Introduction
Bowers & Wilkins has a new successor for the Pi5 S2 and Pi7 S2, named the Pi8. And the Pi8 is just a little bit different… but absolutely better. How? You can read that in this review!
Specificaties
Let’s start with the specifications:
Drive Unit: 12 mm carbon cone driver
Chipset: Qualcomm QCC5181
Bluetooth standard: 5.4 / SBC / AAC
Codecs: aptX Classic / aptX Adaptive (up to 24-bit/96k) / aptX Lossless (16-bit/44.1k)
Battery life: 6.5 hours (buds) / 20 hours (buds + case) 15 minute charge = 2 hours playback
USB charging: Yes (USB-C, fast charging support)
Wireless charging: Yes
Microphones: Three microphones per earbud for calls and ANC
Voice call quality algorithm: Alango VCP
Discrete DSP: Yes
Discrete DAC+amp: Yes
EQ : Yes (5-bands with True SoundTM bypass)
L-R earbud transmission: TrueWireless Mirroring
Wear sensor: IR (Hybrid IR + Cap sense TBC)
MFi pairing & app match: Yes
Multipoint: Yes (2 devices)
Case retransmission: Yes (aptX Adaptive)
Eartips: 4 pairs (XS, S, M, L)
Waterproof: IP54 (buds only)
Dimensions (case): 65 mm (w) x 29 mm (d) x 52 mm (h)
Colors: Anthracite Black, Dove White, Midnight Blue, and another color which comes out in September.
EAN: 0714346345670 Anthracite Black
Or in a different view:
Unboxing
Time to unbox the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8.
The most important things about these earbuds are shown on the side of the box:
– Wireless Charging
– CD Quality lossless audio
– Active Noise Cancelling (ANC)
– Up to 6.5 hours play time (for the earbuds). The case can charge for a total of 13.5 hours, so you should be able to play music for about 20 hours.
Of course, Bowers & Wilkins also supplies a lot with the Pi8, such as manuals, USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to 3.5 inch jack cable (and this is a really nice addition) and 4 different eartips – so that the in-ears can really be customized to your preferences.
The Pi8 comes with medium tips as standard. L, S and XS are still available.
And then the most important thing… The Pi8 itself. And that… that looks very nice. I also like the fact that it’s not that flat as the Pi7 S2 was. In addition, the Pi8 earphones have been completely redesigned, to also be able to give the maximum pleasure to the users.
The back of the Pi8 is less exciting, but that is not so bad in my opinion. It just looks chic.
On the inside, the two earphones are magnetically attached to the case. The flap, before you can open the Pi8, is also magnetically attached. Next to the two magnets, there are also the pins for charging.
And charging… the Pi8 can certainly do that! With 15 minutes of charging, you would be able to play two hours of music. This is tested with ANC on.
And then the earphones themselves. And let’s be honest. They look beautiful, don’t they? I think they look really chic. Neat and of high quality.
There is a kind of glass layer on the outside. And that same outside (where Bowers & Wilkins is also depicted) is also touch-sensitive. Yes, you can pause, play, etc. with a light touch.
There are also holes on the side where the microphones are for ANC and calling are hidden. The Pi8 is also splashproof (so walking around in a light drizzle won’t hurt it). Besides that, it’s also sweatproof so you can go nuts in a gym. And let’s face it… this is just a set of earphones that you want to use whilst working out. The quality of the audio is so great that you get into a trance,… well… let’s head to the gym and push yourself to new heights.
What sometimes is forgotten is how important it is to have small filters in the ear tips. Because there are filters in the ear tips, it is possible to easily replace the ear tips with clean ones… and so there is no earwax or other junk anywhere. There are brands that do not put small filters in the ear tips, so everything accumulates/stacks up in the earbuds themselves. And that… you just don’t want that. +1 for Bowers & Wilkins.
