Bowers & Wilkins isn’t just making audio gear; they’re on a roll, consistently delivering sonic masterpieces across their headphone and earbud range. The Px7 and Px8 have long reigned on our best-of lists, monuments to audio excellence. Now, the Px7 S3 ($449) arrives, a refined evolution of its predecessor, boasting sonic platform enhancements and subtle design nuances. The result? An upward trajectory that promises to redefine your listening experience.
Bowers & Wilkins/Engadget
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
Bowers & Wilkins: Still nailing sound, but is innovation playing on repeat? Time for a design and feature remix.
Pros
- Excellent sound quality
- Comfy fit
- Sophisticated design
Cons
- Expensive
- Awkward button locations
- A lack of advanced features
Explore More Buying Options
$449 at Amazon$450 at Verizon
$449 at Amazon$450 at Verizon
$449 at Macy’s
What’s good about the Px7 S3?
Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S2 continues their legacy of sonic artistry, blending exquisite audio with stunning design. Immerse yourself in soundscapes driven by custom-designed 40mm bio-cellulose drivers, fueled by discrete amplifiers and a high-resolution 24-bit connection. The Px7 S2 boasts full aptX codec support (Lossless, Adaptive, HD, and Classic), alongside TrueSound mode. Experience audio purity, untouched and untainted, as TrueSound unveils the artist’s original vision with breathtaking clarity and realism.
The Px7 S3 delivers a truly exceptional audio experience. Crystal-clear and packed with detail, these headphones unveil sonic textures you never knew existed, even in the most bass-heavy and chaotic tracks. Listening to Turnstile’s “DULL” was a revelation; I discovered subtle nuances in the percussion that had previously been lost. The band’s guitar effects, previously masked, now shimmer with a pronounced reverb and chorus. Even at peak intensity, the sound maintains incredible separation, allowing each instrument to breathe within an airy, atmospheric soundscape, free from any sense of compression.
Frankly, the TrueSound mode felt more like a subtle suggestion than a sonic revolution. That’s a shout-out to the already impressive audio profile straight from the factory. Still, craving a personalized soundscape? Dive into the full 5-band EQ and sculpt your perfect auditory experience.
Billy Steele for Engadget
Bowers & Wilkins promises a noise-canceling revolution with the Px7 S3, boasting an “greatly upgraded” eight-microphone ANC system. While past B&W headphones have offered merely adequate noise blocking, the Px7 S3 aims higher. The result? An improvement, yes, but not a complete sonic fortress. Lingering distractions like TV chatter, voices, and the hum of airplane engines still manage to pierce the quiet, leaving listeners shy of true tranquility.
The Px7 S3 whispers elegance through subtle refinements. Bowers & Wilkins has sculpted a sleeker profile by trimming the earcups and perfecting the headband, enhancing both aesthetics and comfort. The familiar symphony of metal, leather, and textured fabric returns from the Px7 S2 and S2e, punctuated by a newly ridged ring circling the earcups. While undeniably sophisticated, the design treads familiar ground. One can’t help but yearn for a bolder stroke of genius, a visual leap forward after three generations of near-identical twins.
Bowers & Wilkins boasts a 30-hour battery life for the Px7 S3, but remains tight-lipped about whether that’s with noise cancellation on or off. Don’t let that ambiguity deter you. B&W has a history of under-promising and over-delivering, and the Px7 S3 is no exception. After a solid 15 hours of real-world testing – a mix of ANC-fueled focus and ambient-aware calls – the battery indicator still showed a healthy 60% charge. Translation? You’ll likely be listening long after the stated battery life expires, a welcome surprise for any audiophile.
What’s not so good about the Px7 S3?
Billy Steele for Engadget
At $449, the Px7 S3 enters the arena with a price tag that’s hard to ignore – a $50 leap over its forebears. While the economic winds of tariffs and uncertainties buffet us all, the question lingers: are Bowers & Wilkins’ latest enhancements worth the extra coin?
My biggest gripe with the Px7 S3? The awkwardly relocated controls. Bowers & Wilkins, in a move that baffles me, shifted the buttons from the easily accessible ear cup edges – a standard placement in the headphone world – to the skinny ledge where the headband meets the ear cups. This slender real estate makes button-finding a frustrating thumb fumble. Maybe it sounds petty, but in the trenches of constant headphone testing, this design tweak noticeably soured my experience.
Bowers & Wilkins headphones are known for nailing the essentials: pristine audio, effective noise cancellation, and some sound customization. The Px7 S3 follows suit, prioritizing core performance over bells and whistles. Forget auto-pause, location-based sound profiles, or voice assistant wake-up calls. Spatial audio? Not officially on the menu. While a few of these extras might ease the sting of the $449 price, the Px7 S3’s sound signature is so captivating, you might not even miss them. It’s a case of sonic bliss trumping feature frenzy.
Final verdict on the Px7 S3
Bowers & Wilkins plays it safe with their Px7 series, opting for evolution over revolution. The Px7 S3, however, marks a more significant leap than its predecessor, even if the changes are largely under the hood. Think refined audio, subtle ANC enhancements, and a few cosmetic touch-ups. While the sonic improvements are welcome, here’s hoping B&W dares to redesign the exterior with the next iteration.
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review
The company’s spelled-out branding adorns the outside of both ear cups.
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