Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great looking headphones. High quality material. Sound quality is also top notch! Long battery life!

Headphones have been a hobby of mine for the last 15 or so years. I began with "expensive" cans costing $300, but over the years, I've developed an obsession that will cost me much more later in life. I have yet to surpass the $1200 mark on a pair, though I know some are priced beyond that. I have gathered quite a collection of medium to high-end headphones. One could say I'm an "audiophile," but that term gets thrown around a lot, so I'll say I'm an experienced user instead. Throughout this experience, I've learned that each set of cans has a different sound. No two headphones are alike. This is especially true when you throw Noise cancellation in the mix. Sound is subjective in any case. And that's very true for those of us who use a variety of headphones. We can tell what sounds good to us because we have our favorite and not-so-favorite ones to compare and contrast. That doesn't mean our least favorite pairs sound bad. It just means we prefer a different sound. Keep that in mind when I describe the sound of these Bowers & Wilkins PX8s. The most crucial aspect of any headphones to me is the sound. Bowers & Wilkins have a reputation for dialing in their sound well. They've been in the high-end audio game since 1966. I've owned a few variations of their earbuds, a few medium-tier over-the-ear headphones, and three versions of the PX7s, one of my favorite-sounding cans. I chase a balanced sound with a rich, expansive soundstage that gives me the atmospheric feeling of being in the studio with the artist as they record. Gone are the days when I craved heavy bass. I want to hear clarity. I listen to all genres, so even though I still love hip-hop, I don't want the heavy bass sound to damper the other, more instrument-driven genres I love to listen to. Bowers & Wilkins are known for their balance, and I expected these to have a similar sound to the PX7s. They do live up to the balanced reputation. However, compared to my $1000 pair of Mark Levinson 5909s, the clarity and punch of those sound better to my ears. On the PX8s, there is decent soundstage, but they're a tad hallow compared to the Levinson's. But keep in mind that I'm comparing my current favorite set, I, which costs $1000, to these PX8s, which cost $600. And there lies the problem with always chasing a better sound. I'm spoiled. I know these sound good, and they would be an excellent choice for the "normal" consumer looking to get into expensive headphones. Part of the issue with these ANC headphones is that they only work when turned on. Most don't possess a wired passthrough mode, which allows you to listen wired without a battery or ANC on/off. The PX8s suffer from this trend, which can affect the sound because they are "on," if that makes sense. Even with ANC off, sometimes it can affect it. The only way to get to the authentic sound is by having them off, which my Mark Levinson 5909s do. If you feel like you'll use something other than the ANC, then go with a model that doesn't have the feature for the most accurate sound. On the other hand, if you use it (which most of us do), these are still a tremendous-sounding choice for $600. For $600, you get excellent build quality. These are premium. You can feel it when you take them out of the case. They pack a heft to them without being too heavy and uncomfortable. The earpads are soft and airy, though they have a great clamp that holds the sound in. Bowers & Wilkins knocked it out of the park with the build quality. Even the color is gorgeous. I think these are reasonable due to their pristine quality. The associated app is barebones, but it's worked well for me. I had no issues setting it up or connecting each time I opened the app. I've downloaded the Android version on my phone and the Apple version on my wife's, and both were very easy to set up. I love how easy setting up the Bluetooth connections is because I remember when that was the most frustrating aspect of Bluetooth headphones. The beauty of headphones at this price point is the build quality, and the sound is above average. The best thing to do is to go to a Best Buy with a Magnolia center in it and hope they have these to try out. Or, purchase them, try them out yourself, and utilize the return period. As wasteful as that may seem, if you're paying this much for headphones, please ensure you love them because there are choices out there. Try getting one pair of headphones; if you like them, stick with them. Avoid comparing and contrasting because that will only make you spend money and go crazy chasing a better sound. Trust me. I know.

