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Let’s be brutally trustworthy right here: $799 is rather a lot to pay for a pair of headphones in a world that’s seeing important financial shifts that make it troublesome for unusual, on a regular basis folks to outlive, a lot much less thrive. So, it could come as a shock that, based on analysis, when instances are powerful, folks are inclined to cope by leaning extra closely on stay music, in-home leisure, and different vices.
Throughout instances like these, spending on the type of leisure that may immerse you in one other world and assist you to calm your nervous system may very well go up.
That’s the place the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 is available in. From onboarding through the app, to the built-in bodily controls on the earcups, to the five-band EQ, to the well-thought-out case, the expertise with the Px8 S2 is top-tier. However, is it price the associated fee distinction between the equally compelling subsequent step down, Px7 S3?
Classes | Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 |
|---|---|
Conectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 w/Multipoint connectivity |
Drive items | 2 x 40mm dynamic full vary carbon driver |
Codec help | SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive (Snapdragon Sound) |
Wired help | 24-bit/96kHz audio through USB-C audio, USB-C to three.5mm analog aux cable |
Battery life | As much as 30 hours playback, 15-minute cost for 7 hours playback |
Charging | USB-C w/Quick charging help |
App help | Android, iOS |
Audio tuning | 5-band EQ (app) + TrueSound mode |
Microphone | 8 mics complete |
Colours | Onyx Black, Heat Stone |
Bundled equipment | USB-C cable, USB-C to three.5mm aux cable, onerous case |
The Px8 S2 launches at $100 greater than the earlier era, seemingly as a result of built-in headphone amplifier/DAC, which permits wired lossless playback. Nevertheless, we’ll come again to that in a second. First, let’s speak in regards to the onboarding expertise.
Many apps require you to hook up with them immediately first, then exit that app to ascertain a Bluetooth connection, or vice versa. With the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, it’s all achieved with out having to depart the app. This refinement foreshadows the expertise I had with these headphones. However let’s again up a bit to the unboxing.
The second era of the Px8 collection options, amongst different issues, a smaller case and a extra svelte pair of headphones. My evaluate unit is the Heat Sandstone colorway, with the color-matched case. And it’s lovely. I like that it’s a fabric case as an alternative of PU/vegan/fake leather-based as a result of the latter tends to peel over time.
The within of the case is lined with a delightfully tender microfiber and features a much-appreciated storage pocket with a magnetic closure. Inside that pocket, you’ll discover USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to three.5mm tender contact polymer-wrapped cables.
The headphone’s particulars are immaculate. The Heat Sandstone pair I’m rocking has color-matched Nappa leather-based earcups and a scarf that each breathe nicely and are delightfully snug. The aluminum arms have cutouts that expose the color-matched woven cables working via them.
The clamping power is comfortably “tight,” however I’ve an enormous melon, so your mileage might differ. The arms supply sufficient vertical adjustment, together with multi-axis swivel, so getting a correct match shouldn’t be a problem in any respect.
As I examined, generally sporting the headphones for prolonged intervals, I questioned whether or not of us with massive ears may discover the Px8 S2 to be a decent match. The earcups match me nicely, however my ears aren’t big, and I wouldn’t characterize the match for me as “roomy.” Completely snug, however with little room to spare.
In the meantime, the Bowers & Wilkins companion app is deliberately minimalist. Personally, I like as a lot management as doable, however I wasn’t disenchanted with the Px8 S2 as a result of just about the whole lot I wanted was on the earcups. Playback controls, an influence slider swap, quantity up and down, and a customizable “Fast Motion” button are all mechanical buttons that I discovered to be intuitively positioned and really responsive. The Fast Motion button can be utilized to cycle via noise-control modes or invoke your voice assistant.
Take the whole lot I beloved in regards to the Px7 S3 however make it extra upscale in ways in which reek of luxurious in additional than simply larger high quality aesthetic decisions, however prolong to the internals as nicely, which makes a distinction in sound high quality. As an alternative of the biocellulose drivers discovered within the Px7 S3, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 makes use of carbon cone drivers. With that, you get quicker transients, tighter bass, and extra nuance in sound copy.
