Home Wireless Earbuds Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 Vs. Blx Earbuds Gen 1

A Review By Comparison of the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 Vs. Blx Earbuds Gen 1

Last updated on Apr 17, 2023   6 min read
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Bowers & Wilkins PI7

Bowers & Wilkins PI7

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Reasons why you might like the Bowers & Wilkins PI7

Overall Score 6.4 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating of IP54
  • Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)
  • Battery Life of 4.5 hours
  • Has Usb Type-C
  • Number Of Microphones of 6 only
  • Has Ambient Sound Mode
VS
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

BLX Earbuds Gen 1

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Reasons why you might like the BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Overall Score 4.3 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating of IPX4
  • Battery Life of 4.5 hours
  • Number Of Microphones of 2 only

A summary of the review by feature comparison

Category Features Bowers & Wilkins PI7 BLX Earbuds Gen 1
DESIGN ingress protection (ip) rating IP54 IPX4
weight 50g 44.5g
has no wires or cables
sweat resistance
has stereo speakers
SOUND QUALITY has active noise cancellation (noise control)
has passive noise reduction
driver unit size 9.2mm
lowest frequency 10Hz 20Hz
highest frequency 20000Hz 20000Hz
POWER battery life 4.5hours 4.5hours
battery life of charging case 18hours 13.5hours
charge time 3hours 1hours
battery power 40mAh
has wireless charging
has a battery level indicator
CONNECTIVITY has usb type-c
bluetooth version v5 v5.1
maximum bluetooth range 10meters 10meters
has aac
has aptx adaptive
has aptx hd
MICROPHONE number of microphones 6only 2only
has a noise-canceling microphone
EXTRAS has ambient sound mode
has in/on-ear detection
has find earbuds feature
supports fast charging
has a mute function
control panel placed on a device
has voice prompts
travel bag is included
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A breakdown of the review per specifications

Design

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 IP54
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 IPX4

Ingress protection ratings is the rank of protection offered by a casing, against dust and liquids. In the format of IPXX, 'X' represents a number The first value means protection against solids say dust, followed by the one that refers to protection against liquids (water).

Scoring IP54, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's rating is read as, the first number of 5 denotes that ingress of dust is not totally prevented but dust does not enter in harmful quantities to interfere with the correct operation or impair safety, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.

Compared to the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, BLX Earbuds Gen 1 have a rating of IPX4 meaning that no data available to specify a protection rating and that of liquids is that, they both have the same rating against liquids

Weight

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 50g
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 44.5g

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a weight of 50g . We consider a lower weight best because lighter devices are easier to transport.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1, at 44.5g weigh less than the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by -5.5g

Has No Wires Or Cables

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

For a device to be true wireless it must have no wires linking any part of the device together, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 are true wireless for this matter since they have no cables. This is a key distinction since wireless earbuds have cables connecting the 2 earbuds together.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 also is true wireless because it doesn't have cables connecting the pair of earbuds together.

Sweat Resistance

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 have sweat resistance

Has Stereo Speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have stereo speakers, devices with stereo speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.

The BLX Earbuds Gen 1 also have stereo speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
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Sound Quality

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Active noise cancellation uses more advanced kind of tech to reduce unwanted ambient sounds. ANC works when, it listens to the sound pattern of incoming noise and after generates a mirror signal to cancel it out. Simply put, it's like having +1 (sound from your surrounding) and producing -1 (inverted noise) to make zero resulting in a reduced level of noise.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have ANC allowing you to listen at lower volume levels, good for your ears since you don't have to crank up the device volume to overcome background noise.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 stay tightly in place, creating an acoustic covering that tones down your environment sounds while preventing the earbuds music from leaking out at the same.

Both BLX Earbuds Gen 1, and Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have passive noise reduction this means that they tone down ambient noise instead of actively using technology to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 9.2mm
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, and can produce better bass. A driver unit is the component that makes sound in the earbuds, its size determines the sound produced by the device.

