Bower & Wilkins PX8 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones $861 (RRP $1149) + $8 Delivery @ Qantas

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Hardearnedcash on 30/05/2023 - 07:47 marketplace.qantas.com (1482 clicks)
Last edited 30/05/2023 - 13:40 by 2 other users

Lowest price seen for this kind of headphone which is for a specific kind of person. Had a listen to these in Singapore which were pretty decent. It won't replace your audiophile gear but it does come with adequate noise cancellation on the go. Apparently 200 hrs burn in according to a YouTuber audiophile review.

Price performance wise, there are also Px7 s2 which are a better bang for buck, at about half the price of Px8 RRP but not that much of a sale at Qantas marketplace. For most people, the Sony 1000XM5 will do fine audio wise and have better ANC and deals. Otherwise, at the top of the mountain, Focal Bathys is another option comparable to PX8 for a different kind of sound, although those haven't been seen on sale brand new.

Sometimes our hunger for a deal drives our body forward, and when looking back momentarily, we see collections of who we've become.

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• 

  pacificstorm on 30/05/2023 - 08:02

  Great post for a superb product. Audiophiles rejoice!

  • 

    adinico on 30/05/2023 - 08:23

    +2

    "It won't replace your audiophile gear"

    • 

      pacificstorm on 30/05/2023 - 08:37

      -1

      The name brand says it all. No need to elaborate. lol

    • 

      pizzaguy on 30/05/2023 - 08:59

      +1

      How many dollars between these and the "audiophile gear"?

      • 

        usbc activist on 30/05/2023 - 09:11

        +1

        We can get a pretty good entire audiophile chain with this budget

      • 

        jasswolf on 30/05/2023 - 13:24

        +1

        +$330

        Alternatively, you can just get the Audeze Maxwell for $469 if you have no interest in ANC.

        • 

          ThymeTraveller on 30/05/2023 - 15:49

          -1

          @jasswolf: No LDAC at this price? Pass.

          • 

            jasswolf on 30/05/2023 - 16:13

            @ThymeTraveller: That's a very short-sighted view: the Bathys has aptX adaptive, which also goes up to 990kbit and is also a straight forward derivative of SBC like LDAC.

            The Maxwell has LDAC and LC3 Plus.

• 

  d3ft on 30/05/2023 - 08:05

  +23

  Pretty decent and adequate aren't words I'd want to associate with $800 headphones.

  • 

    ScottEh on 30/05/2023 - 09:14

    +3

    Depends what baseline you're working from…

  • 

    axyh on 30/05/2023 - 11:12

    +4

    These are wireless and have active noise-cancelling. Those two properties don’t generally go along with “audiophile” quality.

    If these are “pretty decent” by audiophile standards, then they’re well ahead of most wireless and/or ANC headphones.

• 

  timmysbiscuits on 30/05/2023 - 08:11

  +1

  How would these compare to AirPods Max?

  • 

    Stefce on 30/05/2023 - 08:15

    +5

    PX8 has much better sound, case and build quality. Airpods have better app and Apple integration.

    • 

      PennyPincher11 on 30/05/2023 - 09:46

      +3

      This has to be a tank then because my used pair of APM are still in excellent shape after one year of daily use

      • 

        axyh on 30/05/2023 - 11:17

        +6

        One year isn’t long for headphones. My Grados have seen more than 20 years of regular use.

        • 

          PennyPincher11 on 30/05/2023 - 12:37

          +1

          @axyh: So how can we say that about PX8 then which is less than 1 year old?
          I based that how my xm5s have faired and feel as oppose to Airpods

    • 

      dealsucker on 30/05/2023 - 10:33

      +2

      Define much better. I found Airpods Max to be better than these not only for sound but also way better noise cancellation. The transparency mode on the Airpods Max is also something else and is unmatched and so is build.

• 

  shabaka on 30/05/2023 - 08:49

  +2

  PX7 for $250 was a good deal in October

  I'll wait till px8 go on clearance in DJ

• 

  usbc activist on 30/05/2023 - 09:11

  +3

  Meh. Decent won't cut it for me when paying $869

  • 

    shabaka on 30/05/2023 - 09:13

    +3

    it's certainly not $869 decent and adequate.

• 

  harro112 on 30/05/2023 - 09:15

  Cracked deal OP, super tempting…

• 

  get-innocuous on 30/05/2023 - 09:39

  +5

  If you’re after nicer sound than the XM5s but less than half this price keep an eye out on sales for the Sennheiser Monentum 3s. Can get them for $300ish and sound much better than the Sonys, at the cost of worse noise cancellation.

• 

  bheart on 30/05/2023 - 09:39

  +1

  Upvote for the description alone

• 

  recession1 on 30/05/2023 - 09:48

  Comes down to $774.90 if you have points club plus

• 

  Rashed on 30/05/2023 - 10:16

  $817.95 if you have points club

• 

  GSDan on 30/05/2023 - 10:52

  +2

  If anyone's wondering about the Px7 S2, I picked up a pair at the airport a couple of weeks ago, after stepping on my pair of S1s in the middle of the night before a longhaul from the UK :( I stuck with the B&Ws as I just don't get along with the Sonys' shallow earcups or sound profile (they sound weirdly mushy to me?), even though they might be better value and have better ANC.

