B&W P7: Bower’s First Circumaural Headphone

 

Disclaimer: B&W isn’t a site sponsor, Mike isn’t selling it in his store and the P7 review sample will go back to the Press Agency right after the review.

 

The Market

Customers have been spoiled lately with (closed) headphones in the <$400 segment, there’s the Aedle VK-1, Sennheiser Momentum, Philips L2 (to come) and the B&O H6 just to quickly name a few. When looking at closed design headphones, of course the only “contender” is the B&O H6, which accidentally (?) is priced exactly the same at 399€. I found that last one a bit overpriced for its sound quality but when you’re buying design, you can’t argue, right? So would this new B&W P7 which is clearly targeting the same market score the same?

B&W

B&W stormed the headphone market quite a while back with the famous on the ear P5, which had a very typical sound a lot of people, like Mike, could appreciate. In 2012 B&W launched the baby of the collection, the P3. That one was also an on-ear headphone but it was smaller, had a new design but the sound quality wasn’t the absolute best for audiophiles.  When the P3 was launched I already knew they were working on a full size headphone but back then it was still top secret. The P7, being the top of the line unit for B&W, has to be their best sounding headphone in theory. Yet they borrowed the design of the P3 and copied it in “big”.

B&W has always used top quality materials and in this case that isn’t any different. The real leather (even for the pouch!) feels soft and looks gorgeous and the aluminum used is really shiny. The 22Ohm drivers are 40mm as expected and they’re hidden underneath the removable pads, just like the P3. When removing the pads, which is extremely easy (magnets) you will find the same system to remove the cable as in the P3, only the cable is thicker. Folding system? Like the P3, just bigger and not that easy to put away in your pocket. The leather head band is quite comfortable and while the P7 only weighs 290gr. it does start to hurt on the top of your head after several hours of use (the things we go through to give you reviews!).

For what is supposed to be a full size over the ear headphone, the ear cups aren’t the biggest or the deepest, so do take in to account as your ears will be touching the leather pads at all times. Grip from the head band is pretty tight yet at the same time the pads do not block out all the external sound, it’s not up to the level of the H6 and certainly not the DT770. So, design wise there isn’t that much new to report and either you love or hate the design. Build quality though is exceptionally good. On our Facebook the majority of people love the way it looks and I have to say I can appreciate it too, it’s very stylish. In a lot of ways it resembles the baby P3, now I just hope the P7 sounds better.

Looks And Sound? Or…

In stead of typing 2000 words like I usually do I will try to keep it short(er) this time. Try.

When I first received the P7 it was NIB and while I normally don’t believe in burn-in for headphones the P7 changed a lot the first hour it was being used. When I first connected the P7 to my new favorite on-the-go setup, the Cypherlabs Theorem, I wasn’t positively surprised with what I was hearing. It sounded muffled, bass was bloated and treble was ear piercing. It was quite the shock and I immediately told Mike (who doesn’t believe in headphone burn-in either) about it. Convinced that it couldn’t be that bad I let it play for a while and when I came back one hour later the P7 sounded as it should sound. Phew, quite the scare that was! The very hot treble got softer to normal levels and the mids cleared up a lot, bass however is still on the bloomy (overpowering & not tight)  side but I’ll get to that in detail in a bit.

Not too impressed so far? Well that’s about to change because the sound quality of the P7 is simply good. It’s better than the P3 and the P5, and it takes on the H6 and the Momentum.

Overall the P7 is a very clear sounding and detailed headphone, it’s not over-analytical and it stays pleasant to listen to. Sound stage, like with the H6, is pretty good and there is more than enough room between the instruments. Three-dimensionality and balance are also very very well done by B&W and you get generally nice and dynamic sound, not inside your head and well separated.

Upper mid range, treble and bass get a boost. While it’s lighter with the mid range and treble, the bigger boost comes in the bass section. Bass has good body, even without amplification, but it isn’t the tightest bass you’ll hear, it does go deep though, The XX’s bass in the song “Fantasy” is no problem at all. However it stays a bit bloomy to my ears. When using the C5 I even had to turn off the Bass Boost cause it was getting rather out of hand. One of the P7’s strong points is the treble which gets/seems more detailed because of the slight elevation of the frequencies but I do like how it sounds.

The P7 is less warm sounding than the Momentum but it has looser bass. H6’s bass is tighter than the Senn as well but like the P7 it isn’t that warm sounding. Compared to the H6 the P7 is easier to pair with all kinds of devices (even if you do have to turn the volume up quite a lot when using an iPod Nano 7G. for example) and it does well with all genres I threw at it.

For each his own

Looking at both design headphones, that makes it a tough choice as they both sound great and cost the same. The P7’s bass isn’t as tight as the H6’s but the P7 is easier to drive. That was one of the biggest issues I had with the H6, it needed the right source. They both look stunning and are about the same size when folded up. Personally I might like the H6 a bit more sound wise and in design but because of the ease of use of the P7, its build quality and how close they are together sound wise, I’m afraid I have to give the title of “Best Closed Design Headphone Up To $400€” to the Bowers & Wilkins P7 for now. Like with the H6 part of the price goes to the design, and it will set you back $399€, but if you like a nice looking headphone it’s worth it. The $400€ and belowmarket for headphones is sure getting crowded. Luckily some still stand out.

4.2/5 - (14 votes)
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedin

Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

140 Comments

  • Reply October 22, 2013

    George Lai

    These European brands are really putting a lot of effort into looking good, a reflection of the fact that headphones are now something to be seen in as opposed to in the past when you sit in your living room listening to it in solitude. It is also uncanny how they kind of reflect their nationalities – B&W (British leather a la Jaguar or Rolls Royce), B&O (Scandinavian design a la Ikea), Aedle (French flair a la most French stuff).

    • Reply October 23, 2013

      L.

      Go Europe!

  • Reply October 23, 2013

    MassiveTurboLag

    Is the bass better than on the COP? And by better I mean more or equal. That would be a tipping point for me.

    • Reply October 23, 2013

      L.

      COP is bass king, especially with the slider.

      • Reply October 23, 2013

        MassiveTurboLag

        That made my day.

    • Reply October 27, 2013

      dalethorn

      I did a compare of the COP to the P7 for bass only, using the COP at port #3 only, and the differences in the deep to upper bass were negligible.

      • Reply October 27, 2013

        L.

