Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 review

“The best headphone Bowers & Wilkins has ever made” – that’s certainly one way to sell your new flagship wireless headphones, which is exactly the claim Bowers is making for the Px8 S2.

The outgoing Px8 set the platform, offering a potent combination of luxury, performance and wireless convenience that elevated the brand’s wireless headphone offering to a new level.

So, how do you improve on the original? Bowers & Wilkins hasn’t gone back to the drawing board completely for its latest flagship, but has made changes in a couple of key areas that, on paper, will have a significant effect on sound quality.

Are these positive changes for the Px8 S2, or has B&W broken something that didn’t really need fixing? Let’s find out, shall we?

Price

The original Px8 went on sale in 2022 and cost £599 / $699 / AU$1150. Bowers & Wilkins’ second-generation model brings with it a slight increase to £629 / $799 / AU$1299.

This places the Px8 S2 in the same price ballpark as the five-star Focal Bathys (£699 / $799 / AU$1199) and above the likes of the Apple AirPods Max (£499 / $549 / AU$899), Dali IO-8 (£499 / $900 / AU$999), the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2) (£449 / $449 / AU$700), class-leading Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400 / $450 / AU$699), and the Px8’s five-star siblings, the B&W Px7 S3 (£399 / AU$699 / $449).

Design

If it’s classy looks and luxurious feel you’re after, then the Px8 S2 will not disappoint. They carry over the premium materials and design flourishes of the original, which means they look every ounce a premium headphone, and we can confirm they feel it in hand too.

Place Sony or Bose’s flagship pairs up against the Bowers and you can see and feel where the extra money has gone. Both pairs feel significantly cheaper, especially the Bose.

The nappa leather that adorns the headband, earcups and earpads is wonderfully soft and plush. Our ears didn’t feel uncomfortable or start to heat up following long listening sessions and the padding is comfortable enough.

The ear cushions and headband have been slightly redesigned so they can now be replaced by trained service engineers, should they need to be.

The colour co-ordinated cast aluminium arm structures are exquisitely finished, and the movement feels precisely engineered in terms of how they rotate on axis.

A nice little design touch we should mention here is the exposed cabling along the aluminium arms, which is a little nod to the design of the Bowers & Wilkins P5, the company’s first headphones, which launched back in 2010. The cabling was hidden in the previous generation Px8.

At launch, finishes are limited to the Onyx Black of our review sample and Warm Stone, but don’t be surprised to see other finishes join the line-up over time.

Weight-wise, the Px8 S2 are 310g, which is actually 10g lighter than their predecessors and well in keeping with rivals around similar money. By contrast, the Focal Bathys weigh 350g and both look and feel bulkier than the B&Ws.

The Px8 S2 feel comfortable enough in situ – the earpads sit over your ears and on your head with greater precision than, say, the Sony WH-1000XM6, which give the impression they are spread around your ear more. Both quite different, but both still effective.

There’s decent force behind the clamping weight without the headphones feeling too tight when they are sat in position.

A pair of headphones' drive units obviously dictate the underlying flavour of sound, and the headline news for Px8 S2 is that it keeps the same size of dynamic carbon cone driver used in the original but uses a brand new, stiffer chassis and motor system (including a new voice coil) that Bowers & Wilkins first used in its cheaper, but still brilliant, Px7 S3 model.

The new driver unit has fixing on its edges that allow it to be pinned down more tightly in the enclosure, and they can also be removed should one need replacing at any point.

In terms of electronics, the Px8 S2 use the same amplifier and DSP engine as Px7 S3, although the tuning has been tweaked slightly to take into account how the revamped carbon driver behaves.

Besides the new chassis and motor system, one of the other big changes for Px8 S2 relates to the microphones. The latest model uses eight mics in total, compared to six on the original. Six mics monitor external noise, with two doing so internally, monitoring the output of the drivers.

All eight mics get involved when you are taking and making calls, while six take part in noise-cancelling. The headphones also use a new algorithm to improve call quality, which we’ll discuss later.

Features

Eagle eyes will notice there have been a few tweaks to the button layout and design compared with the Px8. But we aren’t sure they are positive moves. The control buttons have shrunk on the back of the right earcup, especially the play/pause button, while the power and Bluetooth pairing rocker switch has moved from the right earcup to the left.

We found the main controls a little on the small side, especially when you consider their location, right on the slim inner edge of the right earpiece, which is adorned with the Bowers & Wilkins logo. This can make them slightly fiddly to locate and press.

The button you use to toggle ANC on/off and enable pass-through (transparency) mode remains on the back inner edge of the left earcup, albeit slightly higher up, above the power switch. Again, we found them slightly awkward to locate when on the move.

The Bowers headphones support Bluetooth 5.3, are compatible with standard SBC and AAC codecs, plus you can take advantage of aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive 24-bit/96kHz from compatible sources.

Battery life remains unchanged at 30 hours, which is pretty standard for wireless headphones at this level. A fifteen-minute charge should inject another seven hours of playtime.

There’s no spatial audio or Bluetooth LE audio on the menu here, but we wouldn’t deem either of these a deal breaker – although Bowers & Wilkins has promised them via a future firmware update.

