Things didn’t get off to a good start when I first got a pair of Bowers & Wilkin Pi8 earphones out of their beautiful box. The review unit failed to connect to my Samsung A54 phone on Bluetooth, and even with the B&W app downloaded, the earphones couldn’t pair up.
Only after a couple of resets did they finally register on my phone. Even after that, the Pi8 had the occasional connection issues – one time, the earphones just stopped playing a Tidal track and were unceremoniously disconnected.
During the week or so that I had the Pi8 on, there were a few more annoying disconnections, until the problem seemed to resolve itself eventually, for some reason.
Suspecting the issue could be my Android phone, I also connected the B&Ws to a test laptop that was new out of the box. They worked well there as well.
It may be that I had a rare problem but I bring this up this because others have had connectivity issues as well. If you can overcome them, as I did, then you’d enjoy a well-designed and great-sounding pair of true wireless earphones.
I just wish they were perfect out of the box, just like the shiny pieces of jewellery they aspire to be, when placed on David Beckham’s pretty ears.
There are four colours to choose from – black, blue, green and white – and each one is great looking. My review unit is in midnight blue and the earphones have universal appeal.
Each ear bud weights 7g, which is featherlight. You can wear the Pi8 for hours and be comfortable, say, on a flight or after hours of working in the office.
The 46g charging case is simply designed and exude the simple B&W elegance known throughout its hi-fi components, from its famed floorstanding speakers to soundbars.
As you’d expect from B&W, sound quality is the biggest selling point here. Top-notch imaging is what I quickly notice when playing a range of musical content on the earphones.
Whether you’re playing a live concert with thousands of spectators or a quieter studio recording, the instruments and vocals are clearly defined and well fleshed out.
In other words, the earphones help your mind create an imaginary stage, where each member of a band is adding to the tapestry of an audio recording.
Detail extraction is another big plus for the B&W Pi8. They are well tuned to push out nuances in each recording, from the “background” bass guitar in a rock concert to a sharp draw of breath from a singer as she launches into the next line of a song.
Play a jazz track, such as Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby, or Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster’s Blues for Yolande. You’d hear all the instruments, yes, but also get caught up in the musicality of the moment, perhaps even tapping your feet along the way.
The detail and definition here, fortunately, do not result in an overly etched-out sound. Like earlier B&W headphones and earphones I’ve listened to, the company’s signature tuning is here. It’s a little more rounded but not bloated.
Clarity and transparency are still apparent, though I’m usually a bigger fan of those qualities on Sennheiser earphones and headphones.
To be sure, when I first put on the Pi8, I could notice the difference from what I’ve been used to on my Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones. Not apples-to-apples comparison, but the tuning is clearly different.
On the Pi8, you can hear the heft of a bass note, despite the small size of ear buds. It’s amazing how B&W’s 12mm “carbon cone” drivers are able to fire up the bass while keeping the vibration from getting out of control.
I play the soundtrack for the Tenet movie, which features bass-heavy tracks and dynamic transitions, and I’m impressed by the fast attack and the reach of the B&W earphones.
They manage to extend to the low notes well enough, expand to a decent scale, and still deliver good definition. Transitions from loud to soft, and back, are also seemingly effortless, betraying little loss of control.
What about vocals? Try out Adele’s version of The Cure’s Lovesong and the vocals come across intimate and close-up, as the track demands. Or listen to Leonard Cohen’s deep, baritone voice in Going Home and be spellbound.
In terms of audio quality, the B&W Pi8 are among the best true wireless earphones I’ve heard. They deliver a fuller sound than many rival flagship models, and do so without sounding veiled or lacking definition.
I’d add that the active noise-cancelling is excellent as well. During my tests at my desk, I could barely hear myself typing or my kids calling me! I didn’t try the earphones on a plane but I’m confident they should provide a good seal from outside noise.
Speaking of that, your experience with the Pi8 depends a lot on trying out the different ear cushions – the default is M but you get L, S and XS as well.
For me, the M-sized ones made the left earbud sound a bit louder than the right (I even adjusted the left-right balance on my phone to compensate).
However, putting on the S ear cushions made both channels sound a lot more balanced. They also made the bass less boomy, which I prefer. So, make sure you try out the earphones at the store.
If you’re thinking of the latest Bluetooth codecs, know that the Pi8 will work with aptX Lossless as as well aptX Adaptive. That’s great if you have a rather new Qualcomm-based Android phone. For other makes, the B&W earphones also work with AAC and SBC codecs.
They are also rated IP54, which means you can wear them out for a jog even during a light shower and not worry about damaging them.
B&W says the Pi8 can play for 6.5 hours with active noise-cancelling on and my experience is close to that as well. Great for flights to neighbouring countries from Singapore.
Frankly, if you said tiny earphones could sound so good a few years ago, I’d be incredulous. Today, digital signal processors (DSPs) and amplifiers are so advanced they can be tuned so close to perfection by audio engineers.
In summary, I’m deeply impressed by the audio quality that the Pi8 can deliver though I’m surprised at the connectivity issues.
The mobile app doesn’t help this by frequently failing to detect the earphones, even though they may be connected to my phone.
The equaliser settings are also not as impactful in changing the sound characteristics, unlike the more detailed and tweakable options from, say, Sony. Perhaps B&W engineers are so sure you’d like how they’ve set up the Pi8.
Another thing I wish to bring up is the price. Though the B&W Pi8 earphones cost US$399 (S$525) in the United States, they are retailing for a much higher S$699 in Singapore.
For comparison, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are going for S$309 now and the Sony WF-1000XM5 cost S$329 in Singapore. Both are top-notch alternatives to the Pi8 that cost less than half the price.
That said, give the B&W earphones a listen at the shops and see if the sound quality is worth that much more. For me, that’s the one thing that makes the Pi8 worth checking out, despite imperfections.