NOISE CANCELLING/PASS-THROUGH: Noise cancelling is probably the one thing that these do not excel at. Which isn’t to say they are bad. But they are not class leading. My AirPods Max and Sony XM4’s do a better job. If those are at 10/10 then these are at like 8/10. I found that they did a great job at blocking out low noises and normal talking voices. Fans I could still hear but were greatly reduced as was running water (where those were either blocked or completely blocked by the other two). Music it struggled with and would come through (which I’d expect) but performed as well as the others in that regard. But regardless it does reduce the sound of things going on around you by a noticeable degree and is good enough that it is worth turning on. Pass-through was surprisingly good. I usually can’t stand Pass-Through on anything other than Apple devices as they are normally trash. But with these I was easily able to have a full conversation with someone with these on. Or listen to a video on another device quickly using their speakers. And be aware of what was going on around me such as typing, people walking around, etc. Everything is a bit more quiet in comparison to without the headset on. But I’ve found that Apple’s Transparency mode has been leagues ahead of the competition. These are the only ones that I’ve tried that have come close to being at the same level. They aren’t. But they are moderately close. CONTROLS: So many devices these days have poor controls. Usually do to limited buttons. To the point I’ve almost forgotten how nice it is to have actual buttons again. On the left earcup you have your “Quick Actions” button which can be paired to either Environmental (Noise Cancelling, Pass-Through, or Off) or Voice Assistant (Siri, Google, etc.). On the right earcups from top to bottom you have your slide to power on/off. Which is unique and I like a lot. Holding up will let you go into pairing mode. Volume Up, multipurpose button (single press for play/pause, double for forward, triple for back), and volume down. On the bottom of the right earcup you have a USB-C female port for charging, connecting the included USB-C to 3.5 mm jack, or USB-C to USB-C cord (gives the best wired quality). SOUND: You have three ways to listen on this device. First, Bluetooth. Second, USB-C to 3.5 mm. Third USB-C to USB-C. The third option will give you the best audio quality. And with most phones and devices having a USB-C port isn’t all that inconvenient. I also plugged this into my DAC/AMP and it sounded great and better than Bluetooth. Bluetooth will be the worst simply because the amount of data it can send is limited. Which isn’t to say it sounds bad by any means. It would be neat to see these brands start to include 2.4 GHz connections which give lower latency and better audio quality. With the plugged in methods you do need to have the headphones powered on and using battery though. Which is a bit of a bummer but not all that surprising. Which also means noise cancelling and all that jazz works. These simply sound fantastic no matter which method you choose to listen to them. I have no complaints. Treble is fully present, can be a bit sharp, but due to that you get the sparkle that allows voices and stuff to be highly impactful. Bass is present, tight, impactful, and accurate. It isn’t overblown or heavy though. But does give a nice deep rumble given the correct type. If you are a basshead these aren’t going to give you what you are looking for as the bass is backed off in order for the mids and treble to shine more and not muddy up the rest of the sound while still adding a lot of impact. I’m able to hear the nuanced parts of songs and different aspects going on easily. Also, I put these on for some gaming (Escape From Tarkov) and was blown away at how accurate the localization was. I knew exactly where someone was. To the point I’d actually say wired they are viable for gaming. They get plenty loud. I listed to music, movies, media, games and found they excelled at all of them. I tried to think of some negatives here. But they are right up there with the AirPods Max, Senneheiser HD650, and Hifiman Ananda’s that I own. Where at this level those all sound fantastic and the differences come down to specific tuning that specialize in certain areas. They are much better than my Sony XM4’s. It seems like I’ve made these seem like they are the greatest things since sliced bread. They aren’t and I hope I don’t give you unrealistic expectations. They aren’t perfect. No headphones are. But at this level