Pxc 550 Vs Pxc 550 2

TechRadar Verdict

Build and materials quality, battery life and audio quality are all impressive. Simply latent treble troubles prevent a whole-hearted recommendation.

Pros

+
Judicious audio
+
Proficient battery life
+
Subtly premium looks

Cons

-
Struggles on trebly recordings
-
Not showy
-
Competition from other Sennheiser cans

To have one pair of premium wireless on-ear noise-canceling cans in Sennheiser's audio range is only sensible. The improver of a 2nd at essentially the same price bespeak looks a bit weird. But that'south exactly what Sennheiser has done with the PXC 550-II headphones – an upgrade to the previous PXC 55O model with the latest Bluetooth standard and enhanced sound and smart capabilities.

'A flake weird' isn't commonly the first phrase that comes to listen when considering Sennheiser. The sound brand generally offers high-performing products at sensible prices, as shown past the splendid Momentum Wireless – which, on a head big enough to carry them off, are actually quite fashionable. But now that Sennheiser has released a new pair of over-ear headphones at a similar £299/$349/AU$540 toll point, which are you meant to choose?

The PXC 550-Two headphones are a bit cheaper than the Momentum Wireless, a bit more sober in advent and definitely non every bit large. Is that enough to open up up a whole new crowd of customers who don't fancy Momentum Wireless – or whatever of the other wireless noise-canceling on-ears currently flooding the market?

We retrieve it might – and you lot can find out why in this PXC 550-Two review.

Pattern

To a corking extent, over-ear headphones all wait the same - the all-time a company can promise for is some individual stylistic fiddling around the border of a long-established design template. With the PXC 550-IIs, Sennheiser has gone for a sophisticated and understated await – while hoping this doesn't simply make the model look deadening.

If understated designs appeal to y'all, then the PXC 550-IIs may exist right up your alley. They're made from tactile soft-feel plastics and pleasant synthetic leather, and their comparatively modest dimensions mean even the smaller-eared user won't feel swamped. There's plenty of (smooth, silent) adjustment in the headband, and the earcups clear effortlessly on their hinges. They fold usefully flat, and a trifling 227g weight brand them a stiff proposition for long-haul users.

Aside from an unobtrusive Sennheiser logo at each cease of the headband, there's nothing showy about the PXC 550-IIs whatsoever. So while they unarguably feel like the money's-worth, whether or not they wait it is debatable.

Features

Like a lot of wireless on-ears, the PXC 550-IIs focus its functionality around the right earcup. Information technology'southward home to a button for Bluetooth pairing, which as well summons a vocalisation banana with a longer press, with back up for aptX Bluetooth 5.0, low-latency and AAC functionality too. In that location's also a slider for engaging or deactivating active noise-cancellation, and a micro-USB input for charging the bombardment. Sennheiser claims you'll get xx hours of utilize with noise-cancellation activated, or thirty if you leave it switched off – both figures seem eminently achievable.

The right earcup is besides where you'll find the touch on-controls. Play/intermission, skip forward/back, volume upwardly/downward, mic mute/unmute and call reply/reject can all be facilitated with a affect or swipe. The PXC 550-IIs are also tricked out with a selection of mics to apply for phone calls, voice control and active noise-cancelation.

Behind the acoustic cloth on the inside of this hard-working earcup is a 32mm full-range driver. There's some other in the left earcup, manifestly – but apart from some noise-cancellation mics, that's it for the left-hand side. (Left-handers, you're marginalised in one case once again.)

The PXC 550-IIs tin can exist used in conjunction with Sennheiser's handsome Smart Control app. In that location is some EQ customisation available here, also as degrees of noise-cancelation ('anti-wind' to reduce wind-borne noise, 'adaptive' to respond to irresolute levels of external racket, and simply 'on').

Performance

Information technology isn't merely the design that's sophisticated and understated, though. On initial acquaintance the Sennheiser PXC 550-IIs might sound a piddling reticent – but persevere just a trivial longer and they reveal a balanced and quite carefully-judged listen.

