[Bern2]

If anyone notices a sale over the next few weeks...would appreciate if you'd post it here.  Hoping for a Black Friday reduction.  Encouraged by all the comments I have read here.  These will be replacing a Sony MDR-1abt.  (I hope so at least).  
 
Bern

 

[kelly200269]

If anyone notices a sale over the next few weeks...would appreciate if you'd post it here.  Hoping for a Black Friday reduction.  Encouraged by all the comments I have read here.  These will be replacing a Sony MDR-1abt.  (I hope so at least).  

Bern

Can heartily recommend the P7W's over the 1ABT's. My Sony's are now for sale!
I very much doubt you will get a Black Friday reduction on these. I think they're pricing strategy is a bit like Apple's. Plus they can probably sell every pair they manufacture right now.

 

[kurochin]

  Yes I have also noticed this low level noise as well as a click after a song finishes or just before it starts. It has been discussed earlier in this thread.

 
Really? Darn... I'm thinking of getting the P7 Wireless after two very positive (albeit short) auditions. Was actually planning to pick them up Monday after work, as a matter of fact, but after reading this I'll really need to test them with some of my gapless albums first. Would be a deal-breaker for me if this was indeed the case.

 

[Graham Baker]

   
Really? Darn... I'm thinking of getting the P7 Wireless after two very positive (albeit short) auditions. Was actually planning to pick them up Monday after work, as a matter of fact, but after reading this I'll really need to test them with some of my gapless albums first. Would be a deal-breaker for me if this was indeed the case.

There are no problems with gapless albums, at least they play perfectly (no click, no break in audio) on my Galaxy Note3 using Poweramp.
In fact there are also no clicks between tracks of normal (non-gapless) albums/playlists etc - the click is only there at the very start and end of an album/playlist, not between individual tracks...

 

[kurochin]

  There are no problems with gapless albums, at least they play perfectly (no click, no break in audio) on my Galaxy Note3 using Poweramp.
In fact there are also no clicks between tracks of normal (non-gapless) albums/playlists etc - the click is only there at the very start and end of an album/playlist, not between individual tracks...

That's a relief. I suppose it's a good idea to make a note of all the possible listening scenarios and apps/players I'll be using before testing them out in the store tomorrow. Probably a good idea to go through this thread in full once again as well. Thanks for the reply, by the way.

 

[bossnass15]

Anyone used them on a plane yet? Wonder how well is the passive isolation on a plane..

 

[GrussGott]

  Anyone used them on a plane yet? Wonder how well is the passive isolation on a plane..

 
Quite a bit, just got back from a flight on Friday.
 
For me the question is immersion versus isolation.  For example, noise cancelling is great as it cuts all of the engine drone and white noise associated with air travel that can intrude on whatever you're trying to listen to so for those sounds it's great isolation and really good at immersion.  However where ANC fails is voices, babies crying, glasses clinking, silverware and all the other higher frequency, variable noise: the QC35s and MDR1000Xs let those sounds right in so in that case it's neither isolating nor immersive.
 
The P7Ws have good passive isolation but it's not comparable to an ANC set or even close for engine drone but it's better than ANC sets for babies crying but that's not to say it's much better.
 
This is where immersion comes in.  For me, because the P7Ws sound so much better than any ANC set, if you're running any kind of decent volume, everything else just kind of melts away and you get lost in the sound.  That means pretty much all outside sounds are either not heard or not noticed so, for me, they're now my go-to set for air travel.
 
It's going to be an individual preference thing, but after 4 years of using ANC I'm now on the P7Ws exclusively for air travel.

 

[Traveller]

Question to those currently interested P7 buyers...
...how interested are you in having AptX HD functionality?
 
It would seem that with the iPhone 7, BT will see a big surge in demand. I expect many top Headphone manufacturers to jump on the BT bandwagon (assuming they have not already done so) and there's no reason why any late 2016 and later models will not support Qualcomm's latest and greatest.

 

[kelly200269]

  Question to those currently interested P7 buyers...
...how interested are you in having AptX HD functionality?
 
It would seem that with the iPhone 7, BT will see a big surge in demand. I expect many top Headphone manufacturers to jump on the BT bandwagon (assuming they have not already done so) and there's no reason why any late 2016 and later models will not support Qualcomm's latest and greatest.

TBH, the P7W's are so good using Apt-X, I have no need for a supposedly higher-quality codec.
If it's anything like Sony's LDAC, it may be underwhelming.

 

[Graham Baker]

iPhone does not even have APTx capability....

