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I’m a headphone guy. Throughout the years, I’ve always been a fan of Sony’s WH-1000XM series. Starting from the WH-1000XM2, I’ve been buying (and using) every nearly single iteration of them as soon as they come out. Unfortunately, my WH-1000XM5 broke recently. Yeah, very sad. I was looking for a replacement when TC Acoustic emailed us and asked if we’d love to give the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds a go.
Hallelujah!
So I kicked poor Sky aside and jumped in line. It helped he was still overseas on holiday after our Tokyo Game Show stint last month.
I’ve now been using the earbuds for the better part of two weeks.
What exactly do I think of them?
Read on and find out!
What is the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds?
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds are Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship earbuds model.
They are available right now from TC Acoustic’s website for SG$699 right now.
Here’s the part where I spill all the technical beans about the earbuds. I could write them up and reword them…but I won’t.
Instead, enjoy these specs taken directly from Bowers & Wilkins.
Note that you do not want to use these earbuds if you’re doing strenuous stuff. They feature water and dust resistance, but are not weather sealed. If you sweat buckets or get water into them (perhaps from the rain), chances are that they will go kaput.
If you’re afraid of spending mucho bucks and not getting a good fit, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds have you covered on that front. They come with a couple of different ear tips, so they should fit most ears with no issue.
I used the default tips and had zero issues with comfort or fit.
In fact, out of the handful of earbuds I’ve tried, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds are probably the comfiest to date! The tips just slid in and settled snuggly without any issues. I used them for hours after, and didn’t once get any itch or the discomfort.
Far from it, I completely forgot I was wearing them a couple of times. They’re that comfortable.
Unfortunately, there’s a severely downside to the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds, especially if you’re coming off headphones like I am. They only have a battery life of about 6 and a half hours.
Yeah, I’m used to my audio stuff lasting days without a charge and the 6 hours (and change) battery life didn’t sit right with me at all. In fact, my first go with the earbuds had them dying at around the 5 hours 50 minutes mark. A bit short of the reported time, but maybe the configuration hassles I went through earlier contributed to my shortened battery life.
The second time was a bit longer. I clocked the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds staying up to the 6 hours 20 mins mark before going down. All this is with ANC activated mind you.
Oh yeah, I had a hell of a time configuring these earbuds to use with my Android Samsung Fold 4. They were detected fine and connected without issue…for one of them. The other (the right earbud) had no sound at all, but was connected. I know this because the tap commands registered well enough. It just produced no sound.
I tried connecting them to my laptop too…with the same results there as well. The left earbud produced sound, the right had nothing. Defective I thought.
I was about to return the earbuds for another pair when I decided to try pairing them with my wife’s Xiaomi phone. I didn’t know why I did it, but I’m glad I did because both sides produced sound after pairing! When I tried them with my phone and laptop, the sound came out of both earbuds too!
To date, I still have no idea what happened with the right earbud.
I don’t know why it decided to work after I paired it with my wife’s phone or why it didn’t work initially. If you buy the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds and have issues with an earbud, you might want to try pairing with another smartphone, just like what I did. It fixed the issue for me, it might do the same for you!
To be fair, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds are super easy to connect. You just place them in the opened case, and hold the top part of the buds for a couple of seconds. When the light on the case starts to blink, you’re in pairing mode and good to go!
Super easy, super fuss free and worked like a charm for me on every single machine I decided to pair the earbuds with. It’s also worth noting that the earbuds can be used on two devices at the same time. I bound them to my notebook and mobile phone and used them interchangeably.
The sound intelligently switches to which device I’m using most times.
If I play a Youtube video on my notebook, the earbuds will automatically play that. If I change back to the DoubleTwist Player (the music player app on my phone), it’ll change over without missing a beat.
I really appreciate how seamless it all is. I don’t have to keep messing with settings or press buttons to change connections or anything. It’s so cool.
I’d also like to highlight that the top of the earbuds also function as shortcut controls.
You can pause music, skip forward or back or even turn off the ANC with just a few taps on the left or right earbud. Unfortunately, there’s no volume control shortcut (or a way to configure one via the app) so you still have to use your connected device to lower or raise the volume if you need to.
I also miss the Sony WH-1000XM5’s ability to stop music when it detects I’m talking. Unused to being without that feature, I kept expecting the music to stop whenever I’m talking to somebody outside. Be it to thank a cashier, or to ask somebody a question or any other vocal interaction. It’s a sorely missed feature that I thought would’ve come standard in premium audio devices by now, considering how old the WH-1000XM series is.
Now that the earbuds were working right, I finally had the chance to try them out.
I’ll admit, I was impressed.
I tested the earbuds with a variety of different tracks, all Hi-Res audio in FLAC.
