Costco Members: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones Expired

I bought the s2, s2e and momentums over black Friday to see which I liked best. Comfort which is very subjective, I like the bowers better as they are a little smaller and seemed more "sleek" for traveling. The build on the bowers is also a bit nicer and felt like a more expensive set of headphones. Sound wise I wanted to like the s2 better but every time I put the momentums on it was very obvious the sound was better. Not only does it have much better control with different EQ settings in the app, the soundstage was noticeably much bigger in the momentums. In the end I didn't like the touch controls on the momentums and returned those for that reason. On the s2 I liked the physical buttons, the higher build quality, and the way they looked better. As someone mentioned, the bowers may be trying to go for accuracy, which I would agree with as it felt like they just had a flat EQ in most things I listened to and there was no adjustment in the app. I ultimately returned the s2 for that reason and tried the s2e as a final resort. For me that was the best compromise of the 3. They had the physical build characteristics I liked in the s2 with an "Updated" sound pulled from the px8. The fact they came out with the s2e update makes me think they knew the s2 sound offering was a bit weak compared to the competition. The soundstage seemed to have been opened up a bit, not quite momentum level, but better than the original s2. It was noticeable that bass was improved also.

If sound quality is the primary driving force I'd do the momentums without question over either bowers model. If the physical buttons or design aspects are in consideration there can be reasons to go with the s2's. For me I had other nice headphones for listening at home so the look/feel/function was most important for me on this purchase so I compromised a little on the sound. I say "compromise" but I love my s2e's I settled with. I think if I had never done the side by side comparison I might have even kept the original s2's. At this price and with costco return policy I'd say you can't go wrong giving the s2 a try if they are on your radar.

Anker brands must be popular with certain portion of the population bc every time there is a legitimate high-end, authentic quality brand someone wants to compare it to an Anker. Sure that Civic is nice and checks all the right boxes but have you been in an S class?

This or the Sennheiser Momentum 4 that's $25 more?