Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Over-Ear Wireless Headphones, Black, Nappa Leather | Advanced Noise Cancelling Headphones, Dual Mics, iOS/Android Compatible App, 30-Hour Playtime, 15-Min Quick Charge

I tested the Px7 S2e ’s and the Px8 ’s side by side. The pricing was excellent on both—$240 for the 7’s and $450 for the 8’s, from the third-party seller GRAMOPHONE, whom I assume are the Amazon presence of Sky by Gramophone. So my review will be colored by the excellent pricing I received. [Update & TL;DR: after writing this review I went in to the kitchen to see about dinner, and a song came on and I did one more side by side test. This song really changed my mind about potentially keeping both the 7’s and 8’s, and gave me resolve to be content only with the 8’s: These Are The Days - Lauren Daigle. I compared the final minute of that song on both, and I have to say with the 8’s that song sounded alive, but on the 7’s the song sounded the way a flat carbonated beverage tastes. It was when the word “alive” popped in to my head that I was struck. It’s almost like those moments in the movies where someone will drop a needle on a record or hit play on a tape deck, and then the music starts playing in the diegetic world—on set, through microphones—and then as the scene closes the music transitions out of the movie world into the full-fidelity sound of the theater. So if you can, strive for the 8’s if you’re a music lover and not just after active noise canceling headphones for general purposes. Remember, this sounds like a slam on the 7’s but it’s not—it’s exaggerating a mild difference between two fine products for comparison’s sake.] After all is said and done, what I found was that when I was testing back and forth between the two, when I had on the 8’s, I tended to get lost in the music and just kept listening and looking for the next song, rather than remembering that I was supposed to be switching back and forth to test. So the 8’s were more immersive and engaging. And I found it happened again while typing this review; the 8’s just lower the barrier between you and the recording. And this could happen at a slightly lower volume on the 8’s than on the 7’s. And it could go without saying, but I’ll say it… these both blow the Sony XM4’s out of the water. Airpods Max sound great in their own way, but these are both more refined. (Sony and Apple comparisons are from memory, I no longer own those.) I noticed a couple of phenomena specifically with the 8’s—one that I have not noticed with any other headphones or speakers is that as I settled in with them, I tended to want to turn the volume DOWN. I do not recall any other pair of headphones or speakers where that has been the case—I feel like with everything else, if I’m really into the music, I want to turn it up for more… whatever, engagement, detail, but after settling in with the 8’s for a few songs, I find that I’m fully immersed and settled in, and the volume wants reducing with no loss of experience. Really unusual—but I think that’s a good thing for delicate ears. The second is that really lousy 60’s stereo ends up being much more pleasant than with other headphones and speakers… what I mean is those mixes where one instrument comes completely out of one speaker and another instrument might come entirely out of another. That overwhelming unbalance often sounds terrible to me on a lot of equipment—but with the 8’s it’s not so unpleasant. I double checked it against the 7’s and the 8’s really do make it less unpleasant. (Example songs: No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature by The Guess Who and Only You Know And I Know by Dave Mason. When the first instrument comes in 100% on one side, there’s just more pressure against your one ear with most headphones, but for some reason with the 8’s, that imbalance is less profound and exerts less pressure.) Between the 7’s and the 8’s, I feel like the 7’s were more veiled and more muddy. The 8’s had greater clarity and resolution. I’m fully aware that those are all the words that audiophiles say you aren’t supposed to use. But for normal