Customer Ratings & Reviews

I'm no audiophile but a can say the sound quality is simply amazing. I'm sold on Bowers and Wilkins audio. I started with a set of bookshelf speakers and added a pair of earbuds. Now these are added to my audio arsenal. Connectivity can happen one of 3 ways... via cable (either USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to stereo) or by Bluetooth. Of course Bluetooth offers the greatest flexibility and it allows the use of the Android or IOS app. With the app you gain an equalizer and easy toggle from pass-through ambient sound or active noise cancelling. The aptXLossless Bluetooth's advanced codec ensures a crystal clear listening experience. There are 4 mics in each of the earcups allowing the Px8 S2's for calls (Zoom, Teams, phone, etc) or even gaming. This is a huge plus for me. Besides controls in the app and any streaming or media players you can also do most of the controls on the earcups. Play/Pause, forward/back, mute are within easy reach, now if I could only remember what does what. Muscle memory will come in time. As far as comfort goes, I wear a 7 5/8 hat so my noggin is on the large side which does occasionally cause comfort issues with not only hats and caps but also headphones. Such is the case with the Bowers and Wilkins. I have to slide the earcups completely out and the top rounded top bar padding applies pressure to the top of my head. These by far are the heaviest headphones I own. Additionally there seems to be an almost uncomfortable pressure on my head from the maxed out adjustments. The earpads have soft padding with a supple vegan leather cover however I do prefer a fabric cover but usually not provided on higher end headphones. You can see quality components that create an elegant style. I ended up with Onyx black and chrome but you can opt for the Warm Stone and chrome instead. They advertise battery life to be 30 hours on a charge and I'll never push to the end as I typically charge my devices every other day. In the box these come with a nice hard case with an audio to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. I truly love these headphones. I've got several brands of cheap to medium to just less than high end headphones and most likely these will become my dailys with possible exception of when I listen to my receiver and turntable but not saying these wouldn't do great but I really like my the set I currently use.

As a music lover, it can be perhaps challenging rather frustrating even, to explain why lossless music quality is of the utmost importance, both from a listening standpoint and for historical preservation purposes. If I am listening to music, its quality needs to be exactly how it was recorded. Thus, twelve years ago I decided to completely take it upon myself to rebuild my entire music collection from physical copies in lossless quality. As such, I was extremely excited to test out the highly anticipated Bowers and Wilkins Px8 S2 reference model to see how they sound! Physically, the Px8 S2 craftsmanship is quite exquisite to see in person; they are much smaller and lighter than I expected, which is certainly a positive. As far as comfort goes, these are easily the most comfortable headphones that I have used. While my head could be considered on the larger side, I was able to adjust them accordingly so that the headphones fit comfortably around my head, yet snug enough that they did not slip around. Connectively, I did not experience any discomfort over my ears nor listening fatigue, even after a couple of hours. Lastly, the Px8 S2 package remains unchanged from the previous Px8; included there is a carrying case, a USB Type C cable, and a USB Type-C to 3.5mm. For setup, the Px8 S2 should be a familiar and straightforward process as it is verbatim of every other brand of headphones. Despite forced account creation and location services, the Bowers and Wilkins app does at least offer some basic control. However, on my first initial pairing attempt, I had some difficulty proceeding past the setup confirmation screen as several attempts to toggle the power button up did not register the Px8 S2. Accordingly, I had to completely start over by removing the Px8 S2 from my phone, then after re-enabling location services, proceeded to pair again by toggling the button up and down repeatedly within the application. Eventually, I noticed three loading dots on my screen and was able to complete setup. Afterwards, I had to then manually pair the headphones again with my phone before I was ready to go. While this may be an isolated issue, this was at least worth mentioning in case you have an issue. As for call quality, one of the upgraded features of the Px8 S2 over its predecessor is the inclusion of two additional microphones for a total of eight (up from the previous six). As a result, and coupled