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The Px8 S2 are Bowers & Wilkins’ latest flagship noise-canceling headphones, replacing the 2022-released originals that we called “pure headphone luxury” in our B&W Px8 review.
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These all-new sequels sit above the British company’s excellent Px7 S3, which arrived earlier this year and have already claimed a prestigious spot in our best wireless headphones buying guide. The Px8 S2 share many of their sibling’s gorgeous design traits and modern features, including aptX Lossless Bluetooth, Nappa leather finishings and – coming soon – spatial audio, Auracast and LE Audio Bluetooth support, but naturally they elevate performance in a bid to justify their premium price of $799.
Indeed, a significant margin exists between their hefty price tag and that of other reference models from established headphone brands, such as the Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2 and Apple AirPods Max.
So do they justify their extra expense? For music fans who prioritize sound quality, and perhaps also highly value luxury elegance, they do, and then some.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 specs
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 design & comfort: in another league
Quick take: The James Bond of noise-canceling headphones
We called the fit and finish of the original Px8 “sublime”, and somehow Bowers & Wilkins has managed to improve on both for the second generation. The Px8 S2 don’t look a million miles from their predecessors, but tweaks to the ergonomics and aesthetics see them push up the comfort and beauty benchmarks that little bit higher.
The company has slimmed down the profile of the Px8 design so that the new iterations not only look more streamlined than the originals but also sit closer to your head, improving the contact they make with it for a better seal and, consequently, more consistent sound. That, combined with supple Italian leather earpads and headband cushioning, makes for a fit that nicely balances stability and comfort. They’re a great big hug for your ears.
Sure, I love the Px7 S3’s similarly ‘just right’ Goldilocks fit and clearly DNA-sharing design, but the Px8 S2 are next level in both respects, thanks to their use of real leather (as opposed to the Px7 S3’s vegan-friendly pleather) and more mechanically stiff armature and hinges (aluminium compared to plastic). The Px7 S3 do momentarily have the edge when it comes to color finishes – there are three to choose from (with a fourth on the way in October), compared to the Px8 S2’s two (Onyx Black and Warm Stone) – but B&W says more will be available in due course.
I also love the look of the unique exposed braided cabling that snakes down the aluminium arm leading to the earcup. Bowers & Wilkins says this is actually a visual homage to its first-ever headphones, the P5 from 2010, and insists the cable isn’t vulnerable to damage despite its out-in-the-open positioning.
Speaking of damage, if you do love your Px8 S2 a little too much over the years, the earpads and headband inner lining can be replaced down the line by an authorized dealer.
Design score: 9/10
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 sound: real treats for the ears
Quick take: A clear step above the rest.
This is where the Px8 S2 really excel.
With the Px7 S3, Bowers & Wilkins raised the performance so much so that they surpassed the original Px8 – the implementation of a superior DAC, magnet and headphone amplifier made a world of difference. The Px8 S2 share much in common with the Px7 S3’s engineering: they too have that headphone amp and DAC, as well as the same digital signal processor. They also both feature a 40mm dynamic full-range driver.
But one thing does separate the two headphones’ audio platforms – the different materials of their driver – and believe me when I say that it proves more significant than it may initially appear. While the Px7 S3’s driver is a bio cellulose design, the Px8 S2’s is carbon, which is lighter, more dynamic and also more efficient in how it handles the power it is fed by the dedicated amp.
I compare the two directly, playing Wet Leg’s Chaise Longue, and instantly upon switching to the Px8 S2 I detect an all-round sonic upgrade. The soundstage is more open, with more space between elements allowing instruments and even silences in the mix to breathe and evolve. The drumbeat carrying the momentum of the track is fuller and has greater impact, and the dry playfulness of the vocal is more convincingly captured, and the electric guitar is meatier. As I let the indie band’s Catch These Fists come into play, the relentlessly piercing cymbals and shakers in the opener and throughout the chorus sound more comfortable through the Px8 S2 thanks to their greater high-frequency detail, too.
Considering the Px7 S3 are pretty much on par with the Sony XM6 performance-wise, the two class leaders around the $450 price point, the Px8 S2 prove that they are worth their weight in sonic gold.
I’ve heard several pairs of wireless headphones that approach or match the Px8 S2’s hefty asking price, such as the AirPods Max and Focal Bathy, but these Bowers are the most mature-sounding of the lot. Bass response is impressive, both in the weight needed for Muse’s Hysteria and the agility necessary to sufficiently drive Thundercut’s Funny Thing.
Thanks to generous helpings of midrange expression, Eminem’s raps brim with aggression, while the masterful, dynamically varied fingerwork of pianist Ludovico Einaudi is on full display.
