[gorgonmusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridleyguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am curious jjcha if you have tried the HD650s. I know what you mean about the P5s and am not disagreeing with you, but 'transparency' and 'bright sounding', for example do not mean the same thing to me. I am listening to a Beethoven Piano Sonata right now, and I can hear every note clearly with the P5s and I find the sound 'laid back' in a similar vein as my HD650s. Maybe others can give their thoughts on this too.

Exactly what i am saying.. The sound is so relaxed because of the headroom so the sound is effortless and not strained at all.. You would expect some brightness to creep in at high volume but not with the P5s.. I am amazed by how low the P5 can play while exibiting no vocal decay at all..

 

[gorgonmusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, I don't like either of those headphones under any conditions, except when balanced. But yes of course, all headphones need to be looked at from the point of view of where they would be best served. The P5's were advertised a purely portable, "ipod"-use, type of component. They aren't being pushed as a top of the line, full size can. I was using those headphones to compare the $300 price msrp, materials and build quality, and I think the P5's are a steal for what you get compared to how much you pay for, including the sound they produce.

i agree with you 100% P5s are a steal and have a feeling they wont be around for long..

 

[headibob]

Just heard it in apple store. Didn't sound natural and coherent at all, or pretty artificial or electronic, with the vocal sounding glassy/thin and the highs a bit elevated. Bass is okay. Yes, it did sound muffled, not warm dude. Transperncy? I didn't hear any. May be mine wasn't broken in fully, who knows. I think it might have to do with the close design. It did wear comfortably with good sound isolation from the outside. And pretty well built!

 

[Ridleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by headibob /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just heard it in apple store. Didn't sound natural and coherent at all, or pretty artificial or electronic, with the vocal sounding glassy/thin and the highs a bit elevated. Bass is okay. Yes, it did sound muffled, not warm dude. Transperncy? I didn't hear any. May be mine wasn't broken in fully, who knows. I think it might have to do with the close design. It did wear comfortably with good sound isolation from the outside. And pretty well built!

I'm disappointed to read your comments, and while respecting what you heard at the Apple Store, the P5s definitely do not sound like that after some break-in. They are also very good, IMO, in handling lower bitrate MP3 tracks. If you like the design, noise isolation, etc., and they have a return policy, I would suggest you give them a try at home.

I will give you one example of an album that I think sounds fantastic with the P5s, Alicia Keys' The Element of Freedom. In no way does the sound correspond to how they sounded to you at the Apple Store.

My source is a gen. 2 iPod Touch.

 

[T_C]

how does this headphone sound with an iPod after burn-in and without an amp?

 

[sampson_smith]

Sorry if I have missed this, but is there a known MSRP for these interesting looking cans? Has the official release date come and gone?

 

[Ridleyguy]

I believe they are only available at Apple stores initially. They have been out for a week in Canada. Check out Apple'a Canadian website store under headphones. The price is $329 plus GST & PST, with free shipping.

 

[sree]

I gave these a go at the local apple store running of my iPhone with songs ripped at 320 KBPS MP4. The sound isolation was very good. The noise in the store was pretty bad but these cans just about made them all go away. Pretty nice indeed. Next thing is that these are very comfortable. They did not make my ears sweat but then again I was just wearing them for about 5 - 10 minutes. Sound separation of these cans were wonderful and I could listen to everything running just out of the iPhone. I am pretty sure that they'd be better through a portable amp. Sadly I was not wowed by these headphones and in the end decided not to buy them.

I have been a fan of speakers a lot more than headphones and I have heard and been a fan of B&W speakers but these are just not in the same league. Denon did the transition masterfully but then again I have not heard the Denon low end cans. I owned the AK-D1000's and now I own the wonderful D7000. B&O did the same mistake. They too make some nice speakers but their headphone was just not in the same league as their speakers too. Probably they are just not that into the headphone thing as much as speakers.

Coming from a guy who loves AKG701's these cans sound as if the whole spectrum has too much bass and hence less clarity. I played few songs which I hear all the time and they all seemed off to me. Probably it is the K701 effect as I like music clear and sharp. But then again I love Denon's too so it is just not all about too much treble.