App
Connecting the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 is just easy. This can be controlled via the famous ‘Music’ app from Bowers & Wilkins, but I went via the tourist route where I opened my bluetooth settings on my phone. The Pi8 popped up immediately – especially the first time. Within no time I had a connection with the earphones.
The Music app will give you a message that the Pi8 can be set up. You will then be asked to tap one of the earphones.
Ready to use the Pi8!
The app can explain the functions and the how to use the Pi8.
At the top you can easily adjust the noise suppression (ANC), transmission or off function.
To play or pause, press the left or right earbud once.
To play the next song, press the left or right earbud twice.
And three times will play a previous song.
When you receive a call, press a left or right earbud once.
You can reject a call by double-clicking and holding the left or right earbud.
This also applies to ending a call.
ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) can be activated by pressing and holding the left Pi8 for one second.
Voice assistance, such as Siri, can be activated by pressing the right Pi8 for 1 second.
Since my Bowers & Wilkins Music app doesn’t have a radio station or podcast set yet, I’m going to search for some music first. In this case… Heldeep Radio (yea… what else).
Just adding it to my library… and you’re done…!
In the app there are different categories: Music, Podcasts and Radio. In this case, podcast falls under.. yes you guessed it!; podcasts.
In this case, the last 20 episodes are in the Oliver Heldens app. When you click play, you actually get the question where you want to play it, certainly very handy if you have multiple Bowers & Wilkins products. I pressed the Pi8 and almost fell over of shock.. What a sound..
The settings menu provides some more options and information about the Bowers & Wilkins devices and, for example, which services are connected (in this case TuneIn).
In the case of the Pi8, we can adjust the ANC here, adjust/set the EQ and, in addition to the paired devices (such as your phone) or even adjust the touch controls. I’ll go through it briefly. Don’t forget, the wear sensor can be activated or disabled as well.
In my previous reviews I sometimes suggested an EQ with the Pi7 and Pi5 S2’s, in this case they really made an EQ possible in the Pi8. This way you can easily adjust the lo, lo-mid, mid, hi-mid and hi. In addition, there is an option for True Sound.
As mentioned, the app can also be used to manage which devices are connected to the Pi8.
Touch control allows you to choose how the earbuds react when the left or right earbud is touched. In this case, there are two options.
Either ANC and voice assistant .. or volume control. The last one makes it possible by lowering the volume by clicking the left earbud, or increasing it by clicking the right Pi8 earbud.
If desired, the Pi8 name can also be customized, to for example: Dutchiee.tv-what-an-awesome-pi8-review
Sound quality and usage
The Pi8 is developed by the same team that developed the Px7 S2 (from my last review) and Px8. However, the Pi8 does have a completely different driver than the older Pi5 S2 (9.2 mm driver) and the Pi7 S2 (9.2 mm driver + balanced armature).
The Pi8 has a 12 mm carbon cone driver. And that… that is just better. And you can hear that too. Cool enough, the Pi8 also has the option to adjust the EQ in 5 ways.
The sound of the Pi8 is deep, full and beautiful. I have – of course – listened to Oliver Heldens & Nora and Pure a lot (podcasts), but also a lot of music via Tidal. Like Lifeforce Part II by The Comet is Coming to At Last by Etta James – and many many more music.
It seemed like they put the Px8 in the Pi8, so much great sound. And funnily enough, they used the carbon cone, which is also in the Px8. And you can hear that.
The USB-C to 3.5 jack can also be used to play audio from a music system, such as connecting it on an airplane so that you can watch a movie. In the case of a USB-C device, such as a laptop, a USB-C to USB-C (cable also included) connection can be made to the case. The case will then play the audio back to the in-ears.
One of the most awesome use-cases I had with the 3.5 jack is that I could simply use it on a PlayStation 5. I used the SONY DualSense Edge contoller and was able to have a chat with my mates, play a game and even listen to Spotify (which sounded GREAT compared to the shitty Sony headphone). The Sony headset can simply go back in the closet for me, the Pi8 replaces it… COMPLETELY!
