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.