Bowers & Wilkins P5 or a Monster Beats Studio ?

[Twilight Dawn]

Hej guys, 
 
I'm a 17 year old student that constantly listens to music.
 
I only listen to music on my iphone or macbook pro and the music I listen to is bought on iTunes.
 
The genre of music I listen to is mostly pop (Adele, The Script , Beyoncé ,Cobra Starship,Florence+Machine... you get the point )
The variety of the pop music I listen to is huge there are a lot of Rock , Dance, R&B, Alternative tracks on my mac.
Music I DON'T  listen to = Metal, Rap (=sometimes a bit of Eminem, Nicki Minaj, Professor Green)
 
I'm NOT an audiophile, I never bought a headphone before, the most expensive item I bought is a pair of Sennheiser earbuds (40€)
 
The headphone I'm looking for should also look very cool.
 
So I was wondering which of the 2 I should buy ?
I know that most audiophiles absolutely HATE the Beats headphones, but I'm by far a professional, I just listen on my iPhone.
 
PS: any other headphone recommendations would be very welcome ! my budget is €300
 
THANKS FOR THE HELP  
 
 

 

[eke2k6]

I personally don't HATE the beats. I just think they're far overpriced and over-rated, and their marketing annoys me. For your budget and music genres, I recommend you get the Yamaha EPH-100 from audio affair. It sounds amazing for all the genres you listed, and will sound great for many more. They're made of silver metal and look pretty cool, and they're very comfortable. Also, it's price is close to a steal in my opinion. Here is the link to buy them: http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/Yamaha-EPH100-Earphones/product_5924
 
If you want to read up on them, look here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/577712/yamaha-eph-100#post_7945421
 
Good luck with your search

 

[DaBomb77766]

I would definitely go for the P5 over the Studios, 10 times out of 10.  Everyone else here will also agree - they're superior in pretty much every aspect.

 

[Twilight Dawn]

Quote:

I personally don't HATE the beats. I just think they're far overpriced and over-rated, and their marketing annoys me. For your budget and music genres, I recommend you get the Yamaha EPH-100 from audio affair. It sounds amazing for all the genres you listed, and will sound great for many more. They're made of silver metal and look pretty cool, and they're very comfortable. Also, it's price is close to a steal in my opinion. Here is the link to buy them: http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/Yamaha-EPH100-Earphones/product_5924
 
If you want to read up on them, look here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/577712/yamaha-eph-100#post_7945421
 
Good luck with your search

 
ooww.. but these are earphones...the lower end were you plug in the earphone in your ipod, well the wire doesn't work anymore or something.. and I didn't even had them for a year :/ ... I'm looking for something more durable that's why I want a headphone :s not an earphone , but thanks for helping , I didn't even know that Yamaha made earphones/headphones !! thanks !  
 
 


Quote:

I would definitely go for the P5 over the Studios, 10 times out of 10.  Everyone else here will also agree - they're superior in pretty much every aspect.

 
Ok thank you
 
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

 
ooww.. but these are earphones...the lower end were you plug in the earphone in your ipod, well the wire doesn't work anymore or something.. and I didn't even had them for a year :/ ... I'm looking for something more durable that's why I want a headphone :s not an earphone , but thanks for helping , I didn't even know that Yamaha made earphones/headphones !! thanks !  
 
 
 
Ok thank you
 
 

Well, cables on headphones like this can break too...fortunately, I believe the P5 has a replaceable cable.  Anyway, I'd highly recommend checking out this thread: 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-98-portable-headphones-reviewed-sony-mdr-pq2-and-philips-oneill-sho9560-added-01-02-12
 
One more option you may want to check out is the V-Moda M-80.  I rather like the way they look and they're supposed to sound quite good..I have a pair on order and they should be here soon, so perhaps I could say more about them then!

