[swifttal]

These are available for listening at most apple stores I've visited recently. Went in on a recent relatively quiet Sunday and had a good 30 min listen using my iPhone... as a big B&W fan I was quite disappointed - especially at this price.  I paid about $50 more for my E500PTHs and the B&W are nowhere near as good, at least out of the iPhone... Everything from musical detail, soundstage, and frequency extension (although I did think the highs were more refined on the B&Ws) fell short.
I'll have to bring in my portable amp and have a listen soon to see if there's a difference. If anyone has noticed a difference out of your portable amp, let us know what model you're using and the degree of difference you're noticing please

 

[hockey_magnet]

Despite a lot of the negatives posted - and I respect Head-Fi contributors, I went out and bought these. My primary reasons were comfort, portability, build quality, looks (not a great reason but at least I admit it) and hopefully decent SQ from an unamped ipod. I'm not an audiophile but I've owned lots of decent IE's - Shure, etc and my current primary portables are Westone UM2's. I really like the sound of the UM2's. Anyway, I found a couple of things - first, the P5's do require some burn in to bring out the mid's, out of the box they were a bit muffled. Second, they are extremely comfortable and very good at isolating (not as good as a well sealed IE but very good regardless). Third, they are more "relaxing" to wear in terms of SQ as well, as they definitely have a "softer' sound. For a closed, isolating headphone they have a very good sound stage and there is still enough detail for an excellent listening experience. I'd describe it a "lush". In terms of pure SQ unamped from an ipod, I really like them while I recognize that there are likely other options that provide a more detailed sound but I would still recommend them.  

 

[shawntp]

Enjoy them, they are superbly constructed and great sounding headphones.  I think the dust and hype/hate has cleared on these for the most part.  They are fine cans that will work wonderfully for a specific nitch.  Its understood that when buying them you don't get the most SQ/purchasing dollar but if you want something that is a little smaller/comfortable and perfectly suitable for a portable digital source un-amped.
 
They are a little colored but also sort of pleasing and just perfect for a small-sealed on-the-go headphone.  I've had HD595's, Grado RS-1's, HF-1's, etc and while they all sounded great the B&W's are fine cans also and very enjoyable (and incredibly pleasing on the eyes). 

 

[travisg]

I use mine for watching movies in bed from my iPad and I really like them.

 

[Nicki]

I'm completly head over heels for these.
But the price tag is... Scaring me a bit. What if I don't like them in the long run.
 
Can any of you that own a pair tell if you can bike with them? Do they isolate the wind (maybe not completly).
I've used a pair of KOSS PortaPro which are insane (if you ask me), but they suck for biking to and from work.
To much noise from traffic and wind comes in.
 
I've tried the B&W P5 in a music store, but every stereo in the shop was playing and making it difficult to test them
But from what I could hear, they seemed fine for my taste.
I like the look, feel and fit of them. I just need them to be somewhat well isolated.
 
I'm also going to be using them on plane trips a lot, so that's also why I need some noise cancellation.
 

 

[anadin]

Purchase them from the Apple store I think they give you 15 days to play around with them, if your not happy take them back for a refund.
 
I disliked everything about them from the fit to the SQ.

 

[tangfj]

I had these cans for a week and returned them...
 
What I liked:

1. Design and build was one of the best I've seen
2. Included a carrying case that was sufficient to use for travel

 
What I did not like:

1. For me the comfort wasn't there for long-term use (I travel a lot for work and wear headphones on airplanes for several hours at a time)... since these sit on your ear I felt that after about 30 mins my ears start to really hurt, not to mention that my ears were getting really hot in the process
2. Sound was not the best for my tastes... I generally prefer bright headphones and while the sound on these were good for my amateur ears, I prefer something more bright than these cans
3. The cable included is very flimsy... I didn't have problems since I only had them for a week but I could really see the cable being a problem down the road.  It's very thin and flimsy, not at all what you'd expect for $300.

 
Anyway, I ended up getting the Grado SR325's for their sound.  I love the sound out of my Grado's.  Granted the Grado's are not the best for traveling but that's another story.  Now I'm in the hunt for some new IEM's to replace my UE Super.fi EB's!

 

[silentlight]

Quote:

I had these cans for a week and returned them...
 
What I liked:

1. Design and build was one of the best I've seen
2. Included a carrying case that was sufficient to use for travel

 
What I did not like:

1. For me the comfort wasn't there for long-term use (I travel a lot for work and wear headphones on airplanes for several hours at a time)... since these sit on your ear I felt that after about 30 mins my ears start to really hurt, not to mention that my ears were getting really hot in the process
2. Sound was not the best for my tastes... I generally prefer bright headphones and while the sound on these were good for my amateur ears, I prefer something more bright than these cans
3. The cable included is very flimsy... I didn't have problems since I only had them for a week but I could really see the cable being a problem down the road.  It's very thin and flimsy, not at all what you'd expect for $300.

