bear in mind, I am very early on here, but I have had the P7s on my head now for a few days now (mostly switching on and off with the D600s). Also keep in mind, I haven’t really engaged wireless other than to confirm it works with a few tracks. 99% of my listening has been done through the mojo from various sources.
First off, they are smaller and much lighter than I was anticipating. I've seen the P7s around, but I haven't really picked them up and fondled them. The clamp is solid. If I weren't such a sweater, I'd wear them to the gym. They are going to stay on your head (for better or worse). The clamp does put some strain on my jaw and sinuses. It does seem to be improving (or I toughening). My ears do comfortably fit inside the cups. I will have no qualms wearing these around, hitting the streets and subways. Of course, I wore the massive AH-D600s on commutes, only feeling like a ******* like 20% of the time. Sessions of 30 minutes+ and I do begin to feel a bit of discomfort on the top of my head, this is the same with the D600s. It is an altogether different comfort problem than I get from the Grados, so makes for good swapping buddies. The D600s are a more plush and comfortable feel, but they are kind of sloppy on your head. They tend to slide around where I can't imagine that happening with the P7s. I will feel confident performing rigorous nodding to stompy parts of my favorite tunes.
I do wish they came with a 3/8ths adapter and in-line mic/controls. Since I do a lot of listening with the mojo, I’m not sure I’ll have time to unplug and engage bluetooth every time a call comes in. This could be a problem if I don't end up liking them wireless. For the record, the case looks much better than review photos I saw. I’m less offended. I’ll use it.
They beat the AH-D600s in a landslide as far as sound goes. I don't think there is much to miss here on soundstage. There are places where the bass has less impact. For example, "that part" in James Blakes's "Limit To Your Love." The D600s want to rumble off of my head and it is kind of cool. On the other hand, while not as impactful, the P7s have a lot more going on in the bass, texture if you will, and all the other notes and layers of the track are more interesting and balanced. I think more engaging and tighter perfectly sums up the bottom end of the P7 when compared to the D600s.
On the D600s, I find the highs a little prickly, actually. Maybe they are veiled as @DoctaCosmos mentions, but I think the bigger problem is they have so little support from the mids and mid-highs. They are just sitting out there all alone and can be fatiguing. With some tracks it feels like there is a huge canyon between the treble and bass. I don't mean to bash the D600s, but there is no such problem with the P7s and that creates a strong contrast. They use the space well. Their imaging isn’t bad either, maybe a bit better than the D600s. Even though they do have a pronounced bass, everything is nicely balanced for my tastes. They are quick but luscious. Not analytical but also not flabby.
Vocals sound great as does rock and indie. Listening through Magic Potion by the Black Keys, it gives me the feeling of sitting between Patrick and Dan in the studio. Warm guitar amp tubes and authoritative bass drum. I may not be insta-reaching for my Grados every time I crave solid mid frequencies.
I have had a lot of fun going through my soundcloud. The quality on these transcodings is not great but the P7s, like the RS1s, smooth things over very well. There are a lot of mixes I can only get here, so it isn’t like there are a lot of options for higher resolution. I’m talking Reflex by SAINt JHN, Nils Hoffmann, Drunk In Love (The Weeknd Remix) and odds and ends by How to Dress Well. There are artifacts in these tracks for sure, they aren’t the cleanest or most dynamic recordings, but the P7s make them enjoyable. I sit diametrically opposed to those who suggest the P7s are a waste on compressed files. I’m very interested to listen to them wirelessly. I get the sense that this is actually where their home is: super convenience with great sound out of just about anything. You won’t be getting the best out of the P7s with these tracks, but they’ll still sound better than your old headphones.
I think the more interesting comparison will be between the P7 and RS1is—which I’ve got a ways to go on. For my money, I think it is easier to make a great sounding pair of open headphones and the RS1s aren’t cheap. The RS1i does just about everything better, especially mids to highs but I do pick up similarities here and there. The bass control of the P7 is a little reminiscent of the Grados. The closed-back-ed-ness of the P7s certainly give more rumble and distortion. That can be a good thing given the right place and time.
I also look forward to mojo vs APTX, APTX vs AAC, mac vs iphone, vinyl and tube-rolling the bellari.
By no means do I think these cans will go down with legendary status, but I do think they are close to the front of the pack as far as portable/convenience/private audio goes. They are a great all around pair for people that listen to a variety of things and want to enjoy their music.
edit: space
