I picked up a pair of the P9s and I am returning them. As much as I love the look and portability, the mid bass is ovewhelming and muddies the lower end of lower ranged vocals and higher range bass notes. I really wanted to like these, and they are good when the vocals and instruments aren’t hitting those frequency ranges, but I can’t justify keeping these for the occasional songs that work well with them.
I currently have the Focal Utopias, Shure 846s, and PM-3s (PM-3s are also going back due to lack of clarity—I’ve been spoiled by the Focals and the SE846s), and they all resolve the problematic frequency range much better. As much as I hate jamming ear buds into my ears, the SE846 will have to remain my travel headset for the time being.
I put in a pre-order for the Sennheiser HD 820s, but they don’t look very portable, just potentially good for listening to music next to a significant other in bed.
As an owner of a pair of 803 D3s, I’m surprised at the overloading of bass in the P9s considering they were designed by the same team. I’m looking forward to (hoping for) a P10 that is more neutral.
