Introduction

It hasn’t always been easy for hi-fi brands to replicate the success they’ve had with speakers in the headphones market, but Bowers & Wilkins’ persistence has reaped rewards.

The British hi-fi brand has made many attempts, some great, others just fine, but it has had large success with its current batch of headphones, mixing style with high fidelity sound in its Px series of wireless headphones.

I gave the PX7 S2e five stars and the Px7 S3 promise improvements to sound, noise cancellation and comfort. They may look similar, but these over-ears are a completely new proposition.

Are the Px7 S3 the best-sounding wireless headphones at their price? They are, but that’s not the full story.

Design

• Slimmer appearance
• Reshaped buttons

It’s a new look with the same style, according to Bowers, with the design of the Px7 S3 getting an overhaul. Though you wouldn’t necessarily know at first glance.

The headband has been revised – bigger and wider to fit more heads. The buttons have also been repositioned on the earcups. The playback button is smaller to make it easier to find; I’d have raised its height more, but I don’t design headphones. The power/Bluetooth pairing button has moved from the right earcup to the left to make it easier to locate.

I don’t necessarily love the changes, at least not at first. There’s some muscle memory that keeps grasping for buttons that aren’t there but it makes logical sense – I suppose.

The profile of the earcups is just a little slimmer, and this black version that I have comes with grey accented earcups that make the headphones stand out more, though I rather liked the dark black-on-black colour scheme of the PX7 S2e.

All the changes result in a headphone that remains comfortable to wear – the clamping force is tight but offers security rather than discomfort. At 300g, they’re not the lightest, but I don’t feel the weight

The carry case is also a little slimmer and compact, so it will fit better into your rucksack or, quite possibly, Prada bag. Inside the carry case, there are USB-C cables for charging and wired listening.

Finishes are available in Anthracite Black, Indigo Blue and Canvas White, with Frost Blue, Vintage Maroon added after launch.

Features

• aptX Lossless
• Bowers & Wilkins Music app
• Spatial Audio in a future update

You get Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity with aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC, and SBC flavours; the first two offer the highest quality sound and a connection that adapts to your environment to ensure the signal between the headphones and mobile device isn’t broken.

Bluetooth LE Audio was added in an update after launch, while these are first pair of B&W headphones that feature Auracast. This will allow you to connect instantly to devices in public spaces – at least when those devices themselves actually support it.

You’ve also got Google Fast Pair to connect to Android devices swiftly upon first pairing, and there’s Apple’s Made for iPhone support, so these headphones come with Apple seal of approval for quality, compatibility and safety.

I can’t say I’ve had issues with the wireless signal falling apart on me, but there are times when you can sense the connection gets stressed. Wandering about in an altogether too busy New York City and there were times when the soundstage became narrow and the sound thinner as the headphones tried to resist the wireless interference around me.

Otherwise, they’re exemplary in terms of stability, refusing to break much of a sweat in busy wireless areas such as Waterloo and Paddington.

Bowers & Wilkins has let some of its more neurotic sensibilities go with the Music app. With the Px7 S2e you could customise treble and bass from -6dB to 6dB but now – and rather overdue in my opinion – there’s the option of an ‘Advanced EQ’ where you can alter the lows, mids and highs through sliders.

Or you can stick with Bowers’ True Sound option, which claims to add nothing to and subtract nothing from the original recording.

And there are plenty of ways to listen to music within the app, with built-in streaming support for Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal, SoundCloud and others. Sign in those apps and you’ll be able to access your library and playlists, as well as get curated recommendations from Bowers’ own team of tastemakers.

The wear sensor can be a little sensitive but there are three levels of tweaking: low, normal, and high (I tend to opt with low). Further customisation comes in the Quick Action button, whereby you can alter whether it covers Environment Control (noise cancellation) or enables your device’s voice assistant. As per usual with B&W, there’s built-in support for voice control.

Spatial Audio is supported but not in the way you might think. This ‘3D’ audio is not of the Dolby Atmos variety but Bowers’ own take on it, mimicking the experience you’d get from listening to a pair of hi-fi speakers.

Battery Life

• 30 hours in total
• Fast-charging support

The battery life hasn’t changed with the Px7 S3, which means it’s another 30 hours in total, and 15 minutes provides an extra seven hours of listening in the same vein as the Px7 S2e.

The usual battery drain test I carried out with the volume set to 50% and audio streamed to headphones via Spotify saw the battery fall by 4% in the first hour and another 4% in the second. That would actually suggest about 40 hours of listening time if the headphones keep that level of battery drain up.

