Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 Vs. Sony Wf C500 Review In Detail

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 IP54

Sony WF C500 IPX4

IP ratings refer to the rank of protection given by a casing, against dust and water. The letters 'IP' are followed by two values The first value refers to protection against solids such as dust, while the second refers to resistance 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 the second value of 4 means 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, Sony WF C500 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

Sony WF C500 10.8g

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a weight of 50g . We consider a lower weight better for the reason that lighter devices are easier to transport.

The Sony WF C500, at 10.8g are lighter than the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 with a difference -39.2g

Has No Wires Or Cables

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✓

True wireless devices have no cables connecting any part of the device together, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 are true wireless for this case since they don't have cables. This is an important difference as some wireless earbuds have cables linking the pair of earbuds together.

Sony WF C500 also is true wireless since it doesn't have cables linking the two earbuds together.

Sweat Resistance

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✗

Sony WF C500 ✓

Sony WF C500 have sweat resistance

Has Stereo Speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✓

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.

The Sony WF C500 also have stereo speakers

Bowers & Wilkins PI7
See price on Amazon

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✗

ANC makes use of advanced kind of tech to reduce unwanted ambient sounds. How it works, it listens to the sound pattern of incoming noise and generates a mirror signal to counter it. In simple terms, it's like having +1 (noise) then adding -1 (counter sound by the device) giving 0 resulting in a reduced level of noise.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have ANC allowing you to listen at lower volume levels, causing less ear fatigue since you don't need to crank up the device volume to overcome background noise.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✓

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 stay well in place, this creates an acoustic covering that reduces background noise and also prevents the device music from leaking out .

Both Sony WF C500, and Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have passive noise reduction this means that they limit ambient noise instead of actively using technology to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 9.2mm

Sony WF C500 5.8mm

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a unit size of 9.2mm in diameter, bigger drivers are more powerful, therefor producing better bass. A driver unit is the component that produces sound in the earbuds, its size dictates the loudness of the earbuds.

Sony WF C500 driver unit is 5.8mm in diameter, which means that they have a smaller driver unit than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 3.4mm , as many tend to believe 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 can generate louder sound, but this does not indicate that they produce better quality sound.

Lowest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 10Hz

Sony WF C500 20Hz

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, low-frequency response measures if and how well an audio device produces low frequencies that can be heard, and if it alters the signal while at it.

Sony WF C500's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this implies that Bowers & Wilkins PI7 make sound with a juicier bass than the Sony WF C500

Highest Frequency

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 20,000Hz

Sony WF C500 20,000Hz

Bowers & Wilkins PI7's highest frequency is at 20,000Hz, high-frequency response measures if and how well a particular audio device produces high audible frequencies and if it adjustments to the signal while at it.

Sony WF C500's highest frequency is at 20,000Hz, this means that both devices generate equal treble

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Battery Life

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 4.5hours

Sony WF C500 10hours

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 usually given by the manufacturer, and with longer battery life, you get to use it for longer and have to charge the device less often.

Sony WF C500's battery life is more than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 5.5 hours . Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less listening time. The effect is not noticeable at first, but over a few years, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 18hours

Sony WF C500 10hours

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

Sony WF C500's charging case has a battery life of 10 hours, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 8 hours

Charge Time

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 3hours

Sony WF C500 2.5hours

It takes 3 hours to fully charge the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery. It is recommended to fully charge the battery before using the earbuds when they have been unused for extended periods.

Sony WF C500 takes 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 0.5 hours

Has Wireless Charging

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✗

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

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Sony WF C500 ✗

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).

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Number Of Microphones

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 6only

Sony WF C500 2only

The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have 6 microphones.

Sony WF C500 microphones are 2, less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and enable the device to filter out noise.

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Bowers & Wilkins PI7 ✓

Category	Features	Bowers & Wilkins PI7	Sony WF C500
DESIGN	ingress protection (ip) rating	IP54	IPX4
	weight	50g	10.8g
	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	5.8mm
	lowest frequency	10Hz	20Hz
	highest frequency	20,000Hz	20,000Hz
POWER	battery life	4.5hours	10hours
	battery life of charging case	18hours	10hours
	charge time	3hours	2.5hours
	has wireless charging	✓	✗
	has a battery level indicator	✓	✓
CONNECTIVITY	has usb type-c	✓	✓
	bluetooth version	v5	v5
	maximum bluetooth range	10meters	9meters
	has aac	✓	✓
	has aptx adaptive	✓	✗
	has aptx hd	✓	✗
MICROPHONE	number of microphones	6only	2only
MICROPHONE	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	✓	✓
	warranty period	✗	1Years
	has voice prompts	✓	✓
	travel bag is included	✓	✓
		See price on Amazon	See price on Amazon

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 Vs. Sony Wf C500 Review

Reasons why you might like the Bowers & Wilkins PI7

Reasons why you might like the Sony WF C500