Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 Wireless Headphone Review

Time for Season Two

by Ed Selley
MSRP: £379.00
9
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 Wireless Headphone Review

To mangle a McCartney lyric, the PX7 'takes a good phone and makes it better'. A fundamentally sound design has been tweaked, tucked and augmented to ensure it is still one of the very best Bluetooth headphones you can buy.

Pros

  • Accurate but entertaining performance regardless of ANC setting
  • Comfortable and easy to use
  • Well made

Cons

  • Some control commands are fiddly
  • Dependent on a bespoke cable for wired connection
  • Pricier than some key rivals

Introduction - What Is the PX7 S2?

The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 is a considered rework of the original PX7 which we reviewed at launch. Those of you who regard model changes as little windows into brand philosophy (and I do because it is in part my job to do so, as a normal person, you’re completely free to go ‘new headphones huh?’ and go back to what you were doing) will note that the arrival of an S2 model marks a small but important change to the progression of wireless headphones from the company. In the last few years, wireless models have not lasted more than a single generation, with the P7 being replaced by the PX which was in turn replaced by the PX7. For the first time in nearly six years, we have a revision to an existing model.

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Now, it’s important not to get too fixated on this. When Bowers & Wilkins has used S2 (and up) suffixes before they have often denoted completely new models (the difference between an 805 D3 and D4 is effectively everything; only the basic configuration remains the same across both) so, simply because this is also a ‘PX7’ may mean nothing more than Bowers & Wilkins finding a name that they are happy with. On the other hand, even if the name and configuration is all that carries over, it does at least suggest continuity of a sort.

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This continuity is part of a wider development in wireless headphones. The £300-400 market has stabilised after a period of flux. The basics of what the public want and expect for their cash has been decided and there is now a degree of consistency as to what is on offer. This is partly because the last six months has suggested that companies have started looking at tiers over and above the the £300-400 point (and Bowers & Wilkins themselves have the PX8 waiting in the wings) and partly because there are less external technical developments to accommodate. With this in mind, is the PX7 S2 a refined revision or a sneaky new model in disguise?

Specification and Design

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

As noted, the basic premise of the PX7 S2 is the same as the original PX7. This is a closed back, over ear wireless headphone. Put the original and the S2 side by side and there is a family resemblance over and above how the PX7 and the preceding PX were visibly both Bowers & Wilkins headphones. What’s interesting is that, when you set about the customarily thorough press materials, it becomes clear that the changes involved are significant.

The basis for this is nothing less than an ‘all new acoustic platform’ which represents something that Bowers & Wilkins has been doing for some years coming back to the forefront again. The 40mm driver used in the S2 is actually slightly smaller than the original and is apparently all new. The real developments in this area seem to have been held for the PX8 (and Bowers is sufficiently chuffed about those that they aren’t telling us anything about them yet) but they state that these units have been specifically designed for the task.

These drivers are mounted at an angle in each enclosure. What I find slightly interesting about this is that they were in the original PX7 as well but almost no play was made of it there when it had been A Big Deal in the preceding generations. Here, it’s considered important again and it is easier to discern when you look at the enclosure itself. I’ve always found it technically interesting and feel it contributes significantly to the Bowers & Wilkins headphones house sound - more of which later.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

Bowers & Wilkins has combined these new drivers with aptX Adaptive Bluetooth (AAC is also supported) which is largely the same as before but now on a v5.2 rather than v5.0 base version. This is the same with the battery fitment which is similar in capacity to the first gen PX7 but now has the ability to give you seven hours of playback from a 15 minute burst charge (tests here suggest that this is contingent on the charger being reasonably burly - you aren’t going to get seven hours from 15 minutes on most USB battery packs, put it like that). Combined with the 30 hour total life, there aren’t many use states I can envisage where you will be in any danger of flattening it.

More significant revisions can be found in the noise cancelling though. The four microphone fitment of the original is now a six microphone arrangement here. The premise is that the role of examining the ambient noise levels and listening for voices has been split between different microphones with another pair continuing to monitor the drivers in the enclosure. The noise cancelling itself is similar to before, with a high setting, an adaptive passthrough mode and an off position. There’s no sliding scale of noise cancelling because the idea is that the adaptive setting will be in the right mode each time. Something that has quietly vanished are the ambient sound modes. I liked the idea of these but confess never truly loved the execution and it seems that might have been a consensus view.