        But then you’re neglecting the slider, the strongest point of the COP. Therefor, and certainly on slot 4, COP is King 😀

        • Reply October 27, 2013

          dalethorn

          True – the COP has more options. But for general purpose listening and one sound only, I think B&W made the best choice they could. If they had tuned the P7 to sound like port #2, they would be competing more with the H6, and they might lose that one.

          • Reply October 28, 2013

            MassiveTurboLag

            You just pointed out why I love the COP so much. You can lean out the sound with the flick of a switch. Bass king indeed, it’s the only headphone that gets overwhelming with the E10’s bass boost switched on. On the Momentum, DT 770 or M100 it’s barely noticeable.

            • Reply October 28, 2013

              dalethorn

              Wow, I get overwhelmed with just the complexity of the choices that are available. We need some low-cost amps with simple controls, but controls that are shapeable, like what Beyer did with the COP. I think that would be very cool, so like an E12 with a switch, then a knob that changes the shape of the bass curve that’s activated by the switch. Come to think of it, a reshapeable treble curve would be good too.

              • Reply October 28, 2013

                MassiveTurboLag

                Well, the E17 kinda has that.

                • Reply October 28, 2013

                  dalethorn

                  Those are just old-fashioned tone controls. I’d like to see a more flexible set that can have its curve reshaped dynamically by the user. It’s probably more complicated than I originally described – probably need 2 knobs for bass and 2 for treble – turn one knob to change the shape or gamma, and the other controls the amplitude.

            • Reply October 28, 2013

              L.

              I usually keep it in the 3rd setting unless the source is really bad

  • Reply October 23, 2013

    Nickjan Glas

    thanks for the review; helps me for my auditioning for my first headphone. will try the p7 and grado’s with musical fidelity. for practical issues i m afraid i have to let go of the h6.

    • Reply October 23, 2013

      L.

      Grado vs P7. What a difference… How come the H6 is out of the question? If you’re not into design, also check out Beyerdynamic’s COP and DT770

      • Reply October 23, 2013

        Nickjan Glas

        Because I can t audition the h6 with an amp, i think the risk is a bit big for 400. the others I can try with amps and DAC before buying. What is the big difference between grado and b&w. Read some Great reviews. But you think I should try the h6 without amp anyway?

        • Reply October 23, 2013

          L.

          If you can try it, just try it. Comparing Grado with B&W/B&O, where to start. I have a feeling Dale can explain this very well

          • Reply October 23, 2013

            Nickjan Glas

            than I ll try it. Hope Dale can shed some light on it, so I know what to focus on when I try them. Hopefully they ll have a lot of variations to try; at least they ll have musical fidelity v series and pro-ject headbox. Will be a busy day at least.

          • Reply October 23, 2013

            dalethorn

            The Grado PS500 has what I’d best describe as a sweet and smooth sound from the mids upward, but has a sharp bass hump around 100 hz I didn’t like. Still a great headphone, but the price is for collectors only I think. The B&O H6 is superb in most ways except for the ‘lighter’ mids, and a bass that’s very good, but not going to please bass lovers (bass lovers I mean, not bass-heads). I think there will always be controversy on the H6 bass – there are too many recordings that sound weak in the bass, though not the fault of the H6. This P7 review has me leaning toward not ordering. For one, I’ve never had a headphone that changed more than 1 or 2 db with burn-in. Also the conclusions of loose bass and elevated treble are killers for me, especially at 400 dollars or euros. Now if only I could audition the Grado PS1000….

            • Reply October 24, 2013

              L.

              Thanks Dale!

            • Reply October 24, 2013

              Nickjan Glas

              sorry, didnt read this one till after my other reply. thanks for the explanation. The loose bass troubles me also, but that I ll focus on when listening to it. ps500 is above my budget so thats out of the question. I’ll go to max 450-500. as stated in my other reply, I prefer clarity with a bass that is contributing to the overall sound and depth and not one that is too present.

              • Reply October 26, 2013

                dalethorn

                I’ve been playing a number of tracks with heavy bass (i.e. Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat) and while the P7 exaggerates the quantity of bass, I don’t hear anything that’s a different quality than my other good headphones except the bass strength. The P7’s bass is less strong than the v-moda M100 for instance, which I found to be too strong for hi-fi listening. I can’t be sure about the long term with the P7, but so far the extra bass isn’t bothering me, even on bass heavy tracks.

                • Reply October 26, 2013

                  Nickjan Glas

                  Thans for the update. I ll keep iT in mind. Personally i don’t like heavy bass at all, but i have to try to know off course. I ll make a variety with bass heavy and more classical and jazz like music. Next week i ll go to the stores( fitst b&o and then the rest(they only sell b&o at dealer stores here)) I ll let you know what I think of then afterwards and hopefully bought one. Thanks for all the intell and I ll keep reading.

                  • Reply October 26, 2013

                    dalethorn

                    Generally speaking the reviewers here are more accurate than I am since I have to simplify for lack of time and resources, but I think some of the impressions of bass quality on the P7 are over-influenced by the bass strength, or maybe some other factor I don’t know. But I just played the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor (BWV 582) played by E Power Biggs on the Harvard Flentrop organ, and the bass pipes were nicely detailed – not as nicely as the H6 or some other headphone with a tighter bass, but still very listenable. And I was using the iPhone LOD out to the Decware Zen Head amp – my favorite low-to-mid price headphone amp.

        • Reply October 23, 2013

          dalethorn

          Playing H6 now on iPod Touch version 2010 – playing many tracks loudly and cleanly. If you want to hear some awesome dynamics with the H6 and the itouch (played flat, no EQ), try David Chesky and Wonjung Kim – Girl from Guatemala on hires download from HDTracks. I can’t imagine the H6 would disappoint, even when evaluated without an amp. Or suggest your own test….

          • Reply October 24, 2013

            Nickjan Glas

            Cant’s suggest tests, as I am inexperienced on headphones. Usually my favourite music for testing is Alegria (cirque du soleil) and alike, Also in the pop music section I like songs like birdy and adele, filmmusic like gladiator/braveheart etc. My mp is a philips ariaz and i ll mainly use the headphone for my laptop, from which I ll play my music (not for trips persé).
            based on your comment I ll test play the H6 (maybe buy it and later test it with amps etc if need be) and others without amps. But in regard to Lieven’s comment, what makes the grado so different from the H6 and P7? Personally I love the clarity of the beolab 3 I own, with a subtle base. So I am looking for a similar sound for the headphones. What I usually like from B&W is the warm sound.

