Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 Review: Cheaper Than AirPods Pro… But Better?

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The Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 earbuds give you access to Bowers & Wilkins' signature sound profile with deep, rich bass and excellent mid range frequencies. They stumble slightly at higher frequencies and the noise-cancelling could be better. But, there aren't many better sounding earbuds at this price point.

The Good

1. Confident sound profile with deep bass
2. Comfy, secure fit
3. Look the part
4. Among the best sound on offer at this price

The Bad

1. Pass-through mode isn't great
2. Noise-cancelling is ok, but not as good as AirPods Pro 2
3. Top end frequiencies are slightly sharp

• User Ratings (6 Votes)
  7

A few weeks back, I reviewed the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 and claimed they are the best-sounding earbuds I’ve ever placed in my ears. The only product they’ve bettered in that category is – you guessed it – the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7.

But what if you spend £130 less? Well, stick with Bowers & Wilkins on that front and you’ll end up with the Pi6. 

On the face of it, Bowers & Wilkins’ ‘cheaper’ earbuds are almost identical to the Pi8, save for some funkier colours and, well, what else? 

More importantly, given that they’re cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2, should you go the way of Bowers & Wilkins or Apple?

Let’s find out.

Specs and pricing

The Pi6 are available in four colours, including the rather lovely Cloud Grey I was sent to review.

Inside, there are 12mm bio-cellulose drivers driven by a 24-bit DSP, which are capable of aptX Adaptive. Bluetooth 5.4 is on connectivity duties, and there’s also multipoint functionality. Water resistance is rated at IP54.

Three mics per earbud for calls and active noise cancelling (ANC) complete a package which can deliver 24 hours of battery life in total with the case, and eight hours with the buds alone (with ANC switched on).

The Pi6 are priced at £219, which places them squarely in ‘ooh, these need to be on my list’ territory. That’s quite a feat for Bowers & Wilkins, whose product pricing more often verges on the side of premium.

The big question is, what do you get from a brand like this when you spend less?

Design and comfort

Just like the Pi8, the Pi6 are a lovely-looking pair of earbuds. They feature a glossy finish and the Bowers & Wilkins logo on the end of the earbud. The case, while made from plastic, feels and looks great, too.

That case is surprisingly light, too, given its size. It’s not huge, but it is bigger than the AirPods Pro 2 case, which means the lack of heft is very welcome; I’ll take that when combined with looks that are as good as these.

I’m not usually a non-stem earbud kind of person, but the Pi8 taught me to open my ears a little (excuse the pun) on that front. The good news is that the Pi6 are just as comfortable as their more expensive brethren and stay in my ears no matter what I’m doing – including working out.

When it comes to design, fit, and comfort, Bowers & Wilkins is more than capable of demonstrating its prowess. For a relatively modest outlay, you’re getting what looks and feels like an upmarket pair of earbuds with a case that’s just as satisfying to use, hold, and, well, look at.

Sound

The Pi6 offer an engaging sound, straight out of the box. On that note, it’s worth bearing in mind that the Bowers & Wilkins app is limited for EQ with these earbuds – you get the ability to tweak the low end and the high end… and that’s it.

That’s not really an issue, though. I’m firmly of the mind that when it comes to brands like Bowers & Wilkins and their influence on consumer audio, one shouldn’t need to tweak the EQ much, if at all.

The Pi6 offer plenty of bass, the midrange is nicely pronounced (in a Bowers & Wilkins fashion, which is a very good thing indeed), and the top end, while at times a bit sharper than I like personally, is nicely detailed. The sound stage and detail throughout the EQ range are, as you’d expect, superb.

Play something like Jack of Speed by Steely Dan, and you’ll hear exactly what these earbuds are capable of. It’s reproduced in such a bright, defined, and tight fashion that it’s impossible not to be impressed.

They even dealt with my headphone killer test track, Breathe Again by Pop Evil admirably. That song is no sweat for a pair of earbuds like these, which sums up the Pi6 sonics perfectly – it’s grown up, confident, and knock-out for this price range.

