Bowers&Wilkins new flagship the P9!
Jan 2, 2017 at 6:17 PM Post #736 of 2,019
if in chrome or on google it should come with a message to translate to english.
if not right click and you'll get an option to do so.

hopefully at the CES show we'll see more attempts to make headphones
more 'speaker like' (out of your head listening)and fully immersive....will be interesting.
Thanks, yes I agree with the review.
 
Jan 4, 2017 at 9:42 AM Post #738 of 2,019
I have contacted Bowers and Wilkins twice in the last month requesting any details on the release, the latest was yesterday.....not getting any type of details in the responses.....here is what I got yesterday from B&W (which is what I got the 1st time):
 
If you registered your P9 Signature Headphones, we will be in touch as soon as they are made available. 
 
 
In some research I uncovered the following from someone asking the same....this was from last week:
 - question to B&W: Will you be releasing a cable with remote with a lighting port for the iPhone7? If so, when?
- response from B&W: Unfortunately we can't comment on our future product plans, however we wish to remain compatible with Apple and other eco-systems.
 
​I wouldn't be surprised if we didnt see the the new cable until late Spring or Summer, if even by then - its too bad as I made my purchase with some anticipation we'd see it right after the New Year....I hoping I'm wrong.
 
Jan 4, 2017 at 1:02 PM Post #740 of 2,019
   
It is possible that many are missing the point of this headphone. It provides a listening experience similar to the power one feels when listening to big loudspeakers. Yes, the bass is big and rich but so is the midrange, and the top is not rolled off either. It is just a big, rich, full-sounding headphone.

Completely agree.  When the music doesn't exacerbate the boominess that can occur with that super-rich-and-full bass, this headphone does approach what one would perceive when listening to a very full-range loudspeaker.
 
Its very detailed, eventhough it has great powerful clean bass, its very detailed.

I think that's correct, on two levels: bass drums can have extraordinary perceived impact and a very real attack/bloom/decay, and the midrange in particular can have extremely fine nuance and articulation.
 
I also agree that this headphone is not fatiguing.  I can, and have, listened to it for as more hours than I'd care to admit in one day.  Absolutely zero fatigue, and lots of musical involvement.  Part of this, I believe, is the focus on moving the soundstage a bit out of the head--it's narrow, from a comparative standpoint, but nicely forward.  If you squint, you might think you're listening to speakers.  I think technology will improve this quite a bit in years to come, but here it is useful and helps prevent fatigue over long listening.  Also, pleasingly, it's really nice to walk down the street with the perception of a giant hifi floating in front of one's head.
 
There are some negatives, at least my limited experience has shown.  The review quoted above has it exactly right--there are certain recordings that will accentuate what sounds like a resonance at certain frequencies, which both decreases the fidelity of the bass reproduction, but also unnaturally emphasizes it.  Among other forms of music, I'm a longtime Deadhead, and Phil's bass can get completely out of control on these headphones, especially if you're feeding it from a portable source (high power amplifiers do seem to tame the bass somewhat).  No matter what you do, though, or what gear you feed it through, I cannot believe this reproduction is what the recording engineers desired.  This can happen on standup bass, as well, making some jazz recordings very tilted towards the lower octaves.  It's not always predictible.
 
Another negative is they are fiddly, for me at least, in terms of placement on the head.  Where I can simply plunk a pair of (admittedly giant) Audeze's on my head and have good fidelity, I often have to fiddle with the P9's placement to get everything in balance, keep the soundstage even, and stay comfortable.  This is not a dealbreaker for me, though, as they are comfortable otherwise.
 
Another poster has suggested, and I agree, that this headphone is designed first for portable use and second for home use.  This is not (IMO) B&W's take on a TOTL home headphone.  This is a compromise, useable on nearly any device but which scales somewhat to a better chain, designed primarily to satisfy the desire for emotional involvement with music on the go.  It is not designed to replace a big pair of B&W speakers, and to be honest, I think the suggestion that it competes somewhat with the 800 D3 ("designed by the very same team") really does this headphone a disservice.  This is simply a headphone to augment your home hifi, not replace it, or be a TOTL headphone rig.  It's designed for mobile or semi-stationary use, long listening, and the love of music.  I do think it accomplishes that goal enough to be worth it's value, although I suspect it won't find much favor in the headphone community due to it's definite flaws.
 
