[Lan647]

   
Huh! I'm somewhat adverse to bright headphones, but I have never felt that way about the M500's.

 
They do have a somewhat unatural and metallic sounding treble compared to better headphones, don't find them "bright" in balance myself but I would understand if someone felt that way.

 

[waynes world]

   
They do have a somewhat unatural and metallic sounding treble compared to better headphones, don't find them "bright" in balance myself but I would understand if someone felt that way.

 
Ok. Someday I will have to try some better headphones For now I will enjoy my M500's in blissful ignorance lol

 

[Wyd4]

Crazy how much opinions can vary.  The P7's don't seem overly bright at all to me.  Treble is perfect in my opinion on it.  They also don't seem bass heavy at all as some have said.  If anything I wish for a tad more bass, but I'm a bit of a bass head I've come to realize.  As for comfort, I'm one of the people with slightly oversized ears for the Momentums, so it's hard for me to compare.  But the P7 is very comfortable in my opinion.  I came from Senn HD380pro.  When I put those on now it feels like a vice is on my head.  I can forget the P7's are even on.  The more I listen to the P7's, the more I like them.  I'm at the point where I'm able to stop trying to compare them and find something else and just enjoy them.  I've tried enough to feel comfortable that this is the right sound signature for me.  This was my first time trying cans of this quality so I have gone through many different sets and learned quite a bit of the lingo and what a sound signature actually does in terms of listening.

Yeah everyone has different ears he he.
I find the p7s to be ever so slightly fatigueing (pending the track) through my note 3, I also find them to be far from bass heavy.
Through my laptop via a elcheapo USB DAC (tiny m USB DAC) and my t1 portable amp I find the highs to be smoothed though still perhaps a little emphasized and the bass to be more prominent.
Regardless I love these headphones. Best portables I have had.
Well I used mad dog 3.2s as portables which I preferred however by definition they are not portables haha

 

[desmo9]

   As for the bass, the momentum has more bass.  But I prefer the P7 as it is more neutral yet still has enough and tight bass.  

Must be variation in ears or source material, or Quality Control variables of the headphones .. but I'm about to return the P7s due to abundance of bass, mid-bass in particular. They're not neutral sounding to me whatsoever, from ipod or external amp, unless I'm playing a recording with a scarcity of low-end. Sampled the Momentums back to back and thought they had quite a bit less bass than the P7s. Alot of what I'm playing through the P7s, more than I first thought, sounds muddy. With the popularity of Beats, I'm not surprised to see manufacturers going this way, although how many folks are cross shopping P7s with Beats? Some recordings simply shine through the P7s, and I'm finding this to be the case in search for the perfect set of cans  $300 - $700. Debates about what's "best" -- given variables in recordings and preferences -- are fun but perhaps rather moot. 

 

[sean76]

I went to audition the p7 at another magnolia store and it sounded much better with my theorem. It wasnt bright at all. They gave me a 10% discount so I gave in and bought a pair. I figured this is thw only way to really test them out. Right now sounds pretty awful. I'll let it break in some more. Smells really nice though. Has the new leather smell.

 

[sean76]

Yeah everyone has different ears he he.
I find the p7s to be ever so slightly fatigueing (pending the track) through my note 3, I also find them to be far from bass heavy.
Through my laptop via a elcheapo USB DAC (tiny m USB DAC) and my t1 portable amp I find the highs to be smoothed though still perhaps a little emphasized and the bass to be more prominent.
Regardless I love these headphones. Best portables I have had.
Well I used mad dog 3.2s as portables which I preferred however by definition they are not portables haha

I seriously thought about purchasing the mad or alpha dog but they might be inappropriate for work.  So I settled with the P7.  I like the look of the P7.  I always wanted B&W 800 series speakers.  Since I cannot afford those, I'll just buy P7.  haha
 
This might be a dump question.  But do the planar headphones sound anything similar to planar speakers?  I have a pair of magnepans and if they sound anything like them, I will for sure purchase a pair of planar headphones!

 

[Wyd4]

  I seriously thought about purchasing the mad or alpha dog but they might be inappropriate for work.  So I settled with the P7.  I like the look of the P7.  I always wanted B&W 800 series speakers.  Since I cannot afford those, I'll just buy P7.  haha
 
This might be a dump question.  But do the planar headphones sound anything similar to planar speakers?  I have a pair of magnepans and if they sound anything like them, I will for sure purchase a pair of planar headphones!

Hey,
 
Both the Mad and Alpha's do leak significantly more than the p7's.
But far less then the LCD2's I used at work for a while (quietly, which was a real shame, the LCD's were the first headphone I have owned that I felt stayed completely clean and true to its sound far beyond comfortable levels).
 
I honestly dont know what planar speakers sound like.  Like dynamic headphones, they have different signatures from HifiMan to Audeze to Fostex, however of the ones I have tried I would say the similarities are deep base extension with fantastic texture, lush deep sound (not thin sounding, plenty of body), mids are divine, again lush and of the ones I have had, very detailed highs without being overly strident or harsh.  
 
In saying that, I hear the HiFiman 400's can be very harsh up top.  Anoher thing to consider is all the planar's I have had/heard were heavy, which was one of the only things that lead me to sell them due to a bad neck.
 
I couldnt recommend the LCD 2's/alphadogs more for sound.  The mad dogs are the lightest of the bunch and also the most comfortable to me.  Not to mention most affordable.

I have high praise for the Mad Dogs Bang for Buck.

 

[sean76]

  Hey,
 
Both the Mad and Alpha's do leak significantly more than the p7's.
But far less then the LCD2's I used at work for a while (quietly, which was a real shame, the LCD's were the first headphone I have owned that I felt stayed completely clean and true to its sound far beyond comfortable levels).
 
