Brand | Sennheiser |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Sennheiser |
Model Number | 508337 |
Model Name | 508337 |
Model Year | 2019 |
Part Number | 508337 |
Special Features | Wireless, Noise-cancellation |
Mounting Hardware | Headphones |
Number Of Items | 1 |
Microphone Form Factor | With_Microphone |
Headphones Form Factor | Over Ear |
Batteries Included | Yes |
Batteries Required | Yes |
Battery cell composition | Lithium |
Connector Type | Wireless |
Device interface - primary | Unknown |
Memory Card Slot | ;; |
Includes Rechargable Battery | Yes |
Includes AC Adapter | No |
Product Dimensions | 17.4 x 13.6 x 6.3 cm; 222 Grams |
Item Weight | 222 g |
Manufacturer | Sennheiser |
ASIN | B07XYLPPSL |
Item Model Number | 508337 |
Batteries | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | 3 January 2020 |
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Sennheiser Over Ear Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones PXC 550 II, Black
RRP: |
$549.00
Details
Recommended Retail Price (RRP)The RRP displayed is the most recent manufacturer’s recommended retail price made available to Amazon AU. |
Price: | $289.00 |
You Save: | $260.00 (47%) |
Enhance your purchase
Brand | Sennheiser |
Colour | Black |
Connector Type | Wireless |
Model Name | 508337 |
Form factor | Over Ear |
About this item
- Superior clear sound quality and active noise cancellation; the PXC 550 II Wireless delivers Sennheiser legendary sound quality; Active noise cancellation reduces the ambient noise from your surroundings and can be adjusted to your preference
- Exceptional long-lasting battery performance up to 30 hours The PXC 550 II Wireless delivers up to 30 hours of battery life; You can travel from London to Hong Kong and back with just one charge
- One touch access to your personal voice assistant with the touch of a single button you have access to your AI helper Siri Hey Google and Alexa Frequency range Speaker 17 – 23000 Hz -10db
- Multi function touch pad control; a touch pad on the right ear cup provides volume play stop pause and track skipping control; Touching the ear cup allows you to take an incoming call; Controlling this headset is instinctive and easy
- Hands free smart pause activated via the app or auto on or off functionality swivel the ear cups to turn off sensors detect when you wear the headphone and play or pause music
- Includes: 3.5mm Audio Cable, Flight Adaptor and Carry Case
- Amazon Alexa compatible
Product Information
Technical Details
Additional Information
Customer Reviews |
4.2 out of 5 stars |
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Best Sellers Rank |
1,123 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
23 in Over-Ear Headphones |
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Product description
Created for the frequent traveller, the PXC 550 II Wireless upgrades every journey with exceptional comfort, unrivalled sound quality and wireless freedom. The triple microphone array also delivers unrivalled speech clarity when making calls on the move, or interacting with virtual assistants such as Siri, Google and Alexa via the convenient voice assistant button. With exceptional ergonomic design and up to 30 hours of battery life, the PFC 550 ii wireless portable headphone is the perfect companion for travelling in style.
From the manufacturer


Long lasting comfort, one charge travel.
Whatever your destination, the exceptional 30-hour battery life of the second generation PXC 550–II Wireless is powerful enough to last your entire journey without the need to recharge. With the advanced ergonomic design and rotating earcups, the PXC 550-II Wireless is effortlessly portable with a perfect fit for your ear.
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Smart Pause AutopilotThe Smart Pause feature reacts to your movement with seamless and practical automatic switch-off. The headset automatically turns on and connects via Bluetooth as it’s unfolded, so you can listen exactly where you left off. |
The Sound of Smart TravelThe Sennheiser Smart Control App, with selectable sound modes, allows you to tailor the sound experience to your travel playlist whether that be music, news, podcasts or film. |
First Class Call QualityA bespoke triple microphone array makes it easy to stay connected while on the move. ANC detects and removes background noise providing unrivaled speech clarity, so your calls and voice commands are never lost. |
Important information
Safety Information:
Yes
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
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Noise cancelling is very strong, I would say good, but I do occasionally hear a buzzing and it's probably placebo, but tends to give me a headache when on setting "2", turned down to "1" it is flawless, although perhaps not as strong as you might expect (perhaps less than my Sennheiser HD 280 Pros which I upgraded from due to the muffs being extremely worn.
I'm no audiophile, but certainly they aren't overly bass-y like most brands, and speech sounds very good. I thought bluetooth and touch features were pretty gimmicky, but it seems to work okay in parallel to using an auxiliary cable.
I was a big fan of the original PXC 550 and therefore was confident in purchasing the newer model. I wasn’t disappointed and notice there have been some improvements especially that the sound is crisper and has greater bass and appear to have higher volume. The noise cancellation appears to have been improved too blocking out more sound. The L and R are printed inside the headphones so there’s no confusing the two like before!
One downside is the headphone tap controls are far more sensitive than the first generation. This means it turns on/off more easily than before.
These headphones are super comfortable, have great sound, connect with ease via Bluetooth (both initial pairing and ongoing connections) and are also great for use with phone.
Highly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries

-= Der erste Eindruck =-
Selbst die Verpackung ist recht hochwertig und es macht Spaß, die Kopfhörer auszupacken. Der Kopfhörer ist klassisch matt schwarz und die Materialwahl passend neutral elegant dazu gewählt. Ich verstehe den Ausdruck „Business Kopfhörer“ immer nicht so ganz, da ich glaube, dass ein Großteil der gutverdienenden „Business Menschen“ in Mittel- oder Oberklassewagen fahren und gar nicht die Zeit dazu haben, hochqualitativ Musik zu hören. Was ich aber finde ist, dass die Kopfhörer trotz ihrer Größe nicht negativ auffallen und selbst ein Business Mensch wohl hier problemfrei diese Kopfhörer tragen könnte. Als Freund klassischer Schönheit gefallen mir die Kopfhörer hervorragend! Aber auch das mitgelieferte Case ist toll und wirkt auch nicht gerade billig. Gerade die samtigen Seiten mit dem hervorragenden Reißverschluss sind toll. Die Hauptfläche hätte gerne auch aus einem anderen Material sein dürfen, aber das ist schlussendlich Meckern auf sehr hohem Niveau. Für mich alles richtig gemacht.
-= Klang =-
Der wohl maßgeblichste Punkt von allen! Mein erster Test bei Kopfhörern ist immer irgendetwas rockiges. Der einfache Grund dafür ist, dass viele günstige Kopfhörer hier direkt ihre Schwächen verraten: verschwimmender Klang statt scharfer, differenzierter Klänge und Töne. Es geht eben nicht um die reine Bassschwäche und zischende Höhen, sondern um ein Klangbild.
„Private Investigations“ von Dire Straits war mein Start, und der wurde vergoldet. Klarheit bis ins Letzte. Jedes Instrument, jeder Ton, jede Silbe des Sängers lässt sich heraushören. Die Gitarre ist klar – nicht nur beim einfachen Zupfen, sondern auch harschen Zerren an den Saiten exakt. Der Bass klar vernehmbar, aber nicht aufgedrückt oder angehoben. Das Klangbild ist super neutral und gerade bei diesem Lied ist das natürlich hervorragend. Es ist aber auch etwas, was man zulassen muss: von überall wird man getrimmt auf ein Muss an Bass. Ist Musik nicht immersiv, so kann die Musikanlage oder der Kopfhörer nicht gut sein. Da muss ich widersprechen: einmal darauf eingelassen, ist das super!
