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.
I had with me a worthy contender, a headphone I own, am familiar with and a headphone that seems to do similar things to the P9: the Sony MDR-V900.
Just to compare the specs:
B+W P9 (2016) | Sony MDR-V900 (1992) |
2Hz - 30Khz | 5Hz - 30Khz |
22 Ohms | 24 Ohms |
111dB/v sensitivity | 107dB/v |
413g weight | 300g |
50mW input | 3000mW |
(left - V900, Right - P9)
Test Info:
Source is an 80GB Apple iPod Video 6th Gen (2007) with AUX into a FiiO E17.
Gain set to 6dB and EQ set to zero/unmodified.
My primary test track for this test was Daft Punk - Get Lucky - 320mbps MP3.
I chose this track because it is not a complex piece of music and it is masterfully mastered. It takes effort to make this track sound bad.
First big difference I noticed was the sensitivity. The Sony pounded out plenty of volume at vol.15, but the P9, despite having more sensitive specs, needed to be cranked up to 23 to get to similar levels.
Not a major point, but I found that a bit strange.
Second major difference was the clarity.
The P9 somehow makes this simple music sound congested. Boomy mid-bass overwhelms everything else.
P9 bass texture is really great, but the boominess overshadows it, and makes the music ugly. This is quite amazing, as even for a piece of electronic music, this track isn't particularly bass emphasized, it's more balanced and musical.
Switching back and forth every now and then, it becomes clear that the P9 lacks in the upper midrange too. I didn't notice this before since it's not a major flaw, but it's there and gives vocals and much of the main bulk of the music some distance, maybe too much distance.
Sounstage on both of these is fairly similar, with the V900 winning because of the lack of boominess it was easier to feel the spaciousness, I suspect the V900's 50mm drivers are responsible for the edge here.
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.
The V900 is what the P9 should have sounded like, as it does the 'speaker like' sound with ease and flair, with plenty of breathing space and exquisite details across the entire audible spectrum.
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.
(I know shop-floor models aren't usually a benchmark for longevity, but this P9's headband leather was peeling out of the seem - really disappointing build quality here)