B&W Px7 S3 BT/ANC over-the-ear headphones – next Gen of S7 excellence (review)

The B&W Px7 S3 is the next generation of its popular Px7 S2e, offering improved sound quality, enhanced ANC, new materials, and customisable sound via the app.

If you don’t know Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), it was founded in 1966 by John Bowers as a British company producing consumer and professional loudspeakers and headphones. If there is one thing the Brits know, it is how to make speakers.

In October 2020, it was acquired by Masimo Consumer Audio, which owns Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, HEOS, and Boston Acoustics.

It tends to have a cult following, which is perhaps why it is not quite as well-known as Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, JBL, et.al.

Where does the B&W Px7 S3 fit?

B&W has two main Bluetooth/ANC lines: the flagship Px8 (and McLaren edition) and the Px7 S2e (evolved), which are more suited for casual listeners who want B&W quality and value.

The Px7 S3 upgrade highlights include improved sound quality, enhanced ANC, new materials, and customisable sound via the companion Music app. It now offers expanded functionality, including a customizable five-band equaliser with memory presets and compatibility with spatial audio and Auracast (planned for release later in 2025).

Australian First Look Review: B&W Px7 S3 BT/ANC over-the-ear headphones

Note: This is a pre-release unit firmware 1.0.0. The unit will be retested after two or more firmware updates. As of 23/04/2025, some tests have yet to be run.

Website	Bower and Wilkins AU Product Page Manual Info Sheet
Price	$699
From	JB Hi-Fi, Retravision, and Hi-Fi specialists from 30 May. Find a retailer here
Colour	Anthracite Black Canvas White Indigo Blue
Warranty	2-years
Made in	China
Company	See above
More	Cybershack AV news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations), and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be, and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show that it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Love the woven fabric finish

Where the Px8 has a leather trim, the Px7 S3 has a woven fabric finish on the outer headband and earcup surrounds. It is hard-wearing. There is largish corporate branding on each steel earcup.

They fold flat (not inwards) into a hard-sided travel case 234 x 177 x 60mm x 325g. The headphones weigh 300g.

The left earcup has the Power on/off/Bluetooth and a quick action button. The right has volume up and down, and call answer/next track. The LED indicator shows battery capacity (10-20 and 30-100%).

Comfort – Good for longer stretches

The earpads and headband are faux ‘protein’ leather over memory foam. After a four-hour wearing test, they were still comfortable and not overly hot.

The internal earpad space is 28 deep (before compression) x 49 wide x 60mm high, which is reasonably generous for most ears. The cups are replaceable. We are unsure of the cost, but third-party ones should be under A$40 a pair.

The clamping force is 500g, which is a tad heavy, but it is comfortable depending on how wide your head is and when the headphone tension band wears in.

BT 5.3 – Pass+

This supports multi-connectivity to two host sources (smartphone/computer). Audio codecs include SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless. Essentially, this uses a Qualcomm BT/ANC chip (good).

It also has the new LC3 codec for Auracast and the potential for higher-quality sound than standard SBC and AAC. B&W will roll out LE, Spatial, and Auracast later in 2025.

ANC – Pass

These are closed-back, so they rely on passive noise isolation from the earpads and eight mics (six for ANC) that remove outside noise from the music stream.

They are controlled by a Quick Action button that cycles through Off, Pass-Through and On.

Initial results are about 30dB attenuation at 200-1000 Hz (20dB at 50Hz). We suspect that B&W are purists who don’t want too much ANC to compress low, mid, and high bass (20-200Hz). As such, you will hear a little more of the aeroplane noise on takeoff (and I don’t mind that, as the focus is on music quality).

Pulsatile tinnitus users, be aware

These closed-back headphones rely on a good seal for passive noise reduction. You may hear your heartbeat when wearing them. Most premium ANC headphones are the same, so please check first at the store or buy open-back headphones (won’t have the same level of ANC).

Ambient Pass-Through – Pass+

It enables external sounds, such as conversation or safety announcements, to be heard clearly without the need to remove the headphones. It is effective in amplifying a normal voice and background noise, but is not adjustable.

Hands-free calling – Pass

We need more testing. The callers commented on a clear but thin voice and could hear some wind noise. I felt the callers’ voices were not as natural as some. It will have ADI Pure Voice processing technology for better hands-free use.

Leakage – Exceed

Our leakage tests (where others are near you) were excellent.

Battery – Pass+

B&W claims 30 hours of playback with BT on and ANC off. Our initial tests with BT/ANC on indicate 22 hours of playback, but this needs further testing.

But you can charge and listen at the same time over USB-C (the host device needs Alt DP audio out).

Charging time is about 2 hours with a 15-minute charge for up to 7 hours of playback.

How does it sound? Pretty good

It uses 40mm dynamic, full-range, moving coil, bio-cellulose drivers pioneered by B&W. However, its most significant upgrade is the DSP.