people, those are really representative of the feeling. There is a big difference when you are switching back and forth. Other metaphors might be like 720p vs. 1080p for the 7’s vs. the 8’s. One example would be Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin—the percussion with the cowbell and güira and the plucks of the bass strings are all more crisp and well defined on the 8’s than on the 7’s. Both have punchy bass—as punchy as you want them to be. The 7’s have punchier bass overall. But I settled in with a -2.0 to -2.5 db cut to the bass in the app on both, and on the 8’s, which are less punchy anyways, the kick drum on Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band and Sweet Love by Anita Baker was still too punchy for my taste, whereas the punchiness of Talkin’ Tennessee by Morgan Wallen was spot-on for me (I didn’t switch over the 7’s for those tracks)—and cutting the bass to -3.0 db from -2.0 was not a solution as it brought down the overall experience of the rest of the bass a bit too much. A note about the clarity and resolution of the 8’s though—I don’t want to imply that it’s an overly trebly quality nor what audiophiles might call overly analytical—they are not—they still have a great deal of intimacy. Both allow you to get intimate with the music, but the 8’s moreso—an example track would be the conclusion of Gratitude by Brandon Lake; I’d characterize the intimacy as deeper with the 8’s but still present with the 7’s—it’s a matter of intensity. Like the 7’s make you say “great” but the 8’s make you say “wow.” The 8’s literally made me stop what I was doing to pay attention and not miss the moment at the conclusion of that song. (Kinda like that way that old Gap A’ Go-Go TV commercial for khakis would make households stop, rapt, to watch, because it was shot in one continuous take.) It’ll be interesting to see what happens after burn-in, how and in what ways these headphones will mellow out. A word about vocals. I feel like both are competent with vocals, but nothing to write home about. However, there is one peculiarity—on one particular song, Rise Up (Lazarus) by Cain, the vocals seem to get buried on the 8’s. They’re acceptable on the 7’s. But I listened quite a number of times to figure out what was going on, and I’m not sure—perhaps it’s because it’s a highly-produced, high-complexity song; but I did source it from a CD ripped to ALAC downsampled to 256k AAC, and also tried it with the “Very High” quality through Spotify as well, and same results. But on the 8’s, the vocals are really obscured. The only thing I can think is that there’s some processing going on somewhere—the lead vocals, backing vocals, the three-part harmonies, are just distant. I pulled out some “normal” Airpods Pro 2nd Gen, and the vocals were more normal sounding, and this song always sounds great in my car (Harman Kardon). I compared to a song like Bell-Bottomed Tear by The Beautiful South, with both male and female vocals, and that song sounds normal. So I don’t know what’s going on here but, you know, nothing’s perfect. This might also be revealing a fault in the recording. All of that being said, if you don’t have them side by side, after a while, you’ll be used to whichever ones you have and either pair is a blessing. So budget is the largest factor in that respect and there’s no reason to strain for the 8’s if the 7’s are more appropriate for your pocketbook. I think one use case difference might be the following: if you’re going to be walking around listening to books on tape a lot, the 7’s are probably the way to go, since they’re more comfortable, and if you’re in a city, the noise and the world will be distracting—what would the 8’s be doing for you in those situations? Ditto for the 7’s if you’re going to be concentrating on work and not the music. If you’re going to be sitting at home, immobile, focused on music, that’s the main use case that shouts out that the 8’s are most appropriate. Albeit, as I’m typing these words, and multitasking, I’m listening to the 8’s and I’m probably happier with the 8’s—so am I a hypocrite? Both the 7’s and the 8’s are: * The