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Tom's Guide
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I test audio gear for a living: Here are the headphones and speakers I use daily
As the Audio Editor at Tom's Guide, I spend hours upon hours using different pieces of audio equipment at a range of different price points. It's all to serve one purpose — to have loads of fun to give you the best buying advice possible so that you can make more informed decisions when you go to buy your next pair of headphones, earbuds, or Bluetooth speaker. But do I follow that buying advice? Do I use the best headphones that top our list, and are the things that I use even found in our detailed, informative buying guides? Well, beyond blowing my own editorial trumpet (toot toot), I am going to tell you all about the things I use every day, how I use them and even how I travel with them so that you can see I'm not just all hot air. Although I do like to bloviate. This is actually a relatively recent addition — the PX7 S3 only recently came out, and they're only available in the U.K. as of writing this list. But I can see them sticking around for some time to come. I adore the way that the B&W cans feel on my head, and the way that they sound. They've unrivaled precision, with excellent highs, mids, and lows. I'm yet to test anything at their £399 price point that sounds as good as the PX7 S3, and I feel like it will be a while until something comes along to unseat them from their place in my backpack. They also happen to be incredibly comfortable, suitably good-looking, and they come with one of my favorite carrying cases of all time. Battery life is competitive and their controls are very good. If there was one critique I could level at them, it would be that American people can't yet buy them — the moment they reach U.S. shores, they're going straight to the top of our Best headphones list. They're not available in the U.S. yet, but they will be soon — and they're an excellent choice. They're supremely comfortable, very handsome, and feature incredible sound quality. In the home country, they even undercut the competition on price, coming in at £399. It may come as some surprise given my position here at Tom's Guide, but I'm not a great user of the best wireless earbuds. I find them slightly more uncomfortable, and their sound and ANC are compromised when compared to their over-ear counterparts. At least that was my position until the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds fell into my waiting fingertips. Since then, I've tested buds that nearly took their place in my backpack/pocket, but thanks to some truly incredible noise canceling the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds remain my earbuds of choice. Good sound and great comfort cement their place in one of my favorite things from 2025. Battery life isn't amazing, and wireless charging would have been nice, but I remain impressed by them to this day. It'll take something very special indeed to replace them in my backpack. Bose's noise-canceling buds have always been a very solid option if you're looking for something that blocks out all the noise, and the Ultra Earbuds are the best yet. They're comfortable, sound pretty good, and they'll block almost any noise you might throw at them. They're a bit pricey, and they lack wireless charging, but they're easily some of my favorite buds around. When I want some musical accompaniment when I leave the house, I want something that: Those are all non-negotiable — I refuse to budge. There are plenty of speakers I've tested that have nailed down any one of those specs, but there's only one that's made me smile while it does it. The Marshall Emberton III is a compact little Bluetooth speaker, but it packs in some very solid sound for the size. It's built from the ground up for rock n' roll, and wears its heart on its sleeve — and I can't think of much better. Battery life is a highlight as well. 32 hours of playtime is plenty for those moments where you need to share some tunes with your friends. It's saved more than one music-less BBQs and gathering since it first joined the family, and I can see it continuing for a long time to come. There were some Soundcore options that nearly took its place, but ultimately the Emberton III and its funky leather-like covering took the win. The knurled controller that adorns its top sure did help as well — it's lovely. This extremely attractive Bluetooth speaker is a stunning addition to your portable sound arsenal. It sounds great, looks wonderful, and won't break the bank at $169. It's one of my favorite Bluetooth speakers around thanks to its intuitive brass control nob — and I think you'll love it too. So there are times when I don't want to use something that can be portable. When at home, I want something that doesn't compromise on sound and features so that I've got great audio on my bedside. I've