Bowers & Wilkins' new elite over-ear ANC headphones more than justify their price tag in this class-leading way...

Date:
Thu, 09 Oct 2025 12:33:44 +0000

Description:
Bowers & Wilkins gives a little and takes a little to deliver the Px8 S2 wireless over-ear noise-cancelling headphones can they justify their lofty asking price?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Bowers
& Wilkins Px8 S2: two-minute review

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphones don't exactly rip up the rule book and start again from previous models. But if they're among the best headphones and over-ear headphones on the market, is that really a bad thing?

Some significant aspects of specification are retained from 2022's Px8 , or lifted from Bowers & Wilkins' more affordable (and rabidly well-received) Px7 S3 in fact, the most obvious changes are visual. The Px8 S2 are slightly
more low-profile and lighter than the product they replace, and have at least one authentic design flourish in the way the cable is partially exposed in
the aluminium body of the arms and headband.

They are, however, a fairly obvious improvement when it comes to their active noise-cancellation and a decisive step on where sound quality is concerned. The Px8 S2 are a deeply accomplished and entertaining listen, able to create
a large, well-defined and properly unified soundstage, reveal a huge amount
of carefully contextualized detail, and stream through the most challenging dynamic shifts without sounding even remotely stressed. Add in super-smooth frequency response and nicely neutral tonality, and theyre very close to
being the complete solution.

No, they cant do as complete a job on outside distractions as the very best active noise-cancelling headphones around , but theyre really not all that
far off. And besides, the inability to utterly negate the sound of an
aircraft (or its passengers) is a small price to pay for sound quality thats as rewarding as this. (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Price and release date Release date: September 24th, 2025 Price: $799 / 629 / AU$1,299 (approx.)

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 wireless over-ear noise-cancelling headphones are on sale now, and in the United States they're priced at $799. In the United Kingdom they sell for 629, while in Australia youre looking at AU$1,299.

Premium, then, is the word Ill be applying. Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Specs

Weight:

310g

Drivers:

2 x 40mm dynamic full-range carbon cone

Battery life:

30 hours (ANC on)

Control:

app; voice; physical

Bluetooth:

5.3 with SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless compatibility (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Features 40mm full range carbon cone dynamic drivers Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless compatibility 30 hours of battery life

Even pricey wireless headphones tend not to be overburdened by features. Pricey is a fairly accurate way to describe the Px8 S2 and, sure enough,
their feature-set is all business there are no fripperies here.

Bowers & Wilkins has retained the 40mm full range carbon cone dynamic drivers that first appeared in the original Px8 but a new and altogether stiffer chassis, upgraded motor system and voice coil, plus some revisions to the driver fixings are all intended to offer worthwhile improvements to sound quality for the S2. The company has ported the amplification and DSP engine from its wildly successful Px7 S3 headphones for use here, but some bespoke tuning is intended to ensure the Px8 S2 outperform their extremely well-regarded (and quite a bit more affordable) siblings.

Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3, and the Px8 S2 are compatible
with SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless codecs. Bowers & Wilkins assures me that compatibility with both spatial audio and Bluetooth LE will
be along in due course via an OTA update I'll mentally add on that missing 0.5 mark when it arrives. Wired listening, meanwhile, happens using the USB-C slot on the left earcup it can be used for data transfer as well as charging the battery, which is why the company supplies USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm cables in the tidy semi-hard travel case. Battery life, by the way, is an entirely competitive 30 hours, and a 15-minute visit to the mains equates to around another seven hours' playback.

The mic-count has risen to eight (over the six fitted to the Px8) and all are involved both in telephony and active noise-cancellation. Six mics monitor external conditions and the other two assess the output of the drivers for
the adaptive ANC system Bowers & Wilkins has specified. And naturally the mic array is involved with voice-assistant interaction, too. Features score: 4.5
/ 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review:
Sound quality Spacious, detailed and dynamic sound Super-smooth frequency response Consistently enjoyable no matter the source or content

Where out-and-out sound quality is concerned, its hard to lay a glove on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. That theyre more accomplished in some areas of music-making than others is not the same as suggesting they're in any way lacking; its just that where they really excel, they leave their nominal competition gasping.

