Upmarket headphones today are as much of a fashion statement as a technological one. For many audiophiles, wearing a pair of Bose or Sony doesn’t send the right message. For others, having a gorgeous-looking set of headphones with some audiophile sonic credibility is also appealing. That’s where the $399 per pair Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3e headphones come in. These are the entry-level pair of headphones from the audiophile loudspeaker company known for being the backbone of the mastering at, say, Abbey Road Studios and Skywalker Ranch. These headphones are priced at a beyond-competitive price point and offer improved sound, as well as some thoughtful designer touches.
These new, made-in-China (nobody makes mainstream headphones in the United Kingdom of U.S. for that matter) over-the-ear headphones are upgraded with better materials and better processing power, which helps them bridge the gap between these $399 headphones and the slightly more expensive Bowers & Wilkins Px8s (read the review). Are these the right headphones for you or those in your personal orbit who expect you to buy them headphones? This is what we are about to assess.
What Makes the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones So Special?
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e use a 24-bit processor, an upgrade from the last version. The idea here is to get better digital up-conversion for files that are locally on our devices (think: smartphone, tablet and far beyond) and to get them sounding more like higher-definition music. The last generation of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 (without the “e”) were sexy-looking, but the delta in performance between them and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s was big. This is a way to bridge that sonic performance gap.
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es use a 40-millimeter driver. This is one of the largest and most capable driver sizes in the market today, which can reproduce a pretty full-range sound without a ton of distortion.
- The ANC (noise cancelation) is very good on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones. Nobody can make that baby stop crying on the plane, but with a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es, you can make the sound a lot less annoying.
- The battery life on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e is strong at 30 hours with the ANC on. Pretty much every headphone that competes in the wireless, $400-per-pair range can play as long as the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es, but these headphones also charge really quickly, which is very nice.
- The form factor of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es is even better, which is appealing to non-audiophile customers like my wife, who is getting these headphones as soon as I am done reviewing them. She had the previous versions in white, but loves the deep Ocean Blue color of these headphones. There are other options in Anthracite Black, Cloud Gray, Forest Green, and Ruby Red.
Why Should You Care About the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones?
Younger audiophiles might want to have a differentiated set of more audiophile-minded wireless headphones. My son wears Sennheiser Momentum 4s that are at the same price point and now takes them to school. Without question, headphones at this price are wear and tear items, and if you don’t believe me – look at how I have beaten the snot out of my beloved reference $999 Mark Levinson No. 5909 headphones. In the past few years, they have been to more consumer shows than most audiophiles. These pricey headphones owe me nothing at this point, because they’ve provided me a high-end audiophile experience while on the road. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es can do the same at a much lower price.
Not every audiophile is a power headphone user like me, so having a pair of headphones priced at the range of a respectable interconnect is appealing. At $399, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es are an excellent, somewhat audiophile gift. If you are looking to get a young person into the audiophile hobby, might you start with a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones? It isn’t a bad idea.
Some Things You Might Not Like About the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones
- The fit on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e is tight on my big head. This was the case on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s (mine got ruined in the Palisades Fire – ugh …), as well as the pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7s that my wife got from me a few years ago. This fit issue is a tricky one, in that it can be a bit physically fatiguing on larger heads, but the tight fit makes for better bass performance.
- Connecting the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es via Bluetooth isn’t as easy as it should be. This has always been the case with Bowers & Wilkins headphones, and it remains the case with the latest version. I recommend a full restart of your device, as well as the headphones, to make them pair correctly. Once you pair them, you are good to go for a long, long time, but I had issues getting these new headphones to pair with my M1 Apple MacBook Pro.
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es are just not as physically swanky or resolved-sounding as their bigger brothers, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s. Yes, you need to pay more for Px8s, but you get a much nicer fit and finish, as well as improved clarity sonically. I miss mine and will get new ones with my insurance money when the time comes.
Listening to the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones …
Johnny Cash’s cover of The Beatles “In My Life” (AIFF – CD Resolution) was one track that jumped out at me in my listening with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones. The close-mic-ed sound of an iconic Country voice covering a Lennon and McCartney classic was a Rick Rubin-produced act of musical genius. I liked the gravity of Cash’s voice, but I thought the sound of the acoustic guitar had vibrancy that I didn’t hear in past versions of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones.
