P5 Series 2

I've now purchased the wired P5 series 2, and the P5 wireless (recertified). I'm happy with both. For reference, I also own the Sennheiser HD650 and the Bose QC35, and I've previously owned Audio Technica ATH-AD700 and Shure SE535 (relatively high-end in-ear monitors) and a few less notable headphones and earphones. SOUND QUALITY The P5s sound great. The lowest bass frequencies are a bit pronounced, but not anything like Beats by Dr. Dre. In contrast, the Bose QC35s accentuate the higher frequencies. The Senn 650s are the most neutral sounding of the three. The P5s need break-in. The sound quality is disappointing right out of the box. Plug them into an old iPod and let them run overnight and they'll sound better the next day. The Sennheiser headphones and every good pair of speakers I've ever purchased also sounded disappointing out of the box and way better after 20 hours or so of break-in. The P5s are very clear and have a nice soundstage--both wired and wireless. You can hear the space between instruments, you can hear the bow of the violin on the strings, the airiness of flutes and saxophones, the pluck of an acoustic bass. But when the music is busy and complex, for example when everyone in an orchestra is playing simultaneously, you lose some of the separation with the P5s and the music sounds a little bit like a big wall of sound rather than a large number of distinct voices--this is true for every headphone in this price range, in my experience. The more expensive Senn 650s are better at letting you hear the individual instruments when many are playing simultaneously, as in a big orchestra. I think the P5 sound quality is very very good for a headphone in this price class. But I don't think it's audiophile quality, as some reviewers here suggest. Some reviews say the P5s are the best headphones they've ever heard. Almost every pair of headphones will have some reviews that say the same thing. You have to ask yourself what kind of headphones did they have before? What are they comparing them to? If a person has only ever used the cheap earbuds that come with an iPhone, or a $40 pair of headphones, then of course the Bose will sound amazing. People tend to "buy up," in other words every headphone they buy is better than the previous one (it wouldn't make sense to buy one that's worse than the previous one), so most reviewers are comparing their newest headphones to their previous ones which were cheaper and not as good sounding. That comparison doesn't do you much good, though, especially if you are accustomed to better headphones than the reviewers. BLOCKING OUTSIDE NOISE The P5s have no active noise cancellation. But for an on-ear headphone, they passively block out a lot of external noise. Not as much as the Bose with active noise cancellation--this is Bose's one true advantage, outstanding active noise cancellation. But I think the P5s sound better than the Bose, and sound quality is more important to me than noise cancellation. BLUETOOTH Bluetooth pairing is easy, including to multiple devices. The bluetooth connection of the P5 Wireless is perfectly reliable, whereas with the Bose QC35 randomly drops the bluetooth connection for 1 or 2 seconds--not often, maybe once or twice an hour at the most--a minor annoyance about the Bose. All bluetooth headphones run on internal rechargeable batteries. Battery life is excellent on both the P5 wireless and QC35, I've never run out of battery charge. However, each of these headphones includes a cord so you can use the headphone as a wired headphone in case the battery charge runs out. Also, the sound quality is slightly better with the cord than via bluetooth for both headsets. LOOKS Looks are subjective, and looks are less important than sound quality for most people, but they're somewhat important to some of us. I think the P5s look even better in person than in the photos, while the Bose QC35s look about the same in person as in the photos. The P5s are made of real leather and chrome-looking metal. The QC35s are made from some kind of composite material that Bose says is stronger than plastic--but it looks like plastic. The Bose are cheaper looking than the P5s. COMFORT The Bose are, physically, more comfortable to wear than the P5s, but the P5s are nonetheless very comfortable to wear for hours-long listening sessions. The P5's earcups are memory foam covered in soft, nice leather. At first, both sets of the P5s clamped a bit too tightly on my above-average-sized head, but after a week or so of usage, they stretched just a wee bit and now the amount of clamping is perfect: tight enough to keep them very stable on my head, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. PORTABILITY The P5's are also light weight and fold nicely into their included travel bag. Great for traveling. I expect the more expensive B&W P7s have better sound quality, but they are definitely bigger and heavier--especially the wireless version--and portability is important to me. So, the P5 (wired & wireless models) are perfect for me. The Bose QC35 are equally portable. The Bose comes with a hard shell carry case while the P5s come with a cloth case. The hard shell is more protective, but heavier. The cloth case that comes with the P5 has a diagonal quilt pattern. Some people might think it looks a bit feminine, like a purse. RECERTIFIED I bought the P5 Wireless as a recertified/refurbished unit and saved $60. The refurbished ones look, work, and sound indistinguishable from new; the only way you can tell they are refurbished is the box they come in is more plain-looking and says "re certified" on it, making it less giftable. SUMMARY Of all the headphones I've owned in this price range, the P5s have the best sound quality, good comfort, great looks, and the P5 wireless works great and is the best-sounding bluetooth headphone I've ever heard (but keep in mind that I have not yet heard the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless, maybe you should check out that model, it gets very good reviews from owners and from professional review websites like What*Hifi). But if you are accustomed to audiophile-level sound quality, you might look at headphones in a higher price range. Maybe the B&W P7 or the Oppo PM-3 or better headphones.

