Bowers & WilkinsPi8 Wireless Earbuds (Anthracite Black), in-Ear Bluetooth Earphones with Qualcomm Chipset & aptX Lossless, Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds, 3 Built-in Mics, 15-Min Quick Charging

This is bang for your bucks if you want to invest in a good pair of earbuds. Pairing with my Android phone was a breeze. The sound quality out of the box is crisp, clear and detailed. There is plenty of maneuvering available on the Advanced EQ in the app. The ear buds snuck in easily and you hardly notice it's there. No issues with noise cancelling but I would add that making calls on the earbuds, voice feels sub par quality. The bottom line is buy this if you are looking for a premium sound experience on ear buds.

Audiophile's Dream Come True. The sleek case and premium feel set the stage for an extraordinary listening experience. Once I nestled them into my ears, they vanished - lightweight and secure even during intense workouts.But it's the sound that truly blew me away. These earbuds deliver an audiophile-grade performance, with a balanced sound signature that's both detailed and engaging. The bass is tight and punchy, the mids are crystal clear, and the treble sparkles without a hint of harshness. It's like having a front-row seat at a concert, every instrument and vocal perfectly placed in a wide, immersive soundstage.Active noise cancellation is exceptional, silencing the world around me with just a gentle hush. Transparency mode seamlessly blends in ambient sounds, ideal for staying aware on busy streets. The microphone delivers clear calls, even in noisy environments. Battery life is impressive, lasting throughout my long workdays, and the case provides multiple recharges on the go.Conclusion:The B&W Pi8 earbuds are a masterpiece of audio engineering. They offer a sublime listening experience, premium comfort, and impressive features. If you're a music lover seeking the ultimate sound, these earbuds are a dream come true.Pros:* Exquisitely detailed and balanced sound* Superb active noise cancellation* Comfortable and secure fit* Excellent battery life* Premium build qualityCons:* PriceyTarget Audience:Audiophiles, music enthusiasts, anyone who demands the best sound quality

So, somehow I found myself on this quest to find the perfect earbuds. After all the usual suspects like Apple AirPod Pro 2, Bose QC Ultra, Sennheiser Momentum TW 4, Denon Perl Pro and others; the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 joined the crew. Reviews on audiophile websites are mostly very positive. Up to this point, however, the Sennheiser generally won any competition or came in a very close second. Time to dethrone?At 400 the Pi8 are certainly getting into a stratosphere where one simply has to expect the exceptional. Not everyone is an audiophile (or pretends to be). I am not sure where I fall on that spectrum, but the search simply seemed not over even after crowning the both the MTW4 and the Perl Pro as my favorites, while none could ever match the massive functionality in the AirPods Pro 2. I don’t need the Spatial Audio, even if it’s cool at times, and so it happens that none of my favorites have it. Figure that!Anyway, as I previously bought a pre-owned pair of Px8 (over the ear headphones), impressed by their stellar audio performance and delicate materials, a preowned offer of the Pi8 broke my resistance to adding another set of earbuds to my collection ($130 in “savings”). Pre-owned in both cases (thru Amazon) had the side effect that both pairs had to be hard reset as they were paired and not reset. For the Px8 that was easier to figure out than the tiny reset button in the charging case. (The manual does not mention that.) Make sure to press the button well past the orange light.Once reset (blue LED blinking) the app pairs fairly quickly. At this point, no software update is available. The Bowers & Wilkins app offers minimal options. there is an “advanced EQ” (5-band equalizer) and an equally minimal setting for the touch controls. I am no fan of double triple taps and combinations, so this is fine, even if the options are limited. You have no control of which AptX is being used and apparently it’s lossless by default.The storage case is easily the most advanced of any of mine, despite being one of the smaller ones. It does charge the earbuds and itself can be charged via USB-C port (cable) or wireless (Qi). That seems commonplace these days, even if the Bose QC Ultra somehow did not include this feature. (The Bose also have no case charge level reported to the App, while the B&W do.) The B&W, however, have another unique feature since it can be connected to a 3.5 mm audio jack (headphones) like in the airplane entertainment system. If it also had a speaker (like the AirPod case) to find it, it would be perfect.The design is beautiful, both for the case and the earbuds. The sound, however, is the big deal and I must admit that my expectations were high. First stop ANC. It’s good and some say it doesn’t match the Bose. It may be true but it sure isn’t far. I noticed a similar thing with the Sennheiser and the Denon. Just like them, the B&W heavily depend on the seal of the tips to my ear. Find the perfect fit, and the ANC is fairly effective.With (too) high expectations, the sound at first seemed to not deliver. Not sure if it was just the fit of the tips, but a bit later a second attempt (after fully charging) revised that first impression. Yes! These sound great and are surprisingly loud! Whereas I am setting for almost all others the volume to about 70%, the Pi8 are about the same volume at 50%.The differentiation of instruments is nothing short of amazing. Easily the best I encountered so far. It’s not, however, as if the MTW4 are far behind. It’s just that I am starting to understand what reviewers mean by sound signature. It happens to be different between the MTW4 and the Pi8, and that makes it a bit of personal preference. Specifically, the Pi8 seem more pronounced in the upper middle frequencies, which makes them crisp. They also have a good base, and what happens in between apparently is due to signature differences. (There are no tools in the B&W app to find a personal profile like in the MTW4 or the magic Perl Pro.)The excellent sound makes up for the missing features the AirPods Pro are so rich of: conversation awareness, Find my compatibility, head gestures, Spatial Audio, hearing aid … and so on. If you need those, the AirPods are still unmatched. If you insist on the best sound possible, the Pi8 are strong contenders.