[Chimichanga]

Just got these, and WOW! am I enjoying them more than the NAD Viso's I returned. Bass is where I want it to be (oomph) and the detail retrieval/instrument separation is better; I can follow certain musical flourishes better.

So pleased with them so far.

 

[Schonen]

Tried them last night at futureshop and based on comfort alone I would never buy the P7.

 

[randy98mtu]

Still loving my P7 as well. I am new to higher end headphones so take this with a grain of salt. But I just added a pair of HD650 and to me the sound signature isn't that different. The 650 pulls a lot more detail but to my ears they compliment each other perfectly as a closed portable can and an open home studio can. I'm very happy with them both.

 

[dlhen68]

Allow me to reiterate what I've pointed out in a couple of previous posts. A number of people have shared their very negative first impressions of the P7s. I generally agree with those impressions, however the overall "hardness" of these cans is just that: a FIRST impression. After three weeks these headphones seem "softer" to me. The fit is good and the sound has really mellowed. Only on rare occasions do I feel that the bass is a bit too extended. I do notice the slight recession of the mids on some tracks, but that's true for most cans that offer a little color to their signature. I never feel that I'm missing anything since the effect is pretty slight. I've been tempted to order a pair of the NADs to try, but from what I've read I think they might sound a bit too "polite" after the B&Ws.

 

[xanlamin]

  Allow me to reiterate what I've pointed out in a couple of previous posts. A number of people have shared their very negative first impressions of the P7s. I generally agree with those impressions, however the overall "hardness" of these cans is just that: a FIRST impression. After three weeks these headphones seem "softer" to me. The fit is good and the sound has really mellowed. Only on rare occasions do I feel that the bass is a bit too extended. I do notice the slight recession of the mids on some tracks, but that's true for most cans that offer a little color to their signature. I never feel that I'm missing anything since the effect is pretty slight. I've been tempted to order a pair of the NADs to try, but from what I've read I think they might sound a bit too "polite" after the B&Ws.

Yes, the NADs are much more polite than B&Ws. The only headphone which can match the B&Ws in terms of bass and attack is the Amperior but then the B&Ws comes out on tops in terms of control and built quality.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

According to Jason here, http://www.head-fi.org/t/685162/new-vali-schiit-amp/30#post_9876674 , the Vali has 8 ohms output impedance. That's likely why there's noise as you need 64 ohms in your headphones to not hear noise based on the 8 times impedance rule. You could try getting a cheap $5 iem that's 16 ohms and see if the background noise is even worse. That would confirm the problem being poor impedance matching.

 
 
Wut?
 
The amount of noise one might hear has very little to do with impedance matching, and much more to do with the efficiency of the headphone.
 
The P7 might also be more prone to highlighting noise as it's extremely responsive in the treble, and can easily reproduce white noise.

 

[xriddler]

Has anyone been able to compare B&O's H6 with B&W P7s?

 

[Sonido]

   
 
Wut?
 
The amount of noise one might hear has very little to do with impedance matching, and much more to do with the efficiency of the headphone.
 
The P7 might also be more prone to highlighting noise as it's extremely responsive in the treble, and can easily reproduce white noise.

My bad. I was confusing with damping factor. It's still not optimal for that. (P7+Vali).

 

[moot11]

According to Jason here, http://www.head-fi.org/t/685162/new-vali-schiit-amp/30#post_9876674 , the Vali has 8 ohms output impedance. That's likely why there's noise as you need 64 ohms in your headphones to not hear noise based on the 8 times impedance rule. You could try getting a cheap $5 iem that's 16 ohms and see if the background noise is even worse. That would confirm the problem being poor impedance matching.

 
 

Have you tried surge protector or something to filter wall power noise

I hear no noise with P7 on portable rigs so guessing the noise is your combo in your specific environment

 
Thanks for the responses guys. I haven't had a chance to buy a cheap IEM yet, but I plugged in a pair of HE 400 and B&W P5 and the static/white noise/hiss is still present. I took a look and I do have a surge protector, but I'm also sharing the surge protector with a router, and a whole bunch of other devices (every outlet is plugged in). I'm guessing it's an issue with how many devices are plugged in?

 

[dlhen68]

xriddler, my demo experience with the B&O vs. the B&W is that the P7s are more aggressive. The H6 are "lighter", both physically and aurally. You would really have to demo the sets to make a determination as to preference. I've found that one should never go with a fist impression. My third listening session with the H6 was better that the first; same thing with the P7. I went with the P7, with some hesitation due to the apparent harshness. After about 200 hours on them, the perceived harshness has decreased considerably. But the H6 sounded pretty good on that last demo. It's just a different flavor.

 

[xriddler]

I am absolutely new to all this and does breaking in headphones really exist? Could it be our perception of them changes as we keep listening to them. You know like you get use to the sound instead but the actual sound generated from the phones never actually changed. If someone can explain to me what breaking in headphones would actually do so i can understand its importance. 

