Look, I've been doing this long enough to know that most "flagship" wireless headphones are about as flagship as a rental car with leather seats. Premium materials slapped onto mediocre drivers, noise cancelling that sounds like you're underwater, and app control that makes you want to throw your phone into traffic. So when Bowers & Wilkins sent over the Px8 S2, I approached this Px8 S2 review with the enthusiasm of someone opening their fourteenth rejection email of the week.

But here's the thing about being cursed to walk this earth reviewing tech products until the sweet release of an unremarkable death: every once in a while, something comes along that makes you remember why you got into this gig in the first place. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 is one of those rare products that doesn't just talk about sound quality - it actually delivers it. And yeah, that's irritating, because now I have to explain why these Bluetooth headphones deserve your attention.

Carbon Cones: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Science

Let's start with the bit that actually matters, buried beneath all the marketing flannel about "exceptional performance" and "premium materials." The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 uses 40mm carbon cone drivers, which sounds like the kind of spec-sheet nonsense that makes my eyes glaze over faster than a corporate PowerPoint presentation. But here's where it gets interesting, in a deeply nerdy way that I'm contractually obligated to care about.

Carbon fibre isn't just lighter than traditional driver materials - it's also significantly stiffer, which means it can move faster and more accurately without flexing or distorting. This translates to better transient response, improved high-frequency detail, and less distortion across the frequency spectrum.

In practical terms? The sound quality is exceptional. You hear things in recordings you've listened to a hundred times. Not in a "hey, there's a triangle in the background" way, but in a "oh, that's what the producer actually intended" way. The bass is tight and controlled rather than the bloated mess you get with lesser headphones, while the treble remains detailed without becoming harsh or fatiguing.

These drivers are custom-designed and paired with a fully optimised drive unit system. The sound doesn't just happen somewhere vaguely between your ears; it creates an actual soundstage.

Instruments have positions. Vocals sit in space rather than floating in an undefined cloud of "somewhere forward." It's the kind of detail and clarity that makes you realise most headphones are essentially expensive earmuffs with speakers attached. The low end has proper weight without overwhelming the mids, and instruments maintain their individual character rather than blending into sonic mush.

aptX Lossless: Finally, Wireless That Doesn't Compromise

I've tested enough Bluetooth headphones with "advanced audio technology" to know it's usually code for "we're using software to disguise the fact our drivers are mediocre." The Px8 S2's aptX Lossless Bluetooth, combined with 24-bit DSP, is different. It's not trying to make bad hardware sound good; it's making excellent hardware sound exceptional for critical listening.

The real party trick is aptX Lossless support. This is proper CD-quality audio over Bluetooth - no compromises, no "good enough for wireless" excuses. Connect to a compatible device, and you're getting bit-perfect transmission. It's the audio equivalent of switching from instant coffee to something from an actual café (except without the pretentious barista). You can also connect via USB-C cable for wired listening when you want absolute control. While these Bluetooth headphones don't have spatial audio per se, the soundstage they create through proper driver engineering makes such gimmicks feel unnecessary.

"These are the best-sounding wireless headphones we've tested. Full stop." - What Hi-Fi? (Which is saying something, because those people test a lot of headphones)

Noise Cancelling That Doesn't Lobotomise Your Music

Here's where most manufacturers of ANC headphones screw up: they create noise cancelling so aggressive it sucks the life out of your music like a particularly efficient vampire. You're left with silence, sure, but also with audio that sounds like it's been wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap and then compressed through a telephone line.

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 uses six microphones for its hybrid noise cancelling system, and - this is the crucial bit - it manages to cancel external noise without turning your music into a compressed, lifeless approximation of what the artist intended. On a plane, on a train, or in an open-plan office designed by someone who has clearly never had to work in one, these ANC headphones create a bubble of quiet without destroying the dynamic range or frequency response of your audio. There's also a transparency mode for when you need to hear the world around you without taking the headphones off your head.

It's also excellent for calls, which matters if you're one of those people who occasionally needs to talk to other humans for work-related reasons. Clear, intelligible voice pickup without making you sound like you're calling from inside a tin can. Revolutionary, I know.

Premium Design: When Luxury Isn't Just Marketing

I've lost count of how many "premium" headphones I've tested that use "luxury materials" as code for "we put fake leather on plastic and called it a day." The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 uses actual Nappa leather - the kind that gets softer with age rather than cracking like a Kalgoorlie riverbed after six months of summer. The die-cast aluminium arms are light but properly engineered, not the flimsy sort that feel like they'll snap if you look at them wrong.

But here's what's actually impressive: the Px8 S2 has a slimmer, more ergonomic design than the original Bowers & Wilkins Px8. They've actually made these headphones more comfortable while maintaining the premium build quality. The memory foam earpads are genuinely comfortable for all-day wear, which is rare. Most headphones either clamp your head like they're trying to extract information, or sit so loosely they fall off when you dare to move. This pair hits that sweet spot of secure without uncomfortable, which is harder to achieve than it sounds. After a few hours of wear, they don't become torture devices pressing into your ears - they're designed for extended listening sessions without fatigue around the ear cups.