 

[kelly200269]

  iPhone does not even have APTx capability....

I don't think Apple are particularly bothered about SQ, just convenience.

 

[bossnass15]

   
Quite a bit, just got back from a flight on Friday.
 
For me the question is immersion versus isolation.  For example, noise cancelling is great as it cuts all of the engine drone and white noise associated with air travel that can intrude on whatever you're trying to listen to so for those sounds it's great isolation and really good at immersion.  However where ANC fails is voices, babies crying, glasses clinking, silverware and all the other higher frequency, variable noise: the QC35s and MDR1000Xs let those sounds right in so in that case it's neither isolating nor immersive.
 
The P7Ws have good passive isolation but it's not comparable to an ANC set or even close for engine drone but it's better than ANC sets for babies crying but that's not to say it's much better.
 
This is where immersion comes in.  For me, because the P7Ws sound so much better than any ANC set, if you're running any kind of decent volume, everything else just kind of melts away and you get lost in the sound.  That means pretty much all outside sounds are either not heard or not noticed so, for me, they're now my go-to set for air travel.
 
It's going to be an individual preference thing, but after 4 years of using ANC I'm now on the P7Ws exclusively for air travel.

Thanks for the insight Gruss.
I was tempted to get the MDR-1000x just for ANC if there's only a slight degradation in SQ. (According to this review: http://www.inquisitr.com/3593210/sony-mdr-1000x-wireless-headphones-review-and-unboxing/). For me, I'll primarily use the wireless portable headphones when I'm commuting. Guess I'll hold out for the latest and greatest next year..

 

[Traveller]

Question to those currently interested P7 buyers... how interested are you in having AptX HD functionality?

TBH, the P7W's are so good using Apt-X, I have no need for a supposedly higher-quality codec. If it's anything like Sony's LDAC, it may be underwhelming.

AptX vs AptX HD is similar to the Redbook CD vs. Hi-Res debate.
My music collection is still 95% Redbook and hence the P7 is very much still on my short list. I may just take a little longer to decide and while doing so, keep an eye on EOY / BOY launches...
 
Quote:

iPhone does not even have APTx capability....

Yes sir, quite right, iPhone does not have AptX but they will still be the biggest reason for a surge of BT-capable Headphones in near future. the question is if they will also be motivation for more high-end gear given the limited compatibility with BT-codecs... .

 

[kelly200269]

  Thanks for the insight Gruss.
I was tempted to get the MDR-1000x just for ANC if there's only a slight degradation in SQ. (According to this review: http://www.inquisitr.com/3593210/sony-mdr-1000x-wireless-headphones-review-and-unboxing/). For me, I'll primarily use the wireless portable headphones when I'm commuting. Guess I'll hold out for the latest and greatest next year..

I have to echo GrussGott's comments about immersion. It's a 'funny thing' this SQ lark, isn't it!?
IMO the P7W's do something magical, that is very difficult to explain. I also have a pair of Sony MDR-1ABT's for comparison, which I obviously bought before the B&W's. And the Sony's sound OK. Actually, they sound really good. They probably sound the same, or very similar to the new 1000X's as I think they use the same drivers.
BUT compared to the B&W's they just don't 'grab' you, and immerse you in the music. The Sony's sound good, and completely competent as both BT and wired headphones. It's just that the B&W's make you feel like you're there with the musicians, and give you goose-bumps. And that feeling is very hard to quantify, or even qualify objectively.
They're NOT the perfect set of cans. They don't exist. But when listening on-the-move, I'd be amazed if we see anything better for a very long time.

 

[Graham Baker]

  Yes sir, quite right, iPhone does not have AptX but they will still be the biggest reason for a surge of BT-capable Headphones in near future. the question is if they will also be motivation for more high-end gear given the limited compatibility with BT-codecs... .

Agree totally that iPhone will drive the development of BT headsets, a good thing...
BUT I wonder if Apple (as usual) will go it alone with developing their supposedly new BT chip and (as usual) making it proprietary and licensing it out to other manufacturers as per Airplay?
So we end up with incompatible (as far as total 100% best performance) functions just as we did back in the *old* days of wired headphones with Apple reversing the wiring of their buttons...
The fact that Apple has so far totally ignored APTx on their mobile devices suggests to me that the above will be the case and we will continue to have on-going incompatibilities just as we have now with wired devices and USB C v Lightning etc etc...
Also I believe that BT4.2 is about to be released? I wonder if this will have any improvement on audio quality? Hopefully it will offer increased bandwidth as well as reduced hiss level...