least fatiguing wearables I’ve experienced, in the sonic sense. (For me the Airpods Max were exceptionally fatiguing.) * Lack that “vacuum packed” feeling when the noise cancellation is on. At home, it’s very hard to tell the difference between the three modes if there’s no external sound (both in terms of sound quality and the feeling in your ears and body)—I have to snap my fingers to be certain what the configuration is. With Sony XM4’s, by contrast, you can tell in your body. * Laggy to connect to the app… to look at the settings on the app, it can take 2 to 10 seconds for the app to connect even when they’re currently in use. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts. The app can show they are disconnected when in use too. This is no biggie because how often are you going to adjust the settings after you’re settled in with them? * You can adjust the settings with the app while you are listening to an audio source on a different device entirely. Px8 ’s are: * Less comfortable, less headband padding, more pressure on jaw bone (my head is already narrow—I need narrow eyeglass frames), warmer than the 7’s * Physically fatiguing near the jaw hinge for me. * Bass is pleasing and not overly punchy on most tracks. Px7 S2e ’s are: * More comfortable, have more headband padding, softer ear cups, cooler that the 8’s * Less physically fatiguing for me. * Punchier bass - a negative for me. * More “forgiving” of inferior recordings Honestly—one use case which is making me feel like I could keep both—the Px7 S2e ’s might be nice as my outdoor headphones for listening to audiobooks and a less expensive loss if I get mugged since I’m in a city, and the Px8 ’s could stay home for music and less distracted situations. I don’t know if I need two, but…I suppose only keeping one pair, the higher sound quality of the 8s would trump the greater comfort of the 7s. I’ll see how it plays out. What I’m finding, though, is because the 8’s sound so much better, I put up with the physical discomfort and don’t want to take them off and switch to the 7’s for music. For voice, lectures, audiobooks, TV, phone calls, Zoom calls, the 7’s would be the way to go. One use case to think about if you’re on the fence or don’t want to overextend your wallet… the 8’s are so good, they will really highlight the imperfections of poor quality recordings—because they are just older, pre-stereo, have tape hiss, or done on poor equipment or garage studios—I really noticed this on You Go To My Head - Dinah Washington (Dinah Jams, live, mono), or old funk recordings like Dirty Ole Man - Irene Reid; Seeds Of Life - East LA Car Pool; I Get What I Want - The Sequins. With a song like Go For Yourself - Kenny Smith & The Loveliters, the levels must be clipped on the master tapes and there is distortion, which the 7’s are more forgiving about than the 8’s. If you listen mostly to older music and have budget constraints, the 7’s might be the way to go. I have a hunch that the 8’s might be the height of what is achievable within the bounds of bluetooth today. I have compared the Focal Bathys—and I’d think they’re too analytical and fatiguing (sonically) for me, even though I love detail, a vast soundstage, and that in-the-room feeling (see my review of those too). Other representative test tracks I used: Smoke a Little Smoke - Eric Church; Driveway - Cody Johnson; You Set My Soul - The Telescopes; Can’t You See - The Marshall Tucker Band; Blown a Wish - My Bloody Valentine; the popular Gordon Lightfoot numbers; Fall For Me - Brett Eldredge; Cheap Seats - Emily Scott Robinson; Christmas Time is Here - Zach Williams; Beginnings - Chicago; This Here - The Cannonball Adderly Quintet (…in San Francisco); Desafinado - Stan Getz, João Gilberto; Little Lulu - Bill Evans Trio; Upstage Rumba - Dave Brubeck Note for the chemically sensitive—the 8’s smell worse than the 7’s on day one. (I’m writing this on day one.) The cases for both are identical and also stink worse than the headphones. However—the good news is that I’m pretty chemically sensitive and my mucus membranes don’t react to these, so hopefully that is helpful data.