„An Industry of Murder“ von Graveyard war der nächste Test, um einen Gesamteindruck von den Kopfhörern zu bekommen. Das Lied ist nicht gerade ein besonders atmosphärisches Lied, aber macht dennoch mit guten Kopfhörern mehr Spaß als mit schlechten. Auch hier enttäuscht der Kopfhörer nicht.
„Rolling in the Deep“ von Adele war für mich spannend, da ich hier zum ersten Mal bestimmte Dinge gehört habe in dem Lied. Ganz am Anfang wird recht leise ein „one two three four“ angestimmt – nicht verbal, sondern mit einem Instrument als leise Betonung. Ein Detail, welches ich bisher noch nicht mitgenommen habe. Genauso die Präzision vom Hall, der am Anfang in der Stimme zu hören ist. Viele Kopfhörer oder Lautsprecher geben dies als eine klare Stimme, vielleicht mit verschwimmendem Hall im Hintergrund wieder, aber der leichte und sehr differenzierte Hall ist hier gut abgebildet. Die Stimme ist entsprechend brilliant – Adele eben – und es macht Spaß das Lied zu hören. Zugegeben: das sind Details und ich würde mit anderen Kopfhörern, die das nicht so gut wiedergeben, wahrscheinlich immer noch Spaß haben. Aber es sind Dinge, die zwischen diesen und günstigeren Modellen differenzieren.
„Billie Jean“ von Michael Jackson. Ein Klassiker! Die Höhen sind scharf, vielleicht ein klitzekleines bisschen zu scharf. Aber auch das einzige Lied, bei dem ich das so empfand. Ansonsten spannende Details, die sich mir wieder offenbarten. Ich finde das schwierig in Worte zu fassen, aber es wird einfach in bestimmten Moment mehr Atmosphäre oder Klarheit geschaffen, die man sonst einfach nicht so oder nicht so intensiv wahrnimmt.
„Evil Dub“ von trentemøller. Nanu, wenn er will dann kann er aber durchaus so etwas wie pulsierenden Bass! Eine Frage des genutzten Dynamikumfangs, der Musikquelle. Zu Beginn sind so scharfe, hohe Geräusche in dem Lied, von denen man meint, dass sie bis ins Gehirn ziehen. Das gehört irgendwie zu diesem Lied. Die Höhen, so schnalzig, kurz, intensiv sie auch sind, aber sie sind nie schmerzhaft und gehören für mich genau so dorthin, wo sie sind. Der Bass treibt einen immer vorwärts, dumpf, fordernd. Die dumpfe Art des Basses gehört aber zu dem Lied, nicht zu dem Makel der Kopfhörer.
„Homeless“ von Paul Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Das Lied wird ja mal immer gerne mal herangezogen, um die Sprach- und Gesangspräzision wiederzugeben. Es öffnet sich einem Bühne von Musikern, die einfach singen. Kein Instrument, einfach nur Kunst. Sie stehen nebeneinander, sie stehen vor einem, man versinkt in ihrem Gesang ohne Zweifel. Schließt man die Augen, kann man sich regelrecht vorstellen, wie man in einem großen, hohen Raum steht und vor einem auf der Bühne einfach gesungen wird. Mit Inbrunst. Nicht, dass die Musik absolut meins ist, aber ich konnte es durchgängig genießen und verstehe, warum dieses Lied gerne herangezogen wird.
„Doin‘ it Right“ von Daft Punk. Hier sind wir wieder in der Bassabteilung, klar. Aber spannend dabei ist einfach die Gleichmäßigkeit – während viele Kopfhörer in einem etwas höheren Bass voll auftrumpfen und nach unten hin stark nachlassen, bildet hier der Sennheiser die richtig tiefen Töne erst richtig ab. Alles ist am richtigen Platz – die Höhen, die Stimme ordentlich. Auch bei dem Lied reichen weitaus günstigere und einfachere Kopfhörer, um Spaß zu machen. Aber mit dem Sennheiser geht eben auch noch ein bisschen mehr. Toll.
„River Flows in You“ von Yiruma, Luke Faulkner (2018). Man hört mehr, als man möchte. Ein Knarzen vom Stuhl zwischendrin, eine Saite hört sich für mich ein klitzekleines bisschen daneben an. Überhaupt – hat er das Lied nicht schon mal besser gespielt, oder wurde es von Luke Faulkner gespielt? Naja.
„Herr, unser Herrscher“ aus Johannes Passion von Johann Sebastian Bach, gespielt von Rias Kammerchor / Staats- und Kammerchor Berlin und der Akademie für alte Musik, Berlin. Ich bin nicht der Klassikfan schlechthin, kann mir aber durchaus auch einmal etwas dahingehend anhören. Der Chor besticht durch absolute Klarheit: alle Zischlaute, verschiedene Positionen, Stimmlagen, einzelne Stimmen lassen sich differenzieren. Spannend.
„Toccata and Fugue in D Minor“ von Johann Sebastian Bach, gespielt von Simon Preston. Orgelspiele – Klarheit von der tiefsten bis zur höchsten Note. Orgelmusik war nie so meins – einfach aber alleine schon, weil es für mich nie den Eindruck einfangen konnte, den es machte vor einer Orgel zu stehen, während ein Virtuose sie spielte. Mit den Sennheiser Kopfhörern kommt man schon ein gutes Stück näher.
„Sunshine Live Vol 67“ ausgepackt. Bruch. Insgesamt eine Musikrichtung, auf die es nicht zwangsläufig ankommt, um einen guten Kopfhörer zu beurteilen. Aber viele Bassfanatiker gucken eben auch einmal bei dieser Preiskategorie vorbei. Bei so neutralen Kopfhörern wird man dann wahrscheinlich enttäuscht sein, aber einmal ausprobieren, was geht denn an Bass? Also ein passendes Album ausgepackt, was es einfordert! „Grapevine“ von Tiesto. Selten, dass Tiesto so Spaß gemacht hat. Der Bass untermalt und treibt, die Mitten bleiben präsent. „American Dream“ von Sultan and Shepard. Durchaus hörbar, auch wenn mir das Original besser gefällt… „Magic“ von KSHMR. Die Chipmunks Stimme tut ja beinahe weh. Ich erinnere mich langsam, warum ich spätestens nach einer Stunde diese Musikrichtung gegen etwas anderes tauschen muss. Kein herausforderndes Lied für die Kopfhörer, dementsprechend solide Leistung. „Repeat After Me“ von Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Schon eher wieder was für mich und insbesondere ausgewogener Bass. Der Kopfhörer kann also, wenn er mit dem richtigen gefüttert wird. Das ist aber Lied abhängig und wie sie abgemischt sind. Ein Boost ist ganz bewusst nicht gesetzt worden, die Kopfhörer sind neutral abgestimmt. Das heißt aber nicht, dass er nicht auch tief kann.
Ich vermute, dass jemand, der Bass für besonders wichtig hält, nicht genügend immersive Basskonfrontation erfährt. Ein Beispiel: „Sail“ von Awolnation hört sich auf dem Kopfhörer okay an. Ich habe den Song auch schon an einer Teufel 5.1 Anlage mit großem Subwoofer und passendem Preset gehört. Das sind zwei Welten – man kann mit dem richtigen Lautsprecher oder Kopfhörer und Preset daraus ein maximal immersives Erlebnis machen, dass nachhaltigen Eindruck macht. Bei manchen Liedern passt das auch hervorragend. Das erlebt man mit den Sennheiser Kopfhörern aber nicht. Das Lied verliert dadurch bei mir absolut an Interesse über diese Kopfhörer! Dennoch würde ich die Kopfhörer nicht eintauschen wollen. Vielleicht einfach ab und an mal lieber die Anlage aufdrehen und erleben – man muss ja nicht alles über Kopfhörer hören.
