Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphone, Black

Bowers & Wilkins has been around for over half a century and is still at the forefront of premium home audio. It all started in 1955 with some ingenuity and later the company was officially formed at the urging of an elderly lady (Miss Knight) who apparently had a good ear for quality audio. From the Bowers & Wilkins website:

Bowers & Wilkins is now a very large company, with distribution chains and customers all over the world. But it started life with John Bowers hand-assembling speaker systems for local clients in Worthing, West Sussex, in the back of the electrical store that he ran with his friend Roy Wilkins.

Today I'll be looking at the P5 Wireless on-ear headphones (from hereon known as the P5W) that boasts a 17 hour battery life and exquisite craftsmanship. But is it worth the hefty price tag? I'll let you decide.

Disclaimer
This sample was a loaner from Bower & Wilkins Thailand and will be returned to them. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

Thanks to Music+Cinema Thailand for arranging the sample. The P5 Wireless currently retails for around $299.95 on Amazon.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.net/



Packaging and accessories

The P5 Wireless arrived in a high quality, glossy, black box. On the front is an image of the right earcup and the brand name and model embossed in silver print. Inside are the headphones, sitting in a sort of rubberized foam tray. Take out the tray and underneath is a very classy fabric pouch that seals with a magnetic clip and has a diamond pattern stitching. It's a really nice pouch that looks and feels premium. It should provide some decent protection though obviously not as much as you'd get from a hard carry case.

There's a little inner pocket inside the pouch and in here you'll find an extensive user manual, USB charging cable and a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm audio cable for the headphone.

The supplied cable is very thin rubberized affair that is full of kinks and while it works as intended it looks and feels very cheap in stark contrast to the finely crafted headphones.



Build, comfort and isolation

Bowers & Wilkins are well known for creating quality products and it's easy to see with the P5 Wireless. From the luxuriously smooth, black leather headband and ear pads to the twisted aluminium arms these headphones are crafted from fine materials and build to last. They have an appearance that's classic yet modern at the same time and oozes with a timeless elegance.



The ear pads are attached magnetically and can be easily removed to reveal the drivers beneath. Inside of the left earcup is a cleverly hidden jack for the 3.5 mm cable that is not only stealthily minimalist and helps maintain the outer styling but also doubles as an enhanced form of strain relief.



On the back of the right earcup are the 3 control buttons (volume + and - and play/pause/answer calls). The buttons respond eagerly to your bidding without any delay. Under the left earcup is a dual purpose switch that powers the headphones on and off and puts them in pairing mode. Connecting is fast and easy and there are little audible cues to let you know the current status of operation. The P5W comes equipped with aptX for high quality wireless audio.



Battery life is rated at 17 hours and that's right on what I was getting from a single charge. If used for only an hour or two each day you can enjoy the P5W for weeks without needing to recharge the battery.

I found the P5W to be pretty comfortable to wear although it did take a little getting used to. The almost flat ear pads and considerable clamping force were a bit unpleasant at first but after a couple of sessions I guess the pads softened up a bit and my ears became accustomed to the feel. There's some nice padding on the underside of the headband that works well to distribute some of the pressure but most of it comes from the sides with the clamping force. At 213 grams the headphones feel light and fit securely even when moving around.

Isolation is a little above average for an on-ear headphone, with the genuine leather doing a good job of creating a solid seal. That coupled with the closed back style block out quite a lot of external noise. The P5W therefore is more than suitable for noisy environments and will do the trick if you feel like taking them outside with you.

Sound

Sources used for testing
ATC HDA-DP20
Acoustic Research AR-M20
Flac/Foobar2000 > Topping DX7 (USB) > P5 Wireless

An evolution of the P5 Series 2, the P5W carries over much of the former's audio attributes. It has a nicely balanced sound with a slightly boosted bass, great clarity throughout and a non-fatiguing signature.

Midrange has great clarity and a very clean presentation. There's a hint of warmth in the lower mids then a slight dip before it gains some more emphasis in the upper midrange. I found classical music in particular to shine with great tonality and realism.

Bass has some good impact and speed but a natural decay that adds some weight to the low end. It's only slightly boosted, adding to the mature signature the P5W portrays. A play through of Scarface's "Untouchable" reveals a sub-bass that extends surprisingly well and rumbles nicely in the earcups without upsetting the overall balance of things.

