Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: in the battle of the 5-star headphones, which is best?

September 2025 release? Check. Flagship spec-sheet? Indeed. Five-star verdict from us, your friendly TechRadar audio experts? Absolutely, and we don't make such decisions without lengthy debates, often stretching long into the evening.

When discussing the best noise cancelling headphones right now (or just the best over-ear headphones of 2025) it will come as no surprise to learn that both of the models in the title of this missive are in the frame. Both are, make no mistake, excellent at what they do.

And they're both so new! The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 are newer, but only by 14 days, having launched on September 24, whereas the Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen) landed on September 10. So I can't promise they'll see any Black Friday discounts (or similar price drops in flash sales events as the year draws to a close), but of course you never know…

I've put both sets of high-end, flagship wireless cans side-by-side (someone's got to do it, etc), to discover which pair will ultimately get you better sound-per-pound value. It's actually not as easy as it sounds, since the priorities of human beings tend to differ – your colleague wants to watch movies at the gym on the cross-trainer; your younger brother is an avid gamer; you want absolute silence on long-haul flights, and so on.

Anyway, I've spent countless hours listening to some of my favorite tracks in various surroundings, as well as comparing features, noise cancellation, extra perks, and elements of the design and build quality (both physical and in terms of software) that you ought to be aware of. Either set of headphones is a great buy, of course, but I want you to make the best choice for you.

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): price & availability

As mentioned above, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 are the younger of the two in this bout's tale of the tape, but only by 14 days, having arrived on September 24 of this year (2025) where the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) made their debut on September 10.

And if they're heavyweights in terms of talent and fame, their pricing reflects that: the B&W option will set you back a not-insignificant $799 / £629 / AU$1,299 (AU$ fee is approx.) while the Bose cost $449 / £449 / AU$699.

You don't need me to tell you that the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are the cheaper of the two. And that is quite rare for Bose, a brand rarely considered the budget option. That said, you also don't need me to tell you that we need to look deeper into the sound quality, ANC efficacy, overall user experience, and extra features to see where the real value is. So let's go!

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): specs

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): features

Let's start with the B&W option. Ever noticed how elite headphones tend not to be, ahem, overburdened by features? ‘Elite’ is great way to describe the Px8 S2 and, true to form, the feature-set here is 100% business – don't expect parlor tricks or fripperies here (not yet, anyway).

With Bluetooth 5.3 at the helm, the Px8 S2 are compatible with SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless codecs. What about spatial audio side-sauce and Bluetooth LE? These are promised ‘in due course’ via an OTA update, but at the time of writing they aren't here.

Wired listening can happen using the USB-C slot on the left ear cup – it can do data transfer as well as charging the battery, which is why B&W supplies USB-C to USB-C, and USB-C to 3.5mm cables in the lovely semi-hard travel case. Battery life is 30 hours (same as the Bose), and a 15-minute jolt of juice will get you up to another seven hours' playback.

Let's talk ANC: the mic-count has risen to eight (over the six fitted to the Px8) and all are involved both in telephony and active noise-cancellation. Six mics monitor external conditions; the other two assess the output of the drivers for the adaptive ANC system.

And as we said in our review, "When it comes to active noise-cancellation, Bowers & Wilkins must – just like every other brand – accept it’s competing for second place behind whichever Bose product is closest in asking price".

Now, that doesn’t alter the fact that the noise-cancellation in the Px8 S2 is about as good as the company has every delivered, but it does lead us neatly on to the Bose option…

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) use the slightly newer Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, and are compatible with the aptX Adaptive codec as well as the less glamorous SBC and AAC alternatives – ie. no support for the slightly newer, marginally better-regarded aptX Lossless strain of aptX Adaptive. But in a notable upgrade, the QC Ultra II can be hard-wired to a source of music using their USB-C slot – connected this way, they can deal with audio content up to 24bit/48kHz resolution (note that the B&W set also boast a 'true 24-bit audio connection').

But here, things do go up a notch. Bose’s ‘Immersive’ take on the whole Apple (and Dolby Atmos and friends) spatial audio thing is on board – it can be switched off altogether or set to ‘still’ or ‘motion’, and this new model also features a ‘cinema’ mode. None of that with B&W.

Active noise-cancellation is of course back in its ‘ActiveSense’ guise – the headphones can automatically adjust ANC levels to respond to environmental changes. There’s a slider in the app to adjust the intensity and also to dictate the amount of external sounds you hear while in ‘Aware’ mode – and unlike the original model, the ANC in the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) can be turned off altogether. Honestly, it's the best in the business.

There are a total of 10 mics in and around the ear cups (so, two more than in the B&W headphones), and no matter what you’re using them for – ANC, voice-assistant interaction, call-handling – they prove sharp, rapid and effective.

Oh, one other thing: the apps. Bowers & Wilkins' offering is far better here, offering to round up your music streaming services as well as catering to the cans and providing a thoroughly comprehensive, intuitive experience. In direct comparison, Bose's solution feels a tad bare-bones, but then again many people don't spend much time in their headphones' companion app other than to check the battery life or ANC profile. As we said in our review of the QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) concerning the Bose app: "It’s just that when compared to the alternatives from the likes of, say, Bowers & Wilkins, it doesn’t go all that far… For all its stability and ease of navigation, though, it lacks the ability to integrate music streaming services or access to internet radio that many price-comparable rivals provide."

That said, Bose still edges this one – at least until B&W adds its promised spatial audio.

