Bowers & Wilkins Px8 evaluation: pure headphone luxurious
MSRP $699.00
“The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 ship implausible sound and unbeatable consolation in a meticulously crafted set of cans.”
Execs
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Fantastically designed and constructed
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Extremely comfy
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Nice sound high quality
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Respectable noise cancellation
Cons
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Costly
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Not superb for calls in noisy locations
Look, I agree with you. $699 — oh c’mon, who am I kidding, $700 — is loads to pay for a set of wi-fi headphones, even when they’re the Px8, the brand new flagship of the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) private audio lineup. The reality is when you begin to head north of $400, the enhancements to sound high quality begin to taper off and it turns into extra about design, supplies, and — in a way — the entire “premium-ness” of the expertise.
But when that’s what you search — a set of wi-fi headphones that epitomize sophistication, efficiency, and sophistication — the B&W Px8 will wrap your head in luxurious.
Design
The Px8 initially have been set to promote for $549. That’s nonetheless dear by most requirements, however solely $150 greater than the $399 B&W Px7 S2, a set of wi-fi headphones that share a ton of DNA with the Px8. That will have put them on par with the Apple AirPods Max, inside spitting distance of the $599 Grasp & Dynamic MW75, and made them significantly extra reasonably priced than the $800 Focal Bathys and $899 Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95.
However as unhealthy luck (or the financial system) would have it, B&W says it goofed on its authentic pricing, and right here we’re. Regardless of teasing us with that cheaper price, the very fact is that whenever you pull the Px8 from their protecting journey case, they appear and feel like a very high-end product. The match and end are chic. From the supple leather-based on the headscarf and ear cushions to the peerlessly easy polish of the aluminum sliders and pivots, the Px8 are a feast for the senses.
They handle to be each light-weight but substantial-feeling — an extremely tough balancing act in the case of headphones. They’re a scant 10 grams heavier than the Px7 S2, however value it: whenever you put the Px8 in your head, it’s like coming residence. I do know from earlier expertise with the PX7 and Px7 S2 that B&W’s cans are a terrific match for my noggin, however neither of these headphones really feel pretty much as good because the Px8. I hate to say it, however actual leather-based makes an actual distinction.
They squeeze simply sufficient to remain firmly in place, whereas the ear cushions effortlessly dissipate the stress. Even with glasses, they’re extremely comfy. For actually lengthy classes, I feel the Sony WH-1000XM5 are nonetheless a better option. However the XM5’s all-plastic building is just not in the identical league because the Px8.
Equipment and controls
I don’t need to come off as sounding petty, however given the value B&W prices for the Px8, it might have been a bit extra beneficiant within the equipment division. The competitors usually ships with each analog and digital cables, plus quite a lot of adapters, like USB-A-to-USB-C, 3.5mm-to-¼-inch, and even an airplane adapter. However B&W solely contains the 2 cables.
From a controls perspective, the Px8 are similar to the Px7 S2, which is to say that the fundamentals are all there. Along with automated play/pause due to built-in put on sensors, the bodily buttons offer you playback, quantity, observe skipping, and name administration. They might nonetheless do with additional refinement: the primary multifunction button could be a bit tough to determine from its two companion quantity buttons (regardless of its textured end), and the comfort button on the opposite earcup makes you select between switching lively noise cancellation (ANC) modes and with the ability to summon your telephone’s voice assistant. In the event you select ANC, you’re pressured to toggle via ANC, transparency, and off modes, as a substitute of with the ability to choose from simply two modes.
ANC and wi-fi choices
ANC is one other space the place there’s no profit to spending the additional $300 over the Px7 S2. It positively will take the sting off all kinds of sounds, from site visitors to noisy restaurant chatter, however don’t count on the spectacular diploma of dampening supplied by the Sony XM5, Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, or Apple’s AirPods Max. Transparency mode fares higher, with a genuinely clear audio window to the skin world.
The easiest way to expertise the Px8 wirelessly is to pair them with an aptX Adaptive- or aptX HD-compatible telephone. Sadly, the iPhone shouldn’t be amongst that listing of units, and it can also’t make the most of the Px8’s direct-digital USB-C connection for actually lossless 24-bit audio. Apple of us might want to purchase a DAC/amp dongle and use the included 3.5mm-to-USB cable to get an equal stage of high quality.