with the ADI Pure Voice algorithm, there should be a noticeable improvement. Unfortunately, while I do not own the original Px8 for a direct comparison, I was able to at least make a couple of observations based on three phone calls I made during initial testing. First and foremost, the user on the phone with me commented that I sounded loud and clear, nor was I drowned out by any external noise. While switching between noise cancelling and pass-through modes, the user on the phone call could not discern a perceivable difference. However, once I stood next to my TV while playing a loud movie, the user noticed a substantial difference between noise cancelling and pass-through mode; my voice became much louder and restricted as to what I assume was the aforementioned Pure Voice algorithm working as intended. For noise cancelling, I wanted to see how the Px8 S2 performed in a noisy environment; starting first by standing near my TV during movie playback. While typical volume level of the TV is anywhere from 12-15, depending on source, the Px8 performed quite exceptionally within this range; any dialogue or background music was effectively silent throughout. However, I then cranked the TV to 30 and played the loudest scene I could find. With my Px8 S2 set at 50% volume, there were sections where I began to hear some leakage into my headphones, though I was still quite impressed as it was still minimally invasive and I could not discern what was being said. Naturally, once I switched to more dynamically mastered tracks such as classical, did the external noise become much more apparent. As expected, depending on the type of music you are listening to will certainly alter the effectiveness of the ANC. With that said, I feel the Px8 has enough noise cancellation performance at normal volume; pressure change was noticeable between ANC and pass-through mode and most of the noise was filtered out, though I suppose if you are expecting literally no sound to seep through even at the lowest volume level, you should probably tamper your expectations. Before moving onto sound quality, I first wanted to clarify some preliminary technical aspects of the Px8 S2; most notably, its Bluetooth codec situation. The good news is that the upgraded Px8 S2 covers a wide range of codecs; undoubtedly, the utmost important one being APTX Lossless support. In addition, the rest of the common codecs such as APTX Adaptive, APTX HD, APTX Classic, AAC, and SBC are covered as well. As I noted last year with the Pi8’s, your device will be the sole determining factor with regards to what codec the Px8 S2 will use. Unfortunately, my Sony Xperia 5 III phone is capped to the APTX Adaptive codec so my connection is limited between 276 kbps to 420 kbps depending on the surrounding environment. Fortunately, Px8 S2 can also be used via a wired USB Type-C connection or by using the USB Type-C to 3.5mm so at least you are not forcibly hindered by wireless transmission should you choose to do so. Lastly, all of the music listened to have been physically sourced from my CD collection. My library consists of 4,282 songs and were ripped by EAC 1.6 using the secure rip feature and are encoded to FLAC 1.4.3. Additionally, each song has been personally scanned through a spectrogram (Spek 0.8.5) to make sure it is of proper lossless quality. Lastly, the EQ was left on the True Sound setting. As an audiophile, I suppose it is rather cliché to say less is more, even extravagantly more, yet it still feels like describing these headphones in this way somehow undercuts the very nature of their exquisite sound; in essence, my initial impression is that these are the best headphones that I have personally used. In general, I don’t think I have heard sound this restrained, clear, and concise; yet it still has this fullness to it that is hard to accurately describe. Every genre, and especially those that are dynamically intact such as Jazz, classical or movie soundtracks, have a richness to it that only elevates the Px8 S2. Furthermore, I have heard things I previously wasn’t aware of; even extremely compressed metal and rock genres had their muddy bloated sound pulled back and stripped so that you can really hear the middle and upper frequencies. As for the low end, the Px8 S2 is quite restrained in that regard; while the low end is there and noticeable, it does not take precedence over the other frequencies. Take into consideration the track “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker. From 2:20-2:40, the tapping percussion can be clearly heard on top of the bass guitar; chimes are rendered perfectly right top of the middle frequencies. The acoustic guitar at 4:20 is clear and much more pronounced than my other headphones. On Lisa Loeb’s “Stay”, the instrumental separation is quite shocking; at 1:22, vocals are nice and centered