Once through an all-court test like Never Grab Me by Flying Lotus is about enough to explain the PXC 550-IIs in their entirety. They're extremely disciplined where the everyman frequencies are concerned, controlling the showtime and stop of individual bass sounds with real rigour. There's proper texture and detail to the bottom end too, rather than the uniform drone that less-capable alternatives serve upwardly. The bass-hungry may require a fiddling more impact, merely anybody else should admire only how naturalistic the Sennheisers' low-frequency reproduction sounds.

At the opposite end of the frequency range, there's real shine and attack. Coarser recordings than this can be problematic (more on this in a moment), but in the majority of circumstances the PXC 550-IIs demonstrate exactly the sort of treble seize with teeth that's required. And, again, it's loaded with details of texture and timbre.

And between these frequency extremes, the midrange is just as information-rich and characterful. No dash is also subtle or fleeting to escape the Senheisers' attention – and it'south integrated into the overall sonic picture deftly, without undue emphasis.

The presentation is broad, well divers and reasonably 3-dimensional, and each part of the frequency range in integrated seamlessly (every bit should be the instance from a unmarried-driver design like this). These Sennheiser cans probably play things a bit safe, but at that place are sufficient low-level harmonic details revealed to go along things interesting, and enough dynamic headroom to offer a proper thought of power and attack.

So far, then, the PXC 550-IIs do more than enough to make the idea of spending some other £fifty on Sennheiser's Momentum Wireless a bit of a daft idea. But switch from the painstakingly recorded Flight Lotus tune to the altogether more ambitious (and ramshackle) delights of Girl Ring'southward extraordinary Why They Hide Their Bodies Nether My Garage? and a few localised problems sally.

With a recording similar this ane, the sure-footed high-frequency bite of the PXC 550-IIs turns feral. The brilliance and shine becomes fibroid and hard, and the more you nudge the book upwardly the more the PXC 550-IIs threaten to become shrill. Any recordings including latent treble bedevilment aren't going to suit these Sennheisers at all. It's perhaps all the more jarring because the PXC 550-IIs accept sounded so equanimous and bodacious until at present.

The impression of unshowy composure on the PXC 550-IIs returns strongly when considering its noise-cancelling capabilities. Fifty-fifty with the active racket-cancelation is set to its bluntest 'on' position, external noise isn't completely banished – alternatives similar Microsoft's Surface Headphones exercise better work in isolating you from the earth – fifty-fifty if the work the PXC 550-IIs exercise is nonetheless impressive. The 'adaptive' and 'anti-wind' settings, yet, seem interchangeable in terms of the effect they accept on your listening.

Equally far as call quality goes, Sennheiser'due south conscientious beam formation of mics works well. Clarity and intelligibility are more than adequate – and that makes using a voice assistant a lot less painful than it can be with some alternative models. Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Siri are all available (though Sennheiser'due south exemplary mic deployment can't do annihilation to make Siri more intelligent).

Our verdict

Ultimately, the Sennhesier PXC 550-IIs audio a lot like they look: sensible, pricey, and grown-up.

Whether the anonymity of their looks is enough to tempt customers in meaningful numbers is debatable, only the (almost) unshakeable virtuosity of their performance will surely entice more than than a few – as long equally they're not fans of overtly trebly music, that is.

Best wireless headphones: what are the very best out at that place?

Simon Lucas is a senior editorial professional with deep experience of print/digital publishing and the consumer electronics landscape. Based in Brighton, Simon worked at TechRadar's sister site What HiFi? for a number of years, equally both a features editor and a digital editor, before embarking on a career in freelance consultancy, content creation, and journalism for some of the biggest brands and publications in the globe.

With enormous expertise in all things dwelling house entertainment, Simon reviews everything from turntables to soundbars for TechRadar, and also likes to dip his toes into longform features and buying guides. His bylines include GQ, The Guardian, Hi-Fi+, Metro, The Observer, Pocket Lint, Shortlist, Stuff T3, Tom's Guide, Trusted Reviews, and more.