You can listen to music over

• 3.5mm Analogue has a high-performance DSP (digital signal processor) and amplifier DAC (Digital Analogue converter).
• USB-C and listen at up to 24-bit/96000Hz
• Bluetooth using aptX Lossless (if your host device supports it)

Sound signature

It verges on the most desirable neutral sound signature, but in practice, it is warm and sweet for movies and music. The EQ can make a difference as there is enough signal to recess bass, mid and treble.

Frequency	B&W Px7 S3
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Starts at 40Hz with a linear build to 100Hz – good
High Bass 100-200Hz	Flat to 3kHz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Flat
Mid 400-1kHz	Flat
High Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Dip between 3 and 4kHz is unusual.
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Second Dip at 5kHz is unusual.
High Treble 6-10kHz	Dip at 7kHz is usual to avoid harshness, then recovers strongly to 20kHz.
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Mostly flat

Continued

Volume	85dB (excellent)
Sound Signature type	It has no deep bass, so no subwoofer room-shaking effects exist. Mid bass starts at 40Hz and builds nicely, giving it most of the musically important bass and some oomph. Upper bass is good, as it is on most BT headphones. Mid (low, mid, high) is clean but building between 1 and 4kHz, focusing on clear voice. Treble (Low and mid) has a mysterious dip, but is still suitable for musical instruments. High Treble after the dip to avoid harshness is strong and adds a certain feeling of air, as if you were there. Technically, this neutral sound signature gives the EQ a blank canvas to deliver almost any music style.
Soundstage stereo	This is a closed-back design, so the sound comes from inside your ears. Pulsatile tinnitus sufferers, be aware.
Soundstage Spatial	Spatial has not been added yet, so our tests are with a Dolby Atmos decoding-capable phone. This adds considerable width, depth and height, making you feel inside the action.
Comment	Its only challenger for music quality is Sennheiser Momentum 4 and JBL Tour PRO M3. Bose is too manufactured, Sony lacks that important treble to make you feel there, and Sonos has slightly better voice and superb head tracking when used with a Sonos Arc/Ultra.
BT (headphones)	The BT SBC or AAC codec slightly crushes the mid-bass and high treble.
USB-C	Capable of Hi-Res 24-bit/96000kHz
3.5mm to USB-C	It takes an analogue signal, converts it to Digital for processing, and then goes back to Analogue to drive the speakers. The quality was not as spectacular as over USB-C. Volume and play/ pause buttons are not functional.
Read	How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key – guide).

EQ- Pass

It has TrueSound and Custom settings. The former bypasses any customisation to deliver audio as the artist intended. Custom allows a 5-stage +/- EQ from Lo to Hi and one preset to be saved. There are no other presets or multiple custom saves.

Controls – Pass+

I am tired of accidental touches on oversensitive ear cups, so it was a delight to see real buttons that give tactile feedback and work 100% of the time.

You can select only what the Quick Action button does – ANC or Voice Assistant.

Build – Pass+

Well-made, replaceable pads and a 2-year warranty. Not IP rated.

Missing but coming in 2025

• Spatial Audio
• Hear tracking
• Auracast
• BT LE
• ADI Pure Voice processing technology for better hands-free use

CyberShack’s view: B&W Px7 S3 BT/ANC over-the-ear headphones are for those who want good quality and great sound for everyday use.

However, you need to value the brand because it will cost more than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Sennheiser Momentum 4, JBL Tour One M3/Smart TX, and Sony WH-1000XM5 (which is due for a new model).

Remembering that this is a pre-production review unit, it easily passed all tests. My only disappointment is that there is so much ‘to come,’ which I hope will be here soon.

B&W Px7 S3 ratings

These are premium BT/ANC over-the-ear headphones of the ilk of Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sony WH-1000XM5, JBL Tour One M3 and Bose QC Ultra.

Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

I would put them on par with the Sennheiser for music quality, although their non-adjustable ANC is a little more robust and can affect mid-bass.

Bose and JBL are foldables and win my heart as a frequent traveller. Read JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX BT/ANC over-the-ear headphones – nothing compares (AV review).

Sony, with its outdated WH-1000XM5, is not up to these headphones.

• Features: 85 – a few important features are yet to come and would have improved this rating.
• Value: 85—At $600, they are at the top end of town, and while the music and build quality are excellent, you can get better value. If you are a B&W fan, add 5 points.
• Performance: 90 – As BT/ANC, they are up there with the best on music, battery life, Qualcomm aptX codecs, USB-C and 3.5 inputs.
• Ease of Use: 85 The app is quite limiting, with only one custom EQ setting and a few features to come. There are no ear seal tests, hearing tests, ANC adjustable levels, etc. All these may come in the future, and this score may improve. A 2-year warranty is good.
• Design: 90—If you like the B&W design cues, then this is for you. It is solid, dependable, not flashy, and well-made with replaceable cups.

For your reference (CyberShack Ratings

• Bose: 84
• Sony: 88 (but since outclassed, so would score lower on a re-test
• Sennheiser: 89
• Sonos: 80 (as it is still a work in progress)
• JBL: 90
• B&W Px7 S3 87 (still a work in progress)