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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:22 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jun 14, 2023 03:36 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Picture

Variants

  • PXC 550 Wireless
  • WH-1000XM2 (Black)
  • WH-1000XM2 (White)

Our Verdict

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless

Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless

The Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless are a slightly better and more customizable wireless headset than the Sony WH-1000XM2. The Sennheisers have a more customizable app, although it's not as well-made or as sleek as the Sonys. They also have a bit more control over their features than the WH-1000XM2. Their default sound quality is also a bit more balanced with instruments and vocals than the Sony, although they do have less bass. On the upside, the WH-1000XM2 look more premium than the Sennheisers. They also have much better noise cancelation that can optimize for different environments and will be more suitable for commute and travel than the PXC 550 Wireless.

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PXC 550 Wireless
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WH-1000XM2
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PXC 550 Wireless
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WH-1000XM2
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Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.2
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Design Picture 2
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Comfort Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.51 lbs
0.61 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.97 lbs
0.9 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

7.6
7.2

Controls Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Controls Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Okay

Feedback  

Decent
Okay

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

Adjustable
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

Adjustable
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Bluetooth Sync + Presets
No
Show text

Breathability 
 

6.7
6.4

Breathability After Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Breathability After Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5 °C
6 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

6.5
6.1

Portability Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Portability Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Portability Picture

 

7"
4.9" (12.4 cm)

 

6.3"
6.0" (15.2 cm)

 

1.4"
3.3" (8.4 cm)

Volume  

62 in³
96.00 in³ (1,573.15 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show text

Case 
 

7.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Case Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

7"
7.1" (18.0 cm)

 

7.63"
8.1" (20.6 cm)

 

2.5"
2.4" (6.1 cm)

Volume  

133.53 in³
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Stability Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Angled Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Side Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Front Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Rear Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Top Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless In The Box Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-2.66 dB
1.85 dB

Treble Amount 
 

0.08 dB
-2.22 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.9
8.0

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.64 dB
0.4 dB
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.6
8.0

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.82 dB
2.8 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

29.54 Hz
10.15 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-2.42 dB
1.94 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-0.9 dB
2.49 dB

High-Bass 
 

2.28 dB
4.21 dB
Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.9
7.8

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.44 dB
2.94 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.34 dB
1.32 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.21 dB
-2.89 dB

High-Mid 
 

1.88 dB
1.58 dB
Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.3
8.4

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.62 dB
2.38 dB

Low-Treble 
 

0.49 dB
1.38 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

2.42 dB
-0.31 dB

High-Treble 
 

-2.35 dB
-12.79 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
7.0

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.59 dB
1.97 dB

Dips 
 

1.48 dB
1.56 dB

Imaging 
 

8.1
8.7

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.34
0.15

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

12.16
3.94

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.54
0.79

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.89
1.79
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.3
3.9

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

5.31 dB
5.03 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.43 dB
10 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

4.09 dB
9.17 dB

Openness 
 

3.9
0.7

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.2
3.4
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
6.4

Virtual Soundstage  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
Presets

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
360 Reality Audio
Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.6
7.3

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.213
0.337

WHD @ 100 
 

0.171
0.246

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Codec 
 

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default
Off

ANC 
 

Maximum
On

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

6.1
9.1

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-14.53 dB
-28.14 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Bass 
 

-4.07 dB
-18.8 dB

Mid 
 

-16.47 dB
-26.11 dB

Treble 
 

-24.36 dB
-40.11 dB
Show text

Leakage 
 

7.2
7.0

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

38.4 dB
39.63 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

Yes
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show text

Recording Quality 
 

6.7
6.3

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

293.44 Hz
273 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.68 dB
4.35 dB

HFE 
 

3,517.32 Hz
3,272.31 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

2.138
13.969

Gain 
 

36.92 dB
43.08 dB
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

7.2
6.3

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

21.98 dB
6.61 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

6.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.6
8.4

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

27.5 hrs
28 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

27.5 hrs
28 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.1 hrs
3.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

No
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB
Show text

App Support 
 

6.5
8.5

App Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless App Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Sennheiser Smart Control
Sony| Headphones Connect

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

Presets
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

Adjustable
On/Off

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

Yes
Yes

Playback Control 
 

No
Yes

Button Mapping  

No
Yes

Surround Support 
 

No
Yes
Show text
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.5
7.4

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

NFC Pairing 
 

Yes
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

145 ft
172.00 ft (52.43 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

200 ms
304 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

171 ms
230 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
299 ms

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

273 ms
13 ms

Android Latency 
 

137 ms
70 ms
Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show text

Wired 
 

9.2
9.5

Cable Picture  

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Cable Picture
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.4 ft
5.00 ft (1.52 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

32 ms
0 ms
Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show text

Check Price

Standard
PXC 550 Wireless
Searching
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Black
WH-1000XM2
Searching
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Standard
PXC 550 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
White
WH-1000XM2
Searching
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Standard
PXC 550 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Standard
PXC 550 Wireless
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Standard
PXC 550 Wireless
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Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless

Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless

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