Bowers & Wilkins has just announced the Px8 S2 over-ear headphones, which the brand claims to be the best headphones it’s ever made.
The Px8 S2 promises to build further on the foundations set by the 4.5-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, but what really separates the two? Is one pair of headphones better suited to you than the other?
To help you decide we’ve compared the specs of the Px7 S3 to the newly launched Px8 S2 below. Keep reading to learn more about the headphones and decide whether you think the new flagship pair will make it into our best headphones list.
Price and Availability
The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones are available now, with a considerably cheaper RRP compared to the Px8 S2 at £399 / $399.
Undoubtedly more of an investment, the Bower & Wilkins Px8 S2 come with an undeniably hefty price tag of £629 / $799.
Px7 S3 come in three finishes
Although neither the Px7 S3 or Px8 S2 are perhaps quite as eye-catching as the likes of Dyson OnTrac, it’s still worth mentioning their respective design and finish. The Px7 S3 boasts more colours to choose from, as it’s available in either Canvas White, Indigo Blue or Anthracite Black with all sporting a fabric finish.
The Px8 S2, on the other hand, comes in just two colour choices: Onyx Black and Warm Stone. Plus, unlike the Px7 S3, the Px8 S2 has a Nappa Leather finish instead.
Design aside, both headphones sport the same 177mm x 60mm x 234mm dimensions, although the Px8 S2 weighs slightly more at 310g compared to 300g.
Px8 S2 promises to be the “best sounding” Bowers & Wilkins headphones
Bowers & Wilkins promises huge things for the new flagship headphones. In fact, the brand has hailed the Px8 S2 as being the “best sounding headphone” it has ever created. Bowers & Wilkins explains that it has built upon the pedigree of Px7 S3, with both headphones sporting 40mm Carbon Cone drive units which ensures detail, clarity and “effortless, powerful dynamics”.
However, the Px8 S2’s drive units feature a redesigned chassis, voice coil, suspension and magnet which are angled to the listeners ears. Bowers & Wilkins promise that this redesign ensures “consistent distance” from between each driver to the listener’s ear to offer better stereo spaciousness.
Considering we hailed the Px7 S3’s sound quality as offering “excellent levels of clarity and detail”, we are poised to expect the Px8 S2 to offer an even better listening experience. However, as we’re yet to review the headphones, we’ll have to wait and see whether this really ends up being the case.
Both headphones are fitted with eight microphones
Both the Px7 and Px8 S2 are hailed by the brand as having the “most powerful and effective” active noise cancelling technologies developed by Bowers & Wilkins. This claim is aided by both headphones sporting a total of eight carefully placed microphones which work together to enhance audio and call quality even in noisy environments.
Although we’re yet to review the Px8 S2 yet, we concluded that the Px7 S3’s active noise cancellation left something to be desired. Not only did we find outside noise managed to seep in, but even Transparency mode felt less natural compared to similarly priced alternatives.
Both offer up to 30 hours of listening
Whether you’re heading off on a long-haul flight, or you just want to alleviate any battery anxiety, the Px7 S3 and Px8 S2 headphones offer plenty of hours to play with. In fact, not only do both headphones promise up to 30 hours of listening, but B&W promise that a quick 15 minute charge will result in seven hours of additional charge.
However, we noted that during our battery drain test, the Px7 S3 saw battery fall by 4% in the first hour followed by another 4% in the next, which suggests the headphones could potentially last for a whopping 40 hours. Although it’s worth taking into account that volume can have an effect on battery life too.
Both support aptX technologies
Another similarity between the two headphones is that they both are equipped with various apt innovations, including aptX Adaptive which supports 24-bit/96kHz audio and Qualcomm’s latest aptX Lossless.
Essentially, aptX Lossless is designed to deliver lossless audio quality even over a Bluetooth 5.3 connection. It’s also worth noting that the Px8 S2 benefits from USB-C support too, for listening to audio through a wired connection.
Early Verdict
We’ll refrain from making a conclusive verdict until we review the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. Even so, with the promise of being the “best sounding” pair of headphones ever made by Bowers & Wilkins, the Px8 S2 certainly looks to set a high ceiling for performance, albeit one that also comes with a price tag to match.