The in-ears have 6.5 hours of battery life and the case 13.5 hours, making a total of 20 hours. And that is pretty crazy. These figures are measured with the ANC on. I measured about 19 hours and fifteen minutes with the earphones. And that is from turning on music to stopping and putting them back in the case.
The audio quality of the in-ears during calls seems to have improved compared to the previous versions. But I actually had no problems there either. I can have a good conversation without any problems – where even the other person indicates that they can understand me well. The included advantage that the range of the in-ears is really masterful, you can also easily walk around without having to hold a phone to your head. And I am already such a walker when I make calls – I like it. Ideal with earphones in. Calling via Microsoft Teams also went well, people could understand me well, and as mentioned; via the PlayStation (or possibly any other console) as well.
The infrared sensor ensures that it can quickly be noticed when an earphone is removed from an ear. These sensor modes can also be switched off via the Music app.
The advantage that a user has with this is that when you want to talk to someone and take out one of the Pi8s, the music is automatically and immediately paused. This way you can easily have a conversation without shouting.. wait a moment and then look for your phone to pause it.
Active Noise Cancelling.. that is also present in the Pi8. There are two different ways, transparency mode (useful if you are walking on the street and want to be able to hear the traffic), or just full ANC where everything is muted.
Still, I have to admit that the ANC is quite good for in-ears. But in my opinion not as great as the Apple AirPods Pro 2. During the tests, they seem to be able to hide office noise (around) 10% more.
I mainly noticed this in a gym, the Pi8 covers well so that you really get into your own world, the AirPods Pro 2 does just a tad better (however the audio quality of the Pi8 is way better which compensates for the ANC, listening to music anyway…).
The Pi8 is IP54 certified, so it should be able to withstand (some) rain and sweat. However, they are not waterproof, so don’t go diving or swimming with them.
Conclusion
Bowers & Wilkins sent me the Pi8 a little over a month before launch (to review and to keep – Bowers & Wilkins will only see this review when it goes live (hi!), and has no say in my opinion), so I’ve had just a month to play with these earphones. In that month I have to admit that I was quite surprised by the quality of the Pi8. I had the opportunity to test the Pi7 and Pi5 before, but the Pi8 is really a better version of these two. The 12 mm drivers sound really clear. It’s really amazing what kind of great sound comes out of these small in-ears.
The Pi8 was developed by the same team (Southwater Research & Engineering) that also launched the Px7 S2(e) and Px8. And those two scored – not without reason – very well! The Pi8 will do the same, I am absolutely sure.. because I’ve tested it.. 😀
The Music app from Bowers & Wilkins also works really well. The app can even be used to control an entire audio library, from radio stations to podcasts, it’s all possible.
With the Pi8, Bowers & Wilkins has gone even further than before. A new fit, which is actually even better, multiple options, such as an EQ and even 4 different ear tips to make the Pi8 fit in every ear, and a longer battery life. And that… that alone is progress. But then the most important thing about audio products, the sound quality: and you can actually be quite clear about that… there is really a lot of sound, the lows are really unimaginable for in-ears. I notice that they go lower than my AirPods Pro 2, the highs sound crisp and the mids are really wonderfully present. In the month that I was able to play with these in-ears, I actually started using my Apple AirPods Pro 2 less and less. And that, while I have quite a bit of Apple equipment and it is actually easier to connect to your Apple in-ears, says a lot! I still choose the Pi8. It sounds just that little bit better. And I am a sucker for quality.
I have been staring at the screen for 10 minutes and thinking about what else I could say about these in-ears. But I have actually said everything. I currently have the earphones connected to my PC via the 3.5 inch jack, just for fun… and it all worked immediately… and without any problems. Currently Charlotte de Witte is playing on the background and I am finishing up my review.
I am simply a big fan of the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8, and that is why this one deserves the full 5 stars 100%. What a sound! Can it be better? I don’t think so…
