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If you want a wired, on-ear headphone built around a Hi-Fi-style drive unit and leather-and-aluminium construction, choose Bowers & Wilkins P5; if you need wireless freedom, active noise cancellation and a 30-hour battery, choose Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins.
• Bowers & Wilkins P5 — biggest strength: a wired, on-ear design with an all-new drive unit, acoustically optimised ear-pad grilles and a 3.5 mm jack, so there is no battery to manage and no pairing to fumble with.
• Bowers & Wilkins P5 — biggest trade-off: it is a wired headphone with sound isolation rather than active noise cancellation, and the on-ear fit is a very different feel from an over-ear cup.
• Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins — biggest strength: over-ear cups, active noise cancellation with adjustable external mics, Bluetooth 5.3 and a 30-hour battery with quick charge support.
• Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins — biggest trade-off: it is a renewed unit carrying a 90-day limited warranty instead of the 2-year parts-and-labour coverage that comes with the P5, and its frequency range tops out at 20 kHz rather than 40 kHz.
• Who each pick is for: the P5 suits the listener who wants a simple wired connection and Hi-Fi-tuned drivers; the renewed Px7 S2 suits the commuter or traveller who wants wireless, ANC and long battery life.
The P5 Series 2 is the wired, on-ear option, and it is unapologetic about it. The headline is the drive unit design, which Bowers & Wilkins says is built to move the way a Hi-Fi speaker driver moves — more precise, more controlled. The ear pads use an acoustically optimised grille pattern so air can pass through freely and acoustic impedance stays low. Whether or not you buy the marketing language, the engineering story here is a headphone tuned by people who think about speakers first.
In day-to-day terms, that means a 3.5 mm jack, a remote-and-mic cable plus a universal cable in the box, and a quilted carry case. The remote and mic work with a long list of Apple devices, from iPhone 3GS onward through iPod Touch, iPad, iPod Classic, Nano and Shuffle. There is no charging routine, no pairing screen, no firmware. You plug in and listen. The quoted frequency range runs 20 Hz to 40 kHz, which is a genuinely wide span for a wired on-ear.
Who should skip it? Anyone whose main listening happens on a noisy train or plane. The P5's noise control is sound isolation — passive blocking from the pads — not active noise cancellation. And if you hate cables, this is simply the wrong product. The on-ear shape also presses on the ear rather than surrounding it, which some people love for portability and others find less comfortable over long sessions.
Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins: Who It's For
This is a renewed Px7 S2 in black — an over-ear, wireless headphone that has been through Amazon's renewal process and carries a 90-day limited warranty. Underneath the renewal label it is still a Bowers & Wilkins product, with a redesigned acoustic system, an all-new angled drive unit design and a more powerful motor system compared with the earlier Px7.
The features that matter most are the ones the P5 does not have. Active noise cancellation built around two adjustable external microphones, which also sharpen voice clarity for calls. Bluetooth 5.3 for the wireless link. Over-ear cushions made from technical fabrics with lightweight polymer arms, shaped to fit a range of head sizes over long stretches. And battery: 30 hours of playback from a two-hour charge, plus quick charge support that the spec sheet describes as 7 hours of playback from a 15-minute top-up.
Setup is app-driven. The B&W Music App on iOS or Android lets you adjust EQ, switch between ANC modes and enable voice control, while a multi-function button on the ear cup handles everyday commands. In the box you get a 1.2 m USB-C to 3.5 mm cable and a 1.2 m USB-C to USB-C cable, a protective case and the literature pack.
Who should buy it? Commuters, office workers and travellers who want to disappear into their music on a plane or train and take calls without reaching for a phone. Anyone who wants one headphone for the whole day without hunting for a charger.
Who should skip it? Buyers who insist on a factory-sealed unit and a full multi-year warranty. The renewal status and 90-day coverage are the real conditions of this deal, and you should be comfortable with them. Also note the frequency range tops out at 20 kHz here versus 40 kHz on the P5 — in practice both cover the audible band, but the P5's quoted extension is wider.
• Best for battery life → Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins. 30 hours of playback, with 7 hours from a 15-minute quick charge.
• Best for call quality on the move → Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins. Two adjustable external microphones with active noise cancellation.
• Best for plug-in-and-play simplicity → Bowers & Wilkins P5. No pairing, no charging, just a 3.5 mm jack and a cable.
• Best for noise on a plane or train → Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins. Active noise cancellation versus passive sound isolation.
• Best for long listening sessions → Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins. Over-ear technical-fabric cushions are designed for extended wear.
• Best for a wired Hi-Fi tuning → Bowers & Wilkins P5. Drivers built around a speaker-style design with a 20 Hz–40 kHz quoted range.
• Best for repairability → Bowers & Wilkins P5. Magnetic ear pads detach so you can replace the cable or the pads alone.
• Best warranty comfort → Bowers & Wilkins P5. Two years parts and labour versus 90 days limited on the renewed unit.
If I were buying for myself and my listening happened mostly at home or at a desk, I would take the Bowers & Wilkins P5. Wired, no battery anxiety, magnetic pads I can service, and a tuning story rooted in speaker design — that is a headphone I keep for years. But if I needed one pair for commuting, flights and calls, I would pick the Amazon Renewed Bowers & Wilkins without hesitation. The active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.3, the app EQ and that 30-hour battery simply do more for a mobile listener. Just go in clear-eyed about the 90-day renewal warranty. And check the current price on Amazon for both before you decide.
It is a renewed unit rather than a factory-sealed one, and it carries a 90-day limited warranty instead of a longer new-product term. The model underneath is the Px7 S2 with its full feature set — ANC, Bluetooth 5.3, 30-hour battery and app EQ.
No. Its noise control is sound isolation, meaning the ear pads passively block some outside noise. There is no active noise cancellation and no battery-driven processing.
The P5 connects via a 3.5 mm jack, so you would need an adapter on phones that dropped the jack. The included remote and mic are supported across a long list of Apple devices from iPhone 3GS onward.
For travel, the renewed Px7 S2 is the stronger pick in my opinion: over-ear cups, active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.3 and a 30-hour battery with quick charge. The P5 is the better choice for quiet, stationary listening.
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