[Greeni]

 
While much has been said about the P5 over these forums, Playback just out with a review which seemingly offer a contrarian view and described them as "subtle charmer"
 
http://www.avguide.com/review/bower-wilkins-p5-headphones-playback-39?src=Playback 

 

[MayaTlab]

Not surprised about this review which summarizes what I think of them. 
The P5 frequency balance is to me one of the most interesting I've heard in a portable pair of headphones and it does wonders with classical music as their timber accuracy is very good.
I really recommend them with classical or jazz / acoustic music.

 

[Duncan]

I have to say that I am a newcomer to these, only having had a pair since 23 December, and I have to say that very initial impressions (compared to the Beyer T50p) were negative, however - a few days of exclusive use has proven to me that they sound pretty darned good...
 
...I do note that the review in the OP link said that bass can be light, wow... - I find the bass to be anything but light!!
 
Anyway, still burning in, so - proper comments to come from me in the coming days

 

[Rockofeller]

Excellent review - really explains a lot about the science meets experience of headphone listening.

 

[MayaTlab]

Quote:

I have to say that I am a newcomer to these, only having had a pair since 23 December, and I have to say that very initial impressions (compared to the Beyer T50p) were negative, however - a few days of exclusive use has proven to me that they sound pretty darned good...
 
...I do note that the review in the OP link said that bass can be light, wow... - I find the bass to be anything but light!!
 
Anyway, still burning in, so - proper comments to come from me in the coming days

Would you mind giving us your thoughts about these two ? I already tried them several times, but never in direct comparison.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Would you mind giving us your thoughts about these two ? I already tried them several times, but never in direct comparison.

Its a tough one, to my ears it depends more on your favourite genre more than anything else...
 
...I will try to come up with some points in the following days, I can throw in the Senn HD25 as well if you'd like (seeing that the HD25 and T50p seem to be often mentioned in the same sentence)...
 

 

[a_recording]

You'll find that outside Head-Fi, the reviews of the P5 are pretty across-the-board positive. The thing is that they have a deliberately chosen sound signature - mid heavy, with not as much sub-bass or treble. They are relaxing and non fatiguing, though they might immediately strike one as thick and warm, the thing is that this isn't the sound of bloat - they are fast.
 
It's a tailored sound, so it may not be to your taste (I find myself liking it sometimes, and other times not so much). The comfort, build and convenience of the mic are great to me though.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

You'll find that outside Head-Fi, the reviews of the P5 are pretty across-the-board positive. The thing is that they have a deliberately chosen sound signature - mid heavy, with not as much sub-bass or treble. They are relaxing and non fatiguing, though they might immediately strike one as thick and warm, the thing is that this isn't the sound of bloat - they are fast.
 
It's a tailored sound, so it may not be to your taste (I find myself liking it sometimes, and other times not so much). The comfort, build and convenience of the mic are great to me though.

Hiya a_recording...
 
You're not the first person I've seen say this (I even mentioned it in one of my earlier posts), and it leaves me puzzled - a lack of sub / mid bass...
 
I don't find this at all, compared to the T50p, HD25, and even the MTPC the P5's have prestigeous amounts (and quality) of bass (and depth)...  Especially when up loud, The P5 can produce depth / power of bass that the others cannot even hope of touching...
 
...Am I going to find with continued burn in that this is just going to fall away, or am I missing something - If it helps, my serial number is in the 47k range - maybe (depending on other peoples serial no's) B&W may have changed their drivers or something - I cannot believe that I am hearing things so differently to others here at HF?!?
 
To put it in perspective, these - to me at least, are bassy enough when warranted, that I actually want to compare them to the Beyer DT770 to see which one is the king of bass :eek:

 

[a_recording]

@Duncan

Heya to be clear on what I mean by sub bass I mean everything below 100 hz. To me the p5 goes down far but compared to the mid bass the sub bass is underrepresented. I can't compare to the headphones you mention but can say for instance that the P5 has less sub bass and more mid bass than the M50's. This isnt necessarily a bad thing but to me its noticeable in some of the music that I listen to that the P5's have less quantity of sub bass than some of my in ears - the DDM's for instance.

The actual quality of the bass is fantastic though!

As for my particular unit, its got a 29K serial. Our differing perceptions could be anything from manufacturing changes, variations in driver units, differing shape of heads (the amount of bass seems to change significantly with clamping pressure), source player, type of music. So I wouldn't put too much into it. As long as you like em!

 

[Duncan]

Thanks for the reply a_recording
 
I have been listening to Ministry of Sound's 'Addicted to Bass 2010' as my reference point for how much bass the B&W's can kick out...  You mention bass below 100hz, do you have any song / album names you can give me that show this weakness off to you?
 
Thanks

 

[a_recording]

@Duncan

Hmm. Everything below 100hz (or perhaps 50hz) is actually not used very often in music. Its so low that it becomes almost toneless, and why it's called the Low Frequency Effect region in home theatre. So it actually tends to not even be used in dance music haha, it's more of a physical effect that seems to come in for only some tracks. The reference tracks I would suggest are Hyperballad from Bjork (there is an underlying sub bass drone), Leyendecker from the Battles, Angel or Silent Spring from Massive Attack.

Generally it's the kind of bass you won't hear without a subwoofer on normal speakers, though you may not notice. You can also go to audiocheck.net for specific frequency tests (the 20-200hz test is quite useful) Hope that helps!

 

[mark2410]

hmm i really ought to go to John Lewis and have a test of a pair of these, on paper they sound like just the sort of thing id like.  i really wonder sometimes why i bought and still have my Grado 325is

 

[smial1966]

I'm somewhat perplexed by the reviews eulogizing about the P5 as I've found the sound quality distinctly underwhelming. Notwithstanding the exquisite design and build quality, to my ears they sound muffled and somewhat repressed. Driving the P5 via a Lisa amp and iMod iPod I've discerned a curtailment of frequency extremes and a subdued mid range. The best analogy I can think of is listening with too much bass bias or cotton wool secreted within the ear canal. I'm really perplexed why the P5 has distinctly underwhelmed me, as I have 15 pairs of headphones ranging from the PX100 to the Ultrasone Edition 8, and the P5 is the most uninvolving and `dull' set of cans that I own.
 
Any thoughts as to why I find the SQ so disenchanting guys?
 
Cheers,
 
Andy. 

 

[bmichael]

I only have the Sennheiser PX 200-II and Alessandro MS1 to compare them to, but the P5 do not sound great to me. They sound good, but not (from what I understand) $300 good.
 
And you know what, as good as the build and materials are, the cord is so crappy that I can't say that the build justifies the price either. I've had to replace the cord once, and I'm sure I'll have to again. At that point, the phones will be out of warranty, and the replacement will cost like $40 I think. I'm pretty unhappy with the P5 in general. 

 

[Duncan]

The P5s to me definitely require power (volume) and lots of it, to really shine...
 
I still cannot grasp why people find that these are bass light, they are by far and away the bassiest headphones that I have, comparing to the Beyer T50 (for example) is laughable in that respect...
 
It would be interesting to know where smial1966 is from, and also would be interesting to see mark2410's opinions...  I have a sneaky feeling that these may be a quintessentially 'British' sounding / tuned product...