B+W P5 Wireless

[bkharman]

Some of you might know that I am a bit of a tech nut... well I just took delivery of my Bowers+Wilkins P5 Wireless headphones.  All I can say is "wow"!  These things sound great wired (had a pair for a few years) but I needed to have a bit more flexibility for conference calls and such and the P5s performed well over the years, but these BT ones are amazing.  I can tell a bit of a difference in highs and lows throughout the range when I plug the wire in but all in all, for a BT headset, they are truly unbelievable.

I have a pre-order (actually just a hold) for some 800 D3's due later this year (after we finish building my house) and I cant wait.  I love music and listening to it on these things has renewed my faith in wireless technology.  Pairing was simple, controls are intuitive with my iPhone and Mac and now all I need to do is make myself a new hanging stand for my desk and perhaps a travel box made of wood for them, instead of the bag it came with (which is nice, but it is just a bag, not a case).

If you are in the market for some stellar headphones, look no further!  As soon as they were delivered, I loaded up my old standard... Violator from Depeche Mode.  I slinked back in my chair, and everything melted away for about an hour.

Not a sales pitch... just a mini review!

Cheers.  Bryan.

 

[Kev]

This may sound like a strange "benefit" but for some reason my son simply destroys headphones. As a result I seem to have developed a symbiotic behaviour of regularly trying new ones and passing the "old" on to my son.

The P5's have been on my "maybe list" for a while. FWIW I hate the Bose sound and I'm not a fan of the thump thumps either. I found the P5's to be very clear when I last listed to them, but I didn't have any of the music I like to use as a reference when I was listening ... probably the only reason I didn't pull the trigger.

Most recent pair I've purchased are Harmon Kardon corded noise cancelling headphones. I'm not a fan of noise cancelling headphones, but these were a good compromise while I was stuck in a noisy office space.

What I'll say from my very brief exposure to the P5's was that they felt very comfortable and the sound quality was also very good (could have been "great" but I couldn't be sure). Downside to me was the relatively poor passive isolation .. this can be a good or bad thing depending on use. If you want to completely block the outside world out in a noisy office - bad, if you want to tinker round home or use them out and about - good.

[member=21412]bkharman[/member] did you try the wireless P5's against the corded ones? .. I haven't tried the wireless ones. Be really cool to know if there was a perceivable difference in audio quality.

 

[bkharman]

This may sound like a strange "benefit" but for some reason my son simply destroys headphones. As a result I seem to have developed a symbiotic behaviour of regularly trying new ones and passing the "old" on to my son.

The P5's have been on my "maybe list" for a while. FWIW I hate the Bose sound and I'm not a fan of the thump thumps either. I found the P5's to be very clear when I last listed to them, but I didn't have any of the music I like to use as a reference when I was listening ... probably the only reason I didn't pull the trigger.

Most recent pair I've purchased are Harmon Kardon corded noise cancelling headphones. I'm not a fan of noise cancelling headphones, but these were a good compromise while I was stuck in a noisy office space.

What I'll say from my very brief exposure to the P5's was that they felt very comfortable and the sound quality was also very good (could have been "great" but I couldn't be sure). Downside to me was the relatively poor passive isolation .. this can be a good or bad thing depending on use. If you want to completely block the outside world out in a noisy office - bad, if you want to tinker round home or use them out and about - good.

[member=21412]bkharman[/member] did you try the wireless P5's against the corded ones? .. I haven't tried the wireless ones. Be really cool to know if there was a perceivable difference in audio quality.

Hey Kev!

I have the older P5s (have had them for about 4 years) but not the second series of them. The new ones are a bit heavier and with the cords in, they sound about the same. Since I just got these, they haven't "warmed" up yet but after this weekend, they should be there.

Without the cord, the mids are a bit heavier and the highs aren't as crisp but you really have to have the right music and ears to really pick it up.

I will do a recap next week but this thing coupled to my iPhone all day went for about 11+ hours and the battery has about 40% left. Says it can do 17 hours but I did pause the music and skip tracks quite a bit.

If you pick up a pair Kev, don't let your son touch them!!

Hope all is well down under. This is my favorite time of year down there.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[bkharman]

After about a week, these things have warmed up a lot. Great fidelity and range!

Hope some others give them a try. Cheers!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kev]

After about a week, these things have warmed up a lot. Great fidelity and range!

Hope some others give them a try. Cheers!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[member=21412]bkharman[/member]

Good to know ... tell me, did you every try the P7's at any stage?

(Obviously more for sitting than being active)

 

[bkharman]

[member=21412]bkharman[/member]

Good to know ... tell me, did you every try the P7's at any stage?

(Obviously more for sitting than being active)

My buddy has a pair of P7s in his man cave... they obviously sound great, but you are right... for moving around, they are not.  They arent overly heavy, but the over the ear style is great for truly immersive sound, and passive noise cancelling, but these are not far off.  42mm drivers in on the ear headphones is nothing to sneeze at!

Cheers.  Bryan.