PXC 550

I just purchased this (PXC 550-II), along with a pair of Bose (QC35 Series II). I already own a pair of Sennheiser PXC 550 (First edition), and a pair of Bose QC35 (Series I), though I seem to have misplaced my old Bose. Most of the following information on battery and life expectancy is regarding these older headphones, as I've had them longer, and nothing seems to have changed between the models, for either one (Aside from the built in Alexa, which I haven't tried out yet). Sound: These Sennheisers have amazing sound quality. I can hear all of the tiny details, clearly, in just the right proportions. The bass might be a little lacking, for those that want very "punchy" bass. For those that listen to music all day, the bass is just about perfect (I wouldn't mind a 5% increase in bass); Any more would result in listening fatigue and/or a headache. I feel like the previous model (Sennheiser PXC 550) has slightly more bass than the new PXC 550-II (by about that 5%). Comparing the PXC 550-II to the Bose QC35 Series II: I noticed during the only song I directly compared them with, that the Bose was playing almost none of the background instrumentals, and the ones it did play were muddled. Switching to the Sennheiser, all of that detail was captured, while still remaining in the "background" - how the music was intended to sound. Battery: I haven't tested the batteries on the new models, but based on the previous models: The Bose seemed to be needing a recharge every day or two of use, while the Sennheisers easily last twice as long. I recently moved, and had my headphones packed away for about 7 months, and upon pulling my headphones out, the Bose battery was completely drained, and the Sennheiser was at 90-100% still. It's possible that the Bose had a day of use on them without a recharge, but still. Also note both pairs were bought at the same time (Batteries are the same age). Life Expectancy: Based on the previous model: I've owned these Sennheisers for 3 years now, and they are still going strong. I've noticed no issues, no shortened battery life, no cracks or tears, no replacement parts needed. I can say the same for the Bose, but I will say that my previous pair of Bose (AE2) died on me right after the 1 year warrantee period, and when I went to buy a new pair from Best Buy, every pair of Bose headphones on display was also dead. Comfort: These headphones are super comfortable. Unfortunately the ear cups are narrower than the Bose, requiring me to move them around a bit to "seat" my ears properly each time I put them on. That said, once on, this does not cause any discomfort to my ears, even after a full day of use. My main (only, really) complaint with these is that these do put more pressure on the sides of your head than the Bose; Though, this is also a good thing. As the Bose headphones slide right off my head any time I jerk my head, or bend over, while these Sennheisers stay put. So if you're doing anything other than sitting down, the mild discomfort is a small price to pay. The Bose ear pads seem softer, but I don't notice an increase in comfort from this. I kind of wish they used a cloth for the ear cup padding, because leather gets hot after a while, but obviously the noise cancellation would then be non-existent. I just wish they offered this as an option, without noise cancellation. Noise Cancellation: The noise cancellation is awesome on the Sennheisers (And the Bose, for that matter). Bose does a better job (by about 15%) at cancelling white noise, like in an airplane, or a busy area with lots of talking. It seems like the Sennheisers do a better job (by about 5%) at cancelling "sharper" noises, like a single person talking. I'd consider the noise cancellation to be amazing, but Bose definitely puts them to shame overall (though, I reckon Bose has the best noise cancellation available). Both headphones have less "pressure" than other and older noise cancelling headphones. If you're unsure what I am talking about, it feels like your ears need to be popped, caused by the sound the headphones are making to cancel outside noises. I feel like the Sennheisers have less pressure than the Bose, but they also aren't quite as effective, as stated above. The Sennheisers have adjustable noise cancellation (off, low, high) which is really nice because it extends your battery life if, like me, you very rarely actually need (or want) the noise cancellation. Controls: I love the Sennheiser controls. The touch controls and motions are intuitive, it's precisely as responsive/sensitive as I'd like. Another nice feature is the setting that plays outside noises ("anti-noise cancelling"), which is useful if you need to be aware of your surroundings, or someone is talking to you, etc. I noticed many reviews mentioned an issue with accidentally hanging up calls when adjusting the headphones, but I haven''t had this issue, and don't understand how other people do, unless they have something in their hand, or they are grabbing the outside of the ear cups for some reason - I grab mine by the sides of the ear cups. Granted, I don't talk often on the phone, so I'm less likely to experience this, anyway, but I'd imagine the same exact issue would cause accidental pausing of music, etc., which I haven't had an issue with. Cons: The only cons I can think of are: 1) As mentioned in Comfort: The headphones press slightly too firmly on the sides of my head. This could also potentially be a Pro, so I'm reluctant to call it a con. 2) I wish they would have made it possible to both continue your music and play outside sounds when using the "anti noise cancellation" feature. I'd like to be able to listen to music, while still being aware of your surroundings when driving, walking, biking, etc. Perhaps you need to be able to hear your baby crying, but want your tunes. Apparently I can't leave a review for both the PXC 550 and the PXC 550-II, so a note regarding ONLY the PXC 550 (this has been fixed in the new model): The "surroundings-aware" functionality frequently has issues when playing music. About half the time, double tapping just pauses my music. It might take 3 attempts to get it to turn on.

