Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e

Numerous occasions, we’ve heard from producers that even if they provide a vibrant end for one or a few of their merchandise, the most-sold color remains to be frequently black. New Zealand hi-fi logo Perreaux provides its merchandise in any color you prefer… and nonetheless, even all through the length when all color choices value the similar, the most well liked color was once, you guessed it, black.

Neatly, if Bowers & Wilkins can be offering the Px7 S2e in a color as beautiful because the Woodland Inexperienced (pictured) and the most-sold variant seems to be Anthracite Black, there’s frankly no hope for vibrant hi-fi’s international takeover.

Design & Construct

The British logo isn’t any stranger to generating trendy, or certainly vibrant, hi-fi, as its ‘Nighttime Blue Steel’ 800 Collection Signature loudspeakers, silky, honeycomb-shell Formation Wedge wi-fi speaker, or even the former Px7 S2 (no ‘e’) iteration show. The all-new Px7 S2e within the inexperienced end we bought (learn: begged for) for this evaluation are the newest reminders of Bowers’ debonair design. Actually, they make the present category leaders within the top rate wi-fi noise-cancelling area, the Sony WH-1000XM5, appear and feel relatively… abnormal.

It will probably frequently be tricky for wi-fi headphones previous a undeniable worth degree to nail perceived price, however the entirety in regards to the Px7 S2e’s appear and feel issues to a top rate pair. No longer simplest is the Woodland Inexperienced color a breath of clean air – autumnal, if we had to pick out a season – however the earcups’ textured end, gold accents and cylindrical, proudly ‘Bowers & Wilkins’-stamped, badge additionally mix to make an overly visually fascinating product. We’ve additionally had eyes at the aforementioned black end and will guarantee you they’re tremendous good too, so don’t have any reason why to consider the opposite Ocean Blue and Cloud Gray choices aren’t too.

The thickness of the pleather for the earpads and the scarf’s underside no doubt suggests the Px7 S2e will take care of your noggin and lugs, and certainly they’re at ease – comfortable and cushiony, soaking up a lot of the headphones’ 307g weight in order that they don’t really feel like a burden for your head all through longer wears.

They could be regarded as outdated in a technological generation the place even good mirrors and refrigerators recreation touch-control surfaces, however we like the reliability and accessibility of the bodily buttons at the earcups, too; they’re simple to find and use haphazardly, whether or not you’re the use of the center button at the proper earcup to play/pause a tune, or the only button at the left earcup to cycle via ANC modes. No rage-tapping at the bus right here.

Our simplest scribble at the wishlist can be a hinge mechanism permitting the earcups to cave in inwards so they may be able to be simply shoved right into a coat pocket, despite the fact that they do no less than fold flat for more uncomplicated put on across the neck. That is the placement they want to be in to slot in the equipped material hard-shell lift case, which is bag-, albeit no longer pocket-, pleasant.

Value

You must argue the Px7 S2e had to glance pricier subsequent to their festival… as a result of they’re pricier. They went on sale in September 2023 for £379 / $399 / AU$599, which is a top rate of round 10 to fifteen according to cent, territory dependent, over the Sony WH-1000XM5 on the time of writing.

That makes them dearer than different in style opponents too, specifically the Sennheiser Momentum Wi-fi 4 and Bose QuietComfort 45, despite the fact that with ease under the extra top rate crop of wi-fi ANC over-ears that has established itself previously couple of years throughout the Apple AirPods Max, Focal Bathys and Bowers & Wilkins’ personal Px8, throughout or over £500 / $500 / AU900.

Options

Simply because we’ve selected to steer this evaluation with, and spend a substantial choice of phrases on, the Px7 S2e’s aesthetic doesn’t imply this is their simplest skill. And even their largest one. 

Scan down their spec sheet and several other packing containers have giant fulfilling ticks in them. Battery lifestyles is a commendable 30 hours, despite the fact that arguably much more spectacular is their skill to provide seven hours of playback from a trifling 15-minute fee. There may be give a boost to for probably the most higher-quality Bluetooth formats round, Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive, in addition to each USB-C and three.5mm cable connections (each cable sorts are equipped within the field). 

