PXC 550

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.

Headphones used in this comparison: Sennheiser PXC 550, Sennheiser MM 550, Bose QC35, Bose QC20 (in-ear). Sound Quality - I'm shocked that some think the QC35 is on par with the PXC 550. The PXC 550 is definitely a step up, though it's not so much better that I would advise not getting the QC 35 for this reason alone. The QC 20 is not going to be able to produce the same level of depth of sounds because of the in-ear format. I would rank SQ as 1) PXC 550, 2) MM 550, 3) QC35, 4) QC20. Noise Cancelling - Again, shocked that some think the PXC 550 is on par with the Bose QC35. In this case, the QC 35 is a step up. In my view it's not so much better that I would not get the PXC 550 for this reason alone. However, for some, ANC is the overriding factor and in that case Bose wins. I actually like the QC 20 (and soon to be coming QC 30) over the QC 35 because the in-ear format blocks more noise passively. However, I find the in-ear format less comfortable for me. Loved the portability of the QC 20, but the lower 10 hour battery life is a drawback that bugged me as well. The PXC 550 is a huge leap forward for ANC compared to the MX 550, which had problems with loud noises and wind. With the QC 35, there is an audible white hiss noise that I think helps further mask outside noise - this hiss is less present in the PXC 550. Often complained about the QC 35 is that you can't turn ANC off when you're in Bluetooth mode. If I'm not on a plane/train/bus, I tend to not want ANC on as the effect when you're moving about is unnatural and almost disorienting for me. The passive noise cancelling on the PXC 550 is much better than the QC 35. To me, the headphones form a much better seal to the ear and use higher end materials, so with ANC off on both headphones, there is much less noise with the PXC 550 just by putting them on your head. The downside to this is that if you want to hear your surroundings with the PXC 550 on and ANC off, not that much noise gets through. Also, since the seal is better for me with the PXC 550, there are less sound intrusions when you move your head around. For example, if you open your mouth from a yawn, the QC 35 will lose its seal for me and let sound through. The PXC 550 will lose some of it seal as well, but not nearly as much. I would rank ANC as 1) QC 20, 2) QC 35, 3) PXC 550, 4) MM 550. Comfort - Several have noted that the cups for the PXC 550 are smaller than the QC 35. I would agree with that and I felt that my ears almost had too much room to move around in the QC 35. With all of the over ear headphones, I felt that the ears would get hot over time and sometimes get sweaty. However, that is preferable to me over having in-ear headphones. Comfort here is very subjective, but for me at least, I would rank them as 1) PXC 550, 2) MM 550, 3) QC 35, 4) QC 20. Build Quality/Style - The look and feel of every Bose product I've used with the exception of the Bose Mini Soundlink, is that they are cheap relative to the cost that they are charging. The QC 35 and QC 20 are no exception. The MM 550s were hideous headphones. The PXC 550s look incredibly classy and elegant, with top notch materials. I am not a fan of the alcantara used on the QC 35 as alcantara will eventually pill and look terrible over time in my experience. Also, the hinge quality seems to be somewhat fragile as there is just so much plastic on the QC 35. I think the QC 35s look great, but they certainly don't look like $350 headphones. 1) PXC 550, 2) QC 20, 3) QC 35, 4) MM 550 (just so ugly) Carrying case - The semi-hard carrying case on the QC 35 is much better than the PXC 550 and seems like it will protect the headphones better. The square shape is also much more stylish than the semi-circle look on the PXC 550. The PXC 550 case lacks the structure and the material is not as thick or protective. The zippered side is also soft instead of hard. The one thing I do like about the PXC 550 case is that there is a fabric flap that goes between the cups so that they don't bang around and scratch each other. Both are relatively large so they will take up quite a bit of space in your bag. The QC 35s look to fold smaller, but the carrying case size negates that ultimately. Usability - While both have apps, I don't find much value in either. It's nice to have the different effect modes with the PXC 550, but I probably won't use them most of the time. Both look to be able to connect to two devices simultaneously - something I read was proprietary to Bose, but clearly is not. The QC 35 will state the name of the devices it's connected to, but will butcher the name. The PXC 550 will just say Phone 1 and Phone 2. I like the PXC 550 ability to turn on/off by unfolding/folding the cups, and the touch interface works great. It is easier to use than to feel around for the buttons on the QC 35 which are in a less natural position. The talkthrough feature on the PXC 550 is missing as far as I'm aware from the QC 35. If you want to talk to someone in person, you pretty much have to take the headphones off. At an airport, this is crucial if you want to stay on top of any public address messages. 1) PXC 550, 2) QC 35, 3) MM 550, 4) QC 20 Call Quality - Both the QC 35 and PXC 550 had great call quality to me. I think the incoming voice quality sounded a little better to me on the PXC 550, but honestly both were great for voice calls. I didn't have any issues on range with either and I liked that the QC 35 would pick up outside sound so you can hear your own voice (which you would otherwise not with ANC always on). Overall - I ultimately returned the QC 35 and am sticking with the PXC 550. I will sacrifice the lower quality ANC for better build and sound quality, but that is me. With any of these headphones, there will be some give and take so you will have to decide for yourself which features are more important.

