Verdict
Another high - quality hearing experience with an improvement felt in condition of consolation , but there are still areas where the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 fall poor of the less expensive rivalry .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After hold back several long time for Bowers & Wilkins to launch its first honest wireless in thePi7 , it has taken only two for the brand to succeed it up with the Pi7 S2 .
They supercede the predecessors and play off up with their over - ear sib in supporting Bowers ’ Music app . That ’s along with a few improvement such as a tweaked design , fresh last , and longer battery life .
Otherwise , they ’re the same true wireless earphones with audiophile sensibilities . But the marketplace has n’t stand still since the Pi7 debut , so has B&W ’s latest headphone exceeded expectations or is it playing a game of catch - up ?
Design
arbour has n’t seen primed to change much about the design but on the airfoil of things , well , the surfacehaschanged .
The material that cushions against the inner ear is perceptibly fluid . With the pilot , I determine its hard surface often caused a slow aching over long periods but that touch sensation of discomfort is reduce with the Pi7 S2 .
Though quilt level are better , these still are n’t the in effect set , and neither do they offer the tight seal . While a change to a bigger ear - tip brought about better comfort levels and a more secure fit , the Pi7 S2 still had a habit of amount loose walking about , and that can negatively impact the randomness - cancellation and audio .
urine - electric resistance israted at IP54(buds only ) , similar to Jabra’sElite earphone range , and it aim to repel splash of weewee and protect against abject level of dust .
There ’s no modification to the touch modality controls , which are kept wide-eyed in full term of inputs and have the same tactile feel to them . The sheath is the same too : curved , compact and pocketable .
What has changed are the colour options with Midnight Blue ( this sample ) joining ashen and opprobrious versions . The blue-blooded version looks terrific – these remain one of the most stylish earbuds on the market .
Features
bower say it has boosted the bombardment spirit over the original from four to five hours but that ’s not the full story . That quoted figure is with racket cancel off , and there ’s something strange happening with the battery living point too .
Two hour streaming a Spotify playlist play the earphones down to 54 % , which indicates you ’ll get trivial more than four hour with randomness - cancelling on . What ’s odd is the way the battery life depletes . On three occasions I noted it knock off to the gloomy eighties before jumping back to the nineties . I ca n’t say I ’ve see that deportment before .
Overall , there ’s 21 hours of charge ( 16 in the case ) and that ’s with disturbance - cancelling off . All you get is an extra hour of battery spirit over the original Pi7 , which is a scrimpy gain . Fast charging ( 15 minute for two hours ) , and wireless charging are supported .
Wireless codecs include SBC , AAC , aptX , aptX - HD , aptX - LL andaptX - Adaptive , and you ’ll only find the aptX variants compatible with Android devices . The Adaptive interpretation confirm 24 - bit/48kHz audio resolution and has the append factor of align the bitrate so the connection does n’t fall apart in engaged signal areas .
I ’ve find the wireless performance to be very strong – much like Bower ’s over - ear headphones such as thePx8 – with only minor stutters encountered at Waterloo and a few flicker in other field .
The PI7 S2 also sustain 24 - bit/48kHz transmission between each earbud , making these one of the fewHi - res audiocapable buds on the market . The only surprisal is that Bowers did n’t see set to add financial support forSnapdragon Sound , but I imagine it ’s not as easy to tally as it was to write that judgment of conviction .
The Pi7 S2 follow the over - ear sib in shuffling to the Bowers & Wilkins Music app . This is the company ’s new home for its wireless speaker and earphone , with services such as Tidal and Qobuz integrate flat into the app .
The layout is in force , mostly interested with curating medicine playlists for users to enjoy . By clicking on the sprocket at the bottom , admission is provided to mise en scene , though pick are few with the agency to conform the ANC , transparence mode and toggle the vesture sensing element on and off . Customisation is also sparse , with not even the mean value to interchange the controls or EQ provided . This gives the printing of a rigid and controlled experience .
Opening the app can , on function , cause a brief stutter when music is playing , which is identical to what happened with the old app . Another curio is how the ANC options work .
There is Adaptive , On and Off place setting to choose from , which construct sense , but what does n’t is there ’s no way to change between stochasticity - call off and transparency modes on the earbuds themselves . Unless I ’ve missed something , the only method acting to select the transparency modality is by opening the app . I could n’t even change between the three modes , as holding the touch surface only jumps between the selected ANC mood and off . If you have it set thyroxin ‘ On ’ , you ca n’t switch to ‘ Adaptive ’ . I find that strangely unintuitive .
For what it ’s worth , the racket - cancellation is efficient but reliant on achieving a good scene , maintaining its sealing wax ( which is not always the case ) and tweak the loudness . Using them in the bustling meat of Amsterdam and liken them against theBose QuietComfort Earbuds II , the Pi7 S2 were n’t as successful in dissolve disturbance . I could still hear mass and vehicles , and while they were n’t loud enough to disorder , I was still aware of what was around me rather than sink into a house of cards of closing off .
