Bowers & Wilkins have opted for proper button controls instead of a touchpad arrangement for swiping and tapping, unlike many other headphones. I prefer clickable buttons for pausing the music and skipping tracks, plus there’s also a button for toggling through the ANC modes: Off, Transparent and Active Noise Cancelation. The Transparent or Passthru mode is there for listening out for hazards or simple travel announcements.
The ANC on the Px8 is excellent, thanks to the use of four separate microphones that monitor the sound for canceling. I took the headphones on a short-haul flight and was very impressed with how much engine noise the headphones cut out. I did find that I had to push the volume levels a bit higher than I am used to, but due to that carbon fiber cone, there wasn’t a sign of any distortion, even at loud levels.
When it comes to sound, Bowers & Wilkins know what they are doing. The Px8 have a sense of rhythm that suits almost any genre of music. I was listening to Superstition by. This folk cover of Stevie Wonder’s classic track burst with the energy and dynamism that those carbon fiber cones impart. These headphones rock. There’s a toe-tapping quality about them that’s infectious.
I’m not a big fan of using headphones for making phone calls, but the Px8 headphones do a pretty good job capturing the user’s voice using the two built-in microphones for voice use. Qualcomm’s cVc 8.0 makes the background noise reasonable, but I did notice a bit of wind disturbance when making outside calls on anything other than a calm day.The Bowers & Wilkins Music app plays a key role when using the Px8 headphones. The app can stream music directly from Tidal, Qobuz and Deezer.
To keep the Px8 looking their best, Bowers & Wilkins provide a zippered carry case that the headphones can lay flat in, thanks to the swiveling earcups. The headphones don’t fold up small like some models, but the upside of a non-folding design is you don’t get the annoying creaky hinges or fragile build quality of some folding models.The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 are a tasty pair of headphones that appeal to audiophiles who want sound quality above all else.