The Sony 1000XM3 are still my favorite and
most recommended pair of ANC headphones.
But…
I have new favorite which are the Bowers And
Wilkins PX7, specifically because of their
sound quality.
Now they’re definitely not for everybody,
but if you’re considering picking these
headphones up, here’s how they stack up
against everybody’s favorite
Sony 1000XM3’s.
Now the Sony 1000XM3’s retail for $350 but
now they sometimes go on sale for around $300.
Where as the Bowers And Wilkins PX7’s retail
for $400.
Which is a lot but considering their build
quality I do think its ok.
If you want to pick either of these headphones
up they’ll be linked down below.
And if you want to learn more about either
of these headphones please watch their full
reviews cause we’re only going to be going
over the main differences here.
Now the first most obvious difference between
these two headphones is their build quality.
The 1000XM3’s are mostly made out of plastic,
which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Mine specifically are over a year old now
and I use them on a daily basis.
But they still look and feel just as good
as the day I got them.
But if you want something a little nicer then
the PX7’s are the way to go.
You’ve got this metal plate and fabric covering
both the ear pads and headband and you’ve
got these carbon fiber composite arms which
I think look awesome.
But the use of these finer materials on the
PX7’s does make them pretty heavy.
These headphones weigh in at 310 grams which
can be felt when you’re walking around with
these headphones where as the Sony’s weigh
in at 255 grams.
So the Sony’s lighter weight just make them
more comfortable to wear for extended periods
of time and over all you for get you have
them on cause they have very little clamping
force.
Making these headphones big approved.
Where as the PX7’s aren’t big head approved
because they do have a lot of clamping.
Now I can put up with them but comfort wise
the Sony’s take the cake.
But something the PX7’s do have over the
Sony’s is that their ear cups are way more
spacious.
Where as if you have larger ears or ears that
stick out a lot you’ll might not find the
Sony’s to be all that comfortable.
But something that both of these headphones
really need to improve is the feel of their
ear pads.
The ear pads on both of these headphones feel
very synthetic, very plasticy… so they don’t
feel nearly as good as the leatherette found
on the Bose NC 700’s.
Now regarding tech specs, both of these headphones
charge via a usb c port and both of these
headphones have an advertised battery life
of 30 hours.
But with real world use I can go about 2 weeks
in between charges with the Sony’s where
as under the same usage the PX7’s last for
like a week and half.
When it comes to bluetooth connectivity, the
Sony’s are using bluetooth 4.2 where the
PX7’s are using bluetooth 5.0.
But more importantly the PX7’s can be connected
to 2 devices at the same time where as the
Sony’s can only be connected to one device
at a time.
So power users definitely wanna take note
of that.
Regarding audio codecs, the PX7’s have aptx
adaptive support which is the latest and greatest
from Qualcomm where as the Sony’s have LDAC.
But more importantly, if you’re an android
user that insists on using a wired connection
you’ll might wanna know that you can use
the USB C port on the PX7’s as wired connection
where as with the Sony’s you can’t.
Now when it comes to listening to music with
these headphones… personally I love how
the PX7’s sound and over all I do think
the PX7’s sound better than the Sony 1000XM3’s.
The PX7’s have a very wide sound stage and
incredible instrument separation that the
Sony’s just don’t come close to matching.
But its very important to keep in mind that
in order to get the best sound quality out
of these headphones you have to use them with
their active noise cancellation turned off.
Now the PX7’s have a neutral sound signature
but what’s very different about them is
their bass.
The bass on these headphones can definitely
be heard and you hear a lot of it, but you
don’t actually feel it.
So some people might now enjoy listening to
music with these headphones cause they’re
not actually feeling it.
Where as with the Sony’s if you crank the
bass up on them then you’re going to feel
them rattling your head a good amount.
And with the Sony’s you can make them sound
how ever you want thanks to their fully customizable
EQ.
If you like a neutral sound signature you
can do that or if you like a bass heavy sound
signature you can also do that.
But from a performance stand point everything
sounds very close together when compared to
the PX7’s.
All in all the Sony’s still sound good and
they’re the safe choice for the majority
of people out there thanks to their adjustable
EQ.
But if you’re looking for the best sound
quality then I highly recommend the PX7’s.
Now very quickly I do want to address the
media controls on these headphones.
The Sony’s have a touch pad.
And when you get used to them they’re very
easy to use and they feel natural to use as
well.
But if you don’t want to deal with a touch
pad then you’ll be interested in the PX7’s
physical buttons.
These headphones feel great and they’re
easy to find but personally I just wish they
were metal like the front plate on these ear
pads.
So over yeah, even though the PX7’s aren’t
all that comfortable for me…
I still find myself reaching for them over
the 1000XM3’s when im going to listen to
music while im editing my B-roll just cause
they sound so freaking good.
But if you’re looking for a pair of headphones
daily commute with or to travel with then
I highly recommend the Sony 1000XM3’s.
Even though they’re a year old now and there’s
been an onslaught of premium ANC headphones
to hit the market… the 1000XM3’s still
have the best performing Active Noise Cancellation
out there.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re
going to jump into an ANC test.
Like you may have just seen, the PX7’s block
out a considerable amount of noise and even
give the Bose NC 700’s a run for their money.
But the Sony’s still clearly manage to block
out more Road noise and more chatter than
these other two headphones.
But the ANC on the Sony’s isn’t just over
all better than the ANC on PX7’s just cause
it manages to block out more noise… the
Sony’s manage to block out an impressive
amount of noise all while not having all that
much cabin pressure.
Also the ANC on the Sony’s doesn’t really
change the way these headphones sound like
the ANC on PX7’s do and they also do a much
better job of rejecting wind noise when used
out doors.
But also the Sony 1000XM3’s have a full
fledge ambient mode where you can control
how much surrounding sound these headphones
let in so that you can still be aware of your
surroundings when walking out doors or you
can do what I do and have ambient mode turned
on when watching a movie at home so that if
someone calls your name you can still hear
them.
But also, the ambient mode on the Sony’s
with very well implemented cause there’s
no hissing in the background which is crucial
if you plan on watching lots of movies with
these headphones… you can also set them
to only focus on people’s voices… and
the ambient mode on the Sony’s is also smart
enough to block out sudden spikes in loud
noises saving you from jump scares.
Which personally I really appreciate.
But when it comes to the microphones on these
headphones for phone calls… honestly its
toss up cause they’re both pretty bad.
They both sound muffled and shallow so I just
wouldn’t take phone calls with either of
these headphones.
But over all I really like both of these headphones.
The Sony 1000XM3’s are still my most recommend
pair of ANC headphones out there.
If you’re a constant commuter, these are
the headphones to get just as long are your
ears fit comfortably inside their ear cups.
These headphones do everything very well but
they specifically excel at Active Noise Cancellation.
But I still highly recommend the PX7’s cause
of their sound quality.
Even though the Sony’s sound good, these
sound better.
The only major draw back about them for me
is
their fit.