over the bass line, while you can distinctly hear the picking chime of the guitar in back left ear cup. Another good song that has to be mention is “Yesterday’s Gone” by Straight Line Stich. At 1:50, you literally can hear two separate guitar lines in each ear cup with insane clarity. Vocals are perfectly placed as if they were in front of me once they resume. Switching to more bass oriented tracks, Fat Jon’s “Risk It All,” there is a percussion click that begins at 0:30 and remains perfectly audible even when the bass line rumbles in at 0:43. Additionally, you can clearly hear the up and down shifts of the low frequency. On “624, Part 2,” at 0:20 all three layers are blended together perfectly, yet you could still isolate each portion. Lastly, “The Space Between Two World” by Nujabes is literally sonic perfection; the tapping middles, coupled with the bass notches over the main guitar line should heard by everyone! Next, switching to Soundtracks, one of my favorite movies, Kingdom of Heaven (2005), has a fairly wide ranging sound, blending both and western and eastern pieces seamlessly. On “Sibylla,” the clarity of the harps at 0:12, followed by the choir at 0:50, is just amazing. Additionally, there is a nice low end rumble at 1:00 that just speaks to how wide the soundstage is on the Px8 S2. Connectively, “The Battle of Kerek,” has a nice crescendo using some vocal harmonizing as it increases in sheer volume along with the rest of the orchestra. Lastly, I wanted to at least give some perspective on what battery life was observed during my testing. For my first listening session, after fully charged, I was able to achieve a 10 percent drain after about 2 hours and 20 minutes. During this duration, I toggled between noise cancelling and pass-through modes. On my second listening session two days later (79% battery), with noise cancelling off, I was able to squeeze 3 hours out of an 11% drain; after four continuous hours of playback, the total battery drain was a mere 15%. In conclusion, the Px8 S2 provides an exceptional audio experience while combining comfort, elegance, strong noise cancelling performance, and excellent call quality. In addition, it supports a wide range of wireless codecs and can also be used in a wired connection. As for sound, the Px8 S2 is a reference model for a reason; the 40mm carbon cones are just an absolute treat to listen to and I have no doubt others will be please as well. While the value proposition is certainly debatable, for those who care about music and lossless quality, the Px8 S2 accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do. With that said, the Px8 S2 comes highly recommended.

These are luxurious headphones. The headphones are one of the more sleek looking electronics I have seen in a while. The over-ear headpieces are markedly slim compared to similar types of headphones. The design is clean. The quality lives up to the claim of being a statement. The headphones come in a durable, fabric case - which I have always been a fan of the Bowers & Wilkins cases. Inside the case are the headphones and a closable compartment with USB-C to USB-C cable and also a USB-C to headphone jack (which I appreciate having, will likely never use but just appreciate that they recognize not everything is Bluetooth). Set up is simple, just a flick up of the power/Bluetooth button. Bluetooth was quick to be recognized by both my phone and computer without delay. The B&W app quickly recognized the Px8 S2s - which enables some preferences to be set, which ended up being important to my use. When turning on the headphones, even without music, there is noise cancelling and it was instantaneously peaceful. Could not hear the white noise maker through the kiddos monitor immediately - oh no! But the baseline general noise cancelling is very solid - once music is going at 25% I can not even hear my obnoxiously loud mechanical keyboard 2' away from my ears. The sound quality is beautiful - this is often something difficult for myself to articulate and I am at a loss for words. I feel that music is more crisp with discernable depth. Sound appears to come from all directions in an immersive experience. I feel I could tune the instruments with the level of clarity. Battery life lives up to the claim and even if wearing for multiple hours remain comfortable. The app enhances the experience, having the ability to log into certain services (not either of the two I use though). You can toggle noise cancellation versus pass-through versus off. Pass-through is a nice medium. There is the ability to adjust EQ. The other important aspect is wear sensor, which will stop/pause music if you remove the headphones. I had to turn this to low for myself - it was stopping when I moved my head and sneezed while set to normal. Ultimately, a beautifully crafted set of headphones.