actually written about how much I love my Sonos Move 2, my home Bluetooth speaker of choice. I don't need something super impressive in my bedroom for shorter listening sessions — it's where my stereo system lives, and that's where I do my proper critical listening. Instead, it's a great semi-portable speaker that sounds great and lets me access my music super quickly. I love the way that it looks, and the way that it sounds — there's a reason it's topped our best Bluetooth speakers list since it was launched. I love mine, and my nightstand wouldn't be complete without it. The Sonos Move 2 is the ultimate Bluetooth speaker, as long as you don't need out-and-out portability. It sounds epic wherever you go, thanks to the constantly updating 'TruePlay' tuning, and the 24 hours of battery means it lasts for ages. It's a weighty thing, and it's a bit expensive, but it's a stunning home Bluetooth speaker. So I carry around a lot of very expensive audio gear when I'm out and about, and I imagine you do as well — so how do I carry it around with me? I use this: My Mous Optimal Protective Lid Backpack. It's big, it's comfortable, and most importantly, it's incredibly protective of the stuff that I put inside it. There are slots for my laptop and phone, and even one for an AirTag (or equivalent tracker) so that you can track it should an unsavory nab it. But you don't care about that — you care about how it will keep your precious headphones and earbuds safe. For earbuds, there are special slots you can put them so that they don't shake loose while you're walking to the train or bus on your commute. The large center section is zipped and then secured close with a tightening clip, so there's no getting into it without your say-so. The whole thing is ruggedized so that it protects your stuff should it take a tumble — your laptop in its built-in protective sleeve will survive higher and more frequent drops, if you happen to be clumsy. I'm yet to test this because I am a coward, but it's nice to know that it's there. I don't have to worry about my daily headphones or earbuds going missing with my backpack. As Audio Editor, it's not really in my purview to talk about backpacks, but this one is so good at keeping my stuff safe that I can't not. It's not cheap — $239 — but given the peace of mind when I head on busy trains for any traveling, it's indispensable. Straight up — not a cheap backpack. But with slots for just about everything, a front compartment that opens all the way, and a special protective compartment for your laptop, it's the best way to carry your headphones and earbuds. Along with like, everything else.
Stuff.tv
09-05-2025
- Business
- Stuff.tv
I tested the brilliant Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3, but they won't be top dog for long
The latest version of Bowers & Wilkins' key noise-cancelling headphones is here. The last refresh of them two years ago – with the PX7 S2e (which followed up the S2) – was also accompanied by the PX8, a brand new range-topper. And that's the slight conundrum with this review. As you can see from the score, we think these are brilliant. But we already know we'll get a new version of the PX8s later this year – PX8 S2 of course – to counter expected releases from Apple, Sony and others. Bowers & Wilkins is talking up the PX7 S3's audio quality as being comparable with – or even better than – the current PX8s. Indeed, in its marketing materials for the S3s it calls them 'the most advanced and capable wireless headphone the brand has yet made.' But the advent of the second-gen PX8s will surely see them superceded as the best you can get. And that's before we get to all those other chunky manufacturers named above and their upcoming headphone releases. The main thing going for the PX7 S3 compared to the PX8 S2 is almost certainly the prowess you get for what is a relatively modest price point. One problem with Bowers' naming conventions is the word soup that successive versions of the PX7 have generated. S2 vs S2e vs S3 isn't exactly easy to say or tell the differences between, but then again neither is Sony's current benchmark in the form of the WH-1000MX5. As you'll hear, I do wonder why these headphones don't have a completely new product name… The Px7 S3 is available in the UK for £399 and the rest of Europe for €429 which was a little more than I was originally expecting. Bowers & Wilkins says that the headphones won't immediately be available in the Americas. And it doesn't take a genius to conclude that this is due to the crazy situation with tariffs. If the tariff problems do abate, expect $399. In a statement, the company said: 'Px7 S3 will not be available in North and Latin America on April 24, though launch plans in other markets remain unchanged and will proceed as scheduled. Bowers & Wilkins are taking this additional time to evaluate the evolving market conditions and ensure their offerings remain