On-ear headphones usually aren’t as comfortable as over-ear headphones, but they’re definitely more comfortable than in-ear headphones — and that seems to be true here. That said, there’s plenty of padding and the clamp isn’t too tight, so we were able to wear the headphones for hours without running into any major comfort issues. Headphone battery percentage can now be viewed in the Headphones app (requires Headphones app v2.3 or later). Instructions on how to install the latest version of firmware for your headphones can be found here.

With a wide soundstage and natural sonic profile, they should prove good for audiophiles looking for pure fidelity, as well as commuters who just want to cancel out the sounds of their noisy journey. You can usefully prioritise your Bluetooth connections, so that your headphones will connect on start-up to your phone, not the TV you were watching on headphones last night. This was confirmed to us by the company’s Andy Kerr in the UK, who also admitted, however, that EQ is a bit of a problem for Bowers & Wilkins, because, well, to abandon modesty, it simply thinks it knows best. It has carefully tuned these headphones and would prefer that you don’t mess with them, ideally. But in this age where everyone gets to define their own personal truth, they couldn’t leave the EQ section showing just a message to F-off and listen, so they’ve deigned to include simple (and relatively mild) bass and treble sliders.

How does the PX sound?

For example the Music app offers music playlists (linked to Tidal) as well as other music services, but if we try to play those to the Px7 S2 headphones a message pops up that “In-app streaming is not currently available on this product”. But we’re told a future update will allow streaming direct from the Music app. The headphones come with a few accessories, including a hard carry sleeve, a USB-C charging cable and an aux cable. It’s not a huge range of accessories, but it’s everything you’ll need. Comfort B&W also offers three NC modes: With “Low”, the PX5 offers a slight noise reduction that works well in open-plan offices, bus shelters or train stations. You can withdraw without totally isolating yourself acoustically. “High” is the right choice if you’re in an aircraft, for example. In this setting, so little gets to the ear that even the famous frequent flyer sleep, i.e. slumbering without music, can be successful. Earplugs are so last week! Impressively, the “Auto” setting reduces very diffuse and almost imperceptibly disturbing noises without making you feel totally isolated from the world. Note: Some new features require for the Headphones app to be updated, please make sure you are running the latest version.

Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) Formation set-up and configuration – Power up your formation-enabled products, connect to your Wi-Fi network, choose your Space, and start listening. Add more formation-enabled products, enable extra capabilities such as Bluetooth® streaming, and evolve your products through regular software updates. Future Islands’ Waiting on You is similarly well-balanced, as tangy synth stab-chords punch through driving bass lines; vocals are rich and assertive. This means that the headphones operate with low latency when your watching videos or playing games, avoiding that annoying lag between audio and visual that sometimes occurs over Bluetooth, while also delivering Hi-Res Audio when you're simply listening to music.If you’re planning on using these headphones for long-distance travel and wearing all day, then it’s worth looking into over-ear headphones, like the PX7 headphones, instead. If, however, you’re buying the headphones to use for a few hours at a time at most, they’ll be more than comfortable enough. Sound Given that they feature no EQ adjustment, the PX5 stand or fall on their one, unalterable sound. So it’s just as well they’re an extremely enjoyable listen with an impeccably balanced sonic signature.

The PX5 looks good and it’s comfortable. There is some plastic involved in the build, especially in the yokes that hold the earcups. That plastic has a sort of a pleasing roughness, though, as if it were made to look like metal. One wonders why they didn’t just use metal. The mid range is relatively well-tuned too. Low mids are warm without being muddy, and while there does seem to be a slight bump in high-mids, it doesn’t make the headphones sound cheap by any means. The aptX Adaptive can achieve low latency handy for watching video content (this will depend on your phone’s implementation), but more importantly aptX Adaptive can scale its bit-rate dynamically between 279kbps and 420kbps to suit the wireless environment, so that in heavy RF environments it will automatically drop quality to avoid connection issues. This USB-C connection, in fact, transforms the home listening experience through the Px7 S2 significantly enough to suggest a careful consideration for critical listeners of fixed-cable quality against Bluetooth convenience in the home. Unlike virtually every worthwhile rival, the PX5 don’t feature touch-controls or voice-assistant compatibility. There’s a clean and stable control app, it’s true, but the ‘control’ it allows is limited to finessing noise-cancellation and ‘ambient pass-though’ (which is the amount of external noise the PX5 allow in). No, if you want to interact with the PX5 it’s a strictly physical process.

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Ultimately, sound quality is the most important thing to consider — especially if you’re a music junkie and plan on using the headphones for that instead of things like podcasts or audiobooks. Thankfully, the Bowers & Wilkins PX5 headphones excel in all those areas.