These are the best wireless headphones I've heard to date. I had the previous versions and those were great but lacked an EQ really. This steps it up a notch in the sound department and build. The PX8 was pretty big. Not like huge but on the larger side. It was sleek. This builds on that and is much smaller. You can tell when the case.it was surpsingly small compared to the PX8. As far as sound quality goes this improves upon the PX8 which was already great. They also add Apt X lossless. That's great if you can find a device that supports it or a dongle. I've tried this on my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 pro. Using Apt X regular and AAC for those phones . Also used it wired. My gripe with it wired is that it's not as loud as wireless but it was fine. The smaller build also makes this much more comfortable. The PX8 S2 feels lighter and has less clamping force which is great . As far as the Active noise cancelling goes it does the job. It's very acceptable but doesn't do as much as the other companies headphones.

TLDR: I'll put it out there now. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones are the most naturally balanced, precise sounding headphones I've ever auditioned to date. I've been extremely fortunate to have had the ability to try headphones from nearly every manufacturer in the field. At the end of the day, I've never listened to a better set of headphones. PROS Pristine Audio from Carbon Cone drivers & 24-bit DSP No Discernible Bright Spots No Acoustic Trickery to make up for lesser quality drivers Up to 30 hours of battery life Supports high resolution Bluetooth codecs CONS Some ambient noise still gets in App tries too hard to be a one-stop shop SET-UP Simple and Easy. I simple QR code takes you to the B&W website where you get treated to some additional marketing experience (B&W experience) and links to the Google Play Store and the Apple Store. Both the iOS app and the Android app installed and work flawlessly. As you may have read in my other reviews, I am extremely critical of manufacturers' efforts in the app stores, as a poorly designed app can make or break a new user experience. I am happy to report that there is absolutely no issues with either version of the B&W app. Not to mention, the Px8's are one of the very few products that didn't require an immediate firmware update to work properly out of the box. Installation, initial pairing and configuration, all went without issue. APP The Px8 app is very simple to use. There are minimal settings and optimizations available. When I first downloaded and explored the app, I thought it was a bit arrogant. Just a basic 5-band equalizer and no customized sound modes. Quite smug, I thought. Only noise cancellation options and settings to configure the multi-function button along with a brief tutorial of the button placement and functions. I was about to eat my words. USE I finally carved some time out late at night for myself to give the Px8's a quick tryout. I've been anxious to try them out since arrival, but have struggled to find time. I thought the Px8's would be a perfect way to wind down before bed and listen to some music and lull myself to sleep. Why do I say all of this? I was planning was a few, good 15 - 30 minute listening sessions followed by sound sleep. I was bitterly disappointed. After giving the Px8's a go on the first night alone, my plans were shattered. A 15 minute planned audition turned into a 3 hour jam session. Same with the next night. The Px8's have breathed new life into my music selection. Bowers & Wilkins, the once small, English company has prided itself for delivering custom crated products, not mass produced goods like their competition. I've listened to B&W speakers for years now. B&W was one of the few manufacturers I considered when installing a full surround sound system in my home theater. Sonically, there is absolutely nothing I can find wrong with the Px8's. They are, by far, the most natural, spacious, and balanced set of headphones I've tried to date. But, they are also the priciest as well. What that buys you is a set of cans that are as close to sonically transparent of any headphones I've tried yet. Their transparency rivals my home theater