Bowers & Wilkins - PI7 True Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Headphones - White

I’ve been searching for those perfect headphones and when B&W announced their true wireless headphones, I thought these were going to be it. These come close, but it feels like they are missing some features that should be included in the price. Pros: The sound quality is probably one of the best I’ve heard in a long while. These rival the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2. I think the sound stage is wider on the Sennheiser, but the B&W come close. The bass is deep and tight. The mids and highs are crisp. Songs that I listen to often come alive when I use these earbuds. The charging case is, in my opinion, a little odd shaped. In order for it to lay flat, you put it on its top or on its back. The good news is it can charge wirelessly. It comes with a USB-C to 3.5mm cord which is pretty convenient if you travel a lot and you need to use the case as your bluetooth transmitter. That comes in handy especially on flights when you’re watching a movie. The touch sensitivity is on par with any of the other wireless earbuds out there. The fit for me were amazing. I’m not sure if it’s because of how my ears are shaped, but with a majority of earbuds, my right side is the one that usually fits perfectly while the left side needs to go up or down a size. With this pair, I just used the medium sized silicon tips and they sealed and stayed in place very well with no movement until I removed them. That came into play with comfort as well. I could wear these until they ran out of batteries and it was still comfortable after hours of use. Cons: The battery life is a little lacking. Around 5 hours with ANC on is not as good as a lot of the competitors out there. The noise cancelling can be better, but I believe that’s because B&W uses silicon tips instead of foam ones. One thing I didn’t like is in order to adjust things on your earbuds, then you always have to enter the app to do so. The other thing too is that a lot of the other competitors have adjustable EQs which this one did not. They still sound awesome, but I’m always that person that likes customization. I’m not sure if anyone else ran into this, but when I’m working out or doing yard work around the house, the bluetooth would cut in and out even though my phone is in my pocket. The other thing that I didn’t really see it take advantage of was the Dolby Atmos or Spatial Audio I have with other companies. The final thing that this doesn’t have is multi point connection. I know it’s not something I need, but it’s absolutely convenient when I have it connected to my phone and need to answer a phone call, but also have it connected to my laptop when I’m doing web meetings. Instead, I have to disconnect from one device and then connect to another which takes up time. All in all, for the price point of these earbuds at $399.99. I feel like B&W had a good attempt on trying make a name for themselves in the true wireless earbud market, but there are cheaper competitors out there that do a lot of the things these earbuds can do, but better.

Easily the best wireless earbuds on the market hands down!!! 5 stars all the way. Comfortable with amazing clarity

Checks everything i needed. Excellent sound, noise cancelling for those plane trips. Only complaints are .. app but no equalizer, no volume controls on the buds itself and disconnect occasionally. Already expected the first 2, just wish B/W did an update and got us an eq and maybe fix connection issues. Still love it. Esp on my switch.

I come from VERY high end iems like the se846 and W40gen2/UE custom. I found both the Beoplay EQ and the Devialet Gemini to sound much more "audiophile" these these. These just sound cheap to my ears with bloated bass and boosted treble. No balance. I expected more refined audio....Especially with 2 drivers (1 balanced armature for the treble and one dynamic for bass/mids)... tuning issue??????? They are VERY hot in the bass and sound VERY "V" shaped with a nasally tone to the vocals. **average at best** ******The USB c port was also "nicked" or missing some of its plastic out of box. Bowers & Wilkins has very a very condescending support tone in getting my case issue resolved. ******** The case feels like the cheapest plastic ever and shows a ton of finger prints. This products is and feels and sounds like a repackaged ODM set like from "merry electronics" with Bowers & Wilkins name slapped on it! The Devialet Gemini had a rough start with major bugs etc. They fixed them and lowered the price to $240. They sound WAAAAAAAAY better then these. Also they should not classify these as noise cancelling as that feature is worthless. The gemini has the BEST NC I have ever heard in a earbud! The gemini gets 9/10 The B&O EQ gets 9.5/10 totally worth 400$ speechless The PI7 gets a 6.5/10 LOOK ELSEWHERE these are 250$ at BEST for their performance and build not 400!!!$

