By If you stick around long enough, everything becomes cool again. Bell bottoms? Those dorky glasses that trendy Millennials wear now all the time? In the world of headphones, Bowers & Wilkins is out with a second version of their flagship audiophile headphones, the Px8 S2s, and they are far more cool than the above mentioned luxury goods. I reviewed the first version of these comfortable and audiophile-grade headphones (read my review of the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s here), and now the British loudspeaker icon is out with a new version of their best headphones.
Is this another new SKU or real performance enhancement? I’ve got a pair of each generation of headphones in hand to test, which is a rare opportunity to dig into the improvements made by Andy Kerr and the nearly 100 engineers working on Bowers & Wilkins speakers, headphones, portable products and automotive over in the U.K.
What Makes the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Wireless Headphones Special?
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones (buy at Crutchfield) join fashion and audiophile performance very nicely. Not every audiophile headphone is good at delivering a really stylish look. Mainstream consumers don’t always want a “how much blacker can this be” pair of headphones snuggling with their skull. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones have a design that lands at a perfect intersection between these two camps of potential headphone buyers.
- Through the Bowers & Wilkins app, you get a five-band EQ. People’s tastes in headphones range all over the place. Early Beats were so bass-heavy, I will never forget my friend and former writer Andrew Robinson literally dropping the first-gen Beats headphones on the floor at CES from his disgust over the bass-heavy sound (today’s Beats under Apple’s guidance, and with help from many ex-patriot Harman engineers, are much better now). Some people like that sound. Others want to crank up the highs. You can mix your own sound with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones but, for me, I like the house sound and didn’t use the EQ, other than to play with it to check that it works.
- The 24-bit DSP is nice for digital audio up-conversion. A better processor helps make more diverse tracks sound better on cans like the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones. My playlists range from pristine HD tracks to ugly, old-school Napster-era songs. The music is what matters, and the new Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones do an even better job with some of the crappy files that I still dump into iTunes from time to time.
- A 40-mm driver can really perform. While there are bigger drivers in the over-the-ear wireless headphone market these days, the 40-mm driver that Bowers & Wilkins uses in the Px8 S2 headphones is a good one, capable of improved bass performance from what I can hear in my somewhat crude A/B tests.
- There are many stylish colors to choose from. I own a lot of headphones in this category, and the ones that I gravitate towards more often are normally the ones that aren’t all colored black. My review samples are black, but I really wanted to play with the (very rare) McLaren versions, which come with their signature orange color theme. The white/tan color combo is what my first-version Bowers & Wilkins came in and those are still available and lovely-looking. There are many colors to choose from. I gave my girlfriend a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 in a blue color (buy at Crutchfield) and she wears them everywhere.
- Noise cancellation is often a life saver. I was sitting in the front of a United 787 Dreamliner flight from LAX to Newark when a baby started crying. I have young kids and, trust me, I feel for the parents (especially the dad who was trying to calm the very young baby down) but, if you are trying to keep your calm together, the noise cancellation on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones is a life-changer. I was able to cut nearly all the background noise out of that situation, and that makes these headphones worth the price of admission.
- The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones are quite comfortable. I find the way the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones fit on your head (at an angle) is a little out-of-the-box but, overall, they fit my big-ass head nicely. They are tight enough to make a good fit for bass performance, but not too tight.
- The 30-hour battery is a lifesaver, but the 15-minute fast-charging is even better. This feature isn’t unique to the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones, but it is a very welcome one, in that you can put a quick charge on your Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones and use them from Los Angeles to Europe and back without recharging.
- The case for the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones is solid and luxurious. I never travel with a case, but I should. Not traveling with one causes so much unneeded wear on my headphones, and that is 100 percent on me. If I were more careful, I would travel with the protective case.
Why Should You Care About the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones?
Rocking a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones shows that you are not just another sheep in the flock. A pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones on your ears shows that you value resolute, dynamic sound, as well as fashion-forward good looks. You do have to spend a little bit more for them versus other headphones, including the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones, but the sonic improvement is worth it, especially if you travel as much as I do.
Some Things You Might Not Like About Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones
- The aforementioned angle of the ear cups is one issue. It makes a good seal around your ear, but it looks a little silly, even if you are football star David Beckham.
