[Dtuck90]

The leather is extremely thin, and tightly stretched over the plastic parts, so even the genuine headphone (I've not heard of any fakes) will have a very tough surface finish.

I agree about the leather.

I’ve never come across any fake B&W headphones

 

[mainguy]

So I paired these with an Audiolab nano bluetooth DAC, and it really takes them up a notch. Very nice to have the extra volume headroom, plus it terms them into a bluetooth set.

Still enamoured by the headphones. Others who’ve tried them agree, tis a real special sound.

 

[mainguy]

Probably MOJO

Caved and bought the Mojo on deal for 320 new, from Peter & Tyson. Fab little thing that adds to the P9s nicely. Thanks for the tip off.

 

[mainguy]

So, have been comparing the P9s to my Focal clears the past few days, driven out of a Mojo.

I thought i’d relay some thoughts if people are looking and wondering if the P9 is still worth it in 2020; the answer is a resounding yes!

Next to my Focal Clears, which I know are pretty well loved in the community, the P9s have a smaller soundstage, less seperation, fuller and more detailed vocals, superior reproduction of certain instruments (Electric guitar notably), inferior reproduction of others (drum, snare especially).

But overall what would I pay more for? P9s every time. The focals impress technically, but in sheer fun factor the P9s are unbeatable. They make you feel the music in your body, the clears make you think about it, and go, ’neat’! But for me that’s not what music is about. I’m just staggered by how good these headphones are, my Clears just aren’t getting picked up unless I‘m listening to something purely instrumental, even then if it’s electronic music the P9s get grabbed.

A magical headphone, and can be had cheap these days. There’s a pair in Selfridges London reduced to £550 I saw if anyone wants them.

 

[msq123]

I have P9s since launch and love them to bits for their sound signature which is very fun to my ears, I am no audiophile and for me fun is more important than sterile sound. I mostly use them on my desk with Drop CTH-SDAC which is a very neutral amp/dac combo. I also have Hifiman Ananda (which I love for their large sound and detail retrieval) and Senheiser HD6XX which I never warmed up to in spite of them getting rave reviews everywhere. I find HD6XX very claustrophobic, and lacking in detail and fun.

Now I am looking to add a new headphone to complement my P9s and Ananda’s. I like Focal Elex (Massdrop’s) from what I have read, these are Elear’s with Clear pads but I am not familiar with Focals sound signature. Anyone here familiar with Focals and if they would complement the headphones like Ananda and P9s. I don’t want to order them from US and end up with another HD6XX, there is always a risk with buying online but I just want to make sure this is the right choice for me. Appreciate any help and advice. Cheers

 

[GREQ]

I have P9s since launch and love them to bits for their sound signature which is very fun to my ears, I am no audiophile and for me fun is more important than sterile sound. I mostly use them on my desk with Drop CTH-SDAC which is a very neutral amp/dac combo. I also have Hifiman Ananda (which I love for their large sound and detail retrieval) and Senheiser HD6XX which I never warmed up to in spite of them getting rave reviews everywhere. I find HD6XX very claustrophobic, and lacking in detail and fun.

Now I am looking to add a new headphone to complement my P9s and Ananda’s. I like Focal Elex (Massdrop’s) from what I have read, these are Elear’s with Clear pads but I am not familiar with Focals sound signature. Anyone here familiar with Focals and if they would complement the headphones like Ananda and P9s. I don’t want to order them from US and end up with another HD6XX, there is always a risk with buying online but I just want to make sure this is the right choice for me. Appreciate any help and advice. Cheers

Focals are generally similar to the HD600/650/6xx series in their overall sound presentation, but with slightly stronger treble and bass, give or take, depending on the model.
Probably not what you're looking for.

 

[Roderick]

What @GREQ said. Focals won't propably work if hd6xx is claustrophobic for you. How about Fostex th900/th-x00 or something else from fostex family(emu teak, th610 etc)? For me th-x00 was fun but less thick sounding than p9 with technicalities closer to Ananda than P9. Th900 with zmf ori pads was a step up and made Ananda obsolete, YMMV of course. Campfire Cascade is also very good, fun, bassy, spacious and easily tunable.

 

[msq123]

Thanks guys. This is exactly the information I was looking for. When I bought HD6XX I was expecting a lot from them but was rather disappointed, maybe its just my preference. I am no audiophile and like some fun rather than accurate sterile representation which fatigues my ears, although HD6XX is not that but doesn’t do it for me in terms of enjoying my music.
I will try and find retailers in London where I could get any Fostex or Campfire to try at home. I don’t even know what exactly I am after because my current headphones are probably good enough but this is a bottomless pit and I want more.

 

[mainguy]

I have P9s since launch and love them to bits for their sound signature which is very fun to my ears, I am no audiophile and for me fun is more important than sterile sound. I mostly use them on my desk with Drop CTH-SDAC which is a very neutral amp/dac combo. I also have Hifiman Ananda (which I love for their large sound and detail retrieval) and Senheiser HD6XX which I never warmed up to in spite of them getting rave reviews everywhere. I find HD6XX very claustrophobic, and lacking in detail and fun.