Here are the tracks (with the appropriate Youtube link for reference) that I used:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night OST – Prayer
Final Fantasy VII OST – Aerith’s Theme
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children OST – Advent: One Winged Angel
Anubis: Zone of the Enders OST – Beyond the Bounds
Man in Black II OST – Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head)
Nightwish – Sleeping Sun
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope OST – The Throne Room and End Title
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata)
Martika – Toy Soldiers
Like a Dragon Gaiden OST – Baka Mitai (Extended Version)
V6 – Change the World
Takashi Sorimachi – Poison
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty OST – Main Theme
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater OST – Snake Eater
Aimer – Re: I Am
New Sakura Wars OST – Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan -Shinshou-
Manowar – Die for Metal
John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads
Dolly Parton – D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
WWE / Motorhead – Line in the Sand (Evolution)
LiSa – Homura
Aliza Mizuki – Heaven Knows
Various – We Are The World
Tina Turner – Goldeneye
Ozzy Osbourne – Road to Nowhere
Ranging from Power Metal to Instrumental to Pop to Jazz to Techno, I put the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds through the wringer testing its mettle.
Paired with the Bowers & Wilkins app, and you have a decently versatile pair of earbuds that you can customize to a decent degree.
The sound the earbuds delivered was solid, yet nuanced.
Minute details that can easily get lost in the mix with cheap sound hardware becomes easy to pick out and focus on. For example, Taffy Nivert’s background vocals on Take Me Home, Country Roads. So easy to just pluck out from the song and concentrate on her performance.
Advent: One Winged Angel was undeniably the standout of the bunch. Its mix of rock and orchestra means two genres are represented in one song. Here, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds truly showed its versatility. The bass was amazingly deep and rich, which really impressed me the most. You really have to listen to the song with the earbuds to appreciate it.
There wasn’t any distortion or hissing or any sort of audio issues that I came across when listening with the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds. Believe me, I tried hard to find any. Real hard. Couldn’t find anything.
On the flipside, the mics embedded in the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds are great too. I made calls in the midst of crowds in Orchard Road to test it out. The mics had zero issue capturing my voice (despite the cacophony of noises all around me). My voice came through crystal clear on the other side, and there were zero issues making out what I was saying.
The ANC is pretty good too.
I walked around town wearing these and they blocked out the ambient sounds rather well. Not as good as the ANC in the SONY WH-1000XM5 but for earbuds, they come real close.
Instead, the only place that Bowers & Wilkins drop the ball is with the case.
Saying that it is a tremendous letdown is just scratching the surface.
It just doesn’t feel premium at all. Made of hard plastic, the case doesn’t have any indicators (other than the one light that signifies status) or notable feature save for the USB Type-C port for charging. No battery display, nothing. It’s doesn’t even protect from drops to hard surfaces.
For what you’re paying for these earbuds, I’d have expected something.
You know, to see that money you’re spending being represented somewhere. Some sort of drop protection perhaps, or a metallic case or even a feature to dry out sweat. These aren’t imaginary features too; they’re all implemented in some way or another in some of the other premium earbuds that want your money.
Instead, the case looks like something a sub-$100 pair of earbuds would come in. The kicker here is they’d probably function similarly too!
It’s not all doom and gloom on the case front thankfully.
It does carry the earbuds snugly (thanks to a super strong magnet that draws them in to it tight) and there’s no rattle or anything when you shake them. That’s great, because you don’t want your earbuds jostling around (and not being charged) if you’re moving the case.
You’re not buying maracas after all.
That doesn’t excuse the material or lack of features but it’s something right?
The Bottom Line.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds delivers on its promise of great sound quality.
No matter what genre of music you’re into, the earbuds can handle it and reproduce it superbly. Whether it’s crystal clear vocals, or deep bass or the twang of a guitar, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds has its job down pat. You really can’t go much better than this for premium audio.
The ANC is admirable too. It’s not the best I’ve heard, but for earbuds, are superb. I’ve not had the chance to try them on a flight yet so I don’t know how they’ll perform on a plane though. Still, I don’t have any doubt that they’ll do pretty well considering their performance in real world tests.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t really deliver on its promise of being a premium audio device. Audio performance is a big factor in that, but it’s not the only factor.
In this case (pun intended), it’s the case that holds the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds back from its premium status.
The plastic it’s made from and its lack of features seems out of place with the earbuds’ asking price of SG$699. When you’re paying a premium, you’d expect to get premium quality, premium features and premium looks in return!
Here you only get the first part and that’s not enough when you’re considering shelling out so much. It might seem like making a big deal about something so small, but when you’re pitching something as a premium device, everything about it has to be up to snuff.
If you’re looking for a pair of great sounding earbuds, then by all means consider the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-ear True Wireless Earbuds. The sound quality alone is worth it. However, it’s by no means a perfect package due to the disappointing storage case.
TLDR:
Premium earbuds with excellent sound that’s pair with a pathetically bad carrying case.
The Good:
- Great sound reproduction.
- App allows for sound calibration.
- ANC is pretty good.
- Comfy and snug fit.
- Able to seamlessly switch between two devices.
- Fast charging.
The Bad:
- Charging case looks cheap, has barely any features.
- No way to customize shortcuts.
- No volume shortcuts.
- No automatic mode change when talking.
- Only about 6 hours of runtime.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
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