When it comes to Bowers & Wilkins’ top-of-the-line, noise cancelling, wireless headphones, there are two versions available: the Px8s and the upgraded Px8 McLaren Edition. Both of them offer the ultimate in luxury, comfort, and superior audio quality.
These headphones are designed for tuning out the world around you using advanced noise cancellation technology, allowing you to focus on the music, hands-free phone calls, podcasts, audiobooks, or whatever audio content you’re listening to.
If you have the financial means to spend between $699 and $799 on high-end wireless headphones, you can’t go wrong with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8s. The folks at Bowers & Wilkins provided me with a pair of the Px8 headphones in black so that I could spend a few weeks trying them out for myself. And yes, I was completely satisfied by the experience.
So, if you too want to up your headphone game, consider investing in a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8s. They’ll look elegant on your head, feel extremely comfortable, and provide an immersive listening experience (even if you’re in the middle of a noisy environment).
Since these are Bluetooth headphones that come with a USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack cable, you can pair them with any iOS or Android mobile device, your Windows or Mac computer, or any device that can transmit music to headphones, such as an e-reader or smartwatch.
Keep reading to learn all about my experience working with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones and discover more about how they performed when I listened to music and participated in hands-free phone calls via my smartphone.
Meanwhile, if what you’re seeking are equally high-end wireless earbuds, I recommend checking out my review of the latest Bowers & Wilkins Pi8s.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Over-Ear Headphones
Specifications
Price: $699 / $799 ($505 to $799 on Amazon).
Carry Case: Included.
Drivers: 2x 40mm Dynamic Full Range Carbon Cones (24-bit DSP).
Active Noise Cancellation: Yes.
Microphones: 4x mics for ANC; 2x mics for telephony.
Bluetooth: 5.2 aptX Adaptive Bluetooth.
Frequency Range: 20Hz – 20,000Hz.
Battery Life: Up to 30 hours; 15-minute quick charge offers 7 hours of playback.
Water Resistance: None.
Wear Detection Sensor: Yes.
Headphone Weight: 11.29 ounces (without case).
Available Colors: Black, Royal Burgundy, Tan, Dark Forest, McLaren Grey.
Pros
- Elegant design using Nappa leather and aluminum finishes.
- Superior sound quality for music, phone calls, and more.
- Comfortable fit with padded ear cups.
- Up to 30 hour battery life.
- Easy to access onboard controls.
Cons
- They are expensive.
- Headphones do not fold, so the carrying case is a bit large.
- They’re neither waterproof or water resistant.
- The onboard control buttons are on the smaller side.
Who Will Get the Most From the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Headphones?
The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones are designed for upscale business people, frequent travelers, avid audiobook or podcast listeners, those who participate in a lot of video calls and phone calls, and anyone who’s serious about their audio listening experience.
Priced at $699 or $799 (depending on the model), these headphones are not cheap. In fact, in the consumer headphone product category, they’re among the most expensive on the market. Based on my experience using them, they’re worth every penny (if you can afford them). I certainly would not go into debt to purchase them, but if you have the financial means, you’ll likely appreciate everything these headphones have to offer.
The Px8 Headphones Offer A Comfortable and Elegant Design
When it comes to the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones, everything about them, from their appearance, to their level of comfort, and their sound quality, exudes premium quality and luxury. Yes, Bowers & Wilkins is a high-end audio brand, but in this case, the high price of these headphones is backed up with a top-quality product made from luxurious materials and cutting-edge technologies.
For starters, the Px8’s ear cups and headband are padded with memory foam that’s covered with buttery soft Nappa leather for prestige and comfort. However, it’s the noise cancelling, built in microphones, and sound generating technologies integrated into these headphones that really make them stand out.
The Px8 headphones ($699) are Bowers & Wilkins’ top-of-the-line headphones. There are two versions of them, however. The regular Px8 headphones come in your choice of four colors – black, dark forest (green), royal burgundy, and tan. The Px8 McLaren Edition headphones ($799) feature a galvanic grey and papaya color scheme inspired by the ultra-exclusive McLaren vehicles. While their appearance is slightly different, the audio, noise cancelling, battery, and Bluetooth technologies used within the Px8s and Px8 McLaren Edition are identical.
Thanks to the padded ear cups and headband and the softness of the Nappa leather, these headphones are comfortable to wear, even for extended listening periods. Even after an hour or two wearing them, my ears never felt hot. The pressure the headband uses to keep them secure is noticeable, but not at all annoying.
I was able to quickly move my head around without the headphones sliding around too much around my ears and head. In fact, even without listening to any audio whatsoever, I found myself wearing the headphones with the noise cancellation turned on, so I could simply enjoy the silence they create. This is useful if you need to grab a quick nap on an airplane or train, or need quiet while you’re in a loud location and want to meditate.
The Active Noise Cancellation Allows You to Tune Out Ambient Noise
Ultimately, no matter how gorgeous a pair of headphones is aesthetically, what really matters is how comfortable they are to wear, and most importantly, how good they sound. The Px8s offer a luxurious look and feel, without compromising comfort or sound quality. In fact, whether I listened to music, audiobooks, or podcasts, the sound was all encompassing, rich, and authentic, especially with the noise cancellation feature turned on.
With the help of the four microphones that support the active noise cancellation, the two 40mm Dynamic Full Range Carbon Cone drivers nicely remove unwanted ambient sounds, without detracting from the quality of the source audio. As the ambient sounds in the area where the headphones are being used changes, the Px8s do a fantastic job compensating automatically to maintain the noise cancellation and the desired volume for the intended audio.
With the help of the controls provided by the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, you can personalize the audio’s highs, mids, and lows based on your personal preferences. At the same time, the app links with a handful of popular streaming music services, such as Deezer, Last.FM, Qobuz, TIDAL HiFi Plus, and Pandora, so it’s easy to find and play the content you want to hear and customize how that audio sounds using a single app.