Treble has good extension and sounds great, sitting slightly behind the upper midrange. It doesn't have any noticeable peaks and is not sibilant or harsh. Cymbal sheen is well recreated and seems to hang in the air without rolling off too early.

Soundstage is pretty impressive with plenty of width and a good amount of depth. Listening to the live version of "Beethoven's Symphony 6" by Carlos Kleiber and the Bavarian State Orchestra gives a great sense of the area and collective instruments feeling rather epic. Imaging is also on par and distinctly indicates where different sections are.

Comparison

Thinksound On2 ($199 USD)

The On2 has a similar amount of bass but some extra warmth in the lower mids and more pronounced treble. Vocals sound a little more airy than the P5W which is a bit more intimate - This is probably likely to the On2 having much thicker ear pads adding space between the driver and your ears.

The P5W has an undeniably more premium look and feel but there is a certain charm to the wooden earcups of the On2. The two cables that come with the On2 are of a much higher quality than the weedy little one packaged with the P5W but in the latter's defense it is marketed primarily as a wireless headphone. With a much lighter clamping forces and thicker ear pads the On2 is the more comfortable of the two but there's not much in it.

I'd be happy with either of these headphones as far as on-ears go as they both sound great. The P5W has the added versatility of aptX Bluetooth so that could be a deciding factor for some.



Conclusion

So, is the B & W P5 Wireless worth the price? In a word, yes. The materials, high quality build and great sound all make it so. These headphones make a statement with their appearance and feel, something akin to designer watches or bespoke suits. Not only that but they sound great too. Throw in aptX Bluetooth and 17 hours worth of nonstop listening on a single battery charge and everything adds up to a fine product. For those not concerned with Bluetooth you can grab the P5 Series 2 for about $100 less. But if you're looking for a wireless headphone and have an appreciation for the finer things in life then be sure to put this one on your short list.

Hello Head-Fi! This time I'm going to review my wonderful but short-lived Bowers and Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones. A quick intro, this headphone is released around mid-2015 and is one of the newer pairs B&W in their headphone lineup. This headphone is based off of the P5 Series 2, which to me is a significant upgrade from the P5 Series 1 in terms of sound, but I'm going to go deeper later in this review, so legoo!!!
 
--BUILD & DESIGN--
This headphone, in my opinion, looks amazing. It easily was my most handsome pair especially compared to the other portables which I have. The design is sleek and modern, utilizing only leather and metal to show off their 'mature' and 'manly' look to them. The hinges are made out of metal and are twisted to give a unique look, with a cable running down from the headband to the earcup. The earcups and headband are made out of plastic on the inside, but are covered with luxurious genuine leather on the outside to give them a unique look and feel. The build for me is amazing and since the mainframe is made mostly out of metal, this headphone overall feels sturdy in the hand without any sign of creaking or squeaking when twisting them, and is perfectly okay to throw them inside a bag alongside your books or other stuff you might be carrying with you. Alongside the headphone you also get a cable, and yes the cable quality is very, very poor. It seems like a trend nowadays, where manufacturers provide their bluetooth headphones a crappy cable instead of their standard-issue cable found on their wired counterpart. However, this is not the case since ALL B&W cables are like this, wired or wireless. The cable is very thin with maximum flex, but as a result it does not get too bulky. The cable has a 2.5mm plug to the headphones and terminates in the standard 3.5mm, which means you cannot use this cable as an aux if u wish to do so. The cable overall feels cheap and not on par with the price you ay for the headphones, but that for me is a minor tradeoff, especially you won't need to carry your cables around anytime soon due to the battery life of this headphone which I will discuss later.
 
--CONTROLS & BUTTONS--
This headphone employs several on-board buttons and switches, and like my previous MDR-1Rmk2BT, are hidden on the backside of the headphones themselves. The main difference however, this headphone has all of its controls on the right earcup, with the left earcup featuring a hole which the cables run through if you wish to use it in wired mode. The controls consist of a power slider and volume controls which has the same design and operation as your standard 3-way remote found in most Apple-certified headphones. To power the headphone on just slide the power slider and it will actually wait for a paired device to pair. To pair a new device and make the headphone discoverable, hold the slider for 3-4 seconds and blue light will start flashing indicating that it is currently searching for nearby bluetooth devices. To power them off just slide them again as you would when powering them on and they should power off immediately. The best part about the controls however, is the multicolor LED indicator beside the power slider. It does not only tell you that it is paired and is on, but it also tells you your battery percentage which is cool. When battery is at FULL, the light flashes blue. when battery is at HALF, the light flashes yellow, and when battery is LOW, the light will flash red. This is very convenient especially noting headphones nowadays only warn you when the battery goes down to like 20%. Another feature which is present on the right cup are 2 microphones, and since this is a BT headphone, microphones are necessary to put on the cups themselves. One mic is on the upper-front end of the cup, and the other is on the bottom of the cup, close to the power button. Call quality is perfect, but sometimes it catches wind noise too much especially during winters.
 
