Px8 Flagship Noise Cancelling Wireless Over-Ear Headphones with Bluetooth 5.0 & Quick Charge, 30 Hours of High-Resolution Playback and Built-In Microphone - Black

After looking through various top 10 lists, the b&w pi8’s seemed to appear frequently in the top 5 for TWS buds. As such I gave them a shot and was not disappointed! They are very much premium in every way other than price and have blown me away from day 1. From the high quality materials used in constructing these buds to the top tier sound quality, they are everything the reviews promised and more. The accompanying app helps with perfecting the sound to your preference (if EQ is your thing) however the sound is as close to audiophile grade as you could imagine from a pair of earphones let alone TWS. Battery life is average for what they deliver, lasting approximately 5 hours with ANC enabled and 7 without. That said, the buds are so loud that you could likely manage without ANC enabled anyway! Controls are simple and can be adjusted in the app for personal preference. Connectivity is seamless with both iPhone and Android however the ability to play lossless audio is more straightforward in the latter. However, the case doubles as a transmitter with its own hi res codecs installed so can be used to connect to iPhone via USB C to transmit lossless audio if that’s your cup of tea. As such I cannot fault the functionality of these little buds. Sound signature is slightly warm, with deep powerful bass and highs that sparkle. Midrange is very much present, with vocals feeling very natural (if not slightly recessed) but can be tweaked in the app for preference. Sound stage is as wide as a pair of open backed headphones and has genuinely blown me away on some live recordings. All in all, if you’re even considering picking these up, just do it… you won’t regret the decision and considering their price point, you’ll be forgiven for thinking they’re worth at least twice the amount paid.

So this might be a long review. The tl;dr is these are unbelievable sounding headphones. Every few years I become obsessed with buying some form of high-end audio equipment. My last headphone mania was a few years ago with the original P5 and P7, then the wireless version of those headphones. And I have long been a fan of the Bowers and Wilkins sound having come from the DM601 s2s. I wasn’t even in the market for earbuds. I have a pair of AirPods Pro and have never found the sound particularly good, nor have I ever felt entirely comfortable with the feel of the earbuds experience. I was fully looking for a great pair of over ear headphones. After a lot of research, visually dismissing the Sony’s as too plasticky, and the AirPods Max as too showy, I knew B&W would be the brand again to deliver the looks, but more importantly the sound. Sound is incredibly important to me. I have studio monitors as my HiFi system in my lounge. I can be prone to relentlessly A/B testing new equipment until my brain can’t take it any more. I originally was set on the Px7 s3, but then noticed I could get the s2 for less than half the price on sale and so thought I’d get both to test. The s2 absolutely fit like a glove, so comfortable. But the sound, whilst decent, just didn’t have the detail and separation I was after. The s3 initially sounded phenomenal, so detailed, spacious, and confidently tuned. Definitely V-shaped tuning, different to the usual house sound. But there was something a bit fatiguing to the highs, certain cymbals and hi hats felt over-hyped to the point of being uncomfortable. Plus the clamping of the headband itself I felt was so tight it became unpleasant after not too long. And my ears were a sweaty mess. I was stuck with the s2 it seemed, and sent the s3 back. But damn, once you’ve heard that kind of sound, and you know there’s detail that you’re missing, I ended up not even listening to the s2. I started researching the Px8, could its carbon cone offer s3 sound but with more comfort? The more I looked into that model though, the more I started seeing issues with the headband peeling apart and didn’t want to take my chances with something of such high value. But in this search I noticed Pi8. I looked into it and saw they were earbuds. The reviews were glowing (from review sites, I have no idea how these aren’t rated higher here) and so I ordered a pair just to try out. MY. GOD. I had no idea that earbuds could sound like this. The detail, soundstage, instrument separation and accuracy across all the frequencies was just jaw dropping. I literally could not believe I didn’t have over-ear headphones on. For a week I was in utter bliss, listening to all my old albums, hunting for new music, revelling in the exquisiteness of these earbuds. Then my brain kicked in. These can’t possibly be this good. There must be something they are missing… On the Max Cooper track ‘Order from Chaos’, I became convinced that in the intro there was a sub-bass extension that just wasn’t being reproduced by the Pi8. There it is I thought. I can’t be happy with headphones if I know they are missing something. In order to prove it to myself I reordered the s3. (I can’t listen to my monitors in my new flat due to neighbours, hence needing headphones). The s3s arrived and eagerly I put them on, put the track on, and waited for that sub-bass extension… Except it didn’t exist. My brain had made it up. But then came the truly astounding part…I A/B tested the Px7 s3 to the Pi8, and to my ears, the Pi8 actually sound BETTER. All that glorious detail and separation and soundstage is there. But where the s3 hypes the treble somewhat, the Pi8 delivers it perfectly. And also delivers the most gorgeous bass. Everything is there. So yes. If you’ve made it this far you’re probably as crazy as me. And in that case you are going to absolutely love these headphones. Extremely comfortable, app is decent, connectivity is great, ANC is easily good enough…but that sound… Truly astonishing.

