Bowers & Wilkins - Pi6 True Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Earbuds - Storm Grey

The Pi6 wireless earbuds from Bowers & Wilkins are premium headphones offering high quality sound along with active noise canceling. There’s a lot to like about them overall, but there are a few flaws that keep them from being perfect. The headphones are stylish and made of hard plastic. They wear pretty well, and I found it easy to get a good fit (using the default tips; there are multiple other sizes included), which is key for the noise canceling to work. The case holds additional charge and uses USB Type C for charging. Sadly, there is no wireless charging option, which is actually something I miss. The headphones support high-quality streaming options like Bluetooth 5.4/aptX along with 24-bit audio. Setup is relatively easy with the Bowers & Wilkins Music app. (Oddly, in my Android app tray, it labels itself as Music Bowers & Wilkins, which makes it a little less obvious to find!) The app both serves as a place to control the settings for the device as well as a storefront for various music services that offer audiophile quality streaming options. I found the app curiously underbaked, with the EQ settings customizable but limited solely to treble and bass. The app also allows you to configure the active noise canceling as on/off or, conveniently, a passthrough option that I found worked well for balancing ANC and not being utterly cut off from one’s surroundings. If I found the app a little underdone, the touch controls were the opposite. I found them clunky and even difficult to remember, though volume control worked pretty well but frustratingly seemed slow to adjust. I generally just used my phone or the app for settings changes as it was quicker. On the other hand, ergonomics were otherwise really good, as I found it easy to get a good fit, and they were comfortable to wear for extended periods. They also support automatically pausing when you pull an earbud out, and this worked well in my experience. With that said, these do excel at their core task: sounding great. While I don’t have accounts that have lossless audio, I do have the premium tier audio on Spotify. Everything I listened to, from AC/DC to Beethoven to Glenn Miller, sounded bright and vibrant to my ears, but still very natural. These will take over as my everyday earbuds. Beyond music, audio quality on calls was acceptable—I don’t take calls very often regardless, let alone with earbuds—but I could both hear and be heard easily with them. So ultimately if you prize stylish and excellent earbuds, these are a very good choice. I’m not a big fan of the touch controls or the app, but they both will do. However, the sound quality is excellent, the battery life good, and the ANC is decent for earbuds, especially with the nice passthrough feature. These are good for anybody but especially a good choice for Android users like me.

I have several ear buds and head phones that claim they are "noise canceling". All allow quite a bit of noise to get through. When I saw these at Best Buy, I figured they would be like the rest. Boy, was I wrong! These do really keep the noise out. The app really lets you customize your sound. You can boost bass or treble. It says you can customize the tap and hold interactions, but I could not figure out how to do that in the app. You can also use the app to set the buds for noise canceling or pass through (or by tapping the left ear bud). These are also comfortable to wear for a long time without hurting your ears. I did change the rubber piece to a smaller size (included with the buds). The app tells me how much power the buds have (not the case, just the buds). So far they have lasted a while with just the case to charge them. One downside is the design of the case- It does not stand up on its end. The case lays on what I consider the back. Small downside but an odd design to me. They also link some streaming services that apparently give you "superior sound and personalized recommendations". I don't subscribe to any that they link to (I've never heard of most of them). They do offer a 2 month free trial to qobuz so I will try that and still listen to my Spotify. Overall, I think these are my new favorite ear buds. They help completely block out the world.