            • Reply October 24, 2013

              dalethorn

              Alegria – Cirque du Soleil: Sounds really good on the H6, especially the great bass detail and impact. Pretty amazing. Birdy on the Birdy album and the Breathe EP sounds very forward and not particularly warm, although the sound is clear and detailed and not harsh. Birdy doing Just A Game from the Hunger Games soundtrack is better recorded with some warmth and decent bass. Most of the Adele tracks I heard sound like a product of the loudness wars, where the voice is boosted and doesn’t blend well with the instruments, unless you get a v-shaped headphone sound to compensate. The Braveheart soundtrack is spectacular on the H6. So there’s a few impressions….

              • Reply October 24, 2013

                Nickjan Glas

                thanks, that helps a lot, since the alegria/braveheart style is my most favourite kind to listen to. I am not that sensitive to recognizing bad recordings from good ones, but I ll know if I like the sound if I hear it. I ll have a listen to that birdy song you mentioned. The clarity of ‘birdy’ is why I like the song, like ‘people’. Also I am in the process of finding decent uncompressed flac/aiff. Made a huge difference with ‘within temptation’, although I imagine those may not be the best recordings either.

  • Reply October 23, 2013

    NN.

    Could you please compare this to the VK-1? thinking very hard between these two cans.
    or should i wait for the L2 which as i recall will be available in Feb

    • Reply October 23, 2013

      L.

      I only had the VK-1 on my head for 5 minutes. From what I can remember the VK-1 was darker, on ear and less comfortable 😀

    • Reply October 28, 2013

      L.

      L2 review might be up this week as it already is for sale in Europe…

      • Reply October 30, 2013

        NN.

        Thanks a lot L. I’m really looking forward to your review of the L2.
        But design wise I would have to give it to the P7, just saw it on the street today… SEXY !!

        • Reply October 30, 2013

          L.

          It does look nice, I wouldn’t wear it on the street though

          • Reply October 31, 2013

            NN.

            Why not? it seems to be quite portable to me, i mean its not the smallest but i’ve seen bigger. Do you think it will be troublesome to travel around with?

            • Reply October 31, 2013

              dalethorn

              If you would prefer the P7 sound over (for example) the B&O H6, then that is that. But the H6 is much slimmer, a bit lighter, and looks way better wearing. Plus the cups fold flat.

              • Reply October 31, 2013

                L.

                I find the H6 the male headphone and the P7 the female one 😀

                • Reply October 31, 2013

                  dalethorn

                  YES!

            • Reply October 31, 2013

              L.

              I just don’t find the P7 a headphone to wear outside. The H6 is rougher looking and looks like it can take a beating.

  • Reply October 23, 2013

    spudgered

    Great review Lieven, your thoughts echo my own having auditioned the P7 recently, as it’s a vast sonic improvement over the P5 but the bass is a bit woolly. This sector of the headphone market is really vibrant atm, with the cans Lieven mentioned and the KEF M500 plus the NAD Viso HP50 all sounding pretty good.

    • Reply October 23, 2013

      L.

      Thanks man, glad we agree!

  • Reply October 24, 2013

    Burju

    Lieven,
    Another great review but you are killing me here…..hahaha
    1. Does not sealed quite as good as H6 or DT770.:(
    2. Love this headphone look.:)
    3. Bass is loose not as tight as H6.:(
    4. Good separation and dynamic sound with very very nice 3D.:)

    My emotions are like a roller-coaster here, reading this review…….hahaha
    I need to listen to this while A-B ing with H6 and momentum.

    Good job Lieven.

    Cheers

    • Reply October 24, 2013

      L.

      Thanks Burju. Choosing a closed headphone is getting tough. Personally I’m still a big fan of the COP and DT770 as well. Much cheaper too but maybe not at the level of the H6 and P7 technically

  • Reply October 25, 2013

    Michael L

    Having spent a fair amount of time listening to both the P7 and the H6 I really have to question your conclusion. You say they sound quite similar but in reality they sound very different. The H6 is bordering anemic in the bass although this is mainly compared to most other headphones which emphasize the bass a lot. But the P7 is VERY bass heavy and with a very badly controlled bass that owerpowers almost all tracks. The P7 also has a weird sound curve where the mid isn’t as clear but a lot of emphasize on the treble part. It’s a fairly comfortable headphone but the H6 is a lot better in comfort. In general, with the exception of possibly being slightly lacking in bass, the H6 is a MUCH MUCH better headphone. Even the P5 is better than the P7 – The P7 has a much larger soundimage and a more airy feel but the boomy badly controlled bass completely ruins it. Not only that but the P7 gets tirering to listen to due to the overly bright sound for a lot of music and a bass that so badly controlled that even Beats By Dre is beginning to sound half decent.

    • Reply October 26, 2013

      L.

      But the P7 is VERY bass heavy and with a very badly controlled bass that
      overpowers almost all tracks. The P7 also has a weird sound curve where
      the mid isn’t as clear but a lot of emphasize on the treble part.

      I think I said that 😉

      I stick to my conclusion though. Both good headphones, sq is better on the H6 as I said.

      You should also read the H6 review, I really dont think the P7 is as bad as you say, I haven’t seen a single reviewer either that feels that way

    • Reply October 26, 2013

      dalethorn

      That description sure sounds like a defect or a serious impedance mismatch. My P7 bass is better than my v-moda M100 bass – in fact I think a really ideal bass would be almost exactly halfway between the H6 and P7 in strength, and the quality would be good because decreasing the strength of the P7 bass would also reduce the effect of boom, bloat, whatever doesn’t sound tight. Hopefully the P7 doesn’t have any QC issues, mine seems perfect – purchased from the Apple store.

      • Reply October 26, 2013

        L.

        Thanks Dale, I do stick to my review and I do think you can find yourself in it as well. In the end it’s all personal preference but the P7 mids are very clear. I do think a non bass lover should better stay away from the H6 or the P7, especially the last one.

        • Reply October 26, 2013

          dalethorn

          Yep – clear mids and heavy bass are the things that stand out on the P7. Now comes the fun part (not really), and that is to see which one of the H6 and P7 drops out of my lineup first.

          • Reply October 26, 2013

            L.

            I think P7. Pure SQ wise the H6 slightly beats it

            • Reply October 26, 2013

              dalethorn

              Actually, I hope your prediction comes true, since I have a green H6 on the way also.

  • Reply October 26, 2013

    dalethorn

    Got the P7 – I like it. Very different from the H6, yes, but not bad. Has a mild peak at 2 khz, significant drop at 3 khz, OK up to 8 then a significant peak at 9 khz that won’t please everyone. The mids have a bit of the cavernous type sound like the DT770LE, but not as much, and I like the bass – the bass isn’t perfect, but it’s bass and I’m not a perfectionist for bass – I love it. Long term I hope I can get past the 9 khz peak.

