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Five months after the release of the enthusiastically received Px7 S3 headphones, and one day after the announcement that HARMAN has completed the acquisition of the brand’s parent company Sound United, Bowers & Wilkins has revealed its refreshed flagship, the Px8 S2. Building on the upgraded acoustic architecture of the Px7 S3 (our best overall headphone for airplane travel to this point), the Px8 S2 further refines true high-res playback.
Shown in Warm Stone above (our photo) and Onyx Black below (theirs), the Px8 S2 features an upgraded chassis and motor like the Px7 S3, but swaps in 40mm carbon cones for the biocellulose drivers. Tuned with bespoke DSP, the goal is to expand the music’s scale while maintaining the mechanism’s slimmed profile. Carbon’s super-light, super-rigid properties (shared with the dome tweeter in B&W 700 Series speakers) give bass a taut, piston-like delivery that hits hard but also hits the brakes before it clouds midrange spaciousness. Vocal harmonies navigate instrumental overtones, with energy that is clean but never clinical. Treble can convey a brushed-metal sheen when appropriate, but it never takes on sibilance while sketching cymbal decay and room reverb. Overall, you get the kind of dynamic microdetail that makes you lean in rather than turn down.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
Fit and finish remain top-notch, with the weight reduced and comfort increased compared to the last generation. From the Nappa leather-clad memory foam to the aluminum armatures cradling exposed cabling, the vibe is quiet luxury. Physical buttons retain tactility and make cold-weather (aka gloved) use easier compared to touch controls. Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Adaptive/Lossless ushers the wireless signal to its sweet spot, while a dedicated DAC/amp allows for true 24-bit/96kHz output via USB-C.
We’ve already spent time with the Px8 S2 at a New York preview and will share our full impressions after taking the headphones on some upcoming travels. In the meantime, we’ve concluded that David Beckham is a far better model than anyone on the PopSci gear team, and that’s not even a diss. So enjoy looking at these headphones or neck tattoos. Whichever.
