Bowers says that its latest efforts here boast "significant advances in overall sound quality" compared to the outgoing Px7 S2, a key contributor to that progression being "extensively upgraded DSP" thanks to the learnings from the flagship Px8. The company says it took our (very minor) criticisms of the Px7 S2 onboard to refine the sonic formula, too, and believes it has opened the sound up a little. Bowers & Wilkins understands its strengths and plays to them, especially when it comes to design. The Px7 S2e are about carefully specified materials that are carefully assembled and deliver an aesthetic that’s just the right side of opulent. There's no doubting these are Bowers & Wilkins headphones, as the branding on both earcups tells you – I'm not sure it's totally necessary, but this is a prestige brand. They come with a carrier case that is so great for travel too. I feel like the case will protect them very well even if I decided to put them in my normal luggage and not my carry on. The rest of the drive unit is relatively unchanged bar tweaks to the motor system to account for the reduced mass of the new cone.

With 30 hours of listening from a single charge, you can enjoy the experience for over a day at a time. Both pairs feature equally intuitive controls, whether that's on the headphones or using the same B&W smartphone app. Both pairs are very comfortable to wear too, though those with larger ears might find the earcups on both a little snug. With the batteries charged up I finally slipped the power switch to on; and having a physical switch is a delight from pressing a button from a random amount of time. I put them on and ran them through my headphone test playlist, have worn at home and walking around the city for a few days too. The PX7s have three modes – low, medium, and high – that you can cycle through by pressing the dedicated button on the left earcup, while a fourth, activated by holding down that button, helpfully lets the outside world in for a moment so you can hear, for example, a train platform announcement.Fast charging is available to speed up the charging process: 15 minutes equals 5 hours of use. The WH-1000XM4 gets you the same playtime in 10 minutes, but you won’t even notice the longer wait time. I would have loved to see B&W either bundle or sell a charging case for the PX7 Carbon Edition, much like Bose did with the 700, or integrate wireless charging like the Marshall Major IV. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Carbon Edition review: Call quality and connectivity

It’s also ill at ease with wind noise, an using them on the Jubilee line – which is one of the loudest – they weren’t as effective at reducing the whistling noise of air through the tunnel. There is, at least, no perceptible whine when noise-cancellation is engaged, or any change in the performance audio, but weren’t as proficient as the WH-1000XM3, and since then the XM4 have come out as well as the QuietComfort 45 and Technics EAH-A800, all of which are better than the PX7. Cranked up to full volume for the experience the detail doesn’t disappear, though bass becomes a little more prominent. They go far louder than I could stand for a long time.

Should you download the Bowers & Wilkins Headphones app?

Ultimately, though, we have to go with our established five-star favourites. The Px8 are a razor-sharp, refined and deeply musical listen, and with the extra cash spent on refining them to become the best they can be, they just about take the win here. I think what Bowers & Wilkins has long said about its ANC approach is that it doesn't want to go overboard. These headphones are about delivering a hi-fi clarity and pureness, so to push ANC to the nth degree would impact that sound profile – and that's just not what this brand is all about. Fancy that? Go buy the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. Class-leading insight – both in terms of texture and dynamics – appears to come easily to the PX7s (and there’s no shortage of it), but unlike some headphones that over-scrutinize at the expense of liveliness, they don’t get too bogged down with the details. In our original review, we lauded the wonderful Px8 over-ears for being "hugely capable performers that justify their price with a combination of build and sound quality that cheaper alternatives just can’t match". It's praise that remains well-earned, with B&W serving up a pair of performers with a sonic profile that treads the tightrope between clarity and dynamism with total ease. They're a real sonic delight.