    • Reply October 26, 2013

      dalethorn

      More impression of P7: Take the v-moda M100 and reduce the bass only slightly, about 1/2 of the iTunes bass reducer curve, and compare to the P7 — the significant difference I hear is the mids – the M100 sounds more forward in that comparison, but otherwise pretty much the same. I’ve been enjoying the P7 on a hundred tracks so far, but I’m keeping a close hand on the volume because of the strong highs.

      • Reply October 27, 2013

        dalethorn

        Next day: The sound DID change. I never would have guessed with a quality headphone like the P7 that burn-in would make much difference. The crispy highs are not as crispy now and the bass is slightly less boomy, but the sound is more different from the H6 than before. Amp selection makes a huge difference, so I shouldn’t say too much. Overall the high end detail is good, the low end tends to be somewhat boomy, and the mids have a slight sense of playing in the long narrow hall or “bottom of the well”, but that’s not a big effect, just slight.

        • Reply October 27, 2013

          L.

          Hey that sounds like what I said 😉

          • Reply October 27, 2013

            dalethorn

            How about that, huh?

  • Reply October 29, 2013

    dalethorn

    My wife just did a review of the P7 for me (not to be published). She used the P5 for more than a year then dumped the P5 for the ATH ESW9a about 8 months ago. Today she said the P7 bass is much better than the ESW9a, and the overall sound is much better and clearer. But she can’t adopt the P7 because her pet bird won’t tolerate the bigger headphone.

    • Reply October 29, 2013

      L.

      My girlfriend only says if they feel soft or not, so you’re lucky 😉

    • Reply October 29, 2013

      L.

      My girlfriend only says if they feel soft or not, so you’re lucky 😉

      • Reply October 29, 2013

        dalethorn

        She’s keeping secrets. Smart lady.

  • Reply November 7, 2013

    Nickjan Glas

    hi,
    after all the great advise you guys (Lieven and Dale) gave me, I wanted to let you know my experience and conclusion after auditioning the P7 and the H6. I also listened to the senheiser hd 650 and grado 325is for comparison. All were well played in (as this seems necessary for the P7).
    At first the P7 seemed more full than the H6, but after more close examination I found that it was an illussion created by the boomy bass of the P7 . Although the P7 was quite clear in sound, I found the bass to be completely out of balance and overshadowing the overall sound. (even with amplification and external DAC). Since my personal preference is a mild bass this kind of killed the P7 for me. The grado I only tried for a moment as I found the higher notes to hurt my ears and it was very uncomfortable. (my brother in law didn’t agree in this extend, but acknowledged the H6 again performed better)
    next I tried the HD 650. It had a rich full sound, but when comparing it to the H6, I missed a lot of subtle details in the music, which were clearly audible on the H6. I tried all the headphones with and without amplification, but it had no effect on the overall comparison.
    Every time a headphone improved in playback quality, the H6 followed suit. The H6 sometimes falls behind in overall soundstage or bass performance (sometimes a little light), but the detail and clarity really made it a winner for me. Logical conclusion is that i bought the H6. next step: finding a suitable dac/amp to match it and is within my 500 euro budget.
    thanks again Dale and Lieven for all the info and remarks and especially for convincing me to try the H6.

    • Reply November 7, 2013

      L.

      Glad you’re happy!

    • Reply November 7, 2013

      dalethorn

      That’s good you mentioned all of those details, since it makes it more clear about what amp you should have. L and Mike are the amp experts, so if you describe what sources and gear you would use the amp with, they can probably give you some good tips.

      • Reply November 7, 2013

        Nickjan Glas

        The main use Will be my laptop, Because I travel a lot and stay often at other places than home. At home I plugged it into my marantz pm 7004( yeah) it really comes to lief when amped.
        A secundary use Will be with my ipad and the camera connection kit. I won’t. Use it in the go, just to take with me when I travel to have Great music whereever I stay. For source material I use Flac/Alac/aiff. Currently I use I tunes or wmp For playback, but I am planning on finding something beter for that as well.

        • Reply November 7, 2013

          dalethorn

          A small USB DAC-plus-headphone-amp seems like the perfect solution, and I think you need to run a powered USB hub with the iPad camera kit. My experience with the mini-DACs is limited to HRT’s, Audioengine, Dragonfly, etc. But there’s been lots of change in technology since I bought those, so we’ll see what advice you get from the people who know. For 500 euros you can do much better than the little DACs I mentioned.

          Edit: I much prefer the DAC and amp in one enclosure, to preclude interconnect cables and input/output connectors that can reduce sound quality.

          • Reply November 8, 2013

            Nickjan Glas

            I went to audition some available dac/amp combo’s today. Listened to the dragonfly and the meridian explorer. Both I found to be bettter than the more expensive Pro-ject. The dragonfly did a great job and greatly increased sound quality and fullness, but the explorer was more suited to my wishes, really bringing the bass alive in the H6 and giving it a rich full sound. Based on my budget and the practicality I bought the explorer (bigger and better dac/amps available would go beyond my budget or would consist of multiple cabinets and require the cabling you mentioned). I also bought an additional USB cable adding a nice sparkle to the overall sound. Unfortunately the casing of another minijack cable didn’t fit alongside the earcup of the H6 to go inside the socket, so I couldn’t improve on that. But this combo as it is now makes me really happy and gives me a combo that rivals (possibly even outperforms) my stereo with marantz amp and avalanche speakers. This I will test later.

            • Reply November 8, 2013

              dalethorn

              Good to hear – I think the Meridian will be better. The Dragonfly sounds good, but has a tendency to distort audibly under some circumstances that don’t affect my other DACs.

    • Reply November 7, 2013

      Mike

      Thanks for posting your impressions. The H6 is very special indeed.

    • Reply January 31, 2014

      jazz1

      I do own the P7 and enjoy it a lot. However the H6 reviews are really talking to me too. I’ve had some short demos at the Apple Store, and the noisy environment prevented me from getting a real trial. The comfort between the P7 and the H6 makes me give the H6 a tip of the hat. But the sound insolation of the P7 seems better. My guess is I’d like the H6 and will probably purchase a pair when I can afford them.

      • Reply January 31, 2014

        dalethorn

        I don’t think the isolation is much different, although leakage is a little less with the P7.