And yes, they look good. Available in Black and Dove White finishes, these are headphones you can wear without looking like you're cosplaying as a gaming streamer or a 1970s airline pilot. The metal detailing is restrained rather than shouty, which feels appropriate for something costing this much. Compared to the original Px8 and older designs in the Bowers and Wilkins catalogue, the Px8 S2 feels more refined and contemporary, while maintaining the brand's signature aesthetic that sets it apart from the rest of the market.

Battery Life: 30 Hours of Not Having to Think About Charging

Thirty hours of playback with noise cancelling active. That's nearly a week of commuting, or several intercontinental flights, or just not having to think about charging for long enough that you forget these devices need power in the first place. In a world where most wireless headphones die just as you're settling into your work groove, this is the kind of specification that matters more than any frequency response graph. USB charging is straightforward via the included USB-C cable, and the device holds its charge reliably even when left unused for a few hours or a few days.

The App: Surprisingly, Not Terrible

The Bowers & Wilkins Music app (available on the Play Store and App Store) doesn't try to be everything to everyone, which immediately makes it better than 90% of headphone apps. The Wilkins app lets you control your headphones, adjust settings, and stream from integrated services like Tidal, Qobuz, and Deezer without the app trying to sell you extra features or collect more data than the NSA.

The Px8 S2 adds a new five-band EQ to the app, giving you more precise control over the sound signature. It's clean, functional, and doesn't crash every time you try to change a setting. This should be the baseline for all tech products, but here we are, praising software for simply working as intended.

The Competition: Why the Px8 S2 Stands Apart

At this price point, you're comparing the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 against the usual suspects: Sony's WH-1000XM6, the Apple AirPods Max, Sennheiser's Momentum 4, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (its own sibling), the Focal Bathys, and the Sonos Ace. They're all competent wireless headphones. They all do noise cancelling. They all have apps. But here's the thing: none of them sound quite as good as the Px8 S2 when it comes to pure audio fidelity.

The Sony is excellent for features and convenience. The AirPods Max integrate beautifully with Apple's ecosystem. The Sennheiser has battery life that makes the Px8 S2 look merely adequate. The Wilkins Px7 S3 offers similar sound quality at a lower price but lacks the carbon cone drivers and aptX Lossless. The Focal Bathys delivers comparable audio performance for those who prefer a slightly different tonal balance. The Sonos Ace is a solid all-rounder but doesn't quite reach the same heights in critical listening. But if you care about how music actually sounds - not just that it's loud and has bass - the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 is really your only option.

Who Should Buy These?

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 isn't for everyone, mainly because not everyone wants to spend this much on headphones, and that's perfectly reasonable. Most people would be better served by something less expensive. But if you're someone who notices the difference between good audio and great audio, who gets annoyed when noise cancelling turns music into mush, who'd rather have something built to last than something that needs replacing every couple of years, and who wants to hear older music the way it was meant to sound - with proper treble extension and high end detail - these make sense.

They're for the person who has a decent audio setup at home and wants that same level of sound quality when they're mobile. For the frequent traveller who refuses to accept that "travel headphones" means settling for less. For anyone who's ever listened to a well-produced album on proper equipment and thought, "I wish I could have this everywhere." If you prefer comfort over performance, or convenience over quality, there are other options. But for critical listeners who won't compromise, these headphones deliver.

The Verdict: Enthusiasm?

So why is the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 so good? Because it does what it sets out to do without compromise. The carbon cone drivers deliver genuine high-fidelity sound quality. The aptX Lossless Bluetooth means wireless doesn't have to mean compromised. The noise cancelling works without destroying your music. The build quality suggests these will actually survive more than a year of regular use. The battery lasts long enough that you forget to check it. And they're comfortable enough to wear all day without developing a headache.

The improvements over the original Bowers & Wilkins Px8 are meaningful: slimmer, more comfortable design; aptX Lossless support; better app control with five-band EQ. These newer Wilkins headphones offer genuinely improved drivers and refined tuning. The ability to listen via USB-C cable for lossless audio is a genuine game-changer for critical listening. Yes, they're serious tools rather than fun consumer headphones, but that's the point. These Wilkins cans are for people who take their audio seriously.

In a market flooded with wireless headphones that promise the world and deliver mediocrity wrapped in marketing, the Px8 S2 is annoyingly competent. They're expensive, yes, but they're expensive in the way that properly made things often are - not because of brand markup or artificial scarcity, but because making something this good costs money.

Sometimes the expensive option is expensive for good reason.

Compared to cheaper alternatives, the price difference is noticeable - but so is the sound quality. If you're going to spend this much money on wireless headphones, you want them to be exceptional, and these are.

They won't change your life. They won't make you hear colours or unlock new dimensions of consciousness. But they will make your music sound the way it's supposed to sound, wherever you happen to be. For extended listening sessions, they deliver performance that justifies their position at the top of the Bowers and Wilkins headphone lineup. And in a world full of products that promise everything and deliver little, that's worth something.

"After two weeks of testing, I keep reaching for these over everything else in the office. That probably tells you everything you need to know." - Me, grudgingly impressed