aligned with consumer expectations. We'll share more details at a later date.' Design: similar but more refined and less bulky Although the PX7 S3 looks very similar to Bowers' previous high-end headphones – PX7, PX7 S2 and PX7 S2e – they have been quite significantly redesigned, not least with a more compact design – the earcup protrudes less than on the previous version of these headphones. The case is also not too big and is very backpackable indeed. The 2022 PX7 S2e is on the left with the new PX7 S3 on the right. The button arrangement has been tweaked this time around and it's a very welcome change. I'm a big fan of the physical controls on offer, but the trio of controls on the right cup seemed too similar to each other by touch in previous versions. The key play/pause/answer/end button has now been given a textured finish and is a different size to distinguish it from other controls. Bowers & Wilkins also says the PX7 S3's cushions and headband are replaceable, though this work needs to be done by trained service engineers rather than being something the end user can do. However, it's a step in the right direction. The PX7 S3s are available in three colours, Anthracite Black, Indigo Blue and Canvas White. Once again there's no 3.5mm headphone jack, but you can connect up to those sources using the included 3.5mm to USB-C cable. Wired listening via USB-C to USB-C will also give you the very best quality sound. aptX Adaptive 24bit/96kHz over Bluetooth 5.2 is the usual on offer, but these cans can support aptX Lossless when teamed with appropriate Snapdragon Sound-enabled hardware or are cabled up via USB-C. Interestingly, Bowers hasn't chosen to deploy spatial audio at launch for these headphones but it has been so bold as to say support will be coming later this year, presumably timed alongside the PX8 S2. Bluetooth LE (including Auracast) is also on the way, again as part of a software update (it seems like this will be separate to the spatial audio update). This will enable other devices to transmit to the headphones and include in a system. It'll be interesting to hear how this works in practice. We had access to a pre-release version of Bowers' Music app to test out these headphones ahead of launch and it wasn't an overwhelming experience. We've had issues with this app on iOS before, notably that it takes a long time to recognise your headphones even if they're paired with your iPhone/iPad already. However, the final version of the app had much improved performance and paired with our headphones fine each time we connected them. The main problem with this app is that it essentially has the same name as Apple's own music app, meaning it's rather hard to search for on iOS – far from ideal. Features-wise, there's now an adjustable EQ inside the app which is welcome and you can add in non-Apple music services but the reality is that once you've mastered cycling through the noise cancellation options on the headphones themselves, you'll probably end up just using it to occasionally change settings. There's no compelling reason to touch the app on a regular basis if you're used to using them with a normal streaming service. Sound quality: superb soundstage, excellent noise-cancelling The really good news is that the audio experience on offer here is nothing short of excellent with highly rich audio quality when the source is up to scratch. A dedicated amplifier is are now used to power the 40mm drive units which offer improved resolution. That's especially evident on tracks which have a larger lineup of instruments. You can hear it all. If you do whack up the volume to barely-bareable levels, distortion is still basically non-existent. Quite remarkable. These have also been redesigned with a new chassis, voice coil, suspension, and magnet, with only the cone material still the same versus the predecessors. Once again, they are slightly angled towards the ear. Because the quality is so good, you don't feel like you have to raise the volume to a high level to feel you're experiencing the music properly; a bar that many headphones don't manage to get over. You do wonder what more tricks can bring to the forthcoming PX8 S3 to beat this level of quality. It absolutely breezed through our list of audio test tracks, handling everything from driving bass to smooth classical with aplomb. It'll be very interesting when spatial audio is added to this mix. The active noise cancellation (ANC) has also been significantly improved this time around and an eight mic array is in use for this. Across various situations it was immediately clear there has been a big step forward and in full cancellation external sound is highly minimised. It's actually now so good that we wouldn't recommend walking around a city without switching into transparency mode. You certainly won't hear a bike or EV which obviously could be a bit of a problem. On a plane, conversations are easily blanked