Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile Headphones

I wanted so badly to like these headphones. They look fantastic and the build quality is incredible. There is so much attention to every detail in the design of the headphones. They are lust-worthy.

The sound is phenomenal. I will echo others who've described the sound as being warm. The bass is present but not overwhelming. I heard details in my digital music that I've never heard before. I will now be on a search to find something that delivers similar sound fidelity but with more comfort.

Unfortunately the pressure applied by the P5s is simply too uncomfortable. The cartilage around my ears begins to hurt after about 10 to 15 minutes. Once my ears begin to hurt they are practically unusable. I have to constantly adjust them to relieve pressure. I bought them for a recent flight to Boston and while they were very good at isolating noise and producing good sound at lower volumes, my ears hurt for about a day after my flight. For this kind of money, I simply can't keep them and try to "break them in."

49 of 67 people found this useful

I bought these cans as soon as they came out. A bit pricey, but I was hoping for the B&W standard of sound... They don't disappoint in that area.

My only "complaint" is that the over the ear design gets a tad uncomfortable after long listening... and that may be due to the shape of my own ears, but something to consider.

Using them on the iPhone when a call comes in is a tad strange too, cause the mic is excellent, but you can't hear your own voice through the phones... making it hard to hear yourself talk.

26 of 27 people found this useful

I had my heart set on the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 headphones (same price) for as long as I could remember. The day I was ready to purchase I went into the Apple store and gave them a demo. Good. Solid. Noise Canceled. (as expected). For some reason I picked up the P5s and gave them a try- same song, same volume. I was blown away. Sure, they don't have 'active' noise cancelation, but the sound was so superior that it did not matter. Love my P5 headphones.

13 of 14 people found this useful

wow, i have been intrigued by B&W ever since i purchased a zeppelin for my ipod (a year ago)... subsequently, i can't help but to get the panorama for my TV but, i have never thought i will have something to take with me on my hours of travels in planes and airports (also by B&W) accompanied by my ipod touch + ipod nano i must admit... a bit of a crazy shopper, but a serious apple addict at heart...
if i were to sum it up, i would say it has the signature B&W stamp on its sound and regardless if u are an audiophile or just enthusiastic with beautiful un-distracting clear clean sound, this is definitely one of the better choices for headphones... as a shopaholic (not unlike myself) would tell you, i have also tried the noise cancelling BOSE and DR. DRE (yo - mann -), and as much as i love the idea of noise cancelling and deep heavy bass beats it recreates, i immediately second guess my needs for such features (god is the dj, i'm just a listener)... on top of that, having to switch it on and the extra chore of rechargeable batteries (i like to think i love the environment), and then put it back into the headphones + the slight heat and very quite but OHM like buzz sound, are just not part of my repertoire as i have too much charging already going on with my laptop(S), phones, ipad, ipod(S), iphones... gosh... it's time for a solar charge my friendS! B&W however, you have done it again :-D

6 of 11 people found this useful

Comfortable, stylish and above all else faultless sound quality.

The P5's sound reproduction is warm but flat—these cans are capable of reproducing a full low-end; but only if it exists in the recording.

As others have mentioned these headphones will reveal differences in recordings that might be masked by other headphones. If you audition them in the Apple Store, bring your own iPod device with an album worthy of the P5's capabilities—I suggest the remastered recording of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Radiohead's Kid A is also a worthy contender.

It's not that lesser recordings sound bad through the P5's, but they won't give you an accurate idea of the their abilities.

The binaural recordings that B&W commissioned to celebrate the launch of the P5's show them off to best effect. You'll get access to these recordings, and other losslessly encoded albums. Since you get these albums for free (and there are many albums available for download, with many genres represented), access to them has the effect of significantly discounting the price of the 'phones—that is if the music is of interest to you (Peter Gabriel's Scratch My Back is one of the albums)

32 of 36 people found this useful

Pros: great sound, even better looks, phone call clarity due to both ears getting pumped with sound unreal.
Cons: I've gotten complaints that I don't sound like myself, when speaking through mic. I believe wire to be too frail, and placed on wrong side, when driving it's easy to get wire caught on steering wheel. Wire needs strain reliefs at both ends and a break away plug at end so as to protect phone jack from damage when being pulled to hard

10 of 39 people found this useful

For the price I don't think you can beat the sound and build quality.

2 of 5 people found this useful

this is perfect headset, best sound and best looking

2 of 5 people found this useful

I have owned all the headsets that Bose makes, and love them... but these P5's are by far much better than the Bose ever were, in lows and in highs. I really bought these because I was looking for a headset with a mic, and these deliver there as well. Unbelievable. Very well paired with my iPhone4, and my iPad, and sound great on my Macbook Pro as well.

The only compliant is my head is very large... and after a LONG time, these need to be adjusted so it doesn't hurt my ears. But VERY well worth it. If I had known that before I bought them, I still would have purchased. Exceptional.

3 of 3 people found this useful