Bowers & Wilkins Px8 McLaren Edition Over-Ear Wireless Headphones, Advanced Active Noise Cancellation, 30-Hour Battery Life, 15-Min Quick Charging

A common complaint I see about this product, is that the sound is excellent and in most cases better than what you get from the Bose Ultra or Sony XM6, but not enough to justify the price. That really misses the point.I switched from the XM5s. Those always sounded excellent to me, they worked well, and had amazing ANC. In contrast, the Px8 has a more dynamic sound. Every segment sounds slightly more defined. To me, they do sound better. The ANC, while not as good as the XM5s is still excellent for most situations.Battery life is excellent and they charge up quickly.These fit well and are more comfortable than the XM5, despite their extra weight.I will miss the controls of the XM5, but some people will prefer the Px8. There is something to be said for physical buttons and having dedicated volume buttons.Here is the real separation. When you pick up the XM5, you don't think much about them. When you pick up the Px8, you realize what true quality feels like. Once you experience that level of quality, it's very difficult to go back. This might be most apparent in the hinges. Sony's feels flimsy and cheap in comparison. The Px5s feel like they are invincible. Solid isn't even the word for it. We're talking metal vs. plastic. The same goes for everything else. It's function vs luxury. Luxury can have both but function can lack luxury.The app is simple compared to Sony's but that's not a bad thing. Sony's app is bloated and hard to navigate at times. B&Ws is far more straight forward and you can find what you need. These do let you tweak the EQ in the app. For me the default sound is really good, but I can see myself tweaking it slightly for certain kinds of music.I know some people are going to complain that these do not have the latest and greatest Bluetooth connectivity, but if that's a thing is going to depend on your phone. For most people that's not going to be a factor at all when it comes to the quality of sound or even the stability of the connection.The real illustration for how these compare to others is to compare them to cars. A new Toyota is great, reliable, and gets the job done, but you can't really compare it to the similar Lexus. Both are technically a Toyota, but the Lexus is a whole different experience. You might balk at the price and wonder why you'd ever pay the extra for a slight power boost and better interior, until you've actually experienced the quality and attention to detail. After that you know why the Lexus is more, and understand why some people prefer it, even if it's not your preference.The Px8 are some of the most luxurious headphones you can buy. They are a cut above the offerings from Bose and Sony.

I'm taking the time out of my busy day right now to write this review because these headphones have SAVED me so much struggle and I basically feel like I owe it to them at this point. They are AMAZING headphones that allow for actual customization and control.I've always been Bose customer and I ordered the recent Bose model - and my horror I couldn't turn off the noise canceling. It literally forces you to live in a pressurized cabin. You can't wear them for longer than a few minutes before getting a headache. In the settings, you can turn on "aware mode" - and to my even further horror, aware was just noise canceling, plus electronically feeding in noise from outside of the headphones. It is absolutely insane and mind-boggling why Bose would refuse to allow customers to turn off noise canceling... but I accepted it returned them and bought Sony.Well, guess what? The Sony headphones also forced you to use noise canceling. Why would companies do such thing? I'm honestly not sure. It's beyond comprehension. It's the most corporate initiative, anti-customer, "use-our-feature" BS I've ever seen in a company, worse than EA games even. Well, maybe I won't go that far.I looked everywhere for a headphone that allowed me to simply use them with & without noise cancelling, while also having an excellent mic for phone calls (I'm on the phone phone a lot for work and need that feature).When when I finally came across Bower & Wilkins, I've never heard of them, but they allow you to turn off noise canceling, and that was good enough for me.When they arrived, I was extremely surprised! They are some of the best headphones I've ever had, they have control buttons, the noise canceling control is super easy and quick, they connect quick, their audio quality is extraordinary, and there are no issues. Their design is also much sleeker and much better than Bose and Sony, which seem to have been cutting costs and using cheap plastic. Additionally, you can flip the headphones in both directions, so that when they're around your neck, they are much more comfortable than Sony and Bose. Like vastly more comfortable.The only downside is they are a tiny bit heavier, but I would not strike that against them in the slightest. It is not noticable.

More often than not, my glib, erratic and often brainless Amazon purchases are beyond disappointing. A total anti climax, from the second I abuse the one click purchase system, to the moment the oversized ad-clad ‘steal me’ box celebrates touch down at my porch door (usually a day later than expected). Presuming I retrieve the package before the local porch pirates interject, the excitement and wonder usually sours, then dissipates. A little like a foul fart after a delicious meal. Yet I still persist, I am a consumer.These Bowers & Wilkins headphones are really expensive. The kind of dollar price that would bring a tear to a glass eye. They are, however worth every penny. I’m writing this because it’s rare that purchases exceed your expectations. All my school yard waffle aside, they’ve given me hope that Amazon do carry quality products, despite the cheap knock-off advertisements.I’ve used the headphones for over a week now, still on a single charge. The sound can be carefully crafted through the app, if you wish. Bass is tight and rich, treble is consistent, not irritating and the mid tones actually exist! They’re exciting to experience.I work from home, so obviously I use the noise cancellation for removing distractions / irritations, like my wife’s hour long, booming conversations with her sister, through her iphones loudspeaker. It removes every background noise.I’m very happy with my purchase, for the first time in a long time.