[GREQ]

 

Sony released these 15 years ago, so I don't know what is more amazing; that Sony was able to achieve this, or that big companies like B+W still can't.

Sony is a big company. B&W is a small company.

With over 200 employees, B&W is not a small company.
 
Now if you said Audeze was a small company, I would believe you.

 

[jmills8]

With over 200 employees, B&W is not a small company.

Now if you said Audeze was a small company, I would believe you.

150 are cleaners and cashiers. 40 are supervisors. ☺

 

[ubs28]

  With over 200 employees, B&W is not a small company.
 
Now if you said Audeze was a small company, I would believe you.

 
Then what is Sennheiser with over 2000 employees?

 

[GREQ]

 

With over 200 employees, B&W is not a small company.

Now if you said Audeze was a small company, I would believe you.

150 are cleaners and cashiers. 40 are supervisors. ☺

That would explain the P9.
 
It's a shame really, since the P7 was fantastic. P9 just doesn't make any sense.

 

[jmills8]

That would explain the P9.

It's a shame really, since the P7 was fantastic. P9 just doesn't make any sense.

P9 is more picky.

 

[halcyon]

  Having been so shocked at how bad this headphone sounded the first time I auditioned it,  I decided to give the P9 another few chances, give it another few rounds to do battle and try to prove itself.
... In conclusion, I feel that B+W have produced a headphone that sounds like what you would hear if you put tall floor-standing speakers in a shoebox of a livingroom with zero space to breath and poor treatment of acoustic in the room.
...
Sony released these 15 years ago, so I don't know what is more amazing; that Sony was able to achieve this, or that big companies like B+W still can't. 
 

Thank you for an honest personal comparison. To me V900 is way too shrill and cold (my personal preference, my ears). However, I have always found all B&W voicing to be too laid-back and too veiled in parts of the frequency spectra, yet usually quite unfatiguing to listen to. I have not heard the P9.
 
What I can guess, is that P9 probably follows the B&W house sound design goals (with their love of the BBC dip and all). Some love it, others not so much. Neutral it was never meant to be and it clearly shows also in the measurements of both B&W loudspeakers and headphones. Yet, it can be immensely enjoyable, if it's your cup of tea.
 
Based on what you wrote, I think I'll take a pass on P9 audition (too many to test and I live in a desert of audio, can't usually audition, have to buy blind). The search for a great pair of accurate, detailed, neutral, yet immensely non-fatiguing and wide soundstage closed circumaurals continues....

 

[CluelessAudio]

T

Thank you for an honest personal comparison. To me V900 is way too shrill and cold (my personal preference, my ears). However, I have always found all B&W voicing to be too laid-back and too veiled in parts of the frequency spectra, yet usually quite unfatiguing to listen to. I have not heard the P9.

What I can guess, is that P9 probably follows the B&W house sound design goals (with their love of the BBC dip and all). Some love it, others not so much. Neutral it was never meant to be and it clearly shows also in the measurements of both B&W loudspeakers and headphones. Yet, it can be immensely enjoyable, if it's your cup of tea.

Based on what you wrote, I think I'll take a pass on P9 audition (too many to test and I live in a desert of audio, can't usually audition, have to buy blind). The search for a great pair of accurate, detailed, neutral, yet immensely non-fatiguing and wide soundstage closed circumaurals continues....

They're great headphones but £700 worth? I don't think so. I only love them because i paid <£300 Oh, and they feel like a million pounds in your hands which is nice.

 

[GREQ]

 
 To me V900 is way too shrill and cold (my personal preference, my ears). 

Interesting.
It's definitely one of the bassier Sony's out there, not as much as an MDR-V700, but more than the V7 or MDR-1A and MDR-100AAP, and it definitely measures as a 'bassy headphone'.
 
EDIT: I just realized you might be thinking about the MDR-V900HD, which is a different headphone to the MDR-V900.

 

[msp]

T
They're great headphones but £700 worth? I don't think so. I only love them because i paid <£300

Oh, and they feel like a million pounds in your hands which is nice.

Where did you get them to 300£?
 
BR Morten

 

[CluelessAudio]

Where did you get them to 300£?

BR Morten

By knowing someone who works there maybe...maybe not

 

[msp]

ahh, clever

 

[D-TECH]

Just got these for a very low price, 600 dollars

. Comparing them with my Sony MDR-Z7 the P9 definitely has a better soundstage and overall beter sound signature. However, I don't know who thinks this design is particularly comfortable. The pads are extremely hard and the headband has a lot of tension. They should have used titanium in the headband, and softer foam in the pads, like Sony does. Hopefully it improves with use...

 

[DoctaCosmos]

Try stretching the headband. Because of the hard pads you really need to stretch them out so that they are barely touching your face more so than most headphones

 

[CluelessAudio]

  Just got these for a very low price, 600 dollars

. Comparing them with my Sony MDR-Z7 the P9 definitely has a better soundstage and overall beter sound signature. However, I don't know who thinks this design is particularly comfortable. The pads are extremely hard and the headband has a lot of tension. They should have used titanium in the headband, and softer foam in the pads, like Sony does. Hopefully it improves with use...

My wired P7s (now 3 years old) took weeks before they got really comfortable. Give it some time and you won't even know they're on your head. 

 

[loplop]

  Just got these for a very low price, 600 dollars

. Comparing them with my Sony MDR-Z7 the P9 definitely has a better soundstage and overall beter sound signature. However, I don't know who thinks this design is particularly comfortable. The pads are extremely hard and the headband has a lot of tension. They should have used titanium in the headband, and softer foam in the pads, like Sony does. Hopefully it improves with use...

For me, comfort improved a lot with use.  I didn't stretch or bend, just wore them.  I felt they were extremely comfortable after that, and I was surprised as I had the same impression as you initially (mostly the weirdly hard pads).
 
That being said, contrary to some others who have reported the bass improved significantly with use, mine have not.  They're fabulous with music that doesn't excite the "bass hump" but way too bassy otherwise.  Break-in didn't alleviate the concern, adding an amp does to a certain extent but doesn't completely eliminate the issue.
 
The P9's frustrate me, a lot.  Occasionally I love them and am amazed when they fit the music and mix.  But mostly I'm frustrated, as the bass hump renders them an "occasional use only" headphone for me.  Not good enough for my intended use case (portable).  
 
This bums me out, because I find them extremely comfortable, with perfect (for my uses) isolation.