I did exhaustive research on premium Bluetooth ANC headphones before opting for the PXC 550's, which I believe provide the best value on the market right now at their current price ($230). I was close to purchasing the Sony WH-1000XM3's which have been regarded as the new champ, but given their issues with cold weather I couldn't bring myself to drop $350 on something that was unusable in certain environments for a large part of the year (especially with how Sony has has handled this issue). Onto the review... Audio - To me, the most important aspect. Fortunately I can say these cans sound quite good. I would describe them as fairly flat with the higher ends being the star. The bass is adequate and accurate, but I wouldn't have been upset if they had a touch more oomph. I primarily listen to music that has a heavy emphasis on sub frequencies, so those that listen to other genres such as rock will more than likely find them perfectly adequate. Overall, they exceeded my expectations. A couple caveats on sound: They do have an EQ app that can be used to tune them even further, however this will ONLY work on music that is physically saved to your device. Streaming audio will not be affected by this, which is something that I did not know at the time of purchase and was a bit of a bummer. They also have three different EQ modes that you can cycle through that DO work on all music sources (Club, Movie, and Speech). Club is the only one I have tested extensively and found that while it did make the low end more lively, it actually deteriorated the overall sound quality and made certain mid-upper end frequencies sound worse/weird. The regular mode sounds better. ANC - The active noise cancelling is quite effective, but not amazing. I find it to be more than adequate, but there are certain sounds that do come through just a bit. There are two levels of ANC, but I found very little difference in them and am not really sure why they even bothered including the mid level. My experience with other ANC tech is fairly limited, but I have no complaints on this end overall. Touch Controls - By far the biggest bummer and only legitimate gripe I have with these headphones. The reason they are 4 stars instead of 5. The touch controls are just not good. I really only use them to pause/play, which works most of the time, but certainly not consistently. Sometimes I will pause, and press again 2 minutes later to resume with no response. Can be very frustrating and it is disappointing that they didn't find tune this better, but they are good enough in just about all the other areas that I don't find this to be a deal breaker. Certainly worth mentioning though. Comfort - These are comfortable headphones. The ear pads are very soft and they don't have a huge footprint. The pad on the top that rests on your head could be a touch softer but that's probably nit-picky. One interesting thing worth mentioning on this front is how they hang around your neck. The ear pieces themselves don't have as much flexibility, and the only way to turn them off is to twist the ear pieces so that they are resting flat on your chest when around your neck. A cool feature, but I find that they actually interfere with my chin more in this state when around my neck than if they were twisted normally so that they were on. Size wise, I have a very large head (7-5/8" hat) and when I'm wearing a hat I have the size maxed out. They still fit, but any smaller and it would be an issue with a hat. Again, big head, so this probably effects 1% of people. Conclusion - At $230, these headphones compete and in most cases outperform competitors that are priced $300-$400. I have not tested every model, but I do not believe you can find a better sounding pair of Bluetooth ANC cans at that price level. If money is no issue and you will never find yourself in cold weather, the 1000XM3's will be the better route. But if you are looking for value without compromise, jump on these.

