Design & Construction

With much success from the PX7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins introduces the PX7 S2e, a evolved successor to the PX7 S2 but does it warrant an upgrade for Px7 S2 users? Let’s dive in to find out! The PX7 S2e redefines elegance with a sophisticated overhaul. The headphones themselves exude premium craftsmanship.  From the top, we are looking at a wide padded headband made with plush cushions wrapping the underside. Meanwhile, the top is covered in a durable fabric. The sleek yet premium plastic arm extenders are now shifted to the lower part of the headphone, nearer to the earcups, and they do not click in steps or make any noises when adjusted. It works as intended and has enough resistance for the earcups not to shift the set length. Both earcups bear the printed Bowers & Wilkins logo, with the headphones having softer, thicker and deeper leather cushions that are meant for providing a comfortable experience, even for users who wear spectacles like myself. The depth of the earcups is significant; of which your ears will never touch any part of the inside fabric. And I have to say, this new material not only fits snugly around the head with little to no clamping force, but it also smells really good when you first unbox it. The strong leather smell is so fresh and fragrant, like that of a new car or designer handbag. Onto the exterior of the headphones, it gives off this luxurious feel and subtle elegance with a matte-like finish, although made up of mostly plastic, to keep it well balanced, even though it weighs 307g. The headphones, fortunately, do not pick up any fingerprint smudges and facial oils in day-to-day use. Now, onto the most disappointing part of this design, the Px7 S2e does not stow into a much more compact form like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. It will only stow flat as the earcups do not fold inwards. Yes, there is nothing wrong with a design like this since it has been the go-to method for the Apple AirPods Max and the Sonos Ace. With a larger footprint comes a large case, and yes. The hardshell carrying case included is slightly on the thicker side. Inside the case, we have a neat central compartment with a magnetic cover to store our USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable for wired use and another USB-C to USB-C cable for charging, with no airplane adapter included. Now, back to the headphones, it is all good from here as we have all our familiar controls and buttons. On the right earcup, there is the (From Front-Back): USB-C port, volume buttons, the Multi-function button, as well as the power switch. Meanwhile, on the left earcup, we have the ANC button. Controlling the playback functions via the Multi-function button. Press once for play/pause, double press to skip forward and triple press for skipping backwards. To power on the headphones, simply push the switch upwards and hold it to enable Bluetooth pairing. There is a proximity sensor in the left earcup that pauses your music automatically when you remove your headphones. However, I discovered that just like the previous model, this feature only works when you lift the left earcup. The Noise-cancelling button can be used to toggle between noise-cancelling, ambient sound mode or passive noise isolation. It is worth noting that the headphones have Quick Charge, which only requires 15 minutes of charging for 7 hours of playback.