Perhaps the three most obvious areas are the size and coherence of the soundstage they create, their ability to power through the biggest dynamic variations without breaking audible sweat, and the forensic levels of insight they have into recordings. If its scale, variation and detail you want from your headphones, youve come to the right place.

All of the above is illustrated beautifully by a listen to a 24bit/48kHz FLAC file of Our Love is Distorting by Mm. The big shifts in attack, intensity and outright volume are expressed in full, and everything that happens occurs on
a spacious, carefully defined and even-more-carefully unified soundstage. The amount of detail, both broad and fine, the Px8 S2 are able to extract, reveal and contextualize is equally impressive. Nothing is overlooked, nothing is overstated, and the notion that there may be further information the Bowers & Wilkins have somehow overlooked seems straightforwardly daft.

In every other respect, too, the Px8 S2 are more-or-less admirable. Their low-frequency presence is deep and substantial, packed with tonal and
textural variation and controlled so carefully at the onset of individual sounds that rhythmic expression is confident and believable. Their midrange reproduction is open and positive, which allows voices of all kinds to communicate not only their tone and technique but also their attitude and character. At the top end, theres more than enough substance to
counterbalance the bit and crunch with which the headphones invest treble sounds, and the whole frequency range hangs together evenly, with no area hogging the spotlight and no area underrepresented. (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

Tonality is quite carefully neutral, so the inherent heat in Otis Reddings Hard to Handle is conveyed just as eloquently as the chilliness of Aphex
Twins Come On You Slags!. The Px8 S2 seem entirely comfortable at either extreme.

All of this applies no matter your music's source or the standard of its packaging, either. Naturally there are qualitative differences to be
discerned if you decide to listen to the Mm recording as a 192kbps Spotify stream rather than as the hi-res Tidal alternative, but the fundamental character of the Bowers & Wilkins never shifts.

When it comes to active noise-cancellation, Bowers & Wilkins must just like every other brand accept its competing for second place behind whichever
Bose product is closest in asking price. Thats the case here just as surely
as it is everywhere else, but that doesnt alter the fact that the noise-cancellation here is about as good as the company has every delivered, and its going to be more than sufficient for those who arent expecting an uncanny blanket of silence from their headphones.

That tier of brands all contending to see who can be almost as good as Bose
is significant, and Bowers & Wilkins is now a part of that particular conversation. Sound quality score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Design 310g Aluminum and nappa leather
feature heavily Impeccable standard of build and finish

You have to give Bowers & Wilkins a fair amount of credit where the design of the Px8 S2 is concerned. Over-ear headphones, by their very nature, tend to
be quite generic lookers but this is a pair that manages to look and feel understated yet luxurious, upmarket and sophisticated, all at once.

The use of materials, with tactile (and, at first, quite aromatic) nappa leather and burnished aluminum to the fore, is carefully judged; and their application is just as astute. The way arms and headband adjustment feature a recess in order for some cable to be exposed is a very nice touch, as well as being a nod to the companys very first headphones from 2010, the P5. The company logo is embossed, just a fraction, on the outside of the earcups, and the laser-cut edges of the earcups add a tiny bit of bling.

At 310g the Px8 S2 are actually just a fraction lighter than the headphones they replace, and the combination of sensible clamping force and expert
hanger arrangement means theyre a comfortable wear for hours at a time.
Theres just the right amount of memory foam beneath the soft leather of the earcups and headband (both of which are now renewable or replaceable by a qualified technician), and unless youve been blessed with ears much larger than average youll find the Px8 S2 fit very nicely indeed. Design score: 5 /
5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Usability and setup Physical controls Bowers & Wilkins Music control app Can access your native voice assistant

Setup isnt all that much of a thing here, to be honest. You either connect your Px8 S2 to your source of music wirelessly using Bluetooth, or physically using one of the supplied cables connected to the USB-C slot. Usability, though, is a different matter.

