Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

These wireless noise-canceling headphones are a must-have at this price

Bowers and Wilkins PX
Greg Mombert/Digital Trends

Need a set of wireless noise-canceling headphones to block out the hustle and bustle on your daily commute? You’re in luck — Amazon has knocked $100 off the Bowers and Wilkins PX, a set of cans we awarded a stellar score of eight out of ten in our comprehensive review, knocking the

price down to a more affordable $300.

The Bowers and Wilkins PX deliver one of the best noise-canceling experiences we’ve encountered to date, eliminating variable background noise. There’s also a so-called Transparency Mode on board, which can be enabled when travelling with a companion to reduce the cancellation, thus making it easier to converse with them.

What’s more, the headphones use aptX HD, a codec that’s believed to be the gold standard of wireless sound format. That said, there aren’t a whole lot of devices that work with aptX HD — Apple’s iPhone XS Max, for example, doesn’t support the standard. But regardless of the format being used, the cans sound fantastic.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Bowers and Wilkins PX are an impressive, feature-packed set of noise-canceling headphones.

To be a more specific, our own Parker Hall noted the Bowers and Wilkins PX produce a rich, subtle sound that’s best suited to classic rock like Neil Young’s Harvest but doesn’t disappoint with modern hip-hop, such as Future’s The Wizrd, before assigning them the aforementioned eight out of ten score in our review.

As for their pièce de résistance, that would be their fantastic battery life that’s similar to that of the Sony WH-1000XM3. Used continuously, they should last for around 22 hours before needing to be hooked up to an outlet. Under normal use conditions where they’re removed and stowed every so often, that should extend to 50 hours.

If you’re in the market for something a little cheaper, take a look at our list of the best noise-canceling headphones on the market. While there are expensive options on there, we also factored in some more affordable offerings, like the $180 Bose QC25. But if you have $300 to blow, you can’t go wrong with the Bowers and Wilkins PX.

Not sure what makes a great set of headphones? Have a read through our buying guide.

Josh Levenson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Josh served as Director of Commerce and SEO for Digital Trends Media Group, helping our Editorial teams put their quality…
B&W’s flagship Px8 headphones cost way more than they were supposed to
Woman wearing B&W Px8 wireless headphones in tan.

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has finally released its Px8 noise-canceling wireless headphones, which it had previously teased at the launch of the Px7 S2, but the price is far higher than what we were initially told. In June 2022, the one detail the company was willing to share was the Px8's price: $549 -- a $150 premium over the price of the Px7 S2. Now, however, we've been given a new price for the Px8. It costs an eye-watering $699. You can order them starting September 28 from bowerswilkins.com.

This makes the Px8 one of the few sets of wireless headphones to break the $600 barrier, joining  the $899 B&O Beoplay H95 and $999 Mark Levinson No. 5909 as some of the most expensive models you can buy. Digital Trends reached out to B&W representatives to ask for an explanation of the sudden price change, and we received this response:
When we revealed our new Px7 S2 headphones earlier this year, we chose to announce our new flagship headphone model, the Px8, at the same time. This announcement was made much earlier than Px8’s planned on-sale date, but it was a conscious choice: we felt it allowed our customers to make their own decision on which model of Bowers & Wilkins headphone would be right for them. However, while that message was sent out with the best intentions, we mistakenly communicated a selling price for Px8 that was not an accurate reflection of the true final price.
The company also said that it believes the Px8 "truly offers great value at a competitive price" given their ability and position in the market.

Read more
Bowers & Wilkins’ upcoming Px8 are so secret, we can only reveal the price
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 close-up.

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) just updated its flagship noise-canceling headphones -- be sure to read our Px7 S2 review. But even before the first reviews could be published, the British audio brand hit us with a bombshell: The Px7 S2 will have a very short reign as the company's best cans.

Later this year, we will be introduced to the Bowers & Wilkins Px8, a set of wireless headphones that B&W has already indicated will be its new flagship product.

Read more
Sony’s new flagship headphones promise best-in-class noise canceling and calling
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in silver.

As expected, Sony has taken the wraps off the fifth generation of its flagship line of active noise cancellation (ANC) wireless headphones. The WH-1000XM5 have been priced at $400 -- $50 more than their predecessors, the WH-1000XM4 -- and they sport a new, lighter-weight design, dual noise-canceling processors, eight microphones, and hi-res audio capability. The XM5 can be pre-ordered starting May 12 in both black and silver (a sort of sand color), and general retail availability begins May 20.

Sony plans to keep selling the older XM4 model alongside the new XM5, at least for the foreseeable future. The biggest change to Sony's design for the WH-1000 series is a move away from the traditional flat-headband plus earcup forks design to an integrated approach. The headband sliders are now tubular and connect to a hidden pivot inside the tops of the earcups, creating a similar profile to both the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 and the Apple AirPods Max. The new design means that, unlike the XM4, which can fold flat, then fold again to take up less room, the WH-1000XM5 can only fold flat.

Read more