 

[KLJTech]

Anyone here try the P7's with the Schiit Audio Lyr? I bought the Lyr to drive my HE-400 and 500's, but it still plays nice and sounds great with my easy to drive Grado's so I assume that it would work just fine with the closed back B&W's. 
 
I heard the P7's and the PSB M4U 2 headphones at Best Buy a couple weeks ago (not the best way to judge the true performance of either product) and was very impressed with the sound of both headphones and as I don't own ANY closed back can's I'm seriously considering buying either the P7's or the PSB's. If it were based on looks or apparent build quality the P7's would be my choice hands down. I'm sure that the music they had playing was meant to sound impressive on the headphones that were on display, but only the PSB's and P7's impressed me. I'm certainly a fan of B&W speakers and use either my CDM-1NT's or 805's in my office system.
 
I think its interesting that B&W designed a driver for the P7's that looks like a miniature stereo/HiFi speaker with a surround rather than using typical headphone driver that has no surround and has to flex at the edges while in use. I wonder how much of a difference this makes in real world headphone use.
 
I'm very curious if anyone has compared the PSB M4U 2's directly to the B&W P7's with uncompressed source files and a nice DAC/amp combo. I plan on using these at work, I can use either the Lyr to drive them or the amp built into my Parasound Zdac or Benchmark DAC1 Pre.

 

[PolkManiac]

There's always a debate around that. Are you really breaking the headphones in or breaking your eras in, so to speak? Personally I don't care which is true, as long as I like the sound who cares?

It's easy enough to test though, just take a new pair and an old pair and listen to them side by side and see if you can hear a difference blindfolded...

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
 
Wut?
 
The amount of noise one might hear has very little to do with impedance matching, and much more to do with the efficiency of the headphone.
 
The P7 might also be more prone to highlighting noise as it's extremely responsive in the treble, and can easily reproduce white noise.

Righto....FWIW, I hear zero noise floor on either my portable or desktop amp.
 

  Anyone here try the P7's with the Schiit Audio Lyr? I bought the Lyr to drive my HE-400 and 500's, but it still plays nice and sounds great with my easy to drive Grado's so I assume that it would work just fine with the closed back B&W's. 
 
I heard the P7's and the PSB M4U 2 headphones at Best Buy a couple weeks ago (not the best way to judge the true performance of either product) and was very impressed with the sound of both headphones and as I don't own ANY closed back can's I'm seriously considering buying either the P7's or the PSB's. If it were based on looks or apparent build quality the P7's would be my choice hands down. I'm sure that the music they had playing was meant to sound impressive on the headphones that were on display, but only the PSB's and P7's impressed me. I'm certainly a fan of B&W speakers and use either my CDM-1NT's or 805's in my office system.
 
I think its interesting that B&W designed a driver for the P7's that looks like a miniature stereo/HiFi speaker with a surround rather than using typical headphone driver that has no surround and has to flex at the edges while in use. I wonder how much of a difference this makes in real world headphone use.
 
I'm very curious if anyone has compared the PSB M4U 2's directly to the B&W P7's with uncompressed source files and a nice DAC/amp combo. I plan on using these at work, I can use either the Lyr to drive them or the amp built into my Parasound Zdac or Benchmark DAC1 Pre.

 
I wouldn't try it. My Lyr took out my Ed.8s (another member had the exact same combination). I would only recommend the Lyr for orthos and definitely not for low impedance / highly efficient dynamic headphones like the P7.

 

[tinyman392]

I am absolutely new to all this and does breaking in headphones really exist? Could it be our perception of them changes as we keep listening to them. You know like you get use to the sound instead but the actual sound generated from the phones never actually changed. If someone can explain to me what breaking in headphones would actually do so i can understand its importance. 

Nothing is solid about if break in is real or not. It's not too known what exactly is breaking in either. With use, lots of things change with the headphones.

One that supposedly changes is that the drivers themselves loosen up. The analogy normally goes with a pair of running shoes. They'll loosen up as they move more. People say the driver will do the same thing. It could very well be.

The other part is one that isn't talked about often. Pads (and tips for IEMs) will change shape and conform to the shape of your head, ears, or ear canal (tips) with time. This is simply due to the applied pressure that is pressed on your head by the headphones (or ear canal walls onto the tip). This changes the seal which can lead to a change in sound.

I can tell you for certain that a pad will (any foam will compress and conform with time; like a couch cushion). I also have a collection of Etymotic tips that have become ovular in shape (they were originally round).

Now, keep in mind that any change won't dignify a change in sound. That part of the topi is argued about the most. So whether it's real or not is questionable. There is no real solid, concrete evidence either way yet.

Psychoacoustics, what you stated might be happening, is another thing that is debated as well. It could certainly be a factor in this.