- On long trips, my ears got hot with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones on. I made a plan to go to Munich (now Vienna) to attend the world’s largest audiophile show. That requires at least 11 hours to get to from L.A. to somewhere in Europe and even longer to connect to Vienna. That’s a long time to listen to headphones and, by all means, you will want to give your ears a break. What I found with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones was that my ears got physically hot after five or six hours of listening. I would take breaks, but that didn’t cool down my ears or the headphones enough. My solution is to not just take breaks, but to switch over to some IEM (in-ear monitor) options. I’ve got a few ultra-lightweight options in my Tumi briefcase from companies like Ultimate Ears and Etymotic Research, as well as some wireless Bowers & Wilkins PI8 IEMs. All these options are good ones, but let me reiterate – you need to take time off from listening on those long flights to protect your hearing. Manage your volume, too, as it is way too easy to get comfortable with high volumes when you are rocking tunes or watching shows from your iPad (or whatever you travel with).
Listening to the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones …
On “Get Up (Sex Machine)” by James Brown, you’ve got a less-than-modern recording, but one that is 10 out of 10 on the funk scale and a total jam. The space in the mix was well-presented on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones in my testing. Compared to the older version, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones had more openness and space in my testing. The Bootsy Collins bass was tight and deep-sounding. The zip on the high hat was lively but not overly bright. With the noise-cancelling engaged, I was jamming out at the gym with this track, as well as at home.
Speaking of space, in a more modern and strangely not as grungy-sounding recording as you would expect, “Would” from Alice in Chains Live MTV Unplugged was a really vibrant display of how good the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones could sound. The bass, again, was round and full-sounding, yet always tight. The space that I raved about on the aforementioned Brown track was way-way-way better on this more modern acoustic track. Imaging was dead center and the overall musical experience was fully engaging.
Where many lesser headphones fall apart is on complex, layered and highly detailed rock music. “Anema” from Tool is a killer example of this type of audiophile torture test. This nouveau progressive metal track is pure audiophile gold that will take a lesser pair of headphones and expose them for the posers that they are. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones were fully up for the challenge. This balls-out track rocks hard in a funky place, and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones kept up with every note. Now, I warned about listening too loudly, and this is the type of track that will make even the most careful audiophile listener want to start inching the volume up and up. That’s fine in the short term, but you MUST back the volume back down when the track is over. Please. Do not hurt your hearing. I am not joking, as the ear candy effect is real, and so is hearing damage if you don’t respect the power of volume compounded by time when listening to really good headphones like these Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones.
Will the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones Hold Their Value?
Normally, I beat the snot out of my favorite go-to wireless over-the-ear headphones, so they have little to no resale value. If you are unlike me and you actually care for your headphones, you will be able to get some money for a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones, especially if you keep the accessories, case and box. These are sought-after wireless over-the-ear headphones with lots of consumer demand. They are sold in the best retailers. They are sold online. They are sold in big box stores. Hell, I’ve even seen Bowers & Wilkins headphones sold at Costco over the holidays.
What is the Competition for the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones?
The closest comparison, other than the V1 Px8 headphones, are Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones at $479 per pair (buy at Crutchfield). You have to like the price better, but that open sound isn’t as evident as on the lesser Bowers & Wilkins headphones. The ANC (fancy word for noise cancellation) is the same. The less expensive Bowers & Wilkins are also cool-looking and fashion-forward but, if you’ve got the budget, you will never regret making the investment in the better Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones.
While nowhere near as stylish, I was impressed with the sound of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless over-the-ear headphones ($299 – buy at Crutchfield). If you are on a budget and are more sound-oriented than fashion-minded, these Sennheisers are a great option for the gym rat audiophile or the guy who is on Global Services on United.
My reference headphones for years and years, the Mark Levinson No. 5909 headphones ($799 – buy at Crutchfield), are now less expensive. The “Harman Curve” speaks to the concept of voicing headphones in a way that most sounds like a pair of good floorstanding audiophile loudspeakers, and perhaps no wireless over-the-ear headphones do it better than the Mark Levinson No. 5909s. I’ve traveled the world with my Mark Levinson No. 5909s, and they are really great. They get hot over time, too, by the way. Almost every good headphone in this category does. I find the Mark Levinson No. 5909s to be some of the best-sounding, well-balanced headphones on the market today. Down from a grand per pair, they are an excellent value today. They are not nearly as stylish as the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones, especially the more expensive and rare McLaren Edition Px8s.
Final Thoughts on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones …
It is a pleasure to get a chance to shoot out the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones (buy at Crutchfield) with my original Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones. In the world of mainstream headphones and consumer electronics as a whole, there is a lot of pressure to come out with that next new version. Often the performance bump isn’t there. In the case of the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones, the performance upgrade is real and worth every penny of your audiophile investment dollar.
If you are looking to look good and sound even better when you are at the office, in the gym or in seat 3B – the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones must be at the top of your list of headphones to audition. I will not be without a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones in my collection of top-performing audiophile wireless over-the-ear headphones. Plain and simple, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 headphones are just so good that I can’t live without them in the rotation.
