Audio Quality & Comfort
The Sennheiser PXC 550 produces some great sounds, for such a compact pair of headphones. Sticking it it signature Sennheiser sounds, the audio is rich and full of depth. Comparing the PXC 550 with the Momentum 2.0 Over-Ears I reviewed before, the PXC 550’s sound is distinctly not as rich, but this is made up by the active noise cancellation (ANC) built into it. Turn up the bass and the PXC 550 excels giving you a deep layered bass that is rich and punchy.
There are 2 settings for the ANC (apart from Off); On and Adaptive. Flick the switch to its medium position, and the ANC kicks in and I started to feel a little pressure on my ears, but not as severe as over ANC headphones I’ve tested in the past. Flip the switch further, and the ANC is in its Adpative mode which varies in the intensity depending on the amount of ambient noise. Even when I was in a noisy commuting environment, the ANC kicked in negating the noise so that I can enjoy my music to their fullest.
Pairing the headphone to my smartphone was done without any fuss, and starting Sennheiser’s Captone app enabled me to set all sorts of equalizer presets which I could program into the Effects button on the headphones.
The use of soft leather on the ear cups and headband is one of those things I look for in a comfortable pair of headphones. No matter what the latest and greatest materials are which are supposed to provide you with better comfort, I will always prefer soft leather, and in the PXC 550’s case, it doesn’t disappoint.
Putting the PXC 550 on, and you feel a grip across your ears, but one that is actually comforting, giving you the knowledge that the headphone is held securely on your head. The grip is not overbearing to the point that it will give you headaches. The soft headband sits on top of your head and in no way did I feel it pushing down on me.
In much the same respect the ear cups feels very comfortable when worn. Due to how compact the ear cups are on the PXC 550, those with big ears might find that the edges of their ears might run against the leather giving them some discomfort. In my first use, I wore the PXC 550 from a full charge right down until the batteries were drained, and I did not feel tired wearing them.
I also like that the PXC 550 has minimal controls, just less bits to fiddle with that gets in the way of me enjoying my music. A simple tap on the right ear cup and I paused the music, and another tap to resume. Volume control does take a little getting used to as you slide you fingers up and down the outside of the right ear cup.
