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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge vs Bluesound PULSE 2i

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge
Bluesound PULSE 2i

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 17, 2023 04:16 PM

Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 27, 2023 05:23 PM

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Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Picture
Bluesound PULSE 2i Picture

Variants

  • Formation Wedge (Black)
  • Formation Wedge (Silver)
  • PULSE 2i (Black Matte)
  • PULSE 2i (White)

Our Verdict

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge

Bluesound PULSE 2i

The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge and the Bluesound PULSE 2i are two premium speakers with different strengths. They're both wired-only devices with different designs, and you may prefer one over the other based on your tastes. As for the sound, the Bluesound is a bit louder, while the Bowers & Wilkins brings a touch more bass.

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Black
Formation Wedge
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Black Matte
PULSE 2i
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Silver
Formation Wedge
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.3
7.2

Soundstage 
 

8.2
6.8

Dynamics 
 

7.4
8.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Style Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

3.1
4.5

Dimensions Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Dimensions Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

1,480 in³ (24,252 cm³)
984 in³ (16,128 cm³)

Weight 
 

14.1 lbs (6.4 kg)
11.3 lbs (5.1 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.4
6.4

Build Quality Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Build Quality Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

5.9
6.8

Controls Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Controls Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge Controls Photo 2
Bluesound PULSE 2i Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Decent

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

No
Yes (Tactile)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge In The Box Photo
Bluesound PULSE 2i In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.1
7.0

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.41
-0.26

Std. Err. 
 

3.11 dB
3.65 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

55.0 Hz
51.1 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

19.6 kHz
17.7 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

8.2
6.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

3.38 dB
6.06 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

7.4
8.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

96.6 dB SPL
101.6 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.13 dB
2.18 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
No

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

No
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

6.1
9.3

App Picture  

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge App Picture
Bluesound PULSE 2i App Picture

App Name 
 

Bowers & Wilkins Music
BluOS

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

No
Yes

Party Mode 
 

No
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
Yes

Other Ports 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

7.3
7.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.1
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

216 ms
201 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

112 ms
189 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
193.6 ft (59.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

7.5
7.7

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Unspecified
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

23 ms
154 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

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Black
Formation Wedge
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Black Matte
PULSE 2i
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Silver
Formation Wedge
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Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge

Bluesound PULSE 2i

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge vs Bluesound PULSE 2i: Main Discussion

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