Bowers & Wilkins Comparison: Pi5 S2 vs. Pi6

Bowers and Wilkins has launched a pair new pairs of earbuds to provide listeners a contemporary new sound they’ll get pleasure from. From the Pi7 S2 to the Pi8, there was a convincing settlement that the improve was effectively well worth the wait. For individuals who had the even older mannequin of the Pi5 S2, the Pi6 is available in as a worthy competitor to take its place. How do the 2 stack up in opposition to one another? Immediately we check out each side-by-side and see what sort of upgrades Bowers & Wilkins has made. 

What Comes In The Field

From one mannequin to the following, the included objects don’t range. You get your earbuds, the designated charging case, some spare eartips, and a charging cable. The Pi6 offers you a shorter cable, however another choice for an ear tip dimension so you’ll find the fitting match. 

Aesthetics and Performance

The look of the earbud has gotten a whole redesign. We’ve seen this within the Pi7 S2 to Pi8 improve, and it’s an analogous precept right here. The Pi6 opts for an in-ear design that’s extra flush to the form of your ear slightly than having two contact pads that stick out just like the Pi5 S2. The colour choices are additionally a bit completely different. They each have a black and white colour choice; the Pi5 S2 is available in with a purple colour, and the Pi6 offers you two extra choices of a glacier blue or forest inexperienced. All of the shades are pale and mild, making them a pleasant accent visually earlier than any sound even begins. 

The perform of the earbuds is the place the finer particulars of distinction could be discovered. The Pi5 S2 has a button within the charging case that lets you activate pairing mode, so it is easy to see the LED indicator change to blue to point that. In the meantime, the Pi6 depends on the sensors to get them up and working in your system. I discovered it was troublesome to get the Pi6 to pair correctly upon an preliminary pairing, however with a little bit persistence, we had been up and working very quickly. The button on the Pi5 S2 made it a lot simpler to pair, with a transparent method to activate and deactivate the pairing mode. 

As for the controls on every of those, the sensitivity on the Pi6 was significantly better than the Pi5 S2. Although the pad on the Pi5 S2 was extra obvious within the design, it was simpler to toggle between instructions with the Pi6 than the Pi5 S2. The app additionally allowed for extra controls of your sound within the Pi6. With a brand new function of a two band EQ, you may customise the sound by adjusting the bass and treble. The Pi5 S2 doesn’t have this function, except you herald a third-party software program to tune the sound you hear. 

Tech Specs

A distinction you’ll discover between the 2 earbuds are their driver items. The Pi5 S2 has a traditional dynamic driver, sized at 9.2mm so it is compact however nonetheless packing a punch. In the meantime, the Pi6 opts for a bio-cellulose 12mm driver to permit for unbelievable element and immersive qualities. The Pi6 provides on a number of extra options, like longer battery life and 2-band EQ to customise your sound within the Bowers & Wilkins app. 

Listening Assessment

Soundstage & ANC

Now to speak about what we’ve all been ready for: the soundstage. The signatures of those two earbuds are a bit completely different, although not too drastically. The Pi5 S2 has a reasonably slender signature, with first rate imaging. The signature of those earbuds leans on the bass heavy facet, and that stays true if you transfer to the Pi6. They widened the soundstage within the newer mannequin, and the imaging improves with that. Listening to some classical items, you may see how the detailing and imaging ranges up from one mannequin to the following. 

One other factor that obtained improved upon was the noise cancelation. There’s a significantly better and extra comfy seal on the Pi6 than the Pi5 S2, making the listening expertise rather more immersive. I felt extra remoted from my environment with the Pi6, which was a lot most popular versus getting interrupted and brought out of the second. That being mentioned, the Pi5 S2 nonetheless has good noise cancellation; the distinction between cross by and ANC mode just isn’t very distinguishable, and is extra obvious within the Pi6. 

Low Frequencies

The Pi5 S2 offers a low finish that’s deep and thumping. It’s really essentially the most distinguished factor within the sound signature, and never for nothing, it actually doesn’t maintain again. Typically it feels a bit overpowering in comparison with different sounds, however in the event you’re a basshead and love the low finish greater than something, you’ll love these. The Pi6 follows go well with, however with a bit extra management and refined texture to provide an additional layer of readability throughout the vary. Whereas listening to some rock tracks, you can inform that there was quite a lot of energy and drive within the bass finish. Kick drums and heavy bass traces had been the celebs of many tracks, and the added element from the Pi6 made it a really entertaining sound. 

Mid-Vary Frequencies

As I’ve written in my preliminary assessment of the Pi6, the mid-range is a bit absent from the general signature. The element is there, however it sounds scooped out and falls up to now into the background that it hardly makes a distinction if I can hear it or not. This can be a high quality that didn’t change from the Pi5 S2. It is not the smoothest sound on the planet, so that you get quite a lot of added texture that isn’t on the nice facet. I’ll give the Pi6 credit score for cleansing up the distortion finish of issues and including some element that makes the vary tuned effectively. The one draw back is the way it could possibly be extra distinguished within the general signature. 

Excessive Frequencies

The excessive finish is available in with crisp element and general stability for the sound signature in each earbuds. I appreciated the stability that got here from the Pi5 S2 versus the Pi6; it felt extra even throughout the board. The equal energy from the excessive finish makes it match the bass, and also you get an in depth excessive finish you may hear. The Pi6 holds much less energy in its excessive finish, however it shines in readability and colour. Whereas the low finish nonetheless overtakes this different vary, the excessive finish nonetheless has sufficient crispness and airiness to chop by a few of the overwhelming lows.

While you have a look at the inventory settings of the earbuds, the Pi5 S2 appears to have the higher excessive finish response. Nonetheless, keep in mind that the Pi6 permits for treble and bass customization by the app. Tuning the Pi6 with the two-band EQ makes the excessive finish element come out fantastically and elevates the sound to a balanced, colourful signature.

Abstract

In conclusion, there’s loads to understand about each of those earbuds. The Pi5 S2 was an amazing earbud for individuals trying to get some prime quality sound on a finances, coming in with a balanced sound signature and highly effective low finish that bassheads will get pleasure from. Then we get launched to the Pi6, the place all the great qualities of the Pi6 had been taken and elevated with element and refinement to make a smoother listening expertise. With extra options to customise your sound, I’d say the Pi6 is a worthy improve and would a lot choose it over the Pi5 S2. 

I extremely recommend making an attempt each earbuds out for your self earlier than buying. Everybody hears a little bit in a different way, so it is best to provide each a hear and see what sounds finest in your ears. 

The Pi5 S2 and the Pi6 are each obtainable at the moment at Audio46.