I have always been a music lover and I always seek to have the best experience when listening to music. Whether in speakers or in headphones there are some details that make the experience more enriching. With these Bowers Wilkins Pi6 headphones I have been surprised and at the same time some things I consider can improve the experience. In the box come the headphones in their charging case, a usb c charging cable, 3 pairs of 3 different tip sizes, a quick start guide and safety warranty documentation. To set up the headphones you need to download the Bowers & Wilkins Music app and create an account. Within the app the customization and configuration options are limited. There are no EQ presets, only a very basic User EQ, you can increase or decrease the bass and treble. In the app it is also possible to change the active noise canceling mode and manage the connected devices. The headphones have a touch control that allows you to change the ANC mode or increase or decrease the volume. Removing either earphone from the ear pauses music playback which can also be activated/deactivated in the app. The app also allows linking accounts from different types of music streaming services. Although the app has useful options, it lacks important aspects such as better EQ presets, integration with other music apps or YT, case battery indicator, better stability in the connection between the app and the headphones since sometimes when removing a headphone the app disconnects and you have to open and close it to recognize the headphones again. I find the design to be good, they are not heavy, they fit my ears well, they don't make my ear feel tired if I wear them for several hours, the touch controls work almost flawlessly and are easy to use. The device has a good finish and the construction materials are sturdy and of good quality. The Pi6 has a good overall design, they look good. The battery lasts several hours, a whole day without problem and with the case charger you can extend its use several hours more. The case has a LED that indicates when the charging case needs to be charged and this LED also indicates that the headphones are charging when they are inserted into the case. With 15 minutes of charging you can get up to two hours of battery life which is a great help when we do not have much time for this. Regarding the performance I have been surprised, they sound pretty good, the low, medium and high frequencies are clearly perceived, they have a higher volume than other devices in its class. In this device the bass sound with clarity, presence and without distortion. Whether listening to music, watching videos, movies, podcasts, everything is heard with strength and clarity, truly high resolution. The microphone sounds good, it does not stand out but performs well in calls. The active noise cancellation is very effective, it allows you to be immersed in your favorite music or content for a long time, outside sounds are perceived but are minimal. On the contrary with the transparency mode, the microphones seem to raise some frequencies and sound a little weird. I prefer to turn off the noise cancellation or have it active, but I hardly use the transparency mode. In summary, these Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 headphones have impressive audio quality, a battery that lasts many hours, a good design that does not bother the ear, they have active noise cancellation (ANC), no audio distortion and an app that although it offers the basics is useful. If you want good quality headphones with ANC and superior sound, these could be a good alternative. Despite the price, which could be more competitive, I can highly recommend them.

I cannot say enough about the Bowers & Wilkins - Pi6 earbuds. What you would expect from Bowers and Wilkins, they sound amazing! The Bowers & Wilkins - Pi6 supports AptX Adaptive, SBC, AAC, and AptX Classic. The sound is crisp and clear and, most importantly for me, they fit extremely well. In the box, you get the earbuds themselves, charging cable (USB-C), and additional earbuds so you can find the ones that work for your ear. Once you find the earbuds that work, setting up was a breeze. I added them to my iPhone via the Bluetooth menu, then completed the setup via the Bower and Wilkins music app from the app store. The overall size is on the bigger side, but I would not classy them as “chunky”. The size does not bother me, though, which is good. As far as ANC goes, these are one of the best buds I have ever used. I am very picky when it comes to ANC, and these perform very well. There is a way to switch to transparency mode if needed with the touch of the earbud, which is always a nice feature, and it works well on the Pi6. Overall, I am extremely happy with the Pi6 earbuds from Bowers and Wilkins. They fit well and perform even better. Hats off to B&W.

There are 4 main qualities I look for when choosing new noise-cancelling in-ear earbuds: 1. Fit 2. Sound quality 3. Ability to block outside noise 4. Connection reliability The Pi6 Wireless Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Earbuds excel in 3 out of these 4 qualities and fall short in one key area. Fortunately, I believe this issue can be resolved with future software updates. All extra features are bonuses in my opinion. 1. Fit - The fit of these in-ear earbuds is among the best I've ever experienced. They create a great seal, and I can wear them for 4+ hours with zero discomfort. The default tips that came with the earbuds were perfect and I didn’t need to make any adjustments. Also, the way you insert them with a subtle twist is oddly satisfying—almost like locking a deadbolt—and you forget they’re there until they remind you to charge the battery. 2. Sound Quality - I can’t overstate how great the sound is across all music genres. There’s nothing I appreciate more than putting these in and not having to constantly tweak settings to achieve the ideal sound stage. In my opinion, this should be the industry standard. Earbuds should just work and sound great. The less time I spend adjusting settings, the more time I have to be productive and enjoy my day. 3. Noise Cancellation - While the Pi6 isn’t the best I've used in this category, they do a solid job filtering out white noise and subtle, consistent sounds in the environment. I work in a fairly open office space, with everything from AC noise to casual conversations happening throughout the day. The Pi6 earbuds from Bowers & Wilkins easily drown out these background noises. However, they struggle with sporadic sounds. Other earbuds I've owned have handled these better, but they didn’t sound as good as the Pi6 and I'm okay with that. 4. Connection Reliability - This is where I had to deduct one star. The Pi6 earbuds I received suffer from occasional connection issues, which can be incredibly frustrating. While infrequent, in 2024, there's no reason earbuds in this price range should experience sound cutting in and out, as if they’re dealing with interference. I've used many earbuds, and this is the first set in years where I’ve encountered what sounds like my old CD player skipping back in 1998. This happens to me at least once a day, and I haven’t been able to identify the cause. It mostly occurs within the first 60 seconds of putting them in. I hope this is something that can be fixed with future updates. While it doesn't happen all the time, it’s simply unacceptable for earbuds in this price range. I also want to mention that these earbuds have a passthrough feature that allows ambient noise, so you can hear conversations and your surroundings when you’re not using noise cancellation. I’d rate this feature as “good enough.” I sometimes struggle to hear softer conversations and often have to take the earbuds out to fully engage with someone. This can be annoying but isn’t a dealbreaker. The tap features on the earbuds are also hit or miss. I would recommend these to anyone who prioritizes sound quality and comfort above all other features.

