Bowers & Wilkins Px8 McLaren Edition Over-Ear Wireless Headphones, Advanced Active Noise Cancellation, 30-Hour Battery Life, 15-Min Quick Charging

I tested the Px7 S2e ’s and the Px8 ’s side by side. The pricing was excellent on both—$240 for the 7’s and $450 for the 8’s, from the third-party seller GRAMOPHONE, whom I assume are the Amazon presence of Sky by Gramophone. So my review will be colored by the excellent pricing I received.[Update & TL;DR: after writing this review I went in to the kitchen to see about dinner, and a song came on and I did one more side by side test. This song really changed my mind about potentially keeping both the 7’s and 8’s, and gave me resolve to be content only with the 8’s: These Are The Days - Lauren Daigle. I compared the final minute of that song on both, and I have to say with the 8’s that song sounded alive, but on the 7’s the song sounded the way a flat carbonated beverage tastes. It was when the word “alive” popped in to my head that I was struck. It’s almost like those moments in the movies where someone will drop a needle on a record or hit play on a tape deck, and then the music starts playing in the diegetic world—on set, through microphones—and then as the scene closes the music transitions out of the movie world into the full-fidelity sound of the theater. So if you can, strive for the 8’s if you’re a music lover and not just after active noise canceling headphones for general purposes. Remember, this sounds like a slam on the 7’s but it’s not—it’s exaggerating a mild difference between two fine products for comparison’s sake.]After all is said and done, what I found was that when I was testing back and forth between the two, when I had on the 8’s, I tended to get lost in the music and just kept listening and looking for the next song, rather than remembering that I was supposed to be switching back and forth to test. So the 8’s were more immersive and engaging. And I found it happened again while typing this review; the 8’s just lower the barrier between you and the recording. And this could happen at a slightly lower volume on the 8’s than on the 7’s. And it could go without saying, but I’ll say it… these both blow the Sony XM4’s out of the water. Airpods Max sound great in their own way, but these are both more refined. (Sony and Apple comparisons are from memory, I no longer own those.)I noticed a couple of phenomena specifically with the 8’s—one that I have not noticed with any other headphones or speakers is that as I settled in with them, I tended to want to turn the volume DOWN. I do not recall any other pair of headphones or speakers where that has been the case—I feel like with everything else, if I’m really into the music, I want to turn it up for more… whatever, engagement, detail, but after settling in with the 8’s for a few songs, I find that I’m fully immersed and settled in, and the volume wants reducing with no loss of experience. Really unusual—but I think that’s a good thing for delicate ears. The second is that really lousy 60’s stereo ends up being much more pleasant than with other headphones and speakers… what I mean is those mixes where one instrument comes completely out of one speaker and another instrument might come entirely out of another. That overwhelming unbalance often sounds terrible to me on a lot of equipment—but with the 8’s it’s not so unpleasant. I double checked it against the 7’s and the 8’s really do make it less unpleasant. (Example songs: No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature by The Guess Who and Only You Know And I Know by Dave Mason. When the first instrument comes in 100% on one side, there’s just more pressure against your one ear with most headphones, but for some reason with the 8’s, that imbalance is less profound and exerts less pressure.)Between the 7’s and the 8’s, I feel like the 7’s were more veiled and more muddy. The 8’s had greater clarity and resolution. I’m fully aware that those are all the words that audiophiles say you aren’t supposed to use. But for normal people, those are really representative of the feeling. There is a big difference when you are switching back and forth. Other metaphors might be like 720p vs. 1080p for the 7’s vs. the 8’s. One example would be Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin—the percussion with the cowbell and güira and the plucks of the bass strings are all more crisp and well defined on the 8’s than on the 7’s. Both have punchy bass—as punchy as you want them to be. The 7’s have punchier bass overall. But I settled in with a -2.0 to -2.5 db cut to the bass in the app on both, and on the 8’s, which are less punchy anyways, the kick drum on Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band and Sweet Love by Anita Baker was still too punchy for my taste, whereas the punchiness of Talkin’ Tennessee by Morgan Wallen was spot-on for me (I didn’t switch over the 7’s for those tracks)—and cutting the bass to -3.0 db from -2.0 was not a solution as it brought down the overall experience of the rest of the bass a bit too much. A note about the clarity and resolution of the 8’s though—I don’t want to imply that it’s an overly trebly quality nor what audiophiles might call overly analytical—they are not—they still have a great deal of intimacy. Both allow you to get intimate with the music, but the 8’s moreso—an example track would be the conclusion of Gratitude by Brandon Lake; I’d characterize the intimacy as deeper with the 8’s but still present with the 7’s—it’s a matter of intensity. Like the 7’s make you say “great” but the 8’s make you say “wow.” The 8’s literally made me stop what I was doing to pay attention and not miss the moment at the conclusion of that song. (Kinda like that way that old Gap A’ Go-Go TV commercial for khakis would make households stop, rapt, to watch, because it was shot in one continuous take.) It’ll be interesting to see what happens after burn-in, how and in what ways these headphones will mellow out.A word about vocals. I feel like both are competent with vocals, but nothing to write home about. However, there is one peculiarity—on one particular