Jan 5, 2017 at 8:42 AM Post #741 of 2,019
Agreed and Cannons are a work of art, precise shooting. 2.5 with a good cable really opens up its mids and treble. I threw all the 2.5s stock cables.


Could you give me more informations about cables, please?
Have you find an input connector compatible?
 
Jan 5, 2017 at 8:44 AM Post #742 of 2,019
Jan 5, 2017 at 10:19 AM Post #744 of 2,019
Jan 5, 2017 at 2:46 PM Post #745 of 2,019
private messege. Basically talking about upgrading the stock cable.


Posting details in the thread would be handy for others who may be interested.

I'd personally like to know who makes replacement cables that fit the goofy in-earcup-connection well!
 
TIA
 
Jan 5, 2017 at 9:44 PM Post #746 of 2,019
I just got a used pair from Amazon. I don't know how long the previous owner burned them in, but as of now my initial impression is that they aren't worth the $900 asking price. As I type this I'm listening through a Schiit Gungnir MB dac + Beyerdynamic A2 headphone amp with an album called Mata Hati by an Indonesian rock/fusion band called Tohpati Ethnomission in the wave format. So these ramblings are "live impressions." 
 
The P9s sound like maybe $200-$250 headphones. There are headphones that sound very similar (Sony MDR 1A) or better (PSB M4U 1). I bought these because I was looking for something with an "entertaining" sound signature, better build quality than the MDR 1A, Better comfort than the PSB M4U 1 and less of a mid bass hump than the MDR 1A. The build quality is of coarse very good just like the P7, all leather and metal but the trade off is that they are heavy! In fact these maybe the heaviest headphones I've ever owned. I can see that B&W is going for the "entertaining" approach to the sound like the P7. I remember the sound of the P7, it was a very "V" shaped headphone and the bass went far more north than I expected for a company that describes itself using words like audiophile and luxury. But while the P7 had this mid section that was extremely far back in the sound stage, the P9 mid range is brought up closer, but the problem is that Mid bass hump kinda drowns it out a bit. Its hard to hear some details in the bass guitar. Instead of sounding like a vibrating stringed instrument it sounds like an indistinct low frequency sound effect. The P9s aren't as booted in the treble  as much as the P7. But I can detect a small peak may round 10 khz but its limited at just the right point.
Really this headphone is very similar sounding to the MDR 1A. Just better built.
 
Ok so that mid bass is becoming a little fatiguing on my ears with this album. The bass mix in the album itself is intense enough and doesn't need boosting.
 
So I'm going switch to something more simple and less demanding.
African Variants by Sébastien Giniaux & Cherif Soumano a duo consisting of a French guitarist and a West African kora player. accompanied by an occasional woodwind and cello.
Now this music reminds me of something that I liked about the P7, its rather intimate presentation of the instruments. The P9 has that same intimacy, I feel like I'm sitting directly  in front of the musicians. I can hear the textures of each instrument and I can feel the vibrations when they reach their lower tones. The mid bass hump is still noticeable, but not as distracting as the first album.
 
I'm not sure if I'll keep these or not. they are nice looking headphones, and wonderfully built. The sound stage is very open for a closed back headphone, and its really good with transients. The lower bass is impactful with visceral impact and well controlled.  Despite the weight they are still comfortable, but not as comfortable as the much lighter MDR 1A. The clamping force on them is a little tight just like the P7 and M4U 1, but I was able to wear them for about an hour with no issues.
Sound quality wise they need improvement, a Mid Bass hump is helpful but I think B&W approach is a little extreme. Its blocking some detail further up the mid range and they can get fatiguing with bass heavy music.
Personally I think the PSB M4U 1 is the best sounding of the 3, the M4U 1 has a bass hump but its further down the bass range so the mid range isn't effected, and the tone is very similar from the mid range and up as the other two. The problem is that the M4U1 is the least comfortable.
The Sony MDR 1A sounds very close to the P9 but they lack the same level the intimacy and transient detail of the instruments. But it's the most comfortable of the 3.
Hopefully the P9 will get more relaxed after some more burn in. Someone here suggested 100 hours? Do the rest of you have the same experience with the burn in?
 