--BATTERY--
This headphone has an amazing battery life. This might be a short section because there is literally nothing to discuss here XD. Nevertheless, the P5's battery lasts me a solid 17 hours when streaming on AptX and FLAC, but sometimes it varies by +- 1 hour. Charging takes me around 2-3 hours depending on the current of your charger, and it does not feature any sort of quickcharge feature so when u deplete the battery u gotta wait for the full charging time, which is a minor thing especially with 17 hours I only need to charge it once a week, never more (depends on usage tho).
 
--COMFORT--
This headphone's comfort is so-so, good at best. Don't get me wrong here, the earpads are actually one of the best on-ear earpads I have ever worn, with memory foam on the inside and luxurious sheepskin leather on the outside. The problem here, however, are the materials used to craft these headphones. While the headband is generously padded and the earpads again feel extremely soft, the overall metal mainframe causes this headphone to have maximum clamping force exerted on your poor head. The clamp is too much for my liking and with leather being steamy over time, after about 1-2 hours of use I noticed my ears kind of sweat, and this happens to me right now as I'm writing this review, even if its freezing cold right now. I am a guy who likes both on and over ear styles, and I usually have no problem wearing on ear headphones for a long time. This however, is an exception. Overall comfort feels okay at first since the pads and headband have enough padding to initially nullify the clamp, but over time it gets more and more noticeable and it will start to irritate you. To end this section I would say for people with glasses, please please demo this unit first (I usually see them on demo quite frequently) before actually buying them as when you put this headphone on, within 2 hours your glasses' frame will be implanted on your lower temples. Be warned.
 
--SOUND--
Now! the most important section of the review. Although I could tell some of you readers now would probably run away after reading my comfort section, I believe that some of u are actually still reading down, so here goes. This headphone employs a full-range 40mm dynamic driver, and again tuning is vastly different compared to the original P5. Before I break sound apart to the holy trinity (treble, mids, bass) I would like to describe the sound in one sentence: This headphone overall sounds dark and smooth, just like dark chocolate. Kicking off with the highs, the highs in this headphone is like the shy girl in class, and even though she might be smart or attractive, the wild, rowdy kids in the classroom will always take the attention away. Same goes with the highs in the B&W P5 here. It has good texture and quality, with string instruments being represented beautifully, having both very good texture without sounding too thin or 'metallic'. However, these qualities will vanish the moment bass kicks in mainly because they lack extension which prevents them from having this sort of airiness and presence to them. Mids in this headphone sounds natural with good tonality and balance. unlike most fashion cans nowadays, mids in the B&W P5 is not 'sucked-out', but compared with the original P5, it is a lot smoothed out and 'tamed'. The original P5 has a very forward mid section, and to me personally vocals tend to sound a little bit shouty, especially when listening to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" or Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer (ft. Katharine McPhee)". The mids now as I said before has been tamed to a very good level, with decent clarity and body, without sounding too forward/harsh on the upper mids. The lower mids however sounded a little bit thick to me, as I noticed that the tuning added this little touch of weight to them. This is by no means a dealbreaker, but again it sacrifices the overall clarity of the signature a bit to achieve this property. The Bass section is probably one of the best, especially for an on-ear pair of headphones. Imo, the bass here is better even when compared to Beats by Dre's offerings. The bass is perfect for EDM/Trance or any other dance music with deep beats, as attack is fast with a weighty punch to them, which I found to be very, very satisfying and will definitely please all those bass-heads out there. When playing tracks such as "Closer" by Chainsmokers or "Only Girl" by Rihanna, bass is very well pronounced with again that fast attack and deep punch, which will resonate deep down to your core with zero distortion lol. The problem however, is when listening to other genres of music aside from those aforementioned ones. When listening to jazz, slow rock, or several pop songs, the bass feels less resolving and lacks a little bit of quality, but contributes to the overall thickness of the sound. When listening to 91 Days ED "Rain or Shine" by ELISA in FLAC, the overall experience becomes thick and kind of muffled, with the bass guitar overpowering the other instruments involved. Coupled with the average soundstage, the music sounds congested and 'blurry'. This however, is almost impossible to notice as I only noticed this with only a couple of tracks (aside from the aforementioned track) in my entire music library. Soundstage wise this headphone is, I would say, average. Separation is OK but not great, and imaging is also OK. As expected of an on-ear headphone; nothing more, nothing less. Overall sound quality as I said before is dark and smooth, mainly because this headphone has an elevated bass section alongside the lower mids with gradual transition between them before laying flat on the mids-upper mids up to the treble section, making a sort of a flipped "L" or "J" when graphed. Technicalities aside, I found that this headphone is actually quite pleasing to listen to, and is suitable for today's modern genre. The smoothing also makes this headphone quite forgiving, which makes playback in any format and bitrate sound good, and it also reduces sibilance in tracks that would sound like so with other headphones. Another interesting thing about this headphone is that despite its dark and smooth character, I actually found them to be more transparent/clear than its predecessor, the 1st Gen P5, and I would say it is worth the upgrade. As for the wireless mode, the P5 actually sounds as good as wired! this is what I see lacking in many other brands, and is great to see that with wireless we don't have to sacrifice audio quality. 
 
