Bowers & Wilkins' Px8 S2 headphones land with comprehensive hi-res Bluetooth codec support, USB audio and a better noise-cancellation setup

Date:
Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Description:
When it comes to sound quality, B&W is a class-leading audio specialist,
which is why the new Px8 S2 over-ears are seriously big news.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Px8 S2 is 'the best headphone Bowers & Wilkins has ever made' aptX Lossless and Adaptive; 8 mics (rather than 6 in Px8) Available today, 24 September, priced $799 / 629 (around AU$1,289)

Well now. When a firm like Bowers & Wilkins tell us that its just created a set of over-ear headphones that set "a new benchmark for performance and design in the wireless over-ear category" it's worth taking notice. Why? Oh, because both the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 and newer (even better) Bowers &
Wilkins Px7 S3 upon which these are built are such stunningly good
headphones.

So how has B&W outdone itself with the Px8 S2 or to put it another way, what's their chief bid for entry into our best headphones buying guide?
Often, it's a case of minor tweaks and incremental gains with these things, but there are a few nuggets of information on B&W's spec sheet this time around that make the upgrades between iterations obvious.

Firstly, there's a new Bluetooth chipset in the Px8 S2 built on Bluetooth 5.3 rather than 5.2, to offer "true 24-bit/96kHz audio connection" over USB plus aptX Lossless and Adaptive at 24/96 (rather than aptX HD in the older set).

There's also an eight-mic array where all mics are used for telephony and six are used for active noise cancellation (six of the mics are external; two monitor internal audio) which is quite the upgrade from the six-mic array in the Px8, where four of the mics took care of ANC and only two helped with call-handling. (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: what you need to know

Elsewhere, there's a new voice call quality algorithm, and although the same 40mm dynamic cone driver reappears in each ear cup, B&W has upgraded the chassis and motor powering it to help eke more nuance and precision from your music.

Battery life is still a claimed 30 hours (which is no improvement on the
older model and may prove a slight sticking point given the 100-hour battery of the sonically-splendid Cambridge Melomania P100 ) but you now get a five-band EQ tab for tweaking the sound signature to your liking, which is a solid step up from the two band bass/treble tweaks available in the older
Px8.

Luxurious Nappa leather covers pretty much all of the classy build, but the aluminum arm mechanism has a new exposed cable detail. Do these metal accents make them heavier? Actually no, the headphones are a tiny bit smaller and lighter than the original Px8, but B&W has definitely slimmed down the case
to make them easier to fit into your bag. (Image credit: Future)

But what B&W really wants you to know is that these headphones feature a high-performance audio processing setup with dedicated DSP and amplifier/DAC (read: not the digital-to-analog-converter built into the chipset B&W
doesn't trust anything other than its own solution to do the job there), because if you take nothing else away from this missive, know that I have met with the makers, and Bowers & Wilkins really wants to make the best-sounding pair of headphones in the world.

Has the UK firm achieved its goal? We're working on a full review I have a pair (see the attached images) and we'll get that verdict to you as soon as
we can. For now, know that the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 launch today
(September 24) in your choice of 'Onyx Black' or 'Warm Stone', priced $799 / 629 (around AU$1,289). (Image credit: Future) You may also like Nothing Ear (3) earbuds land and just 4 days into testing them, the new 'Super Mic' is
the case perk I never knew I needed Loewe's elite new headphones deliver 24-bit Hi-Res Audio, Dolby Atmos, and the best volume control we've ever
tried but it comes at quite the price A new era of wearable sound: Bang & Olufsen launches super-elite new wireless earbuds at nearly 5x the price of AirPods Pro 3



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/wireless-headphones/bowers-and-wilkins-px8-s2- headphones-land-with-comprehensive-hi-res-codec-support-usb-audio-and-extra-an c-mics


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