Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Review – Power Packed Premium Priced Performers at RM2,499

Until recently, getting Bowers & Wilkins headphones was a bit of a challenge as there was no official presence in Malaysia until TC Acoustic stepped into the picture as their sole distributor earlier this year.

Serendipitously, they’re now offering their latest updated versions of their vaunted true wireless earbuds in our shores and we managed to get our hands on one of their best for testing. Here’s our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review where we put their most sophisticated true wireless earbuds to the test!

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Review – Build and Design

Priced at an astounding RM2,499, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 is arguably the most expensive pair of wireless earbuds that we’ve ever tested though the quality of its construction is apparent the moment you take it out of the box. 

From a design and manufacturing perspective, our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review sample is easily one of the best made wireless earbuds in mass production with a premium finish that looks posh in an understated fashion, featuring a chromed top lid that contrasts beautifully with the matte black base finish. The matte satin black finish that nicely repels fingerprints though it can alternatively be acquired in canvas white or midnight blue.

The charging case feels wonderful to hold and looks posh in with its rounded curves making it easily pocketable. Opening and closing the top lid can be easily done one handed with a satisfying click which does allow it to double up as a fidget toy of sorts though seeing its daunting price tag, it’s not advisable to do so on a regular basis.

The case isn’t the lightest in the market at 47g but it’s certainly the most well made that we’ve seen. Intended to lie flat, the case itself has a USB-C charging port at the base and an LED charging indicator up front with the earbuds nestled vertically within the case itself. 

If the indicator reads green, you’re great and if it’s yellow or flashing red, you’re in need of a top-up. Interestingly enough, the charging case has a battery indicator button just below the LED charge indicator that prompts it to show charge levels for both the case and the earbuds though you can also use the provided Bowers & Wilkins Music app that’s free to download.

Nestled between both earbud charging bays is a pairing button to link up the earbuds to a phone, tablet or laptop. Unfortunately, the case itself lacks dust or water resistance though the earbuds themselves feature a robust IP54 dust and water resistance rating which means they’re able to shrug off modest splashes of water and rain.

The earbuds of our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review sample were equally well appointed. When viewed from the front, the earbuds had a chromed, rounded control surface that looks exceptionally classy while offering a means to control playback via a series of taps.

While it looks chunky, the large housing doesn’t impede wearability and comfort with the earbuds fitting wonderfully and providing an excellent passive noise seal though they require a twisting motion when worn for best results.

By default, the earbuds come preinstalled with medium sized ear tips but a smaller and larger pair are also bundled in the box with a USB-C charging cable and the very unusual addition of a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable. 

Unlike the vast majority of other earbuds, the Bowers and Wilkins Pi7 S2 has a unique feature – the charging case acts as a Bluetooth retransmitter in tandem with the USB-C to 3.5mm cable , allowing you to use the Pi7 S2 earbuds in lieu of the usual plasticky wired headphones when you’re on a plane. If you’re a frequent flyer, this feature alone is worth the price of purchase as almost no other earbuds in the market have this feature out of the box.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Review – Specifications

Here’s how the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 stacks up on paper…

Specifications
Price RM2,499
Drivers 9.2mm Dynamic Drive with Balanced Armature
Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX Adaptive technology, USB-C charging
Supported codecs aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Classic, AAC, SBC, A2DP v1.3.1, AVRCP v1.6.1 HFP v1.7.1, HSP v1.2, BLE GATT
Battery 5 hours (with ANC off – quoted), 16 hours from charging case
Size/Weight 61 x 28 x 56mm (charging case) / 7g each (earbuds) 47g (charging case)

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 Review – Setup and Performance

Intended as the successor to the earlier Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 that was released a couple of years ago, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 is a second-generation design that has a number of features which address the shortcomings of its predecessor in terms of spotty Bluetooth connectivity and middling battery life. 

For starters, the newer Pi7 S2 has reworked the antenna design, doubling the stable range to 25 metres. To further minimise signal dropout, B&W have also implemented a more Bluetooth signal transparent endcap to the earbuds. They’ve also upped the battery life in each earbud to 5 hours of use without ANC with an additional 16 hours in the charging case.

Combined, this should enable you to enjoy an uninterrupted flight from Singapore to San Francisco in relative bliss. While it’s not class-leading in this regard, it’s still an improvement compared to the earlier Pi7 though it falls behind other contenders in that regard which have far longer battery life with even the modest OnePlus Buds Pro2 offering an hour more with ANC on and almost 25 hours of usage.

Under the hood, the earbuds pack 9.2mm dynamic drivers paired with high-frequency balanced armatures akin to its predecessor the Pi7 and six mics with three per earbud that work with the ANC as well as for call quality.

They are also exceptionally well appointed in terms of codec support with the ability to play 24-bit hi-res audio, with support for aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Classic, AAC and SBC codecs.

Donning the earbuds does require some practice though as you need to twist them in to ensure an effective seal. Once properly donned, they’re remarkably secure and don’t so much as move even during vigorous activity like sprinting for the bus.

The touch control surfaces proved to be exceptionally responsive and precise, responding to a gentle tap to pause, play and change tracks. Rather than a series of taps, toggling active noise cancellation is by long pressing the left earbud’s control surface down while summoning voice assistants is with the same motion on the right earbud.

Once all the formalities have been sorted out, you’ll have to install the aforementioned B&W Music app which requires you to register an account with them.

Unfortunately the B&W Music app is rudimentary at best and only offers the basics that include a walkthrough, the ability to check battery life for the earbuds and the charging case as well as toggling between noise cancellation, ambient noise passthrough or setting it to auto. 

Unfortunately, the app lacks niceties such as the ability to manage playlists and the means to tweak your own equaliser settings. You’re also unable to modify the existing control scheme which makes installing and running it somewhat moot. It’s not a deal breaker but hopefully they add these capabilities in a future update. 

In terms of performance, our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review unit did not disappoint. The earbuds are well balanced  without overemphasis on the lows atypical of mainstream earbuds. The sound stage was detailed and expansive with superb left and right sound separation which is apparent in Pink Floyd’s ‘Time’ and it was able to be cranked up to maximum volume without distortion or tearing. 

In intricate orchestrals like Vaughan Williams ‘The Lark Ascending’, it was able to capture the subtle aspects of the track and render it due justice. Highs felt crisp and precise while mids are handled well with spacious openness and bass, while not the typically rumbly jaw-dropping sort present in mainstream earbuds, was precise and especially present in Bear McCreary’s taiko drum laden ‘Prelude to War’.

Vocals are a particular high delight, with Joanna Wang’s languidly deep voice sounding authentic and natural, with an exquisite clarity that makes her classics like ‘Vincent’ sound better than ever before.

The noise cancelling provided on our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review sample is fairly decent in tandem with properly fitted earbuds though it isn’t as robust as others we’ve tested and a bit of background noise like office chatter and loud tannoy announcements still get through.

To its credit, our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review sample handled calls well with good clarity on both sides of the call even in a busy street, though the other side did pick up that I was answering the call in traffic.

Should you buy the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2?

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 earbuds don’t come cheap but you get excellent build quality and wonderfully tuned sound that go a long way to justifying its lofty price tag though an underwhelming companion app experience and middling ANC temper our recommendations somewhat.

If you’re looking for a highly accomplished pair of premium earbuds capable of offering beautifully clean and detailed sound straight out of the box and have won the lottery, this can be considered to be a worthy acquisition.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review unit courtesy of TC Acoustic Malaysia. To purchase or for more details, please visit https://my.tcacoustic.asia/collections/b-w-bowers-wilkins/products/bowers-wilkins-pi7-s2