Natürlich nur indirekt mit dem Klang zu tun hat die Lautstärke. Hier bin ich hier aber stark ambivalent und muss es erwähnen. In 95% der Fälle höre ich bei den Kopfhörern auf maximaler Lautstärke! Das ist – je nach Lied – nicht einmal so, dass ich dies als lauter bezeichnen würde. Bei den meisten Liedern entspricht das gehobener, aber nicht überlauter Musik. Einzig bei auf Maximum abgestimmten Alben (bspw. Die Sunshine Live CDs) ist die Musik lauter. Das geht aber natürlich auf den verwendeten Dynamikumfang und eher ein schlechtes Beispiel. Wer also mal so richtig Beschallung wünscht und sich ordentlich was auf die Ohren geben will, mag enttäuscht sein. Auf der anderen Seite – und daher auch meine Ambivalenz – hatte ich bisher kein Bedürfnis, die Lautstärke weiter zu erhöhen. Einzig: die Maximallautstärke entspricht meiner Ideallautstärke zu entsprechen.
-= Tragekomfort =-
Die Kopfhörer sind meiner Meinung nach sehr komfortabel. Sie sind groß genug, um über die Ohren abzuschließen und nicht zu schwer, um eine Last zu spüren. Die Polster sind weich und dick, so dass es auch da keinerlei Probleme geben sollte. Nach längerem Hören wird es dann doch auch ein bisschen warm unter den Kopfhörern. Nicht, dass das über den Maßen wäre, allerdings könnte sich jemand, der besonders empfindlich auf so etwas ist, nach einer längeren Hörsession den Drang verspüren, den Kopfhörer wieder abzulegen.
-= App =-
Die App ist eine Kombination aus Presets für den Klang, Akkuanzeige des Kopfhörers und Anzeige, ob nun die Geräuschunterdrückung eingeschaltet ist oder nicht. Ende. Die Akkuanzeige habe ich auch über das Handy selbst (bei mir Android) und ich weiß auch ohne die App, ob nun die Geräuschunterdrückung eingeschaltet ist oder nicht. Einzig die Preset Einstellung kann interessant sein für jemanden, der etwas am Klang ändern möchte. Ich bin mit der neutralen Einstellung zufrieden, woraus sich für mich weder Sinn, noch Mehrwert der App ergibt.
-= Bluetooth =-
Alle Musik, die ich gehört habe, habe ich über Bluetooth gehört – mein Handy unterstützt die aptX-Übertragungsformate, so dass es für mich tatsächlich ein Komfort darstellt zu kabelgebundenen Kopfhörern. Insbesondere wenn ich unterwegs bin, ist das die beste Lösung. Die Option jedoch, ein mitgeliefertes Kabel einzustöpseln und auch ohne Akku oder ohne Bluetooth hören zu können, ist für mich essentiell und beruhigend. Ich freue mich bereits auf das eine oder andere atmosphärische Spiel am Computer, sobald ich die Zeit dafür finde!
-= Noise Cancelling =-
Ich bin Naturwissenschaftler mit Bachelor- und Masterabschluss. Ich bin Techniker mit einer Handwerksausbildung. Ich bin Lehrer an einem Berufskolleg. Ich weiß, auf welchen Verfahren und Ideen aktive Geräuschunterdrückung (Active Noise Cancelling, ANC) beruht. Die Theorie ist ebenso bestechend, wie richtig: gute Geräuschunterdrückung ist machbar. In der Praxis ist das wiederum gar nicht mal so fürchterlich einfach, was zu zahlreichen mehr oder weniger guten Ergebnissen unterschiedlichster Hersteller geführt hat. Meine Erwartungen waren also da, aber nicht über aller Maßen. Und ich war sprachlos. Paradedisziplin für die Kopfhörer ist Bahnfahren. Brummende Motoren, Anfahr- und Bremsgeräusche, Gepolter über die Gleise. Man schaltet die Geräuschunterdrückung ein und es ist, als hätte jemand beim Fernseher auf stumm geschaltet. Weg. Nur die Musik bleibt. Phänomenal! Wenn Geräusche durchdringen, dann sind das in aller Regel Stimmen oder andere höhere Frequenzen. Auch wenn die Geräuschkulisse eine gewisse Lautstärke übersteigt, kommt das Geräusch noch gedämmt durch. Auch in Liedpassagen, die leise sind, kommt ein wenig durch. Aber insgesamt gesprochen und auch mit meinem technischen Hintergrund, den ich habe, muss ich sagen, dass ich doch sehr erstaunt bin, wie gut das System mittlerweile doch geworden ist. Fairerweise muss ich allerdings auch dazu sagen, dass sich meine bisherigen Erfahrungen auf Lesen von Rezensionen von anderen ANC Kopfhörern beschränkt und ich jungfräulich an die Situation gegangen bin.
-= Fazit =-
Die Kopfhörer sind sehr gut! Das Klangbild ist neutral, was ich gut finde. Dennoch kann der Kopfhörer in allen Richtungen, wenn er soll oder will. Die Bedienung ist einfach und mit Bluetooth aptX und aptX LL ist der Kopfhörer bestens für den kabellosen Genuss gerüstet. Dennoch ist auch ein Kabel mit im Lieferumfang, wie auch ein hübsches Case. Die klassisch anmutenden Kopfhörer wagen nichts Großes in punkto Design, ecken aber durch diese Gefälligkeit auch bei keinem an. Die Verarbeitung ist hochwertig und lässt auf viele Jahre Spaß hoffen. Die Akkulaufzeit empfinde ich als mehr als ausreichend. Alles, was reell über 10 Stunden hinaus geht ist mindestens ausreichend, hier wird noch einmal ein Vielfaches geboten. Die Geräuschunterdrückung ist phänomenal gut und überzeugt mich auf ganzer Linie. Wenn man nach Minuspunkten suchen möchte, so ist es, dass die Maximallautstärke nicht besonders hoch ist. Für Nerds lassen sich Alexa, Siri oder Hey Google integrieren. Auch, wenn ich Alexa Nutzer bin, so spreche ich nicht mit meinem Kopfhörer in der Öffentlichkeit. Eine meiner Meinung nach eher unnütze Funktion. Zusammengenommen macht der Kopfhörer meiner Meinung nach nahezu alles richtig. Zur Perfektion braucht es vielleicht noch ein wenig, aber man kommt weit ran. Nachteilig ist natürlich der Preis zu nennen, der ein ganz klar gehobenes Segment anspricht. Ich finde aber auch, dass bei dieser Preisklasse auch Emotionen und Designvorlieben über einen Wert entscheiden. Punkte, die subjektiv sind. Technisch überzeugt er. Ist er es Ihnen wert?

Was waren meine wichtigsten Kriterien für den perfekten Kopfhörer?
