SENNHEISER PXC 550

Design & Construction

The Sennheiser PXC 550 is the Sennheise first flagship Active Noise Cancelling headphone. Hidden under the arms on the right earcup, you will find the Bluetooth pairing switch. At the rear of the right earcup, you will (From Top-Bottom): NC switch, the sound profiles button, the Micro-USB port and the 2.5mm input. Controlling the rest of the playback functions are on the right earcup itself. Swipe down for Vol-, swipe up for Vol+ swipe towards the front for next track, swipe backwards for previous track, tap once to play/pause, double tap to hear your surroundings and hold down to check the remaining battery status. The headphones also feature a Smart Pause feature which allows users to pause the music when they take one side of the headphones off to hear someone. Pairing via both NFC and bluetooth is simple and quick. Both earcups bear the Sony logo and the left earcup has the NFC. The headphones has soft cushions which is meant for providing a comfortable experience. The headband is very light and will not cause discomfort to those who wear spectacles. On the headband, there is also cushioned headrest which provides a good amount of comfort. The exterior of the headphones gives off this classy black and silver colour scheme which resist fingerprints smudges very well. On the top, the headband holding the structure is made of metal and plastic and the earcups pivot left and right and folds flat for easy storage. To turn on the headphones, turn it to the normal usage position and to turn off, fold it flat.

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Sound Quality

The 40mm headphone drivers provide a very neutral experience. It has this clear audio signature that is rather balanced. Based on user experience, the noise isolation decent, I could not hear much of my surroundings when there was no music on. Highs, mids and lows are balanced but not emphasized. It isn't a plain, flat and boring sound signature though. If you desire more vocals, bass or treble, tuning the equalizer in the CapTune app does help. The noise-cancelling function works well in noisy envronments and muffles most of the plane noise and voices, The higher frequencies like voices are more apparent though. The Noise Cancelling can be toggle to your liking via the CapTune App available for download on the App Store and Play Store. Call quality was fantastic, the caller could hear me clearly on the other end and didn't know I was using the headphone mic to communicate. During a call, the headphone allows you to hear your own voice so you don't need to talk too loudly to make sure you and the caller on the other end can hear you.

Connectivity & Portability

The headphone operates both passively via the 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable and wirelessly via Bletooth Ver 4.2. Listening via the Micro-USB cable is possible. The battery life peaks at 20 hours with Noise-Cancelling On and 30 hours with Noise-Cancelling off. The headphones' connectivity to the app is 100% perfect, detecting my headphones when its already connected via Bluetooth. The headphones stow flat and folds up into a more compact profile. It also comes with a micro USB cable for charging, a 1.2m 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable with inline remote for wired use, a 6.3mm adaptor and an airplane adapter plug to tap into in-flight entertainment. A hard carry case is also included to protect the headphone from drops and scratches.

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PROS

• Clear, Bright Sound Signature

• Snug & Comfortable

• Long Battery Life

• Easy Controls For Music Play & Calls

• Surrounding Sound Mode

• Smart Pause

• Equalizer In App

• NoiseGard Noise Cancelling

• Listening Profiles

• Folds Up into a Smaller Profile

• Hard Carry Case

• App Support

• Light-Weight

• Airplane Adapter Plug

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CONS​​

• Only One Colour Available

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The Bottom Line

The Sennheiser PXC 550 is a top-notch noise-cancelling headphone housing comfortable ear cushions, fantastic noise-cancelling, 40mm balanced drivers, long 30 hours battery life and easy to use controls. It is highly recommended for daily commutes and long flights. However, only one colour option is available.