We wish it were in focus too, but the PX7 S2 driver is on the right, the PX8 is on the left (Image credit: Future)

The PX8's two strongest suits are glorious looks and exemplary sound quality. If these two features are of paramount importance to you, the PX8 represent some of the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy –but you do have to pay top dollar for the privilege of ownership. Audio retransmission comes courtesy of the charging case and it’s extremely simple to use. Once plugged into your source via the included USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to 3.5mm cables, audio will automatically be streamed to your buds over aptX Low Latency. You can also use it to transmit audio to other B&W headphones, including the PX7 s2 and PX8 over-ears.Battery life? It's good –30 hours. ANC? Of course; it's the same proprietary Bowers & Wilkins-optimised six-mic noise cancellation tech as the PX& S2 (two mics measure the output of each drive unit, two react to ambient noise from the outside world, two handle voice clarity with enhanced noise suppression), and in our tests we found the PX& S2 fared absolutely fine here, if unable to trounce the Sony WH-1000XM5 for noise nixing. When the original Pi7 were released, I described them as the best-sounding noise-cancelling earbuds I’d tested. The S2 sound just as good and I can’t think of any buds I’d rather listen to for hours on end. Are they set to waltz into our best over-ear headphones buying guide? Screaming "yes!" is perhaps a little premature. But we think it's highly likely, despite the higher asking fee. There’s a shared sonic DNA between the PX7s and their predecessors, with a solid, detailed and tonally balanced sound that prioritises rhythmic precision and communicates music in an entertaining way. But B&W’s engineers clearly haven’t been resting on their laurels in the past two years, as they strive to meet the standards set by the arrival of fresh competition in the market. Another tweak in the Px8s is that the Carbon Cone drive units are carefully angled inside each earcup to ensure the entire driver’s surface is at a consistent distance from the listener’s ear, to keep the soundstage accurate.

READ NEXT: Our favourite over-ear headphones Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: What could be improved? Never is this clearer than with a piece of orchestral music, like Mozart’s Don Giovanni Suite KV 527 – Madamina (Leporello). Violins are crisp and textured, with depth in every bow, while flutes flutter and soar without constraint. If you really want the best ANC this money can buy though, there are better, more personalized options out there, and here we might point you to the Sony XM5 or (likely to be discounted) WH-1000XM4 over-ears.Now on to what we can tell you: these over-ears offer agility, gazelle-like dynamic grace and surgical precision. And they do all of it in spades. Deadmau5's 4X4=12 is weighty, precise and textured through the difficult and intentionally bloated bassline. But then, the PX8 opens out to reveal a wide soundstage marked with stark synths. It's as if these over-ears are hellbent on exposing jagged, angular sonic diamonds in the rough – in the best way.

The case also feels premium, with a compartment for the two cables included (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins review: featuresThe extra energy, depth, emotional oomph and overall immersion in excellent-quality music place the PX8 in a different league –which is understandable and this statement is not intended to put the Sennheiser headphones down. What we're saying is, if your budget stretches to this level, the sonic gains are worth it in the sound-per-pound stakes. The sound here is exceptional –but you do have to pay for it. The comfort levels are fantastic across the course of our listening too, with ample padding on the underside of the headband and a clamping force that's as perfect as we've ever felt; not too tight but reassuringly secure. The PX8 on the right, PX7 S2 on the left... for both sound and looks, the PX8 is better. (Image credit: Future) Bowers & Wilkins PX8 review: value