I have used Sennheiser 598s for a couple of years now for general-purpose home listening, and wanted to try a pair of closed-backs to compare. I had my eye on the Beyerdynamic 770s, when I came across the B&W P5 S2 in my local Best Buy. I was able to audition them, albeit with some bland "world muzak" on a demo loop, and was mightily impressed. They were full price in-store, but the Amazon price was attractive enough to seal the deal. A few weeks in, and I am really enjoying them. The soundstage is narrower than the open-backed 598s (naturally), and they were a bit too bass-forward out of the box. But the treble is starting to open up nicely, and the mid-range is well-defined. These headphones are well made, with a "minimalist" design. Actually, I think they look very cool. I have a big head, and therefore have them extended fully, but the fit is comfortable. The pads just about cover my ears, and there is very little sound bleed in either direction. Not sure that these would be quite as portable in the "outside world" as some of the marketing suggests, but they are quite compact and fit nicely into the accompanying quilted pouch. The only slightly concerning aspect is that the cable is very lightweight and thin, and certainly doesn't give the impression of being anything approaching "audiophile" quality. I hope it's up to the task over the long haul, and it can be easily replaced. However, I would have expected something a little more substantial. At the end of the day it's the sound quality that matters - and the cable certainly seems to deliver on that front (note: I am using the universal cable supplied, not the one with mic/remote for use with a phone). Overall, I am very pleased with these headphones.

A friend recommended these for use (music only) with my 32 bit LG phone. The sound is significantly better than my "mid-fi" bedroom stereo which consists of an NAD cd player, a Kenwood receiver & entry level B&W speakers (the speakers are the best part of the system; especially the Kenwood isn't good enough to show off the speaker's quality). Until recently, I hadn't used headphones since I was a teenager; with that caveat these are the best headphones I've ever heard. Others I've recently owned or heard include the Skullcandy Crusher (terrible), iHome iB95BLC, Koss SP330, & the series 1 of this model. Really the only negative I can find is the headband piece is a bit small. If you have a large head, these may not work well for you. For me they're tight, but just on this side of acceptable. 3 other quick comments: 1. I had need to s/w B&W Customer Support. They were phenomenal. Best CS I've experienced in years. 2. I purchased this set from Amazon Warehouse. They were labeled "used, like new, includes packaging which may be damaged" They actually are refurbs. While some reviewers have criticized the refurbs, I think they sound excellent; + you get a 2 year warranty & 3 months of free downloads from the B&W store. 3. This is IMPORTANT: The only cosmetic difference between the series 1 & series 2 is the color of the Bowers & Wilkins metal name plate. Series 1 is silver, series 2 is black. Amazon sent me the correct series 2 as I ordered. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way trying to save a few $'s that most of the B&W's on a competitor's site that were labeled "series 2" were actually series 1, & their is a huge difference in sound quality. The series 2's are much much better than the series 1. Highly recommended, especially at Amazon's Warehouse pricing.