Ich brauchte einen Allrounder, der mich den ganzen Tag in der Arbeit begleiten kann. Mir war es zum einen wichtig, dass das NC solide funktioniert, da ich beruflich viel unterwegs mit Flugzeug & Bahn bin. Ich höre nicht immer auf volle Lautstärke, auch habe ich gerne die Kopfhörer einfach auf und genieße die Stille. Weiterhin sollte die Steuerung auch einigermaßen gut funktionieren. Ich bin eigentlich kein Fan von Touch-Bedienungen, sondern mag noch den typischen analogen Knopf zum Drücken. Ja ich weiß, die Steuerung dieser Kopfhörer ist auch in Touch-Elementen gebaut worden, aber ich muss sagen, dass Sennheiser dieses, trotz Touch, sehr gut umgesetzt hat. Auch war es mir wichtig, dass die Kopfhörer sich mit zwei Geräten gleichzeitig verbinden lassen (für Arbeitshandy und Privathandy) und dieser zwischen dem Telefonieren und der Musik zwischen den Geräten hin- und herschalten kann. Natürlich musste der Klang – wenn man schon so viel Geld für Kopfhörer ausgibt – auch mit den anderen Marken von Bose, Sony, B&O oder AT mithalten können. Zum Klang werde ich in dieser Rezension aber nicht viel sagen, da er einfach typisch Sennheiser ist – voluminös, knackiger Bass und angenehme Höhen/Tiefen. Jeder der mal ein Sennheiser KH aufgehabt hat, weiß was ich meine. Klang ist ein sehr subjektives Element und hier kann ich nur jedem empfehlen, der noch keine Sennheiser getestet hat, sich einfach ein Kopfhörer mal im Geschäft anzuschauen. Mein letztes, fast für mich wichtigstes Kriterium sind gute Mikrofone, da ich den Kopfhörer viel zum Telefonieren benötige und ich nicht zu einem anderen Headset greifen möchte. Mit dem letzten Kriterium dem Telefonieren habe sich übrigens alle Vergleichsmodelle (oben aufgezählt) echt schwergetan und für mich war es immer ein Kill-Kriterium. Mit telefonieren meine ich auch nicht im stillen Raum, sondern wenn man unterwegs ist (z.B. U-Bahn, Bahnhof, Windgeräusche, etc.).
Kurzum ich habe endlich ein Headset gefunden, was jedes Kriterium erfüllt hat und ich bin mit den Kopfhörern mega Happy. Besonders die Kombination guter Klang mit guten Mikrofon habe ich bei allen anderen Marken die ich bis Dato ausprobiert habe vermisst. Entweder war der Klang gut, aber das Mikrofon war schlecht oder umgekehrt. Ich bin froh, dass die Suche jetzt ein Ende hat.
Eine Langzeiterfahrung kann ich noch nicht mit Euch teilen. Ich habe die Kopfhörer direkt nach Release (Nov 2019) gekauft und jetzt ca. zwei Wochen im Alltag getestet. Bis jetzt ist mir nichts Negatives aufgefallen und die Gesprächspartner geben mir als Feedback, dass Sie mich sehr gut und klar verstehen können – auch direkt in der Rush Hour an der Hauptstraße in München oder in der überfüllten U-Bahn stehend. Außengeräusche werden von den Teilnehmern zwar wahrgenommen, aber meine Stimme sticht wohl nochmal hervor, so dass es keine Verständigungsprobleme gibt. Stärkere Windgeräusche beim Laufen werden von den KH ausgeblendet.
Als Negativ zu sehen ist natürlich der Micro-USB-Anschluss. Dem neuen Momentum 3 haben Sie auch ein USB-C-Anschluss gegönnt, sogar noch mit einem zusätzlichen Adapter auf USB-A. Das fand ich richtig gut und ich habe gehofft, dass sie das bei den PXC II auch so machen. Mir fehlen bei dem Punkt wirklich etwas die Worte - das werde ich wohl nie begreifen, warum die Ingenieure von Sennheiser sich bei den PXC für den alten Mikro-USB-Anschluss entschieden haben. Aber in Summe ist das für mich kein Ausschlusskriterium und da ich in meiner Tasche eh immer ein Mikro-USB-Kabel dabei habe, ist dieser Punkt mir auch fast egal, wie ich das Ding letztendlich laden kann.
Kommen wir noch zur Sennheiser Control App. Mir gefällt die App vom Handling ganz gut und insbesonderes der eingebaute Equalizer holt nochmal richtig viel aus den KH heraus, je nachdem welche Musikrichtung man hört. Auch hervorzuheben ist, dass der EQ nicht geöffnet bleiben muss. Die EQ-Einstellungen werden direkte auf den Kopfhörer übertragen und bleiben konfiguriert. Was noch nicht so rund läuft ist das Erkennen der Kopfhörer – manchmal muss ich die Kopfhörer oder die App neustarten, damit die sich gegenseitig erkennen. Bei den PXC ist die Firmware aktuell noch die 1.0.0. Ich hoffe, dass die Mängel beim nächsten Update behoben werden.
Mein Fazit
Ich kann diese Kopfhörer jedem empfehlen, die auf der Suche nach einem Kopfhörer sind, welche optimalen Klang, mit gutem NC und guter Sprachqualität beim Telefonieren suchen. Für mich hat die Suche endlich ein Ende gefunden. Sollte sich an meiner Meinung oder der Qualität der KH langfristig etwas ändern, werde ich meine Rezension anpassen und meine Erfahrung mit Euch teilen.

Ho seguito anche questo secondo modello che sembra abbia risolto i problemi del primo e dopo una lunghissima serie di confronti e recensioni l'ho acquistato, la scelta era tra questa cuffia, la Sony wh-1000xm3 (ritenuta la migliore del segmento) e la Bose nc 700.
Partiamo dal presupposto che quello che stavo cercando erano delle cuffie dall'estrema pulizia del suono e sapevo che Sennheiser era una garanzia molto di più di Sony che nell hi-fi non è mai stata eccelsa (fino a qualche anno fa) ma le Sony ancora non mi convincevano perché, hanno dei bassi troppo pieni a mio avviso e a volte invadenti, sono troppo grosse, hanno pochi tasti fisici (solo 1) e possono connettersi solo ad un dispositivo per volta. Le Bose invece sono le più belle del lotto, quelle con la cancellazione del rumore migliore e maggiormente regolabile ma anche le più costose, con uno spettro sonoro abbastanza flat ma che è stato fortemente criticato per la mancanza di profondità.
Quindi eccomi tornato sulle Sennheiser ed ecco tutto quello che ho capito a riguardo e soprattuto perché sono arrivato quasi a pensare di renderle e prendere le Sony e perché non lo farò.
Le Pxc 550 ii sono delle cuffie esteticamente bellissime, estremamente eleganti e comode, leggere ed ergonomiche, dalla costruzione Premium (lo sottolineo perché ho letto in molte recensioni che sembrano cheap… FALSO) hanno tre tasti fisici (switch riduzione rumore a tre vie off auto on, tasto assistente vocale (tutti dicono Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, la verità è che io trovo solo Alexa nell'app, e lo switch per spegnere il bluetooth) e poi un enorme pad per i controlli touch dalla discreta funzionalità, sia chiaro funziona molto bene ma a volte partono comandi involontari, bisogna farci l’abitudine.
Veniamo ai punti di forza: La resa acustica. Unico e fondamentale pregio di queste cuffie, ogni suono è dove dovrebbe essere ed il livello di dettaglio è encomiabile, tutto il resto scende in secondo piano.
