Bowers & Wilkins - Px8 Over-Ear Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - Tan

The Px8 is for the audiophile. The highest of quality reflects in every aspect of this product. I wanted a pair of headphones that would help block out distractions so… I bought a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultras… the sound was great, but they did not feel like they were made to last. So, I returned them for Sony WH-1000XM4 and the sound was great but again, plastic! They both felt like they came from the dollar store! I could foresee these things snaping in half in less than a year. IF I AM GOING TO SPEND $400+ it needs to FEEL like $400+! So, I returned them for the Px8… No comparison, at all, not even close. The Px8s have weight to them, they look and feel of quality, and the sound is perfect!

If I were forced into a single word review, then my word would be “luxurious”. Visually, materially, physically, and sonically the Px8 is luxurious. My Royal Burgandy and Nickel Px8 is a rich, decadent wrapper implying the musical finery waiting inside each ear cup. The leather wrapped ear cushions are soft and blush. The Px8’s are constructed of metal and soft, plush leather. The ear cup outer shells are a combination Metal, leather, and brushed nickel. The connecting armatures are brushed aluminum metal and extend well into the headband. The head band is wrapped in a matching royal burgundy leather, plush foam padding, and is very flexible. The ear cups have a 180 Degree rotation that allows them to rest cups facing in or cups facing out when wearing the Px8 around your neck. It is nice that B&W gave me the option that I find most comfortable. Sonically, these are like having two high fi speakers strapped to my ears. I would describe the sound as clear, precise, rich, detailed, intimate, and full bodied. In some instances, acoustic guitars and classical piano are sonically voluptuous. There is just the little extra something that I find lacking from less expensive headphones. For example, Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat. Op. 9 No 2 and the Plonaise No. 6 in A-Flat, Op. 53 – “Heroic” are like being teleported into the best seat in a professional concert hall. I can hear everything from the most powerful notes reverberating through both ear cups to the gentle decay of the most delicate keystrokes as they forever vanish into silence. The world simply evaporated away and reconstituted as Chopin. The Px8’s did not shy away from anything I threw at them. As a matter of fact, they played everything I threw at them magnificently. Meghan Trainor, Indego Girls, Air Supply, Metallica, Old 97’s (thank you James Gunn), Anime Anthems, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Albinoni, Litz, John Williams, Boston, Christmas and Holiday Music, and so much more. Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24 by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is simply explosive. The electric guitars are alive and screaming in my ears with such richness that I wish the piece could go on forever. In my home, I can only outperform the Px8’s with a fully dedicated component stereo system. But now we are comparing apples to rocket ships. Bottom line, the Px8’s sound amazing with all music in every genre I sampled. At low volumes they sound good. Medium volume is where the Px8’s truly come alive. Hands down, this is the best headset, wired or wireless, that I have ever used. And just in case you believe my experience is limited to midrange only. Wrong. The Px8 put out a surprising amount of bass without any adjustments. And bass can be boosted in the B&W App. The same with the treble. They are there, they are clean, and they are wonderful and airy. The 40mm Carbon cones of the Px8’s delivers the goods and then some. ANC: Active Noise Cancelation is good but not excellent. Sorry B&W. However, B&W states that their ANC does not impact the quality of their sound. I mostly agree with that assertion. ANC has a slight impact on sound but nothing that you will notice until you turn off ANC in the middle of a listening experience. And even then, the difference is very minor. Much better than other ANC enabled headphones and earbuds I have used. The other thing to keep in mind is that strong ANC can, and does, increase the pressure in the earcup and will eventually lead to ear fatigue. I have not experienced either with the Px8’s. So, the tradeoff is superior sound quality/low fatigue vs inferior sound quality/high fatigue. That’s a no brainer. I am picking the Px8’s all day long unless I absolutely need the very best ANC that money can buy. Passthrough: The Px8’s have six external mics. This is for ANC, phone, and Passthrough. What is the purpose of passthrough. I am sure there are times where you wish you could casually listen to music, a podcast, the news, but also want to remain sonically aware of your surroundings. Maybe you are in an office building, keeping one ear open for your mischievous children, or your wife is…uh…just turn on the ANC and up the volume. You’ll be fine. The six mics pick up the sounds around me and reproduce the environmental sounds in the ear cups. Unfortunately, the passthrough is boosted which gives it a slightly unnatural sound. Conversations, road noise, wind, and other environmental sounds are clear but not 100% natural. For instance, computer fans, ceiling fans, air purifiers, drier sounds, and anything that I would qualify as “white noise” is boosted and will take away from musical enjoyment. Phone calls: The Px8’s are not the best for phone calls. The six external mics do not do a good job of picking up my voice. For example, my voice has been described as distant and with the quality if speaking through a hallow tube. My voice was very clear. However, my partners needed to turn the volume to maximum to enjoy a full conversation with me. There is no gain adjustment in the B&W app. So, it is what it is. Moving on. Bowers and Wilkins Sound App: My only musical subscription is Apple Music. Thus, I can only comment on the Px8 controls portion of the app and not on the music service integration portion of the app. The Bower and Wilkin’s headphone control app is spartan at best. It does not have the same flagship feel or experience as the Px8’s. And there is no reason why not. It’s software. You can make it look like and do anything you want. The options are as follows: - ANC is On, Off, or Passthrough. There is no manual adjustment to customize the ANC to my tastes. - EQ: limited to Bass and Treble. - Quick Action button: Environment Control or Voice Assistant. - Auto Standby 15 Minutes or Off - Wear Sensor: On or Off. There is an added configuration for movement sensitivity. - Device Rename - Factory Reset I was hoping for a multi-band EQ, Passthrough volume controls, in ear notification volume and sound/voice selection, additional sleep timer settings, and maybe an ANC intensity adjustment. It is functional and useful for what it does. It could be much better for a premium product such as the Px8’s. Conclusion: The Px8 is the best sounding wireless over ear headset I have ever heard. Period. Waitress, may I have the check! Do I think they could be better? Yes. If the Px8’s had Muli-EQ support and more control over the ANC, microphone gain for phone calls, and volume adjustments for native functions then these would be next level wireless headphones. But none of the cons I rattled off above are deal breakers. As is, these will need to be pulled from dead, rotting hands before I’ll give them up. The Px8’s radiate luxury; both physically and sonically. Pure and simple, this is an outward expression of decadence. Sonically luxurious. I would recommend these all day long for anyone looking to take a dip into the high-end wireless headphone pool.