out and other noises such as drinks trolleys and banging toilet doors just drifted away. You can hear that announcements are happening, but you can't hear them clearly… As is the norm nowadays, the PX7 S3 boast wear detection, so the audio will stop when you take then off. I found they were a little too sensitive to this out of the box, so I toned the sensitivity down which worked a treat. I want them to pause only when they're lifted off the head, rather than if they're slightly skewed on the head thanks to them being knocked or when you have them against a seat on a flight. If there is one spec on the list where the PX7 S3 is lagging behind some rivals a little, it's in terms of headline battery life. It still offers 30 hours of battery life with ANC enabled, which is great of course. It's just that I've been regularly seeing battery life quite a bit longer than this now. OK, so it's still lengthy and there's a 15 minute for seven hours fast charge, but it's surely becoming an easy point of distinction for consumers. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 verdict The PX7 S3 offer a huge amount more than their perfectly serviceable predecessors and a lot has clearly been done to improve their capabilities, particularly in the area of noise cancelling. But the sound quality has also taken a real leap forward. Such a step up should surely boast more than just a 'S3' label on the end of the product name. Still, naming conventions aside, it's really rather hard to recommend you buy anything else and it will be fascinating to see if others can match or better them in the days and months to come. And what Bowers will do itself with the PX8s… So what are the problems? Well, there's a massive amount of competition for starters. It's increasingly busy around the $299/£299 mark in particular. The battery life is also. now only so-so for a premium headphone. It's still great, of course, but such is the competition that it has to be a small mark in the negative column. Nitpicking though really, because these are brilliant headphones. Stuff Says… Score: 5/5 A real step change from their predecessors, the PX7 S3 offer a wonderful soundstage, while the noise cancelling is simply terrific. Pros Stunngly rich sound Class-matching noise cancelling Improved controls More compact design Cons Very stiff competition, not least from the incoming PX8 S2 Spatial audio not there at launch Battery life is now only so-so There's no 3.5mm headphone jack, but a cable is provided Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 tech specs Drivers 40mm dynamic full range bio cellulose Audio formats SBC, AAC, aptX Classic, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless Battery life 30hrs (7hrs from 15min quick charge) Connectivity USB-C, Bluetooth 5.3 Size 177 x 60 x 234mm Weight 300g
Stuff.tv
24-04-2025
- Stuff.tv
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 could beat Sony and Bose to be 2025's premium noise-cancelling headphone champ
Bowers & Wilkins has completely reworked its PX7 series noise cancelling headphones. And I think the PX7 S3 could be the headphones to beat in this sub-premium price range – which is £399/429 Euros. The headphones will launch in the US (we'd expect for $399) but the tariffs situation has meant the release there has been delayed. They're available from today everywhere else in three finishes: Anthracite Black, Indigo Blue and Canvas White. I can let you into a little secret – they sound absolutely fantastic. I'll be publishing my full review very soon after I've had just a little more time with the release version of Bowers' Music app that accompanies the headphones (out today) but I'm not stepping too out of line by saying they're set to score well. The active noise cancellation (ANC) has also been significantly improved this time around as well (the headphones boast an eight mic array). What's more, the PX7 S3 won't even be the best headphones coming from Bowers & Wilkins this year, with the PX8 S2 set to raise the bar even higher later this year, probably in August/September. Although the PX7 S3 looks very similar to Bowers' previous high-end headphones – PX7, PX7 S2 and PX7 S2e – they have been quite significantly redesigned this time around, not least with a more compact design based around Qualcomm's Snapdragon S7 Sound Gen 1 chipset which supports aptX Adaptive 24bit/96kHz and can support aptX Lossless from compatible Snapdragon Sound devices. Bluetooth LE (including Auracast) and spatial audio support is coming in software updates later on (presumably once the PX8 S2 has launched). Battery life is set at 30 hours with ANC on which is so-so these days, but you can get around 7 hours of use out of them with a 15 minute fast charge. Bowers & Wilkins also says the PX7 S3's cushions and headband are replaceable, though this work needs to be done by trained service engineers rather than being something the end user can do.