  I have to say though, the S2 is a nice step up over the originals. The tuning on the originals were way too bass heavy - I didn't mind too much as it never came across as muddy, as they were very capable of clear low-end. But the new model is much less extreme - still not flat, but towards a more balanced V profile. Very fun, clear, engaging. The new design is also nice, and the hard case is great. I miss the 3.5mm jack, but they come with a USB-C to 3.5mm cable so can't complain too much.

  • 

    shabaka on 30/05/2023 - 14:27

    +1

    interesting to see a different POV as I prefer S1 profile (maybe I am a basshead lol)

    • 

      GSDan on 30/05/2023 - 15:24

      +1

      No shame in that :D

      • 

        shabaka on 30/05/2023 - 16:26

        haha that's so true

• 

  AdiOZ on 30/05/2023 - 11:03

  Good deal! Btw there is no "burn in" on the tiny drivers in headphones. It was a thing that did exist with giant theatre speakers at one point, but it's no longer an issue.

  It's certainly possible for you to adjust to the sound of a given headphone after spending time with them, psychological burn-in, but the headphones themselves don't change.

  • 

    Hardearnedcash on 30/05/2023 - 11:32

    Ah…I guess there are many opinions out there on this topic of burn in. Perhaps it's simpler just to eq it slightly for immediate use if the burn in is truly psychological. I'm on the fence on this topic. I take there is a possibility that burn in does not necessarily mean literally attach the headphone to your head for those hours but it's perhaps done before first use, to adjust for the mind factor (but where's your control unless you buy triplicate? Wink wink).

    I heard it may be preferable to do an upfront treble +0.5 and bass reduction of - 1.0 when anc is on as anc boosts the bass.

  • 

    jasswolf on 30/05/2023 - 13:23

    +2

    Burn in exists, it's just usually almost nothing, rarely a 1 dB difference at some tones. Has more prevalence with IEMs due to greater variety of driver materials.

    Pad/tip wear and reshaping of the pads/tips and - in the case of headphones - the band & clamp to fit the user are far more impactful and what most users conflate as burn in.

• 

  User102430 on 30/05/2023 - 11:37

  Are they different from B&O Beoplay HX?
  https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08TZRP19J/ref=ox_sc_sa…

  Seem to have the same drivers?

  Also HXs go on sale down to ~600 AUD

• 

  horseshoe on 30/05/2023 - 11:40

  +1

  I don't know why anybody would be willing to pay this much for wireless headphones, when their lifespan is going to be naturally limited by how long the batteries last. I love the convenience of wireless audio products but they have obselescence built in.

  • 

    The Government on 30/05/2023 - 11:50

    +7

    Correct. I recently realised my headphones dropped from 30h to 28h battery life after 4 years of use. I immediately threw them in the bin

    • 

      horseshoe on 30/05/2023 - 11:52

      +1

      I work from home and use my earphones daily, probably 16+ hours per day. They definitely don't last 4 years.

      • 

        mick619 on 30/05/2023 - 18:39

        It probably varies by brand/model. I've had my XM3s for over four years and only now am I noticing the battery life dropping a little. I've replaced the ear cups yearly, but other than that they are still going strong. I also wear them 8h+ a day.

  • 

    Hardearnedcash on 30/05/2023 - 12:18

    In the same way someone chooses to pay more than a dollar for a paper book, being open to the experience led me to gain enjoyment to some of these dangly things. Still working on the fiction book part so I can understand where you are coming from, albeit less a battery unless kindles are also considered paper.

  • 

    GSDan on 30/05/2023 - 15:24

    I mean they still work wired

    • 

      tabz on 30/05/2023 - 15:51

      +2

      From what I've read about the PX8 there's no passive listening so the headphones need to be turned on for it to work wired.

      • 

        GSDan on 31/05/2023 - 10:00

        +1

        To be fair this is true. If you're listening over USB C it'll at least be charging though, so should still work if the battery is dead. 3.5mm is another matter, you're right

• 

  rahuahuj on 30/05/2023 - 11:57

  Is there any way to Join Qantas FF without paying the joining fee of $100? Thanks

  • 

    eddomak on 30/05/2023 - 12:07

    +1

    I think you can do it through Woolworth Everyday Rewards (as you can convert those points to QFF points) or you can do it through BP Rewards.

• 

  loceee on 30/05/2023 - 14:00

  These sound great and feel great. The thing that killed them for me was call quality. Their noise isolation on calls is terrible (could be addressed with firmware?). It's way too aggressive and cuts out your voice when there is background noise. I tested them back to back against my Beoplay HXs in a VideoPro store that had music in background… that I wouldn't have considered loud. The voice recordings were barely intelligible on the PX8s. The HXs were way better for calls.

  PX8s I would rate better than the HXs when it comes to bass extension and ANC, but the call issue for me was a deal breaker - I needed an all rounder that I could listen to music and make calls on.

  Upgraded from HXs to a used pair of H95s - but beware of many issues with the H95s on the used market. I would rate the HXs still better for calls, but I wanted better bass and ANC, plus I dig the B&O sound and styling.

  But this is a very good deal for PX8s.

  • 

    Hardearnedcash on 30/05/2023 - 14:16

    From reviewers, it seems focal bathys had the better call quality and management here. If only they had sales for the focal headphones…seems to be sold only to a limited few stores like addicted to audio, minidisc and sight/sound galleria in Aus currently. Otherwise, it would be the usual Sony and Bose for call if anyone else can vouch for that.

• 

  karteej on 07/06/2023 - 06:17

  OOS