Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Review: Stronger Build, Sweeter Sound

Source: Wired

Sound Quality

Instrumental entrances are strikingly swift, so moments like a tremolo guitar or synth bouncing between stereo channels flutter back and forth like a trill from a fine concert pianist. Instrumental timbres rise to the surface with ease, especially noticeable in complex textures such as woody percussion or crunchy guitar tones that blaze with extra spark.

Tonally, the sound signature has a forward push in the upper frequencies that makes acoustic guitar and strings sound lighter—a fun tweak that adds style points. The bass is rich, pointed, and ramped up, which led me to EQ it down a couple of notches. Occasionally, deep hits still sound more assertive than expected, but the overall depth provides a grounded foundation for the smooth midrange and the more whimsical higher frequencies.

Comparison with Competitors

Comparing songs like Sgt. Pepper’s “Good Morning,” the Px7 S3 stands above heavy hitters such as the Sony XM6 and AirPods Max, revealing more sizzle and layering in moments like the raucous horns in the right channel. Standout details—key clicks at center‑right, the puff of cymbals deep in the left register—show nuance I missed in previous listens. The S3’s overall velocity is also more powerful than many models, so I rarely needed to raise the volume above the bottom quarter on my phone.

Whatever genre I played, the Px7 S3 provided a fun and stylish presentation without the need for synthetic effects like spatial audio (though it does have it, if you want it). Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” is lavish and clear, cutting unwanted noise for vivid separation of the multiple guitars and splashy coloration. St. Vincent’s modern “Digital Witnesses” explodes with breakneck synths bouncing between channels and bass that throws down a gauntlet of boom.

Noise Cancelling Performance

Nearly as impressive is how quietly the noise cancelling works in concert with the performance, providing a stark canvas for the different musical scenes. Even so, as top rivals continue to ramp up their potency, the Px7’s noise cancelling remains a step behind the best.

It’s perfectly fine for most scenarios, providing a moderate cocoon of silence across frequencies, but testing it inside and out of my treated studio revealed less efficacy at both ends of the spectrum than top models. Bose’s QC Ultra, Sony’s XM6, and even JBL’s sneaky good Tour One M3 all provided better suppression with less hum in my airplane‑drone test, while sharper sounds like the hiss of my espresso‑maker’s milk frother sneak through more easily in the S3.

Conclusion

The Px7 S3 isn’t built to provide ultimate isolation from environmental sounds. They’re game for everyday needs, but the end goal here is clear: better sound and a slicker design. On that front, the Px7 S3 are as accomplished and engaging as anything in their class.