I think it really comes down to what specific sound you want and I find these do great at multipurpose. Where they do a great job at most genres instead of a specific one. Which is my preference. PAIRING: Is extremely simple. You can be connected to two devices at a time. On the right earcup on the top you have your slide to power on/off button. If you hold that up whether the devices is on or off it will go into pairing mode after a short while. It will say “Ready To Connect” repeating until it pops up on your device. I’ve found that it doesn’t always pop up immediately and takes some time. As does pressing connect and it actually connecting. So not the quickest I’ve seen. Once a connection is established it does connect quickly upon first powering up the headphones. While it is a bit delayed in popping up and connecting initially I have found that this process if by fair the easiest I’ve seen on a device. Which usually requires me to turn them off, then hold to turn back on and go into pairing. I much prefer this method. BUILD QUALITY: It is superb and the main thing you are paying for here. It is by far the most attractive and best feeling headset I’ve ever felt or owned. Even putting my AirPods Max to shame. The leather is soft and plushy. The earcups move so smoothly along with the headband adjustment I can’t contain it in words. I don’t feel any plastic on the device anywhere. It’s either leather, padding, or aluminum. There is zero creaking or noise when I am handling the headphones. Each button is easy to tell apart without looking. Has a very crisp solid click to it and the only thing I hear is a nice soft click in the earcup itself. They are very lightweight and just feel incredible on in the hand, when handling, and are supremely comfortable. The color scheme is beautiful. Before these I’m not sure if I fully understood what a quality pair of headphones felt like. Simply put incredible. They do come with a nice hard carrying case, with a great zipper, that holds the headphones and both of the cables which magnetically shuts. Comfort is great and I can wear this for extremely long periods without any issues on my ears or on the top of my head. I don’t get hot ears with them. Clamping force is light/moderate. They can be worn for working out. I can do pushups and running just fine (as long as I’m not throwing my body around a lot). But they tend to slide off when laying down for bench or something. Also, with these actually using real leather I would be worried about destroying that with sweat. THE APP: It is simple, intuitive, and basic. Going from the top to the bottom you have your environmental control which includes Noise Cancelation, Pass-Through, and Off. Each one of those has a unique tone associated with it. I would have preferred an actual voice, especially at this price point. As I just struggle with tones on correctly identifying what they mean. You are not able to select say just Noise Cancelling and Pass-Through. Instead you always have all three options. Then you have a simplified EQ setting where you can increase or decrease the Treble and Bass (+/- 6 dB). That’s it. Connections where you can select what you are connected to just a single device or two devices at once. You can select what the Quick Actions button on the left earcup does (Noise Cancelling/Pass-Through/Off OR Voice Assistant such as Siri). Auto Standby allows low power mode after 15 minutes. Along with Wear Sensor (it will register if it is on your head or not). You have three settings here (low, normal, high) for how sensitive you want it to be. I kept mine on high. It still takes about a second or two for it to register it is off your head before it pauses/plays your media. Last two options are rename product and factory reset. CONCLUSION: These are the best pair of Bluetooth headphones I’ve ever used. I’m not sure if they are “leading class” in anything other than build quality. But they are right up there with the rest of the competition. But the difference between these and them is that they do well in EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY. Where the AirPods Max might have great Noise Cancelling, Transparency, and seamlessly connect on Apple devices. They can be heavy, sound is interesting, and clamping force is high. Where the cons for these guys are more subjective in nature over a complete miss. If these hit the boxes you are looking for and your comfortable with the extremely high price tag I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. As I certainly wasn’t.