I'll try to keep this short since there are many other reviews that go into great detail. Everyone wants something different out of a pair of headphones, but EVERYONE wants them to sound good and be comfortable. They definitely check both of those boxes for me. I have used the Bose QC's for a long time and here's how they compare in my opinion: - Bose are slightly more comfortable in the headband, but the PXC-550's are so comfortable that it doesn't matter enough to buy them for that reason. - Bose ANC is a little more "complete" but truth be told I don't use it unless I'm traveling, and Sennheiser's is very good as well. - Bose case is better - Bose has a longer distance of connectivity than Sennheiser but I'm rarely if ever going to wander far enough away from my connected device for it to be an issue. - PXC-550 sound quality/diversity is definitely better than Bose in my opinion. I edit audio on the side so my ears are tuned to listen for the little things. - PXC-550 are way "smarter" than the Bose QC and have many more bells and whistles that I personally LOVE, like twist to turn on and off (replaces a bulky power switch) and swipe controls (my favorite thing which I'll get into more later) - PXC-550 has a switch that easily turns ANC on or off which is a must have for me. The BOSE QC headphones have it on all the time by default and if you want to turn it off you have to go through the app which is a pain. I personally don't like listening to music in a fish bowl all of the time, and frankly, it can be downright dangerous if you're out walking the dog or running in the neighborhood or driving a car. I think ANC is good for airplane travel or special situations where external noise is excessive, and that's it. If you like having easy control over ANC then definitely go Sennheiser over Bose. - PXC-550 feel like they're more well made with higher quality materials (speaking of which, the Bose ear cups are much more likely to make your ears sweaty than the Sennheisers so if you plan to wear while being active, keep that in mind. - PXC-550 has a longer battery life (especially when you consider that you can easily turn ANC off when you don't need or want it unlike Bose) So these are just a few of the differences between them and reasons that I chose to buy Sennheiser over Bose QC this time around. As I mentioned before, the addition of swipe controls on the earpiece of the PXC-550 is a real deal maker for me because I'm a Biochemistry research scientist who often spends hours working in a clean environment which means I'm gloved and I can't touch anything with my fingers. So the ability to swipe control (switch track, pause, play, adjust volume, take calls, fast forward or rewind etc) with the back of my gloved knuckle or even a pencil eraser in a pinch is completely life changing for me!! And the controls are VERY intuitive (my 6 year old could learn and memorize the swipes in about 30 seconds) and are sensitive but not so sensitive that I accidentally trigger it. Between that, the sound quality and the easy access to turn ANC off and on is why I went with Sennheiser and I'm SO glad I did! They sound better than any headphones I've ever tried and I've tried a LOT! I cannot recommend these enough. Also, I bought them refurbished and saved some money. I recommend that if they're available too! They came practically like new! Hopefully this is helpful for someone else! And yes I paid full price for these.

GENERAL OVERVIEW After using the PXC 550s for a few days I must say that am very happy with these headphones. As a proud owner of several respectable headphones, namely the HD600 and Sure 535 IEMs I feel it is important to note these headphones can only be compared to noise canceling type headphones, where the noise canceling technology changes the characteristic of the sound and generally self amplifies the sound. Although the NC can be turned off, I feel that the PXC 550s should also be amped in some way to get the full benefit in sound, this being the NC active or an amp wired. The PXC 550s do have a more even sound when wired and I found a greater appreciation for these while wired up with may DAC amp and optical connection to my Mac. Having never owned noise canceling headphones and as a fan of Sennheiser my review might be a bit biased. So far I have been enjoying these rocking out at work, and streaming shows at home. I would classify the PXC 550s as a multimedia headphone. The characteristic of sound can be changed and tuned to the type of media you are listing to. For most people, I think folks just want to put their headphone on and get too it. However, with feature rich headphone like these, the option is there to tune the PXC 550s to the activity you are in. Watching a movie? Change the effect mode to Movie with deeper low end. Joining a webinar? Switch to speech mode where the emphasis is on the presenter’s voice. On a phone call? Enable call enhancement for clear phone calls. Rocking out to your favorite tunes, try Club mode.. What to customize the EQ? Use the phone app Captune. Many Options here. With audio presented in varying modes, the PXCs offer many options to dial in the sound to taste which is one of the features I like best about these headphones, all the while, keeping the noise in the background out! I imagine these would work well as travelers IMPORTANT The Bluetooth technology you use with these has a direct relationship to the sound quality experienced. If you using an older computer, even if it runs the aptx profile this can affect the Bluetooth sound quality. For the best experience, you really want a low latency modern Bluetooth receiver. Initially I ran these with straight to my Macbook Pro 2010 on El Cap for instance and although they connect and play with respectable aptx sound quality, I still experienced sound clipping and was not as good as what a new Bluetooth adapter provided. I purchased a quality Bluetooth Adapter, the USB Advantree Leaf. This Adaptor does all levels of Aptx with low latency, the sound is noticeably more impressive with no clipping and great wireless range. I cannot tell the difference USB wired or wireless with this adapter. Connecting to my Android phone the PXC 550s sound great as well. I installed an app called Base EQ which is system wide nice EQ. PROS: • Dial in your media experience with different listening modes • Take phone calls with stunning clarity (almost too clear) • Versatility in connectivity ether wired wireless out of the box with adapters • Turn off NC option. • Adjust level of NC in adaptive mode and phone app. • EQ with phone app and other custom settings • Connect to two devices at once • Great battery life • Modern touch controls CONS: • Button controls are small and tricky to reach • Some Touch controls take some practice and a bit tricky • Travel case could be made of a more durable material • Highs a touch too bright on wireless mode verses wired or USB mode CONCLUSION I am happy to add PXC 550s to my collection. Do the PXC 550s sound as good as HD600s or Sure 535s? They Hold their own. While wired and amped, the PXC 550s remind me of what HD558 sound like but spacial effects, and while wireless the highs take on bit brighter tone, but still nice. I must say that having headphones that you can adjust the effect mode for listening activities is a nice touch. And club mode tends to get a lot of use. These bring my movies and streaming shows to life, where in past you would need a DSP add-on and amp, and although having separate components dedicated to this function is not really the same, all this is compact headphones with a similar experience and wireless even is impressive. I would have gone for the Sony MDR1000X and I am sure are great as well, but I really wanted to be able to connect to more than one device at a time and I found a great deal on these. Updated: I was able to try the MDR1000X recently and compare them side by side. The MDRs have a great sound stage and most everything I listened to was impressive. I did find them to be a little fatiguing. The controls where also a little funky to reach as compared to PXC which is mostly touch gestures. Overall the PXC550s are my preferred choice. They are versatile, can be warn most all day without too much fatigue, sound great, and adjustable noise cancellation. The dual Bluetooth connection feature works but not that well so don't make this a deciding factor.