Veniamo ora ai tasti dolenti e alla mia esperienza: la cuffia è arrivata con il firmware 1.0, “e che ci frega” vi chiederete, a quanto pare questo aggiornamento non è compatibile con l'app per iOS 13.4. E di lì capite bene che sono partite le prime gastime, ma non ho mollato in giro sul web ho scoperto dell'esistenza di un aggiornamento firmware e che le cuffie erano normalmente funzionanti con dispositivi meno aggiornati, fatto questo quindi la cuffia è diventata perfettamente compatibile, e ho potuto sfruttare gli incredibili vantaggi dell'app.... pochi... molto pochi...
1) Non è presente un vero e proprio equalizzatore, mancanza assoluta per cuffie di questo calibro, presente però solo sulle Sony in maniera degna e completamente assente sulle bose
2) Non è possibile modificare l'intensità della riduzione attiva del suono. possibile invece sulle bose
3) Non è possibile o almeno non ho ancora capito come fare per scegliere Siri come assistente vocale anziché Alexa
4) Manca una modalità trasparenza con la musica attiva, quando la inserirete facendo un doppio tap sul padiglione destro la musica verrà stoppata ed il volume ambientale aumentato, a differenza di Sony e Bose. (Potrebbe essere inserita con un aggiornamento)
E allora vi starete chiedendo perché abbia scelto queste cuffie, così poco famose e con tutti questi problemi rispetto alle molto più blasonate Sony e Bose, forse perché è stato come un colpo di fulmine, un feeling che non si può spiegare se non si prova, erano le cuffie che facevano per me sebbene con qualche compromesso
Facendo il punto sono Cuffie dal suono cristallino, bassi non invadenti, riduzione attiva del rumore ottima ma non personalizzabile, comode leggere e belle, sebbene abbiano quei “ma” che non te la fanno consigliare ad occhi chiusi, in primis l'applicazione, non degna di cuffie di questo calibro.
P.s. Pagata 260 €
***AGGIORNAMENTO***
Fate attenzione al fatto che queste cuffie come molte di fascia alta hanno un’impedenza elevata, ergo via jack avranno un volume molto ridotto e prima di impazzire come ho fatto io per trovare la causa sappiate che è questa, la soluzione è comprare un amplificatore da interporre tra la fonte audio e le cuffie (io suono la chitarra ecco perché mi servono anche via cavo)

Reviewed in Italy on 24 April 2020
Ho seguito anche questo secondo modello che sembra abbia risolto i problemi del primo e dopo una lunghissima serie di confronti e recensioni l'ho acquistato, la scelta era tra questa cuffia, la Sony wh-1000xm3 (ritenuta la migliore del segmento) e la Bose nc 700.
Partiamo dal presupposto che quello che stavo cercando erano delle cuffie dall'estrema pulizia del suono e sapevo che Sennheiser era una garanzia molto di più di Sony che nell hi-fi non è mai stata eccelsa (fino a qualche anno fa) ma le Sony ancora non mi convincevano perché, hanno dei bassi troppo pieni a mio avviso e a volte invadenti, sono troppo grosse, hanno pochi tasti fisici (solo 1) e possono connettersi solo ad un dispositivo per volta. Le Bose invece sono le più belle del lotto, quelle con la cancellazione del rumore migliore e maggiormente regolabile ma anche le più costose, con uno spettro sonoro abbastanza flat ma che è stato fortemente criticato per la mancanza di profondità.
Quindi eccomi tornato sulle Sennheiser ed ecco tutto quello che ho capito a riguardo e soprattuto perché sono arrivato quasi a pensare di renderle e prendere le Sony e perché non lo farò.
Le Pxc 550 ii sono delle cuffie esteticamente bellissime, estremamente eleganti e comode, leggere ed ergonomiche, dalla costruzione Premium (lo sottolineo perché ho letto in molte recensioni che sembrano cheap… FALSO) hanno tre tasti fisici (switch riduzione rumore a tre vie off auto on, tasto assistente vocale (tutti dicono Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, la verità è che io trovo solo Alexa nell'app, e lo switch per spegnere il bluetooth) e poi un enorme pad per i controlli touch dalla discreta funzionalità, sia chiaro funziona molto bene ma a volte partono comandi involontari, bisogna farci l’abitudine.
Veniamo ai punti di forza: La resa acustica. Unico e fondamentale pregio di queste cuffie, ogni suono è dove dovrebbe essere ed il livello di dettaglio è encomiabile, tutto il resto scende in secondo piano.
Veniamo ora ai tasti dolenti e alla mia esperienza: la cuffia è arrivata con il firmware 1.0, “e che ci frega” vi chiederete, a quanto pare questo aggiornamento non è compatibile con l'app per iOS 13.4. E di lì capite bene che sono partite le prime gastime, ma non ho mollato in giro sul web ho scoperto dell'esistenza di un aggiornamento firmware e che le cuffie erano normalmente funzionanti con dispositivi meno aggiornati, fatto questo quindi la cuffia è diventata perfettamente compatibile, e ho potuto sfruttare gli incredibili vantaggi dell'app.... pochi... molto pochi...
1) Non è presente un vero e proprio equalizzatore, mancanza assoluta per cuffie di questo calibro, presente però solo sulle Sony in maniera degna e completamente assente sulle bose
2) Non è possibile modificare l'intensità della riduzione attiva del suono. possibile invece sulle bose
3) Non è possibile o almeno non ho ancora capito come fare per scegliere Siri come assistente vocale anziché Alexa
4) Manca una modalità trasparenza con la musica attiva, quando la inserirete facendo un doppio tap sul padiglione destro la musica verrà stoppata ed il volume ambientale aumentato, a differenza di Sony e Bose. (Potrebbe essere inserita con un aggiornamento)
E allora vi starete chiedendo perché abbia scelto queste cuffie, così poco famose e con tutti questi problemi rispetto alle molto più blasonate Sony e Bose, forse perché è stato come un colpo di fulmine, un feeling che non si può spiegare se non si prova, erano le cuffie che facevano per me sebbene con qualche compromesso
Facendo il punto sono Cuffie dal suono cristallino, bassi non invadenti, riduzione attiva del rumore ottima ma non personalizzabile, comode leggere e belle, sebbene abbiano quei “ma” che non te la fanno consigliare ad occhi chiusi, in primis l'applicazione, non degna di cuffie di questo calibro.
P.s. Pagata 260 €
***AGGIORNAMENTO***
Fate attenzione al fatto che queste cuffie come molte di fascia alta hanno un’impedenza elevata, ergo via jack avranno un volume molto ridotto e prima di impazzire come ho fatto io per trovare la causa sappiate che è questa, la soluzione è comprare un amplificatore da interporre tra la fonte audio e le cuffie (io suono la chitarra ecco perché mi servono anche via cavo)





Der Klang der Kopfhörer ist gut, aber die neuen Momentum 3 von Sennheiser haben meiner Meinsung nach einen besseren Sound. In der Standerdeinstellung sind die PXC 550-II jedoch etwas ausgewogener. Für Hip-Hop und Rock ist der Klang sehr gut. Für Techno oder andere basslastige Musik würde ich eher zu den Momentum greifen, weil weniger mit dem EQ nachgebessert werden muss.
Ebenfalls hat mir gar nicht gefallen, dass die Kopfhörer bei der Verwendung über PC und aktivierten Mikrofon in eine Art Telefonie-Modus gehen. Bei diesem Modus wird das Audio Signal extrem komprimiert und hört sich wirklich fürchterlich an. Ich vermute diese Funktion ist dafür gedacht, dass bei Bluetooth die Bandbreite für das gleichzeitige Übertragen von Musik und Sprache nicht ausreicht. Da die Bandbreite von USB jedoch viel höher ist, macht diese Funktion bei der PC-Verbindung gar keinen Sinn und schränkt den Anwendungsumfang (zB als Gamer-Headset) enorm ein.