Switching to a radically different type of song, “Down with the Sickness” from Disturbed (AIFF – CD resolution) is a vintage heavy metal track that is much more dense and dynamic than the somewhat sparse Johnny Cash Beatles cover. The energy of the track was evident, but the coherence in the lower frequencies isn’t as good as you will hear in the next level of headphones from here, including the Bowers & Wilkins Px7’s bigger brother, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s, or, say, the aforementioned Mark Levinson No. 5909s, or even (currently being reviewed) Dali iO-8 headphones at a much higher, $1,100 price tag. Engaging the ANC was really helpful here, as cutting down on the outside sonic interference helped clear up some of the muddiness. I found myself using more and more ANC with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es, which was an easy but partial solution to my critique.
Listening to live music can be as much about the music as it is picking up a vibe from the way the recording captures the acoustics of the venue. On “Burning Down the House” (too soon, considering my situation, especially as it relates to my headphone collection?) from The Talking Heads Stop Making Sense, the space between the instruments presented a more detailed, at-the-venue feel as compared to with lesser headphones. The bass was better with the ANC on, but still a little congested-sounding. The Theremin-like keyboard solo felt like it was inspired by a trip to outer space.
Making phone calls with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es was a pleasure, which I can’t say about all of the headphones in this class, or many of those mentioned above. I was able to seamlessly get calls from my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max into the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e with ease. I am very particular about how I sound when making calls (often selling) and, while I still prefer to talk into an actual landline or my iPhone 16, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es were an absolutely suitable solution. My wife used her earlier generation Bowers & Wilkins Px7s for Zoom calls a few times per day. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es are not just sonically up to the challenge, they make you look tec- savvy and fashion-forward at the same time. That’s not bad for $399.
Will the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphone Hold Their Value?
Unless you truly baby your Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones, they will likely be beaten to a pulp within a few years, and that is 100 percent OK. They do come with a nice case, but how many of us travel with our headphones in a case? Not many, right? Enjoy the life out of your Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es and recycle them when the time comes. They simply won’t owe you a thing when you are done with them.
What is the Competition for the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Headphones?
What isn’t the competition for the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e at $399, as this is the most competitive and brutal category for over-the-ear headphones in the entire market. There are big-baller options and lower-priced options, depending on what your needs are. I am going to focus on ones that land close to the price of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones at $349 (buy at Crutchfield) come to mind first when searching for comparisons for the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones. These German-designed speakers do not have the fashionable appeal of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es by any measure, but they are tighter and more accurate in the lower registers of sound. The Sennheiser Momentum 4s (read my review) don’t have such a tight fit, which was more comfortable to my big head. My wife might have loved her Bowers & Wilkins Px7s from the past, but my older son makes even more use of his Sennheiser Momentum 4 over-the-ear wireless headphones.
The Bose Noise Canceling 700 (buy at Amazon) are going to make audiophile heads explode when I use them as a comparison, but Bose has always made better headphones than they get credit for. Their dislike of the audiophile hobby has always been hard to explain and, today, with their purchase of McIntosh, only makes that phenomenon even more odd. At $379, the Bose Noise Canceling 700 headphones (read the review) are about at the same level of cost as the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e headphones. They don’t have the color options, but I find them just a little bit more comfortable. That’s not much but a little bit more comfortable. Bose and Sony literally invented the way modern ANC noise cancelation works, and while others like Bowers & Wilkins now use a multi-mic technology, like Sony and Bose do, Bose does their noise cancelation about as well as anybody.
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones at $399 (buy at Crutchfield) are another key contender in the $400 over-the-ear wireless headphone market. Sony doesn’t have that Apple/Beats-like color selection but they do offer a nicely resolved pair of comfortable headphones that are lightweight and have excellent ANC noise cancelation. I was able to go back and forth with the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones (read the review), and they were really comfortable, but I loved the colors and the high-frequency sound of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es just a little better.
Final Thoughts on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e Wireless Headphones …
The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es (buy at Crutchfield) are a nicely and recently upgraded pair of wireless over-the-ear headphones that will appeal to the tech-savvy listener, as well as the audiophile who is often on the go. These headphones are 100 percent relevant for the modern post-pandemic Zoom-influenced workplace as much as even the guy in seat 2C going to God knows where.
There are many headphones at the $399 price point, and they all have a lot to offer in their own special way. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es strike an excellent balance between form and fashion and that is going to work for a whole lot of potential listeners. The cool factor with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2es is off the charts, and it is a differentiated headphone versus the more mainstream options out there. These headphones are absolutely not going back. My credit card is out and my wife is going to be using these as she goes back to work after a bit of a leave. She’s going to be looking cooler than normal with her tech colleagues in San Francisco when she’s on Zoom with them.