  • Reply December 10, 2013

    Crystalarts

    Question (If anyone is still following this discussion….)
    I am keen on either P7 of H6… HOWEVER…. I want to use it at home on my HIFI Stereo Amp which has a headphone jack.
    The question is… I know the P7 can be used due to removable wires (1 for iphone and one without controls or mic) however the H6 only uses controls and mic. Does this mean i cant use the H6 in a stereo amps headphone jack?

    • Reply December 10, 2013

      L.

      Of course you can, you will just need a small adapter for the plug size

      • Reply December 10, 2013

        Crystalarts

        thanks, and how would you think that the P7 and H6 would sound linked to an actual Stereo Amplifier? (its a Denon intergrated amp costing 500 pounds) linked to a Denon CD Player.

        • Reply December 10, 2013

          L.

          I wouldn’t worry too much. I personally would choose the H6. I’m sure Dale could chile in if he has experience with integrated stereo amps

          • Reply December 10, 2013

            Crystalarts

            I am assuming since my amp has bass and treble control that with a H6 I would be able to increase the bass considering the H6 has a flatter bass?

            • Reply December 10, 2013

              L.

              H6 has a tighter bass. With the controls you could adjust the bass and treble yes

            • Reply December 10, 2013

              dalethorn

              I would be careful increasing the H6 bass, because it has a lot of power even in the deep bass, even though it doesn’t come across that way when compared to bassier headphones like the P7. In other words, I think you’ll get better results if you can apply a small boost that doesn’t bloat the upper bass.

          • Reply December 10, 2013

            dalethorn

            I haven’t used an integrated amp for a long time, but if I remember the person correctly, I think Donunus who posts here has done a lot of experiments with integrateds, and if I remember the gist of it correctly they generally make for a warmer and fuller sound. Probably a good match to the H6, and probably not for the P7.

  • Reply December 14, 2013

    Eric Thompson

    Idk the thing I like about these is actually the bass sure its boomy but they combined it with a good headphone, all the bassy thinks I listen to that aren’t inears all sound congested and fuzzy and closed off in the mids and highs like listening to 128bit files even when ur not (Klipsch image one, sol republic track line, skullcandy etc) the closest iv’e come to a bassy heavy good headphone is the Denon D5000’s but they are not portable don’t block out noise and are rather fragile so I actually like these as a bassy headphone as they are also very detailed and clear in the mids and high’s. I also didn’t like the treble roll off of the P3’s and these are an improvement there to just way to damn expensive IMO P3 should be $250 now and these should be $300-$350.

    • Reply December 14, 2013

      dalethorn

      The P7 is a full fidelity (albeit boomy) headphone that justifies its $400 USD price partly on build. The P5 is good – very smooth, but bland – and again the $300 is based partly on build. The P3 is awful – colored mids and treble recess – almost looks like a P5, but nowhere near the sound.

      • Reply December 14, 2013

        Eric Thompson

        Yeah idk I really wanted to like the P5’s and still do, I wish they sounded like the P7’s so I could have a portable pair and save $100 or more but they just have a very mellow laid back almost “Sennheiser veilish” mids and highs that I don’t like, I prefer detail, air and slightly more aggressiveness in those regions so I guess if I get them Ill have another full sized pair of headphones.

        I think the P5’s should be cheaper because they are pretty old now and I understand they are real leather and stuff but $400 is a lot even the HE-400’s are $400 and were going for $300 and they are planar, your also in HD600-650 territory here. I bet a lot of people X-mas shopping will go for the now $300 momentums over the P7’s just based on price. Yeah I meant P5, the P3’s are awful haha.

        • Reply December 14, 2013

          dalethorn

          I sure hate to use the term EQ around here since there are so many purists around, but, the Beyer T51p with a slight treble boost is a really great sound with a strong bass. It’s my current favorite headphone. If you want something that’s small and not expensive and sounds 10x better than the P5, except it doesn’t have a really strong bass (but better bass than the P5 and everything else much better), try the v-moda M80. I think it’s the most perfectly balanced headphone less than $250. It’s on-ear, but light and comfortable, and you can bend the headband so the earcups fit perfectly with your ears. There’s a black one, and a pearl white that looks 100x better than any other white headphone.

  • Reply January 30, 2014

    zacks

    Nice review! I wonder which one i should choose between Momentum and P7s, listened momentum for a few times, it sounded pretty decent, now i’m selling all my old headphones(denon d5000,hd800,ms-pro,etc) and gonna get a final pair from now on. Would you think P7 can be my last pair?

    • Reply January 30, 2014

      L.

      Thanks Zack. If you’re coming from HD800 and other I doubt the P7 will be your final and last pair. It’s a good headphone (even though I slightly prefer the H6) but it is Mid-FI and it still is a level under the top tier headphones which I would consider a final headphone (something like the HD700, ALpha Dog, LCD-2, …)

      • Reply January 30, 2014

        zacks

        Thanks for your reply! However I’m getting rid of my amp too, bcuz I want something more convient and durable(?)

    • Reply January 30, 2014

      dalethorn

      I had the HD800 for 3 years, and have the P7 and a dozen others now. What is your intent? Mainly desktop, at home, portable? What kind of sound do you prefer (sound, not genres)?

      • Reply January 30, 2014

        zacks

        Mainly portable and home I think, I prefer the rich, clear, deep bass sound, d5000 is kinda my taste but its cable is too annoying and it doesn’t seal. Momentum is good except for the fitting problem, it also looks a bit fragile.

        • Reply January 30, 2014

          dalethorn

          Because of the myriad of factors in your requirements, you should list your top choices and why (preferences) and maybe I could comment on those, or provide additional research.

          • Reply January 31, 2014

            zacks

            Momentum, t51p, p7, h6
            Preference: relatively portable, comfortable, SQ

            • Reply January 31, 2014

              dalethorn

              Most comfortable are T51p and H6, Momentum may be also but is partial on-ear, P7 is *very* snug with average ears. Most portable are T51p and H6 – earcups fold flat, Momentum is good but rigid, P7 is portable but heavy compared to the others. T51p SQ is iffy with huge 5 khz peak (at least 15 db compared to these other 3), plus rapid upper treble rolloff. Momentum has emphasized but soft bass and rolloff in upper treble, H6 is near perfect but has an emphasis around 1 khz that gives it a significant midrange coloration, and P7 has a very strong bass and treble that make the mids sound a little distant, plus the bass is boomy (a little loose or bloated).