I discovered that the audio technologies integrated into the headphones work nicely with any type of audio, so if you’re streaming a movie on your smartphone, tablet, computer, or smart TV and have the Px8s paired to that device, the music, sound effects and dialogue sound extremely clear, immersive, and authentic in a way that many competing headphones do not.
I really like how easy it is to pair the headphones with whatever Bluetooth device you plan to use them with. Up top two devices can be paired with the headphones at the same time for added convenience. The pairing process is particularly fast and easy using an Android device because the headphones support Google Fast Pairing.
Based on my testing, I enjoyed that the Px8s combine their high-resolution 24-bit digital signal processing with the headphone’s cutting-edge Carbon Cone drivers to deliver outstanding resolution with minimal to no distortion, regardless of the audio’s playback volume. The headphones also do an impressive job improving the high-frequency detail in audio. This allows the drivers to capture nuances in music and other audio content that are often missed by competing headphone driver units.
Audio quality gets further enhanced when the headphones are connected to a computer or smart TV using a USB cable connection for high-resolution audio streaming.
Music, Podcast, Audiobooks, and Phone Calls All Sound Fantastic Using the Px8 Headphones
One of the very best things about the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones is their versatility. You can pair the headphones wirelessly via Bluetooth to a mobile device, computer, e-reader, or smartwatch. Or, using the USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack cable, it’s just as easy to plug the headphones into an airplane’s in-flight entertainment system or other equipment that does not support Bluetooth.
Another standout feature is the headphone’s battery life. You can expect up to 30 hours of playback per charge. When the battery runs low, you can achieve a full recharge in about two hours. However, just a 15-minute quick charge provides an additional seven hours of playback, which isn’t too shabby.
To conserve battery life, you can set up the headphones to turn themselves off after 15 minutes of inactivity. This is done using the Bowers & Wilkins Music app running on a smartphone.
While you might use these headphones as a way to escape from the real-world and immerse yourself in your favorite music, a podcast, audiobook, video game, or audio from a TV show or movie while drowning out the outside world using the Px8’s noise cancellation, this same technology works equally well when participating in hands-free calls or video calls.
In addition to the four microphones used for the ANC, an additional two mics are dedicated to capturing voices clearly during phone calls. So, while wearing the headphones, I was able to be in a noisy area, yet still clearly hear the people I was speaking with and have them hear me clearly, too. This makes the Px8 headphones a valuable business tool when it comes to communicating in the office or when you’re out and about.
Meanwhile, as you’d expect from high-end headphones, these have a pass-through feature, so you can listen to your favorite audio, but still maintain situational awareness of what’s happening around you. And if you remove the headphones from your ears, whatever audio you’re listening to will automatically pause. The audio will pick up where you left off and begin playing again when the headphones are placed back over your ears.
As with many wireless headphones, the onboard controls and built-in USB Type-C port are primarily located on the side of the right ear cup. However, there’s also a single button on the side of the left ear cup.
On the right ear cup, there’s the power/Bluetooth pairing button, along with the volume up and volume down button, and the play/pause button (which is referred to as the multi-function button). When engaged in a hands-free call, the volume buttons are the same, but the multi-function button is used to answer and then disconnect from a call.
The single button on the left ear cup is the Quick Action button. This is used to turn on/off the ANC or pass-through mode, or to activate a digital assistant that’s associated with your mobile device or computer. In some cases, different functions are accessed when you do a single press or quickly double press of a specific button. Using the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, the functionality of some buttons can be customized.
For me, all of the buttons are a tad on the small side, so when I was wearing the headphones and reached up to adjust settings, I initially fumbled a bit as I felt around for the appropriate button to press based on which feature I was attempting to use. I also noticed that to maintain the elegant outward appearance of the headphones, none of the onboard controls are labeled.
The PX8 Headphones Can Travel in Style
While the ear cups built into these headphones rotate and the headband is adjustable, the Px8s do not fold up into an ultra-compact size and they’re not waterproof (or even water resistant). So, when you’re not wearing them on your head or around your neck, you’ll want to travel with them stored in their included hardcover case. This case is custom-designed for the Px8s, so it fits the headphones perfectly. It has a clamshell design that seals with a zipper.
Inside the case, there’s a compartment for storing the USB Type-C to USB Type-C charging cable and USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack cable that also comes with the headphones. The small compartment stays shut using a magnet. You can easily place the case, which measures 7.44 x 2.49 x 9.17 inches, within a briefcase, purse, backpack, laptop bag, or carry-on when you’re on the go. Unfortunately, there’s no handle or strap attached to the outside of the case itself that makes it easy to carry on its own.
The Px8s come with a charging cable, but not a charging block that plugs into an AC outlet. You can plug the headphones into your computer to recharge, or invest in a small charging block that could also fit within the carrying case, so you can store everything related to the Px8s in one convenient place.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Over-Ear Headphones
My Final Thoughts: Are the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Headphones Worth It?
Over the past decade or so, I’ve tested literally hundreds of headphones ranging in price from under $50 to well over $1,000. For consumers (as opposed to professional musicians, recording artists, audio engineers, or true audiophiles), there are only a few truly premium headphone options from brands like Bose, Sony, Bang & Olufsen, Master & Dynamic, Audio-Technica, Focal Bathys, Sennheiser, and of course, Bowers & Wilkins.
In the $600 to $1,000 price range, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones are among the best of the best. They check all the boxes when it comes to design, functionality, and built-in features, while offering the ultimate in comfort and luxury.
So yes, based on my experience using them, the Px8 headphones are well worth their price. The good news is that they periodically go on sale for as much as 28% off at popular online retailers, like Amazon.
