Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile Headphones

I bought these headphones the day they came into my local Apple Store. Having heard the other Bowers & Wilkins systems, i knew that their headphones would sound good, but not this good!

Firstly they are very comfortable. Not as light as my HD-25 headphones, but then again, theres not 1 piece of plastic on them, mostly leather, metal and speaker cone. One big factor for me buying these was the fact they sit very tight against your head and don't sit out much. Plus i love the retro styling.

The sound these headphones produce is flat, smooth and detailed. I have burned my set in for over 50 hours now and they sound so warm and bass sounds like honey,lol. The detail and stereo image is bright, something my HD-25's lacked.

The iPhone support cable is brilliant and replaceable cables at ease is another plus (i can see people making custom cables at some point :-)

All in all, i love these. Yes they are expensive, but worth it. I have several sets of headphones around this price, but these are my everyday set now, and will be for a long time i think! Enjoy.....

Originally had the Beats by Dre Solo HDs and canont explain how happy I am upgraded -they were so flimsy and they weren't durable at all - not to mention the sound quality ended up going all fuzzy and crackly, in short they just DIDNT LAST.

The P5s on the other hand, wow. They are not only beautiful with the leather and aluminium design that is miles ahead of any other headphones i've seen in terms of class, but the sound wuality is perfect. The bass is really defined and you can really hear it but it doesnt shake and make that grungy vibrating noise in your ear. No to mention they are so comfortable! The leather is padded and so soft on the ears so you can wear them for hours on end (as I do) and still be totally comfortable.

They're a little on the pricey side for headphones but they're so amazing that they're worth it! If you haven't gottem, gettem!

I am a musician & have studied sound engineering. To get straight to the point if you can afford these, buy them. Excellent design, perfect quality, extremely comfortable, (even if you are wearing glasses or for long periods of time) and not too big neither. I have got a pair of Sony V700DJ headphones which were realised in 99/00, (I think), which I used to wear out as a teen. I used to wear them out but now I'm a bit older they just don't look right. Anyway for those who know your headphones, these B&W ones, in my opinion, fall in the same basket as the Sony V700DJ's.

These are a huge but worthwhile investment. The engineering is beautiful, with no cheap plastics to be found anywhere. They are incredibly comfortable and feel secure on the head. Nice slim design means you don't look ridiculous. And most importantly the sound quality is phenomenal. If you listen a lot, do it with these.

I have never in my life bought a pair of headphones costing this much - but what a true delight - they are comfortable to wear and the quality of the music / audiobook is truly amazing..... a good buy.

I researched my new pair of headphones relentlessly for the last month, and as a frequent traveller, wanted something that I could use on a plane, something that would help with the noise, and something that was also high quality.
I very quickly got it down to the P5 and the Bose QC15. I tried both a number of times in the UK, but due to the pricing, held off on my purchase until a recent trip to the States. On 'Black Friday' I was able to snap these up at $228, which taking into account the exchange rate, was an amazing saving (there was zero discount same day in the UK).
So despite feeling a little disappointed that I have to travel to the States to buy a British product at a great price, how do I feel about the product. In a word, amazing.

The headphones are much smaller than I had originally envisioned. Anyone considering a purchase should really try before you buy, as I had it in my head that these were 'over the ear' headphones like the QC15. They aren't, and actually sit on your ear. Here is the first issue, you have to make sure they are really well positioned to get the best audio, and unfortunately, because they are so comfortable, you can't always tell. You soon get used to this though.

The noise isolation is very good. It isn't as good as the Bose QC15, and from what I tested, nothing beats those for getting rid of plane noise, however I found (on my recent 747 ride back from JFK) that when playing music or watching a movie, the P5's are really very good indeed.

As for audio quality, these are much better than the QC15's in my opinion, and they were good in themselves. I tried the 'Dr Dre Beats' which were just over bassy and artificial sounding.

So in summary, if you want great headphone sound that you can wear all day long (very comfy) then the P5's are your headphones of choice. If you really do value the noise 'isolation' side of things, then the QC15's may be the better option, but either way, if you can buy in the States, you will save money.... and not just a small amount.

Excellent product as you'd expect from B&W.

First I will admit to a B&W bias having had speakers paired up to a Cyrus system for many years, however, for their purpose these headphones are simply phenomenal. What makes them outstanding is the way they work so well with iPods and iPhones. The audio quality may not be up with the best open back phones, but i haven't heard a better closed back set that can be worn on the tube!

I did audition the usual suspects for comparison, the Bose are OK but too closed in, and the Beats are great if you like huge bass, over active treble and poor mid range.

For the first time I am really enjoying listening to music on the iPhone, before now (with Shure scl3's) I've had portable music but really never connected with it, the sound had no warmth or emotion. The P5's reverse all that, close to a tear with Nirvarna live. Don't buy these for pumping bass, or true audiophiles cans, but do buy them if you listen to an iPod or iPhone because they are a revolution.

Bought these from the Apple store in Leicester - tried them out for 30mins there. You will need to burn them in- after 100hrs of burn in, the sound quality is beautiful. All the music sounds sublime, completely different from what I have heard before. I am listening to all my music on my i-phone again and enjoying it. very comfortable but you have to get the position right. I can wear them for hours. I own the Sennheiser 595HD and bose IE2 - outshines both of them by miles. Simply superb!!

These headphones are excellent and very comfortable for everyday use or long periods of time listening to music. I especially like the noise reduction, excellent for traveling on the tube.

These things make Dr. Dre's 'Beats' feel like £3 pieces of rubbish. Sound quality is brilliant too. Can't use my standard iPhone earphones now I've listened to music with these.