• Features winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): sound quality

Ready for the pendulum to swing back the other way? You probably guessed this at the door going in, but Bowers & Wilkins makes some of the best-sounding mass-produced wireless headphones I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, and the Px8 S2 are no different.

The company has deployed the amplification and DSP engine from its also-quite-new Px7 S3 headphones here, but some bespoke tuning (plus a stiffer driver chassis and upgraded motor system and voice coil) has ensured that the Px8 S2 outperform their extremely well-regarded (and, ahem, more affordable) siblings.

But here our review leaves little margin for doubt: "Where out-and-out sound quality is concerned, it’s hard to lay a glove on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2… where they really excel, they leave their nominal competition gasping."

How do the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) compare for sound?

Bose isn't typically keen on divulging the drivers fitted to its QC Ultra Headphones and the 2nd Gen model is no different, so I don't know what's under the hood (or said drivers' size, material or frequency response). But I can tell you that the sonic performance is vigorous, quite convincingly defined and also spacious enough for each element in most recordings to fully express itself.

There’s plenty of separation if you like ‘stripped back’ or un-plugged stuff, but if you're waiting for the 'but', it's coming: the QC Ultra II are not (only in the most ultimate terms, you understand), the most detailed headphones on the market for the money – and they're neither as informative or quite as expressive as the more expensive Bowers & Wilkins rival.

Don't get me wrong, it’s proof of just how good the ANC is here that one is able to identify such tiny deficiencies in the first place, but we have to do our jobs, and there it is: for sound quality alone, it has to be B&W.

• Sound quality winner: Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): design

I'll be frank (you can still be whatever your name is), I just spent a long weekend walking around the Paris Audio Show trying headphones and also listening to hi-fi and home cinema setups and the sense of pride in ownership I felt wearing the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 around my neck (yes I remove them when I'm talking to people – it's just rude otherwise) was a personal joy. Wearing them is like being a member of a very select group – the audiophile who knows the headphones of the moment and isn't afraid to splurge on them.

You have to hand it to B&W where the design of the Px8 S2 is concerned. Over-ear headphones can be pretty generic looking, but somehow the Px8 S2 feel luxurious yet demure, elite and still understated, all at once. They're available in 'Onyx Black' or 'Stone Gray' and both are gorgeous.

The arms and headband adjustment feature a recess this time around, allowing a portion of the cable to be exposed (a nod to the company’s very first headphones, the P5, which launched back in 2010) and at 310g, the Px8 S2 are actually just a fraction lighter and slimmer than the headphones they replace. Honestly, I can't find anything to pick fault with – except that the real leather won't appeal to vegans.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are a lot lighter, at just 250g. To be honest, they’re lighter than practically every price-comparable rival I can think of – even my trusty (and also five-star) Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 are 330g, and because of this the Bose cans are a truly comfortable proposition even for hours of listening. The material that covers the ear pads is actually synthetic leather this time too.

These headphones also fold in on themselves to the point that the semi-hard travel case Bose supplies is helpfully smaller than most alternatives – which the B&W cannot do (although the cups do rotate to lie flat). Despite the amount of movement available in the frame, the QC Ultra II never feel flimsy either.

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2) are available in five colorways, but the review sample I heard was a rather uninspiring ‘white smoke’. The alternatives (‘black’, ‘midnight violet’, ‘driftwood sand’ and ‘desert gold’ do have more impact though, and the brightwork at the headband adjustment mechanism and yokes is much, well, brighter than in the inaugural Ultra Headphones.

Do I get that same true pride in ownership with the Bose cans? Not quite, in all honesty – but that doesn't mean it's a clear win for the B&W in this instance. How to score this category, then? If you like dashing good looks, it's got to be the B&W, but if you want lightness and better portability (and quality 'pleather' rather than the real stuff), it's the Bose.

• Design winner: it's a tie

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): value

This is always a very difficult category to judge, partly because the competition at the level is so stiff. For $449 / £399 / AU$699, for example, you could buy the Sony WH-1000XM6 – ie. the same as the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but the Sony flagship headphones are sitting pretty at the top of our best headphones buying guide – and recently won TR's Best Wireless Headphones of the Year Award.

Additionally, even the above fee is more than you’ll have to pay for models like the older first-gen. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and roughly the same amount as the older Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. which, if it's purely value-for-money you're after, might be the deals to look out for as we inch towards big deals events.

But that's not really what 'value' means, is it? It's a horses for courses thing. For me, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 sound so very good that they're worth the extra outlay over the other products mentioned in this piece – but I prioritize sound quality when listening to music and always have done. Also, I have several music streaming services (all the better to test things with, my dear) at my disposal, and the Bowers & Wilkins 'Music' app gets them all together so I can quickly stream whatever I need.

That said, those who take regular flights want the best ANC they can possibly find and here, Bose takes it – and I've been told it's hard to put a price on arriving from the red-eye but actually, you did get some sleep. Similarly, wheat Bose has done with immersive audio here shouldn't be underestimated: if you like cinematic theatrics, the Bose set has got 'em and then some.

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen): verdict

I know I said I'd give my verdict, so for me it's the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. I love the superior sound; I love the look; I love the comfort and the way I feel when I'm wearing them. I also prefer the app. But there's a very compelling argument to be made for spending less and getting better ANC, a foldable build quality, a design that's kind to animals and offers immersive audio profiles – aka, there's a strong argument for choosing the cheaper Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).

Yes, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 snuck in and won our Headphones of the Year Editor's Choice Award not 10 days ago, but this isn't the end of the discussion – far from it in fact. What do you think, reader? Which model is your clear winner? Let me know in the comments – let's make this a group discussion.

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