Looking for New Headphones? Try These New Bose Competitors

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Fast Facts

Bowers & Wilkins is a high-end audio brand, and their new wireless and noise-cancelling headphones go toe-to-toe with the best in the business
The going price for good audio, powerful noise cancellation, and wireless connectivity is north of $300. These cost $399

When discussing The Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones, everybody talks Bose and Sony. Both companies make a number of very powerful wireless, noise-cancelling headphones, but they aren’t the sole owners of this technology—they may not even be the best. British audio brand Bowers & Wilkins has, since it introduced its first wireless noise cancelling headphone in 2017, been firmly in the discussion for the best a person could buy. With the release of the Px7 S2 ($399)—the name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue—it’s cemented itself there. Here’s what you need to know, and why you might consider a B&W headphone over the more popular Bose or Sony.

Sound Quality

One of the reasons Bowers & Wilkins has earned a cult-like following is its popularity with music and audio professionals. The brand doesn’t really do value, because its mission is driven first and foremost by legitimate quality. The Px7 S2’s carry angled 40mm audio drivers inside the earcups, making clear audio fidelity is the focus over all else.

A Cleaner Look

While not necessary, it’s nice when expensive products look and fee rich. By using a textured fabric over the headband and outside of the ear cup, B&W’s headphones stay cleaner—or just look cleaner—by waving goodbye to the fingerprint smudges that plague the plastic Bose and Sony offerings (Apple’s metallic build is its only real competition in this regard). The silhouette is also smaller, and the headphones themselves are lighter, so you don’t look like an airline pilot everywhere you go.

Tune It Out

B&W’s audio and design chops rival if not exceed the Sonys, Boses, and Apples of the world, but active noise cancellation—using inverted sound waves to mute incoming noise—is, in the past at least, an area the brand has lagged behind in. The Px7 S2 doesn’t have that issue; it’s active noise cancellation is rated to cancel 30 decibels of sound, which puts it firmly in the mix of the heavy hitters in the category.

The Bottom Line

Bowers & Wilkins new Px7 S2 headphones aren’t cheap, but they do potentially the best mix of audio power, noise cancellation, and aesthetics in an over-ear headphone.