Das ANC ist wirklich sehr gut. Subjektiv sogar besser als bei den Momentum 3.
Alles in allem habe ich die Kopfhörer schweren Herzens wegen dem schlechten Tragekomfort wieder zurück geschickt.
PS: Die Amazon-Vine Bewertungen sind meist totaler Unfug, weil für die Tester das Preis-Leistungsverhältnis keine Rolle spielt.

I tested these (using Bluetooth) with a Samsung S10+ phone (because phones are many people's music player of choice these days) and also a good quality stand-alone player, the Fiio M9. The M9 was also brought into play for wired playback.
I think it's worth saying that - in my view - the worst thing you can do when you get a new piece of equipment like this is to immediately begin comparing it with the competition. I own three other sets of similarly priced headphones, but before doing any kind of A/B comparisons I lived with the new ones first. That way I'm deciding whether this particular bit of kit is good in its own right. When somebody buys something like this and spends £300 for the privilege, all that really matters is, "Is it worth what I paid?" I've said this before to anyone that will listen, and I'll say it again now - if you like the kit that you've got, then don't go looking for something better. The minute that you do that, you're heading for frustration, disappointment, and a fast emptying bank account. Enjoy what you have, get your use out of it, and don't even think about "upgrading" until the thing breaks.
Says the man with another ten pairs of headphones. I should listen to my own advice, and I never do. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Initial impressions (see photographs) were favourable. The one comparison I did make straight away was to check and see how the carrying case compared to others. The simple answer is that there's barely anything between them, apart from Sennheiser's own Momentum M2 which as you'll see is half as thick again. If you're packing a suitcase then you'll gain nothing over the Bose QC35 or the Sony WH1000 XM3, but equally you'll lose nothing either. I tend not to take the case when I go away, so this is less of an issue for me.
Taking the headphones out, the first thing that struck me was how light they feel and also how small the ear cups seemed. Putting them on I discovered that in fact they went over my ears just fine, but I did have to pull the cups away from the headband quite a bit in order to sit them far enough down my head. This is probably a good thing, because there was still plenty of room to go larger but it also means that if you have a tiny head then they won't be flopping around. So far so good. Next thing to note is that opening the headphones up and rotating the ear cups switches them on. It's an excellent idea, because you don't need to keep checking if you remembered to turn them off after you've done. If they're folded up or if the cups are flat - they're off. There's a problem, though. I went on holiday earlier in the year, and to save me having to pack my Sony headphones in my carry-on bag I turned up at the coach station with them round my neck. With these, that would leave the battery draining unless I wore them folded flat. Which you physically can't do, because I've tried. Maybe I've missed something obvious, but I don't think so. This is going to be a problem for me.
Oh... I've missed out an important step. The 'phones come partly charged, but you should plug them into a charger straight away and get them to 100% using the supplied lead and a charger of your own choice. Sadly Sennheiser are still wedded to the idea of the Micro USB socket, despite everyone else changing to USB-C. It's not a deal breaker, but USB-C is so much simpler to fit in dim light and it potentially charges faster as well.
Visually, they're nice. The previous generation, the PXC 550s, had an awful silver band running round the ear cups which I thought made them look cheap and nasty. These have done away with the band and for me they are all the better for it, but looks are subjective and who cares what anybody else thinks? Put them on, and they're very comfortable once adjusted. The pads are soft memory foam, and the headband is sufficiently padded so that us baldies aren't bothered by bare metal or hard plastic on our skulls. I have a pair of (wired) Grado 'phones which are so bad I had to buy a foam filled cover for them. No need with these. My wife thinks they are the most comfortable set she's tried, so it's not just me.
I paired them up easily to both my Samsung phone and my Fiio player. The voice prompt informed me that I had connected to "Phone 1" and then "Phone 2". Quite why an MP3 player is described as "Phone 2" I don't know, and although it makes no real difference to anything I would have expected Sennheiser to have gone with the word "device" instead. I connected to the Samsung in a room downstairs and then walked through a door and up a flight of stairs, through another door, and never lost connectivity even briefly. The Samsung is, I believe, equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, and it occurred to me that this might be the reason why the connection was so stable. So then I tried the same thing with the Fiio, which only has Bluetooth 4.2, and just to make things even more interesting I stuck the player in a drawer before I started walking away. Guess what? It worked just as well. And let's be fair here, who do you know who insists on keeping their music player in a drawer, in another room, on another floor of the house when they're listening to it? So if you've got a phone or an MP3 player in your pocket and you're having trouble with it keeping a connection, then I'd say the problem is likely to be with the audio device rather than the headphones.
How do they sound? Look, I'm not one of those people who thinks that by using phrases like "recessed mids" and by saying that this or that is "forward", you'll be any the wiser as to how good they are. All I know is that these don't sound too bassy and that everything is nice and clear. Nothing muffled, or distorted, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a pair of headphones. You need to realise that these are headphones meant for a very specific purpose, and should be judged as such. If you want to sit in a quiet living room, and your most important requirement is sound quality, then I can point you towards some wired headphones that will outperform these at half the price. That isn't why you should be buying these. These are meant for people who need to block out background noise so that they don't have to turn up the volume of their music to the point where they are risking deafness, in order to make out what they are listening to. You might be sat next to a huge fan in an office, or maybe you're a frequent flyer or a regular user of public transport. Perhaps you like to sit out in your garden on a summers day and your house is next to a railway line, or maybe you walk to work along the side of a busy dual carriageway. This is why you need a pair of noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones. You don't need them if you live in a detached house in the countryside, to listen to lo-fi podcasts about cookery or stand up comedy. What I'm saying is, if you're using these for their intended purpose, the sound quality is more than acceptable. Excellent in fact.
For those who care about these things, the standard codec for playback is set at whichever is the highest supported by your machine. Mine is AptX, but also available are AptX Low Latency - which is meant to avoid audio lag while watching videos or movies for example - and AAC, which is a proprietary Apple codec. I don't own any Apple equipment, so I can't speak for AAC, but I watched YouTube videos on my phone with no problem at all, despite not even having the 'low latency' version available to me. The most basic codec is SBC and although I haven't been able to test that either, past experience tells me that even that is indistinguishable from the rest when you're sitting on the back of a coach trying to listen to Joni Mitchell as the driver changes up through all his gears and all the other passengers are talking.
I've seen some criticism regarding the lack of volume, and to an extent I would agree, although this varies from source to source and also the whole point of noise cancelling technology is to allow you to listen to music at a reasonable volume. At no point did I ever feel as if they weren't loud enough, but it's true that on my Samsung I had to turn the volume up slightly higher than usual. On my Fiio however, anything above 100 (out of 120 max) was too much. So I don't think this is going to be a worry for me.
So, what about that noise cancelling? Well, it's not class leading and there's no point in pretending otherwise. You may be one of those people who likes to wear headphones on a flight with no music playing, in order to get a bit of well earned peace. If that's you, then I have to tell you to look elsewhere. It isn't that they are bad, far from it, but if this is your total priority then it would be unfair to suggest these are adequate enough. Sony still lead the field as far as I'm concerned, although you're never going to eliminate all noise and you need to know that. If you are looking for your first ever pair of noise cancelling headphones, don't expect total silence no matter which you buy. I tried the tumble dryer test, where I stood next to the machine as it was drying some noisy items, and the Sennheiser got rid of the lower frequencies while the Sony pair managed some of the more rattly bits as well. It still wasn't silent, mind you. BUT, and here's the good part, if you want these for listening only and you don't sit with them switched on and nothing playing, something magical happens when the music starts. At first you're thinking "Oh dear, I can still hear noises..." but the moment that the music kicks in it's as if an extra layer of noise cancelling is added and all you can hear is Bob Dylan (other music acts are available).
