Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Review: Wilful Cannibalisation

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90%

90%

As we've come to expect from Bowers & Wilkins, the Px7 S3 headphones are superb with especially improved handling of lower frequencies. There isn't an immeidate need to upgrade from the Px7 S2e though.

The Good

1. Playful and dynamic sound
2. More bass than previous models
3. Comfy for long wear

The Not So Good

1. Improved ANC but still not as good as competitors

• User Ratings (113 Votes)
  4.5

I reviewed the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e noise-cancelling headphones in October 2023. They were the mid-cycle upgrade over the Px7 S2, and, beyond an identical design, I noted that they offered sound with more depth and control than their predecessors.

Now, we have the Px7 S3, which are a proper reimagining of the Px7 S2. 

Bowers & Wilkins has gone beyond a sound tweak with this pair; they feature an all-new design, redesigned drivers, and some nice quality-of-life improvements.

They’re also more expensive – albeit by just £20. However, that still pushes them into as-near-as-makes-no-difference £400 territory, which is serious money for a pair of consumer noise-cancelling headphones.

I want to answer three questions today about the Px7 S3:

1. Should you upgrade to them from the Px7 S2 (or S2e)?
2. Are they better than the current Bowers & Wilkins flagship headphones (the Px8)?
3. Should you make them your first pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones?

As always, the answers are fascinating. Let’s get into it!

How I reviewed the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

I’m a daily headphone user, which means any pair I’m reviewing will spend an awfully long time attached to my head.

This was certainly the case with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. I was provided with a review sample more than two weeks before the review embargo lifted, which gave me plenty of time to give them a thorough test.

That test involved wearing them daily while working on my laptop. I spend the majority of that time listening to music that helps me focus, which means comfort and noise-cancelling are of paramount importance.

I also listen to a lot of music when away from the laptop, and the Px7 S3 have been my main listening device for that purpose over the last two weeks, as well.

Specs and pricing

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 feature a high-performance DSP with a dedicated amplifier and DAC, which is capable of a true 24-bit audio connection. There’s now also a fully customisable five-band EQ in the Bowers & Wilkins App.

Bluetooth 5.3 is on connection duties and offers multipoint connection, Google Fast Pair support, and compliance with Apple MFi. For those wanting to use the Px7 S3 in a wired configuration, there are both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm cables in the case.

As for codecs, the Px7 S3 are compatible with the following:

• aptx Lossless
• aptX Adaptive
• aptX HD
• aptX Classic
• AAC
• SBC

For active noise cancelling (ANC) and calls, there are eight mics in total, which are made up of four per earcup.

In the UK, the Px7 S3 will retail at £399, and in Europe, they’ll cost €429. At the time of writing, pricing and availability for North and Latin America haven’t been announced.

Px7 S2e vs Px7 S3 – what’s changed?

Bowers & Wilkins has made quite a few changes to the drivers in the Px7 S3 over the Px7 S2e. In a bid to improve the dynamics and further reduce distortion, we have a new chassis, voice coil, suspension, and magnet.

Also, for the first time in a pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones, the Px7 S3 have dedicated amps which, in Bowers’ words, should deliver “notably more scale and energy to the sound”. The DSP has been improved, too, with added support for aptX Lossless and 24-bit/96Khz audio (the Px7 S2e were limited to aptX Adaptive and 24-bit/48Khz).

Oh, and that five-band EQ I mentioned earlier is new, too, and isn’t compatible with the previous generation Px7 cans.

It should also be noted that spatial audio is coming to the Px7 S3 via a firmware update later this year (Bowers & Wilkins didn’t provide a specific date during the press briefing). This will be another first, and hints at a slight softening on behalf of one of the consumer audio industry’s most steadfast brands. I like that, as I do the news that both LE Audio and Auracast will also arrive at some stage in 2025.

Bowers & Wilkins is also making big noises (excuse the pun) about the improvements to ANC in the Px7 S3. This is mainly due to the upgraded and repositioned mics on both earcups. They’re calling it their “best ANC to date”, which is a claim I’ll put to the test later, along with the suggestion that new voice processing should make calls more pleasurable for both parties.

One of the most obvious changes is the design. The Px7 S3 have a noticeably thinner profile than their predecessors, particularly when you compare the cup sizes. There’s a new headband and arm design, too, which promises a tighter and more comfortable fit. Upgraded memory foam earcups (that can now be replaced at the factory, along with the headband) further add to what has clearly been a focus on improved comfort.

Special mention must also go to the continued presence of hardware buttons and the fact that they’ve been repositioned and redesigned to make them easier to find when you don’t have eyes on their location.

Battery life remains unchanged, but we do now get one more hour of playback from a fifteen-minute charge (seven versus six).

Phew. That’s a lot of updates, isn’t it?