song, Rise Up (Lazarus) by Cain, the vocals seem to get buried on the 8’s. They’re acceptable on the 7’s. But I listened quite a number of times to figure out what was going on, and I’m not sure—perhaps it’s because it’s a highly-produced, high-complexity song; but I did source it from a CD ripped to ALAC downsampled to 256k AAC, and also tried it with the “Very High” quality through Spotify as well, and same results. But on the 8’s, the vocals are really obscured. The only thing I can think is that there’s some processing going on somewhere—the lead vocals, backing vocals, the three-part harmonies, are just distant. I pulled out some “normal” Airpods Pro 2nd Gen, and the vocals were more normal sounding, and this song always sounds great in my car (Harman Kardon). I compared to a song like Bell-Bottomed Tear by The Beautiful South, with both male and female vocals, and that song sounds normal. So I don’t know what’s going on here but, you know, nothing’s perfect. This might also be revealing a fault in the recording.All of that being said, if you don’t have them side by side, after a while, you’ll be used to whichever ones you have and either pair is a blessing. So budget is the largest factor in that respect and there’s no reason to strain for the 8’s if the 7’s are more appropriate for your pocketbook. I think one use case difference might be the following: if you’re going to be walking around listening to books on tape a lot, the 7’s are probably the way to go, since they’re more comfortable, and if you’re in a city, the noise and the world will be distracting—what would the 8’s be doing for you in those situations? Ditto for the 7’s if you’re going to be concentrating on work and not the music. If you’re going to be sitting at home, immobile, focused on music, that’s the main use case that shouts out that the 8’s are most appropriate. Albeit, as I’m typing these words, and multitasking, I’m listening to the 8’s and I’m probably happier with the 8’s—so am I a hypocrite?Both the 7’s and the 8’s are:* The least fatiguing wearables I’ve experienced, in the sonic sense. (For me the Airpods Max were exceptionally fatiguing.)* Lack that “vacuum packed” feeling when the noise cancellation is on. At home, it’s very hard to tell the difference between the three modes if there’s no external sound (both in terms of sound quality and the feeling in your ears and body)—I have to snap my fingers to be certain what the configuration is. With Sony XM4’s, by contrast, you can tell in your body.* Laggy to connect to the app… to look at the settings on the app, it can take 2 to 10 seconds for the app to connect even when they’re currently in use. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts. The app can show they are disconnected when in use too. This is no biggie because how often are you going to adjust the settings after you’re settled in with them?* You can adjust the settings with the app while you are listening to an audio source on a different device entirely.Px8 ’s are:* Less comfortable, less headband padding, more pressure on jaw bone (my head is already narrow—I need narrow eyeglass frames), warmer than the 7’s* Physically fatiguing near the jaw hinge for me.* Bass is pleasing and not overly punchy on most tracks.Px7 S2e ’s are:* More comfortable, have more headband padding, softer ear cups, cooler that the 8’s* Less physically fatiguing for me.* Punchier bass - a negative for me.* More “forgiving” of inferior recordingsHonestly—one use case which is making me feel like I could keep both—the Px7 S2e ’s might be nice as my outdoor headphones for listening to audiobooks and a less expensive loss if I get mugged since I’m in a city, and the Px8 ’s could stay home for music and less distracted situations. I don’t know if I need two, but…I suppose only keeping one pair, the higher sound quality of the 8s would trump the greater comfort of the 7s. I’ll see how it plays out. What I’m finding, though, is because the 8’s sound so much better, I put up with the physical discomfort and don’t want to take them off and switch to the 7’s for music. For voice, lectures, audiobooks, TV, phone calls, Zoom calls, the 7’s would be the way to go. One use case to think about if you’re on the fence or don’t want to overextend your wallet… the 8’s are so good, they will really highlight the imperfections of poor quality recordings—because they are just older, pre-stereo, have tape hiss, or done on poor equipment or garage studios—I really noticed this on You Go To My Head - Dinah Washington (Dinah Jams, live, mono), or old funk recordings like Dirty Ole Man - Irene Reid; Seeds Of Life - East LA Car Pool; I Get What I Want - The Sequins. With a song like Go For Yourself - Kenny Smith & The Loveliters, the levels must be clipped on the master tapes and there is distortion, which the 7’s are more forgiving about than the 8’s. If you listen mostly to older music and have budget constraints, the 7’s might be the way to go.I have a hunch that the 8’s might be the height of what is achievable within the bounds of bluetooth today. I have compared the Focal Bathys—and I’d think they’re too analytical and fatiguing (sonically) for me, even though I love detail, a vast soundstage, and that in-the-room feeling (see my review of those too).Other representative test tracks I used: Smoke a Little Smoke - Eric Church; Driveway - Cody Johnson; You Set My Soul - The Telescopes; Can’t You See - The Marshall Tucker Band; Blown a Wish - My Bloody Valentine; the popular Gordon Lightfoot numbers; Fall For Me - Brett Eldredge; Cheap Seats - Emily Scott Robinson; Christmas Time is Here - Zach Williams; Beginnings - Chicago; This Here - The Cannonball Adderly Quintet (…in San Francisco); Desafinado - Stan Getz, João Gilberto; Little Lulu - Bill Evans Trio; Upstage Rumba - Dave BrubeckNote for the chemically sensitive—the 8’s smell worse than the 7’s on day one. (I’m writing this on day one.) The cases for both are identical and also stink worse than the headphones. However—the good news is that I’m pretty chemically sensitive and my mucus membranes don’t react to these, so hopefully that is helpful data.