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You do get a sliding scale of EQ though. Rather than preselected curves, the PX7 S2 allows for +/- 6dB adjustment of a bass and treble slider. Setting this up and getting everything set as you want is necessarily more involved than choosing a preset but it does give useful fine tuning. All of this functionality incidentally is now part of the Music app that can also control your Zeppelin. This works well and it has been slick and stable in use but certain functions that are vital in controlling a wireless speaker like streaming service integration for example are still present with the PX7 S2 despite having no role in using the headphones. Bowers & Wilkins says this will be amended in the future though.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

As noted right at the beginning, the PX7 S2 looks very similar to the original but this should not be taken to mean identical. The new model is slimmer and lighter than the original and some details like the rear of the enclosure and the mounting arm to the headband actually have more in common with the older PX than the PX7 (although there is no exposed and vulnerable cabling on the PX7 S2. The reduction in weight and mass has been achieved without the new headphone feeling less solid than before (indeed, due to some considered material changes here and there, the new headphone actually feels more solid than before). It looks better too. There are three new colourways, all of which are more appealing than the subdued options of the original. The case has also been changed and the new one is a clever piece of kit because it is sturdy and hard shelled but usefully compact too.

The final tweaks concern the controls and connectivity. The PX7 S2 eschews touch and gesture for a row of buttons on the right ear pad. There are pros and cons to both systems. I would say that most touchpad and gesture systems are harder to get acquainted with but once mastered become very slick and second nature to use. The buttons of the PX7 S2 are more immediately logical - the layout and spacing is good and you can tell which one is which by feel - but some functions, track skip forward and back in particular - are never truly simple to do. I should make it clear though that I haven’t considered the PX7 S2 hard to use at any stage though. In connectivity terms, the only connection now on the headphone itself is USB-C. This is used for both charging and and as the analogue input via a dedicated cable. This means that A-D is always present on the signal but I’m equally sure that this is not something that most PX7 S2 customers will care about bar them now being dependent on a bespoke cable that’s a fixed length.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

The reduction in weight and mass has been achieved without the new headphone feeling less solid than before

.

How Was the PX7 S2 Tested?

The Bowers and Wilkins has been used almost exclusively with the Oppo Find X2 Neo Android phone as this remains my primary Bluetooth test source. Some additional testing has taken place on a 2021 iPad Pro to check AAC playback and a limited amount of running has been via the supplied analogue cable into a Chord Mojo 2. Material used has been Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer and some on demand TV services.

Performance

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

First up, the standard comments on Bluetooth behaviour are - as one would expect on a £380 device from a manufacturer who had unconditional stability cracked two generations ago - entirely as they should be. The PX7 S2 pairs, unpairs, re-pairs, reconnects and otherwise does all the things it is supposed to do, first time, every time. There is no noise at idle and, while I have not been able to take them to London for the standard stability test, they have handled busy situations here without issue.

For two reasons, I had some questions about the level of improvement I was expecting from the PX7 S2. The first is that the original could hardly be called sub par even at the end of its life. The second (perhaps more cynically) is that Bowers & Wilkins has to justify the existence of the PX8 in a few months too. This leaves the PX7 S2 with the narrow target of being better than something that was already pretty damn good but not so good, it shows its big brother up. I have to assume that the PX8 is going to be pretty impressive though because the S2 is comfortably better than the original PX7.