I honestly dont know what planar speakers sound like.  Like dynamic headphones, they have different signatures from HifiMan to Audeze to Fostex, however of the ones I have tried I would say the similarities are deep base extension with fantastic texture, lush deep sound (not thin sounding, plenty of body), mids are divine, again lush and of the ones I have had, very detailed highs without being overly strident or harsh.  
 
In saying that, I hear the HiFiman 400's can be very harsh up top.  Anoher thing to consider is all the planar's I have had/heard were heavy, which was one of the only things that lead me to sell them due to a bad neck.
 
I couldnt recommend the LCD 2's/alphadogs more for sound.  The mad dogs are the lightest of the bunch and also the most comfortable to me.  Not to mention most affordable.

I have high praise for the Mad Dogs Bang for Buck.

thanks for your input.  I didn't realize about the weight of the planars.  I will probably buy the lcd2 or alpha dogs for home use.  The alpha dogs look huge!  Too large for work.  I am pretty content w/ the P7 so far.  They are not perfect but they are portable so that's a plus.

 

[Lan647]

  Must be variation in ears or source material, or Quality Control variables of the headphones .. but I'm about to return the P7s due to abundance of bass, mid-bass in particular. They're not neutral sounding to me whatsoever, from ipod or external amp, unless I'm playing a recording with a scarcity of low-end. Sampled the Momentums back to back and thought they had quite a bit less bass than the P7s. Alot of what I'm playing through the P7s, more than I first thought, sounds muddy. With the popularity of Beats, I'm not surprised to see manufacturers going this way, although how many folks are cross shopping P7s with Beats? Some recordings simply shine through the P7s, and I'm finding this to be the case in search for the perfect set of cans  $300 - $700. Debates about what's "best" -- given variables in recordings and preferences -- are fun but perhaps rather moot. 

 
Well I'll tell you that something isn't right with your P7 if it sounds muddier than the Momentum. My P7 is much more refined and neutral than the Momentum and not at all particularly bass-heavy. 

 

[PolkManiac]

There's nothing wrong with his P7, when are people gonna learn that we all hear things differently. Although I enjoy and use the P7 more now, I think the Momentum is clearly a more neutral headphone. The P7 has a more lively and open sound, but no way it's more neutral than the Momentum, my ears and measurements both agree on this.

 

[xeroian]

Well spoken, I agree. I don't see how people can call the P7s overly bright and even painful (!?). The KEF M500 I can understand, but P7? And this comes from someone who hates bright headphones. I would take the Beats Solo over the Ultrasone Edition 10 any day. 

I posted earlier that I returned my pair at the end of the 7 day cooling off period because I was still undecided. Well, I auditioned another pair in Milton Keynes John Lewis. They were attached to B&W's own demonstration facility along with the P3 and P5. And guess what - they sounded overly bright and painful.in fact they were worse than that, sounding totally awful and unacceptable. If B&W can't demonstrate them properly then what chance do others stand? By the way I also tried a pair in the MK Apple Store and they sounded better despite a dodgy headphone jack that kept losing the left channel.

With this sort of evidence i think we have to be very cautious of comments made following in-store auditions.

Ian

 

[Lan647]

I posted earlier that I returned my pair at the end of the 7 day cooling off period because I was still undecided. Well, I auditioned another pair in Milton Keynes John Lewis. They were attached to B&W's own demonstration facility along with the P3 and P5. And guess what - they sounded overly bright and painful.in fact they were worse than that, sounding totally awful and unacceptable. If B&W can't demonstrate them properly then what chance do others stand? By the way I also tried a pair in the MK Apple Store and they sounded better despite a dodgy headphone jack that kept losing the left channel.

With this sort of evidence i think we have to be very cautious of comments made following in-store auditions.

Ian

 
^ This I can relate too. When I first tried the P7 at the store, it sounded awful. I still don't know why, but it sounded thin and bright and piercing. Very strange indeed. When I tried them a second time in the same store, making sure the fit was absolutely perfect and I was in a more quiet environment - they sounded much, much better and as excellent as the pair I now possess. May have been a different demo unit or I just got really unlucky with the fit the first time. There is no way burn-in could be the explanation here, the difference was too great, completely different sounds.
 
Are there faulty P7s out there, I wonder??

 

[Romani]

There's nothing wrong with his P7, when are people gonna learn that we all hear things differently. Although I enjoy and use the P7 more now, I think the Momentum is clearly a more neutral headphone. The P7 has a more lively and open sound, but no way it's more neutral than the Momentum, my ears and measurements both agree on this.

Fully agree. It's very simple really. The P7 scales better than the Momentums do. P7 is heavily impacted by source. I still absolutely adore both headphones.

 

[starfly]

   
^ This I can relate too. When I first tried the P7 at the store, it sounded awful. I still don't know why, but it sounded thin and bright and piercing. Very strange indeed. When I tried them a second time in the same store, making sure the fit was absolutely perfect and I was in a more quiet environment - they sounded much, much better and as excellent as the pair I now possess. May have been a different demo unit or I just got really unlucky with the fit the first time. There is no way burn-in could be the explanation here, the difference was too great, completely different sounds.
 
Are there faulty P7s out there, I wonder??

The first P7 I tried also didn't sound special. And the second one I tried blew me away. So maybe the first production run produced some faulty units? Who knows...
 
Oh, for all you P7 owners, I highly recommend you sign up for the Society of Sound on the B&W website (you get a 3mth free trial). There are some really excellent recordings on that site, most of them in hi-res flac format.

 

[LFC_SL]

Think you guys are trying too hard for special reasons when the simplest one is often true. Most likely revisiting and giving something a second proper listen it clicks, or not.