Now, let’s dive into two very important comparisons.

Sound battle 1: Px7 S2e vs Px7 S3

If you’re wondering, these tests were conducted with my iPhone 16e and Apple Music via Bluetooth, just like all of my headphone tests.

The difference between the Px7 S2e and Px7 S3, audio-wise, is night and day. The latter are so much brighter and more open-sounding. While A/B testing between the two sets of headphones, it was obvious that the S2e are dominated by midrange and don’t have the same depth at the lower end as the new pair.

On the Px7 S3, snares have more top end, vocals sparkle more, and, again, there’s just more weight to the entire sound. I have no idea how Bowers continually makes these improvements, because I said pretty much the same thing about the Px7 S2e over the Px7 S2.

Audio aficionados might argue that the Px7 S3 are a little more tuned for the masses, although I’m not convinced that’s a bad thing; they’re instantly pleasing and can, if you remember, be tweaked in the app via that five-band EQ.

This is a big upgrade. In fact, the Px7 S3 are immediately one of my favourite-sounding pairs of headphones, which begs one very big question: how do they fare against Bowers & Wilkins’ own flagships?

Sound battle 2: Px7 S3 vs Px8

At the time of writing, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 are not that far off being three years old. Does that make this a fair test? Probably not, but you can still buy the Px8 today, and they are £100 more expensive than the Px7 S3.

The first thing I noticed when comparing the two was that the Px7 S3 are louder than the Px8. They’re also brighter. The bass is more controlled (this was particularly noticeable on Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack), and the midrange is also less pronounced.

This feels like wilful cannibalisation. The Px7 S3 are brand-new. The Px8 were released in 2022. Times have changed; the former should sound better.

Design, fit, and comfort

The Px7 S3 come in three colours – Anthracite Black, Canvas White, and Indigo Blue. I’ve seen all three, and they’re typically understated yet somehow attention-grabbing.

The black pair I was given to review look almost identical to their predecessors, until you hold them side-by-side. It then becomes apparent how much Bowers has shaved from the cups. They’re more comfortable, as a result, and clamped my head far more wholesomely. This makes them feel more secure, too, while the small reduction in weight is also noticeable.

There’s not as big a difference in audio quality or in-house EQ choices as the Px7 S2e, but once again, while A/B testing, I preferred the Px7 S3 sound over that of the Px8.

I’ve been wearing the Px7 S3 every single day for over two weeks now, and there has been no discomfort whatsoever. They even manage to perform that neat headphone trick of making you forget you’re wearing them after a while.

The design changes are subtle, but smart. Those new buttons are easier to navigate when the headphones are on your head, and the slimmer design makes the Px7 S3 feel far more compact. The case is still great (not least because of the continued presence of the magnetic flappy cable compartment), but calling it more compact versus the previous generation is pushing it a bit – it’s still a tad on the large side.

Noise-cancelling and calls

Bowers & Wilkins has never prioritised noise-cancelling because they’d rather achieve the best audio possible when the drivers are tasked with both. That’s fair, and I don’t blame them at all.

However, it does sound like they’re softening a little on that front, because Bowers is calling the ANC on the Px7 S3 the best they’ve ever come up with and have made quite a few changes as a result. These extend as far as new mics and mic positioning, and tweaks to all of the internal ANC gubbins.

I’ll be honest – while A/B testing against the Px7 S2, I couldn’t notice a huge difference. Improvements to noise-cancelling performance between headphone generations are incredibly hard to quantify and even harder to test. The Px7 S3 are still nowhere near as competent at ANC as the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the AirPods Max, but neither of those headphones sound as good. Them’s the breaks.

Just like all of the Bowers & Wilkins headphones I’ve tested, the Px7 S3 get the job done when it comes to noise cancelling. And the same goes for calling performance – they work and will get you by. The passthrough mode is, possibly, slightly better on the Px7 S3 compared to the Px7 S2e, and that helps while taking calls.

Conclusion

A quick note on the comparisons I’ve made in this review. They are tantamount to nitpicking, because all three pairs of headphones are utterly superb, and if you buy any of them today, you’ll be absolutely delighted.

However, the Px7 S3 are a significant step forward for Bowers & Wilkins. Whether or not they’re slightly more commercial-sounding is open to interpretation (just like any headphone review), but I’m mightily impressed with the changes Bowers has made. The Px7 S3 are immediately joyful, characterful, and gain some much-needed quality of life benefits the range has lacked until now.

Back to my three questions posed at the start of this review.

1. Should you upgrade from the Px7 S2 (or S2e)? Only if your current pair are failing, or if you feel you could do with a bit more excitement from the sound.
2. Should you change from the Px8? No – I’d wait for the Px8 S2 (although the above still applies).
3. Should you make these your first pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones? Yes.

As always, your thoughts in the comments, please!