Irrespective of which mode you select to hear via, Bluetooth, USB-C, or 3.5mm, the sound goes to be immaculate. Listening to music through the BTD700 Bluetooth adapter and a Pixel 9, and through 3.5mm with a FiiO M21 DAP, the soundstage is large and ethereal. I might say there’s an awesome sense of peak and width, with some depth.
You undoubtedly get a powerful sense of instrument placement on tracks like Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man,” and Artwork Blakey’s “Moanin’.” For some listeners, the underside might really feel too heat, however that by no means comes on the expense of different frequencies. Highs are shiny and might get medical with some tracks like Blakey’s “Moanin’,” whereas easy with others. It’s actually all about how a track is combined/mastered.
My favourite music style to hearken to with the Px8 S2 has been Jazz. With a monitor that’s well-mastered, or expertly remastered, the sense of immersion is totally chef’s kiss! Thelonius Monk’s “Monk’s Dream (Take 8)” has an intro that fantastically arranges the piano in stereo left and the drum package in stereo proper, however then Monk is available in with the horn. It feels prefer it’s centered behind them, virtually as if it’s taking part in from the again of your head, whereas not shedding any presence.
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Cannonball Aderly’s “So What” is a beautiful association that hits a fantastically layered change round 3 minutes in.
What’s so fulfilling in regards to the tuning for the Px8 S2 is the gravitas that basslines have, whether or not that’s an upright bass or bass guitar. The weighty basslines by no means impede the good guitar work, as I totally loved listening to tracks by Sylosis and System of a Down. The assault and decay of guitars, fingers sliding up and down frets, it’s all there, anchored by the burden of the rhythm devices.
Now, I’ll say that there have been tracks within the velocity steel and orchestral genres that I felt may use extra sparkle, as I’d characterize the Px8 S2’s general sound as heat. This was simply resolved by using the serviceable five-band EQ included within the Bowers & Wilkins app. Adjusting the excessive and low frequencies gave me what I used to be searching for with mixes and genres the place I wished the treble to shine a bit extra.
Except for audio, the expertise of utilizing the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 has been top-tier at each flip! The on-head detection is very responsive, pausing and restarting songs virtually immediately after I take away or put the headphones again on.
The playback management button on the best earcup is knurled (proven within the image above), so it’s very simple to establish by contact, regardless of being between the amount up and down buttons. Having the choice, within the field, to make use of both USB-C or 3.5mm is great for these utilizing a number of sources for music.
Apart from the worth, it’s onerous to search out something to dislike in regards to the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, significantly. The principle concern I feel anybody would have is subjective: heat tuning. As I beforehand acknowledged, it’s mitigated nicely by using the five-band EQ within the minimalist Bowers & Wilkins app. You possibly can entry most options immediately from the headphones, so there’s little for the app to do. However what’s a energy for some could also be a problem for others.
Lastly, the Px8 S2 prioritizes sound over ANC. In the event you aren’t conscious, extra aggressive ANC usually has an hostile general impact on sound high quality. Which means that there are high-end headphones just like the Px7 S3 and Px8 S2 that construct ANC {hardware} and algorithms the place the main target is on sustaining audio constancy, not top-tier energetic noise cancellation.
To be clear, the noise cancellation is strong, however Sony and Bose haven’t any worries in that particular space.
Given the worth, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 faces competitors from the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Extremely (2nd Gen), which supply higher energetic noise cancelling. Nevertheless, they’ll’t match the Px8 S2 in construct supplies and sound high quality. They’re each a whole bunch of {dollars} cheaper and are nice all-around headphones.
Additionally they have strong competitors from the Noble FoKus Apollo and Dali IO-8, giving the B&W a run for its cash in each sonic efficiency and value. They each elevate your listening classes above the Sony and Bose choices, although in several methods, equivalent to name high quality.
Nothing is “excellent,” however the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 will get fairly darn shut! If they’d ANC that rivaled Sony’s implementation, they’d get 5 stars. That stated, they’re adequate, although, that these could also be five-star headphones for you! With their luxurious match and end — and price ticket — the Px8 S2 are a troublesome act to comply with. Within the space of sound high quality, they’re among the many finest Bluetooth over-ear headphones you should buy proper now.
