Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 One-Year full Review: Still Better Than Sony and Bose?
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TL:DR - Still my favorite ANC headphone, with one caveat worth knowing before you buy.
I gave the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 a perfect 10/10 when I first reviewed them over at HomeTechnologyReview.com. A year of regular use later, I stand by that score. But my recommendation now comes with an asterisk that wasn't there at launch: a pattern of build-quality complaints from other owners that I can't in good conscience leave out of a long-term verdict.
How I've used them
My usage has been consistent and, frankly, gentle. The Px8 S2 have become my dedicated evening headphones — the pair I reach for when I'm winding down or want to sit for a proper critical listening session. They live indoors, they go back in the case after every use, and they've never been to the gym, on a commute, or in a backpack. I treat a $799 headphone like a $799 headphone.
That matters for context. Everything below reflects a year of frequent but low-abuse use, not daily commuter duty like say my Final UX3000s, review here.
Sound quality: still class-leading, but the gap is closing
Nothing about my opinion of the sound has changed. The Px8 S2 remain detailed without tipping into clinical, with deep, controlled bass and vocals that have real texture and presence. They're still the pair I reach for as a reference point when I'm evaluating other premium ANC headphones — that's the strongest endorsement I can give a headphone at this point in its life.
What has changed is the competitive landscape. The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have both closed the gap on sound quality considerably, and they do it at roughly half the Px8 S2's price. Neither fully matches the Px8 S2's soundstage or the naturalness of its tonality, but the distance isn't what it used to be. Even B&W's own Px7 S3 — now priced identically to the Sony options — gets close enough that the Px8 S2's premium is a harder sell than it was a year ago.
ANC: now the best argument for the price
If sound quality alone made the case for the Px8 S2 a year ago, noise cancellation is what justifies the price today. B&W's ANC is strong and, more importantly, doesn't create the pressurized, in-your-head sensation some systems produce — the sound stays intact even with cancellation running hard. It's worth noting that in side-by-side testing, some outlets have found the Sony WH-1000XM6 edges out the Px8 S2 specifically on ANC, with less voice and low-frequency leak-through in commuting scenarios. Since I use these almost exclusively indoors, that gap hasn't affected my experience, but it's a fair point of comparison for anyone weighing the two as a primary daily driver. Curious about ANC with AI in a hearing aide? Read this review here!
Battery life: a non-issue
Battery life hasn't given me a single moment's thought in a year of ownership. I charge them when needed and otherwise forget about it — exactly how a flagship wireless headphone should behave. My usage pattern (evening sessions rather than all-day wear) is admittedly easy on a battery, but I have no complaints to report.
Build quality: the one real concern
This is the part of my original review I'd write differently today.
My personal pair hasn't had a single issue. Nothing has loosened, separated, or stopped working, and I have no reason to think it will. But I've seen enough owner reports — headphones coming apart with what people describe as normal use — that I can't ignore the pattern, even though I haven't experienced it myself.
I also have to be honest about how unrepresentative my use case is. I don't commute in these, I don't travel with them loose in a bag, and I don't wear them daily for eight hours. Mine live a pampered life: always in the case, always indoors. Someone using the Px8 S2 as an everyday commuter headphone is going to stress-test the build in ways I simply haven't.
I'm not willing to call this a confirmed durability problem based on secondhand reports. I am no longer willing to call the build "essentially flawless," which is how I might have described it a year ago. At $799, that distinction matters, and it's the single reason this review carries an asterisk it didn't have at launch. My advice: use the case religiously, and don't treat these like disposable commuter cans.
Is $799 still worth it?
This is a harder question than it was a year ago — not because the Px8 S2 has gotten worse, but because the competition has gotten better. The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QC Ultra 2 both sit around $430–450 and now deliver ANC and sound quality that, while still a step behind, no longer justify the roughly $350 gap on their own. The law of diminishing returns is real in this category — you're paying a premium for that last increment of refinement, materials, and ANC polish.
I still wish the Px8 S2 were cheaper. At $500 they'd be an obvious recommendation. At $799, you need to genuinely care about closing that final gap in performance.
That said, the question that matters most to me: if my pair disappeared tomorrow, would I buy another set with my own money? Yes, without hesitation.
Long-term score: 10/10
A year in, the Px8 S2 remains one of the best-sounding ANC headphones I've used, and it's still my evening go-to for critical listening. The sound is outstanding, the ANC is a genuine strength, battery life is a non-issue, and comfort has held up throughout. Nothing about ownership has dented my enthusiasm.
The two things I'd flag for a prospective buyer: cheaper competitors are getting close enough that the price premium requires real justification, and build-quality reports from other owners are common enough to warrant caution and careful handling. Neither is enough to knock these off the top of my list. I'd buy them again. Read my 1 year later Sonos article here!
