B&W P9

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Gatucho, Oct 6, 2016.

  1. Gatucho

    Gatucho New

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  2. GelockS

    GelockS Friend

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    http://www.whathifi.com/bw/p9-signature/review

    They look good.
    A bit on the expensive side but not Ether nor Sony expensive. Don't like reports of sound leakage. Dammit, if companies are going to do closed backs, they should do closed backs!!!!! :mad:
     
  3. ggabriele3

    ggabriele3 New

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    I just got a pair for review. I'll barf out some thoughts:

    Extremely well built, but heavy. Thick aluminum and leather all over, clearly as much of a show piece as a headphone. No creaks, nice materials, and some actually unique features. A lot of the price here goes to design, I think.

    The sound signature is dark - boosted bass with a lot of slam. At times I think I hear some muddiness/loss of detail, but mostly it's just a dark, relaxed sound.

    I spent some of today switching between these and my Elear and A1000Z.
    It's a very different headphone from the Elear, not just because the P9 is VERY closed while the Elear is VERY open. That aside, still can't beat the punch of the Elear.
    The A1000Z comparison makes more sense. Obviously the P9 looks less weird than the AT, but the AT has an overall more balanced sound.

    i need more time with them. Any questions lemme know.
     
  4. GelockS

    GelockS Friend

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    Leakage!!! Does it? Does it not? :)
     
  5. Gatucho

    Gatucho New

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    The drivers seem nice:
    http://ascii.jp/elem/000/001/242/1242169/

    Im on the fence about getting these the Elears or the Andromedas. I already have some good open back HPs (hd800, hd600, he500 and "good" T1s) and the se846.

    Are these comfortable? the P7s felt too little for my ears and some times I ended using them like on-ears.
     
  6. ggabriele3

    ggabriele3 New

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    Well they're 413g, heavy, but the headband padding is wide and soft. So, several hours on the melon and no discomfort. No complaints there.
     
  7. ggabriele3

    ggabriele3 New

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    It actually isolates really well. The ear pads are pretty stifff, with rounded square holes that are big enough to circle my ears at least.

    I had my 3D printer going right next to me yesterday and didn't hear it.
     
  8. GelockS

    GelockS Friend

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    How about sound coming out?
     
  9. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Soooo.. taking price into account, how do you feel about these vs Oppo PM-3 as a commuter headphone, assuming that you've heard both?
     
  10. ggabriele3

    ggabriele3 New

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    I haven't heard the PM-3 yet (I own a Sine, which is close) so i can't compare on sound.
    For price, like anything else that's up to your budget. Some people commute in $1 earbuds, some comute in $1300 CIEMs. I use my $500 Sine on my commutes where I can bring fullsize headphones, and Vsonic GR-07 when i only have room for IEMs.

    But from a practical standpoint, I guess it depends on what your commute is like.

    On one hand, they're easy to drive - plenty of volume from my iPhone. Good isolation. They fold. They come with a nice carry case. Comes with two 1.2mm cables (one has iOS controls).
    On the other hand, they're pretty bulky and a bit heavy for a commute headphone. To put things in perspective, the aluminum frame is 5mm thick all around...pretty friggin' substantial!
     
  11. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    Wonder how these will compare to the SRH1540 (also laid back and very comfortable).

    If they fix the flaws of the P7 (something weird with tonality or frequency response that never let them sound right to me after extending listening) while providing better slam and clarity up top, should be a winner.

    More than double the price of the P7, but well worth it if they sound great without amp/dac.
     
  12. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Hah, I have commuted with HD-25 on quite a lot (they work surprisingly well for it, actually- sturdy and isolating). As the weather gets colder, and I can wear coats with ACTUAL POCKETS, I am carrying my Mojo banded to an old phone too.. so I guess I don't do subtle.

    How's the comfort? Some of those older B+W P series with the flat square pads were infernal...

    I should probably shut up- this is the epitome of idle questioning, as I didn't like the P5 or P7 at all, so who am I kidding? :)
     
  13. ggabriele3

    ggabriele3 New

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    I reviewed the P5 last year, and I have the P3 up for review next. I didn't like the square pads either.
    These are a different animal, though. The opening of the pads is large, so my ear just floats in there. Headband is wide and well padded, so the weight is well distributed. I've been wearing them for multiple hour sessions and they have been comfortable.

    All this with the disclaimer that I usually use a headphone for a week before coming to any conclusions about it.
     
  14. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Well, it sounds like they fixed one of the biggest design flaws, at least!
     
  15. Nordpol Anton

    Nordpol Anton New

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    And how do they compare with your Sine cans?
     
  16. Gatucho

    Gatucho New

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    Someone in HF said that the P9s bass is too overdone compared to the Elears:

    "The P9s bass sounded bloated to me, which encroached on the rest of the frequency range, making the sound quite veiled and not at all airy. They sounded muffled compared to the Elear's, which sounded very balanced and airy in comparison."

    The P7s do sound bassy, specially compared with more "lean" hps, such as the HD800. Nonetheless, once you adapt to it they are quite good actually. I was hopping for the P9s to have a better, maybe more controlled bass with increased mid-highs clarity but now Im doubtful.
    I have not listened to the Elears, maybe they are too lean?
     
  17. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    Picked these up locally. Very nice build quality and materials, feels great to handle, comfortable, makes it seem well worth the price based on aesthetics alone.

    The "mid-bass hump" is present, more or less depending on how the music is recorded/mastered. A lot to like, sounds great with certain tunes, but bass can drown out everything with others. When used with HRT microStreamer + iDevice/laptop, bass is reigned in and shows what these are capable of (nice, smooth midrange and detailed high frequency response), but not sure yet whether I like them enough straight out of iDevice to warrant the relatively high cost and my primary use-case (closed, no amp/DAC). Plus these leak sound more than I expected, so wife would kick me out of bed when pillow-listening. They otherwise pillow just fine.

    Compared to SRH1540, these are definitely better to enjoy music. SRH1540's mids are more pronounced which makes vocals too forward in the mix, while masking high frequency details.
     
  18. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    Keeping. Overpriced, but the more I listen the more I'm convinced this is what I've been looking for in terms of a "casual" closed can that does all my musical genres well, and makes streaming services enjoyable. I'm not noticing the bass hump (or perhaps it just doesn't bother me) as much now.
     
  19. swamp

    swamp Acquaintance

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    How's the soundstage and imaging on the P9? I've listened to the P5 and P7 at a store, and they both felt congested. The P5 being on-ear didn't do it many favors in terms of staging, but I think it was mostly the heavy midbass emphasis that lowered overall soundstage quality. Not the most important characteristic for casual listening, especially for most modern music, but it's something.

    If there's one other thing that stood out to me though, it was B&W's headphone build quality is the best I've ever felt (note: I haven't touched the Utopia and Elear yet). Both the P5 and P7 were solid, durable, and felt expensive, and it looks like the P9 is even better.
     
  20. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    Soundstage and imaging are good, especially for a mostly-closed portable. Less congestion than what I remember on the P7.

    I understand why people would not be impressed upon initial listen considering the cost. It took me a while to start understanding what they were trying to achieve and then actually liking it. But I think unfortunately not to everyone's taste, regardless of how it's being marketed.
     

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