Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 Blue

These Bowers & Wilkins earbuds have strong noise cancelling and immersive sound. Unfortunately, I often have to charge the earbuds due to the short battery life.

Sound quality The earbuds have a balanced sound profile. This allows me to hear all three high, mid and low tones clearly. I can hear even the smallest details in music clearly. Think of a bass line in rock music or a background choir in rap. This makes my favourite playlist on Spotify not only sound balanced, but also detailed. In the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, I adjust the sound preferences. I think this app works simply. For example, when I listen to house music, I emphasise the bass, which makes this music style sound more intense and I can fully immerse myself in it.

Noise cancelling Thanks to the in-ear design, I already hear less of my surroundings. I enhance this by turning on noise cancelling. This means that, for example, in a busy office, I hear less of the colleagues talking around me. I like this because it allows me to focus better on my work. Do I want to hear my colleagues? Then I switch on the transparency mode. In this mode I hear ambient noise as if I don't have earphones in. I can also hear my music clearly. This is nice when I'm walking in the city and want to hear the traffic, for example.

Design At 7 grams, these earphones are heavier than those of competitors, but I don't notice this when I use them. They sit firmly in my ears. This is also due to the in-ear design that goes completely into my ears. This allows me to listen to music for a long time without them being annoying. Unfortunately, the battery life of these earphones is short. I often have to charge the earphones in the charging case in between.

For me, the sound is the main reason for buying these in-ears. The sound is simply unparalleled. This is of course what B&W is also known for. The B&W Signature is all over, let's say. This is the difference between hearing sound and really enjoying what you hear. I have had multiple headphones and in-ears in the same price range, but these have their own category. I only bought these because of the sound. For calling and ANC I have other in-ears. Yes, you can call and when it is quiet, but with some noise in the environment it goes wrong and the other party cannot understand you. My experience is also regular interference, such as links that suddenly do not work, or a strange glitch in between and that is something that is not acceptable in this price range. Also, the occasional and too strong peak in the high frequencies that then comes across as too shrill, are things that are a shame. Fortunately, you can set this in the app. At the moment I don't think they are worth the money, because there are still too many bugs that make even the strong points (sound) not always work well. I hope for an update, otherwise they will go back. It feels like buying a Porsche, where the engine regularly acts strangely, which gives the whole a different experience, while the potential is clearly there for top performance. On the other hand, when the bugs are fixed, these in-ears will really put a smile on your face, for those who enjoy music. These are earbuds, where I noticed that I really wanted to take the time to just enjoy music, so beautiful! I wish that for everyone. But according to B&W I would say, there is still work to be done besides the music quality. The charging box is also functionally not handy and/or premium made. I miss a high-end touch of beautiful materials as well as a flat side so that the box can stand. Now the box can only lie down, which will damage it unnecessarily and quickly. The battery life is also below average, especially in this price range. It may sound like "whining", but I am really a fan of these in-ears and enjoy the sound. But I am writing this for everyone who wants to buy them, so that you know what to expect. While writing this review, I have had 4 malfunctions.... But when they do work well.... fantastic! Bittersweet, let's say.

The sound of these in-ears is impressively good (spacious, sufficient bass, plays loud and clear at low volume), really very good. But....the big disadvantage of these in-ears is the very bad (bluetooth) connection. The first week I was really annoyed by the bad connection. Constantly resetting, deleting the link, logging in again and that every time you want to use the in-ears, really veeeeery annoying. Strangely enough I read almost nothing about this on the internet. Now I have had several wireless in-ears in recent years, but never one with such a bad (bluetooth) connection. I did notice that when you open the smart case you should not immediately remove the in-ears, but wait until the green light comes on. The connection is often better, but unfortunately not always and also not very stable.