Overall Score 6.4 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
Overall Score 6.2 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
Category | Features | Bowers & Wilkins PI7 | Sony LinkBuds S |
---|---|---|---|
DESIGN | ingress protection (ip) rating | ip54 | ipX4 |
weight | 50g | 9.6g | |
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 | 5mm | |
lowest frequency | 10hz | 20hz | |
highest frequency | 20,000hz | 40,000hz | |
has a neodymium magnet | ✗ | ✓ | |
POWER | battery life | 4.5hours | 6hours |
battery life of charging case | 18hours | 14hours | |
charge time | 3hours | 2hours | |
has wireless charging | ✓ | ✗ | |
has a battery level indicator | ✓ | ✓ | |
CONNECTIVITY | has usb type-c | ✓ | ✓ |
bluetooth version | v5 | v5.2 | |
maximum bluetooth range | 10meters | 10meters | |
has aac | ✓ | ✓ | |
has ldac | ✗ | ✓ | |
has aptx adaptive | ✓ | ✗ | |
has aptx hd | ✓ | ✗ | |
MICROPHONE | number of microphones | 6only | 6only |
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 | ✓ | ✓ | |
See price on Amazon | See price on Amazon |
Ingress protection ratings is the level of protection offered by a casing, against dust and liquids. In the format of IPXX, 'X' represents a number The first value refers to protection against solids such as dust, followed by the one that refers to protection against liquids (water).
Having a value of IP54, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's rating is read as, the first value 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.
In comparison to the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, Sony LinkBuds S 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
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a weight of 50g . We consider a lower weight best because lighter devices are more comfortable to move with.
Sony LinkBuds S, at 9.6g
weigh less than the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by -40.4g
For a device to be true wireless it should have no cables linking any part of the device together, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 are true wireless for this matter since they have no cables. This is a major distinction since wireless earbuds have wires linking the 2 earbuds together.
Sony LinkBuds S also is true wireless since it doesn't have cables linking the 2 earbuds together.
Sony LinkBuds S are resistant to sweat
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have stereo speakers, what this means is that Bowers & Wilkins PI7's speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.
Both Sony LinkBuds S and Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have stereo speakers
ANC uses advanced technology to reduce ambient sounds. ANC works when, it detects and analyzes the sound pattern of incoming noise and then inverts the soundwaves to counter it. In simple terms, it's like taking +1 (noise) and adding -1 (counter sound by the device) to make zero resulting in a reduced level of noise.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have ANC enabling you to listen at lower volume levels, causing less ear fatigue since you don't need to crank up the earbuds volume to overcome background noise.
Sony LinkBuds S too have Active Noise Cancellation which makes both devices ideal for plane rides and morning commutes. The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 and Sony LinkBuds S operate with different noise cancellation modes, pick the noise cancellation type that suits your commute or that suites your chill time.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 stay well in place, this creates an acoustic seal that reduces your environment noise and also prevents the device sound from leaking out .
Both of these devices have passive noise reduction which means that they limit ambient noise instead of actively using technology to cancel it out.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, therefor producing better bass.
The driver unit is the component that produces sound in the earbuds, its size corellates with the loudness of the device.
Sony LinkBuds S driver unit is 5mm in diameter,
which implies that they have a smaller driver unit than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 4.2mm
, many people have a misconception that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.
However, large drivers usually have difficulty producing high frequencies so yeah, larger drivers are capable of generating louder sound, but this does not indicate that they deliver better quality sound.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well an audio component produces low frequencies that can be heard, and if it makes any changes to the signal on its way through.
Sony LinkBuds S's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this means that
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 make sound with a juicier bass than the Sony LinkBuds S
Bowers & Wilkins PI7's highest frequency is at 20,000Hz, high-frequency response measures if and how well an audio device generates high audible frequencies and if it makes any changes to the signal while at it.