The Bowers & Wilkins are attentive and sharp-eared enough to be easily controlled using your source players native voice assistant. If it doesnt
have one, or if youre not especially enamoured with the sound of your own voice, though, you have other options.

Some small, tidily integrated buttons on each earcup take care of play/pause, volume up/down, skip forwards/backwards, power on/off and Bluetooth pairing. Theyre on the small side, but unless youre terminally ham-fisted you should
be fine. Theres also a button that can have its function defined by the user (choose between summon voice assistant and cycle through ANC options, which are on, off and pass-through) in the companys Music control app.

The app itself is stable, usable and quite in-depth, while also allowing you to integrate quite a few of the more credible music streaming and internet radio services. It has a five-band EQ with which you can fiddle around the edges of the sound (assuming youre rather heretically ignoring the Bowers & Wilkins True Sound preset). You have the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the wear sensor, to amend streaming quality to prevent tearing through your data allowance when youre out and about, and plenty more besides. Ive used quite a few equivalents from alternative brands to control quite expensive headphones lately, and I can safely say this among the best around. Usability and setup score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Value Wide-ranging specification Reassuringly expensive look Class-leading sound

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 work well on every level. They sound great;
theyre an expensive-looking object without being in any way opulent; theyre built to last; theyre a pleasure to wear and to operate.

You can, of course, get within touching distance of the Px8 S2 experience if you buy less expensive headphones (not least from Bowers & Wilkins itself)
but theres just no arguing with the value for money the Px8 S2 represent both where the tangibles and the intangibles are concerned. Value score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Should I buy the Bowers & Wilkins Px8
S2?

Section

Notes

Score

Features

Lots going, with even more to come thanks to an upcoming OTA update.

4.5 / 5

Sound quality

Spacious, detailed and dynamic regardless of source a class-leader.

5 / 5

Design

Impeccable standard of build and finish; nappa leather and aluminum offer premium feel.

5 / 5

Usability and setup

Easy to setup, with control buttons, an app and native voice control.

5 / 5

Value

Superb finish and sound make the Px8 S2 worth the outlay.

5 / 5 Buy them if

You like a bit of sophisticated industrial design
There are a few understated flourishes here that set the Px8 S2 apart.

Youre all about sound quality
The positives outweigh the negatives in this respect to an almost comical degree.

You know a nice control app when you use one
The Bowers & Wilkins Music app is one of the better examples out there. Don't buy them if

Youre after top-of-the-shop noise cancellation
The Px8 S2 are merely very good rather than great.

You want everyone to know where your moneys gone
The premium nature of these headphones is alluded to rather than shouted about. Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review: Also consider

Sony WH-1000XM5
If you want all the whistles and bells of extended functionality while still enjoying very agreeable sound and a fair serving of perceived value, Sonys venerable WH-1000XM5 remain strong contenders. Appreciably more affordable than the Px7 S3, theyre excellent all-rounders, though they have to concede
to the Bowers & Wilkins where outright sound quality is concerned.
Read our full Sony WH-1000XM5 review

Focal Bathys MG
Throw caution to the wind and a pair of Focal Bathys MG ($1,299) can be
yours. Quite honestly, this is how much you need to spend if you want a pair of headphones demonstrably better than the Px8 S2.
Read our full Focal Bathys MG review View Deal

Apple AirPods Max
Or you could always put $549 Apples way for a pair of AirPods Max, if the whole sophisticated, understated thing doesnt do it for you
Read the full Apple AirPods Max review How I tested Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Wireless connections to an iPhone 14 Pro and a FiiO M15S digital audio player A variety of music, a variety of file types and sizes Indoors and outdoors

I connected the Px8 S2 wirelessly to an iPhone 14 Pro and a FiiO M15S digital audio player. One is very much more accomplished than the other, its true,
but both allowed the headphones to explain a fair amount about the way they
go about things and I wore the Bowers & Wilkins both indoors and out when connected to these devices.

I also used them at my desk, connected via USB-C to a Colibri-equipped Apple MacBook Pro loaded with hi-res content.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: October 2025



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/headphones/bowers-wilkins-px8-s2-review


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