These are great premium headphones. If you like the BW sound profile, this is in spectrum of what they are known for. I personally love the warmth and clarity of these headphones. They are hefty, but the materials and quality is just top notch. I do like the ear pads too. They are comfortable but can get warm over prolonged use. Overall I enjoy the sound over the apple over ears, i find the apple max's a little artificial and with this build quality i dont miss my max's. I got mine on black friday and at that price i dont think i could have gotten any better bang for the buck on sound and quality. Connectivity is solid, dont find many drops.

It’s nearly 1:00 a.m. and I’m hurriedly skipping from song to song to see how great these cans sound. And here’s the thing: I’m using a flat signal. No equalization. No treble. No bass. Just the music as the artist and producer intended. It’s bliss. I’ll warn perspective buyers that it wasn’t always this way. These headphones definitely required a break in period of about seventy five hours, during which time I had the treble and bass at + 6 db and I played pink noise through them. When listening to music I had the bass at -2.5 db and the treble at +3.5 db because they were so base-heavy and muddy-sounding. Then it happened. I put them on and they sounded over-equalized, so I tried a flat signal and BAM! I guess I should tell you that my journey to find perfect sound was a long one, during which I bought the Bose QuietComfort and QuietComfort Ultra, the Sony XM5 and the new XM6, the Sonos Ace, the AirPods Max, etc. you get the picture. The PX8 simply sound better. Even after extensive break in, they’re still on the warmer side, which you’ll probably appreciate if you’re bothered by sibilance. Warm or not, these are still the most accurate-sounding headphones I own. But are they comfortable? YES! I find them more comfortable than my Bose. It’s the Napa leather and their gentle grip. You don’t put them on, you sort of slip into them and become one with them. I honestly forget I’m wearing headphones. I’ve worn them for hours without feeling warm or fatigued. You may occasionally hear a hissing coming from one of the drivers. There is nothing wrong with your headphones. If/when this happens, it’s because you don’t have a proper seal. Simply adjust that ear cup until this hissing stops. The leather is VERY soft and supple, so I could see the potential for issues, especially if you don’t handle them properly. There are many reviews with pictures showing the headband coming apart. For that reason, I don’t even store these on a stand, they are the only pair that I own that immediately go back into their case when not being used. Also, in order to exert less pressure on the headband, I adjust the ear cups PRIOR to putting on the headphones, as opposed to putting them on and pulling down on the ear cups. I then take them off and then retract the ear cups. Also, I never handle them by the headband. So far (knock on wood), I’ve not had a problem with the headband coming apart. They are a beautiful work of art, the aluminum accents, the Napa leather, they are gorgeous. It’s the only pair of headphones that when I took them out of the box, I felt that I purchased something substantial. Handle them accordingly and you shouldn’t have a problem. ANC: if these headphones come up short, then this is where. The ANC is acceptable. It’s actually good. It’s just not great. You will not get the same level of sound cancellation as the aforementioned headphones. I’d say they’re on par with the Bose QuietComfort 45, which is certainly respectable, but it’s not on par with the cutting edge tech in ANC. it’s definitely not a deal breaker for me. The pass-through mode is again acceptable, but nothing to write home about. Battery Life: While breaking in the headphones, I left noise cancelling on and ran them at about 80% volume, and I was definitely getting thirty hours out of a full charge. So far I’m very pleased with the battery. It also seems to charge quicker than some of my other headphones, which was a pleasant surprise. I hope I’ve helped you make a decision. If I have, then please click the “helpful” button so that I know I’m on the right track with the info I’m providing. Thank you. I’m going to get back to my music. Happy listening! Update: in the interest of full disclosure, after extensive listening to many genres of music, I’ve settled on -1.0 db bass and +1.0 decibel treble. They were just a smidge too warm with a completely flat signal (also, my iOS phone is set to “rock.”) This could all be because of presbycusis due to my age (53). All things considered, they are the best-sounding and still require the least equalization of anything I’ve owned. Update 07/07/25: I’ve since purchased the Bang and Olufsen Beoplay H95s. I got them on sale for an incredible $649 (my Px8 were only $408), and my opinion (with new information) has changed. While I still think the Px8 sound great and provide a very enjoyable listening experience, they do lack the detail and resolution of the H95. I’m dating myself here, but it’s very similar to comparing the old Bose 901 speakers to a pair of Vandersteen model 2CE. While the 901’s provided a great listening experience, they lacked the detail and resolution of a pair of Vandersteen speakers. Like a pair of Vandersteen, the H95 are far more neutral and balanced than the Px8. For more info the H95, see my review on the Amazon product page. I still love my Px8s, but I do think a true audiophile would prefer the H95.

I'm taking the time out of my busy day right now to write this review because these headphones have SAVED me so much struggle and I basically feel like I owe it to them at this point. They are AMAZING headphones that allow for actual customization and control. I've always been Bose customer and I ordered the recent Bose model - and my horror I couldn't turn off the noise canceling. It literally forces you to live in a pressurized cabin. You can't wear them for longer than a few minutes before getting a headache. In the settings, you can turn on "aware mode" - and to my even further horror, aware was just noise canceling, plus electronically feeding in noise from outside of the headphones. It is absolutely insane and mind-boggling why Bose would refuse to allow customers to turn off noise canceling... but I accepted it returned them and bought Sony. Well, guess what? The Sony headphones also forced you to use noise canceling. Why would companies do such thing? I'm honestly not sure. It's beyond comprehension. It's the most corporate initiative, anti-customer, "use-our-feature" BS I've ever seen in a company, worse than EA games even. Well, maybe I won't go that far. I looked everywhere for a headphone that allowed me to simply use them with & without noise cancelling, while also having an excellent mic for phone calls (I'm on the phone phone a lot for work and need that feature). When when I finally came across Bower & Wilkins, I've never heard of them, but they allow you to turn off noise canceling, and that was good enough for me. When they arrived, I was extremely surprised! They are some of the best headphones I've ever had, they have control buttons, the noise canceling control is super easy and quick, they connect quick, their audio quality is extraordinary, and there are no issues. Their design is also much sleeker and much better than Bose and Sony, which seem to have been cutting costs and using cheap plastic. Additionally, you can flip the headphones in both directions, so that when they're around your neck, they are much more comfortable than Sony and Bose. Like vastly more comfortable. The only downside is they are a tiny bit heavier, but I would not strike that against them in the slightest. It is not noticable.

