[Citsur86]

  The P7 wireless has been a huge success for B&W.  I was just on the phone with them inquiring why they were out of stock.  They informed me that sales have greatly exceeded their expectations and they got caught short with production.  They do not expect any more inventory, either for themselves or for other retailers, for at least one month.  Crutchfield is also out of stock - Amazon was out of stock a while ago however now appears to have a few.

I've truly enjoyed them since I got them.  I often listen to them in wired mode in order to use my DAC, but they are exceptional in wireless as well. I think they strike the perfect balance and retain the B&W signature warm sound I love.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  The P7 wireless has been a huge success for B&W.  I was just on the phone with them inquiring why they were out of stock.  They informed me that sales have greatly exceeded their expectations and they got caught short with production.  They do not expect any more inventory, either for themselves or for other retailers, for at least one month.  Crutchfield is also out of stock - Amazon was out of stock a while ago however now appears to have a few.

I have a feeling the head-fi effect had something to do with the success of the P7. If the head-fi community gets behind a product that is a huge boost as this community if not the most influential site for those doing pre-purchase research, has to be one of the very most influential.

 

[ubs28]

Not really. Only 74 pages so it's not head-fi that is causing it. It is probably because every review site pretty much says it is the best wireless headphone that money can buy.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Not really. Only 74 pages so it's not head-fi that is causing it. It is probably because every review site pretty much says it is the best wireless headphone that money can buy.

I don't think the page count matters, when many people do research, they likely come here as well as other trusted sites. It wouldn't take a prospective buyer 245 pages of blather to make up their mind, I'm quite confident this community is an essential part of headphone gear web research. I'm not saying head-fi does it all, but it does without a doubt factor in significantly. Let me ask you, how did you become a member here? Were you researching a headphone by chance? Innerfidelity is of course another big Internet community and I'm sure reddit makes a difference as well, but I still think that head-fi occupies a pretty important place in this market. Doesn't seem to be hard to fill the web site up with advertising which is cewrtainly a proxy for determing the relative clout a site may have.
 
Edited to be more balanced

 

[Balleratt]

Well, they did launch the P7 Wireless just before major companies started to remove the audio jack from their flagship models


And the P7 Wireless just happened to be a damned good pair of portable headphones anyways ! I use it on a daily basis with my iPhone 7!

 

[kurochin]

  I don't think the page count matters, when many people do research, they likely come here as well as other trusted sites.

 
You overestimate the human race. There are actually millions of people in the world who don't even realize they're on the internet while they use Facebook, believe it or not. Most just get word from the social network groups/cliques they follow. From there, they might click/tap a link that opens a tech site review or headphone comparison/shootout, or perhaps a Facebook or Youtube video. They'll pretty much make up their mind after that. Head-fi is for us nerds with no life.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
You overestimate the human race. There are actually millions of people in the world who don't even realize they're on the internet while they use Facebook, believe it or not. Most just get word from the social network groups/cliques they follow. From there, they might click/tap a link that opens a tech site review or headphone comparison/shootout, or perhaps a Facebook or Youtube video. They'll pretty much make up their mind after that. Head-fi is for us nerds with no life.

So you don't think that head-fi is at all influential in helping consumers make purchasing decisions?

 

[kurochin]

  So you don't think that head-fi is at all influential in helping consumers make purchasing decisions?

 
No, I do, just not to the extent you say, and definitely not directly. The Youtube vloggers and tech sites that helped the ATH-M50 sell so well might have stumbled onto head-fi or Tyll's site in the early days while they were doing research, but their readers/viewers who ended up buying the cans most probably don't even know we exist.
 
It mostly depends on price points. Anything under $200 would probably get more marketing via general tech mags/sites and even general consumption news outlets, along with the social channels these establishments spread their news with. The midrange $200-$500 category would probably fall under the lifestyle category, gaining interest via said lifestyle publications, Apple-centric publications/blogs (because Apple is more lifestyle centric these days), and probably tech sites and Youtubers as well. Exceptions being the pro oriented offerings in that price segment which tend to get a bit more traction here, but generally get last word via the more pro oriented forums and publications. Head-fi opinion probably has bigger influence over +$500 segment, which is generally a price range where interested parties would be inclined to do more personal research, though we have to bear in mind that people who spend that much on headphones are of a small minority.
 