Jan 5, 2017 at 9:49 PM Post #747 of 2,019
I just got a used pair from Amazon. I don't know how long the previous owner burn them in, but as of now my initial impression is that they aren't worth the $900 asking price. As I type this I'm listening through a Schiit Gungnir MB dac + Beyerdynamic A2 headphone amp with an album called Mata Hati by an Indonesian rock/fusion band called Tohpati Ethnomission in the wave format. "So these ramblings are live impression." 

The P9s sound like maybe $200-$250 headphone. There are headphones that sound very similar (Sony MDR 1A) or better (PSB M4U 1). I bought these because I was looking for something with an "entertaining" sound signature, better build quality than the MDR 1A, Better comfort than the PSB M4U 1 and less of a mid bass hump than the MDR 1A. The build quality is of coarse very good just like the P7, all leather and metal but the trade off is that they are heavy! In fact these maybe the heaviest headphones I've ever owned. I can see that B&W is going for the "entertaining" approach to the sound like the P7. I remember the sound of the P7, it was a very "V" shaped headphone and the bass went far more north than I expected for a company that describes it self using words like audiophile and luxury. But while the P7 had this mid section that was extremely far back in the sound stage. the P9 mid range is brought up closer, but the problem is that Mid bass hump finda drowns it out a bit. Its hard to hear some details in the bass guitar. Instead of sounding like a vibrating stringed instrument it sounds like an indistinct low frequency sound effect. The P9s aren't as booted in the treble  as much as the P7. I can detect a small peak may round 10 khz but its limited at just the right point.
Really this headphone is very similar sounding to the MDR 1A. Just better built.

Ok so that mid bass is becoming a little fatiguing on my ears with this album. The bass mix in the album itself is intense enough and doesn't need boosting.

So I'm going switch to something more simple and less demanding.
African Variants by Sébastien Giniaux & Cherif Soumano a duo consisting of French guitarist and a West African kora player. accompanied by an occasional woodwind and cello.
Now this music reminds me of something that I liked about the P7, its rather intimate presentation of the instruments. The P9 has that same intimacy, I feel like I'm sitting directly  in front of the musicians. I can hear the textures each instrument and I can feel the vibrations when they reach their lower tones. The mid bass hump is still noticeable, but not as distracting as the first album.

I'm not sure if I'll keep these or not. they are nice looking headphones, and wonderfully built. The sound stage is very open for a closed back headphone, and its really good with transients. The lower bass is impactful with visceral impact and well controlled.  Despite the weight they are still comfortable, but not as comfortable as the much lighter MDR 1A. The clamping force on them is a little tight just like the P7 and M4U 1, but I was able to wear them for about an hour with no issues.
Sound quality wise they need improvement, a Mid Bass hump is helpful but I think B&W approach is a little extreme. Its blocking some detail further up the mid range and can they can sound fatiguing with bass heavy music.
Personally I think the PSB M4U 1 is the best sounding of the 3, the M4U 1 has a bass hump but its further down the bass range so the mid range isn't effected, and the tone is very similar from the mid range and up as the other two. The problem is that the M4U1 is the least comfortable.
The Sony MDR 1A sounds very close to the P9 but they lack the same level the intimacy and transient detail of the instruments, But it's the most comfortable of the 3.
Hopefully the P9 will get more relaxed after some more burn in. Someone here suggested 100 hour? Does to rest of you have the same experience with the burn in?


They never changed for me so I sent them back. Couldn't justify that price point with such a flaw as that mid bass bump. I pretty much agree with everything you said. They are beautiful though, and beautifully built. I really loved my m4u1's, too, but just as you said, they clamped too hard.
 
Jan 5, 2017 at 11:38 PM Post #748 of 2,019
They never changed for me so I sent them back. Couldn't justify that price point with such a flaw as that mid bass bump. I pretty much agree with everything you said. They are beautiful though, and beautifully built. I really loved my m4u1's, too, but just as you said, they clamped too hard.

How long did you own them?
 
Jan 7, 2017 at 7:26 AM Post #750 of 2,019
Hi I purchased the P9's a few weeks ago and they seem to be getting better with each listen.
 
However the price point has got me thinking. I currently own the P7 wireless and some Opportunity P3's.  I don't think I will be using the Oppos much now, as much I used to like them, the P9's are a big step up. But at £699 it has got me thinking about the Oppos PM2 or even the PM1.
 
Does anyone have any direct experience of how the P9's compare with the higher end Oppos? 
 
Thanks 
 

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