Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 ZDNET's key takeaways The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 are available in Onyx Black and Warm Stone for $799.
They excel in the design and sound categories, thanks to their high-quality internal and external build materials
Unless you value exceptional details in design and sound, a $799 asking price may be hard to justify. View now at Bowers & Wilkins
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Few headphones perfectly blend design, sound quality, and everyday utility. Sony's headphones sound great, Bose's headphones have great design qualities, and Apple's headphones perform remarkably well with other Apple devices.
Conversely, brands like Focal, which offer headphones with exceptional sound quality and minimal digital features, have a $1,200 asking price and weaker noise-canceling capabilities. Still, to many people, the consumer-friendly sound of the most popular headphones isn't good enough -- they want an elevated sound without compromising the most valuable software features.
Also: I replaced my AirPods Max with the AirPods Pro 3, and didn't mind the $300 price gap
The art of blending all of the previously mentioned qualities is Bowers & Wilkins' specialty, marrying high-quality audio with the everyday consumer's needs. The Px8 S2, the second generation of its flagship headphones, debut with an upgraded Qualcomm chipset, better noise cancellation, improved wireless audio streaming quality, and new internal audio components.
On paper, the Px8 S2 look similar to the recently released Px7 S3, which I loved for the sound, comfort, utility, and design. If you've already decided that Sony, Bose, JBL, or the others aren't what you're looking for, should you pay $320 more for the Px8 S2 over the Px7 S3?
It's challenging to compare Bowers & Wilkins' headphones to options from Bose and Sony because Bowers & Wilkins excels in two critical categories: external design materials and internal audio component materials. You won't find faux leather or coated plastic finishes on the Px8 S2.
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