Someone wanting to buy a Focal flagship would definitely visit Head-fi, even if he/she first heard about it while reading The Verge. For headphones like those from the B&W P series or B&O offerings, I wager most of the coverage these companies get come via lifestyle related sites/blogs/vlogs and social feed aggregations, with the reviews of the Bluetooth models in particular capitalizing on Apple's timing to ditch the 3.5mm jack, even if wireless headphone sales in the first-world already starting catching up to wired headphone sales a couple of years prior to that.
 
The only general influence/opinion overlap I've seen over the last couple of years has been between Head-fi and certain Reddit groups. Reddit as a whole is pretty much a crapshow though, so I don't think we should be too proud about that.

 

[buzzlulu]

Where are the microphones for telephone use located on the P7 wireless?

 

[kurochin]

  Where are the microphones for telephone use located on the P7 wireless?

 
Mine are at the office so I can't check to be certain, but if I'm remembering correctly they should be somewhere next to the volume rockers. I think.....

 

[buzzlulu]

Are they those microscopic holes - smaller than a pin hole?  They are also on the left ear cup

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
No, I do, just not to the extent you say, and definitely not directly. The Youtube vloggers and tech sites that helped the ATH-M50 sell so well might have stumbled onto head-fi or Tyll's site in the early days while they were doing research, but their readers/viewers who ended up buying the cans most probably don't even know we exist.
 

Well, you raise good points, but I still am pretty confident that head-fi is an influential site, most definitely for mid to high priced gear, that is a certainty, and very likely for even modest priced gear. I see links to head-fi threads all over the Internet, even in other review communities and Amazon reviews. Cheers.

 

[Ryxx]

Well, you raise good points, but I still am pretty confident that head-fi is an influential site, most definitely for mid to high priced gear, that is a certainty, and very likely for even modest priced gear. I see links to head-fi threads all over the Internet, even in other review communities and Amazon reviews. Cheers.

Well I would say head-fi is at least somewhat influential as I ordered a set of P7W after reading about 40 or so of the pages of this thread during my research on them. I received them and was listening to them by the time I got to around page 70 or so lol.
I am not sure how much this thread has influenced the overall number of sales for the P7W, but it helped sell at least one pair and now I have joined this site just to reply in this thread Xp

 

[Sonic Defender]

Well I would say head-fi is at least somewhat influential as I ordered a set of P7W after reading about 40 or so of the pages of this thread during my research on them. I received them and was listening to them by the time I got to around page 70 or so lol.
I am not sure how much this thread has influenced the overall number of sales for the P7W, but it helped sell at least one pair and now I have joined this site just to reply in this thread Xp

Awesome, glad to know that for you at least head-fi helped you make a purchasing decision. I know when I joined here (previously lurked first for a time) the community really helped me make purchasing decisions, almost all of them without being able to audition the gear before taking the plunge. That is in my mind the strength of head-fi for research, if you are patient often you can read quite a bit about gear from many different perspectives before purchasing it. Sure the pro-review sites are useful, but often they represent a single persons views so I do tend to prefer the much greater diversity found here. I also don't put as much stock in Amazon reviews because typically it is very difficult to know anything about the reviewers whereas here, not always, but often you can get a good feel for the people and whether or not they value the same sonic attributes that you do. So how are you enjoying the P7?

 

[Ryxx]

So far I am liking them a lot, I already owned a set of P7 wired and I started using them at work around the beginning of the year. I decided to look into the wireless version as the wired ones were inconvenient at work but did like the P7 sound. I started researching weather or not the wireless held up to the originals and that's when I came across this tread.
I would say the P7 wireless are a fair bit better then the original wired version and I am glad I made the upgrade. When at home I will occasionally use them wired with my pono player as they do sound there best wire, but it is great to be able to just throw them on and have great sounding tunes whenever I want. I am usually using them wirelessly as they still sound great and it is just so convenient