              • Reply January 31, 2014

                zacks

                Woooo thanks a lot! I kinda like the boomy bass though, as long as the treble doesn’t get “fluffy”. I had a pair of MS pro and its bass is tight but too thin for me. Guess I need to try them out at a local store and then decide :-). Btw does the headband on P7 bother glasses people?

                • Reply January 31, 2014

                  dalethorn

                  The P7 treble is good – I like a full treble, but I’m very sensitive to any spikes, and the P7 is smooth. I wear glasses all day, and the P7 doesn’t bother that way, and it doesn’t leak more sound that way either as far as I can tell.

                  • Reply January 31, 2014

                    zacks

                    sounds cool, if P7’s sound is comparable to d7000, then i’ll go with them

                    • January 31, 2014

                      dalethorn

                      Sounds good – I gave you all the caveats on the P7 I could think of, but bottom line for me – a great headphone. I’ve EQ’d a lot of headphones, but never felt a need to do that with the P7.

                    • January 31, 2014

                      zacks

                      Appreciate your patience!

  • Reply April 24, 2014

    Al

    The h6 is definately not better then the p7. P7 has larger range, tremble that are second to none.very detail, amazing sound stage. You need 40 hrs to burn them in, so listen to them for a week! Before judging them.

    • Reply April 24, 2014

      L.

      Thanks for posting Al. I think the general consensus is the H6 has the better sound, everyone I spoke to feels the same. I also Think Dale will confirm my feelings about this. that being said, taste is personal and if you prefer the P7 that’s good for you, but I’m afraid the majority of people will find it’s the other way around

    • Reply April 24, 2014

      dalethorn

      They are so totally different. I think the reason people compare is because they were released at about the same time for the same price, and were expected to compete with each other. A much better comparison would be the P7 to a headphone with a very rich sound, enhanced in bass and treble both, maybe the Sennheiser Amperior or the Final Audio Pandora VI. There may be better examples than those 2, but that’s the general idea. The B&O H6 is nothing like the P7.

      • Reply July 23, 2014

        Adam A.

        hi Dale, would you recommend the Sennheiser Amperior for trance music? I’m worried about sibilance but I can handle Triple Fi 10 and ATH-CK10 treble. (at high volumes)

        I tried the Momentum On-Ear fresh out of the box for 10 minutes with my iPhone 5S at high volumes, and actually found it to be harsh and sibilant.hi Dale, would you recommend the Sennheiser Amperior for trance music? I’m worried about sibilance but I can handle Triple Fi 10 and ATH-CK10 treble. (at high volumes)

        I tried the Momentum On-Ear fresh out of the box for 10 minutes with my iPhone 5S at high volumes, and actually found it to be harsh and sibilant.

        • Reply July 23, 2014

          dalethorn

          I’m not sure how you would react to the Amperior. I think of the Amperior as having just as strong a treble as the Momentum Senior, and probably as much as the Junior, but they are all balanced differently. I tend to think that some people’s perception of Junior as harsh might be because it has a recess in the mid treble, i.e. the “presence” region, and so compensating the volume the sibilants etc. jump out at them. But I always had a good impression of the Amperior treble as being better balanced, so that’s probably the best I can say.

          Edit: Better balanced and not peaky like some headphones, so it’s good, but may still be too strong for some users.

          • Reply July 24, 2014

            Adam A.

            interesting….well i just ordered the Amperior last night, and the Momentum On-Ear is being delivered to my house today… so I’ll have a good time comparing the two and see which one is preferable after some burn-in…

            Thanks Dale!!!

  • Reply June 28, 2014

    Krushna

    Hi guys I’m looking to buy a good closed headphone….
    I’m totally confused right now if I should just get an ATH-M50x, or go for the P7 or the Fidelio L2 or get a bassy set like the HD8 DJ….
    Wouldn’t call myself a bass head. I mostly think I’d prefer warmer or neutral signatures.
    Overall I find myself listening to rock, metal and electropop from mobile sources… No amp… Please guide me a little bit.

    • Reply June 28, 2014

      dalethorn

      I haven’t tried the HD8-DJ yet, but I’d sure like to. I have the HD26 which is pretty new, but it’s not a good monitor-quality headphone I don’t think. The P7 is better than the M50 series in most respects, but the M50 bass would at least be as good as or slightly better than the P7, even though the P7 costs more than twice as much. Actually, I can’t think of a better bet than the P7 for all-around use as a portable or as an at-home closed headphone, since it has some big advantages over the M50 series**, and those are: Build quality, good looks, lower colorations, and comfort.

      **I’m told the M50x sounds the same or very nearly the same as the regular M50.

    • Reply June 28, 2014

      L.

      Also think of the H6 and HP50!

      • Reply June 28, 2014

        Krushna

        I’m actually leaning more towards the HD8-DJ because of the durability factor and the fact that Sennheiser parts will be available for ages.
        Only the M50x and Beyerdynamic can compete on that factor.
        And Beyers aren’t really portable cans. 🙁

        And the HP50… Such a disappointment. NAD makes such exquisitely designed amps and DACs, but they made this headphone so ugly and weird looking that it just puts me off…
        I’d have bought it even though it’s not really portable if that ugly headband hadn’t been around.

  • Reply July 22, 2014

    James Siggers

    If you’re looking at the B&W P7 I would highly recommend listening to the Final Audio Design Pandora IV (hard to find in the UK – try hifiheadphones).

    The Final Audio Pandora sounds awesome for the money. Sound is very involving, with incredible instrument separation. The dual driver setup is innovative (1x dynamic drive and 1x balanced armature) and results in a massive amount of detail, while retaining smoothness.

    Headphones like the ATH-M50x and Sennheiser Momentum pale into insignificance when compared with the Pandora IV.

    • Reply July 22, 2014

      L.

      I don’t like the Pandora at all actually.

      • Reply July 22, 2014

        James Siggers

        Urm, that didn’t add much the discussion! 🙂 What don’t you like?

        For me the Pandora IV has become the favourite headphone I’ve owned. I’ve been spent a lot of time travelling around to stores where I can try the current best of the bunch out (e.g. Momentum, KEF M500, B&W P7, Aedle).

        • Reply July 22, 2014

          L.

          I don’t know but the sound didn’t work for me. And the looks aren’t my thing. I prefer other sounding headphones like the HP50 or H6 or even the DT770. But if you like the Pandora that’s the most important thing, I just didn’t dig the sound

          • Reply July 22, 2014

            James Siggers

            I found out of the box the Pandora was OK, but didn’t blow me away. A little bit unbalanced even.

