Tech-N-Things

Earphones’ subjective views are plentiful. Nothing ever makes sense to me about it. If one earphone is great, then it should be great for everyone, but it’s not. On top of this, the reliability should also be either there or not. I’ve read too many people swear by products, only to see these same people turn on them as soon as the next model comes out. Then only then do they tell us about the problems with the other model. They never tell us the issues while the item is new and before a bunch of people buy it.

Confirmed as issues are:

1..Confirmed issues with battery..

• Battery reads 60% and can jump back up to 70% randomly and then back down for no reason.

   • You get 20 hours or less ONLY.

   • 100% battery life drops to 94% in less than 3 minutes of use.

2.. Touch controls aren’t calibrated.

     • The touch controls have a delay to them and an annoying sound effect.

3. You don’t get full controls

• You still have to leave things on your phone. You have no ability to control volume AND ANC… you have to pick. You also have to pick up your phone if you want to turn off anc / or hear thru. Off is only available in the app.

• ANC : Is not all that effective. It’s one of the very weakest AnC on the market released this year. Be careful of those that claim otherwise…it’s not.

Now unto what they did right….

• Case transmitter is better than I thought, and more was more useful than I believed it to be. Powerful tool!
• The look of the pi8 is very good. They look like pieces of art in your ear, and the case is very well crafted, not too big. Best of all, they look expensive and nice in your ears, being that you spent $400 on them.
• 2 year warranty is always a welcome site especially for the cost.
• Very stable connection, unlike the previous model.
• The comfort is tied with the very best in the world. They just slide in smoothly and sit very still. They really help create a feeling of not being there, which is very important to the sound.
• Sound: Well, this is probably my  most shocking and exciting thing. It’s right there with the Denon perl Pro’s as the absolute best in bluetooth. They still fall to second because their Bass levels are just not at the level of deep depth that Perl Pro have but to get 2nd is way better than I believed they would be. In fact, for audiophiles … this just might be the ONE because of balance and controlled bass.

** The Resolution, Soundstage, and Clarity is amongst “The Best” I’ve experienced. And because of this, ASMR and / or Podcast like Sandman series sound better than anything ever experienced on any other earphones. Even more details and clarity over the Perl Pro’s.

   • HEAR THROUGH: Way better than I believed it to be. It’s not airpods, but nothing is for hear thru, but it’s nice.

   • VOLUME POWER: I was blown away at the efficiency of the volume power, at least on my android phone. I don’t have to play any music past 30% volume, and it’s loud enough.

• Battery Life : It was a mixed bag. On one hand I got good hours out each charge and realistically the average use will not feel short as it will most likely last 2 days or more for the normal user that uses it for a couple of hours here or there.

• Immersion : For some reason I’m able to get myself immersed into my music, podcast stories, and or Asmr much deeper with this earphone for some reason. I truly feel separated from life when I put them on listening to my favorite track or genre of music and sound quicker and easier than I have with any other earphone. Basically I can forget life, where I am, my problems, fears, or anything else that normally runs inside my mind daily.
  And it is there where I feel something is different and unique about them. Sure I was able to do this with other earphones with focus and purpose, but with these it’s just natural and unforced, or without purpose.

• Venting : Thank God! So many times I find earphones that truly become something I want to keep with me only to find out that I have increased in my headaches since using them. I already suffer with Migraine from time to time and I don’t need the tools I use daily to increase that rate because they lack venting. My previous favorites like the Sennheiser or the Earfun Air Pro 4’s don’t have venting or don’t have the proper venting. I stopped using them because of that. The Bowers and Wilkins pi8 have that needed Venting. They just fit inside your ear without pressure even if ANC is activated and that is a rarity.

• Timbre: And last and possibly the greatest accomplishment for me, is its Timbre. Omg, the Timbre and the proper tonality of the sounds, instruments, and vocals are superior to all other earphones I’ve ever experience. This is where the Audiophile in me grants the nod over the Denon Perl Pro. If you seeking the most accurate sound representation of your music or sound without trying to overly sparkle things or over hit bass, the Bowers and Wilkins Pi8 were designed with those things in mind over the exaggerated tones and bass hits of all others that make them a little more fun in the Consumer minds. If the goal is to be accurate and faithful to what the intent was from the sound or song, the Bowers and Wilkins pi8 are the bluetooth earphone to do it.

So in closing, we have been here before and we will be here again in the future, I’m sure. I’ve lived and learned so much and I’m sure I’m not done learning things. But on this hour, on this day, the Bowers and Wilkins pi8 has become my new favorite earphone despite it’s limits and imperfections because what it does well, fits me. The Look,Comfort, Sound, and Immersion are everything to me because I’m so in love with sound and how to create it as accurate as possible. No, I’m not happy with the cost, software calibrations, battery life being on 20 hours, nor the touch control delays but I wouldn’t think twice to rebuying this product again if I was do this all over again and I knew all these things before buying it. I would still pick spending the $400 even faster most likely, not because I think it’s a fair price, but because I can’t give up on what it has delivered now that I’ve experienced it.