The sound is even slightly more luscious in passive wired mode

With wired connection you have an option to use headphones in passive mode (with power off) or active mode (with power on).

When using the wired passive mode with the 3.5 mm connection, I recommend getting an in-line microphone along with the headset

In passive wired mode, the tendency toward a bass-forward EQ is accentuated

In passive wired mode, this effect is mitigated and the sound is somewhat warmer

They were mostly used on planes in active mode (noise cancelling), and trains with my Chord MoJo headphone amp/DAC in passive mode

In general, wired passive mode is OK if you completely drained your battery, but I personally prefer to keep active mode always on.

In this passive mode I found sound to be well balanced and with just slightly overwhelming mid-bass hump.

In general, wired passive mode is OK if you completely drained your battery, but I personally prefer to keep active mode always on.

ANR is in passive wired mode with the 1/8" cable connected and the power off

ANC - can be turned off in wired passive mode

In passive mode the input impedance is 28 ohms and headphones function just like a regular wired set of cans which you can drive directly from HO of your audio source or through external amp

As I mentioned before, in passive mode soundstage was just average, controlled by your source, but once you put it in an active mode - soundstage expanded to a 3D depth and width with an amazing separation and layering of sounds

The mid-bass hump I experienced in passive wired mode was completely gone and smoothed out as soon as you enter active mode

The sound of these when plugged in, using passive mode, is nearly identical to the wired Momentum 2.0

In their wired and "Off"/Passive mode, they sound fantastic for a closed around-ear headphone.

They work in passive mode when the battery dies

Some fault the B&O for having finnicky touch controls; these have no touch controls and only 2 buttons: on/off, vol up/down

In terms of high-quality plastics mixed with metal bones, they are more a peer to the less expensive Bose and Sony; the B&O clearly wins in build and material quality