bi-polar power towers. I've listened to nearly every genre of music with the Px8's. From AC/DC and Beethoven to ZZ Top, I've tried them all. Classical, Country, Rock, Rap, R&B, Hair, Jazz, Metal. You name it, I gave it a go. The music from the Px8's is some of the most pristine and dynamic audio I've encountered with headphones. No acoustic trickery, no sound processing, no optimizations. Just, plain B&W audio. It is amazingly impressive. Lows are punchy and dynamic. Mids and highs have an openness and airy feel about them that others can only wish they could incorporate. Other, lesser cans, often have a sweet spot, or a bright area. One certain area in the sound reproduction range that they seem to excel at and become more dynamic in that limited space. Not the Px8's. They remain consistent and even throughout the entire audio spectrum with no discernible peaks and valleys in playback. No harsh sounding vocals, no muted bass notes, no piercing, tinny highs. Just sweet, unadulterated sound. It is refreshing. CONS The Px8's achieve only an acceptable rating on my noise cancellation tests. My trick is to have a small fan blowing at the headphones on one side and my air purifier cleaning the air on the opposite. I know it is not scientific, but it does test the headphones ability to isolate cancel ambient noise. The Px8's do a good job at muting outside noise, but they don't eliminate it. Even with noise cancellation, I find the sound from both my air purifier and the hum of the fan does creep in. Something other manufacturers have been able to effectively eliminate. On the plus side, the Px8's are able to completely muffle the wind produced by my desk fan blowing directly at the headphones while using them. Some manufacturers struggle with this, often letting "wind noise" intrude and interfere with the pristine audio. The Px8's are very effective at cancelling this wind noise, leaving only a muted drone of the fan. While the Bowers & Wilkins app is simple and straight forward. I dislike them trying to incorporate stream services under their umbrella. I get why they do it. I just don't like it. I use Amazon Music and Spotify. Yes, I can link both services to the B&W app, but when I do, I'm presented with a rudimentary set of controls for these services. I prefer to use the B&W to set up the headphones and then use the manufacturer's app to stream. There are far more playback and control options using the native apps. CONCLUSION If it's not totally obvious, I'm totally enamored by the Px8's. They are the best set of headphones I've ever listened to. Are they pricey? Yes. Are they worth it? Yes. If you have access to high-definition or lossless audio tracks, the Px8's will do right by them. Sound Quality: 5/5 App: 3.5/5 Noise Cancellation: 4/5 Comfort & Design: 5/5 While the noise cancellation & app may not be perfect in my opinion, the sound quality is soooooo good, that I have to give the Px8's a perfect 5 / 5. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Bowers and Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones are impressive. These headphone really deliver on their claims of sound quality. They use optimized drive units and high quality wireless tech to get you as close as possible to what the artist intended. The high resolution audio reproduction is amazing. This is where the Px8 S2 really shines. Battery life has been great. You get 30 hours on a full charge, and the quick charge feature is great to have. Put them on the charger for 15 minutes and you get seven hours of playback. The noise cancellation works well thanks to eight microphones handling both call quality and active noise cancellation features. What's nice is that it blocks out the noise without too much of a sacrifice to music quality. Comfort has also been great. The slimmer profile is more ergonomic and these are genuinely comfortable for long listening sessions. The Bowers & Wilkins Music app gives you control over the experience. There's a new five band EQ for dialing in your preferred sound signature, adjustable noise cancellation modes, and some music discovery features. While the noise cancellation is decent, you're buying these headphones for the sound quality and that is exactly what they deliver on.