There are other things to consider, before I make some more specific comparisons with the competition. If you own a smartphone you can download an app to access various other functions, but you don't need the app to get going as they work straight out of the box. If you do use the app you can, for instance, alter the sound although I prefer leaving it at the normal setting. You can also make adjustments to the noise cancelling, but once again I leave it set it at "full on" and that suits me fine. I don't use "Voice assistants" and take phone calls using my headphones, and whilst I realise that this might be something that people want to know about I'm afraid I'm not the person to tell you how they work. You can also turn on/off an 'auto pause' setting, which lets you stop the music when you take the headphones off. This doesn't turn off the power.
Should you use the phone with the supplied wire rather than Bluetooth? That's really a matter for you to decide. Maybe you want to use them with a player that doesn't have Bluetooth, in which case you have no choice (although yet again I'd question if these are the right headphones and maybe you're paying for features you don't need) but if you're using the wire because you think they'll sound better, I'd say don't bother. If you can use Bluetooth, use it and enjoy the freedom because the sound is no different. What you do need the wire for, is to turn off the Bluetooth and put the 'phones into 'flight mode' when you're on an aircraft. So the lead is there for a reason.
The big question many will be asking is, how do these compare to everything else? The short answer to that is, they're better in some areas and worse in others. Just like everything else in the world. The first manufacturer who comes up with a pair of headphones that is better in every way to everything else, and which costs the same, will corner the market immediately. So far it hasn't happened.
If noise cancelling is the only thing that bothers you, you'd better stick with the Sony WH-1000XM3. Close second are Bose (QC35 or the new 700s) and lastly the Sennheiser. If you don't need to sit in silence with no music playing, these aren't exactly rubbish, though.
For sound quality, I put these in first place. The Sonys are excellent, but out of the box they are too bassy, and in order to activate the 'bright' setting (which makes them sound so much better) you have to deactivate all but the lowest quality audio codec. In truth, doing this this makes little difference to anything, but what is the point of offering features that have to be turned off in order to use the product properly? Bose are no slouch in the audio department (they used to be, quite frankly, rubbish. But they got their act together) but they can't quite compete with these.
Bluetooth connectivity has never been a problem for me. I know that some reviewers will say that such and such a product is always cutting out, and that all they have to do is put their phone in a pocket and it all goes haywire, but this hasn't been my experience. So I can't pick winners and losers in this case.
Comfort, weight, and size are all pretty comparable. I've never had to remove any of the different models because they've been uncomfortable, so you needn't worry on that score.
And lastly (hooray!) features. You might like the ability to vary the level of noise cancelling, and if you do then I believe that Bose now offers something like 11 different settings. It's a bit counter-intuitive, isn't it? Everyone is arguing over who offers the best noise cancelling, and customers are looking for the most impressive performance, but then they buy something which lets them make it progressively worse and calls it a 'feature'. If I was choosing the (potentially) most useful feature then I'd go with the automatic on-off function that goes with rotating the ear cups. It works well, with the caveat being that (as far as I can tell) there's no way of wearing them round your neck without them being permanently 'on'.
Over all, with a gun to my head having to choose a pair of headphones that is 'best', I put these in second place to Sony. Best for sound quality, but not as good at noise cancelling, and my personal circumstances dictate that noise cancelling is my main requirement most of the time. But it's a slim margin, and on those occasions where the surroundings are quieter I'd go with the Sennheiser every time. As I said up front, the big question is, 'Are these any good and are they worth the price?' The answer is a resounding YES, and if you buy them you shouldn't fret about whether you made the correct decision. Put some music on, sit back, and enjoy them.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2019
I tested these (using Bluetooth) with a Samsung S10+ phone (because phones are many people's music player of choice these days) and also a good quality stand-alone player, the Fiio M9. The M9 was also brought into play for wired playback.
I think it's worth saying that - in my view - the worst thing you can do when you get a new piece of equipment like this is to immediately begin comparing it with the competition. I own three other sets of similarly priced headphones, but before doing any kind of A/B comparisons I lived with the new ones first. That way I'm deciding whether this particular bit of kit is good in its own right. When somebody buys something like this and spends £300 for the privilege, all that really matters is, "Is it worth what I paid?" I've said this before to anyone that will listen, and I'll say it again now - if you like the kit that you've got, then don't go looking for something better. The minute that you do that, you're heading for frustration, disappointment, and a fast emptying bank account. Enjoy what you have, get your use out of it, and don't even think about "upgrading" until the thing breaks.
Says the man with another ten pairs of headphones. I should listen to my own advice, and I never do. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Initial impressions (see photographs) were favourable. The one comparison I did make straight away was to check and see how the carrying case compared to others. The simple answer is that there's barely anything between them, apart from Sennheiser's own Momentum M2 which as you'll see is half as thick again. If you're packing a suitcase then you'll gain nothing over the Bose QC35 or the Sony WH1000 XM3, but equally you'll lose nothing either. I tend not to take the case when I go away, so this is less of an issue for me.
Taking the headphones out, the first thing that struck me was how light they feel and also how small the ear cups seemed. Putting them on I discovered that in fact they went over my ears just fine, but I did have to pull the cups away from the headband quite a bit in order to sit them far enough down my head. This is probably a good thing, because there was still plenty of room to go larger but it also means that if you have a tiny head then they won't be flopping around. So far so good. Next thing to note is that opening the headphones up and rotating the ear cups switches them on. It's an excellent idea, because you don't need to keep checking if you remembered to turn them off after you've done. If they're folded up or if the cups are flat - they're off. There's a problem, though. I went on holiday earlier in the year, and to save me having to pack my Sony headphones in my carry-on bag I turned up at the coach station with them round my neck. With these, that would leave the battery draining unless I wore them folded flat. Which you physically can't do, because I've tried. Maybe I've missed something obvious, but I don't think so. This is going to be a problem for me.
Oh... I've missed out an important step. The 'phones come partly charged, but you should plug them into a charger straight away and get them to 100% using the supplied lead and a charger of your own choice. Sadly Sennheiser are still wedded to the idea of the Micro USB socket, despite everyone else changing to USB-C. It's not a deal breaker, but USB-C is so much simpler to fit in dim light and it potentially charges faster as well.
Visually, they're nice. The previous generation, the PXC 550s, had an awful silver band running round the ear cups which I thought made them look cheap and nasty. These have done away with the band and for me they are all the better for it, but looks are subjective and who cares what anybody else thinks? Put them on, and they're very comfortable once adjusted. The pads are soft memory foam, and the headband is sufficiently padded so that us baldies aren't bothered by bare metal or hard plastic on our skulls. I have a pair of (wired) Grado 'phones which are so bad I had to buy a foam filled cover for them. No need with these. My wife thinks they are the most comfortable set she's tried, so it's not just me.