--CONCLUSION--
To conclude this review, I would say that this headphone is a nice buy if you want a good mix between style and sound. The styling of these headphones is just out of this world and in terms of sound, as long as you are not being too analytical about them, they sound very very good and will definitely please most people out there looking for a stylish headphone which sounds good. At US$ 399 brand new, I would say that purchasing this product might require some thinking and saving, but to be totally honest with you guys, for me personally it is not worth the price tag of sub-400 dollar. I suggest you guys grab the "refurbished" ones which run for way way cheaper, but again that is if you guys could cope with some cosmetic imperfections along the way (mine did not come with any tho lol, its more like a 'chance' of receiving imperfections). Thank you for reading and I hope it helps you with your purchasing decision!

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Before I start my review, I would like to Thank B&W for providing me with a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.
 
Product website: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Headphones/Headphones/Headphones/P5-Wireless.html

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Today you can find a lot of headphones labeled as "premium", but not all of them could be considered as truly "luxurious".  If you narrow it down to what one might consider as premium-luxurious, it still doesn’t guarantee a great sound.  And if you prefer a wireless connection - you probably should brace yourself for more compromises and a very limited selection.  Out of the blue (at least it caught me by surprise), B&W just released a new Bluetooth Wireless version of their latest P5 Series 2 model with a checkmark next to all of these requirements.  Premium and luxurious is already synonymous with Bowers & Wilkins brand name.  I reviewed a number of their headphones in the past, and was always impressed with a quality of leather material, sexy wavy curves of chrome frame attached to earcups, concealed cable attachment (clever, but a bit time consuming), and a sound quality which I found to mimic analog tuning of full size speakers.  Their first entry into Bluetooth world with T7 speaker was quite impressive as well, thus Bluetooth wireless headphones made sense as the next logical step.  Here is what I found after spending over a week testing B&W P5 Wireless (P5W).
 
Packaging a gear in a black sturdy box has been a common practice with a lot of companies who want to underline premium quality of what to expect inside.  Often you are not going to see much on the cover of such "gift" box beside a company/product name, while in this case B&W put a bold picture of their P5W on both the front and the back sides.  No marketing hype, no functionality description, no specification list - just an elegant image of their headphones with captivating curves that draw you right in.  When you lift a cover, your unboxing experience is rewarded with a "jewelry" display presentation of P5W in its leather, metal, and chrome glory.
 
Unboxing.
 

 

 

 

 
 
With headphones out of the way, I was looking at a set of familiar P5 accessories including a quilted soft case and two sets of cables, except this time it was an audio headphone cable and usb charging cable.  Since smartphone controls are integrated as part of Bluetooth wireless functionality, you no longer need a cable with in-line remote/mic, thus only an audio cable was included (3.5mm side to your source and proprietary 2.5mm to a hidden jack inside of earcup).  Typical of many other wireless headphones, P5W offers both wireless and wired connection if you run out of juice.  Just keep in mind that you can get up to 17 hours of listening time from a single charge at moderate volume level.
 