The padded carry case is slightly trimmed down compared to previously, and it contains a USB-C charging cable and a USB-C to 3.5mm cable, both of which can be used for wired listening.

As with the previous generation, you can use the Bowers & Wilkins Music app to make adjustments – the Px8 S2 allows for greater adjustment and customisation than the older model, thanks to a five-band EQ (compared to just bass/treble adjustment on the previous model), but you can bypass this completely by using the True Sound mode.

Pairing, done through the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, is okay, although it feels as though there is an extra step there that simply isn’t required, especially for a piece of tech that you should just be able to pair to and play music through. Adding a second device using Bluetooth Multipoint is painless enough, though.

With our original review sample, one member of the team did suffer a handful of connectivity quirks when out and about, with the app not recognising a switch of sound mode. On one occasion, the app also said they weren’t connected despite the Bluetooth connection being on in the phone menu.

We called in a second sample, and although they were more stable, we aren’t one hundred per cent confident in the relationship between app and the headphones.

Noise-cancelling & call quality

When it comes to active noise-cancelling, the Px8 S2 are a step up from their Px7 S3 siblings, which you would hope to be the case. However, they still aren’t a match for the very best, which is a little disappointing for a pair of wireless headphones at this level.

During testing, we notice more train rumble, and more voice penetration compared to the Sony WH-1000XM6 when commuting into the office. The Sony noise-cancelling sounds natural but also manages to make external noises whisper quiet, especially those in the higher frequency realms.

When faced with the background whirrs, rumbles and scrapes of a petrol-powered lawn mower, again, we hear greater high-frequency leakage compared to the Sonys, and also find wind noise to be more penetrating. The Px8 S2 are good, but not in the same class as the best noise-cancelling headphones.

Regarding call quality, the Bowers are on par with most premium wireless headphones. They deliver your voice with good clarity and expression. There’s detail to phone calls and they don’t make your voice sound unnatural and slightly processed, which some headphones can do.

They do, however, let a little more background noise through than the Sonys, which still have the edge when it comes to dampening any external kerfuffle during calls.

Sound

We start our testing with Move Me by Charlie XCX, and we’re immediately impressed with the way in which the Px8 S2 dispatch low frequencies. There’s a real sense of power and authority to each note as it slams into your ears.

There’s ample bass weight but, more importantly, it’s tightly controlled, with clearly defined edges to the big notes but also the bass ripples that are injected into the track.

Bass comes at you hard and fast, and the notes don’t hang around – the Px8 S2 stop and start with impressive precision and accuracy, which allows the momentum of the track to continue without any awkward speed bumps getting in the way.

We switch to the awesomely melodic Everybody’s Changing by Keane, and the Bowers’ strengths shine brightly here. The track is delivered with punch, dynamism and exceptional clarity.

They extract plenty of detail from the percussion, lead vocal, even the little synthy flutters that jump between your ears.

The rise and fall in dynamics is handled superbly. The instruments deliver enthusiasm and life but the Bowers also communicate the tinge of sadness that comes from the lyrics.

They’re engaging to listen to, and you come out of a listening session feeling emotion, which is all you can ask for from a pair of premium headphones like the Px8 S2.

The old Px8 favoured a slightly more analytical approach, but the new version sounds more natural. There’s a greater sense of scale and openness too.

Raidiohead’s 15 Step is an old favourite of ours, not least because its slightly haphazard nature can give poor-sounding headphones nightmares when it comes to timing and being able to follow multiple different strands operating at different speeds.

It’s easy to trip over, but the Bowers manage to hang on to each of those strands and follow the track through to the very end without putting a foot wrong.

Compared to the Px8, punchier, more dynamic tracks are delivered with even greater conviction. With the Radiohead track, there’s more of a sense of space around the different elements, which gives the music room to breathe. This makes for a more interesting, entertaining listen that’s bristling with energy.

Playing Nothing But Thieves’ orchestral version of Impossible recorded at Abbey Road studios, there’s breathtaking clarity and intimacy as the Px8 S2 treat us to a rousing rendition.

The background is beautifully quiet as the track starts with a delicate vocal, solo electric guitar and drums setting an early, smooth tempo. Strings slowly creep in before soaring into view with the rest of the orchestra as the entire ensemble elevates the track to a new level. Strings rise and Conor Mason’s vocal leaps up in tandem, the headphones showing impressive dynamic reach.

Verdict

Bowers & Wilkins delivered a hit with the original Px8, but you can’t argue with the improvements that the Px8 S2 bring to sound quality.

They not only look and feel the part, but the headphones deliver refinement and detail in spades. They provide a potent, punchy listen that’s hugely entertaining. This is clearly five-star sound.

However, although the ANC performance is good, we couldn’t put it in the class-leading bracket. We also experienced connectivity issues, and having spent a good couple of weeks testing them, we think the ergonomics could be better, too.

If you want luxury design and sound, though, the Px8 S2 should definitely be on your list to audition.

Review published: 26th September 2025

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Apple AirPods Max

Also consider the Dali IO-8

Best wireless headphones reviewed and rated by our in-house experts