It's only been three months since British audio brand Bowers & Wilkins introduced its line of second-generation wireless headphones, but the company has seen fit to give the more affordable of the two options a new coat of paint.
Already available in Cloud Grey, Storm Grey, and Spring Lilac, B&W now offers the Pi5 S2 in a new colorway called "Sage." It looks pretty minty to us, but we definitely love the summery hue.
We also like that (as with older color variants) the Sage Pi5 S2 is a slightly scaled-down version of B&W's flagship Pi7 S2, and that's reflected in the more acceptable price point.
And Bowers & Wilkins' first Pi7 headphones, released in April 2021, are among the best high-end wireless headphones you can buy for sound quality, despite their hefty price tag, as you'll see in our Bowers & Wilkins review. Wilkins Pi7.
Opinion: Bowers & Wilkins has some of the best-looking headphones on the market, if you can afford them
The Pi5 S2s have Active Noise Cancellation with Ambient Transfer, use 9,2mm dynamic drivers, and support AAC, SBC, and AptX codecs, but they don't support AptX HD or AptX Adaptive like their bigger (and older) siblings. expensive). and you don't get the cool audio playback box feature of the Pi7 S2.
The Pi5 S2 includes two microphones per earcup (instead of three per earcup on the Pi7 S2) for use during phone calls, plus Bluetooth 5.0 support with five hours of playtime from the headphones and another 19 from the dump. of the case.
In terms of ANC, this step-down option gets 'low' or 'high' pass-through options instead of the user-selectable scaling on the Pi7 S2, but as an entry-level proposition that's understandable.
The new Sage Pi5 S2 is available now for $299 / £299 / AU$450 on the Bowers & Wilkins site, along with the three other color options.
Plot? You can read our thoughts on B&W's new top-tier proposition in our upcoming Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review.
Too hot for your blood right now? We hear you: there are plenty more wallet-friendly options in our best noise-canceling headphone buying guide.
Confused about whether to go in, turn on, or go ahead when it comes to headphones? That's great too, check out our article on choosing your next helmet.