I've owned earbuds from pretty much every brand out there but this was my first set from Bowers and Wilkins. I had not heard much about them so I was interested to see how they compared. They left me with a very positive first impression. Pros: - The earbuds were ready to go right out of the box and didn’t need a firmware update after installing the app. The set up process in the app was very quick and simple. - Sound quality is excellent! Music was especially full and rich. I also enjoyed how podcasts sounded with these. - In-ear fit was perfect for me with the default (medium) tips. Included in the box you will find 3 additional size options: large, small, and extra small. They have felt secure even with movement and I haven’t had any worries of them falling out unexpectedly. - The touch controls were pretty intuitive as I learned how to toggle ANC, play/pause/ etc with relative ease. - The app allows you to configure the touch controls to your liking. You can also toggle bass and treble as you see fit. Cons: - I dislike being forced to create a brand new account for every electronic device that I own, like I did for these earbuds. I’d love the accompanying app to have an option (like some brands do) to sign in with Google, Apple ID, etc. - Battery life was decent, but I’ve owned earbuds that last an hour or so longer. Fortunately, the case can top off the charge nice and quick. Overall these are a great option for anyone looking for great sound, noise-canceling capabilities, and a reasonable price point.

These Bowers and Wilkins earbuds perform decently, not bad but not great either. Setup, pairing: Setting them up was a breeze. Put them into pairing mode and have your phone search for it. They paired immediately without any problems. Also, once the app is installed, I was able to add them as a new device, again without any problems. Sound quality: This is where some points are lost. They sound ok, not bad, but not great either. The sound, especially the mids and highs are not as clear as I was hoping. One part of the sound quality that is great is the bass, assuming you turn it all the way up on the EQ. This is a pleasant surprise since earbuds are small and typically have weak bass. Depending on the type of music you listen to, this might make up for it. The active noise cancellation is very disappointing to the point of almost being useless. I would say it eliminates background noise maybe 50% but is still very noticeable. It does not eliminate background voices at all. Honestly, the ANC in these is sort of pointless, so these are not for you if this feature is important. Call Quality: The call quality is good. I heard the other person perfectly clear, and they said the same for my voice. Answering and hanging up calls with the button works as expected. Case: The included case is small and easily fits in your pocket. The earbuds magnetically stay in place and are very easy to place in the case without any difficulty orienting them. There is an indicator to tell you that the case is charging and when it is done charging. It does not tell you when the earbuds are charging or when they are done. I do wish it told you when the earbuds are fully charged but this does not seem to be normal behavior for any earbuds. This may sound insignificant, but the case is a fingerprint magnet. After only touching it a few times, it is completely covered in fingerprints. Not necessarily important but it does make the case look ugly after a short time. Battery: The earbuds’ battery last around 7.5 hours, around as much as advertised and almost covers an entire day at work. The case allows charging the earbuds around two and a half times. It takes a couple of hours to charge the case and earbuds together from empty. I would say this is probably slightly better than average as other earbuds I have used don’t last the entire day at work. The case charges using the modern USB-C connector. App: The app works well but is as barebones as you can get. It basically allows you to turn on and off the noise cancellation, and has a two band EQ. That’s it. The treble EQ does change the highs but doesn’t really make it sound better. The bass EQ works great and as previously mentioned, turning it up all the way is almost a necessity. Other than allowing you to update the firmware, that is about it. Comfort: These are very comfortable, and they come with several size caps to fit different size ears. I have large ears, and the biggest size fits me great. They feel secure in your ears but do feel like they could fall out under the right conditions. Strangely enough, there is no fit check in the app which is included in every other earbuds I have used. A Big Problem: These earbuds will go into standby after only a few minutes. Take them out to talk to someone or go to the bathroom. Put them back on and they are off. While this is normal, you can usually set the time it takes to go into standby but not on these. Assume if you take them off for any reason, you will have to put them in the case and take them out to wake them up again. In summary, these earbuds are ok, not bad but not great either. The sound quality is decent (with outstanding bass) but the noise cancellation is almost non-existent. The battery performs very well. The standby time is a big problem. Overall, at this price point, there are probably better options out there.

