Bowers & Wilkins has revealed that it will be releasing an all-new headphone later this year that it says is “the most advanced noise-cancelling headphone to date”. Meanwhile, the British audio company has updated its popular PX7 noise-canceling headphone with the PX7 S2 on sale today (June 29).
While we’ll wait a bit from their successors, the PX7 headphones have been a mainstay of our best over-ear headphones and best audio headphones since their launch in 2019. We loved their sound, but the all-new S2 uses an upgraded custom – 1.7-inch (43.6mm) drive units. Designed in more rectangular earcups than the oval ones on the PX7.
The new drive units have been completely repositioned and angled within each ear piece to ensure the full range of frequencies reaches the ear exactly at the same time, which Bowers & Wilkins says results in a more immersive volume.
The headphones are touted as being lighter (although the new spec claims they’re 10.8 ounces, which means they’re not much lighter than the model they’re replacing) and slimmer as well, with memory foam optimized to wrap and cushion your ears for high levels of comfort no matter how long you listen. It also supports corrosion detection as well.
B&W Music app control
Device integration and control have been upgraded, and the PX7 S2 is the company’s first headphones to be powered by the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, offering improved connectivity, adjustable EQ, noise-canceling transparency mode, as well as showing battery charge levels.
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity remains the same as before, offering support for adaptive SBC, AAC and aptX codecs – a dynamically adjustable audio codec designed to deliver powerful, high-quality wireless audio up to 24-bit Hi-Res. This isn’t quite up to the same standards as Sony’s LDAC codec support, but the PX7 S2 comes with a 3.5mm audio jack cable for audiophile listening, and there’s a charging port and USB-C cable as well.
There are physical controls on each ear piece and touch assisted control is also provided. Battery life remains the same at 30 hours, which is still pretty respectable, but Bowers & Wilkins doesn’t say whether this is with or without ANC enabled – by comparison, Sony claims up to 40 hours overall (30 hours with Enable ANC). A quick 15-minute recharge of the PX7 S2 is said to achieve up to seven hours of playback time.
As with its predecessor, the S2s aren’t rated for sweat or water resistance, which means they’re not suitable as a sports headphone, and the PX7 S2s perfectly line up with high-quality listening features like the company’s hi-fi speakers and music systems.
On sale now for $399 / £379 / €429 from Bowers & Wilkins (Opens in a new tab) And select dealers, the PX7 S2 is available in three colors, including a blue with gold trim, black with silver trim, and a gray version.
The flagship Bowers & Wilkins PX8 will be launched later in 2022
Bowers & Wilkins plans to release a new flagship ANC headset called the PX8 later this year — likely around September, the company says.
Details are thin at the moment, except that the press release says it expects the “no-chain” reference-level wireless model to take “Bowers & Wilkins headphones to whole new levels of premium design, premium materials, and audio performance.” It’ll likely be $549 / £499 / €599 when it arrives, but we’ll have more news on this exciting introduction to the company’s expanded range of headphones as soon as we receive it.
There’s a lot of heat about over-ear noise-canceling headphones right now after the launch of the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($399), and the eagerly anticipated AirPods Max headphones expected to coincide with Apple’s September event. So the arrival of the next-generation Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 (also $399) will make the task of choosing between our best over-ear headphones even more difficult.
See this space.