Update: I now own a set of headphones that make use of Sony's LDAC bluetooth compression algorithim, and compared the sound to AptX bluetooth. The LDAC is far superior (the sampling speed is ~900 kps, vs ~500 kps for AptX) in sound quality and I now recommend that if you use your headphones with bluetooth, and IF you have a player with LDAC or an Android Oreo phone with LDAC, that you buy the Sony 1000xM3 headphones instead of these Sennheisers. The 1000x also has longer battery life and USB C. These are very good noise cancelling headphones. Judged solely on that scale, they get 5 stars for their ability to hear content during a flight. They are also comfortable though people with very large ears may notice the pads more than I did. They can make your ears sweat a little too in humid conditions. Notably useful is the PXC 550s ability to pair to two different devices and receive notifications on the first device while listening to music on the second device, allowing calls to come through and mute the music so you can talk. The high quality that Sennheiser is known for is apparent here too, though the price premium you are paying is quite high. Sound quality is nowhere near what I am used to with the HD 650 available for a similar street price. But the two models are meant to serve different purposes, and both do their job quite well. The package includes a soft carrying case, a USB A to micro adapter for charging, a 1/8" to 1/4" phone adapter for home listening, and a 1/8" stereo to to 1/8" mono plugs, which I guess is for plugging into the airplane's sound system. Battery life is excellent, and I never have been able to count the actual hours of use to see if the rated battery life of over 20 hours is accurate. Seems like it, htough. You will want to turn the headphones into their off position when not in use (a 90 degree turn of the cups -- which also flattens them for placement in the case). The phones automatically connect to their paired phones / computers when opened and placed on your head ("phone 2, connected"). You can connect to two sources at the same time. Phone 1 will take precendence is opened, sllencing the secondary source for two seconds while it seeks an audio signal. If none is found, sound will resume on Phone 2 (the music is not necessarily paused). it's nice to be able to hear your phone while listening to music, and especially helpful not to repair to your phone everytime you use the 550s with a different device. There are two different levels for the active nosie cancelling (ANC). I found the passive mode was sufficient to hear a movie in flight, but I used the low strength anyway as any reduction in fidelity was well overcome by the increased dynamic range available from the lowest audible sounds to the highest. Listening to a movie on an airplane was very pleasant and the noise from the aircraft engines was audible but not distracting. In noise control mode, you will notice a slight increase in air pressure. Thls is part of the design of all ANC headphones and can be uncomfortable for some users. I got used to it after a while. There is a feature that allows you to listen in to voices around you by turning on the microphones outside the headphone. This can be helpful during card games in public rooms while listening to music, allowing the player to hear bets from the other players and instructions from the dealer. Voices sound louder so you can eavesdrop into whispered conversations if that is your thing, though I imagine there is more specialized equipment availbable for those seeking to engage in such nefarious activities. Overall, noise cancelling is as well implemented as I need. For those walking around in cities with jackhammers tearing up the streets, a more careful comparison may be desired. But the 550s are more than enough for my noise reduction needs. I try not to listen to music very loudly (I see too many people with hearing aids these days). For these heaphones however an extra db or two is helpful to hear detail during listening with bluetooth on. So far as straight sound quality, I felt the 550s clearly sound superior to the Bose 35 and Sony 1000x. The Sony's came closer to matching the 550s, with a wired connection. Bass is not exaggerated, though perhaps a slight bump of the upper bass range exists. With bluetooth, dynamic range compression flattens the sound -- in noisy environments this is probably helpful. Sadly, the music begins to sound more like mp3 files and less like the lossless files I listen to on my comptuer. The treble seems slightly muted, especially at the uppermost reaches of human hearing (I found a web site that plays sweeps from 20 hz to 20khz and my hearing drops off at about 14khz). Imaging is quite good, though, which makes up for the somewhat limited soundstage. Overall, the Sennheiser PXC 550s are a strong recommend for those who can afford to spend the money for a set of travelling headphones. I would recommend other choices for the office or (especially) private use, however.

