Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5: Which is Best?

Choosing between the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 and Sony WH-1000XM5 can be tough. Both are top-tier headphones, but they excel in different areas. If you prioritize pure, detailed sound quality and premium design for music listening, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 is the superior choice. Its soundstage is expansive and crisp, making it an audiophile’s dream. Let’s dive into the details to see why.

Why Do I Recommend The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2?

• Unmatched Audio Clarity: The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 is engineered for “True Sound,” delivering an incredibly detailed and natural listening experience. Its custom-designed 40mm drive units are angled for a focused, immersive soundstage. In contrast, while the Sony WH-1000XM5 offers excellent sound, some users find it bass-heavy out of the box and less expansive compared to the Px7 S2’s crisp, well-separated audio.
• Premium Build and Design: The Px7 S2 features luxurious memory foam earpads and an elegant fabric finish, exuding a premium feel that stands out. While the Sony WH-1000XM5 is lightweight and comfortable with its soft-fit leather, the Px7 S2’s use of high-quality polymer and technical fabrics gives it a more durable and stylish edge.
• Intuitive Physical Controls: For those who prefer tactile feedback, the Px7 S2 provides physical buttons for volume, playback, and ANC modes. This offers a more reliable and straightforward user experience. Conversely, the Sony WH-1000XM5 relies heavily on touch controls, which can sometimes be less precise and require memorizing various gestures.
• Superior Corded Listening: The Px7 S2 includes a USB-C to 3.5mm cable and utilizes its internal DAC for high-resolution audio. This ensures outstanding 24-bit sound quality from streaming services like TIDAL. Although the Sony WH-1000XM5 also supports wired listening, the Px7 S2’s implementation is often praised by audiophiles for delivering a cleaner, more detailed sound.
• Excellent Passive Noise Isolation: Thanks to its plush, encapsulating earcups, the Px7 S2 provides significant passive noise isolation before the active cancellation even kicks in. This enhances the overall quiet, allowing the music to shine. The Sony WH-1000XM5 also has great isolation, but the Px7 S2’s design feels more substantial in blocking out ambient sound.

 

Side-By-Side Comparison Chart: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5

Feature	Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2	Sony WH-1000XM5
Primary Sound Focus	Natural, detailed, wide soundstage	Bass-heavy (customizable), immersive
Controls	Physical buttons	Touch controls
Materials	Technical fabrics, polymer arms, memory foam	Soft-fit leather, lightweight plastic
Microphone Setup	6 microphones (2 for calls)	8 microphones (4 for calls)
Key Smart Feature	App-based EQ, ANC modes	Auto NC Optimizer, Speak-to-Chat
Weight	307g (10.8 oz)	250g (8.82 oz)
Foldability	Earcups swivel flat	Earcups swivel flat (does not fold inward)
Call Quality	Good clarity	Excellent, industry-leading clarity

 

What Common Features Can Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5 Do?

Both the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 are leaders in the premium headphone market, sharing several high-end features that provide an exceptional user experience. They are designed not just for listening but for integrating seamlessly into your daily life.

One of the most crucial shared features is Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). Both headphone models use sophisticated microphone arrays to detect and neutralize external sounds, creating an immersive listening environment. This makes them ideal for noisy environments like airplanes, busy offices, or public transport. You can fully focus on your music, podcast, or call without distractions from the world around you.

Both models also offer excellent wireless connectivity with Bluetooth 5.2. This ensures a stable, high-quality connection with your devices, minimizing dropouts and latency. Furthermore, they both support Multipoint Connection, allowing you to pair with two devices simultaneously. This is incredibly convenient, as you can easily switch from watching a video on your laptop to answering a call on your phone without re-pairing.

Finally, both headphones are supported by a dedicated mobile app (Bowers & Wilkins Music App and Sony | Headphones Connect). These apps unlock a deeper level of customization, allowing you to adjust EQ settings to your personal taste, control noise-canceling levels, and manage device connections. This ability to fine-tune the audio and features ensures that you can tailor the headphones to your specific listening preferences and needs.