Lowest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 10Hz
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 20Hz

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well a particular audio device generates low frequencies that can be heard, and if it alters the signal on its way through.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this means that Bowers & Wilkins PI7 can make sound with a juicier bass than the BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Highest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 20000Hz
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 20000Hz

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, high-frequency response measures if and how well a particular audio device produces high human frequencies and if it makes any adjustments to the signal while at it.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, this means that both devices produce equal treble

Power

Battery Life

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 4.5hours
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 4.5hours

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery life is 4.5 hours, these last less than 5 hours of listening which is considered average before recharge. A device's battery life is given by the manufacturer, and with more battery hours, you get to use it for longer and requires fewer chargings.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1's battery life is equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 . Every time you recharge your earbuds, they get a little less listening time. The effect is barely noticeable at first, but over time, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 18hours
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 13.5hours

This is given by the manufacturer, and Bowers & Wilkins PI7's case has a charge of 18 hours. A charging case with more battery hours enables you to recharge your earbuds on the go many times before recharging the case itself.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1's charging case has a battery life of 13.5 hours, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 4.5 hours

Charge Time

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 3hours
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 1hours

It requires 3 hours to fully charge the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery. It is highly adivsable to fully charge the battery before using the earbuds for the first time.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 takes 1 hours to fully charge the battery, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 2 hours

Battery Power

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 40mAh

BLX Earbuds Gen 1's battery power is 40mAh, battery capacity, shows the amount of electrical energy that a battery can keep.

Has Wireless Charging

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the earbuds, you just place down on a supported charging pad.

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a battery level indicator, an indicator shows you when the device has a low battery. Its lights indicate the charging state of your earbuds and case.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 too have a battery level indicator, charging indicators enable you tell the charging state of your device, if charged fully, or having a low battery.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
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Connectivity

Has Usb Type-C

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support USB TYPE-C, a standard connector for transmitting both data and power through a single cable.

Bluetooth Version

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 v5
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 v5.1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have Bluetooth version of 5, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that enables data movement between devices placed in close proximity, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 has a Bluetooth version of 5.1, newer than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 . Newer versions provide faster data transfers.

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 10meters
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 10meters

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a 10meters distance to connect via Bluetooth.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 have a maximum range of 10meters, equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7

Has Aac

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support AAC, a codec used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Since it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it provides better results than other codecs at the same bit rate.

Being the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 will work well with your iPad. If you are planning on using these with Android you need to pay even closer attention to codec support for if they only have AAC they won't provide the best audio quality possible, ensure that they also support aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC as well.

The BLX Earbuds Gen 1 support AAC as well. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate.

Has Aptx Adaptive

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX Adaptive, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps).

Has Aptx Hd

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX HD, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It supports high-quality 24-bit audio (at a bit rate of 576kbps).

Microphone

Number Of Microphones

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 6only
BLX Earbuds Gen 1 2only

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have 6 microphones.

While the BLX Earbuds Gen 1 microphones are 2, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and help the device to filter out background sounds.

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a noise-canceling type of microphone, these microphones are intended to reduce noise from the desired sound.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
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Extras

Has Ambient Sound Mode

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to pass through ambient sound to still be heard even when wearing them

Has In/On-Ear Detection

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the earbuds can detect when they are removed from your ears so that the music is paused.

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

If lost in a room, or can't be found in your bag, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a find earbuds feature.

Supports Fast Charging

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support fast charging. Usually, technologies like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, are used to reduce the amount of time it takes to fully charge the earbuds.

Has A Mute Function

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a mute function, they have the feature to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the device.

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

With the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, so you can access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever functions are supported on the device.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 also have a control panel on them.

Has Voice Prompts

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have voice prompts. With voice prompts, you receive information through audio messages, say if there is a problem with the connection.

The BLX Earbuds Gen 1 too have voice prompts meaning the earbuds will notify you when the battery is low, and it's time to recharge the earbuds.

Travel Bag Is Included

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
BLX Earbuds Gen 1

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 come with their own special case. Carrying earbuds openly, or placing them in your pockets without a cover can easily damage them.

BLX Earbuds Gen 1 also have a travel bag included, which is useful for safe transportation.

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