Bowers & WilkinsPX5 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones with Bluetooth 5.0 & Quick Charge, 30 Hours Battery Life On Ear - Blue

I confess to having a pet hate for headphones whose sound spectrum/tuning is aimed at giving a very punchy bass and a tamed top-end, a view I suspect not many people share. I listen to music of very many types but my first love is 'classical' orchestral and chamber music. (I am a violinist.)These headphones are beautifully tuned to reproduce both orchestral and chamber music as if the listener were present in a concert hall with no amplified enhancements to the acoustic. The sound across the audible spectrum is balanced and natural, with crystal clear treble, a clean mid-range and balanced bass.I have not made much use of the ANC but I didn't feel that the audio spectrum was changing markedly when I turned it on, just the suppression of external 'noises off'.I really prefer on-ear (supra-aural) headphones to those which surround and enclose the ear, where the over-heating of my ears becomes a source of much discomfort. The first time I wore these, they did seem to hold tightly to my head (but still in a comfortable way), where now I hardly notice. I suspect that this is less to do with the headphones loosening up and more to my accommodation of the effect over time.The pads are soft and giving, which means the seal is good over the ears and I do not find the weight at all troubling. This, of course leads to good audio isolation without recourse to the ANC, though some external sound can be heard. I have not yet tried themwith the ANC in a really noisy environment but they manage capably to shut out the noise of our washing machine if I wear them while doing the washing up!I love the sound balance as described above whether I am listening to 'classical' music or rock, folk, jazz, where the natural balance still pleases me. My own speakers are bass-reflex (Q Acoustics 3020i) and I do not use any kind of sub-woofer: this probably tells you all you need to know about my sonic preferences. The B & W PX5s are a perfect complement to my 'room' audio setup.They *do* look beautiful too!

B&W have been getting good reviews recently for these PX5's (and their more expensive sibling the over ear PX7's). Build quality of the PX5 is undeniable of the highest quality, and compared with others around the £150 mark there's nothing much to touch them in this regard. Noise cancelling is also excellent, equally on a par with more expensive Bose offerings, and works well despite being on-ear as opposed to over; the free control app is good, but no EQ function in there. Overall I really like the look and feel, and the fit isn't bad - take a little getting used to as they are on ear. They are well padded and clamping pressure isn't excessive, they'll stay put, but if you wear glasses (I do for reading) some adjustment may be necessary to get comfortable. So, look good, well made, fit well, what else....? Oh yes sound, of course, what we buy headphones for....! ITs more of an overall good quality and balanced sound rather than a detailed layer splitter, but you can pick out mst things in their with a bit of concentration. Sound stage is quite good, tone is quite good, dynamics is quite good, bass is quite good, but treble, especially symbols is a bit murky and lost in the mix to my mind, not unacceptable but just not as good as all the other elements which are 'quite good'; its all streamable via APTX HD, and it does 'quite' a good job of handling the streams as well, although it seems a bit temperamental switch over to cable playback - also you have to have the power on (active) for cable playback to work, there's no passive mode, so cable playback is a bit pointless in this respect. Do you see the pattern? Music wise, its 'quite good', and for the price I'd say its even better than the sum of its parts - so overall the PX5's are undeniably Good, enjoyable even, and well worth the price tag. But they're not 'Epic' - Epic it seems must be quite a bit more money.....

These headphones are focused on build, looks and sound, which are my priority. The ANC is good enough but for a work tool for conference calls etc I use my Bose NC 700 which are better, although they cannot compete with the PX5 for audio,The lack of touch controls is a bonus, I find the buttons on the PX5 are really easy to navigate and the ANC / ambient button is so easy to switch modes as needed. Ambient mode sound really natural and at least you don’t look stupid talking to someone with your hand over the right ear cup link some other devices!Sound is really natural as well and does not sound dry and digital like most ANC headphones can. I can hear when listening that B&W have really gone for audio as the key objective ...it actually says that in the manual.If you want great sound, fantastic looks, great build quality and ease of use but are happy to loose a bit of ANC performance compared to the best and don’t care about touch controls, get these.

I love these headphones - the build quality FEELS great, the sound is the best I've experienced and they're super comfy. However, I've had the same issue 3 times and I'm now on my 3rd replaced pair and within 3 months of getting the last ones they have broken on me again. The right headphone has stopped working! I'm immensely disappointed now and will be seeking a refund! This is unacceptable and it's not the suppliers fault - B&W have made a product with a fatal flaw.