If you commute around with a McLaren GT or McLaren Speedtail, you’d be able to immerse yourself in the audio bliss of Bowers & Wilkins. But if your daily ride is the graffiti-covered train on Line D of the New York subway, then your best bet is the Px8 S2 McLaren Edition. Three years after the last over-ear collab, the British audiophile brand and the British hypercar maker have returned with a new set of premium head-clamps, and this time, it looks like McLaren actually signed off on the styling instead of sending polite emails.
The new Px8 S2 McLaren Edition is technically an evolution of the Px8 silhouette, but don’t let that familiarity fool you. The S2 is far more unapologetic about its McLaren DNA. Gone are the tiny, polite hints of papaya from before. Now, the entire ear cup cover is drenched in McLaren’s signature color, and the vents from the previous model have vanished. Even the braided cable that snakes through the headband and into each ear cup gets the papaya treatment. An open cable channel on each headband base makes sure everyone who passes gets a good look at this beautiful Papaya cable.
The look is completed with Anthracite Gray Nappa leather, metallic papaya ear cups, and an embossed McLaren logo on the headband. There’s no mistaking these for anything else. You could leave them on a table next to a pile of other premium cans and a stranger would still point at the S2 and say, “That one belongs to the person who names their luggage after Formula 1 circuits.”
Of course, this isn’t just a fashion statement for McLaren diehards. Under the hood—or in this case, under the papaya—audiophiles will find B&W’s best wireless sound to date. The Px8 S2 McLaren Edition packs two 40 mm full-range carbon drivers, high-performance DSP with a dedicated amp and DAC, true 24-bit audio, five-band EQ plus TrueSound mode, and support for aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Classic, AAC, and SBC.
Eight microphones (four per ear cup) power ANC and call clarity, backed by ADI Pure Voice tech. Battery life is a solid 30 hours, and a 15-minute charge nets you seven more hours—enough for a short flight or a very long commute where you pretend not to hear anyone.
Connectivity includes Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint, USB-C audio, fast charging, Apple MFi support, and Google Fast Pair. A carry case and two 1.2 m cables (USB-C to 3.5 mm and USB-C to USB-C) round out the kit.
If your dream is to bring McLaren energy to your train ride, office grind, or late-night editing session, these headphones will gladly help you cosplay as someone who just parked a 765LT outside.
The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 McLaren Edition is available now for US$899.
Images: Bowers & Wilkins.