The case is the same as the one included with P5 S2, except this one has a small inner pocket for cable storage.  Personally, I’m still on a fence about it.  Using it at home is convenient, though my wife keeps teasing me if she can borrow my “purse”.  P5W has a nice fold flat design with earcups rotating 90 degrees, and a soft quilted case with a magnetic flip cover does a good job of cushioning and protecting it.  But a soft case doesn’t offer the best protection when you are traveling and want to shelter your headphone investment.  I just wish B&W would offer a hard shell storage case, even as an add-on accessory.  If they can make their headphones look that good, I can only imagine what they can come up with for a case.
 
Accessories.
 

 

 

 

 
 
When it comes to a design, as I mentioned before, all B&W headphones stand out with a premium luxury details common across their different models, just scaled up or down depending on over-ear or on-ear design.  You will find a genuine perforated leather material covering soft memory foam of earpads, as well as the back of earcups covered in leather around the sides with a black brushed aluminum plate in the middle with an etched “Bowers & Wilkins” name.  Earcups are attached on one side to a solid curved chrome metal double wire that waves into the headband.  Beside previously mentioned 90 deg rotation mechanism, earcups also have a degree of tilt to adjust to your ears/head shape.  Earpads are attached magnetically to earcups, and I will cover more about it later when discussing cable attachment.  But I do want to mention that after 20-30 minutes of continuous use, my ears did get warm - it wasn’t too uncomfortable, but still noticeable.
 
The headband is leather wrapped and has soft foam padding on the inner side.  The whole construction felt very solid and lightweight with an evenly distributed 215 grams of weight.  Also, headband height adjustment was buttery smooth while still requiring a little bit of force so it doesn't slide out loose.  Similar to P5 Series 2, clamping force was a bit tight out of the box and required a short break in period.  After a few days it felt more comfortable while still offering an acceptable sound isolation.  Regarding sound isolation, you do have to be realistic this is on-ear design which can't be compared to over-ear, thus you should expect to hear outside noise but with a good attenuation while still being aware of surrounding.  Also even at full height extension, I think P5W model is more appropriate for small and medium heads, while it could be a bit tight if you got a big one on your shoulders.
 
Design.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Unlike other headphones with a removable cable, P5W (exactly like P5 Series 2) has a proprietary cable with a standard 3.5mm on the side going to your audio source and 2.5mm angled connector hidden inside of the left earcup.  It's really a clever design which makes a cable attachment to earcup look like it has a hardwired seamless connection.  To get to the connector you need to remove magnetically attached left earpad to access internal 2.5mm plug.  Right side earpad is magnetically attached as well for an easy replacement.  I do want to comment about being careful if you have sharp nails so you don't damage the leather since these magnets are quite strong.  The cable itself feels sturdy yet thin, has a round shape, and feels soft.  Also, due to a connection with a removable cable inside of the earcup, I didn't sense any microphonics effect.
 
Without a doubt, that is one clever way to attach a cable, but it's not as efficient as just being able to plug in a cable directly, and fiddling with earpads is a bit time consuming.
 
Replacement pads and wired connection.
 

 

 

 

 
 
Before I proceed to sound quality analysis, let me talk about P5W Bluetooth wireless performance and the controls.  I have reviewed a lot of wireless headphones in the past, everything from minimalistic controls or touch controls to controls with individual and exotic buttons.  In my opinion P5W strikes a perfect balance between all of these with a multi-function spring-loaded power button that turns headphones on when you slide and hold it and goes into pair-up mode when you push it.  And everything else is taken care of by 3 other conveniently located buttons.  All these operation are accompanied by a pleasant chime tone, the same one used in T7 wireless speaker.
 
Pair up was easy and seamless, and headphones were connected to phone and media audio without any problem.  All the controls were within easy reach on the back of the right earcup, using 3 buttons with volume up/down assigned to the upper and the lower one, and a raised button in the middle for Play/Pause/Call with a single click, Skip Next with a double click, Skip Back with a triple click, and long press to start Google NOW.  The location of buttons on the back of earcup was very convenient and easy to ID by sliding a finger to find a button in the middle.  The same right earcup has micro-usb charging port at the bottom next to power button, a bi-color led, and two mic pinhole vents contributing to an excellent voice pick up.  Sound quality during calls was noted to be excellent.
 
With a support of the latest BT4.1, wireless performance was quite good covering a stutter free distance of 40 feet in open space.  Also, during a testing with my Note 4 in a pocket and while covering earcups with my hands, the wireless connection was still solid.  And of course, with a support of apt-X, AAC, and SBC audio codecs – I was able to confirm a really good audio performance as well.  If you are using Android based devices, apt-X support is a must.  Btw, one interesting thing that I did notice - as soon as you plug in the cable, wireless connection was automatically disabled.
 