Can headphones really be worth $800? These answer that question with a resounding “Yes”. You can get fantastic headphones for $400-$500 but these are about elevating the listening experience to a different level with an unbelievable amount of detail, powerful delivery, and premium hardware to match. Sound quality is likely the #1 reason to consider these and they are simply some of the best sounding headphones around. You could spend a few hundred less and get headphones that sound great but there’s a aspects that set these apart in a big way. Sound replication is impeccable where they create an experience where you feel like you’re right next to the singers and musicians. The level of detail these can deliver is astounding where vocals are as crisp as ever. “Save it for later” by Eddie Vedder blew me away where these were able to highlight his distinct, controlled vibrato and also bringing out the raspiness in his voice. Another thing I noticed with this track were background vocals which seemed to be just as present while not being overpowering. The immense amount of detail also comes through with acoustic instruments where with tracks like “My Favorite Mistake” by Sheryl Crow, the scratches from the guitar strings come through with mind-blowing clarity. I also felt like I could hear every little seed from the maracas on that track. Other tracks that could be a good listen for vocals and acoustic are “Free Fallin’” and “I will be found” by John Mayer, and “Strange Currencies” by R.E.M. With lows, these don’t have a particularly low-focused sound profile out of the box where they’re more balanced all around, however there’s a customizable EQ in the app where you can adjust it to your liking. And don’t worry, these can deliver deep lows with vast detail without any muddiness, so for hip-hop and electronic tracks, these don’t disappoint. “Starboy” by The Weeknd, “Say it to me” by Armani White, and “Don’t Say” by The Chainsmokers can highlight the crisp, powerful lows these can deliver. While replication, detail, and clarity are astounding, the two aspects that really set these apart is depth and separation. These allow for each voice and each instrument to have their own stage where there’s a distinct separation between every musical element. With each element being able to stand out, there’s individual layers for your ears to distinguish between which allows for a profound amount of depth with any track. I use both Tidal and lossless tracks from Spotify which bring out the potential these can deliver. Construction is top-notch where these are solid and well-built while not being heavy. The materials themselves are certainly premium but you can also tell how much work they put into the mechanisms where each point of adjustability, like rotating the earpieces, feels smooth with a nice amount of feedback. There’s also nice touches like the braided cables which are purposely shown off in a subtle and classy way. When it comes to comfort, there’s a good amount of flexibility where they’re able to conform to my (rather) large head well while not uncomfortably squeezing my head. The pads on the earpieces are padded nicely with a supple foam that feels pillowy soft. The same material and padding are found on the top of the headphones which add to the comfort. This is another area where there’s a clear difference in quality to other headphones. I also appreciated the depth of the earcups themselves where there was plenty of room for my ears to breath and weren’t squished by the inside of the drivers. Active noise cancellation is good but not necessarily great. This would be the one area where certain headphones may perform better but they still perform well for removing background noise of nearly all types. Loud, sudden sounds seem to be the only type of noise that I noticed seeps through more than others. I listen to a lot of music and own a good amount of audio equipment but these have positively blown me away with what they’ve able to achieve. I have a newfound level of listening enjoyment with these. Highly recommended!

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Over-Ear Bluetooth Headphones are one of the best headphones I’ve used in quite some time. The headphones come well packaged and the unboxing experience is top notch. The headphones have an included storage case. The case has a nice textured surface with a zipper open and close design. The headphones come with a USB-C charging cable, as well as a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack. The USB-C to 3.5mm cable can be used to connect to devices that may not support Bluetooth, or for those times you want a direct connection even if the device supports Bluetooth. I was not able to find the included cables at first. I noticed a panel inside of the case. When I pulled it back, it revealed the cables. The panel is magnetic. It has a satisfying click when the panel is placed back in its original position. The headphones are made with high quality material. It has soft material on the ear-cups and head band, and a nice touch of metal accents. The headphones are very comfortable while being worn. The sound quality is exceptional. Very clear sound and dynamic range. The headphones works best with the Bowers & Wilkins mobile app. When I paired the headphones to my iPhone via Bluetooth, a pop up menu appeared with a link to download the app from the AppStore. The app allows you to change the function of the Quick Action Button. By default it’s set to adjust environment controls, but it can be changed to being able to speak to your voice assistant. There are other buttons that control volume up and down, play/pause, and a power button. The headphones sound very good by default, but the app allows you to customize the EQ settings. I was able to really increase the bass, mid levels, and treble. Overall, these are some really good headphones that I enjoy using.