I believe that B&W did a better job than B&O and I totally understand who their target audience is. I believe that B&W is going to sell a ton of these as they are pretty good compared to rest of the stuff in the Apple Store. More over, B&W is a huge name in the industry and people are going to buy into the name as well. I also feel that these are better than BOSE and they are surely going to eat into their share.

 

[immtbiker]

$299 USD. As always, anything sold by Apple is a non-negotiable price, but jeez, how much lower can brushed steel and sheepskin go. Perhaps we can have one of our master cable makers make an aftermarket cable for these.
Maybe, when they make themselves over to Amazon, the price will drop 20%.

The only restrictions are, that they have to be 2.5mm on the headphone side (this of course is taking into account that you are not going to be using them for an iPhone) and wont need to the control and mike that is in the middle of the cord for iphone specific tasks, and 3.5mm on the source end.
The cable that is routed in the earcup itself has to be thin enough to fit in the cup grooves, then once outside the earcup, the thickness in a non-issue.
I am going to ask Craig at Whiplash to create a TWag wire for this application, regardless of cost. They give you 2 cables, one for iPhone applications, and one just for any other player, which i think is a nice touch. The TWag cable ought to be a significantly improvement over the already decent stock OEM.
It comes with a gold plated 1/8>1/4 inch adapter to allow it to play with the big boys.
The P5 is a completely new, well thought out well designed can that has endless upgrade possibilities. If you want to use it with an iPhone, it has a cable that has a mike/remote, incorporated into the stock cable, but I don't need that and feel that it weakens the signal path, but is excellent if you do have an iPhone. It kills 2 birds with 1 stone.
After 15 hours of burn in, the P5'S have already shown significant signs of musical improvement. I'm going to let it run 50 hours, both on and off the head, and then enjoy it for what it's worth.

This is a no brainer for those who have more than 1 headphone in their stable.
Hats off to B&W, even tough it is a bit of a sellout. But in his current day economy, manufactures needs innovations to stay on top of their game.

 

[gorgonmusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridleyguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm disappointed to read your comments, and while respecting what you heard at the Apple Store, the P5s definitely do not sound like that after some break-in. They are also very good, IMO, in handling lower bitrate MP3 tracks. If you like the design, noise isolation, etc., and they have a return policy, I would suggest you give them a try at home. I will give you one example of an album that I think sounds fantastic with the P5s, Alicia Keys' The Element of Freedom. In no way does the sound correspond to how they sounded to you at the Apple Store. My source is a gen. 2 iPod Touch.

I guess i boils down to taste in sound.. These phones sound how i think they should but others my not agree..

 

[Ridleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorgonmusic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess i boils down to taste in sound.. These phones sound how i think they should but others my not agree..

+2:

 

[TheCount666]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcpk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not find them attractive at all.

I thought I was the only one.

They certainly don't look bad, but the looks don't blow me away or anything.

 

[tinseljim]

I hope everyone who has been listening to these in the Apple Store has made sure that EQ is OFF on the nano/touch. When I first tried the P5s they sounded muddy and veiled. I sifted through the menus until I found the EQ setting and realised that Bass Boost was on!!! I turned it off and the phones sounded $200 better - no joke.

EQ is evil.

 

[Ridleyguy]

O.K., I'll take a stab at the explanation for the "muffled" sound some people are hearing. Before doing so, I want to say that I think the P5s produce the sounds of orchestral instruments very, very accurately and clearly - I can't speak to electric guitars, etc.

The soundstage is not very deep, bringing the instruments up very close, but it is quite wide. In thinking about this, I can see how it may produce the perception of a muffled sound on some tracks ...just a thought. As a reference, I was comparing them to my HD650s on my main rig, using the 1/4" adapter for the P5s listening to symphonic music.

 

[MayaTlab]

Position on the ear seems very important as well. Their cushion design makes it very easy to position them wrongly.