The Best Sound! 😲 Sony WF-1000XM5 vs B&W Pi7 S2 Review

This is going to be a very interesting comparison because previously, I voted the B&W Pi7 S2 the best sounding earbuds. But now that we have the WF-1000XM5, we’ll be checking out how they compare, not just in sound quality but also active noise canceling, call quality and features.

Call Quality

They sound comparable in quiet conditions, just as good, but in noisy conditions, both are good in their own ways, but both can also be better. The B&W didn’t gate very well against noise, but I did sound quite intelligible. The Sonys were far better at noise gating, but it also didn’t filter my voice very well. Listen to the samples here.

(Compared using some really loud cafe style background noise and some wind noise from a fan.)

Active Noise Canceling

The Sonys are more effective at canceling mid and low frequency noises, but the B&Ws are not bad too, you can expect more silence in different situations, just not as much silence as the Sonys. Listen to the samples here.

Transparency Mode

In terms of transparency, the Sony’s passthrough is louder, cleaner, and much less hiss than the B&Ws. That being said, the B&W’s transparency is still quite usable if you need to be more aware of your surroundings.

But I don’t think you’ll be using it for quick conversations with people, because it is quite a hassle to activate it. You will actually have to go into the B&W Music app and turn on passthrough. This is possibly the only TWS now that doesn’t allow you to do that from the earbuds controls. What’s even more incredible, is this has been out for about a year now, and there hasn’t been an update to address that. 

Sound Quality

In terms of sound quality, frequency sweeps show that the Pi7 S2s have a flatter curve that emphasizes bass and mids more than the Sonys. You can see that the Sonys also have a steeper curve that spikes higher above 1 khz than the B&Ws. This does affect the pitch of vocals, making vocals on the Sonys sound a bit more shrill. The B&Ws also have more brilliance in the soundstage above 10khz. This extra brilliance can cause higher pitched instruments to sound more hot and sizzly, and sometimes it can be a bit too sizzly for my tastes.

However, the graph only tells a small part of the story, because when comparing the two, the Sonys do sound a bit more mashed up in the mids, while the B&W’s mids feel better separated from the bass without losing detail or dynamic range. Bass on the B&W also sounds more punchy, and more detailed without feeling bloaty, or bleeding over into the mids. And no wonder. The B&Ws do have a dual driver setup compared to the Sony’s single dynamic driver. This is often a design used to improve bass and mid separation which can result in a cleaner signature, as you’re about to hear in the following sound samples.

Why choose the Sonys?

So why should you pick the Sonys over the Pi7 S2?

The biggest reason for me is that the Sonys are a lot more user-centric. As a user spending X amount of money, there are some basic things that I must at least be able to do, like toggling them into transparency mode from the buds instead of having to go into the app. Being able to control volume on the buds themselves. And being able to tailor the experience as much as possible like customizing the sound to your preference. The Sonys have EQ presets,and a graphic EQ so if I do prefer more bass, or prefer less brightness in the mids, I can make that happen on the Sonys.

There’s even a Find my Equalizer feature which helps you suggest a custom EQ setting, and if you need to tweak it further, you can do that. Whereas on the Pi7 S2, it’s a take it, or leave it approach.

There are more reasons to pick the Sonys because it’s got multipoint pairing, better transparency, better noise canceling, battery, wireless charging, and a smaller, more portable case. But overall, the lack of options to customize is probably the biggest drawback of the Pi7 S2 for me.

Why choose the B&W Pi7 S2?

But the biggest edge the B&Ws have over the Sonys is its sound quality, if we were to base it on the Sony’s default tuning. The Pi7 S2s still are the best sounding earbuds to me.

This seems to be the whole focus of this product, basically extending the B&W high end audio performance to more consumers, and more sources of audio, even those which may not be Bluetooth capable like an old CD player or TV. You can just bridge the connection by plugging the case into that, with a USB or 3.5mm connector.

It has a very smooth, clean, detailed, tight and punchy sound that plays very well to my preference, so I don’t really feel the need to tweak it even if the option’s not there. If that’s all you care about and you need wireless audio from non-bluetooth sources, definitely go for the Pi7 S2.

If you want to check the latest prices of the XM5, or the Pi7 S2, I’ve included links to their Amazon and Lazada pages below.

✅ Check Latest Prices

Sony WF-1000XM5 -
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3qiamkS
Lazada - https://s.lazada.sg/s.bsAyl?cc

B&W Pi7 S2
Amazon - https://amzn.to/3ZjYdZe
Lazada - https://s.lazada.sg/s.bMAL6?cc

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Also check out…

… this video if you want to know how the WF-1000XM5s compare to other earbuds not covered in this review.