Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: Best Sounding Headphones Yet

Carbon Cone Architecture Redefines Wireless Fidelity

Bowers & Wilkins rebuilt its flagship wireless headphones from the transducer up. The Px8 S2 deploys 40 mm Carbon Cone drive units engineered with a redesigned chassis, voice coil, suspension, and magnet—hardware changes that promise lower distortion, tighter bass, and more open treble than the 2022 original. The company claims "unrivalled audio performance" and calls it "the best sounding headphone" it has ever produced.

Bluetooth 5.3 carries aptX Adaptive up to 24/96 and aptX Lossless, routed through a dedicated 24-bit DSP and DAC. USB-C and 3.5 mm inputs bypass wireless compression entirely. Eight microphones handle adaptive ANC across three modes—Off, Pass-Through, and On—while delivering 30 hours of battery life with noise cancellation engaged. Over-the-air firmware will add spatial audio and Bluetooth LE Audio later in 2025, future-proofing the hardware against codec evolution.

Battery Life ANC Performance and Codec Future-Proofing

The Px8 S2 delivers 30 hours of playback with ANC engaged—ten hours more than the original Px8—and recovers seven hours from a 15-minute USB-C charge, enough for cross-continental flights or marathon studio sessions. Eight microphones drive adaptive noise cancellation across three modes (Off, Pass-Through, On), with placement optimized for call clarity in loud environments; the system balances ambient rejection without the pressure-chamber sensation common in aggressive ANC implementations.

Bluetooth 5.3 anchors the codec stack: aptX Adaptive scales to 24-bit/96 kHz, while aptX Lossless promises bit-perfect CD-quality transmission over wireless—critical for discerning listeners who reject lossy compression. Over-the-air firmware updates arriving through 2025 will enable spatial audio and Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast broadcast, extending the headphone's lifespan as codec standards evolve. Multipoint connectivity allows simultaneous pairing with laptop and phone, and the Bowers & Wilkins Music app exposes a five-band EQ alongside TrueSound—the company's reference tuning—for users seeking neutral playback or personalized curves.

Audiophile Benchmarks Meet Everyday Noise Cancellation

The redesigned driver chassis incorporates a revised voice-coil and suspension geometry that tightens bass transients and opens up midrange imaging, addressing the original Px8's tendency toward warmth. Bowers & Wilkins positions the Px8 S2 at the intersection of hi-fi reproduction and commuter practicality, pairing its 24-bit signal path with eight-microphone adaptive noise cancellation calibrated for call clarity in wind and traffic. The slimmer ergonomic silhouette—aluminum arms with exposed cable detailing and Nappa leather ear cushions—drops 31 grams while maintaining a 0.31 kg total weight.