These have such vibrant sound quality. I have used Bose forever and wanted to try something a bit different. Does higher cost equal better quality? Not all of the time. I also tried Apple which are also more expensive but are extremely heavy, tight and the sound quality is so flat. These are heavier than Bose by comparison but not uncomfortable by any means. The sound quality is so crisp and smooth without sounding overbearing. Not to mention how aesthetically pleasing they are to just look at. If you are looking for an upgrade I do highly recommend and even better getting them on sale.

Warning to those who buy this! The headphones have a break in period of about 1-2 days (2-4 hours of listening) so when you first get them give them a few days. Once you get past that you will hear things so clearly. Sound signature is about half way in between Bose QC and apple AirPods Max. What I mean by that is that it has the warmth of the Bose headphones without the muddy textures. On the flip side it has the sound accuracy of the AirPods Max but more of a record player warmth. USB-c to iPhone 15 is compatible, sound quality much better corded but still amazing over Bluetooth. Comfortable, not as heavy as AirPods Max, with better build quality. The only thing that is subpar is the noise cancelling. It’s enough to drown out plane noise but it’s no where near as good as Bose. That being said, if you value sound quality over noise cancellation, these are for you. Price isn’t great but customer service makes up for it. Overall if you are an audiophile they are great headphones, and A worth while upgrade to get away from the big 2 (Bose and apple)

I was contemplating to buy px8 or focal bathys. comapring them and watching reviews it is almost a toss up between these two maybe bathys slight edge. Px8 is significantly better looks than focal and sale price on black friday was tempting to buy it. I own focal eligia so i am familiar with focal sound. I find px8 a bit more slimmer vs focal. I am in break in period so it will get better like any headphones. Connects easy to iphone. Sound is better with high res audio from amazon hd service i have noticed better sound details. 1-2 hours is max i have used and i want to take them out for a breather i dont think any headphones will be good for 3-4 hours continuous use the pressure build up on head needs a beeak, the quality of sound is really depends on input it was quite evident in my listneing. I have momentum 3 as othe NC headphones. A decent NC is good enough for my use as i am not going to use in airplane or very noisy environment. In airplane use airpod pro is winner portability and quality of NC has no match. I think $700 is high price for it $500 is ok with quality of sound and finish. I chose the tan color just for a change from black headphones i have owned.

These are by for the BEST headphones I have ever used. The sound quality is scary good. I have owned Bose Quit Comfort Ultra ,Sony XM 4 and Beats. None of them compare to the sound quality, comfort and look of the Bowers & Wilkins. They cost more and are worth it!!!

Great build quality and sound . Nice materials. Feels luxury

PX8 over Apple Airpods Max 1000% hi-fi sound, the quality is in the build and comfort. Volume level depends on the streaming service you’re using. Spotify tends to give louder sound iTunes gives clearer sound but @ low volume. Regardless both sounds amazing. And above all, the battery life! Perfect for travel or for those that don’t like charging many devices at the end of the day.

Amazing sound, very nice design. For sure worth the money and I recommend to all my friends.

If you are looking for high quality materials and look in a headphone these are for you. The ANC is a work in progress for me and while big bass enthusiasts may not be happy, the soud quality is right up there with other high end headphones I own like Bose 700 and Ultra, Apple AirPods Mx, Sony xm500 and Sonos Ace.

I got these on sale and have been using these as my main headphones now. There usually is a break in period to warm up the drivers so they sound different from initial use vs hours of playing. So far they are my best sounding headphones. I have the airpods max, bose QC45, master & dynamic, etc. These are very comfortable and I can wear them for hours without any discomfort. Sound is very subjective to every person however for me- these have a sound signature I enjoy. My main use for these is purely for music. I am not concerned with things like transparency/noise cancelling, multipoint connections, etc as I have other headphones for those purposes. If you are looking for a pair of headphones that are comfortable and have good sound quality, give these a chance.

Looks amazing, high quality materials, long battery life and amazing sound quality

Simply next level headphones. Luxury design, exceptional audio quality. Love the orange ring around leather cushion. In one word , superior

Sounds quality and physical appearance is great. The price is too high for what it is, especially when Px7 is less than half the price.

Expensive but was very good items any musicand very likely much

It sounds great and much fuller then the PX7 S2e. it worth the price if you get it on sale. Fit and finish is top notch. Very comfortable but after a while it will warm up your ears. Great set for a wireless headset.

Beautiful. Breathtaking. Build Quality. Black. Bowers & Wilkins! I love them, my wife loves them. I’ve done a ridiculous amount of research. I am blown away. So happy I finally have them. Felt like a kid waiting for them to come in the mail then melted after finally getting to hear them.

Great sounding headphones. I have owned, the old px7, bose, beats, sony, and sennheiser. These are my favorite. Expensive for sure, but worth it

Great Sound. Good materials. Nice anc. Just usb c to stereo plug but over all nice