Best Buys Audio & AV 2019-#2HEADPHONES
(admittedly intuitive) way to answer calls, and
how to use that Google Assistant. For this last
functionality, Apple device users will need to
install also the Google Assistant app, to which
Pioneer’s app helpfully provides a link.
GOOGLE ASSISTANT
The two apps then work together extremely well.
We’ve used plenty of headphones previously which
have linked to our phone’s own assistant, but the
wait-to-connect has always made the function
tedious to use. Not here. Press the button —
thankfully you don’t need to say ‘Hey Google’
— and you can speak immediately, also receiving
Google’s replies with only a fraction of a second
delay over what a Google Home manages. So
you can then use voice commands for everything
Google Assistant can do — we added events to
our calendar, emailed ourselves notes, asked it
to spell diarrhoea, and many more things. You
can also set the Assistant to deliver notifications
through your headphones from various apps.
The S9 politely pauses playback while you do
any of this, so you won’t miss any of your podcast
while you chat with Google.
Interestingly Google also oversees updates of
the headphones — shortly after we connected,
it updated both the headphones and the app,
adding in-app control of music, direct access to
Spotify, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, a volume slider,
a bass boost, and an equaliser with five presets. It
shows the codec being used for Bluetooth — from
the basic SBC through AAC to the inclusion
here both of aptX (near-CD quality) and aptX
HD (mildly lossy 24-bit/48kHz), these last two
requiring a phone which also supports them.
You can even have the S9 connected to two
Bluetooth devices at once — perhaps your phone
and the TV. Clever stuff.
So clearly Pioneer hasn’t been keeping the price
down by limiting functionality either — quite the
opposite, indeed.
LISTENING
Do the headphones need all those EQ
options or bass boost to sound their
best? Not really, they’re just useful
adjustments for music that needs
them, or for personal preference.
The fundamental sound of the S9s
is pretty solid. Of course there are
several potential sonic signatures here
— Bluetooth with NC on and NC off,
or listening through the cable, a mode
in which Pioneer notes that the S9 is
high-res audio capable, since their upper
frequency response then rises to 40kHz.
But we started our listening as most
buyers will, using Bluetooth, and with
the noise-cancelling that comes on as
the default. There’s NFC touch-to-pair
onboard for devices which support it,
but pairing via the menu was also easy
and quick. Thereafter they connected
automatically on start-up.
So has Pioneer hit its pricing by cutting down
on sound quality componentry? It doesn’t sound
like it. The S9 headphones delivered a solid
sound, punchy within its closed-back limits,
and with impressively little to betray the wireless
connection, even from an iPhone delivering AAC
rather than the best possible connection of aptX or
aptX HD from an Android device which supports
these. Modern recordings were delivered crisply
with both depth and dynamics, and we were
especially impressed with how older classics were
served up. Len Barry’s 1-2-3 from all the way back
in 1965 emerged big, bold and brassy, full of the
joys of rock’n’roll, doo-wop harmonies and mid-
distance sax on the right, Edwyn Collins-sampled
beats slamming on the left.
Most unusually this sounded better with noise-
cancelling engaged than with it off — and since
it’s on by default, that’s a good tuning decision by
Pioneer. NC off adds a little edge, but sometimes
slightly artificially. The noise-cancelling itself is
good if not class-leading, doing its job well on
continuous plane-type rumble, and acting up to
around 300Hz.
The EQ and ambient modes accessed via the
app turned out to be an alternative to noise-
cancelling — you can’t have, say, noise-cancelling
plus Pop EQ, it’s one or the other. Since we didn’t
find any of the EQ modes to improve the balance
over the flat NC, that was an easy choice: NC on!GOING WIRED
As with all headphones, wired performance is
superior — clearer particularly in the accuracy
of higher frequencies, so that hi-hats and strings
sound tighter and less prone to tiss. And the S9
could achieve some powerful bass, such as while
holding down 808 State’s Pacific State, its fizzy
bits fizzy and its thumpy bits thumpy (in the
right way) and the main Ab-Bb bass line positively
chest-thrummingly full.Interestingly, and unusually, it seems you can’t
use the cable and the internal processing at once.
Plugging in the cable stops you powering them up,
or powers them down if you’re already powered
up, and that stops you using noise-cancelling or
any other app-controlled function.We can only
think of one scenario where this would be a
problem — on a plane, when you’re connected to
the inflight entertainment by cable. You couldn’t
enjoy noise-cancelling at the same time.VERDICT
So where has Pioneer saved the money to hit
this price? We’re really not sure! With Bluetooth,
noise-cancelling, app control and Google Assistant
all on offer here, Pioneer has delivered a host of
features at an attractive price without compromis-
ing the sonic performance of these comfortable
and attractive headphones. Add in the established
cachet of the Pioneer brand on headphones, and
it’s quite the achievement.Pioneer SE-MS9BN
wireless NC headphones- Great sound & build for the money
- Google Assistant works brilliantly
- Useful app control
- Can’t use cable and NC at the same time
Price: $279.95
Type: Bluetooth, noise-cancelling, closed,
over-ear, dynamic
Driver: 40mm rare-earth-magnet
Sensitivity (cabled): not stated
Impedance (cabled): not stated
Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD
Quoted playback time: 24 hours Bluetooth
with NC; 27 hours Bluetooth with NC;
cabled playback requires no power
Weight: 300g
Contact: Powermove Distribution
Telephone: 08 8338 5540
Web: http://www.pioneeraudio.com.auLEFT: The app
gives a choice of
noise-cancelling
or ‘ambient
awareness’ or
equalisation,
but not a
combination of
these. There’s
a bass boost,
should you get
the urge. These
headphones are
also ‘optimised
for Google
Assistant’,
and worked
impressively
smoothly in
that regard.