I paired them up easily to both my Samsung phone and my Fiio player. The voice prompt informed me that I had connected to "Phone 1" and then "Phone 2". Quite why an MP3 player is described as "Phone 2" I don't know, and although it makes no real difference to anything I would have expected Sennheiser to have gone with the word "device" instead. I connected to the Samsung in a room downstairs and then walked through a door and up a flight of stairs, through another door, and never lost connectivity even briefly. The Samsung is, I believe, equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, and it occurred to me that this might be the reason why the connection was so stable. So then I tried the same thing with the Fiio, which only has Bluetooth 4.2, and just to make things even more interesting I stuck the player in a drawer before I started walking away. Guess what? It worked just as well. And let's be fair here, who do you know who insists on keeping their music player in a drawer, in another room, on another floor of the house when they're listening to it? So if you've got a phone or an MP3 player in your pocket and you're having trouble with it keeping a connection, then I'd say the problem is likely to be with the audio device rather than the headphones.
How do they sound? Look, I'm not one of those people who thinks that by using phrases like "recessed mids" and by saying that this or that is "forward", you'll be any the wiser as to how good they are. All I know is that these don't sound too bassy and that everything is nice and clear. Nothing muffled, or distorted, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a pair of headphones. You need to realise that these are headphones meant for a very specific purpose, and should be judged as such. If you want to sit in a quiet living room, and your most important requirement is sound quality, then I can point you towards some wired headphones that will outperform these at half the price. That isn't why you should be buying these. These are meant for people who need to block out background noise so that they don't have to turn up the volume of their music to the point where they are risking deafness, in order to make out what they are listening to. You might be sat next to a huge fan in an office, or maybe you're a frequent flyer or a regular user of public transport. Perhaps you like to sit out in your garden on a summers day and your house is next to a railway line, or maybe you walk to work along the side of a busy dual carriageway. This is why you need a pair of noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones. You don't need them if you live in a detached house in the countryside, to listen to lo-fi podcasts about cookery or stand up comedy. What I'm saying is, if you're using these for their intended purpose, the sound quality is more than acceptable. Excellent in fact.
For those who care about these things, the standard codec for playback is set at whichever is the highest supported by your machine. Mine is AptX, but also available are AptX Low Latency - which is meant to avoid audio lag while watching videos or movies for example - and AAC, which is a proprietary Apple codec. I don't own any Apple equipment, so I can't speak for AAC, but I watched YouTube videos on my phone with no problem at all, despite not even having the 'low latency' version available to me. The most basic codec is SBC and although I haven't been able to test that either, past experience tells me that even that is indistinguishable from the rest when you're sitting on the back of a coach trying to listen to Joni Mitchell as the driver changes up through all his gears and all the other passengers are talking.
I've seen some criticism regarding the lack of volume, and to an extent I would agree, although this varies from source to source and also the whole point of noise cancelling technology is to allow you to listen to music at a reasonable volume. At no point did I ever feel as if they weren't loud enough, but it's true that on my Samsung I had to turn the volume up slightly higher than usual. On my Fiio however, anything above 100 (out of 120 max) was too much. So I don't think this is going to be a worry for me.
So, what about that noise cancelling? Well, it's not class leading and there's no point in pretending otherwise. You may be one of those people who likes to wear headphones on a flight with no music playing, in order to get a bit of well earned peace. If that's you, then I have to tell you to look elsewhere. It isn't that they are bad, far from it, but if this is your total priority then it would be unfair to suggest these are adequate enough. Sony still lead the field as far as I'm concerned, although you're never going to eliminate all noise and you need to know that. If you are looking for your first ever pair of noise cancelling headphones, don't expect total silence no matter which you buy. I tried the tumble dryer test, where I stood next to the machine as it was drying some noisy items, and the Sennheiser got rid of the lower frequencies while the Sony pair managed some of the more rattly bits as well. It still wasn't silent, mind you. BUT, and here's the good part, if you want these for listening only and you don't sit with them switched on and nothing playing, something magical happens when the music starts. At first you're thinking "Oh dear, I can still hear noises..." but the moment that the music kicks in it's as if an extra layer of noise cancelling is added and all you can hear is Bob Dylan (other music acts are available).
There are other things to consider, before I make some more specific comparisons with the competition. If you own a smartphone you can download an app to access various other functions, but you don't need the app to get going as they work straight out of the box. If you do use the app you can, for instance, alter the sound although I prefer leaving it at the normal setting. You can also make adjustments to the noise cancelling, but once again I leave it set it at "full on" and that suits me fine. I don't use "Voice assistants" and take phone calls using my headphones, and whilst I realise that this might be something that people want to know about I'm afraid I'm not the person to tell you how they work. You can also turn on/off an 'auto pause' setting, which lets you stop the music when you take the headphones off. This doesn't turn off the power.
Should you use the phone with the supplied wire rather than Bluetooth? That's really a matter for you to decide. Maybe you want to use them with a player that doesn't have Bluetooth, in which case you have no choice (although yet again I'd question if these are the right headphones and maybe you're paying for features you don't need) but if you're using the wire because you think they'll sound better, I'd say don't bother. If you can use Bluetooth, use it and enjoy the freedom because the sound is no different. What you do need the wire for, is to turn off the Bluetooth and put the 'phones into 'flight mode' when you're on an aircraft. So the lead is there for a reason.
The big question many will be asking is, how do these compare to everything else? The short answer to that is, they're better in some areas and worse in others. Just like everything else in the world. The first manufacturer who comes up with a pair of headphones that is better in every way to everything else, and which costs the same, will corner the market immediately. So far it hasn't happened.
If noise cancelling is the only thing that bothers you, you'd better stick with the Sony WH-1000XM3. Close second are Bose (QC35 or the new 700s) and lastly the Sennheiser. If you don't need to sit in silence with no music playing, these aren't exactly rubbish, though.
For sound quality, I put these in first place. The Sonys are excellent, but out of the box they are too bassy, and in order to activate the 'bright' setting (which makes them sound so much better) you have to deactivate all but the lowest quality audio codec. In truth, doing this this makes little difference to anything, but what is the point of offering features that have to be turned off in order to use the product properly? Bose are no slouch in the audio department (they used to be, quite frankly, rubbish. But they got their act together) but they can't quite compete with these.
Bluetooth connectivity has never been a problem for me. I know that some reviewers will say that such and such a product is always cutting out, and that all they have to do is put their phone in a pocket and it all goes haywire, but this hasn't been my experience. So I can't pick winners and losers in this case.
Comfort, weight, and size are all pretty comparable. I've never had to remove any of the different models because they've been uncomfortable, so you needn't worry on that score.
And lastly (hooray!) features. You might like the ability to vary the level of noise cancelling, and if you do then I believe that Bose now offers something like 11 different settings. It's a bit counter-intuitive, isn't it? Everyone is arguing over who offers the best noise cancelling, and customers are looking for the most impressive performance, but then they buy something which lets them make it progressively worse and calls it a 'feature'. If I was choosing the (potentially) most useful feature then I'd go with the automatic on-off function that goes with rotating the ear cups. It works well, with the caveat being that (as far as I can tell) there's no way of wearing them round your neck without them being permanently 'on'.
Over all, with a gun to my head having to choose a pair of headphones that is 'best', I put these in second place to Sony. Best for sound quality, but not as good at noise cancelling, and my personal circumstances dictate that noise cancelling is my main requirement most of the time. But it's a slim margin, and on those occasions where the surroundings are quieter I'd go with the Sennheiser every time. As I said up front, the big question is, 'Are these any good and are they worth the price?' The answer is a resounding YES, and if you buy them you shouldn't fret about whether you made the correct decision. Put some music on, sit back, and enjoy them.