These Bowers & Wilkins PI7 adaptive noise canceling earbuds are sleek, comfortable and well made. Opening the very nice packaging, you get the earbuds (white with what appears to be an aluminum cap that houses the touch areas for the controls of the ear buds), the charging case, a charging cable (USB-C to USB-C), a data connection cable (USB-C to 3.5mm) and a selection of different sized earbud tips (3 pairs total). They arrived with somewhat of a charge so I was able to check them out right away. When charging, they have a green flashing strip light on the front. To pair them, there is a small button on the inside of the case that when pressed for a couple of seconds, the strip light on the front changes blue to show they are in pairing mode. Charging is recommended for 3 hours, and then they last for about 4 hours or so on that one charge, and then the case carries another 4 charges, so you should be able to get close 20 hours out of them before having to do a full recharge of the case. The earbuds paired and sync'd with my iMac flawlessly, and continue to do so every time I pick them up out of the case. They have a fast pair function that works with Android, but on Apple products I found them to pair perfectly quickly. I've used them for several Teams meetings this week, the sounds has been incredibly clear, precise, and didn't waiver at any time at all. The adaptive noise canceling worked really well (I chose to keep it 'ON' rather than opting for 'AUTO' as I didn't like when it would adapt and make the people I was talking to sound out of place, amongst the ambient sound). I prefer to have the noise canceling active when wearing them. Watching YouTube videos, the sound has been clear, defined and warm, with strong mid and highs, but not a huge amount of bass. It's there, but I prefer a little more. The adaptive noise canceling definitely helps in that area, as it seems to isolate the earbuds, offering more bass as a result. When you take them out of your ears, they pause whatever you are listening to, and when you place them back in your ears, the sensor resumes playing whatever your source was. I've worn them for a couple of hours at a time in meetings. They fit well in my ears, although after an hour or so, the earbud did begin to make my left ear ache. I would however suggest this is more than likely due to the shape of my ear, rather than the earbud, as my right ear had no such issue. The case! This is the party piece. It can be charged wirelessly, I did that no problem at all with a Samsung Wireless charger I have, you can charge it via the included USB-C cable, and you can also tether the charger/case to a computer, which in turn changes the charger in to a bluetooth dongle and transmits the sound to the ear buds. So if you have a product that uses a 3.5mm jack for headphones, you can transmit from your device to these earbuds. Pretty neat, and not something I've seen before. Ergonomically, the case is small, smooth and will fit in a pocket nicely. It will not stand up on it's own, unless you place it on it's lid. Or you can lay it on it's side, to show the charging light. I expected that lid panel to be made from aluminum, especially at the price point, but it is silver plastic. One thing I noticed, I don't see a mention of it in the instructions, and I don't see anything in the app either, but among the usual controls of play, next track, previous track, answer calls etc, there are NO VOLUME CONTROLS at all. That surprised me, there is no way to adjust the volume with the earbuds, only the device you have them connected to. They are not the loudest earbuds, I felt like I had to turn them up louder than other earbuds I own in order to get to the desired volume I wanted. If you download the Bowers & Wilkins app you can also control the headphones settings, turn on and off the adaptive noice canceling and perform software updates. It's a simple app with not too many features added to it, but it works, and pairs with the earbuds quickly. I have other Bower & Wilkins headphones and the app differentiates between the two when they are near. Overall, these earbuds are expensive, but they are well designed, they are comfortable for the most part, lightweight, and high performing. Are they worth $400, the jury is still out on that one. I like them. I like them a lot, but it's a lot to invest in them as well. Great around sound from a small package, with a Macgyver of a case that charges them, wirelessly charges itself, and acts as a transmitter. Pretty smart stuff!