Sony LinkBuds S's highest frequency is at 40,000Hz, this means that
Sony LinkBuds S can produce a clearer and crispier treble than the Bowers & Wilkins PI7
The Sony LinkBuds S have neodymium magnets, if used in audio devices produce a higher sensitivity and substantial sound output using less power to do so. They can help generate music at quite a high sound pressure level, with the use of high magnetic flux.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery life is 4.5 hours, these last less than 5 hours of listening which is considered average for a single charge. A device's battery life is given by the manufacturer, and with more battery hours, you get to use it for longer and have to charge the device less often.
Sony LinkBuds S's battery life is
more than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 1.5 hours
. Every time you recharge your earbuds, they get a little less playing time. The effect is barely noticeable at first, but over time, your wireless earbuds will no longer play for long like they used to.
This is given by the manufacturer, and Bowers & Wilkins PI7's case is said to have a charge of 18 hours. A charging case with a longer battery life enables you to recharge your earbuds on the go several times before recharging the case itself.
Sony LinkBuds S's charging case has a battery life of 14 hours,
less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 4 hours
It takes 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.
Sony LinkBuds S takes 2 hours to fully charge the battery,
less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 1 hours
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the device, you simply place down on a supported charging pad.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a battery level indicator, an indicator alerts you when the earbuds has a low battery. The battery indicator lights indicate the charging status of your earbuds and case.
Sony LinkBuds S too have a battery level indicator, these allow you to determine the charging state of your device, if charged fully, or having a low battery.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support USB TYPE-C, an industry-standard connector for transmitting both data and power through a single cable.
Sony LinkBuds S too have USB TYPE-C. This USB-C plug comes along with most current laptops, phones, and tablets.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have Bluetooth version of 5, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data movement between devices placed in range, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.
Sony LinkBuds S has a Bluetooth version of 5.2,
newer than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7
. Newer versions provide faster data transfers.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a 10meters distance connecting via Bluetooth.
Sony LinkBuds S have a maximum range of 10meters,
equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support AAC, a codec that is used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Because it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it provides better results than other codecs at a similar bit rate.
Being the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 will work fine with your iPhone. If you intend 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 Sony LinkBuds S 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.
The Sony LinkBuds S support LDAC, a codec developed by Sony which allows streaming high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections at up to 990 kbps at 32 bit/96 kHz. It can reach a high bitrate of 990kbps, providing high-resolution audio.
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).
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).
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have 6 microphones.
While the Sony LinkBuds S microphones are 6,
equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7
. More microphones record better sound quality and help the earbuds to filter out background sounds.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 use a noise-canceling microphone, these microphones are made to reduce noise from the earbuds' sound.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to channel ambient noises to still be heard even when wearing them
The Sony LinkBuds S support ambient sound mode as well, it’s useful when you want to listen to music while being aware of what’s happening around you, say you’re having a run but would still want to hear traffic.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the device can detect when they are removed from your ears so that the music is paused.
The Sony LinkBuds S support in/on-ear detection, automatically pauses your music, or audiobook when you remove earbuds from your ears saving battery life.
When misplaced in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support the find earbuds feature.
Sony LinkBuds S too have the find earbuds feature. Use the device app on your smartphone to play an alarm from your earbuds to find them.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support fast charging. Commonly, technologies like MediaTek’s Pump Express, are used to lower the amount of time it takes to fully charge the earbuds.
The Sony LinkBuds S too support fast charging. This kind is similar to regular charging, just that the battery is filling up much faster. Say, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery is charged to 50% in thirty minutes.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a mute function, they support the feature to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the earbuds.
The Sony LinkBuds S too have the mute function. It means that you unilaterally turn off the earbuds' microphone, but still hear the other party talk.
With the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, so you can access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever features are supported on the earbuds.
Sony LinkBuds S too have a control panel on them.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support voice prompts. With voice prompts, you receive information via audio messages, like if there is a problem with the connection.
The Sony LinkBuds S also support voice prompts .i.e the device notifies you if the battery is running low, and you need to recharge them.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 come with their own special pouch. Carrying earphones without a case, or placing them in your pockets without a cover can easily damage them.
Sony LinkBuds S too have a travel bag included, which is useful for safe transportation.