These babies are my third set of headphones in my quest to find the perfect headphones. Let me just start by saying that I absolutely love them! First I tried Harman Kardon NC Premium Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones. The sound didn't bowl me over. I'm not looking for booming bass or anything like that. I just wanted something that provided a clean, accurate sound. I found the Harman Kardon's sound to be a bit too thin for my taste. Additionally, even with the noise canceling feature on, I couldn't hear my music clearly while on the plane. I sent them back. Next, I tried the Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones. The first thing I didn't like about these is that, without the battery, they're useless. Secondly, the left headphone stopped working before I'd even had them for two weeks. Back they went. My next headphone was Beyerdynamic DT-880 Pro Headphones (250 Ohm). They're certainly not as sleek looking as the Bose or the Harman Kardons, but if they could deliver, I'd overlook their bulk and their cheap nylon bag carrying case. As I did with the other headphones, I took them on my next airplane trip. Unfortunately, they didn't make the grade. So much so that I ordered the Bowers & Wilkins before I even returned from my trip, and had them delivered to the hotel where I was staying so that I could use them for my return trip home. I already own a set of Bowers & Wilkins speakers for my home studio, so I was already a fan when the headphones arrived. When I pulled them out of the box, I was even more of a fan! They are the best looking headphones I've ever seen and fold in for easy transporting. As for the sound, in addition to being able to hear everything clearly during my 5 hour return flight home, I've also been using them to talk on my iPhone and to listen to music on my phone as well. Although they don't have to battery-draining "noise-canceling" feature of the other headphones, their "noise isolation" capabilities, in my opinion, work even better and I don't have to turn them on or off or constantly recharge or change the battery. I also love the smooth leather ear pads and the metal connectors. No plastic in these babies! They're the most expensive of the four I've tried, but definitely worth the extra bucks!

Great sound except there is a rattle on the left side under certain bass frequencies which I am disappointed about.

These headphones have a nice sturdy quality feel to them as I expected from Bowers & Wilkins. I have owned & experienced both their floor standing and monitor speakers for many years and have come to associate the brand with high quality sound when paired with quality tube (Audio Research) or solid state (Rotel,McIntosh not Krell) amplification. The P5 S2s sounded decent when plugged directly into my phones or computer, definite improvement from typical earbuds. Everything went straight to hell when I connected them to my Benchmark DAC1 HDR headphone amplifier. The already over emphasized bass became unbearable and the very limited soundstage collapsed altogether into an incoherent mess, definitely not a good match!!! I still held hope that maybe they would pair well with my Astell & Kern AK JR but unfortunately they were exposed even further especially when compared to my Grado SR80s and Philips Fidelio M1MKII headphones. Both were significantly better to my ears for less money as far as MSRP is concerned in every single audio criteria (bass,midrange,treble) so I strongly suggest you try with your music and amplification before committing to them. I have heard they come with a very nice case but I can't say because I bought these used and the seller neglected to include it in the package. Thank goodness I opted to purchase these on Amazon with the option to return which they will be today.

Excellent excellent headphones! Could not be happier! OK So... A little word of caution. I would place these headphones in the accurate / precise category meaning that if you like a lot of big, boomy, overpowering bass then these probably aren't for you, go for the Beats by Dre, LOL. If you're like me and like to hear every little detail and nuance then you will be very happy, I'm not saying there is no bass, the bass is accurate and punchy, not overpowering. Far and away the highest quality and most accurate headphones I have. From a build quality standpoint I would rate these as second to none. Apart from the insulation on the cord... there is no plastic on these headphones. The components that make up the structure are stainless steel and aluminum and the soft surfaces are leather. Honestly folks it really doesn't get any better than this. As for comfort, I have large ears and my complaint with most headphones is that there's always some little contact point that after an hour or so of having it on my ears let me know in a very painful way. Not the case with the B&W P5 Series 2's. Very comfortable, you can have them on for extended periods comfortably. Everyone's different so everyone's mileage will vary. Usability... The phones come with two cords, one standard stereo and the other is Apple compatible with mic and controls. I don't have an iPhone, I'm an Android user and while it does work, I can answer calls, hang up, speak but can't adjust the volume, not a show stopper by any means, but it would be nice if B&W offered an Android cable. This is something that would be very easy for them to implement given the awesome cord attachment design. After all... 70% of the cellphone market is Android. Guess we'll see if they're listening. In closing... Yes 5 stars, Yes, yes and yes. Go getcha some!!!!

Crappy headphones. Really crappy. Worth $25 at most.