            I actually ended up taking it back to the store (where we compared my new headphone with their demo unit) and they were significantly different.

            This headphone definitely needs a run in period. It becomes a lot more dynamic and airy after 50 hours and more.

            • Reply February 9, 2015

              dalethorn

              The Pandora VI and IV apparently have the same earcups and drivers, but the earpads (and subsequent sound) of the VI is noticeably superior. The IV with the stock earpads is bright and peaky, while the VI has an amazing hi-fi signature, having only the slightest treble coloration, but loads of energy top to bottom. I love it. Very, very heavy, and you *must* keep your head very still. The VI earpads are so expensive it isn’t reasonable to upgrade the IV’s earpads.

    • Reply July 22, 2014

      dalethorn

      I have a Pandora IV for sale – as new in box, half price.

  • Reply February 9, 2015

    Steven OConnor

    The p7 are a great set of headphones love my daily use of them

    • Reply February 9, 2015

      dalethorn

      The P7 is still one of my favorites. It gets criticized for a loose bass sometimes, but it’s the next-best thing to a Pandora VI in my view, if you’re looking for a sound that’s energetic from top to bottom. I’d recommend a good amp to tighten up the bass a little. Some people call the P7 a v-shape sound with enhanced bass and treble, but when it comes to the so-called neutral headphones like the Senn HD600, there are very few music tracks I’d prefer the HD600 with. Both the P5 and P7 hold their value well – I never see anyone dumping any of them.

      • Reply February 9, 2015

        Steven OConnor

        Thank you for replying to me I appreciate all your views I definitely watch them on YouTube thank you for all of them. If you consider how much it takes to really have the speaker really reproduce what sound truly is coming out of instruments and how far along it’s calm over the years it’s really something amazing. I think many companies definitely bring something to the table be at high-end or low-end. Obviously high and learning from the low-end’s mistakes but it really is something. Have you ever thought about doing speaker reviews? It is quite costly this is true but I think you’d be great at it. I definitely respect bowers and wilkins and other companies. I also respect Bose. There are a lot of bathers that bash to just bash without a honest audition. What’s your take?

        • Reply February 9, 2015

          dalethorn

          As an aside, B&W do have a quality product that just feels good to own and use. Now for speakers, I’ve followed reviews at Stereophile and TAS for a long time, and my overall impression is they really can’t separate the speaker sound from the room sound. Funny too that some headphone makers want to go backwards and add room sound to the headphone sound. A good stereo cross-feed (not cross-fade) works wonders – better than “room” sound. But back to speakers: I would love to have access to someone’s premium speaker/room setup for about a week, and just use the iOS Audioforge 7-band equalizer to treat the overall sound, after getting the room treatments settled to eliminate most of the acoustic problems before doing any EQ. What I’ve found with headphones, if applied to speakers in a room to reduce colorations as much as possible, is the sound can be made very musical where you get the best instrumental tone, just by reducing the most obvious sudden peaks and dips. At one time some users would get mics and measuring devices and 30-band equalizers in an effort to make everything neutral or ‘flat’, but I don’t think that’s necessary for best sound after working with Audioforge for about a year. What I do wish the Audioforge guy would do is make his DSP available as a PC/Mac plugin, for desktop use.

          • Reply February 10, 2015

            Steven OConnor

            Agreed there is a lot of aspects to consider to treating of a room for speakers. Size of room, equipment, placement. Let me ask you this have you ever auditions bose speaker lifestyle series, 201, 301 or the Cinemate series previous or current? If definitely appreciate your feedback. I have the conemate gs 2 for current needs very nice. I would like to get the B&W 686 s2 up the road just need a better sub for low frequency handling. I will say the cinemate does a terrific job in my opinion for a 2.1 im just looking at the cost of 4 686 s2 front rear a B&W center channel speaker and a respectable subwoofer. Just cost will easily hit 15-2000 dollars. Not something I can do anytime soon because of moving in the future.
            I know you enjoy headphones for audio listening have you ever considered earbuds to review? C5 s2 etc? My c5 left driver fails and in the future I’ll be replacing them. Hard to go back to subpar audio when you get spoiled

            • Reply February 10, 2015

              dalethorn

              I haven’t dealt with speakers since the mid 1980’s, and I avoid IEMs since they always feel out of place no matter how hard I try to accomodate them. The Senn IE800 are my favorite. The problem with speakers for me is not even the $20000 or so cost to get 16 hz response with realistic detail and power like the major pipe organs – it’s the $400k house with the $100k room that’s big enough and reinforced enough to support those 16 hz waves without leaking off the fundamental, or cutting it off below the lowest room resonance, etc.

              • Reply February 10, 2015

                Steven OConnor

                I agree. You definitely have a better chance to hit the frequency sweet spot with headphones. What would you consider your favorite headphone currently?

                • Reply February 10, 2015

                  Headfonia_L.

                  I’m so lucky to get to listen to a lot of (new) headphones so my favorites change very often. However it’s safe to say the Audeze LCD2, Sennheiser HD650 and HE-500 will always be in my top XX

                • Reply February 10, 2015

                  dalethorn

                  Beyer T90 at home, B&W P5 or Beyer DT1350 (with T51p earpads) outdoors.

      • Reply February 12, 2015

        Steven OConnor

        I saw your review of the bose qc25
        Headphones. In it you had mentioned an audible thump during the use when noise cancelling was on. I know exactly what you’re refering to as the qc 20i have done the same thing in my use in the past. It tries to counter that soud but I guess it has its problems. In some of our discussion about headphones. Some do try to lean toward sounding more like speakers. In some reguard almost making the soundstage feel very synthetic lack of natural ambience. I definitely appreciate a good soundstage the alternative is it sounding like it’s all in your head.

        • Reply February 12, 2015

          dalethorn

          After a month with the QC-25, I’ve found only 2 real issues – the wind noise on the mics, and the rumble when my head is down and chin is close to my chest. Other than that, the signature and overall sound quality in Active mode is (to me at least) very audiophile, and nearly perfect. Of course, a critical comparison to an EQ’d Beyer T1 or T90 (to get a similar treble balance) would undoubtedly show advantages to the Beyers, yet the QC-25 is extremely good. Adding to the good is great battery life (40 hours I’d guess, since the original battery lasted me at least 2 weeks, testing and all), but I’m subtracting some points for a nagging suspicion that the durability won’t be good, based on experience with other Bose’s. Time will tell. Note that I’ve said in the past that I have doubts about the absolute sound quality of the Bose NC series**, given that I don’t see acoustic treatments in the minimal earcups build, i.e. I think Bose uses electronic EQ in addition to the NC, yet the sound is still good. Maybe someone else who has expertise in shaking down the internals and evaluating the sound more critically can weigh in on that.