I wanted 2 things from my headphones. First, the quality of the sound. Music needs to be deep, rich, balanced, with a nice presence. Secondly, they needed to be comfortable. These headphones rated high in both areas. Now that I've used it for about a month, I can say it really delivers in both areas. I'm glad I have it. You'll notice I didn't mention noise reduction. I don't need that, working from home. I don't ride public transportation, so I don't need noise reduction. I've tried it and found it to be acceptable. It will fit my needs on the occasional times. I've read others are better, but I bought these headphones to listen to music, not silence. And they are great for that. I've heard that the speakers needed to be broken in. That is true. Right out of the box, the sound is okay, but not worth the dollars. So I connected my phone, set it aside, and let it play all day. Every so often I would listen to see how it was going. Every time I listened, it sounded better. After about 8 -9 hours of play, I pretty much got the sound I had paid for. It improved a little after that, so they sound great now. If you buy these, be sure to give it time for the speakers to reach their peak. You won't be sorry. ********** Follow up after 9 month's use: After less than a year's use, the cushion on the headband pulled out as seen by the photo. Since the headphones were supposed to have a 2 year warranty, I contacted B&W for help. They told me that because of who I purchased the headphones from, they would not honor the warranty or help me. They told me to contact the seller. I sent the seller an email, but never got a reply. Yes, the headphones sound great. But for the amount paid, the quality of the construction is very lacking, to wear out after less than a year. Worse, despite what B&W says, there is NO warranty and NO support from the manufacturer. They simply won't stand behind their product, as my experience and their comments show. This is inexcusable for a company with their supposed reputation and for the high cost of the headphones. I strongly suggest you search elsewhere for a better built product from a company that will stand behind their products.

No doubt these are fantastic headphones. Top quality build, beautiful sound, super comfortable. I also own the Px7 S2 headphones, which are also great. The Px8’s are better, definitely, but the differences are subtle. Is it worth the extra $300? That depends I guess. Once I tried the Px8’s it was difficult to go back the Px7 S2. The sound is more refined and detailed and the build quality, with the aluminum and Napa leather making them even more comfortable. Also, a recent update on the Bowers & Wilkins app fixed the performance of the wear sensors on both sets so the auto-pause/play now works exactly as it should. These are the most comfortable, best sounding headphones I currently own (including the Sony WH-1000XM5, Sennheiser Momentum 4, the Bang & Olufsen H95 and the aforementioned Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2’s. My only complaint is with the noise cancellation, I really wish it was stronger and also the bass can distort a bit at high volumes on some tracks and I can’t increase the bass level more than a notch or it becomes an issue, but overall the bass sounds fine (if you like bass I recommend the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones, the bass is thumping!). Now if these were lower priced, say $549-$599 I think it would be fully a recommendation I could make without any doubts. But at $699 it’s a tougher sell. If you are reluctant to spend that much, wait for a sale or go for the lower priced Px7 S2 headphones, those are a better value. But if you want the best, then go for the PX8’s. I think they will prove their worth in the long run! They are simply gorgeous headphones! ( I only knocked it down 1 ⭐️ due to noise cancellation performance, but overall 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)!