I have long been on the hunt for a sweet spot in the wireless, over-ear headphone market. I do not consider myself an audiophile, but I have come to appreciate things like separation of frequencies, a soundstage that spans beyond my ears, and clarity of sound. I am also coming to really appreciate active noise cancellation. A passthrough mode (transparency) is not as important to me, but is nice, especially when it doesn't sound like there is cotton in my ears. I have wanted to experience Bower & Wilkins Px8s for a long time. I read many reviews of the first generation and decided to wait. Generation 2 seemed to have a pretty significant improvement in a couple of areas, so I decided that I wanted these. I will start with sound. B&W has long been known for a next-level sound profile compared to many headphones on the market. These have become the new baseline for my listening standard. The soundstage is crazy, fully across my head, a virtual separation that I truly appreciate. The bass, mids, and highs are incredibly clear and separate also. I had to tweak the equalizer, it's a 5-band graphic eq here accessible from the app, just a little, actually needing to lower the bass frequencies a bit because these do punch. Generally the mids and highs were in a sweet spot for me without tweaking, and that's great. Overall, 10 out of 10 on sound for me. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is...different. I won't say it's not effective. What. I notice is that they are great for consistent sounds, like engine noise, road noise, HVAC, but when it comes to emergent sounds like people talking, babies crying, things like that, the sounds is reduced, but still clear. Many will argue that this is to be expected because ANC is not designed to be absolute, but I would have liked to see an algorithm that will eventually compensate for this, but it doesn't seem to be there. I have decided these will be my around the house headphones for this reason. For travel I will look elsewhere. Passthrough mode is actually pretty good. I find it clear, there is an apparent "mechanical" nature to it, but that isn't unexpected. Fit and finish are stellar. They are metal and leather and that is so cool. I was surprised, considering this, how light they actually are. They have a gentle clamping force because I have a larger head and they aren't fatiguing to me for longer periods. They are truly a gorgeous set of headphones. The controls are some of the best in my opinion. I prefer buttons over touch panels generally, and these have an interface that is completely physical. They are laid out in a logical way. Such a great feature for me. I will say these are almost perfect in my opinion. They have some things that I think were a choice by B&W that I may not completely agree with (ANC), but overall, for casual and detailed listening of music, the Px8 Gen 2 headphones are spectacular.

I've come to realize that Bowers & Wilkins put sound quality and accuracy above all else. That's not to say they slouch on other aspects (they don't), but as a brand on the whole, that's what they seem to strive for. These headphones are no exception. If you want to hear every note as it was meant to be heard, you will hear that with these. I'm not some wild audiophile, but I like good sound, and these deliver. Everything just sounds clear and intentional. I was actually even almost surprised when I played my first song because it doesn't even sound like it's coming from headphones, there's something fuller about the sound. That being said, that means don't expect something that's going to sound aggressive and bassy. You're not going to get sound like you're in a club or at a party or something with super heavy bass and earth-moving power. For negatives... more than once I've had the App tell me the headphones weren't connected, even though they clearly were. Turning the headphones off then back on seemed to clear that issue up. But it was also an issue on first setup which was confusing. I suspect this can all be fixed with software and firmware updates, but for now it's an issue that comes up from time to time. For noise cancellation, on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is basically no noise cancellation, and 10 is the entire world is shut out, I'd probably give these a 7. You're still going to hear the outside world, but it's dramatically reduced so you can enjoy your music without major background noise distraction. They look and feel premium and come with a nice carry/storage case to protect them. They include a USB-C cable and a USB-C to 3.5mm cable. They do not have a 3.5mm jack on them but should work with any phone with USB-C if you want to use them hard-wired. They also need to be powered on to work.