I have probably worn these more than any other human on earth. I purchased these on deployment in 2016. I have slept with them almost every single night since then (I watch movies or TV shows or listen to music to fall asleep). They have a nice smooth low-profile shape that isn't annoying when sleeping, even on my side with them wedged between my head and the pillow. And the ear pads are exquisitely comfortable. I think I like the feel of wearing them more than not! The handband is as comfy as the ear pads. I can wear these for days. I like the looks. Modern and minimalist. Black and silver. As I've worn them every day for 4 years at the time of this writing, I'd say they are well made! They look new! I did replace the ear pads with genuine Sennheiser replacements a year ago. They were starting to crack and flake. I'm not faulting them for this as they had A LOT of use. The auto on/off feature is handy and better than (forgetting to) turn them off with a button. Rotating the ear pieces to turn them off just becomes second nature when I take them off. They pair perfectly every time I turn them on with either my phone or computer. They really do sound great! I also own Sennheiser HD600 open-back and HD-1 (Momentum 2.0) wireless headphones. Better/worse? I'd say just different. The 600's obviously have a more open sound with a bigger soundstage, but that is the nature of open-back vs. closed back. The 550's have more bass than the Momentums, but I'd say the Momentums are more revealing. The PXC-550's have a very mellow, relaxing sound that I can listen to for eternity. The noise cancelling doesn't fully cancel out all noise, but it is effective. I work and am deployed half the time on an aircraft carrier and this helps a lot. It is loud here sometimes! Some quirks: -I wish Apple had better (aptX) support for 3rd party headphones. I can tell a difference wired vs. wireless during critical listening. -The touch controls do sometimes get pushed by accident. It isn't usually a big deal and I just tap them to unpause. -Wind upsets the ambient sound sensors and causes a fluttery distortion sound like someone blowing in your ear. I have to make sure I'm not in the direct path of my rack fan. -I wish they were USB C or Lightning. I hate having to figure out if the USB plug is right side up or not. -The Captune app is nice but doesn’t play Apple Music. You don't have to use Captune tho. -Probably 6 times over 4 years (but 2 of those times have been recently) I will roll over in my sleep and somehow it registers on the touch sensor to "redial", and it will redial the last called person on my phone. Pretty silly in the middle of the night when I am sleeping. There is no way I can tell to turn the touch features off on the headphones or in the app. -If I'm using the headphones to listen to music on my computer, and my phone rings or I get a text message and it beeps, it signals the headphones to pair with the phone. A couple seconds later or hitting play again on my computer causes it to play what is on the computer again. Smart, I guess. Cool things: -Unlike many other reviews, I've never had Bluetooth connection issues with these headphones, ever! -If you plug the USB charge cable into your computer, it can play wired through the USB. It sounds much better than wireless. They also come with a standard mini-headphone cable. -There are many features in the Captune app you can adjust. Equalizer, Director, noise-canceling level, etc. -I've used them seldomly for phone calls, mostly because I was already wearing them and someone called. They said it sounded fine. -The British woman's voice is pleasant. "Power on." -They are quite lightweight. My Sennheiser Momentums headphones cannot play through USB, and several features in Captune do not work with them (like adjusting the noise cancelling, call features, and "Director" EQ mode). Odd, since they are both wireless headphones that can otherwise utilize the app. The Momentum earpads, while they feel great (almost gooey) are slightly too small and it does become a bit bothersome after a while. I never have this issue with the 550's. The ergonomic shape helps I'm sure. Anyways, I just love these headphones and recommend them most highly! Here's hoping for at least 4 more years of "sound" sleep with them! Update Nov 2020: I decided I'm buying the PXC-550's for everyone in my family for Christmas this year. They have served me well, and I hope they get just as much enjoyment out of them as I do.

