Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 evaluation: Headphone extravagance

There’s a effective line between luxurious and ludicrous. Once you’re speaking a couple of pair of $799 headphones, that line begins to blur. Bowers & Wilkins has been on a wonderful run of type over the past few years, constantly providing among the greatest sound high quality you’ll find on any headphones. It doesn’t load its fashions down with options — generally it may use just a few extra — however there’s all the time an awesome mix of design, audio efficiency and succesful energetic noise cancellation (ANC) that make for well-rounded merchandise.

After which there’s the Px8 S2. At $799, it’s $100 dearer than its predecessor (the Px8) was at launch, which places them even additional out of attain for many. Bowers & Wilkins did change up its acquainted design barely, and there’s an enormous enchancment to audio efficiency, the addition of high-res music over USB-C and improved name high quality. There’s little question the Px8 S2 is past premium, however did the corporate go too far?

What’s new on the Px8 S2?

After a number of generations of the Px7 and Px8 that had just about the identical design, Bowers & Wilkins modified issues up a bit with the Px8 S2. There is not a complete redesign right here, however the slimmer ear cup silhouette and the uncovered cabling on the scarf yokes are notable enhancements to the general look. As soon as once more, the corporate opted for a mixture of tender leather-based and die-cast aluminum, each of which give the Px8 S2 a decidedly high-end aesthetic.

Inside, new 40mm carbon cone dynamic drivers have been up to date with a brand new chassis and motor. These elements are powered by 24-bit DSP (digital sign processing) with a devoted amplifier and digital-to-analog converter (DAC). There’s additionally a extra strong five-band EQ with True Sound bypass, which lets you disable any equalizer tweaks to rapidly return to Bowers & Wilkins’ inventory tuning. The corporate added aptX Lossless assist on high of the present aptX Adaptive availability, and you may get “true” lossless — 24-bit/96kHz — sound high quality over USB-C.

In comparison with the earlier mannequin, the Px8 S2 has two extra microphones, bringing the overall to eight. Six of these are used for exterior monitoring for ANC whereas two maintain tabs on noise contained in the headphones. All eight are used throughout calls, along with an upgraded “pure voice” algorithm to enhance efficiency there. You can even hear your self higher in transparency mode, which is the largest increase to calls.

What’s nonetheless good on the Px8 S2?

Bowers & Wilkins has excelled at crafting a heat, inviting and immersive sound profile throughout its headphones for some time now. That’s nonetheless the case on the Px8 S2 because the audio high quality is wealthy and detailed, with a large soundstage that envelops you — nearly to the purpose of bombarding your ears. Whereas I don’t assume the bass tuning is well-suited for mellow genres, there’s loads to love right here. On albums like Jason Isbell’s Foxes within the Snow, for instance, the quantity of texture and delicate nuance the place the one devices are the singer’s voice and a single acoustic guitar is unbelievable.

Dependable battery life has been a robust level for the corporate prior to now, and that is still true on the Px8 S2. The 30-hour battery determine (ANC on) is similar because the earlier mannequin, and I used to be capable of simply obtain that longevity throughout my testing. With a mixture of energetic noise cancellation, high-res tunes and transparency mode for work calls, the headphones simply saved up with Bowers & Wilkins’ promised numbers.

What’s not so good in regards to the Px8 S2?

The most important knock in opposition to the Px8 S2 is the worth. These headphones are far more costly than what most corporations cost for his or her top-of-the-line fashions, which is round $500 as of late. Certain, $799 is simply $50 greater than the tariff-adjusted charge for the Px8 (which was initially $699), and there are a number of upgrades right here, however that value shall be prohibitively costly for a lot of, thus making the S2 tougher to suggest regardless of their strengths.

Even with the upgraded sound, I really feel like Bowers & Wilkins could have gone too far with the bass tuning. There may be some completely booming low-end tone on show right here, particularly for bass-heavy genres like rock, metallic, EDM and hip-hop. On Spiritbox’s “Excellent Soul,” as one instance, the kick drum edges dangerously near drowning out the lead and bass guitars. A bit extra restraint right here would’ve supplied ample thump and depth that isn’t nearly exhausting to take heed to. At instances, the improved bass is nice, however at others, like on Ruston Kelly’s Pale, Via the Window, it will probably actually be an excessive amount of for the type of music.

On its current headphones, Bowers & Wilkins relocated the bodily controls from sitting on the sting of their ear cups to a ridge on the surface. Within the course of, the corporate additionally made the buttons a lot smaller. As I stated after I reviewed the Px7 S3, this makes the controls tougher to seek out along with your thumbs, and also you additionally should be extra correct along with your presses. That’s very true for the three-button array on the best facet that handles quantity adjustments and playback controls.

Prefer it did with its earlier headphone fashions, Bowers & Wilkins hasn’t packed the Px8 S2’s spec sheet with superior options. You do get a few primary objects — multipoint Bluetooth and put on detection/automated pausing — however issues like speech recognition, hands-free assistants or automated sound profiles aren’t right here. That is an space the place the likes of Sony, Bose and Sennheiser surpass Bowers & Wilkins, though merchandise just like the Px8 S2 sometimes provide superior sound high quality.

Wrap-up

So how nicely does Bowers & Wilkins straddle that line between luxurious and ludicrousness? I’d say the Px8 S2 is an opulent set of headphones with a ridiculous value. I totally perceive that Bowers & Wilkins is a high-end audio model and that its merchandise sometimes demand a premium over many of the competitors. However like I already stated, the worth places these wonderful headphones out of attain. When you think about the worth tag alongside the shortage of superior options, the Px8 S2 turns into exhausting to suggest. However for individuals who can afford them, a tantalizing symphony of sound awaits.