My title more or less nails the main reason I am looking for headphones, but there is a lot more to the story. Bowers & Wilkins has done nearly everything very well here, with even the few areas I feel they “missed” being more of an issue of them not being “the best” with something. The build is fantastic and in some ways unlike most in the market. Premium materials done well. Across the board. Solid. No creaks, clicks, or random noises. A great weight that feels right. (they travel well with the padded carry case) They really just feel good in the hand. For me, all of this was coupled with comfort. I have found them great to wear, even for long periods of time. The clamping pressure is about right, and the cups fit my ears very well. I know this is a personal thing on some level, but I think most would be happy here. Comfort is somewhat of a dealbreaker for me. If they aren’t comfortable, I won’t wear them, so what is the point? As someone who is hit or miss with touch controls, I don’t really nick them for using physical buttons, but it is something to note. However, while I found the buttons responsive, well built, and mostly intuitive, I think the size and location could have been better. Not bad to use but could be better. As for looks? I think they look amazing. Sleek, clean, plain, and lots of matte black. I also like the hint of exposed wiring. Maybe a bit “boring” to some, but perfect for me. I have had and been fortunate to try quite a few pairs of cans over the years, but these Px8 S2s are easily the best sounding pair I have ever used. Everything is just clean. Clear. The lows, which are often a pain point, are markedly there while mids, highs, and vocals all excelled. Clean and warm, with size that filled. Noticeably so to me. I know people look for different things, as well as hear things differently, but these things just sound exceptional and I have to think most would feel the same. Beyond that, while I do feel their ANC is good, as well as probably good enough for many, it still is probably a tick behind others in the space. Same with their transparency mode. Personally, I understand it is bit of a trade off between these things and sound quality, and I not only prefer the better sound, but think the ANC is “good” and “good enough” for me. Something to note though. Call quality is good and about what you would expect here. Everything is clear and detailed, and feels “real,” if that makes sense. A bit of outside noise may come through, but overall, I am happy. That said this is not a main use case for me. Connectivity has been a non-issue for me. Quick, easy, rock solid. The app is fairly simple, yet easy to use, and offers some control over the headphones as well as sound. The offerings here are a bit paired down compared to others in the space. Again, just to note. Battery life is good so far, as expected and rated, and the quick charge offers a nice chunk of time in a short amount of time (15 minutes for 7 hours). I don’t expect any battery anxiety issues. Ultimately, I think these are fantastic headphones. They may not be “best” in an area or two, but they are still good there, they look great, are very well built, and have perhaps the best sound quality you will find. They offer a differentiated experience and are now my favorite set of cans.

Fantastic Audio! These Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones are absolutely the best headphones I've ever used, both for sound and comfort. The audio is deep, rich, balanced and clear as a bell. Although there's an equalizer available for use on the app it's not needed. The bass, mids, and highs are perfect, no enhancements needed. Once I started listening to my favorite music I didn't want to stop. These headphones may take you to a place you've never been before while listening to music. The headphone build is first class all the way - napa leather earcups and aluminum frame, they look and feel great. They come in a hard-shell zipper case with a compartment for the USB-C cable and audio cable that are included. The controls on the headphone are limited and simple. Four buttons total, two on the left and two on the right. Power/Bluetooth slide button and mode push button on the left, volume up/down button and play/pause/forward/back/answer/disconnect button on the right. The headphones have built in mics and phone call audio on both ends is clear and crisp. Battery life is advertised as 30 hours; after several hours of use the battery level on mine went down about 10 to 15 percent, so 30 hours seems possible. These headphones are designed and intended for use on mobile devices. The Bowers & Wilkins Music app is only available on Android or iOS devices, not Windows or MAC, and the app is needed to enable the controls on the headset through a Bluetooth connection. The app controls include Noise Cancelling/Pass Through/Off and True Sound or Custom with a simplified equalizer with a five-band layout. When connected to a device using the USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable that's included, you don't have use of any of those controls. There are a couple of streaming music apps (TIDAL and Qobuz) available on Windows or MAC that may offer some controls through their apps, but only by Bluetooth connection. Supposedly you get superior audio fidelity through the use of the audio cable, but I couldn't hear any difference between cable and Bluetooth. In addition, the cable is only 4 feet long, so you have to be close to the source, and you lose functionality with the cable. So the bottom line to me is forget the audio cable and stick to a Bluetooth connection to a mobile device for the most enjoyable listening experience. And I believe it's the best with no enhancements. Turn off the ANC and leave it set to True Sound. The price is steep, but these headphones have exceptional audio and build quality. If you really enjoy listening to music with the highest quality audio possible and can afford to spend $800 on a set of headphones, you won't be disappointed if you choose these.