Noise cancellation

• Eight microphones
• Transparency mode

Bowers & Wilkins has revamped the noise-cancellation to extract more from it without altering the sound, believing it to be the most powerful solution it’s come up with for its headphones.

I don’t think it is, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

First off, the specs. The Px7 S3 feature eight microphones that have been repositioned around each cup compared to their relative positions on the Px7 S2e. Two measure the outside of each drive unit. Four are positioned at opposite ends of the earcup and angled to monitor and cancel ambient noise while the final two are there to enhance voice clarity for calls.

The problem is that these headphones still aren’t capable of handling heavy-duty sounds. I’m not expecting Bose or Sony levels of noise cancellation, but when it’s said there are improvements to the ANC, I do expect to hear some form of boost to the ANC. To my ears, the noise-cancelling strength sounds about the same.

In NYC, the sound of the subway was still too much for these headphones to handle. Although outside on the streets, they did handle the hubbub of daily New York City life better, the noise cancellation is still not as strong as its price rivals.

Whether I listened to them on a flight to NYC, wore them on a train, or walked through a train station, I could still hear some surrounding noise, which meant I wasn’t afforded an escape from the people around me – those voices and sounds followed me wherever I went.

The Transparency mode is fine but a little noisy if you pause audio. Music thins out and lacks some definition with it on but that’s not something that can be avoided with even the best noise-cancelling headphones. There’s been no issue with wind noise; the Px7 S3 handle blustery conditions without causing a fuss.

Call quality, though, remains excellent. I’m not sure why B&W felt the need to completely revamp the noise-cancelling/microphone array for calls since it was strong already, but my voice came through clearly, and while some noise invaded the call, it wasn’t enough to be intrusive. These headphones are as good as you can get for the money, as far as calls are concerned.

Sound Quality

• Energetic, dynamic, punchy sound
• Wide soundstage
• Excellent levels of clarity and detail

It’s all change for drive units in the Px7 S3, which – for the first time in a Bowers & Wilkins’ headphones – feature a dedicated amplifier for greater dynamics. The new drive units are engineered to be driven harder while producing less distortion, and the results are even better than what the Px7 S2e was capable of.

The first aspect of the PX7 S3’s improved sound that’s noticeable from the off is that the soundstage is wider and more expansive, moreso than the Sony WH-1000XM6. But it’s the energy that seems to have been ramped up. Much like the Pi8 and Pi6 true wireless, these are a lively, energetic, dynamic and loud listening experience. The drive units are being driven harder, but the audio still sounds clean and clear with little to no obvious distortion.

Bass carries more presence and punch over the Px7 S2e with Theon Cross’ We Go Again. The soundstage appears to be pitched closer to your ears, which makes for a slightly more immersive sound, while the Px7 S3 also convey more detail than the older model.

The expansive soundstage means there’s more space for instruments and vocals to strut their stuff, but the midrange clarity, insight into tracks, detail and definition feel off the chart for a wireless headphone at this price. It’s better than the levels of clarity the Sony, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones or the Sonos Ace can produce, with instruments and vocals having a more defined presence within the width of the soundstage.

Treble hits harder on this headphone compared to its predecessor, with more brightness and variation in the treble that makes the high frequencies stand out more than they did on the Px7 S2e. It’s a performance that grabs your attention, though I slightly prefer how treble sounds on the older model – it’s just less aggressive.

It’s not as if the Px7 S3 take a wholesale different approach to sound than the Px7 S2e. They sound similar, the tone the headphones go for is broadly the same – you can tell these are in the same family. But, across the board, the Px7 S3 are a step up; bass, energy, clarity, detail, soundstaging – it all hits harder without sacrificing clarity, nuance or detail.

The best-sounding wireless headphones at their price? I haven’t heard anything better.

The spatial audio, or True Immersion mode as it’s called, is a bit disappointing. Like the Px8 S2, these headphones seem to raise the noise floor/take background noise and bring it to the fore. Music in this mode doesn’t sound as clear or as natural as stereo playback. While the soundstage has more depth, I don’t get a good sense of height or width in this mode. It’s a mode that could use some more finesse.

The Px7 S3 supports USB-C audio and the performance is similar to its wireless performance with its energetic sound. They sound better than the Sony and Bose QC Headphones Gen 2, but I find the JBL Tour One M3 to be more articulate and clearer, although they lack the bass weight of the Px7 S3.

Should you buy it?