Simply incredible sound. It’s so rich and deep. I had B&O Beoplay EX and thought they were great, but returned them due to the terrible noise when wearing outside - even a gentle breeze caused considerable interference even with the wind guard feature activated. These, on the other hand and despite not having a ‘wind guard’ feature, have little to no interference in comparative external environmental conditions. I’m really impressed with the depth of sound and immersive acoustics - pricy but defo worth the money. They are lightweight and really comfortable even if worn for extensive periods of time. The ANC is also pretty good in my view (and better than B&O). The ability for the case to tether them to devices is a cool feature, e.g. TVs and other audio devices or laptops. Downside: one earbud seems to lose Bluetooth link every now and again and needs to be re-paired. Whilst annoying, I can live with it because the immersive sound quality is so outrageously good. [Update: a later software update cleared this issue]. I’m not sure the McLaren edition ones are worth the large additional cost just for the superficial difference - unless you are a massive McLaren fan with deep pockets. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that you’re getting the Bowers and Wilkins research and development (R&D) packed into these little nuggets. Other iconic products include their Zeppelin, and Nautilus, of which a pair of the latter will set you back £90k! So, there is a rich history of sound engineering, R&D, and expertise getting squeezed into the Pi8. Expensive but worth the investment. If you’re not an audiophile you soon will be!

I spent quite some time researching what Bluetooth earbuds to buy, and having listened to the over-ear offerings from B&W these were near the top of my list. I couldn’t find anywhere to try these in store, but I felt confident going in to purchase these knowing the brand and the quality of other products. I was disappointed to find that even after trying the different tips, the comfort of the fit wasn’t fantastic. They felt quite heavy for something supported by such thin silicone eartips. I found hat after just a few minutes, I found myself reaching up to readjust because they were getting itchy. In terms of sound quality, they were fairly good. I compared them to the offerings from B&O, Sony, Apple and Bose. I found these to be comparable to the Sony in terms of sound quality, but these are £100 more expensive. Also, of the 4 brands, these and the B&O were the quietest. Where I would be at around 80% on the others for the same perceived volume on these at full, meaning I would run them at full volume all the time. When it came to noise cancellation, again this was in the bottom two. The transparency mode sounded quite artificial and the quiet mode didn’t do a fantastic job. They paired up very easily and reconnected quickly every time I got them out the case.

