[bobnewboy]

I love mine. I listen to a lot of prog rock, and it includes a fair bit of deep bass from long necked basses and pedals etc. The P9s reach right down there and give me what I want, along with a clear and controlled top end. For outdoor use, and in looking for a similar sound signature, I bought a pair of CA Honeydew IEMs. Pretty good and value for money, but not as good as my P9s….

 

[Jazz1]

While I'm at it, has anyone found a third party transport case for the P9's. I think the supplied ones are too pretty/delicate to take to grubby coffee shops.

 

[mainguy]

I love mine. I listen to a lot of prog rock, and it includes a fair bit of deep bass from long necked basses and pedals etc. The P9s reach right down there and give me what I want, along with a clear and controlled top end. For outdoor use, and in looking for a similar sound signature, I bought a pair of CA Honeydew IEMs. Pretty good and value for money, but not as good as my P9s….

Campfire iems have the same fun/warmth I find. I use some Vegas and they're a similar kind of deal, although i prefer my P9s overall a tad, the Vegas handle female vocals better. I've been noticing one issue with my P9 when amped to my dragonfly cobalt, vocals get a tad shrill and unresolved, whereas the Vegas handle them beautifully.

The P9s do vary a fair bit. I think they synergise much better with a mojo than a DF

I also made the mistake of trying Focal's Stellia recently. I can safely say it's the first time since getting the P9 I've really wanted to buy a headphone, and I've tried a lot. Nothing really felt like a step up, but they really were.

Also tried the Celestee back and forth with the P9 and was pretty dissapointed with Focals 1k closed back, to my ear it couldn't compete with the P9 on detail. The Stellia could though, and trumped the P9 majorly on detail and, well, everything.

 

[bobnewboy]

Campfire iems have the same fun/warmth I find. I use some Vegas and they're a similar kind of deal, although i prefer my P9s overall a tad, the Vegas handle female vocals better. I've been noticing one issue with my P9 when amped to my dragonfly cobalt, vocals get a tad shrill and unresolved, whereas the Vegas handle them beautifully.

The P9s do vary a fair bit. I think they synergise much better with a mojo than a DF

I also made the mistake of trying Focal's Stellia recently. I can safely say it's the first time since getting the P9 I've really wanted to buy a headphone, and I've tried a lot. Nothing really felt like a step up, but they really were.

Also tried the Celestee back and forth with the P9 and was pretty dissapointed with Focals 1k closed back, to my ear it should couldn't compete with the P9 on detail. The Stellia could though, and trumped the P9 majorly on detail and, well, everything.

Hmmm, well yeah. At getting on for £3000 a pair it would be pretty unnerving if the Stellias couldn’t give a step up!

I think the P9s will do for now, but I agree that some vocals can be a bit edgy depending upon the other equipment used. I will stick with the Mojo-Poly and TT2 and try to audition more ‘phones when finances eventually allow.

 

[mainguy]

Hmmm, well yeah. At getting on for £3000 a pair it would be pretty unnerving if the Stellias couldn’t give a step up!

I think the P9s will do for now, but I agree that some vocals can be a bit edgy depending upon the other equipment used. I will stick with the Mojo-Poly and TT2 and try to audition more ‘phones when finances eventually allow.

It would be unnerving if the Stellia's weren't better, but the P9 have suprised me a lot. I really did expect to prefer the Celestee, which are £300 more, but I was really unimpressed after a good 30min listening session. I'd have a hard time seeing why anyone would choose them over a P9, but we're all different.

 

[Jazz1]

Does anyone think B&W will produce a successor to the P9, or is it all about BT theses days?

 

[mainguy]

Does anyone think B&W will produce a successor to the P9, or is it all about BT theses days?

I emailed them and they said the market has gone down the bluetooth avenue, so no plans to. The employee said the P9 was a bit of a special one off.

Shame, as I think B&Ws bluetooth headphones aren't anywhere near the P5/P7/P9 glory days, to me anyway.