I have spent months (years, really) of research searching for the perfect set of no-compromise, best-at-everything bluetooth ANC headphones at any price. I've bought and ended up returning a couple sets that each disappointed in some way or another, and had essentially given up on such a headset ever existing. My priorities are (in order):- Sound (including high-bitrate bluetooth codecs because I prefer to listen wirelessly)- Comfort (especially over many hours on long flights)- Active Noise Canceling (ANC)- Call quality- Quality-of-life features (I like buttons, though I know some prefer touch controls)The recent wave of ultra-premium headphones (Focal Bathys, B&W PX8, M&D MW75, Mark Levinson No. 5909, B&O Beoplay H95, etc.) got my hopes up, and while I don't think any of them truly hit that "no compromise" standard, the PX8 from Bowers & Wilkins came *very* close, and for me is the best on the market at any price (as of fall 2022).~~~Sound~~~First and foremost, they sound incredible. My wife has the Sony WH-1000XM5's and while those sound great (significantly better than their Bose counterparts, imho), the PX8's blow them out of the water on clarity and separation. I won't try to write up a full audiophile description of the sound because there are plenty of more qualified ones online, but I will give an anecdote: without telling her which headphones or their price tag, I put these on my wife's head and played a song she loves and has heard many times (instrumental metal, if that matters). She listened quietly and said "It sounds like I'm hearing this song for the first time."Also important to me is the fact that the sound is on the warm side and easy to listen to for extended periods. I am sensitive to high-frequency sound and often have problems with sibilance or a "sharp" quality to high end audio equipment that strives for upper range extension. These have plenty of detail in the highs, but none of that sharp quality that I personally find irritating.~~~Comfort~~~The other area that the B&W PX8's really shine is on comfort. I have big ears that stick out a lot, and many over-ear headphones press my ears down in a way that gets uncomfortable. My wife's Sony XM5's are a great example - because they have such stellar ANC I like to borrow them for flights, but I can only wear them for a couple hours before my ears get physically sore. The PX8's have no such problem. They have large earcups, and the angled drivers create a deep space in the back that gently cradles even my Dumbo-esque ears. I keep finding excuses to wear them, because they just feel so good.~~~Active Noise Cancelling~~~This is why I say they aren't truly "no compromise" headphones. The passive noise blocking is quite good, and the ANC is effective at cutting down outside sound, but it isn't class-leading. The Sony XM5's, Bose QC45's, and Apple Airpods Max all seem to do a better job of creating that total Cone of Silence I crave on long flights. This is a common trend among the most premium audiophile headphones though, and some companies have said that there are engineering trade-offs that have to be made between sound quality and ANC. I'm not sure I'm totally sold on that narrative, but if slightly weaker ANC is the price of this glorious sound quality, then that's an acceptable trade in my book.~~~Call Quality~~~Very good, my voice can be heard clearly. Not quite as good at blocking out background sounds as the Sony XM5's or my Jabra headset with a boom mic, but perfectly adequate for the situations I need.~~~Features~~~I love the well-made buttons (I live in a cold weather climate where touch controls are less than ideal), and the app is refreshingly simple. It doesn't have some bells and whistles (no adjustable ANC, limited EQ options, no voice detection or automatic situational awareness), but it has what I need and works well. The only exception here is on-ear detection, which is finicky and frequently pauses the music even on "low" so I had to turn it off. It's not a must-have feature for me but might be more bothersome for some.Edit: another issue I have noticed after a couple weeks of use is that the "skip backward" function doesn't work very well. In theory you can skip backward with a triple-press of the multifunction button, which I do often when I want to go back a few seconds in a podcast, but 80% of the time it either skips forward or pauses instead. Not a huge deal, but annoying.~~~Summary~~~Best-sounding, most comfortable bluetooth ANC headphones I have ever tried. Other features aren't necessarily the best among the competition - in particular I wouldn't mind having stronger, adjustable ANC - but they are more than good enough, and all together I think the package justifies the high price.