Audiophilepure

The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are everything you would expect from a company like B&W, they have what I think of as that classic B&W sound, smooth mellow highs, and solid bass, very reminiscent of the classic 801 loudspeaker that made them famous. Yet they also reflect that elegance that is the modern B&W speaker like the Nautilus. Comfortable and versatile they are the perfect on-the-go headphone, as well as great for doing chores around the house.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/bowers-wilkins-px8-headphones-review

Even without looking at, feeling, or listening to the Px8, there are so many things I love. I truly love that they have button controls instead of touch pads on the earcups. I end up accidentally doing “something” when wearing touch-pad headphones– advancing a track, pausing, adjusting volume, whatever, when I was only rubbing my ear or moving my hair. I love being able to assign different functions to the Quick Access button. I love the pass-through ANC mode. And I love the high-quality streaming function. And did I mention how much I love how they look, feel and sound?

They are expensive and have extravagant finishes. But you really do get what you pay for. With the Bowers and Wilkins Px8, you get luxurious ANC headphones with exactly the sound quality you would expect.

The DCA EXPANSE features DCA’s 4th generation planar-magnetic driver and their breakthrough Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (see the next chapter). Other key elements are the V-Planar driver processing, which improves bass response and lower distortion, as well as DCA’s TrueFlow V2 technology. The latter increasing the resolution and improving dynamics in general.

The driver inside the EXPANSE is a 76mm x 51mm single-ended orthodynamic one, and the drivers are matched (0,25dB weighted 20-10,000Hz). THD is less than 0.03% 20-20KHz, ref. 1KHz at 94dB. The EXPANSE driver has a 23Ω impedance, with a sensitivity rating of about 86 – 87 dB/mW. The DCA EXPANSE is designed and built by hand in San Diego, California, USA.

The Stealth and EXPANSE headphones in my opinion are super cool and unique in sound, and I hope this review will bring over that feeling. The part on AMTS, used inside the EXPANSE, comes from DCA directly. Feel free to skip to the next part if you’re already familiar with it.

First of all, I have to note these headphones have a very high sensitivity rating, making them quite easy to drive. While they are pretty forgiving regarding the source, they clearly sound their best with better gear. As I went up the ladder with DAC/Amps, I was able to get greater levels of detail and separation out of them.