I have tested the sony mdr 1000x, bose qc35, as they are the 2 main competitors versus the PXC 550. Pairing with the PXC 550 is a breeze depending on what device you are using whether it is your computer, laptop, or phone. I connected it to all 3 and fortunately - it'll remember the profiles on my laptop and phone since my bluetooth DONGLE on the pc is pretty weak (lacks aptX and is just a cheap 4.0 bluetooth device). It is a common issue that there will be difficulty connecting to these devices which was why I took away a star. SOLUTION for windows 10 as I have not used any other OS : there is an "effect" button which is right beneath the ANC switch - and what you can do is just hold it for 4 seconds when your bluetooth is ON. it'll show up as a HEADSET OR SPEAKER icon if you want it to properly pair. If it looks like a phone trying to connect w/ the computer - then that is not the proper connection. After figuring that out - connecting it consistently is simply a breeze. Now - if you want to skype or discord etcetc -and listen to something else at the same time - it'll act as a bluetooth device and shut off every other sound which is fine but sound won't really come back unless you decide to reset the headset on/off and reconnect. You can change this by going into any settings (for both the computer settings AND the program -skype,discord,etc- settings and changing the output as "PXC - STEREO" not hands free as I kept getting numerous errors. Once you have that all set up - it should work as the best as it can sound for your device w/o the phone modifying the sound. OTHER SOLUTION : if none of these work - the the alternate route is simply go into the call / voice chat etc FIRST and then connect your bluetooth - and change all of your settings stated above. It is a tedious process because I havent received my aptX dongle to pair it with my pxc 550 yet so i cant say anything else. It pairs up with multiple devices perfectly fine - it just cuts off my sound on PC / LAPTOP whenever i use my phone, but it'll shortly reconnect itself (not always so you gotta redo everything). The ANC is pretty amazing since you get to adjust your "NOISEGARD' as sennheiser calls it - on your phone to whatever % anc you want - and this becomes extremely helpful since I would want the ANC to work as little as possible sometimes rather than fullblasting the strength of the ANC in my ears (such as bose qc 35). I don't have the best ears anymore for hearing every sound outside of my headphones, but they are trained so I can't really hear anything else other than the details of whichever music is playing - but Sony mdr 1000x is the winner when it comes ANC amongst the bose qc35 and pxc 550. My reason why it is the best is simply because it really does sufficiently cut off all noise levels without adding the pressure you'd feel as though you were diving into a pool at its deepest level and feeling the pressure against your ear (which bose qc35 does automatically and you cannot stop the anc when wireless). Or going up a mountain - whichever makes relates to you more. The sony mdrs also have soft paddings on the top band / earcups so it adds to the comfort of wearing it. However - it is a tight fit in my opinion so for most users - each cup will PRESS against your ear while the cups surround the outer parts of it and also has more weight than the other 2 headphones which makes it uncomfortable since you'll (slightly) feel more pressure from the ANC, but still not as bad as BOSE. The PXC 550 ANC will add pressure but I hardly notice it when listening to music, it is enough for my needs. The main reason I bought the PXC 550 is because of the sound quality being much more clear and crisp to enjoy compared to the other headphones. The qc35 sounds like it has more bass (i prefer flat) and the sony mdr 1000x just doesn't sound as rich as the pxc 550. The best I could explain it is that - while sony mdr 1000x still has great sound quality, it is just a few steps behind pxc 550 in this field. When I listen to music with ANC on, i actually hear better quality just because it reduces enough of the external noises to affect my experience from its performance. Disclaimer: Multi-profiling or compatibility etcetc as stated in my first paragraph - it works great, but the process can be tedious depending on what device you're using. I think the boseqc35 is the best you'll get amongst the 3 since it works as a bt device without any tampering needed as far as my experiences w/ it goes. The sony mdr CANNOT perform this function - which ends up making this lack utility over the other headsets - a great inconvenience for a fast pace society because you need to disconnect its current bluetooth pairing - and then switch it over. If you are somebody who wants or needs only 1 device paired - then it's perfect for you. Utility - there's a lot of great utilities on the pxc 550 - since you just need to swipe around for volume, playback, calls, etc. The switches aren't that apparent since you really do have to find your way to them, but once you're used to it then its not an issue. Sony MDRs are as simple as the pxc550, but not as sensitive as the pxc 550 which I dislike. I laid in bed for a bit and turned my head - and then it hung up my call and paused my other stuff for gently tapping against the pillow (just to see how it'd feel like when watching a movie in bed or something). The bose doesn't really have anything to go about, so I don't really have a comment other than the fact that they lack these handy utilities.Something that the sony mdr and pxc 550 have is the open mic or ambiance sound option. You get to turn these on and you can listen to your surroundings. The Sony Mdr's slightly lowered everything else - so i didn't appreciate it downgrading the sound overall, but I'll admit that this feature (like when you cup your hand over your right ear to hear everything) is extremely useful since i did not need to take off my headset - as it will just continue playing my music after i take off my hand. The pxc 550 can essentially do the same, but the difference is that while you do have the open mic feature - you ALSO have a talkthrough feature by double tapping the right ear and then you can hear everything even more - regardless of the ANC mode you're on. This has proven to be the greater feat. just because I was able to clearly hear everything outside of my headphones - on an even more enhanced level than my ears could originally pick up. I also managed to set up on my PC - the same way i set everything else in my first paragraph - to not disrupt the audio at all - works perfectly hearing the best of both worlds. Also, Just switching