Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has just taken the wraps off its latest wireless headphones, promising better sound, noise cancellation, comfort, and other improvements. The Px7 S3 will be available in Anthracite Black, Indigo Blue and Canvas White, and are being touted as the brand’s most advanced wireless headphones so far. But that title might not last long — B&W has also said that its next flagship, the Px8 S2, is in the works and should be available later in 2025.
The announcement of the Px7 S3 has been partially affected by the tariff situation in the U.S. While B&W has fully launched the headphones in the U.K., where you can order them right now for 399 British pounds (about $531), availability in North and Latin America hasn’t been confirmed. Currently, buyers are being encouraged to click a notify me button on the Px7 S3 product page to find out as soon as these details have been finalized. Strangely, both the U.S. and Canadian product pages display pricing: $429 and $599 CAD respectively. It’s possible these prices — especially the U.S. price — will change by the time you can order them.
Big improvements
It looks like the Px7 S3 is a significant upgrade from the B&W Px7 S2, which were already very nice noise-canceling cans. B&W has made tweaks to the chassis, with lower-profile earcups, a redesigned headband, and a modified arm mechanism that apparently fits the headphones closer to your head.
It would have been nice to see magnetically latched earcushions for easy replacements, however B&W says that both the earcushions and headband are replaceable by trained service engineers.
On the inside, the Px7 S3 get redesigned 40mm bio-cellulose drivers with improvements to the chassis, voice coil, suspension and magnet. B&W claims these changes will provide lower coloration and distortion, improved resolution, and superior dynamics. The headphones also benefit from a dedicated, discrete headphone amplifier — apparently the first time B&W has used such a component. The company promises that it will provide “notably more scale and energy to the sound.”
Support for hi-res audio has also been given a boost. B&W has replaced its Qualcomm aptX HD codec with the full family of Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound codecs, including aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless, for those who own compatible smartphones. The Px7 S3 still have USB audio support, with up to 24-bit/96kHz lossless decoding from the onboard DAC.
ANC is now provided via an eight-mic system (as opposed to the Px7 S2’s six-mic array). B&W says this should offer better blocking of unwanted sounds, especially when on calls, thanks to the headphones use of ADI Pure Voice.
Battery life remains unchanged at a claimed 30 hours, however some improvements have been made within the B&W Music app: You can now fine-tune the sound through an adjustable five-band EQ, with saveable settings.
Interestingly, B&W is promising that the Px7 S3 will see additional enhancements via future firmware upgrades. Support for spatial audio is apparently in the works, as is Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast. The company hasn’t said when these updates will be released, but a representative confirmed that the planned spatial audio feature won’t include head tracking like the kind we’ve seen on flagship headphones like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and the Apple AirPods Max.