Wireless operation.
 

 

 
 
When it comes to a sound quality, we are still dealing with a pair of 40mm drivers used in P5 Series 2 with a full dynamic range tuning.  As a result, wired performance was very similar to P5 S2, but slightly different in comparison to Wireless which now depends on internal D/A audio decoding of digital stream and analog conversion to pump the drivers.  As a matter of fact, I actually enjoyed wireless sound a little more than wired.  Wired was close in comparison, but had just a little more depth in soundstage and a little more sub-bass.  But retrieval of details wasn't exactly on the same level as wireless.  Also due to lower sensitivity in wired mode, it needed a little volume boost.  In comparison, Wireless sound was more balanced and with a better separation and layering effect.
 
In more details, I found Wireless audio performance to be nicely balanced with a full body sound and excellent extension at both ends of frequency spectrum.  It had a nice soundstage with slightly above the average width and an average depth with a more intimate feeling.  I found layering and separation of instruments and vocals to be just perfect.
 
Low end has a deep meaty sub-bass extension which adds a nice level of rumble without overpowering the bass, mid-bass punch is fast and well controlled without crossing lower-mids threshold.  The balance between sub-bass and mid-bass quantity was just perfect and also the reason why I preferred wireless sound over wired.
 
Lower-mids have a nice body without adding extra "weight" to the sound, and upper mids have a great level of smooth clarity with excellent retrieval of details.  This is noticeable especially with vocals, male or female, that sound smooth and organic.  Overall mids have a perfect balance of smooth and detailed sound.
 
Treble has a good extension, also with a clear, crisp, and smooth sound.  No sibilance or ear fatigue during extended listening.  I was actually very pleased with upper mids/treble performance which often gets neglected in wireless headphones.
 
And speaking of other wireless headphones, here is a comparison with some other on-ear and over-ear models (Meelec Touch, Meelec Matrix 2, Stance S1+, and Momentum 2 Wireless).
 

 
 
P5W vs Touch - Touch has less sub-bass and a touch more aggressive mid-bass, lower mids are a bit thinner and upper mids are a little brighter and a bit more forward, treble is a bit crispier. For 1/4 of the price Touch is a great value, though build/design is not as luxurious, and touch controls could be a bit confusing.  Overall, P5W sounds smoother and more organic.
 
P5W vs M2W - M2W has a wider/deeper soundstage, a bit less sub-bass and a similar mid-bass, also similar lower mids, but upper mids are more recessed, darker, and a little less detailed, treble is also a bit darker and has less quantity in comparison.  M2W full size over-ear is more comfortable and added sound isolation of ANC is a plus.  P5W controls are straight forward and easier to reach, sound tuning is smoother and more detailed, and Bluetooth performance is more stable.
 
P5W vs Matrix 2 - M2 has less sub-bass and slower mid-bass, thinner lower-mids and less detailed upper mids (not the same level of clarity), similar treble.  P5W controls are more minimalistic and straight forward, and it has a more luxurious build/design.
 
P5W vs S1+ - S1 has a lot less sub-bass and mid-bass is less aggressive, lower mids are a little thinner and upper mids are a little brighter and slightly more detailed, treble has a better extension and a little brighter and crispier.  Soundstage in S1+ is a little wider.  Also, S1+ controls are a little more confusing.
 
Conclusion.
 
B&W P5 Wireless came out of the blue and knocked one right out of the park!  I would be very curious if they ever decide to convert P7 into wireless, or perhaps B&W thinks that wireless is more appropriate when traveling thus P5 footprint is compact enough.  But either way, I found P5W to hit the right mark in design quality, selection of premium materials, ergonomics of controls, battery life, and audio performance.  Even with a support of BT4.x and apt-X codec you can either get a muddy performance or a sterile clean lifeless sound.  Here, B&W was able to tune their drivers on a level of quality wired performance with a nicely balanced sound signature.  At the same time, fitment might not be for everyone, and even with my medium size head I had to adjust earcups a bit until I find a sweet spot.  In general, on-ear fitment could be a hit or a miss, and as I mentioned before – don’t expect super isolation.  But if you are looking for premium luxurious headphones and craving high quality wireless audio performance – P5 Wireless sounds as good as it looks!