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Philips Fidelio L3 Bluetooth Headphone Review

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This manifests itself not in one ‘they’ve done this and this has happened’ moment but the sort of refined evolution that Bowers & Wilkins has shown themselves to be so accomplished at over the years. Perhaps the easiest one to pin down is that there are subtle but clear benefits to the effect of the ANC on the tonal balance. Since I tested the original PX7, the Philips Fidelio L3 has passed through; a headphone that actually sounds better running with the ANC engaged than it does without. This is possibly a process too far for Bowers & Wilkins but the PX7 S2 is astonishingly consistent across the various ANC settings. It doesn’t sound better with ANC engaged; it simply sounds exactly the same.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

The noise cancelling itself doesn’t feel like a massive leap forward over what went before but this is as much because there wasn’t much wrong with the original. The PX7 S2 is able to dial out simulated Boeing 737 cabin noise very effectively. It’s never the full ‘iso tank’ experience but it is pretty effective. The adaptive function is genuinely good too. It’s obviously going to be momentarily wrong footed by a sudden leap from silence to peak noise but, in more usual conditions, it works very well and I haven’t missed a more manually adjustable mode. The voice passthrough, as ever remains spookily effective (although it was great on the PX7 muddling through on ‘only’ four mics too in fairness).

Hi-Fi Review

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Mark Levinson No 5909 Wireless Headphone Review

Mark Levinson No 5909 Wireless Headphone Review

by Ed Selley ·
The 5909 is the first headphone from Mark Levinson and takes the wireless concept to a completely new price point. Is it able to justify the cost?  
9

With this cracked, the new headphone is spacious and three dimensional in a way that few closed back, let alone Bluetooth designs can match. If we ignore the Herculean effort that is the Mark Levinson 5909 (which is still more than twice the price remember), this is something rather special at the asking price. It delivers the incredibly atmospheric Quatermass Seven by Little Barrie and Malcolm Catto with a genuine sense of the studio and the arrangement of the performers. Here, those angled drivers do make their presence felt. The act of using mechanical geometry rather than processing trickery to push information in front of you is effective and forms the basis of a ‘house sound’ that I’ve experienced across multiple generations of the company's headphones. The caveat to it is the same as it always has been; that it is not something that always responds perfectly to crossfeed being introduced, but given that this is not something generally done with Bluetooth, the PX7 S2 represents a fine implementation of it.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

What this results in is a headphone with an uncommon grasp of space and three dimensionality. Classical music is traditionally not the happiest stomping ground for wireless headphones but the PX7 S2 takes the latest revisions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Max Richter and does a genuinely good job with it. Played via Qobuz, Spring III with lead violin by Elena Urioste sounds convincing. She’s the focus of attention, with the lead violin sounding as it should and usefully distinct from the supporting orchestra. These instruments aren’t as well defined as they are on really high quality wired headphones but it’s still pretty impressive.

There’s something else too. In the same way that, without compromising on any of the technical brilliance it shows, the latest 805 D4 is simply more fun that its predecessor, so it is here. For reasons I put down to nostalgia and possible sleep deprivation, I had the sudden, insatiable urge to listen to Hundred Mile High City by Ocean Colour Scene. The PX7 S2 has an energy to its performance that wasn’t really present to the same level as before. This is an urgent, exciting and out and out entertaining device in a way that hasn’t always been something I’ve associated with Bowers & Wilkins. If this is the new way of doing things, I am very much on board with it.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2

What this results in is a headphone with an uncommon grasp of space and three dimensionality

Conclusion

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 Wireless Headphone Review

So what sort of S2 is the PX7 S2? Is it a reheated take on the original or a new headphone with a name and configuration that Bowers & Wilkins likes? Well… it’s a little of both. There wasn’t a huge amount wrong with the PX7 so it follows that this isn’t a root and branch revision of that but it is unquestionably better and more evolved than its predecessor and that brings new things to the table; a PX7 that, without losing anything that made the first one good has gone and been made better.

The fact that there is another part of this story yet to be told in the form of the PX8 is perhaps the only unknown at this point. We have to work on the principle that it wouldn’t exist if Bowers & Wilkins didn’t feel it was better still so there’s still the slight uncertainty of whether it might be worth waiting to see if Bowers really has gone to town on that. This doesn’t alter the fact that the PX7 S2 is a genuinely excellent bit of hardware in its own right and has to be seen as a Best Buy.

Best Buy

Scores

Build Quality

.
9

Ease of Use

.
9

Sensitivity

.
.
8

Design and usability

.
9

Sound Quality

.
9

Value For Money

.
.
8

Verdict

.
9
9
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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