Bowers & Wilkins has updated its Px7 wireless headphones. We give them a listen

There are so many changes to the S3 model of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 that it’s a wonder it wasn’t designated an entirely new model. Mechanically, acoustically and electrically, the company’s premium wireless headphones have been updated, refined and honed to make them better than ever before.

The first change is physical. The Px7 S3s are slimmer and lighter, designed to fit closer to the head (with less of a gap between band and skull) and with less prominent earpads. That has benefits across the board, not least in the way the headphones are packaged in the accompanying carry case, which becomes correspondingly slimmer and easier to sling into an overnight bag.

One of the drivers behind the reduction in scale was a huge anthropocentric study the company conducted into headphone fit, looking across genders and ethnicities to work out the best way of accommodating as much variety as possible without compromising comfort. For the Px7 S3, this also meant redesigning the joint between earpad and band.

Another innovation is the way the noise cancelling and call-taking microphones are now located much closer to the ear. Each side now has four mics, up from three – two working on the noise cancelling algorithms, one for voice cancelling and one listening to the headphone output to adapt the sound depending on what you’re listening to. The company uses ADI’s Pure Voice software to handle calls, whilst the physical buttons have been moved and reshaped for easier and more intuitive operation.

Thankfully, B&W remains in favour of clickable hardware rather than the dreaded capacitive units, whilst the upgrades to the physicality continue with a replaceable head band in addition to the renewable earpads, adding to the longevity of the headphones. Under the skin, there are new drivers, redesigned specifically to allow for more dynamics with less distortion. There’s also a dedicated on-board headphone amplifier for the first time, which creates a more accurate sound stage even at low volumes.

All of this is subjective, of course, and one person’s listening experience can vary substantially from another’s. Aspects of modern sound processing that some people swear by – such as spatial audio, for example – are anathema to others. B&W has created their own version of spatial audio, with three different room sizes, although it’s not available until later in the year.

Regardless of your choice of music and equalisation, the Px7 S3s are amongst the more comfortable headphones we’ve tried in recent memory. The resized cans and simple interface make them easy to operate, whether wirelessly or using the supplied USB-C and 3.5mm cables to plug them into legacy audio players (mp3 players or even the new breed of cassette units), and the B&W Music app has been revised to add more sound shaping controls.

If you haven’t yet taken the plunge into the world of premium wireless over-ear headphones, then Bowers & Wilkins has provided a very good place to start. Our portable electronics are not only sounding better but lasting longer as companies realise the value of keeping customers loyal (as well as fulfilling their legal obligations). The three colours – Anthracite Black, Canvas White and Indigo Blue – are not especially ambitious, but the industrial design is top notch, right down to the smallest detail.

In total, the Px7 S3s are rated for 30 hours of playback (with full use of noise cancellation) – it takes just a quarter of an hour to add sufficient charge for a transatlantic flight. Lightweight and supremely comfortable, these are the kind of headphones you can easily forget you’re wearing.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, £379 / $429 / €429, BowersWilkins.com, @BowersWilkins