Bowers & Wilkins is a British company renowned for its dedication to high-quality audio and premium design. Its latest flagship over-ear headphones—the PX8—are further proof of the reputation the brand has earned over the years.
Fortunately, our friends at Bowers & Wilkins were kind enough to send one out for review.
Design
One of the many stand-out features of the Bowers & Wilkins PX8 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones is its sophisticated design and premium materials.
Without a doubt, the PX8 is the most luxurious pair of headphones I’ve ever touched. When you first lay your hands on the aluminum frame and Nappa leather, it’s clear these headphones are on another level.
They have a weight to them providing a sturdy feel combined with an elegant design that puts the plastic competition to shame.
The PX8 even carries that strong scent of real leather, in fact, it was too strong for me at first. I’m pretty sensitive to strong smells and I had to let it sit for a week just to air out before I could wear them. However, now they have that hint of leather aroma that exudes class and quality.
Comfort
Under the rich Nappa leather on the ear cups is a generous layer of soft memory foam that feels great around your ears. The headband, however, could have used a little extra foam to relieve the pressure on your head. Thankfully, the PX8 is still comfortable to wear for hours at a time, but you’ll start to notice a little pressure on your head after a while.
User experience
The PX8 uses a series of physical buttons on the ear cups to control playback, volume, answer calls, and toggle through ANC and pass-through modes or voice assistant. I was thrilled to see this deviation from touch controls that have become so popular, because they are often easily activated and not always implemented in an intuitive way. Conversely, physical buttons have the benefit of being easily accessible and just work.
The Bowers & Wilkins Music app is where you’ll find more options for the PX8, such as a simplistic equalizer, current battery level, controls for noise cancellation and pass-through, as well as toggles for the wear sensor and auto standby.
Overall, I found the options in the app a little lackluster when compared to others like Sony. Furthermore, the wear sensor seemed buggy to me because music seemed to pause randomly when I toggled it on.
Audio quality
The Bowers & Wilkins PX8 utilizes the Qualcomm aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec to connect the headphones to your phone. While its transmission rate is about half of what Sony’s LDAC is capable of, aptX Adaptive is able to change transmission speeds allowing for less latency while gaming or watching videos, as well as providing a more stable connection and better battery life overall. Regardless, for the price that B&W is asking for the PX8, I would have liked to see LDAC as an option.
There is also a USB Type-C to 3.5mm cable included in the box for connecting it hardwired, except the USB plug is inserted into the PX8 and the 3.5mm end is for connecting to your laptop or other devices. Usually, it goes the other way around, meaning this won’t allow you to connect it to your phone hardwired without a dongle since the PX8 lacks a 3.5mm jack.
As far as how the PX8 sounds, it has a warm relaxed sound quality. The bass isn’t too deep and the highs are reserved so as to not cause ear fatigue or be piercing. The soundstage is wide and allows the music to surround you. Overall, the sound lives up to the quality of the build and materials that Bowers & Wilkins used, and that’s an impressive feat.
My one criticism is that I wish the app had a more extensive equalizer that allowed for finer tweaking, especially when you’re asking $700 for them. Sound is a personal thing and we all have our preferences, it would be nice to have a bit more control.
ANC
Noise cancellation can be a mixed bag from brand to brand. You’re never certain whether other brands can compete with the likes of Sony or Bose. I’m happy to report that the Bowers & Wilkins PX8 more than delivers when it comes to noise cancellation.
I was shocked and delighted at how well the PX8 noise cancellation worked, isolating me with my favorite music and helping me concentrate. It was even able to block out noises that some other brands often struggle with.
Battery life
Battery life on the PX8 has been fantastic. Bowers & Wilkins advertises a 30-hour battery life, and in my experience, the PX8 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones live up to that. I’ve been using the PX8 for the past few weeks exclusively with ANC enabled and I’ve barely had to charge them.
Even when the PX8 does get low on battery life, it supports quick charging and can provide seven hours of playback from only a 15-minute charge.
Final thoughts
The Bowers & Wilkins PX8 are a phenomenal pair of headphones made from premium materials and featuring superb sound quality, battery life, and noise cancellation. However, that all comes at a price—and in this case—that is the hefty sum of $700.
Unfortunately, that is going to be out of reach for many people, but there are still some other options out there for those wanting high-quality audio minus the aluminum and Nappa leather build. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort 45, both of which are highly rated for sound quality and ANC while only costing about one-third of the PX8.
If you’re someone lucky enough to afford the PX8 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, then you won’t be disappointed. The build quality is second to none, and it features some of the best audio quality and noise cancellation around.
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