This was my first pair of noise-cancelling headphones I've ever gotten. I'm not an audiophile nor do I really care about sound quality. I got these mainly because I have auditory issues and that hearing certain noises for extended periods can cause my anxiety to get really bad. I was a little wary of getting any headphones since I know nothing about noise-cancelling ones. These weren't my first pic, but after comparing and contrasting a couple of pairs, I decided on these and I'm beyond pleased with them. The noise cancellation alone can be a little underwhelming at times, but in the right circumstances, it's absolutely amazing. In a windy car, it severely cuts the noise just from the wind alone by probably a good 50%+. Unfortunately, I've found they don't cut the white noise caused by several machines that annoy me to the degree I'd like (namely actual white noise machines and the dehumidifier that's my noisy roommate in the basement). But it makes up for that when I actually put music on. Once I get these puppies on and start playing music, I basically can't hear ANYTHING. The world just becomes dead to me and I can focus on whatever I'm doing (usually writing). The only major downside to this is if a family member comes down to tell me and it scares me half to death when I see them right behind me. I swear these things were also made for my ears. I am very tiny (only 5'4"/110) so over-the-ear headphones had me wary since a lot of them are big and bulky. Not these. They're relatively small and light and are just the PERFECT size for my ears. I tend to leave them hanging around my neck, too, so if noise gets overwhelming for me, I can just put them on and cut it out partially or entirely (if I put music on). They're so light I often forget I'm wearing them and can comfortably do that all day. I can also comfortably wear them for hours on end even with glasses. At first, it would irritate me but I think I've gotten used to having them on like that by now, so I don't really notice it anymore. I will say the touch controls can be a little on the finicky side. A good part of the time when I go to pass up a song I don't feel like listening to, it'll register as pausing instead of fast forward. That might also just be on me because I use a super light touch and might not go back as far as necessary to get it to register. I can't say anything more about them, though, because I only tend to use the pause and pass song functions since that's about all I need. They're great for calls too. It's really my preferred way to make calls since the sound quality is just excellent. I hate using the phone because of how terrible built-in speakers tend to be. This completely negates the issue and even makes calls comfortable for me (at least as comfortable as they can be for me). I will say that, even though I'm not an audiophile, the headphones can be a bit bassy. I'm someone that prefers to listen to vocal tracks over pure instrumental (although I do plenty of that too). I've noticed the instrumental tracks tend to drown out the vocals to some degree. I ended up having to use the Android Adapt Sound function to make it sound better to me. That or I've just gotten used to the balancing and can pick out the vocals better. Possibly both. Other than that, the sound quality is absolutely amazing. I was just like "HOLY CRAP" when I first put them on after using cheap Skullcandy earbuds for years on end. Overall, I'm very, very happy with these headphones even if I have a few small struggles with them that possibly come down to some sort of user error. Definitely a solid A from a first-time headphone buyer.

Çok kaliteli, fiyatını hak eden bir ürün. Uzun süredir kullanıyorum. Çok hızlı şarz oluyor. Pili bitmek bilmiyor. İki cihaza birden hızlıca ve sorunsuz bağlanabiliyor. Pili azaldığında sesli uyarı veriyor. Dokunmatik kontrolleri sorunsuz çalışıyor. Hafif, yumuşak malzemeden üretilmiş. Gürültü engelleyicisi başarılı. Ses kalitesi zaten harika. Bendeki ilk versiyonu yakın zamanda yeni versiyonu çıktı. Son söz; Bravo Sennheiser!

I was blown away by how easy these were to use, while also being a very good quality pair of headphones that are extremely comfy to wear. I use both the Blutooth functionality, as well as the wired setting. The Blutooth is easy to use and the headphones have very little issue pairing to my iPhone 8 or my Dell laptop. I use these when going mountain biking, walking and when I'm exercising at home. I haven't had any issue with water damage, even after getting them a bit wet from being in light rain for a short period of time. The sound quality is what you would expect from a pair of headphones in this price-range. I listen to a variety of genres and the frequency response feels a lot more balanced than what I experienced from trying on other pairs in this price range. Nothing surprising considering the brand's reputation. The sound stage is okay, but could be better. You can place the instruments in a good mix, but it doesn't by any means make you feel like you're watching something live. I use these also for playing on my digital piano at home. The sound is clean and the headphones don't hurt after extended use. Just keep in mind that the battery is still in use even when the Blutooth is turned off, so make sure to charge them after extended use. The sound cancellation is noticeable, but not as powerful as Bose's. I personally prefer the sound cancellation on these. The minimized external noise helps for focusing on whats being listened to without being fully tuned out to whats going on or feeling sick from how powerful the sound cancellation is. The controls on the side are responsive and while the mic for calls isn't going to knock your socks off, it gets the job done. Overall, these were well worth the price tag for functionality, practicality and overall sound quality. 5/5

The headphones are great, good sound quality, good noise cancelling and good battery life. However, my pair of headphones came with the problem that every now and then, the Bluetooth would not work at all, it will simply create static making it impossible to use, I tried fixing it by connecting and disconnecting it, turning it on and off, checking the app to see if I could update it or do something. The problem I had could be from one in a million faulty items, but that is the experience I got.

Comprei e tive problemas com um lado não funcionar direito, pesquisei e vi que é bem comum nesse modelo que um lado pare de funcionar depois de um tempo. Além disso, o modelo do fone tenta ligar quando se vira a parte das caixas de som, isso faz com que em movimentos mais rápidos com o fone ele ligue e desligue pausando a música e sendo meio incomodo. Eu vi estes avisos mais em comentários gringos e achei que pudesse ser algo mais pontual, mas aparentemente é um problema recorrente do modelo. Não foi uma boa experiência ou que valesse o valor do fone.

Do not buy these headphones! The firmware update which fixes a huge number of fundamental issues with this model does not install from the sennheiser app, which is the only way to get the update. I've included a screenshot showing all of the fixes it brings to show how much doesn't work properly with that firmware. I have contacted Sennheiser support, but had no response. Having had the original version for years and loved them, I am gutted these are soo bad. I'm returning the item, but now have to pay for the return postage myself. Do no buy unless they sort out the firmware issue, you have been warned. Edit - Sennheiser have apparently fixed the bug in the app preventing the firmware update.