my headphones into its swiveled position automatically turns on / off the headset. I'm very forgetful since I tend to always forget to turn off my headset via button pressing. Now that this feature is included (although it CAN be a nuisance when adjusting your headphones on your ear to fit properly - it might disconnect), I use it endlessly and ofc effortlessly. I don't own an android device but I have tested it on 3 different phones that do thanks to friends (s7, s7 edge, s6), but NFC works perfectly. Comfort WHILE listening to music - The pxc 550's weight and over ear form is why I got these. The pxc weighs LESS than the other competitors - and since it's wireless, it's just nice not having the extra weight or tangling of the wires. The sony's weigh as much as the audio technica m50x but slightly less - and without the wire weight ofc. Bose feels the best in my opinion for its paddings cupping my ear fully and not pressing against my ear. However, during listening - the anc just feels like my head is being crushed. The pxc 550 doesn't crush my head at all or add on any extra pressure. The cups on the pxc 550 were able to barely cup my ears fully *thankfully, but for people with larger heads / ears - the PXC 550 is hard to break in to your size so it might not fit you, and it will hurt quickly. But since it fits me - I don't feel the drivers touching my ears at all, and only the slightest back part of the headphones touch my ears so I have no complaints since it's exactly what I was looking for. This is mainly thanks to the curvature of the ear cups. Battery life - they're all great at battery life with and without ANC. BUT the sony mdr's cannot CHARGE while in use. So that's the main downside, but charging to full from a dead sony is 4hrs and bose took me around 3. I haven't fully drained the battery from the PXC550 so I don't know since I tend to put the usb in often because of testing (charging it inevitably). I have my own headphone case, but as most people say - the case should be much more durable thank it currently is, but I like the pouch it has inside - makes it pretty nice that It's a thin case overall so i can squish it a little more in my bag without damaging my unit. Overall, I love these headphones for its wonderful sound quality (for a wireless headphone) and all of its utility. Incase anyone wanted to know - I also use it for gaming in my leisure - and it's pretty enjoyable still for overwatch, league, etc incase anyone decides to use it for these reasons as well

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

I bought a set of these to use on a long haul flight to block out some of the aircraft and people noise, and enjoy a nicer sound for the in-flight music and movies. Because I was travelling with my family I bought 4 different models and took the opportunity to compare them against each other. We travelled with the KitSound Immerse, Lindy BNX-60, Sennheiser PXC550, and Sony WH-1000XM2. KitSound Immerse Wireless Bluetooth On-Ear Headphone with Noise Cancellation for Smartphone and Tablet LINDY BNX-60 - Bluetooth Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with aptX These, Sennheiser PCX550 Wireless NoiseGard Adaptive Noise Cancelling, Bluetooth Headphone Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Over-Ear Noise Cancelling High Resolution Headphone First a minor point - like a few of the sets these headphones will talk to you to tell you when you have powered them on or off, or selected a particular mode. I immediately smiled when I heard the voice from this set - is it the same voice as Mummy Rabbit (from kids TV Peppa Pig)? Anyway, a British accent that I preferred to the American computer voices from the other sets. These were the largest of the sets, with room for my ears, and felt very comfortable. For noise cancelling, these were second most effective of the sets we had, not as good as the Sony, but not far away. While they took out rumbles almost as well as the Sony, voices are not reduced in volume so much, but playing even very quiet music masks out any distractions. This was the only one of our sets that did not make a gentle hissing sound with noise cancellation, so perhaps that silence makes the remaining noise more noticable. Walking down the street on a windy day the noise cancellation generated a bit of a rushing sound, but maybe noise cancellation should be off in that case anyway! The sound quality is good - deep base is noticeable, but not too loud, and the sound is shaped for clarity - detail is easy to pick out, and particularly great for quiet music and voices. For louder music you might want to reach for the EQ on your device (I used a dip at 8kHz), or press the "music" button on the side of the headset to switch to "Club" mode. Volume and playback touch controls on the headset still work even when using the wired connection, and the supplied wire includes a microphone and command button. If you're using a PC you can plug the PXC 550s in using a USB cable, which provides a new sound device with a microphone. The microphone is in the right ear cup (and sounds great in a quiet room). 16bit 48kHz is the only recording format available. This combination of features, focused on use as a voice headset, seem very well thought out, compared to the selection of new technology on the Sony that I can't use. There is a hidden button to turn off Bluetooth, which could be helpful if you just want to use them to cancel out some background noise, or be sure that there are no radio waves coming from your head. The other physical switches are another switch to switch noise control to off, active or maximum, and a button to cycle through the built-in sound modes. The sound mode pre-sets are built in (club, movie, speech, …), and can't be modified. Other controls are via stroking gestures on the side of the right ear cup - playback and volume controls are easy enough, but controlling a phone would take some memorising. Oddly, I'm pretty sure there is no "voice command" gesture available, so you can't start any assistant or dial by voice over Bluetooth. The Bluetooth on/off switch seems deliberately hidden (behind the front gimbal arm around the edge of the right ear cup) - you would not be able to accidentally turn it off while you're wearing these. The app doesn't seem necessary for any use of the headphone features, perhaps just Smart Pause? The app also offers a music player, and has an equalizer. Don't see the point of that - you might as well just use the system equalizer on your phone. If these were the same price as the Sony WH-1000M2 it would be hard to choose between them, but as these are £100 cheaper they would be my choice.

