Bowers & Wilkins PX7 noise cancelling headphones review – a luxury audio experience

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• VERDICT

The Bowers & Wilkin PX7 wireless noise cancelling headphones tick all the boxes when it comes to audio quality, design, comfort and battery performance. If you want your ears to experience luxury then these are the headphones for you.

The new Bowers & Wilkin PX7 noise cancelling wireless headphones offer a true luxury experience when it comes to audio quality, product design and overall comfort.

Anyone who owns or has driven a luxury car will tell you that not only is the interior immaculately appointed, it also has the latest technology, a head-turning design and a smooth ride.

It doesn’t cost more just for the name of the badge on the car. It’s because it’s high quality across the board and the result of decades of research and development.

Think of the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 ($599.95) as the equivalent to a luxury car in the headphone space.

In fact, the inspiration behind the design was taken from a Formula One car right down to the woven carbon fibre composite arms which offer both strength and durability.

The luxury extends to the fabric covering on the headband and the ear cups and the engraved plates on either side.

Holding them in your hand you can easily see and feel the build quality.

And like a luxury car, it’s not just what you can see on the outside that matters but what’s under the hood.

The Bowers & Wilkin PX7 have proprietary 43.6mm drivers – the largest on any B&W headphones – which have been built and tuned by the same engineers behind the Bowers & Wilkins speakers used in the famous Abbey Road studios.

And they really deliver some remarkable quality.

The objective for any headphone manufacturer is to produce high fidelity – that is make it sound like the band is actually playing front of you and the Bowers & Wilkin PX7 succeed admirably.

Every detail Is there for you to hear from hearing the cymbal through the drums and the vocals though the guitar and keyboards.

Bass was also on point and we heard enough to put a smile on our face. And it was true to the song – and not artificially pumped up to overwhelm us.

Even when played at two thirds volume, all the detail was still there.

And having that extra headroom and upping the volume felt like putting your foot down on an open road.

It’s a great feeling knowing that extra power is there when you need it.

Also onboard is the new aptX Adaptive version of Bluetooth which offers both greater resolution and fidelity.

Another advantage of this codec is its low latency which means you can watch videos and play games and hear the audio at exactly the same time so the audio matches what you’re seeing.

In a video, the lips of the person on screen move at the same time as what you’re hearing and in the gaming world you’re hearing what’s going on as it’s happening so you can react instantly.

In terms of comfort, the Bowers & Wilkin PX7 also delivered.

I’ve got a pretty big head and the headband flexed effortlessly to accommodate my large skull.

Those carbon fibre composite arms are capable of some pretty heaving lifting. We tested this by stretching the headband almost flat.

So not only can it handle our big noggin’ it can also take care of business when it comes to the daily bumps and scrapes that come with regular use.

They are also fairly lightweight so they’re hardly a burden. In fact, you’ll get so involved in your music, you’ll forget you’re wearing them.

What helps you escape into your music and content is the noise cancellation which is among the finest we’ve heard.

And you can also control the level of noise cancellation to suit your surroundings.

There’s a mode to handle particularly noisy environments, another mode to give you a sense of what’s going on around you and an auto mode that can intelligently adapt to the level of ambient noise.

There’s also a pass through mode so can hear everything through the onboard microphones like flight announcement and be able to hear and speak to people without having to remove the headphones.

These onboard microphones also allow you to answer your calls which was acceptable quality but behind that of other headphones in this price range.

What’s also convenient are the sensors that can detect when you take the headphones off and immediately pause your music and resume playback when you put them on again instead of having to hit the pause and play button on your device.

But headphones are only as good as their built-in rechargeable battery.

The good news is the Bowers & Wilkin PX7 has one of the longest battery lives you’ll find on a pair of active noise cancelling headphones at an amazing 30 hours.

That’s long enough to fly from Sydney to London and another connecting flight to a European country.

And when you do need to charge – there’s fast charging as well. In fact, a 15-minute charge will get you enough power for five hours listening time.

The Bowers & Wilkin PX7 comes with a charging cable and an audio cable so you can connect to an airline entertainment system, for example.

But there is no airline adaptor so either have to buy your own or hope you’re on a new aircraft that accepts a single headphone plug.

The PX7 also comes with a hardcase which could have been smaller if the headphones could fold completely flat.

The Bowers & Wilkin PX7 are available now and are priced at $599.95.

VERDICT

The Bowers & Wilkin PX7 wireless noise cancelling headphones tick all the boxes when it comes to audio quality, design, comfort and battery performance. If you want your ears to experience luxury then these are the headphones for you.