Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6

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Px8 S2 compared with WH-1000XM6

	Bowers & WilkinsPx8 S2	SonyWH-1000XM6
Overview
Released
Released	September 2025	May 2025
Sound
Type
Type	Over-ear	Over-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	–	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	40 mm	30 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	Yes	No
Chip
Chip	–	QN3
Drivers
Drivers	40 mm dynamic full-range Carbon Cone drive units, angled towards the ears; dedicated discrete headphone amplifier; Bowers & Wilkins DSP with 24-bit/96 kHz processing	30 mm driver unit with a high-rigidity carbon fibre composite dome and neodymium magnet; 4 Hz to 40,000 Hz (wired, switched on); sensitivity 103 dB/mW switched on, 102 dB/mW switched off; impedance 48 Ω switched on, 16 Ω switched off (1 kHz)
Chip
Chip	–	HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3 (Sony says seven times faster than the WH-1000XM5's) and Integrated Processor V2
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Eight microphones (two measure each drive unit's output, four monitor outside noise, two for voice); noise cancelling On, Pass-Through or Off from the Quick Action button or the Music app	Twelve microphones for noise cancelling; Adaptive NC Optimizer tunes noise cancelling to the fit, surroundings and air pressure; Ambient Sound Mode with Auto Ambient Sound; Quick Attention Mode; Speak-to-Chat; Adaptive Sound Control
Audio features
Audio features	aptX Adaptive 24/96 and aptX Lossless; also aptX HD; 5-band EQ with presets, or True Sound mode; USB-C audio interface; spatial audio and LE Audio with Auracast promised as later updates	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); Hi-Res Audio over the headphone cable; DSEE Extreme upscaling; 10-band EQ and Game EQ; 360 Reality Audio; 360 Upmix for Cinema; spatial sound with head tracking; BGM effect; LE Audio with a low-latency mode and Auracast broadcast audio
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 30 hours	Up to 30 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Rechargeable lithium-ion battery; 30 hours of wireless streaming with noise cancelling on at average volume	Up to 40 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC, SBC or LC3); with LDAC, 26 hours with noise cancelling on or 36 hours off; talk time up to 24 hours (28 hours with noise cancelling off); up to 28 hours on the headphone cable with noise cancelling on (38 hours off); can be used while charging
Fast charging
Fast charging	15 minutes for up to 7 hours	3 minutes gives about 3 hours of playback with a USB PD adaptor (9 V/2.3 A or more), or about 1 hour with a 5 V/1.5 A adaptor; full charge in about 3.5 hours
Design
Weight
Weight	310 g	254 g (better)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Volume up, volume down and multi-function buttons on the right ear cup; power switch and Quick Action button (noise cancelling modes or voice assistant) on the left; wear sensors in both ear cups pause and resume playback	Touch sensor control panel (double-tap to play, pause or answer calls; swipe forwards or backwards to skip; swipe up or down for volume; hold for the voice assistant; cover with your hand for Quick Attention Mode); power and NC/AMB buttons on the left unit (double-press NC/AMB to mute the microphones during calls, once enabled in the app); nod or shake your head to answer or reject calls; proximity sensor pauses music when the headphones are taken off and switches them off after 15 minutes
Microphones
Microphones	Eight microphones, four per ear cup; ADI Pure Voice call processing	Twelve microphones for noise cancelling; six-microphone AI-based beamforming for calls; MEMS, omnidirectional
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Over-ear; Nappa leather on every primary surface and die-cast aluminium arms; ear cushions and headband replaceable by trained service engineers	Closed, over-ear; wider soft-fit headband in synthetic leather; stretchable earpads; folds flat and folds up to fit the supplied carrying case, which has a magnetic closure
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	–	No water resistance rating; Sony says the headphones are not waterproof
Works with
Works with	Bowers & Wilkins Music app for iOS and Android; Apple MFi; Google Fast Pair; two devices at once; USB-C sound output for computers and phones; analogue input through the USB-C port with the supplied cable (Bluetooth disconnects)	Sony | Sound Connect app for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio and Auracast with compatible devices; the headphone cable also works with the headphones switched off, without noise cancelling
Colours
Colours	Onyx Black, Warm Stone, Midnight Blue, Pearl Blue	Black, Platinum Silver, Midnight Blue, Sand Pink, Sandstone (Sony US; colours vary by region)
In the box
In the box	Headphones, carry case (177 x 60 x 234 mm), 1.2 m USB-C to USB-C cable, 1.2 m USB-C to 3.5 mm audio cable, document pack	Headphones, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), headphone cable (about 1.2 m, gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini plug), carrying case, documents