These are over-ears you'll want to be seen in –ideally, on a yacht in the Maldives (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins PX8 review: design The PX7 S2 come in a hard-shell case with two cables for charging/a wired connection in the raised portion (Image credit: TechRadar) Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2: audio performance The rest of their feature set is very similar, too, with noise cancellation and Bluetooth retransmission the major attractions. Noise cancellation comes in two forms: static attenuation, and automatic attenuation based on the amount of ambient noise in your environment. There’s also a transparency option that lets you control how much of the outside world is piped in, and you can adjust this on a 15-point scale.

Of course, B&W expects most users to listen to music over Bluetooth. The Px7 S2 have Bluetooth 5.2 with support for SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive codecs (the same as the Px8), the latter three of which provide Android devices with a higher-quality (though still lossy) wireless connection. For those who watch or play games on their phone, aptX Adaptive can be particularly useful as it allows dynamic bit-rate variation to avoid connection issues in congested wireless environments. Yes, the PX8 echo the current inclination towards designs with cups that rotate to lie flat but do not fold up, including the Sony WH-1000XM5and Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2(over the older, foldable Sony WH-1000XM4, say). The Pi7 S2’s greatest strength remains their sound quality. They use the same two-way speaker arrangement as their predecessor, with 9.2mm dynamic drive units working in tandem with balanced armature drivers. The PXs upscale all audio to 768kHz - B&W claims doing this helps improve noise-cancelling and DSP performance"In that time, she has covered the highs and lows across the breadth of consumer tech, and tested everything from smartphones and stereo speakers to robot lawnmowers and electric cars. She has a particular interest in audio and TV, however, which means she has spent a lot of time watching movies and listening to music and passing it off as work. The PX8 on the right, PX7 S2 on the left... for both sound and looks, the PX8 is better. (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins PX8 review: value We switch to Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring and the Px8 continue to shine. They convey the music’s dynamic sweeps superbly and reveal plenty of low-level detail in the recording. We’re impressed by the headphones’ composure when the music gets demanding and the feeling of scale and authority they generate. This is something that headphones as a breed don’t tend to do so well.

Their price tag won’t be easy to swallow for many, but the detail, dynamic and organisational improvements these offer over the rest of the B&W headphones range, makes them worthy of their price, not to mention their flagship status. Up top, the treble doesn't flake out on proceedings. It remains tight and controlled, offering bite and snap to the claps and cymbals in Pharell's Happy, and lets the violins in Alma's Starlight loose, without any hint of hesitation or harshness. The Px8s don't offer a vague idea of the upper register or err on the side of caution - it is as solid and insightful as the rest of the frequency range. When the original Pi7 were released, I described them as the best-sounding noise-cancelling earbuds I’d tested. The S2 sound just as good and I can’t think of any buds I’d rather listen to for hours on end. The main upgrades from the original Pi7 are to Bluetooth connectivity and battery life. The Bluetooth antennas have been redesigned to improve connection stability, and connection range has been extended to a very impressive 25 metres. On the battery life front, the buds now last up to five hours with ANC turned on, up from the four hours delivered by their predecessors. The capacity of the charging case, which can be topped up wirelessly or via USB-C, is unchanged, however, with a further 16 hours available. The metallic physical buttons on the right ear cup are cool to the touch and they work beautifully. (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins PX8 review: sound qualityPS: try to listen "Game of throne" Main title to compare these 3 headphone and you will find out why. B&W doesn't offer levels of noise cancellation like some competitors do, and instead keeps things simple with on, off and pass-through. That's no problem for us - a good transparency mode is more than enough for our needs, but it's something to consider if you like to tweak your noise cancellation levels further than that. Not only are the PX7s insightful, but their sonic character also prioritises entertainment – they are the headphone equivalent of that friend with seemingly inexhaustible supplies of energy.

Audio retransmission comes courtesy of the charging case and it’s extremely simple to use. Once plugged into your source via the included USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to 3.5mm cables, audio will automatically be streamed to your buds over aptX Low Latency. You can also use it to transmit audio to other B&W headphones, including the PX7 s2 and PX8 over-ears. At 43mm, the PX7s’ drivers are the largest in B&W’s headphone collection, so what are they capable of? In short, a great deal. We had assumed it would be a tight contest between the PX7s and their Sony WH-1000XM3 and Sennheiser Momentum Wireless rivals, and as soon as the tunes start, it’s pretty much game on. The PX8's two strongest suits are glorious looks and exemplary sound quality. If these two features are of paramount importance to you, the PX8 represent some of the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy –but you do have to pay top dollar for the privilege of ownership.

This is Bowers & Wilkins and, as you'd expect, these over-ears certainly look and feel the part –plus, the USB-C charger can also be used to listen to wired music if your phone sports a USB-C connection (we did this with our Samsung Galaxy S21, no Bluetooth required). You get a USB-C to 3.5mm cable in the box too, in case you want to use them with source devices such as MP3 players, all of which adds value at the level.