Noise cancelling

The noise cancelling on the Pi6 gets the job done. Bowers & Wilkins have been honest about this in the press briefings I’ve attended; they favour audio performance over ANC. This is because, the more you tune an earbud driver for noise-cancelling duties, the more of an impact it has on the audio.

That impact won’t be particularly noticeable to a lot of users, but if you’re buying Bowers & Wilkins stuff, you’re probably already erring on the side of sonic performance. If you sit in that camp, it’ll be reassuring to hear that the Pi6 offer adequate ANC alongside that superb sound.

You can still hear a lot of higher frequencies, and the Pi6 are never going to cope particularly well with the sound of an aircraft engine, or the battering ANC earbuds and headphones take on trains. But they get the job done.

The pass-through mode (whereby you let the outside world in so you can be aware of your surroundings and hear your voice) isn’t great. The world sounds muffled and it is a country mile from what the AirPods Pro 2 are capable of. Once again, though, it gets the job done.

Pi6 vs Pi8

Despite outward appearances, there are some notable differences between the £349 Pi8 and the £219 Pi6.

Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship earbuds gain aptX Lossless support and slightly better ANC than the Pi6. they also feature wireless retransmission, which is a technology that enables the user to connect the Pi8 earbud case to an audio source and enjoy scaled-up audio from that source. This is particularly useful during air travel, for instance, where you might want to use your Pi8s over the dreadful airline-supplied headphones.

The Pi8 also have wireless charging, but they don’t last quite as long as the Pi6 (6.5 hours versus eight hours, respectively).

When it comes to sound, to the untrained ear, the Pi8 are simply beefier and more controlled, with the top end absent of that slightly harsh response I occasionally heard on the Pi6. But for the audiophile, or anyone who knows their audio, the difference is tangible – as is the presence of lossless support.

Noise cancelling? If it is better, it’s only by the slimmest of margins. Once again, on that front, the Pi8 simply get the job done.

Pi6 vs AirPods Pro 2

Spend an extra £10, and you can get yourself the AirPods Pro 2 over the Pi6. At this price level that is, admittedly, pocket change, but if you’re researching earbuds within this budget, these are two pairs you really should compare.

When it comes to sound, there’s no contest – the Pi6 beat the AirPods Pro 2 hands-down. The latter are a great-sounding pair of earbuds – the best Apple has ever made in that regard – but they can’t compete with the many years of sonic heritage from which the Pi6 benefit. If sound is your main requirement, I’d seriously consider the Pi6.

If noise cancelling is more important to you, and if you’re a staunch Apple ecosystem user, there’s no competition – this time, in Apple’s favour. The AirPods Pro 2 remain one of the top-tier performers for ANC, and the transparency mode is unmatched. Then, you get all of the Apple ecosystem goodness: switching seamlessly between as many Apple devices as you have within your iCloud account, Find My support, and tight integration with Apple’s first-party apps. Then, there’s spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support – two things which aren’t on offer from the Pi6.

I’ll let you conclude this one, but it should be a fairly easy choice if you take into consideration your key requirements.

Conclusion

Calling the Pi6 a budget earbud option feels odd, given their price and the fact they’re a Bowers & Wilkins product. But that’s pretty much where they sit in this realm, and I’m happy to report that you get an awful lot for your money.

The Pi6 are a pair of earbuds that you fall in love with quickly after opening that lovely case for the first time. That love will only deepen when you listen to your favourite tracks on them, and any misgivings about the quality of the ANC will probably evaporate.

The only other consideration is that the recent AirPods 4 have come along and upped the game in terms of value at an even lower price point. Check out my AirPods 4 review for more on that.

I’m glad Bowers & Wilkins have something as good as this to offer at this price point. The absence of truly stand-out ANC means I can’t rate them higher than four stars, but I understand why Bowers & Wilkins has made that concession, and trust me, it’s a solid four stars.

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