Now I am looking to add a new headphone to complement my P9s and Ananda’s. I like Focal Elex (Massdrop’s) from what I have read, these are Elear’s with Clear pads but I am not familiar with Focals sound signature. Anyone here familiar with Focals and if they would complement the headphones like Ananda and P9s. I don’t want to order them from US and end up with another HD6XX, there is always a risk with buying online but I just want to make sure this is the right choice for me. Appreciate any help and advice. Cheers

For a while this year my two main cans were Focal Clears and the P9s.

The P9s have wider, thicker and in my opinion, certainly better delivery of vocals. The clear's were a bit thin and lacking emotion (relatively) in this regard; I wasn't that impressed with the 'feeling' in the vocals on them, which is a shame as they handle other things very well.

The clarity is incredible, as the name suggests. They really come into their own for me on instrumental tracks - I just can't get over their poor render of vocals (especially for the price). I like to feel the music, if that makes sense, and I found that difficult on the clear.

The P9s in contrast are a funner, warmer sound, but in my opinion also just plain better. They capture musicality, the art of the music, at risk of sounding pretentious - while the clears are just technically brilliant. The P9s will make you want to dance, while the clears will make you exclaim 'oh, wasnt that a nice instrumental?'. It's a very different vibe, but I think you can say objectively the P9s deal with vocals significantly better than the Clear's. The width and depth of the vocals is just so much ghreater.

In the end I was listening to my P9s so much more that I just sold the Clear's on ebay, and haven't missed them once.

 

[msq123]

For a while this year my two main cans were Focal Clears and the P9s.

The P9s have wider, thicker and in my opinion, certainly better delivery of vocals. The clear's were a bit thin and lacking emotion (relatively) in this regard; I wasn't that impressed with the 'feeling' in the vocals on them, which is a shame as they handle other things very well.

The clarity is incredible, as the name suggests. They really come into their own for me on instrumental tracks - I just can't get over their poor render of vocals (especially for the price). I like to feel the music, if that makes sense, and I found that difficult on the clear.

The P9s in contrast are a funner, warmer sound, but in my opinion also just plain better. They capture musicality, the art of the music, at risk of sounding pretentious - while the clears are just technically brilliant. The P9s will make you want to dance, while the clears will make you exclaim 'oh, wasnt that a nice instrumental?'. It's a very different vibe, but I think you can say objectively the P9s deal with vocals significantly better than the Clear's. The width and depth of the vocals is just so much ghreater.

In the end I was listening to my P9s so much more that I just sold the Clear's on ebay, and haven't missed them once.

Thanks for this detailed analysis. I think I have my Anandas for clarity and the large sound stage is a bonus too. As I have discovered, narrow soundstage/claustrophobic presentation is the deal breaker for me. I am not in to in your head music so Focals are probably out. Also, vocals are very important for me since I listen to lots of Ghazals (which crudely put is Indian equivalent of country ballads with lot of focus on vocals). I think I will have to look elsewhere to find a complementary headphone to go with my current collection.

 

[msq123]

What @GREQ said. Focals won't propably work if hd6xx is claustrophobic for you. How about Fostex th900/th-x00 or something else from fostex family(emu teak, th610 etc)? For me th-x00 was fun but less thick sounding than p9 with technicalities closer to Ananda than P9. Th900 with zmf ori pads was a step up and made Ananda obsolete, YMMV of course. Campfire Cascade is also very good, fun, bassy, spacious and easily tunable.

I started looking at your recommendations and EMU-Teaks looks like an amazing pair, they are so much closer to what I am looking for and closed back is a bonus I guess for little isolation with a 4 year old running around the house. Unfortunately, Drop hasn’t done another batch in last couple of years so I will have to get in touch with EMU Singapore so testing is not an option. I will probably pull the trigger on these soon.

 

[redogfizbal]

So px7 pretty much make the p9 junk......

 

[mainguy]

So px7 pretty much make the p9 junk......

Trolling? I've ab'd both, they sound very different for a start, an to my ears the P9 are a lot better.

 

[GREQ]

Trolling? I've ab'd both, they sound very different for a start, an to my ears the P9 are a lot better.

It's not trolling.
A lot of people here hate the P9 and think it's trash.

It definitely could use a bit more information, but, like, that's like your opinion, man.

 

[Jazz1]

I'm sorry, I can't respect a posting that trashes or praises a particular headphone when there is no content other than a thumbs up or thumbs down (I suppose unless it is a spot survey). Those type of "one liners" add nothing to the thread.

Maybe I've failed to adhere to my own advice. I know going forward I will take my own advice.

P.S. I hate the veggie Kale.....for that I don't need to elaborate Have a safe Thanksgiving everyone!