The PI7’s are hands down the best wireless earbuds I’ve ever heard and for $400 they better be. The sound they put out is great, the noise cancelling is good, and the ability to use them as ‘wired’ headphones via the case is a pretty innovative feature. I don’t know if they're $150-$200 better than some of the other options out there, but like with the PX5’s that I still use almost every day sound quality is king here and if that’s what you’re after this is it. The box contents are pretty straightforward. You get the buds, charging case, a USB-C cable for charging and wired audio, and a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for wired audio. There are 3 different sizes of silicone eartips to choose from; I went with the largest of them and that formed a good seal in my ear. I do wish there were some more options at this price though; foam tips would have been appreciated. The case is small enough to fit in most pockets and is a bit bigger than my Pixel Buds case and a bit smaller than my Sony WF-1000XM3 case. The case is also lighter than I expected, but feels sturdy enough. I really like the look of the buds with the circular brushed metal caps and the white/pale gold scheme conveys the premium look well. Getting the buds setup for me on my Pixel 4 was not as straightforward as I had hoped. These are supposed to have the Android Fast Pair feature (similar to what AirPods do on the iPhone), but I wasn’t able to get that working on my initial setup and ended up pairing in the Bluetooth menu instead. No big deal and maybe just an issue in my specific scenario, but something I noticed. Once paired I didn’t have to worry about it again. I was able to get into the settings using the same Bowers & Wilkins app I used for my PX5’s and the app is clean, if a little spartan. You have options to adjust the noise cancelling and transparency modes, manage device connections, listen to some soundscapes, update the firmware, and that’s about it. It didn’t leave me wanting for more, but I imagine some would prefer some EQ settings here. The buds support Bluetooth 5.0 and, more importantly, AptX Adaptive for hi-res audio. My Pixel 4 doesn’t support AptX Adaptive, but it is backwards compatible with AptX HD, which it does. Getting into the sound - it’s just stupid good. Whether I was listening to standard quality stuff in YouTube Music or hi-res tracks on Amazon Music HD. I’ve never listened to earbuds that sound this good. Every song I listened to had so much detail coming through that I never really picked up with other buds. The bass is also surprisingly strong without overwhelming the rest of the audio. Everything I listened to also sounded more like it was ‘around’ me rather than being piped directly into my ears, if that makes sense. The connection for me has been solid 95% of the time, but there are some scenarios where I get a lot of interference coming in. I’m not sure what the issue is there, but it seems like popping the earbuds into the case and then reconnecting them fixes it. The noise cancelling is solid and did a good job blocking out a fan and a TV running across the room from me (the TV was still audible with nothing playing, but never when I was listening to anything). There is a transparency mode you can turn on as well if you need to let some outside noise through; it’s no worse than I’ve heard on other earbuds, but still feels a bit artificial to me. One really unique feature of the PI7’s is the ability to use them ‘wired’ with the case. You can do this with either the USB-C or 3.5mm cables included in the box. The headphones will automatically detect that the cables have been plugged in and switch to communicating with the case. I found it worked as advertised, though using the USB-C cable to connect to my PC there is a noticeable audio-sync issue with video content. This was not as much of an issue with the 3.5mm cable for some reason, though I believe audio quality with the 3.5mm cable is slightly worse as it also has to get audio via whatever DAC is running the 3.5mm jack. Still, it’s a super unique feature that I could definitely see using in situations where Bluetooth isn’t available or I don’t want to bother pairing my buds to a new device. Miscellaneous: Microphone quality was okay, but a little disappointing at this price point. I don’t take a lot of phone calls, so this is a minor issue for me. Battery life is 4 hours and the case will provide 4 additional charges (up to 20 hours total). On the low side to be sure compared to other options, but not an issue for me as I rarely wear headphones or earbuds that long. Comfortable in my ears. These can only be paired with one device at a time. Disappointing omission for me since I used multiple devices at the same time and the PX5’s I own support this. I’ve read these are water/sweat resistant at IP54, but can’t find much official mention of this, so I would probably stay away from those types of activities with these. Overall I’m really stoked on these earbuds. I have some issues, but none that break the entire experience for me (and hopefully ones that can be fixed with firmware updates). The question of whether it’s worth it to pay $400 for earbuds is one you’ll have to answer for yourself. These sound great, but I didn’t go to my other wireless earbuds and suddenly hate how they sounded, so you do need to really value that sound quality.

