It’s one thing to choose a fight with the biggest kid in the playground. It is very different to try to do it on your own terms. But with its new Px7 S2 wireless ear-to-ear headphones, Bowers & Wilkins basically agreed with Sony and inquired whether the Japanese behemoth would like it or not. Fat? Reckless? A bit of both?
A few years ago, Bowers & Wilkins introduced its original Px7 wireless noise-canceling headphones and praised it for taking the established class leader, Sony’s WH-1000XM4, head out. And by playing on his legacy as well as on his strengths, Bowers & Wilkins produced a pair of headphones that could compete on the fundamentals of sound quality. Yes, they were a bit chintzy, a bit harsh in appearance, but they had it where it counted, and they were a valid audio-focused alternative to the all-singing, all-dancing, all-winning Sony option.
Last month, Sony introduced its WH-1000XM5. The price is a bit higher, the weight is a bit down, the list of features and functionality stays as long as your arm. And so here comes Bowers & Wilkins with a new model. The price is a bit up, the weight is a bit down, the emphasis on sound quality and rather self-conscious “sophistication” remains exactly the same.
Photographer: Bowers & Wilkins
So what this means for the exterior of the Px7 S2 is a look that is both premium and understated, delivered by the implementation of high quality and tangible materials. At least, that’s true of our black review sample. The $ 399 (£ 379) Px7 S2 is also available in gray or blue, but we’d be surprised if those finishes undermine the impression of quality.
A combination of soft, flexible, memory-foam-filled leather at the contact points, flawlessly applied material on the outer parts of the headband and ear cups, high quality and quiet plastic for the arms and hinges, and a sky-high overall. standard of construction helps the Px7 S2 look and feel good. Even the case in which they travel feels a cut above the norm.
Convenient fast-loading cans
Bowers & Wilkins have refined the headband hanger arrangement and reconsidered the clamping power in an effort to make these headphones more comfortable than the model they are replacing. And assisted by shaving off a percentage point of the weight (307 g versus the 310 g of the old Px7), it actually worked. The Px7 S2 is not difficult to carry, and they remain comfortable even through long listening sessions. It helps that the pillows resist it for an impressively long time to return your own body heat to the sides of your head.
Photographer: Bowers & Wilkins
There were also reviews on the inside. But what hasn’t changed is Bowers & Wilkins ’determination for these headphones to be the choice for customers who value sound quality more than, say, customizable active noise cancellation. The Px7 S2 uses Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity and is compatible with SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive codecs — so 24-bit high-resolution audio quality is available. The sound itself is delivered by some 40 mm full-range, free-edge dynamic drivers. It is a brand new bio-cellulose design with lower total harmonic distortion rates than the driver replacing it.