Common Features of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5

Feature	Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2	Sony WH-1000XM5
Active Noise Cancellation	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth Version	5.2	5.2
Battery Life	~30 hours	~30 hours
Quick Charge	Yes	Yes
Multipoint Connection	Yes	Yes
Mobile App Support	Yes, with EQ	Yes, with EQ and smart features
Wired Listening	Yes (USB-C & 3.5mm)	Yes (3.5mm)
Voice Assistant	Yes	Yes (Alexa Built-in)

 

A Detailed Comparison of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5

Noise Cancellation

The Sony WH-1000XM5 is widely regarded as the industry leader in noise cancellation. It uses two processors and eight microphones to create an incredibly quiet listening environment. Its Auto NC Optimizer automatically adjusts the level of noise cancellation based on your surroundings, making it exceptionally effective on flights and in crowded spaces. You will hear very little of the outside world.

While also excellent, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 focuses on canceling noise without compromising musicality. It uses six microphones for its ANC system, which effectively blocks out most ambient sounds. However, it may not silence high-frequency noises quite as completely as the Sony. For many users, the Px7 S2’s noise cancellation is more than sufficient, offering a perfect balance between immersion and sound fidelity.

Sound Quality

This is where the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 truly shines. It is engineered for audiophiles, delivering a sound that is expansive, crisp, and incredibly detailed. The drivers are positioned to create a wide soundstage, allowing you to hear every instrument with remarkable clarity and separation. The bass is robust but never muddy, complementing the clear highs and rich mids for a truly high-fidelity experience.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 also delivers fantastic sound, though it leans towards a warmer, more bass-forward profile out of the box. While the accompanying app allows for detailed EQ customization, some audiophiles feel its soundstage is slightly more condensed compared to the Px7 S2. For general listening and genres like hip-hop or electronic music, the powerful bass is a significant plus, providing an energetic and engaging sound.

Comfort and Design

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 boasts a premium design with elegant technical fabrics, metal detailing, and luxurious memory foam earcups. It feels substantial and durable, providing a snug and comfortable fit that also offers great passive noise isolation. At 307g, it is slightly heavier, but the quality of the materials justifies the weight and contributes to its high-end aesthetic.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 prioritizes lightweight comfort. Weighing just 250g and finished in soft-fit leather, it’s designed for all-day wear without causing fatigue. Its minimalist, modern design is sleek, but some users have noted durability concerns with the plastic components, particularly the hinges. Unlike previous models, the XM5s do not fold inward, making their carrying case slightly bulkier.

Call Quality

With its advanced audio signal processing and four dedicated beamforming microphones, the Sony WH-1000XM5 offers industry-leading call quality. It excels at isolating your voice from background noise, ensuring the person on the other end hears you with crystal clarity, even in windy or noisy environments. This makes it the superior choice for business professionals and anyone who takes frequent calls.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 provides good, clear call quality using two of its six microphones for voice pickup. It performs well in most situations, but it doesn’t match the exceptional background noise suppression of the Sony. For casual calls it is perfectly adequate, but in very noisy settings, some external sounds might be picked up.

 

Conclusion

Your choice between the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 depends entirely on your priorities. For the dedicated audiophile who values pristine, detailed sound and a premium, stylish build for listening to music, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 is the clear winner. Its soundstage is simply phenomenal. For the frequent traveler or remote worker who needs the absolute best noise cancellation and crystal-clear call quality, the Sony WH-1000XM5 is unmatched.

FAQs

1. Which headphones have better battery life?
   Both the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 and the Sony WH-1000XM5 offer an impressive 30 hours of battery life with ANC on, so they are evenly matched in this regard. Both also feature quick-charge capabilities.
2. Is the Sony WH-1000XM5 more comfortable for long periods?
   Generally, yes. The Sony WH-1000XM5 is lighter (250g vs 307g) and is often cited as being more comfortable for extended wear, such as during long flights, due to its lightweight design and soft-fit leather.
3. Which is better for making phone calls in a noisy office?
   The Sony WH-1000XM5 is the superior choice for calls in noisy environments. Its advanced microphone system and voice pickup technology are specifically designed to isolate your voice, ensuring exceptional clarity for the person on the other end.
4. Can I use these headphones with a wired connection?
   Yes, both headphones support wired connections. The Px7 S2 comes with a USB-C to 3.5mm cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable, while the WH-1000XM5 comes with a standard 3.5mm cable.
5. Do both headphones have customizable EQ settings?
   Yes, both models have companion apps (Bowers & Wilkins Music App and Sony | Headphones Connect) that allow you to customize the equalizer (EQ) settings to tailor the sound to your personal preferences.
6. Which headphones have a more premium feel?
   The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 is widely considered to have a more premium build and feel, thanks to its use of high-quality fabrics, aluminum arms, and luxurious memory foam. The Sony has a more minimalist, plastic-focused design.