The design is very elegant and classy. I thought the white design would be a little cheap looking as white is not my choice for cases. I was pleasantly surprised by the feel of the case and headphones, very well designed with the placement of the mic down to the design of the case. The sound is very full and rich, I have other headphones by quality brands and i do have to say as far full(ness) of sound these are very good. At high levels of volume the sound does not distort but i also believe that is due in part to the speakers reaching a set max volume that does not push the speakers to it's distorted levels. What i mean to say is i have other in-ear speakers that might be a little louder but the sound distorts at those max levels. These speakers maintain the quality of sound thruout all volume levels! The mic placement or mic quality must be pretty good because every phone call i have made with them sound amazing. I have gone out of my way to ask the person on the other end of the call about the voice quality. They always find it hard to believe that i am using earbuds to talk because my voice sounds so clear and loud. AMAZING PHONE QUALITY! I love the , now standard auto connect to your phone when removed from the case...once they have already been paired. The touch controls are very responsive, it takes a solid tap to activate the command. I have had other headphones where it would register too many taps because the touch pad was too sensitive, these are near perfect. The size of the earbuds seemed a bit big at first glance but when they are inserted they have a nice feel, they do not hurt your ears with extended listening sessions. There is hardly any sound leakage due to the design and the seal it forms when in use. The battery life was just as advertised so they don't die out at in-opportune moments. A nice plus which i am not too sure how to use yet is the ability of plugging in an audio source that does not have bluetooth to your earbud case and it will transmit the sound to your earbuds...a neat trick. How do you connect to an audio source thru the case you ask? THEY INCLUDE A USB-C to AUX CABLE! The app is pretty basic it does not offer much more control that activating the ambient sound or noise cancellation mode. I wish it had more options to adjust sound to your individual taste but the sound is already very good as it is out of the box. The noise cancelling mode is on par with most other noise cancellation, if the earbud fits properly and you have chosen the proper size earbud size (it comes w 3 sizes) the outside sounds fade away. The AUTO feature adjusts the level of noise cancellation depending on your outside ambient noise. I have tried using this feature and to be honest i can not tell the difference between AUTO and NC. Great headphones that elevate your sounds and elevates the design!

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Headphones are beautifully designed providing audiophile quality sound and extreme comfort. Pros: * Comfort - Anyone who uses wireless in-ear headphones know they can really start to hurt your ears, especially after prolonged use; however, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 headphones are the most comfortable headphones I have ever owned. I have been wearing them up to 4 hours at a time, most days of the week, and my ears feel great with no fatigue. These are the first Bowers & Wilkins product I have owned and if this is the comfort I can expect then they have earned a lifetime customer. They come with different size ear tips for a more customized fit. * Sound - These headphones offer premium performance using Bluetooth 5.0 with AptX Adaptive. This allows for a reliable and stable connection with perfect synchronization between audio and video. Additionally, these headphones use a 24-bit connection to help overcome the quality issues caused by limited bandwidth in the Bluetooth codec. The combination of this technology allows for a quality listening experience. Of the many premium wireless headphones I have used, I prefer the sound of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7. *Multi-Point connect - These can be simultaneously connected to two devices at the same time (ie: phone and laptop). Pairing the headphones with new devices is easy and quick. Simply hold the button until it flashes blue and pair with the device. * Re-transmitting Case - This is a cool feature that allows you to use the PI7 wireless headphones with non-wireless devices as long as it has a 3.5mm audio port. You connect the case to the device using the provided 3.5mm cable. The case subsequently acts as a re-transmitter to the wireless headphones. I tried this out on my desktop computer and it worked great. I look forward to using this on my next flight when I want to watch a movie on the inflight entertainment system. * Adaptive Noise Cancellation - The noise cancellation of the PI7 headphones is pretty impressive, especially given the amount of technology packed into these small headphones. It can be activated by pushing the left earbud for 1 second and cycled through the different modes with additional 1 second presses. It has an auto mode which adapts the noise cancellation based on the sound environment you are in, an on mode, and an off mode. While it doesn't completely cancel out background sound it definitely reduces it. Indeterminate: * Battery life - The onboard battery life for the headphones is about 4 hours which is lackluster compared to several competitors which offer 8-30+ hours. The charging case holds 4 additional charges allowing for a total of 20 hours of playback. The case can quickly charge the headphones adding around 2 hours of charge in about 15 minutes. The case can be recharged using the provided USB-C cable or a Qi-certified wireless charging pad. Cons: * Volume control - There is no direct way to control the volume from the wireless headphones. Instead, you either have to use a voice command or adjust the volume from the device they are connected to. * No charging brick - While I appreciate the provided USB-C to USB-C cable, no charging brick is included. For the price point and the "nonstandard" USB-C cable, it is something I would expect to be included. Overall, I really like the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Headphones. If you want a premium listening experience on a wireless platform then the PI7 are for you.