By Everybody needs a good pair of audiophile-grade headphones in 2026. Post-COVID work conditions make using a good pair of cans for Zoom calls perfectly normal. ANC (noise-canceling) can save the day on a flight where there are any number of annoying sounds that you might not want to hear. The gym, the library, the coffee shop – the locations where headphones are necessary are basically endless for everybody from Generation Alpha to Baby Boomers. That’s everybody, at this point.
Audiophiles tend to be perfectionists with their headphones, yet we live in an imperfect world. Mainstream consumers often will be drawn to headphones that have great sound, but they often want a more up-market design aesthetic, as headphones today are as much about fashion as they are performance. That sentence is like nails on a chalkboard but, if you are trying to grow the hobby with new, younger and more diverse enthusiasts, it is time to learn how to find the middle ground. That is right where the latest version of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones land. The audiophile credibility of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s ($479, buy at Crutchfield) is hard to argue with. Their reference floorstanding loudspeakers are used in Skywalker Ranch, as well as in Abbey Road Studios in the U.K. They are also automotive partners with BMW, McLaren and others, meaning non-audiophiles can relate to the performance/lifestyle product, and few audiophile companies can make that claim.
Much as Apple has recently made Beats not suck so much (thanks to hiring a bunch of ex-pat Harman engineers, for starters), Bowers & Wilkins has been able to make changes to their entry-level headphones that have improved the sound in audible and meaningful ways. I’ve got legacy Bowers & Wilkins Px7s S2 (read the review), legacy and modern Bowers & Wilkins Px8s and Px8 S2s (read the reviews) and pretty much every other respectable over-the-ear wireless headphone in the market today. Let’s dig into these strategically important headphones in the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s and see how they fit into the audiophile world.
What Makes the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 Headphones So Special?
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones are very comfortable. This is a must for more mainstream customers, and Bowers & Wilkins delivers with a supple and luxurious ear cup. The band fits on my pretty large head (not much in there, but large nonetheless). The overall materials used are well above the standard more plastic-y feel that you get from lesser-priced headphones.
- The sound of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s is incrementally and thankfully improved.When I had earlier versions tested professionally, they were not at the top of the heap in terms of charted measurements. The bass bloat in the first versions, especially compared to the comparable era of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones, was obvious. Today’s apples to apples comparison shows a gap bridged between the two sets of headphones – most notably in the bass.
- Gaming and movies, as well as music, thrive on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. There are so many ways that you can make a pair of these wireless over-the-ear headphones work for you. Younger users love to game, and the Px7 S3s are up for the challenge. Musically, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7s are more resolved than previous versions. Movies, YouTube.com, TikTok and other content with video also sound pretty damn good on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones.
- The ANC noise cancellation is worth the price of admission on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. There are so many places where ANC is not just a luxury – it is a necessity.
- Phone calls are a breeze on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. I don’t use headphones to make phone calls because I am set in my ways, but I’ve been walking around Marina del Rey every morning making my calls, and they are perfectly good on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. Toggling from calls to music is easy with my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
- You can EQ your sound on the Bowers & Wilkins app. I need another app on my phone like a hole in the head, but the Bowers & Wilkins one allows for five-band EQ, which is really useful if you want to craft a unique sound bespoke to your tastes. I did it and it was easy to use and effective, although I was pretty happy with the refined sound of the latest version of the Px7 S3s.
- Colors on headphone matter – just ask Apple … Remember when Apple came out with colored computers like iMacs and MacBooks? Consumers loved it. This works the same with headphones. The white/tan color combo for my Px8s (original versions) have gotten many compliments when I am traveling. Simply put, people don’t always want mundane-looking black headphones, and the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s deliver on that.
- The travel case is useful (if you are careful enough to use it). I am the worst when it comes to being careful with headphones. I beat the snot out of my best headphones, as I don’t expect to resell them if they are in my heavy rotation for use. If I did, I would use the carrying case that Bowers provides, because it is super-nice and quiet protective.
- The battery life is excellent on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. While perhaps not as long a battery life as others, you can go away for a week and possibly not need to recharge your Px7 S3s. That is silly behavior, however, in that it takes no time to get your Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s recharged, even from lower-powered AC sources like a USB-C cable ported from your laptop. 15 minutes gets you ready to rock for hours and hours longer. Simply put, you will not worry much about battery issues with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s.
Why Should You Care About the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones?
A new audiophile who wants to begin a meaningful audiophile journey can look to the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones as a good starting place. My ex-wife got a pair (can I have those back?). My new music-loving girlfriend got a pair at Christmas and was over the moon about them. She wore them all the way from Los Angeles to Boston and back in JetBlue Mint for my Harvard event. She now understands more about the tie-in between my reference speakers, Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4s, and our collective headphones. My kids also wear Bowers & Wilkins Px7 headphones, and they love them.
There are more higher-end over-the-ear wireless headphones that a more advanced audiophile can invest in. I’ve got nearly all of them on display in my office. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s represent a Goldilocks Zone value proposition that appeals to many audiophiles, both new and experienced. That is the beauty of this product.
Some Things You Might Not Like About Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones
- The bass is still a little muddy compared to the next-level-up headphones – specifically the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2s. I’ve done the Pepsi Challenge, and the sonic differences between the Px8 S2s and the Px7 S3s are significant. So is the relative price difference in the real world. Many audiophiles wouldn’t think twice about spending an extra $300, so that makes the decision an easy one. Value is king for younger audiophiles, and the Px7 S3s are a much better overall value. The bass issue is dealt with in the app with the five-band EQ. I don’t really want yet another app on my phone to do one task but that’s just me.
