Review: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones Pair Well With Office Life

Three years is a long time, isn’t it? In 2022, I proclaimed the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 headset the “ideal WFH headphones,” touting overall comfort, dynamic audio and superior noise cancellation.

And really, nothing’s changed too much! While my Px7 S2 were briefly claimed by a family member, my reuse of the headphones after a few years hadn’t dampened my enthusiasm (or, admittedly, made me change my mind about some of the headphones’ minor flaws).  

The British premium audio brand recently released the Px7 S3, touting its re-engineered drive technology, all-new design and updated active noise cancellation. We’re getting to a point where it’s hard to improve on personal audio too much (witness: the recent Sony XM6 headphones), but I was curious if a big rethink of a product that was already working so well would dampen my appreciation.

Review: Bowers & Wilkins Just Released the Ideal WFH Headphones

The audio brand’s new Px7 S2 headset offers excellent noise cancellation and ideal comfort for long streaming sessions

In short? No, although the same minor nitpicks I had with the S2 still bugged me in the S3. I’ll go out of my way to say the audio here remains superb (even without spatial audio, which is coming later this year) — very little distortion, detailed, balanced and powerful enough without getting too bass-heavy (there are other headphones for people who want their audio to be skull-rattling). I can see why this B&W over-ear set recently scored Best Headphones honors at the T3 Awards 2025. 

I spent a few weeks with the S3 in a few different modes (work, commute, walking around, home). 

The specs: 

What works:

• I mentioned the audio above, but for music and video, the headphones offer dynamic, energetic and encompassing sound across genres
• Podcasts sounded warm and enveloping, even for the ones recorded live in front of an audience (where sound can be an issue) 
• The USB-C and audio cords come with attached cord organizers. It’s a small thing, but useful
• The carrying case is slim, well-organized and durable
• The S3’s noise cancellation is powerful, but I found Pass Through to be an ideal setting both in the office and outside — the audio was a bit less compressed

What kind of works:

• For the first time in a Bowers & Wilkins headphone, Px7 S3 will offer support for spatial audio — but, as mentioned above, that’s not coming until later in the year
• The Advanced EQ only contains one preset (True Sound, which has a nice balance) and whatever custom ones you want to design. A few more presets would have been nice, especially to differentiate between movies/video, podcasts and streaming audio.
• The slimmer design and memory foam ear cups remain comfortable, but also still warm on the head and ears after even half an hour of use 
• Do you have a high-resolution music streaming service like Qobuz or TIDAL? You’ll get a lot more out of these headphones, including direct streaming from the B&W app. That said, those niche services are often higher-priced and at aimed at audiophiles (note: I was able to pair TuneIn directly to the app, but none of my other services). 

What needs work:

• Design remains a slight issue. The Multi-function button, located on the right earpiece, is small and stuck awkwardly between two volume buttons. There’s also a bit of a learning curve when using it: for example, you press it once to answer the incoming call, hold it for two seconds to decline the call and press twice to end the call. There will be some early frustrations.
• The Quick-Action button is high up on the left earpiece and a slightly awkward reach
• The wear sensor was less sensitive on my tablet than with my phone, meaning sometimes it was frustratingly random in its response and sometimes the audio correctly stopped when I took off my headset. The sensitivity is customizable in the app, but I never found the ideal level that worked across different devices.

A quick note on other Bowers & Wilkins headsets

Last fall, the audio brand released the Pi8 earbuds. In an unpublished review (hey, sometimes things get lost here!) I called them “immersive, clear, balanced and powerful” and “[maybe] the best-sounding earbuds I’ve ever used.” If earbuds are your thing, these are an ideal alternative to the Px8 headphones.

Bowers & Wilkins also recently released the Px8 S2 headset, an over-ear model that’s slimmer, more comfortable and, during a brief testing, seemed to improve even upon the Px7 S3. Is $799 worth it for a slightly better fit, modestly improved audio and a Nappa leather finish? That’s your call.

The final verdict:

For a good-looking headphone where design was a focus, I’m surprised that my few complaints with the Bowers & Wilkins headphones continue to revolve around little things like button placement — and I say this as someone who prefers tactile controls. A slightly more useful app would be nice as well. That said, these are once again a pair of headphones ideally suited for the office or home office and certainly a top-tier choice for commuting or air travel (walking around, less so). 

Overall, the Px7 S3 is a modestly improved take on what was already an ideal work headset. 

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

BUY HERe (AMAZON): $479

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Kirk Miller

Kirk Miller is InsideHook’s Senior Lifestyle Editor (and longest-serving resident). He writes a lot about whisk(e)y, cocktails, consumer goods and artificial intelligence.

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