The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones came shortly after their Px7 S2 headphones. I was excited to check them out since I’ve been a huge fan of Bowers and Wilkins since the PX 3 model. I have used these for a couple of weeks now and I am loving them!
DESIGN
“The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones look stunning!” My initial thoughts when unboxing the Px8. I wasn’t surprised at how gorgeous they are in the tan color. I usually go for the sleek black, which is the other option but the tan had this gorgeous, premium look. The earpads are a soft breathable Nappa leather, which explains the comfort. It’s the same leather you find in some high-end cars. The cast aluminum metal plates outside of the earpads have the Bowers & Wilkins logo engraved. While it looks like they can get scuffed and scratched, it hasn’t happened yet. I just love how premium they look. But to keep it that way, I keep the Px8 in their carrying case all the time.
SOUND AND EXPERIENCE
I paired the Px8 to both my iPhone 14 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. I used Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal HiFi Plus to jam out a bit. To get the most out of the headphones, I streamed on Tidal HiFi. It’s mind-blowingly better than streaming on a Spotify. The PX8’s 40mm drivers are made of carbon fiber and resin. That might be why you can raise the volume all the way up and still not have distortion. Pretty amazing. Even songs with high bass and percussion, there was no distortion. It’s such a great feature especially when you want to listen to music at 100% volume. They connect via Bluetooth 5.2 The soundstage is amazing on these and it continues amazing me every time I hear a song on the Px8 headphones for the first time. The clarity is just wow.
I’ve take the BW PX8 on a few flights already and while they had good active noise cancellation, they weren’t the best I’ve experienced. They do good enough where they drowned out the couple of loud kids on the flight. But if ANC is your main priority, you wouldn’t get the best out of these. They were good but not great in the ANC category. As a nervous flyer, its nice to have your music and canceling out noises that can make you nervous. I will never understand how people fly without noise-canceling headphones.
The physical buttons are great! As sleek as headphones with no buttons and that use gestures are, the gestures don’t always work and sometimes you just want to make sure the headphones change the track or end the call like you intended. So I am glad to see them on the PX8. There’s also a quick action button ont left cup that you can assign to a voice assistant or use to go through the different noise cancellation settings.
MUSIC BOWERS & WILKINS APP
The app is pretty easy to navigate. You can link a few services to it (TuneIn Radio, Deezer, Qobuz, NTS, and Soundcloud). I connected Tidal HiFi Plus on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and it was just a great jam session. The app walks you through a quick tour of the buttons and functions. You can update the headphones software through the app. There are no updates yet.
You can activate the wear sensor feature on the app. I tried it several times and it was 1 out of 10. I had to remove the headphones completely to activate it, which makes it kind of pointless. I kept the quick action button assigned to environmental control. From the flights to New York City trains, my level of comfort with active noise canceling levels changes every hour.
VERDICT
For many the slight upgrades wouldn’t be enough to go to the higher price tag of the Px8. The Bowers and Wilkins Px8 are the headphones you go to if you want comfort, premium design and crisp audio. The crisp sound and sturdy design are a great combo. But you will definitely pay the price for it. If the $699 price is too steep but you enjoy the Bowers and Wilkins sound, you can get their Px7 S2 headphones that go for $399 and sound almost as good and are technically lighter than the PX8. headphones.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Headphones
$699
Pros
- Lightweight build
- Crisp Sound
- Decent Battery
Cons
- Pricing is steep
- Don't Fold in Carrying Case
- Wear Sensor Almost Never Works
