For those that were targeted for the Amex Sennheiser Spend $100 Get 15% credit (from https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/625494 - deal says expired but Sennheiser one says expiring today in my Amex app). Was reminded by my Amex app that this deal was expiring soon so had a look on Sennheiser AU site and came across this decent deal when also using Cashrewards/Shopback.
Additional 7% off with Cashrewards or Shopback.
The PXC 550-II seems to be good value at this price. Not the cheapest ever though (looks like that was in the very short-lived deal posted https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/579775)
These are the pros and cons I've gathered from my research (though I'm not an audiophile, nor have I used these myself yet).
Pros:
- Good balanced sound (seem to be regarded better than Sony WH-1000XM3/4 unless you like bass heavy cans)
- Good mic quality (better than Sony WH-1000XM3/4)
- Light-weight, weighing only 227g
- Good ANC (not quite at Sony XM3/4 levels though)
- Bluetooth 5.0, supporting SBC, AAC, AptX, and AptX LL, multi-point connection
- USB audio (https://www.reddit.com/r/sennheiser/comments/iwbpoy/pxc_550_…)
- The anti-wind ANC function is apparently good outdoors
- Decent touchpad controls if you like that (like double tap for ambient mode)
- 20 hours battery life when using wirelessly with ANC (the 30 hours advertised is wired + ANC), similar to Sony
Cons:
- Micro-USB (why???)
- Limited EQ adjustment in the app
- Won't satisfy bass-heads
- Apparently the max volume isn't super loud/ear-splitting (though I value my hearing so fine by me)
- Some might not like the look of the egg-shaped cups
- ANC ambient mode pauses the music, so can't have music playing + environmental audio coming in (some people seem to care about this)
Check out some reviews below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TlsQmf7XtQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdRW5QY6l9M
I ended up ordering a pair as I wanted a pair of comfortable ANC headphones, primarily for use at the office, without compromising too much on sound quality.
There are some other headphones on sale, so may be some other deals to be had (Momentum 3 would've been $314.52 but they are unfortunately out of stock).
Please remember that for the Amex cashback, you need to pay with the Amex directly, not Paypal.
How these stack against HD 4.50 BT?