Sound high quality
Whichever approach you go, you’ll be handled to excellent sound — the Px8 sound nice. Readability, with precision, is the overriding theme, and these cans ship that throughout all frequencies whereas putting you in the midst of an open and immersive soundstage. Out of the field, I discovered myself wanting a bit extra oomph to each the highs and lows. However just a few changes to the B&W Music app’s bass and treble sliders have been all I wanted to search out my most popular signature.
It’s possible you’ll be questioning if the Px8 outperform the extra reasonably priced Px7 S2 — in any case, they appear very related. It’s a good query, particularly given the hassle B&W says it has put into the Px8 via the inclusion of newly developed, full-range, angled 40mm carbon drivers mated to magnets and voice coil motors designed particularly for these headphones.
The decision? I’ve bought excellent news and unhealthy information. The great: the Px8 are, indisputably, the best-sounding B&W cans you should purchase. The unhealthy (or possibly good too?): the enhancements over the Px7 S2 are delicate. I needed to spend a great deal of time with every set of cans, paying very shut consideration how they render quite a lot of tracks, to determine the place these enhancements lie.
After setting the Px7 S2 and Px8 to the identical 60% quantity, and the identical bass and treble changes, I swapped forwards and backwards between them over the course of my favourite check tracks and a playlist offered by B&W inside the Bowers & Wilkins Music app. The Px8 are a bit clearer via the higher registers, their soundstage is a tad extra outlined, and there’s a small enchancment in how open they sound. I’m guessing most folk will discover the Px8’s bass — it’s punchier and extra resonant.
However don’t go right into a head-to-head listening session and count on these enhancements to leap out at you. In actual fact, it wasn’t till I used the USB-C digital audio connection to a PC that I actually began to understand what the Px8 carry to the desk. In the event you’re listening casually (and wirelessly) — say, whereas commuting — there’s an actual probability you gained’t have the ability to hear these enhancements in any respect.
These carbon drivers are presupposed to be notable for his or her ultra-low distortion, however I pushed each headphones to quantity ranges that have been downright painful, and which I can not suggest to anybody for quite a lot of seconds. I’ll be damned if I might hear extra distortion from the Px7 S2 than on the Px8, whilst Wolf Alice carried out The Final Man On Eartha observe that incorporates a mixture of hovering feminine vocals and highly effective instrumentation — and which might usually reveal these nuances.
On the one hand, that’s not what you’ll count on from a set of headphones that price 75% greater than their siblings. However then once more, the Px7 S2 are among the many best-sounding wi-fi cans you should purchase, so on the very least, the identical is only a bit extra true for the Px8. The Px8 are superior. However 75% superior? No, positively not.
Name high quality and battery life
You gained’t discover any vital enhancements in name high quality. In actual fact, after listening to my check recordings from the Px7 S2 and Px8, it’s outstanding simply how related the voice high quality is. Each introduce the identical type of compression and distortion when making an attempt to compensate for competing loud appears like site visitors, and each supply glorious high quality whenever you’re in a quiet setting. In different phrases, the Px8 are going to be at their finest when on Groups or Zoom, or telephone calls indoors, the place issues aren’t too loud round you. They are going to be loads much less efficient when strolling on busy streets with a lot of site visitors.
Battery life on the Px8 is sweet at a claimed 30 hours, which finally ends up being nearer to twenty-eight, relying on how loud you’re listening and whether or not you’re utilizing ANC loads. In the event you’re anxious about stamina, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wi-fi will not be as luxe because the Px8, however with a surprising 60 hours of energy, they’ll outlast nearly the rest. Nonetheless, ought to the Px8 begin to flounder, bringing them again to life takes only some minutes — you’ll rating as much as seven hours of additional taking part in time after simply quarter-hour of plug time.
I nonetheless suppose that $699 is loads to pay for a set of wi-fi headphones, even ones that sound pretty much as good because the Px8. However B&W manages to justify that worth by delivering a set of cans that may delight your senses of sight and contact too. And for some of us, that might be value each penny.
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