My Bowers & Wilkins Pi8’s are in the anthracite black; and B&W have spent some time making them look good. Some of their design decisions I’m not sure about; like the charging case doesn’t stand up on a table and lies flat. The charging case does charge by usb-c or wireless qi charging which is convenient; and retains the wireless resending of audio when connected to an audio device – and B&W include a usb-c to 3.5mm jack for connecting to audio outputs. You can setup the headphones using the B&W Music app, which is easy to use, though does require registration to use. In a first for a while the headphones arrived and didn’t need a software update on first connection. The app offers a 5 band EQ settings; as well as a pure flat mode toggle. To test the earbuds, I used the pure flat mode. The app lets you set the ANC mode from noise cancelling, transparent and off. You can’t tune the ANC; but you can assign transparent mode to one of the touch buttons on the side of the headphones. The touch buttons are a little slow to respond for me; when they do the headphones make a low click sound so you know it’s been done. It doesn’t have movement touch, but you can setup multi-clicks to cause actions. Ear fit I have struggled with a lot of in ear headphones that they fall out as I walk around. You can mitigate some of that with a good cleaning of them; but B&W’s headphones have always done well in my ears; and the Pi8 stuck inside my ears even walking around on a hot day. You get 3 sets of tips to swap out; but the medium size tips worked best for me. Sound quality support in the Pi8 is headlined by offering lossless aptx playback. Most of us won’t be able to use it; very few phones or tablets support it. B&W missed a trick with the case; it supports the aptx adaptive standard rather than lossless; adding lossless support would have given a route to higher quality music. That said to my ears plugging in the dock to my iPhone over the usb-c socket does sound better than the apple native audio. It’s a bit weird carrying the case docked to my phone but it’s what I’m doing now on a 10cm usb-c cable. In both connection modes the Pi8’s has the B&Ws traditionally attacking punchy sound. These are in ear headphones; they don’t sound as good as over the ear headphones; and testing them with my iPhone or using the charging case as a transmitter isn’t going to get them the highest quality music they deserve. They sound excellent; far battery than their sister Pi7’s there is must more detail in the mid and treble which is great for vocal tracks; and they have made the bass punchier. They can handle the very delicate harps mixed with bass pads in my favourite test headphone track The Girl in Byakkoya. The Pi8’s kept the brittle sounding harps whilst delivering the pumping bass at the same time. The electronic voice sounded crystal clear over the instruments. Choirs delivered what sounded like huge air moving around you, along with clear breathing sounds. In Electronic music all the textures come through. They are a huge step up from the Pi7’s I have been using and very happy with for a few years. They don’t sound like over the ear headphones. If you want them to these headphones go very loud, I have been listening to them at my desk on 30% volume; and when I went out along busy roads bumped it up to 40%. If you want to go deaf or mimic your favourite concert you can get a lot of volume. Noise cancellation is good for in ear headphones though it’s not as good as the very best in ear headphones at removing the outside world. It retains the excellent music quality whilst it is in use though which is a big advantage. It’s not going to beat the best over the ear headphones as they have a mass advantage, but it quietens traffic as you walk around; and does a reasonable job stopping the clanking and diesel engine roar of British trains. The microphones are great; I could make calls in noisy rooms and the noise cancellation on the microphones didn’t dim my voice to silence in taking out fans or washing machine sounds. Battery life was about 6 hours on my first two recharges which could be longer; the case will give you 3 more charges. 15 minutes in the case adds about 2 hours of playtime.

Okay, so these are loud. I've had flagship Sonys, Bose and the previous Bowers and Wilkins. None of them compare. The Sony option, has lots of great features, what the Bowers lack. The Bose are comfortable with great sound. But, the Bowers have something I have been looking for since I first started buying headphones. They drown out the world around you completely, without sacrificing your ears in the process. I can have these at half the volume, still have loud enough great sounding audio, whilst not hearing the outside world. This is something I've never experienced before. Even with the world class ANC on the Sonys. They also look and feel fantastic. No cheap plastic here, just quality materials. My Sonys snapped at the joints, and my Bose started shedding. These however are going to last. Much better than they're previous attempt! Buy on sale like I did, they often come down.

I've got numerous noise cancelling headphones and have to say that these are the cream of the crop. The fit is great and cancels some ambient noise in itself. The noise cancelling is ok but not the eerie silence you may get with other current makes. That said, if you have the noise cancelling on and music playing, you will pretty much cancel out the surroundings/ambient noise. The leather is extremely comfortable on the ear pads and they look and feel luxurious. The sound is what did it for me - amazing. I have heard parts of familiar music that I didn't know existed, IMO and at this price, they are superbly balanced. They connect easily and seamlessly to whatever you want and the app is adequate but could do with updating. The only draw back is the battery life which for this sort of price should be double the current 30hrs. It's a P.I.T.A. to have to keep re- charging. That however, and the steep price, are the only drawbacks. Favourite go to headphones bar none.

These earbuds without doubt are within the top three for Sound quality I have become a bit obsessed with finding the perfect earbud and own B&O, Bowers and Wilkins all of the Apple products and Shure 535s. Of all of them the Pi8s are easily the most comfortable with good noise isolation and the best sound I’ve ever heard I also have Apple over ear headphones Bose quite comforts and none of them compared to the sound quality of these earbuds so why the one star review? Quite simply they are brilliant when they work. As someone who might go a day or two without listening to music, with the earbuds sitting comfortably in their charging case, I am regularly disappointed to find that I have to revert to one of my other devices because the Pi8s rather than using the case to maintain their charge have taken the opportunity to fully discharge. This seems to be a common occurrence for many owners. In the few months that I have own these devices I have also had to factory reset them an alarming number of times. Which seems to be the Bowers and Wilkins solution for the discharge problem. It’s also more concerning because knowing of the problem I I’m always fastidious to ensure that the devices have disconnected from my phone when they are put back in the case so it’s never a case of them still being an operation that causes the discharge. Put simply they are by far the best headphones I have ever owned when they work sadly that’s less than 10% of the time until these issues are resolved I would suggest investing elsewhere.