A common complaint I see about this product, is that the sound is excellent and in most cases better than what you get from the Bose Ultra or Sony XM6, but not enough to justify the price. That really misses the point. I switched from the XM5s. Those always sounded excellent to me, they worked well, and had amazing ANC. In contrast, the Px8 has a more dynamic sound. Every segment sounds slightly more defined. To me, they do sound better. The ANC, while not as good as the XM5s is still excellent for most situations. Battery life is excellent and they charge up quickly. These fit well and are more comfortable than the XM5, despite their extra weight. I will miss the controls of the XM5, but some people will prefer the Px8. There is something to be said for physical buttons and having dedicated volume buttons. Here is the real separation. When you pick up the XM5, you don't think much about them. When you pick up the Px8, you realize what true quality feels like. Once you experience that level of quality, it's very difficult to go back. This might be most apparent in the hinges. Sony's feels flimsy and cheap in comparison. The Px5s feel like they are invincible. Solid isn't even the word for it. We're talking metal vs. plastic. The same goes for everything else. It's function vs luxury. Luxury can have both but function can lack luxury. The app is simple compared to Sony's but that's not a bad thing. Sony's app is bloated and hard to navigate at times. B&Ws is far more straight forward and you can find what you need. These do let you tweak the EQ in the app. For me the default sound is really good, but I can see myself tweaking it slightly for certain kinds of music. I know some people are going to complain that these do not have the latest and greatest Bluetooth connectivity, but if that's a thing is going to depend on your phone. For most people that's not going to be a factor at all when it comes to the quality of sound or even the stability of the connection. The real illustration for how these compare to others is to compare them to cars. A new Toyota is great, reliable, and gets the job done, but you can't really compare it to the similar Lexus. Both are technically a Toyota, but the Lexus is a whole different experience. You might balk at the price and wonder why you'd ever pay the extra for a slight power boost and better interior, until you've actually experienced the quality and attention to detail. After that you know why the Lexus is more, and understand why some people prefer it, even if it's not your preference. The Px8 are some of the most luxurious headphones you can buy. They are a cut above the offerings from Bose and Sony.

I purchased these anticipating that they were going to replace my open backs the Hifiman Sundaras and my AirPod pro 2S. Something with such a luxurious sound that none of my headphones would be able to compete. But the px8s are far from that. To get my actual issue out of the way, the apps battery life report is useless and inaccurate. It said the headphones were at 37% then a few seconds later, 15% then 0% all within a minute. After a full recharge and only trusting the Apple widget the battery life tracked just fine. So I believe the head phones were fine it was just the app. Now to sound quality. I was shocked to hear that no joke my AirPods have more bass than these closed back headphones. Don’t get me wrong the px8s are super clear and have great treble, imaging, and decent mids. But without any real low end even after EQ they are lackluster. It really leaves a sense to music that it’s just straight up missing something the soul of the song is gone. That may be I’m just open back spoiled. But there were many times I thought to myself wow I’d actually enjoy this more in my AirPods, and which I did. If you like very technical sounding headphones with little bass, then these will do it for you all the way since the detail is simply amazing. But if you want something that can be a do it all headphone these are not it. I recently demoed some HIFIMAN EDITION XS’s and they actually sound pretty much exactly what I wanted the PX8s to sound like. Sound so good you set through music you’d never listen to because the quality of the sound makes any genre and song intresting to listen too. From bass to treble the edition XS’s do it all beautifully and are cheaper than the px8s!!!!!! Yes they are 2 completely different headphones, one for on the go, and ones just made for home. But if your in the search for the best headphones, and thought because they’re B&Ws they had to be amazing, I just have to let you know these are not it. I know you can’t really demo these things anywhere, and reviews on YouTube are all over the place in the comments. But all I gotta say all the “negative” comments in reviews of the PX8s are true. I also forgot to mention but with ANC and pass through, when I turned my head they would make this very high pitched noise, even after updating them to the newest firmware they continued to have a weird high pitch feedback when turning you head with ANC or Passthrough on. But yeah that’s my review. I’m only being harsh because they’re pricey! $700 new on their website. With what I experienced and listed to, wired to a dac on my pc and Bluetooth, I would have kept them if they were $200.

Premium build quality and perfect for an audiophile enthusiast! Balanced and vividly captivating imaging.👌👌👌

Som förväntat mycket bra ljud. Gick även anvönda på fortnite mobil.

Het geluid is goed, maar de lichte uitvoering wordt ontzettend snel vuil en is niet schoon te maken, niet doen! Zonde van je geld.

One of the best pair of headphones on the market right now. The difference with the PX7 S2 is clearly noticeable. The only thing is I received a refurbished pair from Amazon while it was sold as new. There is a “refurb” sticker on the box and the headphones were already pair with a Galaxy device. Raised a complaint to Amazon. Their only answer was to send them back and get a refund. Given the fact they are in mint condition and it’s a burden to send them back from UAE, I decided to keep them back. But that’s borderline fraudulent behavior. Be aware !

Good sound qualities and features as advertised. Packaging and delivery services is also efficient and tip top.