- Over time, the inside of the ear cups got physically hot on long trips. When flying from Los Angeles to Europe, you normally leave in the afternoon and arrive the next day around breakfast, so you’d better eat and be asleep in the first few hours of the flight. What I found was that, if I left the headphones on, over time, they got physically hot in the ear cups. More worrisome was that they didn’t cool down very fast (think a 15-minute break, which is an excellent idea in any case). My solution is to travel with a pair of IEMs (in-ear monitors) in my Tumi briefcase. While I try to take breaks from headphone listening over time, I also switch out my headphones for this odd heat issue.
Listening to the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones
Starting with a complex and older mix, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Dianna Ross and The Supremes (Qobuz), I loved how I could hear the subtlety of the reverb in the opening passages. The fast-fiddling violins in the early moments of the track have really good resolution. The chimes behind Ross’ vocals in the opening verse sound detailed but not harsh whatsoever. The layering of the background vocals at the end of the first verse was something that I was able to test using the ANC in a windy and noisy environment. While the ANC doesn’t eliminate all external noise, it allows you to hear in a much less hectic environment, and that made for a much more enjoyable experience. Rarely did I not use the ANC when listening to the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones.
Moving to something harder-hitting and more modern, I cued up “Holiday” by Grammy-winning band Turnstile. My brother worked as their lead guitar tech for years until recently resigning while on tour in Australia. I took my older son and his 13-year-old buddy to see the surf-punk-metal band from Baltimore when they played at USC this past October. The song “Holiday” has very quiet sections that segue into head-banging, all-out mosh-tastic musical joy. The bass with the EQ out sounded a little bloated, but with the EQ making very modest changes, I was able to tighten up the sound a little. The vocals are very reverb-laden, as that is the band’s sound, which we learned from seeing and hearing them live. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s did a great job capturing this experience in a way that I can recreate anywhere I go, from the gym to the office to Seat 3B on a Boeing Dreamliner.
I’ve been on a little bit of a Billy Joel kick lately, with an emphasis on his late 1970s works. On “Just the Way You Are,” his Fender Rhodes electric piano in the opening has a warm, retro 1977 sound that was really inviting on my Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s. Joel’s voice floats above the mix in the opening verse, while the acoustic guitar has a sonic vibrancy that I really liked. The 10 CC-sounding Moog (I am pretty sure that it is a Moog) analog synth adds a layer of depth to the mix that made the track more complicated, and the Px7 S3s were up to the task. Side note from somebody who loves himself some cover songs: the Barry White version of this track is pure musical genius and worthy of a trip to YouTube.com if you’ve never heard it. Funky, soulful and kinda awesome.
Will the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones Hold Their Value?
No – if you treat them without care, as I sadly do. $479 headphones are likely not going to be worth much years down the road, as they are clearly wear and tear items. There is also the issue of having headphones on your ears and then somebody else’s. Some people are weirded out by this – not me, but I get it. In the end, if these headphones last three or four years, you would be good. It is unlikely that a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s will owe you anything by the time they are a few years old.
What is the Competition for the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones?
Apple’s AirPod Max ($549 buy at Amazon) is a good comparable in terms of price and style. I didn’t find the sound of the Apple AirPod Max (read my review) to be as open as the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s, but I must give the Apple engineers (I assume the same ones who radically improved Beats) some props. The fit and comfort level of the Apple AirPod Max over-the-ear wireless headphones is quite good. The colors are even better than the Bowers Px7 S3s, and those options are very good. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s are a little bit more of a tech-audiophile statement when walking around town, if that matters to you.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4s ($299 on sale at Crutchfield) are also from a trusted audiophile brand and very cool. They didn’t come in as many designer colors when I wrote my review of the Sennheiser Momentum 4s (read my review), but that helps add value. Sonically, the Sennheisers were even more open and detailed-sounding than the Bowers & Wilkins. The bass was a little more pronounced (or heavy) with the Px7 S3s, which many listeners like.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2s ($799 buy at Crutchfield) are an upmarket option for the audiophile looking for a little more, who also has a little more coin in their pocket. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2s (read my review) have been getting a lot more play in my life lately, and are a solid comparable with the Px7 S3s. For more money, you get a nicer finish. You get a more resolved, tighter bass sound. That’s not a bad deal for a few hundred more bucks but, then again, $799 is a lot of money for wireless, over-the-ear headphones for many. You will know which option is best for you and, luckily, most good retailers have both headphones on display if you want to do you own testing, which I can’t encourage more enthusiastically.
Final Thoughts on the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones …
The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones are a gateway drug to more premium audio and, for that, we love them. At Version 3 of the product, they are well-refined, pretty and very comfortable. Sonically, they are nicely improved over the earlier version, which makes them a very good value. Anybody in your life would be happy to get a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s ($479 buy at Crutchfield) as a gift, as I have tested this concept and it goes over well. Really well.
We spend a lot of time talking about how to get new people into the audiophile hobby. In my research, the headphone market is about 25 times bigger than the specialty audio (two-channel) market, thus there are many more people to inspire from the headphone world over to the world of quality two-channel audio. For under $500, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones deliver much of what we love about a good stereo system to an audience of consumers who aren’t always aware of what we do in this business. When they get a taste of what good sound in a fashion-forward, high-tech, luxurious package can do for them, they will become hooked. More savvy audiophiles have a good idea of what they will get from a component like the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s, and they will not be disappointed. There’s a place for these headphones in everybody’s life and that’s a rare conclusion in the audiophile world. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3s are true crowd-pleasers.
