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

Instrumental entrances are strikingly swift, so that 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 like 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. It’s a fun tweak that adds some style points. Bass is rich, pointed, and ramped up, so that I preferred to EQ it down a couple notches. Occasionally, deep hits still sound more assertive than expected, but the overall depth provides a grounded foundation for the smooth midrange and more whimsical higher frequencies.

Comparing songs like Sgt Pepper’s “Good Morning,” the S3 stood above heavy hitters like the Sony XM6 and AirPods Max, with more readily revealed sizzle and layering to moments like the raucous horns in the right channel. Standout details like key clicks at center right, or the puff of cymbals in the deep left register with added nuance, resulted in details I’d missed in multiple 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 more modern “Digital Witnesses” explodes with breakneck synths bouncing between channels and bass that throws down a gauntlet of boom.

Nearly as impressive is how quietly the noise canceling 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 canceling 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.

Again, the Px7 S3 aren’t built to provide the ultimate isolation from environmental sounds. They’re game for your 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.