Over-Ear
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
85Outstanding
$800
Full review dataBowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs XK Audio Serene: which should you buy?
Specs, scores and condensed review verdicts for the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 vs XK Audio Serene, side by side. Where a product has no HearWiki score yet, not enough reviews have been aggregated to rate it.
Score breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 leads on 7 of 7 measures.
- Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
- XK Audio Serene
HearWiki score
85
-
Sound
9.5
-
Noise cancelling
8.0
-
Battery
8.5
-
Calls
7.0
-
Value
5.5
-
Price (USD)
$800
$970
Generation & platform
The scores rank quality. This is the other question: is the newer one actually newer technology, or the same platform in a new shell?
Same generation
Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 (2026) against XK Audio Serene (2025). These are the same generation of hardware - nothing in the radio, the codecs or the noise cancelling separates them. The platform is level; the newer hardware shows up in convenience features instead - the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 adds USB-C.
- Px8 S220261 yr newer
- Serene2025
What differsPx8 S2Serene
- USB-C
- Yes
- No
Everyday features
Specifications
Px8 S2Serene
- Type
- Over-Ear
- Over-Ear
- Price (USD)
- $800
- $970
- HearWiki score
- 85
- Not scored
- Released
- 2026
- 2025
- Availability
- Sold new
- Sold new
- Driver
- 2× 40 mm dynamic
- 90 mm planar magnetic
- Driver type
- dynamic
- planar
- Driver size
- 40 mm
- 90 mm
- Drivers per side
- 2
- -
- Frequency response
- -
- 5 Hz - 80 kHz
- Impedance
- -
- 45 Ω
- Sensitivity
- -
- 85 dB/mW
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- -
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless
- -
- Multipoint pairing
- Yes
- -
- Battery life
- 30 h
- -
- Battery life (ANC on)
- 30 h
- -
- Quick charge
- 15 min → 7 h
- -
- Wireless charging
- No
- -
- Active noise cancelling
- Yes
- -
- ANC type
- hybrid
- -
- Transparency mode
- Yes
- -
- Companion app
- Yes
- -
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- -
- Wear detection
- Yes
- -
- Controls
- buttons
- buttons
- Voice assistant
- Yes
- -
- Weight
- 310 g
- -
- Foldable
- Yes
- -
- Detachable cable
- Yes
- Yes
- USB-C
- Yes
- No
- Connector
- USB-C
- -
- Balanced connection
- -
- Yes
- Microphones
- 8
- -
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