Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2

Available in grey, blue or black, B&W describes the Px7 S2 as its: “best active noise-cancelling wireless headphone yet” – at least until the Px8 arrives on the scene, stepping the price right up to £500. Though it looks very similar to previous incarnations, the Px7 S2 is a major upgrade that includes improvements both inside and out. B&W states that the earpieces are slimmer, slightly lighter and padded with memory foam for extra comfort.

The 40mm drivers have been redesigned to further reduce distortion, along with the six upgraded microphones – with four mics used to monitor sound levels for noise cancelling and two for voice calls. The Px7 S2 supports Bluetooth 5.2, with AAC for Apple devices and both aptX HD and Adaptive. B&W says that the active noise-cancellation (ANC) features have also been updated. You can turn ANC on or off, or select ambient ‘passthrough’ mode via a button on the left earpiece orusing the B&W Music app. The latter also provides controls for adjusting treble and bass, and pairing the headphone with two devices.

B&W is tight-lipped about frequency response and rather vague about battery life, stating it should last for “up to 30 hours”, with Bluetooth and noise cancelling “at average volume”. The Px7 S2 also supports wired audio via its USB-C port. There’s a USB-Cto-3.5mm cable for analogue audio, and a USB-C for charging.