 

[smial1966]

Twilight Dawn

The B&W P5 headphones are undeniably stylish but there is a consensus among owners that they sound somewhat muffled. Increased transparency can be obtained by swapping the cable for an albeit expensive replacement from Stefan Art Audio.

BUT... to my ears the Blue Ant Embrace headphones are sonically superior to the P5 (without the cable change) and they're an equally stylish pair of cans.

Cheers.

 

[Twilight Dawn]

Quote:

Well, cables on headphones like this can break too...fortunately, I believe the P5 has a replaceable cable.  Anyway, I'd highly recommend checking out this thread: 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-98-portable-headphones-reviewed-sony-mdr-pq2-and-philips-oneill-sho9560-added-01-02-12
 
One more option you may want to check out is the V-Moda M-80.  I rather like the way they look and they're supposed to sound quite good..I have a pair on order and they should be here soon, so perhaps I could say more about them then!

 
Yes you can replace the cable ;p and the thread you send me IS GREAT !!!! thanks so much ! 

 
Quote:

Twilight Dawn
The B&W P5 headphones are undeniably stylish but there is a consensus among owners that they sound somewhat muffled. Increased transparency can be obtained by swapping the cable for an albeit expensive replacement from Stefan Art Audio.
BUT... to my ears the Blue Ant Embrace headphones are sonically superior to the P5 (without the cable change) and they're an equally stylish pair of cans.
Cheers.

Really ? in what way is it muffled ? what do you exactly mean by that ? 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

 
Yes you can replace the cable ;p and the thread you send me IS GREAT !!!! thanks so much ! 

 

Really ? in what way is it muffled ? what do you exactly mean by that ? 

Well, I listened to the P5 once, briefly, in a Futureshop...compared to the HD25-i II they had there, it was lacking a bit on clarity and was a little bit..."muddy" in comparison.  That's the "warmth" people talk about when they describe it, I guess.  Some people love it, some people hate it.  Depending on what you're looking for though, it's not necessarily a particularly negative aspect.

 

[Twilight Dawn]

Quote:

Well, I listened to the P5 once, briefly, in a Futureshop...compared to the HD25-i II they had there, it was lacking a bit on clarity and was a little bit..."muddy" in comparison.  That's the "warmth" people talk about when they describe it, I guess.  Some people love it, some people hate it.  Depending on what you're looking for though, it's not necessarily a particularly negative aspect.

http://store.apple.com/be-nl/product/H1438ZM/A?
 
these are the ones you're talking about right ? They look cool... but then on the other hand they'll probably have things that the b&w does better ? right ?

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

http://store.apple.com/be-nl/product/H1438ZM/A?
 
these are the ones you're talking about right ? They look cool... but then on the other hand they'll probably have things that the b&w does better ? right ?

 
Well, apparently the P5 is more comfortable and isolates better.  The HD25-1 II also has really prominent and loud treble, which some people don't like...it can cause fatigue pretty quickly.

 

[Twilight Dawn]

Quote:

 
Well, apparently the P5 is more comfortable and isolates better.  The HD25-1 II also has really prominent and loud treble, which some people don't like...it can cause fatigue pretty quickly.

Hmm ok
 
I'm insanely addicted to this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSeZr3AvzHA
 
which one would be best for this kind of songs and more pop like songs ? 

 

[Twilight Dawn]

Any more tips or hints ?

 

[dubeam01]

My very strong recommendations in this portable segment would be:
 
Sennheiser hd25-1 ii
V-moda m80/v80
 
I doubt for the price, build, sound....there is anything better out there. Either are easy to drive also without the need of an amp and have the best feedback and rankings provided by the head-fi community. You cannot go wrong with either. If isolation is more important go for the hd25-1 ii. Either would be great to own. I hav the Senn's which are quite industrial looking, but I love them to death!

 

[marcbee]

P5, DT 1350, HD 25 are good choices 

 

[shamrock134]

Have you read |joker|'s portable shootout thread? It has excellent sonic descriptions of the M80, P5, HD25 and Beats Studio.