to overall comfort. Something that the AirPods Max was already struggling with. And I’m just speaking in general now… if you want to block out the absolute most amount of noise… then you’ll might want to go with the Sony 1000XM5’s cause these things block out a little more noise than the AirPods Max with a little less cabin pressure… or if you’re looking for a pair of ANC headphones to mostly travel with… then I highly recommend the Bose QC45’s. These things block out almost as much noise as the AirPods Max and Sony 1000XM5’s… but more importantly they have less cabin pressure… but also, they’re super comfortable for long flights and they have a very small case.
But next up lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Now both of these headphones have an ambient mode, which is good. However, the ambient mode on the AirPods Max sounds much more clear than the Ambient mode found on the PX7 S2’s. Seriously, activating the Ambient Mode on the AirPods max sounds like not have headphones on at all. I have never tried another pair of headphones who’s ambient mode sounds this clear. But the thing that I don’t like about the ambient mode on either of these two headphones is that you can’t adjust it. And I also don’t like that neither of these two headphones have a conversation mode, which will allow you to quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off like you can with the Bose NC 700’s.
So like you just saw, with the Bose NC 700’s at the press of a button they will 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. And when you press any button they’ll quickly go back to normal. And if you’re a constant commuter or flyer, this feature can be very helpful. And I really wish both the AirPods max and PX7 S2’s had this feature cause this is a very common feature now.
But finally here’s the microphone test, now both of these headphones have really good sounding microphones for phone calls.
However in a quite room, I do prefer how the AirPods Max sound cause these are a little louder than the PX7 S2’s
And when it comes to blocking out noise pollution, both of these headphones do 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 AirPods Max, it is severely reduced.
Now the PX7 S2’s are also doing a really good job of blocking out this road noise and keeping my voice front and center. But these are letting in a little more road noise than the AirPods Max.
But when it comes to blocking out chatter… I feel the PX7 S2’s are doing a slightly better job of blocking out chatter than the AirPods Max.
Cause sometimes with the AirPods Max, certain higher pitched sounds can get in. Nonetheless both of these headphones have really good sounding microphones on them for phone calls and they both deal with noise pollution very well.
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. And when compared to the AirPods Max, these are way more comfortable cause of their lighter weight, slightly looser fit, and their ear pads don’t get itchy. Also these have far better battery life, they come included with a proper case for traveling, and they aren’t upcharging you if you want to use them with an audio jack. But ultimately, even though there are some aspects about the AirPods Max that I like… overall, its is very hard for me to recommend or justify getting the AirPods Max.