The accompanying Bowers & Wilkins Tune App opens the gateway to off-unit playback and controls, permitting homeowners to regulate the Px7 S2e’s EQ; set the left earcup button to choose noise-cancelling or release their telephone’s voice assistant; trade the sensitivity of the wearer detection function for computerized pausing; or make a selection between noise-cancelling modes ‘on’, ‘off’ or ‘passthrough’ (which shall we in additional of the out of doors international).

The Tune app additionally provides direct get entry to to song streaming carrier libraries you’re signed as much as (lately Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal and TuneIn are supported, with extra because of be “added quickly”), despite the fact that as great and acquainted because the built-in Tidal interface is at the Tune app, we will’t see many of us who prefer it to Tidal’s personal.

However none of the ones issues represents the Px7 S2e’s largest skill both, which narrows down the chances – and lively noise cancellation, whilst first rate, isn’t it. The ANC machine, comprising six microphones operating in combination to cancel undesirable noise for song listening and voice calling, is completely nice and can encase the wearer in quietude in maximum eventualities, even if simplest quiet instrumental song or certainly not anything is enjoying. Pesky bassy sounds from, as an example, bus engines are in particular neatly absorbed – a large plus for individuals who shuttle or commute incessantly. We do, then again, to find the aforementioned Sony moderately higher blockers, in particular of mid and higher frequencies, whilst Bose’s top rate wi-fi QuietComfort headphones are in a noise-rejecting league of their very own.

Sound

As those that save the final chunk of steak for his or her final mouthful will perceive, we’ve stored the most efficient factor in regards to the Px7 S2e – their largest skill – until final: sound high quality.

In their five-star predecessors, we described performers that have been predominantly analytical – “refined, impartial and detailed”. The sound had matured for the reason that unique Px7, despite the fact that just a little enthusiasm have been sacrificed, in the long run main us to favor the spacious, livelier Sony XM5.

Bowers says that its newest efforts right here boast “important advances in total sound high quality” in comparison to the outgoing Px7 S2, a key contributor to that development being “broadly upgraded DSP” because of the learnings from the flagship Px8. The corporate says it took our (very minor) criticisms of the Px7 S2 onboard to refine the sonic formulation, too, and believes it has opened the sound up just a little.

Bearing in mind the luck of that pair of headphones and the wearing over of the similar 40mm customized motive force, it isn’t wholly unexpected that the Px7 S2e sound acquainted to their predecessors in a large number of tactics. They continue to be greatly detailed for wi-fi headphones at this degree, in a position to floor finer main points and keep in touch refined dynamic shifts to an extent this is uncommon for his or her worth. Play Anohni And The Johnsons’ Leisure and the Px7 S2e provides a large window into the cathartic gospel-rock monitor, offering the transparency to get underneath Hegarty’s soul-spilling vocal supply and the dynamism to hold simply as a lot feeling within the barraging periods of prog-rock.

How the headphones render decrease frequencies stays a spotlight too, with bass intensity and punch in head-bopping provide right here. The pulsing beat underpinning Gunship’s Empress Of The Damned throbs away underneath the accompanying synths and pa vocals through Canadian singer Lighting fixtures, which come via with a lushness that laps up the electropop manufacturing. Bowers has no longer simplest aired out the soundstage moderately right here for extra openness and coherency but in addition smoothed the presentation moderately. It’s sweeter and more uncomplicated to concentrate, and none in their predecessor’s readability and tonal steadiness has been relinquished both.

Feeding them one thing extra sonically stripped-back, like Gregory Alan Isakov’s Watchman, we will simply take a seat again and benefit from the song because the Bowers include the richly saturated manufacturing; the jangly acoustic textures, mellow piano notes and Isakov’s at ease vocal the sonic identical of a heat hug.

On a sliding scale bookended through ‘analytical’ and ‘lively’, the Px7 S2e would nonetheless edge towards the previous, however they’re now, to B&W’s credit score, a lot nearer to the Sony’s musicality whilst surroundings a benchmark for element at this degree.

Verdict

In the long run, Bowers has succeeded in tweaking its five-star formulation to squeeze much more efficiency out of its mid-range wi-fi headphones. With class-leading perception and a extra compelling steadiness over their forebears, to not point out a nice sense of favor, the Px7 S2e are a perfectly entire bundle.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Options 5
• Construct 5

MORE:

Learn our Sony WH-1000XM5 evaluation

Our pick out of the very best noise-cancelling headphones

How lively noise-cancelling headphones paintings: the generation at the back of ANC