I was filled with anticipation as I began to unbox the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones. I had heard so many people singing such high praises for them that I couldn’t hardly wait to finally get them and around my ears. As I unpacked its box, I was met by a beautifully crafted case. I have the Royal Burgundy edition, and the case is of course burgundy. The case is extremely well-made of semi-hard material, and the zipper has a real leather pull strap. Across the front of the case is an elegant Bowers & Wilkins logo in raised lettering. But the best was still yet to come. As I opened the case, I was greeted by the sight of the equally elegant Bowers & Wilkins headphones. The golden cast aluminum structure with golden cast aluminum logo plates is clothed in well-dressed burgundy cloth and leather. The logo plates are accented with a polished (golden) aluminum Bowers & Wilkins logo. Turning the headphones causes the logo and polished edges to glimmer, as if they are lit from within. The headphones are nestled in a form-fitting interior, and within the center of the headphones there is a magnetic door that houses a USB-C to USB-C charging cable which is approximately 4’ in length, and a USB-C to 3.5mm analog cable that is also approximately 4’ in length, for plugging into a source player if Bluetooth is not preferred. I can’t finish my overall description of these majestic headphones without mentioning the memory-foam earpieces upholstered in unbelievably soft Nappa leather. I know I have used the word elegant several times already, but it is almost impossible to speak of the design of these beautiful headphones without using “elegant” to describe each of its many features. But we’re not really here to focus on the Bowers & Wilkins aesthetic value, so let’s get down to the meat of this review. Incorporated into the elegant design is also the determined goal of simplicity. There are four physical buttons located on the right side…the On/Off & Bluetooth slider button, the Up & Down Volume buttons, and a Multi-Function button to control Play/Pause, Forward/Reverse, and Answer/End/Reject Calls. Also located on the right side (below the controls, is the USB charging port. On the left side is located a physical button for controlling the ANC or VA options. These are changed via the app. After all the admiration, I was excited about actually listening to the B&W Px8s. I downloaded the Bowers & Wilkins app, and in about a minute and a half, I was ready to start listening. Seriously, setting up is as easy as it gets. There are several music/podcast/radio services available to link the app with, but in all honesty, I had only ever heard of one of them. Instead, I chose a music streaming service I already subscribed to. I wrote a list of about 6 songs that represented a wide range of music styles and began to listen. What happened next was magical. There are so many features of these headphones that complement and intermingle with each other to create a sound experience unlike any other. Inside of each cup is an angled, ultra-high resolution 40mm carbon cone driver unit. I am no expert when it comes to such things as this, but what I am an expert in is sound experience, and the cumulative effect of the B&W design and construction is ethereal. I truly felt as if I was sitting in the very same room with the vocalists and musicians. The ANC feature was the finishing touch as it somehow created an environment unlike any I have ever experienced before with over the ear headphones. For the first time in a very long time, I absolutely did not want any of the songs I was listening to to stop. And even the silence between songs was a pleasant and unique experience. To me, it was as if I was actually surrounded by the warmth of sound, submerged in it, bathed. I simply look forward to every opportunity I have to put these headphones on and surround myself once more with the otherworldly depth and richness of the Px8 So, are they perfect? I for one certainly think so. These are some of the very best over-the-ear headphones I have ever had the privilege to listen to. They make music so much more than something I simply listen to. Like I said, they allow you to experience music. With all the praise I have heaped upon the headphones, I do want to mention. The Bowers & Wilkins app…it is almost pointless. Like I mentioned earlier, it offers the ability to link with different services, and you can control on the app everything you can control with the buttons on the headphones, but that is just about it. There is the ability to adjust the bass and treble, and that is it. There is the profound absence of the ability to choose from any equalizer presets, and there is no ability to adjust any other settings. I’m not sure why they chose to do this, but to me it is a huge letdown. Other than that, everything about the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Headphones is spectacular. For those who are longing for much more when it comes to listening to music, podcasts or what-have-you, the Px8s are the answer. Once you put them over your ears and begin the B&W Px8 experience, you will know that you have found what you have been longing for.