 

[Jazz1]

I suppose they have to bow to the mass market. That is to bad I’m glad I have new/spare ear pads for the long term enjoyment of them.

 

[mainguy]

I suppose they have to bow to the mass market. That is to bad I’m glad I have new/spare ear pads for the long term enjoyment of them.

Yup its a shame.

You know B&W could have gone the focal route imo, and become a great loudspeaker company that makes great cans.

Imagine a B&W Utopia competitor. Would be super interesting, as we know they have the engineering talent to compete with focal in the speaker space.

 

[gikigill]

Yup its a shame.

You know B&W could have gone the focal route imo, and become a great loudspeaker company that makes great cans.

Imagine a B&W Utopia competitor. Would be super interesting, as we know they have the engineering talent to compete with focal in the speaker space.

They don't compete with Focal in speakers, they beat them.

The Nautilus is one of its kind, something that makes the likes of even the Grande Utopia EVO EM seem boxy and outdated.

 

[mainguy]

They don't compete with Focal in speakers, they beat them.

The Nautilus is one of its kind, something that makes the likes of even the Grande Utopia EVO EM seem boxy and outdated.

You know Stuart Neville, was head of engineering at B&W for a while, he worked on the Nautilus and then the P9. Apple have poached him I believe.

Yes it seems like you're right, B&W does make speakers which are considered better than focals from what little i know. But they're still competitors i believe at several price points.

 

[gikigill]

B&W is cheaper than Focal while offering a better built product in my experience. I had Focal Home, Car and Personal Audio but never again.

A lot of older B&W stuff is still around while you wont see older Focal since Focal build quality is usually more brittle. The P9 is built like a tank with its solid metal arms while the Focal headphones will snap if looked at angrily not to mention the B&W earpads are sturdier and longer lasting and as I mentioned earlier, cheaper.

https://www.moon-audio.com/focal-clear-headphone-pads.html

https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/b-and-w-replacement-earpads-for-p9-signature-headphones.html

USD190 for pads that wont make it past 2-3 years as evidenced all over the internet vs USD50 for pads that will last longer.

 

[mainguy]

B&W is cheaper than Focal while offering a better built product in my experience. I had Focal Home, Car and Personal Audio but never again.

A lot of older B&W stuff is still around while you wont see older Focal since Focal build quality is usually more brittle. The P9 is built like a tank with its solid metal arms while the Focal headphones will snap if looked at angrily not to mention the B&W earpads are sturdier and longer lasting and as I mentioned earlier, cheaper.

https://www.moon-audio.com/focal-clear-headphone-pads.html

https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/b-and-w-replacement-earpads-for-p9-signature-headphones.html

USD190 for pads that wont make it past 2-3 years as evidenced all over the internet vs USD50 for pads that will last longer.

Oh believe me, I'm with you on the B&W vs Focal.

My main headphones are the P9 and Focal Clear.
My P9s have been dropped, taken 1000s km travelling, etc, look like new and work as new. My Clears have sat in my bedroom but the pads are covered in bobbles and discoloured, which like you say is ludicrous when pads are a fortune to replace.

I'll add to that, although I know this is personal, I prefer my P9s to the Clear 7/10 times, not bad considering they're less than half the RRP. There is no doubt in the mid range the P9 deliver more vocal detail, ive gone back and forth to clinically compare and was suprised to have the focals sound a little thin via the Clear when compared. It is also part of the Clear's style, though.

It's what makes me think if B&W bothered to make a £1500, or even £2500 headphone, they'd have something incredible.

 

[plakat]

I never came around to try the P9 unfortunately... now its vanished from both shops and the B&W site. Sad to hear that they waNt to follow the consumer side of things only...

 

[GREQ]

A lot of older B&W stuff is still around while you wont see older Focal since Focal build quality is usually more brittle. The P9 is built like a tank with its solid metal arms while the Focal headphones will snap if looked at angrily not to mention the B&W earpads are sturdier .....

P9 build quality is actually pretty average.
The plastic cups are known to separate from the baffle and the headband padding is pretty flaky too.
Tanks they are not.