Sennheiser PXC 550-II Wireless noise cancelling bluetooth Headphones $208 + tx (coupon)

Thanks!

Last year was $189.99 but it was the first generation model.

Anyone use these compared to the xm3s? I believe sound quality on these should he better but NC is better in xm3? Mostly wondering about comfort etc.

Rtings comparison:

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools ... m3/392/678

Nothing beats personal experience though

I bought the 598 a couple of years ago and they are still fantastic. I hope the newer version of 599's go on sale for Black Friday. Also if there is a Bluetooth version as the newer phones have usb-c.
For the audiofiles, would you recommend anything better which we can watch out for and which won't require my firstborn to be sold?
Thank you.

If Im not mistaken, wouldnt the Bose QC35 II for $216 be a better purchase?

https://www.amazon.ca/QuietComfort-Wire ... 804&sr=8-3

If I were commuting at the moment I would buy these in a heartbeat at this price to replace my PXC-550i which are now 4 years old and VERY well used. Hell, I'd buy them at $150 more, that's how much I like them.

I looked at Bose QC and a set of Sony's at the time and found that the bass on the Sony was over boosted, and that I prefer the noise canceling on the PXC's over the Bose as I found the ANC on the Bose to be somewhat artificial with a noticeable white noise when paused and very low volume listening.

Decent option at this price. Nice to see the overall market on the older ANC headphones really drop finally.

Wow! $250 on prime day.

I had bought the version 1 pxc 550 two years ago at Source with the PSP for $280!!

This is a very good price!!

To me Sennheiser sounds best, then Sony, and Bose will be in the last place. Go to BestBuy try different brand's sound signature.
I had a lower-end HD450 years ago, and its balanced, open and transparent sound blew Bose Soundlink out of water. I suppose PXC550 is better than HD450.

For those of you who own these, how is the comfort?

I am sure the sound is better. I tried these last year in bestbuy and the sound was amazing compared to both QC35 and Sony xm3. But you can't test long term comfort in a 15 min test. Admittedly I also didn't test the NC on these, yeah my bad.

Also what are the experiences with adaptive noise cancelling? Is it just a marketing term for so-so NC or is it any good?

everywhere else is 259 without the coupon, is this a mistake?

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ Anyone use these compared to the xm3s? I believe sound quality on these should he better but NC is better in xm3? Mostly wondering about comfort etc.

Rtings comparison:

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools ... m3/392/678

Nothing beats personal experience though

You linked the 1st gen model of Sennheiser

Here is the correct linkb https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools ... eshold=0.1

The Gen 2 fares better in ANC against the Sony but the Sony and Bose are still king when it comes to ANC. Choose those if you intend to travel/commute with them. The Sennheiser is good if you don't use them in very noisy environments. I prefer the sound of the Sennheiser over the Sony

For whoever has this, Hows the touch control been for you? i've read some reviews where they say its a bit too sensitive and phantom touches are annoying. Also is there a way to disable the re-occurring voice prompts? I'd love to buy this cause it meets almost all the checkmarks but with no way of disabling the touch controls and the voice prompts i feel like i'd just be annoyed with this device.

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ For those of you who own these, how is the comfort?

Amazing! Have used for many long flights without issue. I prefer the over ear (like this) rather than on ear as I find the on-ear puts pressure on your ears and they start to get u comfortable after a few hours.

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ Also what are the experiences with adaptive noise cancelling? Is it just a marketing term for so-so NC or is it any good?

ANC is active notice canceling rather than adaptive, with passive being the alternative. Passive is simply reducing sound though use of materials and overall design, where as active noise canceling is using a specific frequency or frequencies to cancel out background noise. There is no comparison between ANC and passive, but not all ANC are created equal. The PXC ANC was the best I found in the <$500 range when I bought mine a few years ago.

warpdrive wrote: ↑ The Gen 2 fares better in ANC against the Sony but the Sony and Bose are still king when it comes to ANC. Choose those if you intend to travel/commute with them. The Sennheiser is good if you don't use them in very noisy environments. I prefer the sound of the Sennheiser over the Sony

The "best" ANC is somewhat subjective because each person hears slightly differently and likes a different sound. That said, my PXC-550i's were the only thing allowing me to tolerate the subway on a daily basis, dare I say it almost made it pleasant.

n1ckt0 wrote: ↑ The "best" ANC is somewhat subjective

No it;'s not subjective LOL.

"Likes a different sound"? What does that mean? You mean the way an airplane's engine noise comes through in a more pleasant way in the Sennheiser?

If you compare the Sony with the Sennheiser with NO music playing, the Sony clearly bests the Sennheiser in reducing background noise.

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ Anyone use these compared to the xm3s? I believe sound quality on these should he better but NC is better in xm3? Mostly wondering about comfort etc.

Rtings comparison:

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools ... m3/392/678

Nothing beats personal experience though

From what I gather from people who had used it:

• Better audio quality
• Worse ANC (like 75% of the XM3)
• Can be paired with two devices
• Automatically turns music on/off when you put on/take off headset

warpdrive wrote: ↑ No it;'s not subjective LOL.

"Likes a different sound"? What does that mean? You mean the way an airplane's engine noise comes through in a more pleasant way in the Sennheiser?

If you compare the Sony with the Sennheiser with NO music playing, the Sony clearly bests the Sennheiser in reducing background noise.

You're trolling, right?

There is no single quantative result for determining the "best" audio sound as there are uptime different factors, not the least of which is that everyone's hearing and interpretation of sound is slightly different.

Ask five people listen to the ANC from Bose vs the ANC from Sennheiser at zero volume in a quiet environment then zero volume in a loud environment and you'll get six different answers as to which is the best, none of which are wrong because interpretation of sound is subjective.

n1ckt0 wrote: ↑ You're trolling, right?

There is no single quantative result for determining the "best" audio sound as there are uptime different factors, not the least of which is that everyone's hearing and interpretation of sound is slightly different.

Ask five people listen to the ANC from Bose vs the ANC from Sennheiser at zero volume in a quiet environment then zero volume in a loud environment and you'll get six different answers as to which is the best, none of which are wrong because interpretation of sound is subjective.

Of course there is a quantitative measurement. You're the one who is trolling.

I don't know what universe you live in where the ANC of your PCX550 beats out the Sony

warpdrive wrote: ↑ Of course there is a quantitative measurement. You're the one who is trolling.

And what measurement would that be, dB? Because that only measures noise not quality.

Anyway, im going back to real life rather than debating this further. You're free to believe what you want, I'll believe what I want (as an owner of these headphones and previous owner of multiple Bose products), and people looking at this thread can feel free to believe what they want.