​

Sound Quality

Refined and energetic is how I would describe the sound of the PX7 S2e. So let's start with the bass response. In short, it is deep, punchy, and tight. The 24-bit DSP enhances its 40m drivers to deliver a rich and clear sound that hardly distort at loud and maximum volumes, but on heavy bass-focused tracks, it still tends to bottom out a little. Thankfully, it does not bleed into the mids when it is at a low volume level. The bass depth, however, doesn't rattle the headphones much and far from what you can expect from the bass-heavy Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless. However, the bass is comparable to the AirPods Max or Bose QuietComfort Ultra. The highs sound bright and are filled with plenty of details, and the mids do sound extremely crisp, especially with the help of the equaliser tuning that is found in the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, which helps to configure the sound to your ears. The soundstage isn't quite as wide as the mind-blowing AirPods Max's Spatial Audio but is definitely on par with Sonos Ace and better than the Sony WH-1000XM5. The instrument separation is excellent, with distinct left and right channels being heard clearly. If you are not so much of an EDM or Hip-Hop fan, I am glad to report that the PX7 S2e works perfectly with all other genres, ranging from Pop to Jazz after you fiddle with the customisable sound settings in the Bowers & Wilkins Music app available for download from the App & Play Store. In the app, you are first greeted with the status of the headphones' battery and the list of devices that it is paired to. Moving downwards, we have a few tabs here, starting with the environmental control tab for you to toggle the noise-cancelling settings. Next, the Recently Played tab shows you your music sources that you have tuned in to previously. There are also suggestions from Bowers & Wilkins too with recommended radio stations below. You may also browse services like NTS, Soundcloud or TuneIn, all of which are built into the app itself. Similarly, in the Library and Search tab, you can search for specific music tracks on all services as well as podcasts and radio stations. Lastly, in the settings, you can now select PX7 S2e which brings you into the real deal. Here, you can similarly toggle different noise-cancelling modes of Active Noise-Cancelling, Pass-through, as well as Off for passive noise isolation. There is no further customisation of the ANC settings, like tuning it to filter out voices manually; the process is fully adaptive. Based on my testing and usage, I would say that the PX7 S2e does a decent job of cancelling out noises. From the hum of the airplane cabin, mild winds and even high-frequency chatter, the PX7 S2e blocks most of that with a combination of 4 microphones and no cabin pressure. You may also switch to pass-through mode, where you can utilise the microphones to take in surrounding noises for safety, however, there is no customisation for how much noise you can choose to let in as well. Comparing the Pass-through Mode with the AirPods Max, I would give the edge to Apple's Transparency Mode, as it is simply the most natural-sounding transparency that seems to know what to filter out and take in. Next, there is a basic treble and bass equaliser with settings ranging  -6 to +6, which you can use to toggle how much extra bass or treble you prefer. Sadly, that is all you can do since there is no dedicated 6 or 8-band equaliser that is found on the Px8. You can similarly switch between your paired devices and customise you quick action button on the left earcup to switch between ANC modes or smart assistance. There is also an auto-standby switch to help you preserve battery life when you leave it unattended and wear sensor toggle that can be customised to play/pause your music. There are three options of Low, Normal and High, which help you prevent unintended pause when you did not do so. Lastly, there is the option to rename the headphones, factory reset it and read the product details. Back into the main settings, there is nothing much here other than to update the software, add new products, sign into your account and link more music services like Tidal, Deezer, NTS Radio, SoundCloud and TuneIn. Call quality was not too bad as the headphones has 2 beam-forming microphones that isolates my voice against ambient noises. The caller on the other end feedback that the microphones do pick up less surrounding noises but my voice is a little robotic as the technology overcompensates to block the loud noises resulting in softer volumes even when I speak up. It can be prone to wind noise if it is strong outdoors. However, when put against the AirPods Max's superior call quality, it sadly fails to beat the competition. 

​

Connectivity & Portability

The Px7 s2e support the latest and greatest AptX Adaptive, AptX HD, AptX, AAC and SBC codecs together with Bluetooth Version 5.2. The battery life peaks at 30 hours per use with ANC. The headphones' connectivity to the app is perfect, as it can detect my headphones when it's already connected via Bluetooth all the time. If you try to watch videos or movies with these, they do not have any latency in audio transmission. Users can listen using the USB Type-C cable but they cannot charge the headphone and use it at the same time since there is only one USB-C port and no 3.5mm audio-in port.

​

PROS

• Energetic Sound Signature

• Subtle Elegance

• Long 30 Hour Battery Life

• Tactile Buttons For Playback Controls

• Wear Sensors

• AptX Adaptive Codecs Supported

• Bluetooth 5.2

• Hardshell Carrying Case

• USB-C Fast Charging

• A Range of Colours

​

CONS​​​

• No Dedicated 6-band Equaliser

• Bulky Storage Method

• No Airplane Adaptor

• No 3.5mm Input

• Large Case Footprint

 

The Bottom Line

In all, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e is still luxurious, no-frills option for travellers looking to stand out in a world of Bose and Sony headphones.  Subtle elegance, energetic sound, a long 30-hour battery life, and a comprehensive app are some of the features that help it stay on top of the pack when it comes to recommending the luxurious offering. It is highly recommended for daily commutes and long flights. Five colours of Anthracite Black, Cloud Grey, Forest Green, Ocean Blue, Ruby Red are available to fit users of different genders and styles.