Per ciò che posso raccontare rispetto alla mia esperienza di utilizzo e di ascolto mi ritengo soddisfatto. La qualità costruttiva mi sembra buona. Le plastiche sembrano di buona qualità, così gli assemblaggi e gli altri materiali. Vedremo nel tempo come si comportano. La custodia è un po’ povera, ma funzionale e protettiva quanto basta. La dotazione di accessori completa. Le funzioni sembrano facili da applicare e l’ergonomia buona. Forse i tasti un po’ piccoli, ma una volta abituati si utilizzano senza problemi. Le funzioni touch funzionano bene. Il design è ottimo e le cuffie sono abbastanza leggere e comode da indossare. Se fa molto caldo fanno sudare un po’ nelle zone di contatto, ma mi sembra normale. L’app non è male anche se l’eq non mi sembra eccessivamente percettibile. Comunque trovo il suono piuttosto neutro ed equilibrato, senza eccedere in nessuna frequenza, e per me è un pregio, perché non affatica all’ascolto anche prolungato. La cancellazione del rumore è più che sufficiente e conserva qualche rumore ambientale improvviso, il che non mette in pericolo l’utente con un isolamento eccessivo, consentendo però un ottimo ascolto anche a volumi contenuti. Devo dire però che ho l’impressione che la qualità del suono sia migliore a cancellazione del rumore disattivata. È come se il noise-cancelling tagliasse un po’ tutto lo spettro quando è attivo, riducendo leggermente la qualità di ascolto; quindi sconsiglio di attivarlo quando si utilizzano le cuffie in un ambiente con pochi rumori (ad esempio nell’uso domestico notturno). La carica completa richiede qualche ora ma l’autonomia è lunga (non l’ho misurata ma dopo la ricarica ho usato le cuffie per due settimane quasi tutti i giorni per circa un’oretta e mezza e non si sono ancora scaricate). Le consiglio a chi è in cerca di un ascolto rilassato senza eccessi. Se volete il boom boom nella testa cercare altro. Il prezzo a cui le ho acquistate è ben lontano dal listino. Non avrei speso tutti quei soldi.

First hour after receiving it, wanted to return it because it sounded so normal. After first day, i was feeling ok as noise cancellation was new to me but still didn't think its worth the price. After 2 days, kind of confused if i should return as i couldn't still find any issues, but seems ok with good noise cancelling which i felt is value add as i wanted to avoid distractions, and the amount of distraction free time i got is considerable. after 5 days - now (2-3 months) , I wonder how i managed without these headphones - the amount of time i get to focus with these headphones is simply the max i could manage - almost all the time when i'm out of home. The music - as mentioned earlier, it didn't sound or with the default settings didn't sound good to me. But when i installed some apps, Captune is one of them, but i use HF player the most, with equalizer settings ( and with captune's settings to configure PXC550's sound output) - it feels amazing. Rock music with higher volume is something i had not experienced before. The thump, the swag is all there of what i'd expect from a premium headphone. Tested Bose 35 and Sony x3 before this - while Bose i didn't feel the thump (frankly i had not spent much time testing it) and it didn't have some sensor controls, Sony sounded great but it looked plasticky. Noise cancellation is great with Sony, couldn't hear a thing but it felt it lacked looks. PXC 550 looks somewhere in middle with more than enough NC, excellent sound output, great looks( best of the three). To summarise, these are great headphones - worth a buy if one wants to focus on work and avoid distractions. look for some discounts to buy this life saver/enhancer.