          **I don’t count the Bose QC3, the on-ear NC headphone, since the 3 different ones I auditioned sounded awful — muffled.

          • Reply February 12, 2015

            Steven OConnor

            I had the qc3, qc15 as well lots of sound leakage and of course wasnt a great nc as far as actual function. I’m sure bose uses a level of digital magic to get that sound not just normal hardware upgrades speakers and such. I do feel they are overly secretive of specs. It also reminds me of a time apple was similar in many ways. Like being very tight lipped on specific hardware specks accessibility and such. Well even to this day they are even with unibody designed MacBooks you need to take in to have their batteries replaced. I hear good things about Beyer but never had a chance to audition the brand. I know I heard about the founder of grasps passing. It’s a shame but it’s good to know his contribution to sound will live on.

            • Reply February 12, 2015

              dalethorn

              I’m getting Joe Grado’s personal opera recording today (Joe is the singer) – that’s really exciting, given I know a couple of first-generation immigrants from Sicily who have made recordings that haven’t been released. Back then, pre-digital, these guys probably never expected to have their recordings preserved outside of their families and close friends. The sad thing is that now, post-digital, the interest in that music, personally performed, has really faded.

              • Reply February 12, 2015

                Steven OConnor

                The more things go digital the more difficult it is to even get some of those lossless formats. I regret that things have went so far to MP3 or other compressed formats as a main stream. It’s good to see a trend of uncompressed music start become more known. It’s also great to see records and turn tables selling better. 2014 records sold over 9 million. It’s just good to see that vinyl is still around.

                • Reply February 12, 2015

                  dalethorn

                  Good if you can get ‘real’ uncompressed – not just uncompressed technically via lossless coding, but uncompressed at the master. The so-called loudness wars are still compressing the masters.

                  • Reply February 12, 2015

                    Steven OConnor

                    Very good point. I didn’t consider that but you’re right. It’s amazing how they come up what headphones that seem to improve over time and that they haven’t hit a bottleneck yet. Even speakers for that matter I mean there are a boatload of each category they come out and it’s just amazing that some of those newer things really can push ahead and bring it a new improvements to the sound signatures out there. I do realize though that being a person’s best or favorite is completely subjective. Have you ever ran across the headphone and all the ones you have tried that you believe never needed to be EQ did all?

                    • February 12, 2015

                      dalethorn

                      Beyer COP (not that it’s great, just that EQ isn’t so necessary), B&O H6 (same comment), Beyer DT770-32 (some music might need treble adjustment), AKG K712, B&W P7, FAD Pandora VI, Senn HD380/600/650/800, MrSpeakers Mad Dog, Audeze LCD2, Brainwavz HM5, Focal Spirit Pro, Grado 325, Shure 840/1840, …..

            • Reply February 12, 2015

              dalethorn

              My Macbook Pro 256 gb internal SSD is missing about 12 gb now. I could find that easily with a PC, but not with the Mac.

              • Reply February 12, 2015

                Steven OConnor

                Yes sadly over the years they have made upgrades either an upfront with purchase to force someone to buy through them or not upgrade at all. A good example is their 21 inch iMac vs 27 iMac model. The 27 has an upgrade door to upgrade your ram. The 21 is build to order with soldered ram on board and no upgrade path after bought. There is a time simplicity needs to take second place and that’s one of this times

          • Reply February 12, 2015

            Steven OConnor

            I do believe specs to an extent are important even though it only explains half the story especially when you get to the the level you invest portable dac as the pairing is equally important as the specifications alone.

            • Reply February 12, 2015

              dalethorn

              A separate DAC, as compared to a built-in with amp, requires output jacks and wiring from the DAC, input jacks and wiring into the amp, and interconnect cables. Most people have no idea how much that colors the sound. So keep your connectors clean all the time, use the best and shortest interconnects, and look inside if you can to see that you don’t have problems brewing there.

      • Reply February 12, 2015

        Steven OConnor

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd5i7TlpzCk
        Yd5i7TlpzCk

        I saw this and I thought maybe be interested in though I’m sure you already know about it anyway.

        • Reply February 12, 2015

          dalethorn

          I’ve found that the music recording technique does make a great difference, but I’ve heard several “Audiophile Binaural” recordings that don’t impress me on headphones. OTOH, I have some stereo recordings from the late 1950’s that sound great on headphones simply because the engineer/producers knew how to record a natural sound image.

          • Reply February 12, 2015

            Steven OConnor

            I appreciate the insight. I haven’t heard many myself.

          • Reply February 14, 2015

            Steven OConnor

            This was the player I was refering to. Thought something different that allows multiple music file types may be of interest. What are your thoughts.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O74ZFA_7gwI

            • Reply February 15, 2015

              dalethorn

              It looks to be a decent player among many decent players. At this time I see no reason to have anything greater than a 96k FLAC on a portable player. If I were interested in DSD etc. I’d get a dedicated music server with RAID drives for backup. For all other uses, I get the best WAV or FLAC files I can — if WAV format then I translate those to FLAC, then archive the FLACs onto multiple storage devices. When I get a file in any Apple format, or from a suspect source, I convert it to WAV, strip off some of the tags, rename it, then archive it. I want all of my music in a best-quality but generic format, that I have long-term confidence in. The big problem I see with PMPs is having to (or having the urge to) add more devices like another amp, creating a kludge that’s a pain to use. Another issue is memory, and the current unreliability of 128 gb MicroSD cards (Sandisk anyway). It would be nice if my favorite PMP had a Parametric equalizer that displays an interactive result graph. I think we’re still in the Dark Ages with this stuff, considering I’ve been using portable players for more than 30 years.

    • Reply February 9, 2015

      jazz1

      I’m still loving mine. Any thought that they’d be too big for mobile use has long ended for me. I’m wondering when P7 second edition will be coming along?

      • Reply February 12, 2015

        Steven OConnor

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd5i7TlpzCk
        Yd5i7TlpzCk

        I found this article and I’m sure you pretty much know about this concept already but I figured I’d share it with you. Give me a thoughts after you see it.

  • Reply March 26, 2015

    Haryanto Suryonoto

    Anyone tried Double Helix cable for P7? Is it worth it?

    • Reply July 29, 2015

      dudi

      Would like to know that aswell

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.