Bowers & WilkinsPi5 S2 True Wireless Earbuds - Active Noise Cancellation, Qualcomm aptX Technology, Bluetooth, Crystal-Clear Calls, Wireless & 15-Minute Quick Charging, Sage Green

Awesome sound quality with average ANC Why did you pick this product vs others?:Previous experience with the brand

Was a loyal B&W fan, still own some of their speakers and zeppelin airs and wired headphones, and owned the previous generation of the Pi5 S1s. The sound quality of these blows everything else in the segment away and makes my sennheiser momentums sound tinny and crap. The battery life has also greatly improved compared to the S1s. The fast charging case also really helps with continued use on long flights.However being almost a year into ownership I'm experiencing major usability issues. First, the right earbud multi-function button would occasionally get stuck and double tap/beep nonstop causing my phone to continuously skip to the next track nonstop. I would have to place the buds back into the case in order to solve the issue. The right earbud also has significantly less battery life than the left earbud, and I can only get about 2.5 hours of playtime at 93% volume before the right earbud shuts down. On android once the bluetooth battery life indicates 14% battery you have mere minutes before it shuts down, but the left earbud will reconnect and continue to play for much longer.The earbuds and case also won't reliably charge consistently, and I've had many times leaving it to charge on a wireless charge pad overnight where it did not charge the earbuds but the case light was solid green. I've learned now that if I place the case with the buds in it onto the pad and the case light is solid green right away despite me draining the earbuds it can mean that it's not charging the earbuds, and imagine my frustration in putting in my earbuds before a long flight only to find them not charged at all. The light indicator on the case also no longer turn red at all indicating <20%, only yellow and green.Lastly, my only attempt at putting in a warranty claim for these issues was met with casual accusations of misuse. After voicing my issues with their warranty department, the gentleman casually implied that the multi-function button issue could be due to me sweating on them while using these at the gym. I'm not a sweaty person, and my previous Pi5 S1s had none of these issues while under the same use case and lifestyle. He then asked me to e-mail him a copy of the proof of purchase, and that he'd mail out a kit for sending the unit in. After sending the the e-mail with the receipt(from Amazon), I never heard from B&W ever again nor received anything in the mail. I use these buds quite frequently and it is a hassle to be without them for weeks so I didn't pursue any further, but it dampened my enthusiasm for their products.The frustrations you put up with for decent sound quality.

One of the worst tech products I've ever used. I have tons of complaints so here we go:1. They are super uncomfortable as if they were not designed for humans ears whatsoever. I've used free airline earbuds that were a better fit. Very painful.2. The buttons are touch and not physical, so if you are wearing gloves or your hands are full you won't be able to pause. (Getting rid of real buttons is a common modern tech fail)3. The feature where taking a bud out to pause is very much broken. It will rapidly pause and pause while they're still in your ear. And yes, even when you wear them the way they ask you to in the diagrams. There's a way to turn it off which leads me to number 44. To use key features such as deactivating the removal sensor, or use audio pass through you need to download the app and sign up with an account. I think I speak for everyone when I say: we are sick of signing up and giving our emails and other info away for every tiny thing in life. Minus points just for this.5. THERE ARE NO VOLUME CONTROLS! Just brain dead decisions here. Never have I ever used an audio device in which you could not control the volume.6. They are 4x the price of, let's say, Raycons. But not even close 4x the level of audio quality. Paying 4x the price for a tiny improvement of sound is a waste of money.

FitI have to begin with the fit because it’s what I consider to be the worst thing about these earphones. The earphones are large and have small stubby ear tips. The tip sizes are very different in size to each other that the sizes look more like extra small, small and X-Large. The earphones are also meant to be twisted on to push against the part of the ear called antitragus, which gets fatigued very easily.Replacing the ear tips definitely improves comfort but you are super limited in choices because different tips won’t let the earphones fit in the case. You would have to find tips with the exact same length so they can fit in the case.ANCANC is about average with these earphones, while on they mostly block low frequencies. Anything mid frequency and above is still totally audible. Pass trough is a way more impressive function, the sound amplified in that function comes in very clean and natural.DesignThe design is very minimalist but it’s clean, the case looks and feels nice and the earphones also look and feel of high quality. The back parts of the earphones are touch controls and are very responsive to touch. The earphones also have a proximity sensor which pauses music when you take one off, I disabled it because I’m constantly fiddling with them because of the bad fit.AppThe app doesn’t seem very useful compared to other companion apps I’ve tried, it doesn’t have much in it. The one disappointing thing about the app is that I could not find an EQ in it, the product page mentions it but there isn’t one. There are special modes for several Hifi music streaming services such as tidal but i currently don’t have tidal to see what they do.SoundIf you happen to get a good comfortable fit then the sound is definitely good for wireless earbuds. The highs are non fatiguing/polite but sparkly and clean. The mids are clean and natural. The bass is clean and tight but I do feel that it’s a bit too boosted which is why it’s disappointing that the app doesn’t have an EQ. The tuning overall would be bassy neutral but very clean. Soundstage is narrow but imaging is good.Overall these are very good sounding wireless buds IF… they fit you well. I wasn’t expecting such good sound from these because I’m a fan of chifi so I’ve herd plenty of very good iems. These are described as having dual drivers and dual DAC per ear which would explain the clean sound. I still prefer using a wired set with my Qudelix for better sound.