Worn on an aeroplane , at Ikea and on several power train journeys , I encountered a interchangeable vibe . The Pi7 S2 supply solid curtailment against persistent and ambient sound but representative and general activity still manage to go against through . pergola would likely preserve the line they do n’t need the ANC to unduly bear on the music operation , but at £ 349 a soda I ’d expect more .
The PI7 S2 ’s saddle case retains the audio retransmission boast the original . join the USB - C - to-3.5 mm cable provided in the boxful to the charging type and plug it into anything that has a 3.5 millimeter jack , and sound is routed through the case to the earbuds .
It remain a clever musical theme and works with little to no latency watch YouTube video on my laptop computer . It ’s matched ( or you might say pinched ) by the less expensiveLG Tone Free UT90Q , but I could n’t get the feature to work on the UT90Q no matter what I did , whereas there were no problems with the Pi7 S2 whatsoever .
Call quality is excellent . Having carry two call on different days , the person on the other final stage of the bank line say they could n’t hear much background noise at a busy food market place I was milling in . My vocalization came across as clear though I did have to raise the volume to pick up them during noisier moments .
Walking on busy route and not much noise was learn on their side either . They did mention when it did get loudly my spokesperson went high pitched , and anyone who knows me is aware my voice is as far from high pitched as you could get .
Sound Quality
A lot can exchange in a couple of years , but there was lilliputian reason for Bowers and Wilkins to change anything where the sound was concerned . The original was one of the high-pitched quality listening experiences in the true wireless securities industry and the Pi7 S2 takes on the baton .
There do n’t look to be any changes made , and any I do hear could be put down to the various spike - bakshish used . The buds ’ persona hews to the same melodic approach as its herald . They ’re not implicated with being gimcrack or irritable and are personified by a sense of refinement with whatever song pass through the 9.2mm / balanced armature equipment driver . I would n’t describe them as a impersonal listening experience , as there ’s a fragile fondness and grandness throughout the frequency range .
That perhaps rob them of some dynamic heft and impact , but there ’s no doubting these are a fluid , melodious and piquant listen . Ashley Henry and Makaya McCraven ’s Dark Honey ( 4The tempest ) have a rich reproduction of the trumpets , McCraven ’s rapid rub-a-dub are delivered with good tempo , and the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 keep up with the speech rhythm without coming across as muddy .
Rhythmically they ’re more than adept , accelerating to a song ’s footstep or downshifting when called for . The cymbal crashes are n’t the terse in their definition , the Pi7 S2 are not particularly penetrating or hopeful but the instruments at the top end of the frequency range are easily identified , informative and luxuriously showcased . The midrange is home to voice that are smoothly described such as Shara Zoe Ahmed Gure ’s vocal in the Dark Honey cartroad , Kendrick Lamar ’s rap in United in Grief or Lenny Kravitz ’s in Fly Away .
Bass carries weightiness , though not to excitable amounts . The Pi7 S2 are not earbuds to get recklessly carried away but with TNGHT ’s Higher Ground streamed on Qobuz there ’s a serious punch that helps solidify the modest relative frequency , moreso if you ’re using the expectant ear - gratuity . But it ’s not just about clout , the Pi7 S2 ’s basso is varied and textured which helps to delineate a motley of tracks and literary genre .
The soundstage is described in pleasingly wide terms , and there ’s a mother wit of scale and expansiveness that immerses . You ’ll want to partner these earbuds with a gamey - calibre music subscription to get the good sound potential .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
Around four 60 minutes battery living , with firm but not class leading randomness - cancellation . You ’d look more value in return for parting with so much cash .
Final Thoughts
The Pi7 S2 are more of the same , which is both good and not - so - good . The pernicious purpose changes produce a less fatiguing sense of comfort , and everything I liked from the original remains just as in effect with this sequel . Otherwise , the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 are a little improvement , and integration with the Music app is rather odd .
The stochasticity - cancellation performance dilute through the yakety-yak but do n’t expect it to hit the suppressive heights of theBose QuietComfort Earbuds II .
The wireless audio retransmission feature of speech remains nerveless , but I ’ve seen it appear on at least one less expensive true wireless , which starts to prod question at the Pi7 S2 ’s perceived economic value . They sound as unspoilt as before , but is that enough to justify the price ?
I do n’t guess it does . These are a high - quality hearing experience , but as an overall package they ’re not the best and at this cost , that ’s where they need to be .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every set of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended menstruation of fourth dimension . We use industry stock exam to equate feature properly . We ’ll always state you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a intersection .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
There ’s no room for Sony ’s LDAC codec on the Pi7 S2 , which instead back up aptX - HD and aptX Adaptive to cater a higher tone listening experience .
Full Specs
Sustainability
trust Reviews ’ holds the fact that spherical warming is not a myth as a essence note value and will incessantly endeavour to help protect our satellite from harm in its business practices .
As part of this missionary post , whenever we go over a ware we ship the company a series of motion to help us approximate and make crystal empty the shock the equipment has on the surround .
We presently have n’t receive result to the query on this ware , but will update this page the moment we do . you could see a detailed breakdown of the questions we ask and why in oursustainability info page .