I want to love the Pi6 earbuds and for the most part I do. They sound great, they have long battery life, they’re pretty comfortable, and the noise canceling/transparency modes are good. But there’s some minor bugs with audio and the controls that keep me from recommending them wholeheartedly. The box includes the earbuds, charging case, a USB-C charging cable, and a set of 3 silicone earbuds in addition to the medium size that is already on the buds. The medium tips were just a little too small for my ears, so I opted for the large and those have been working well. The buds themselves are a touch larger and heavier than others I’ve used, but I wouldn’t class them as bulky. They’ve got a shiny plastic finish and a subtle wingtip built into them to help them stay in your ears more securely. In general they have been pretty comfortable. Pairing the Pi6’s to my phone, I didn’t get the fast pairing notification on my Pixel 8 Pro and ended up having to go to my Bluetooth settings to find them. It’s not a huge deal, but it's disappointing not to see it here because I know I’ve seen it on other Bower and Wilkins headphones. Once paired they can be further set up and managed through the Bowers and Wilkins music app. The app is good and I already used it for my Px7 S2e headphones. For the Pi6 there aren’t a ton of features - you can swap between noise cancellation and transparency modes, there’s a very basic EQ with only treble and bass sliders, the touch controls can be customized, and the wear detection sensor can be turned off and on. It doesn't necessarily leave me wanting for more, but I did expect a little bit more functionality. The Pi6’s are controlled via touch on either earbud. The controls are responsive, but sensitive. I found myself often triggering a play/pause or a change in the ANC/transparency just trying to bring them in and out of my ears. Audio can even be played out of them while they are placed in the charging case, which I’ve never seen happen before. This only happens when the lid is open though and playback is stopped and they’re disconnected when it is closed. I also found that the audio cut out occasionally, especially while adjusting the buds in my ear. The sound quality itself is excellent. Music is detailed and balanced; there aren’t any parts of the tracks that I listened to that overpowered the rest. Bass response is also really good for earbuds. They also get quite loud and I didn’t even come close to pushing them to their max. Sound quality is where Bowers and Wilkins has always shined historically and it’s no different here. I listened to these using my Pixel 8 Pro. The Pi6 supports AptX Adaptive, AptX Classic, AAC, and SBC. There’s no LDAC or LE Audio, which is okay with me. The bigger disappointment for me is that they don’t support AptX HD since the Pixel 8 supports that but not AptX Adaptive. AptX Classic does sound good; I just know that I’m missing out on a higher quality experience. My wife did point out that these earbuds leak quite a bit of sound at high volume. At about 60-70% volume she could pretty clearly hear the song I was listening to. It’s something to keep in mind if you plan on listening to these in quiet environments near other people. The noise canceling and transparency modes built-in both sound good, but neither are especially strong compared to other earbuds I’ve used. The noise canceling does a good job of blocking out lower frequency sounds like fans and humming appliances, but other sounds do filter through pretty easily without any music playing and there isn’t a lot of passive noise isolation. The transparency mode works well and it’s easy to wear them and still hold a conversation or have a general awareness of your environment, but it doesn’t sound as natural as other transparency modes I’ve heard. The battery life is rated at 8 hours for the buds themselves, with noise canceling on no less. That’s pretty fantastic, so if you are looking for wireless earbuds that last these are one of them. The case charges via USB-C, but does not have wireless charging, which for $250 feels like a glaring omission. I understand they’re probably trying to build a little differentiation between this and the higher-end Pi8, but I think almost any other earbud you’d buy at that price point would have wireless charging. Microphone quality overall was good. I took a few calls and everyone I talked to said I sounded very clear with no background noise. Overall I’m pretty happy with the Pi6’s, but the issues with the controls and the occasional audio cutouts spoil the experience just a little bit. I’m hoping that maybe this can be fixed with a firmware update, but to my knowledge none of the Bowers and Wilkins headphones I’ve owned in the past have ever received firmware updates, so I’m not holding out a lot of hope. I think Bowers and Wilkins are always a great choice where sound quality is a concern and the Pi6’s don’t disappoint there.