[DarkSleip]

Quote:

Also in terms of awesome portable phones choices are limited and there's a big void between the 300$ price point and the 1000$ price point... also, IEMs definitely don't agree with my ears... maybe custom IEMs but that's a different story and I don't feel like spending the time and money just to try.

they said the hd700 paired well with portable rigs, get an Ibasso dx100, or a hm-801 and you are set for an audiophile adventure
 
 

 

[mindbender9]

Can someone post an image of the headphone pad with the modification to the top of the ear cavity? I'd love to improve the sound on these if I could.
 
Edit: Disregard. I should've looked closer to the pictures on the first page.
 
I think I have the "1st" generation of the P5 but the clarity definitely improves after some burn-in time.
 
Thanks for the assistance.

 

[DarkSleip]

there's a critical sound improvement somewhere along the burn-in period, just experienced it with my friend's pair

 

[ityk212]

Hi everyone,
This is what the pads on my p5 look like. I'm not sure on how to carry out the mod.
Mind helping?

 

[pjoliver182]

Hi there,
 
When I did this I just took a small pair of scissors and carefully 'snipped' out pieces at a time.  The green foam is not glued to the leather so you can gently push the bottom of the scissors underneath the foam in order to cut it.  Just follow the line of the rectangular hole as seen from the view in your 1st photo.
 
Good luck and enjoy!
 
Paul

 

[DarkSleip]

Hey, arranging a "u" shaped clip inside also works perfectly fine

 

[DarkSleip]

Close-up off the retail cable headI see about 8 visible threads on the outside, and there's more on the inside, they are almost hair-thin. Hence, awesome cable quality

 

[pjoliver182]

FYI for anyone who is interested, a new set of replacement ear cushions will cost £35 including VAT and p&p.
 
0800 232 1513 Option 2 for the UK Customer Support Centre.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[MxChino]

So I scored a killer deal on a set of p5s off Craigslist. Three weeks old for $130. Came with everything except the non iPod cable.

Mine had the old style of foam I gently snipped around opening and wow, what a difference. Muddy flabby bass gave way to clarity and sparkly treble with a nice tight and deep low end.

Color me impressed.

Oh and a shout out to top notch b&w customer service I emailed them asking how I could buy replacement cables and that I bought my set used and was missing a cable and the one I had was bent at the jack. They're sending me out one of each cable at no charge.

 

[Luke-]

Gonna give this mod a try will report back if i notice a diffence.

 

[Holger]

Hello,
 
thanks again for the instruction to do the mod. On my IPhone it is now nearly perfect. I guess it will need some more hours for burning in (so far only 50 hours of burn-in)

Nevertheless on my COWON S9 it is still not as good as expected. I really had to activate the Equalizer and push more bass (after the additional filling clarity improved but with S9 bass decreased too much). Anyone of You experience with P5 together with S9?
 
Did anyone of You try to experiment with different materials to fill the P5? I tried with cleaning paper and the result was a very bright sound. Claning pads of my wife did a smoother job. Any more suggestions?

 

[pjoliver182]

Hi Holger
 
First of all I would satisfy yourself that the P5's a fully burned in - are you using an iPhone app?  Run some low frequency sweeps for like 24 hours or something and see if you notice any difference.
 
As for the bass response, its personal preference...if you have more bass, you have less of everything else (for the same overall volume).  I personally like everything to have a 'flat' EQ balance so that only the amount of bass recorded is what is reproduced.  I found that there was easily enough bass for my tastes after the mod, but if you like hip-hop or heavy metal or drum and bass etc perhaps you prefer more bass in you music than is actually there?
 
I like the idea of experimenting with different filler materials...have you tried anything harder?  Like rubber or maybe some blu-tack / Plasticine?
 
Good luck!
 
PJ

 

[Holger]

Hi,
 
I burnt it in with music from my MP3 player and I noticed now the the "screaming upper midths" are disappearing. I agree with You, I also prefer a flat well balanced sound. I mainly listen to singer/songwriters and jazz. Therefore clarity and details are crucial for me.

I tried now also foam to fill in the space within the ear pads. But concerning the bass the effect was zero. And it decreasing the clarity and some of the high frequencies. Make up pads from my wife did a better job. But  I noticed that the quantity also is crucial. I filled them according to Your picture and suddenly much more clarity but no bass at all anymore. So I reduced the quantity until the balance was there again. The next thing I will try is rubber

 

[pjoliver182]

Hi again - your recent posts got me thinking so I've done a couple of experiments myself:
 
The best material I've found so far is from some hearing protection buds from work - the small squishy ear buds that you push in to your ear canals to protect your hearing in noisy environments.  There's a lot more 'thump' from the bass drum right now as I listen to some rock tracks from my iPhone.
 
FYI I use an Epiphany Acoustics O2 headphone amp with a line out cable from the iPhone.
 
Did you have any luck with some rubber or other materials?
 
PJ

 

[ShakaZulu]

Quote:

 

I just wanted to share the joy since I'd been looking for a thread like this to 'show me the way' with my P5's.  I hope that this will allow all you other P5 owners to get the most from your investment!
 
pjoliver
​

 

Hi pjoliver182
 
This is my first ever post on this forum. I signed up a few minutes ago so that I could say thank you very much to you for sharing this mod. After having had enough of what I thought were really uncomfortable B&W P5 cushions, I ran a search online using the phrase "B&W...pads...uncomfortable". Your post came up. I read it and decided to try your simple mod (trimming out the foam). Not only did this sort out the comfort issue (I can now keep the headset on for hours, because there is less pressure on my ears), but the sound quality has improved phenomenally! Thank you so much! Because my P5s haven't been burnt in yet, I am yet to replace the cable. I will be inserting some makeup removal pads into the cavity tonight to see what difference that makes. As it is right now, I am amazed at the difference...
 
Just one more thing, I removed as much of the foam as I could - I did not just trim it down. I might end up just pulling the whole thing out completely! I will be asking my mates to let me know if the sound now leaks. I am in heaven.