While Bluetooth playback is impressively close to wired listening quality (via the supplied USB-C and 3.5mm cables), you do get a touch more refinement and rhythmic tightness through a wire.
Sound score: 9/10
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 noise-canceling: the weakest link
Quick take: Does the job, but I expect more at this price.
Across the Px7 S3 and Px8 S2 models, the Bowers & Wilkins design has been largely hard to fault. But if they have one weakness, it’s the competitiveness of their active noise cancellation.
B&W has indeed made improvements in the sound-blocking department by integrating six microphones into the earcups (two more than the Px8 had) to measure external noise – a crucial element of how ANC works, of course – and improving their location on the earcups for more accurate pick-up coverage.
The result is an ANC system that does what it promises – blocks sound. The thing is, rival headphones block sound more effectively. The Px8 S2 certainly reduce chatter, road noise and bus engines to the background, and mostly to non-distracting levels when you’re listening to music. I walked busy city streets and found my playlist was largely undisturbed by traffic and shopping mall noise.
But loud or higher-pitched noises – ambulance sirens and traffic light beeps, say – or conversations within a few metres can be discernible beneath playback, which isn’t often the case through the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2. During a particularly blustery morning, wind noise was able to creep in to disrupt my listening, too.
I know which pair I would choose for a long-haul flight or podcast listening…
Noise canceling score: 7/10
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 battery life: typically good endurance
Quick take: On par with the (less premium) pack.
The Px8 S2 importantly shine above the cheaper competition when it comes to sound and design quality, then, but in terms of battery life they are happy to rub shoulders with the more affordable pack, including their siblings and the Sony WH-1000XM6, with a 30-hour battery (with ANC activated). You may reasonably expect pricier headphones to sport larger-capacity juicepacks, but relatively few pairs at any price venture beyond that figure.
During nine days of testing, where I dipped into the headphones every day and played music consistently above 60% volume levels and with ANC always on, I logged an impressive real-world usage of just shy of 27 hours.
And for those low-battery emergencies, a 15-minute quick charge will furnish you with seven hours of playback.
Battery life score: 8/10
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 features: mostly coming soon
Quick take: Future firmware updates will bolster the Bowers offering.
As with the Px7 S3, the Px8 S2 are due to receive future firmware updates. Bowers & Wilkins informs me that spatial audio should arrive by the end of the year, and hopefully it will be worth the wait.
The immersive audio technology is based on their own platform (as opposed to a third party’s) and designed to recreate the experience of a speaker playing music in a room, with a theoretically sensible focus on the presentation playing out in front of you, as opposed to on musical elements appearing behind you as a way to ‘enhance’ immersion.
Meanwhile, an update to add Auracast and Bluetooth LE Audio support will follow, presumably in early 2026. While the former is a broadcast-style audio-sharing technology set to redefine public listening experiences in the (hopefully not-too-distant) future, the latter is a next-gen Bluetooth standard that promises improved battery life and latency, plus potentially better audio quality, when connected to compatible devices. Both will be valuable updates.
As for the here and now, the Px8 S2 support aptX Lossless and Bluetooth Multipoint, feature wear-detection functionality and have a companion app that houses a five-band EQ and a handful of usability-related settings.
Should you buy the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2?
Bowers & Wilkins has applied the considerable development it put into revolutionizing its Px7 headphones to its flagship Px8 model, while pushing their performance forward to justify their significant price premium.
There may not be much on paper that distinguishes the two pairs, but the Px8 S2 represent a meaningful sonic upgrade and are even more beautiful to behold.
If your personal listening priorities concern sound quality above all else, you don’t require absolute silence from an ANC system, and you can afford the not-insignificant outlay, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 are an easy recommendation that the addition of future features should make even easier.
Why not try…?
Apple loyals may reasonably consider the AirPods Max, which offer the most complete and seamless user experience for iPhone users while delivering spatial audio and better ANC than the Px8 S2. They are cheaper too, at $549, and are the only wireless headphones that can rival the Bowers & Wilkins headphone family for aesthetic elegance and build quality.
Be aware, however, that they don’t reach the same sonic heights as the Px8 S2, nor do they match them for endurance, with a rather paltry battery life of 20 hours.
How we tested
I spent the best part of two weeks testing the B&W Px8 S2, during which time I logged their real-world battery life and compared their sound, ANC, design and features directly against their more affordable Px7 S3 siblings to see whether they were worth their extra expense.
I also compared their noise-canceling ability to that of the class-leading sound blockers, the Bose QC Ultra 2, and their sound quality to that of the similarly priced Focal Bathy, to provide further context of the headphones’ ranking in the premium wireless headphone pecking order.