RedHotFuzz
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2016
- Posts
- 114
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- 42
So my question is, based on the persistent theme around B&W headphones year after year, is why is the company so inept at designing for comfort? I imagine their field testing for ergonomics goes something like this:
“So how do they feel, Steve?”
“Meh, they kinda hurt my...”
“Stop right there, that’s good enough for us! Let’s sign off on the final design and send these to production!”
Sony and Bose seem to get it. Too bad all their stuff is plastic and vinyl, despite the high prices. B&O’s circular cups are dumb, but at least their products feel pretty good. Sennheiser understands. Frankly I keep hoping Apple (but not Beats) will throw their hat into the premium over-ear space, because Apple does a bajillion hours on field testing for user experience (hockey puck mouse notwithstanding). Give me leather and stainless steel/carbon fiber/aluminum that looks like a million bucks but also feels like a million bucks.
Every time I break out my P7W, my skull whimpers a little in anticipation. They are a work of art but just miserable to wear over time. Sounds like the PX isn’t much better, and I haven’t seen many raves for the comfort of the PX7 either.
What’s the problem, B&W?
(Side note: I just picked up a pair of Airpod Pros for my noise-cancelling needs. They feel great, and the user experience is fantastic. No, they aren’t top-tier for audio.)
“So how do they feel, Steve?”
“Meh, they kinda hurt my...”
“Stop right there, that’s good enough for us! Let’s sign off on the final design and send these to production!”
Sony and Bose seem to get it. Too bad all their stuff is plastic and vinyl, despite the high prices. B&O’s circular cups are dumb, but at least their products feel pretty good. Sennheiser understands. Frankly I keep hoping Apple (but not Beats) will throw their hat into the premium over-ear space, because Apple does a bajillion hours on field testing for user experience (hockey puck mouse notwithstanding). Give me leather and stainless steel/carbon fiber/aluminum that looks like a million bucks but also feels like a million bucks.
Every time I break out my P7W, my skull whimpers a little in anticipation. They are a work of art but just miserable to wear over time. Sounds like the PX isn’t much better, and I haven’t seen many raves for the comfort of the PX7 either.
What’s the problem, B&W?
(Side note: I just picked up a pair of Airpod Pros for my noise-cancelling needs. They feel great, and the user experience is fantastic. No, they aren’t top-tier for audio.)
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