 
Anyway, I ended up getting the Grado SR325's for their sound.  I love the sound out of my Grado's.  Granted the Grado's are not the best for traveling but that's another story.  Now I'm in the hunt for some new IEM's to replace my UE Super.fi EB's!

I agree.
 
I had the headphones for about a month and just recently sold them.  New to the headphone world, my first purchase was the Bose on ear headphones, which I thought were terrible when compared to my B & O A8's.  Unaware of the various brands and models available at the price point, and ignorant of this great site, I purchased the B & W P5's and sold the Bose.  While they were better than the Bose in terms of detail and sounded more natural, when compared to my B & O's they sounded a bit more muffled or engineered?  Forgive me for the lack of a better description.  
 
What drove me to finally sell them was my recently purchase pair of M50's which I'm using with a Fiio E7.  Wow.  I can't believe the jump in SQ when compared to the P5's.  With the money left over I went and purchased Jay's V-Jays for portability (still haven't received them yet though but I think they'll sound better than the P5's based on reviews) and preordered a pair of Brainwaves M3's for running and other sports.  
 
Conclusion: Are they worth it?  I could have easily kept the P5's alongside these other headphones.  It wasn't a desperate sell for cash.  One of the biggest annoyances was the "heat" from the leather.  I just didn't want to wear them too long because of it.  I think the P5's look and feel great but in terms of sound and comfort they are quite lacking for the money.  I personally think they should be priced at about $175 to be worth it.

 

[hockey_magnet]

I still really like them, they are extremely comfortable and the sound is perfect for extended listening. Silly to compare an on ear phone to an ie as some have done but no way I'd bike with them - there are lots of sport type phones or ie's that would be better suited - Don't want to "lecture" but it's really dumb to bike in traffic with any headphones on!
 
Quote:

I'm completly head over heels for these.
But the price tag is... Scaring me a bit. What if I don't like them in the long run.
 
Can any of you that own a pair tell if you can bike with them? Do they isolate the wind (maybe not completly).
I've used a pair of KOSS PortaPro which are insane (if you ask me), but they suck for biking to and from work.
To much noise from traffic and wind comes in.
 
I've tried the B&W P5 in a music store, but every stereo in the shop was playing and making it difficult to test them
But from what I could hear, they seemed fine for my taste.
I like the look, feel and fit of them. I just need them to be somewhat well isolated.
 
I'm also going to be using them on plane trips a lot, so that's also why I need some noise cancellation.
 

 

[AykDaddy]

Has anyone compared these 1&1 with the Bose QC3?
 
Before you guys eat me up alive let me clarify: I use the Ultrasone Pro 900s for home use and Westone 2s & Monster Coppers for everyday commenting and use on the go. I do however need a good ON-EAR Headphone when traveling. I don't like IEMs for a longer period of time and my Ultrasones are just too bulky for on-the-go use.
 
Both seem to have decent (P5) to excellent Noise Cancellation capabilities (QC3). So: It boils down to Bose QC3 versus P5...for me at least.
 
Any opinions?

 

[unlikely]

At the moment I have both the HD25-1 and B&W p5 and I can't recommend any of them... 
 
The P5 totally lacks treble and the HD25-1 has too much :/. Apart from the sound signature the rest (comfort/build quality/portability) is top notch of both the hp's. I would like to refer to the topic with the 90+ reviewed hp's because I agree for a 100% with the reviews about these hp's in there. (Apart from my comments on the sq signature that is...)
 
Guess I have to look further....

 

[pjoliver182]

 

Hi All
 
For anyone interested in modifying their P5's - check out my first post in the 'Ear Cushion Mod' thread!
 
Thanks,
 
pjoliver
​

 

 

[wilzc]

I've had these for half a year. The comfort definitely improved but the sound.............
 
They opened up quite abit. Lately sibilance and sparkle has been creeping in, giving them better treble and sound less dark and a touch less warmth whilst still being very sweet.
 
Still..  my favourite cans... 

 

[pjoliver182]

Hi everyone
 
If you're willing to make some small modifications to your P5's they have the potential to be incredibly detailed and balanced cans!
 
Check out my 'wall of text' here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/576341/b-w-p5-modifications#post_7830482
 
Thanks

 

[spinner26]

They might be worth it but they felt overly heavy when wearing them and I didn't like the cord not being enclosed on the cups. Thought that was a cheap design.