The Sumptuous and Sonorous Bowers&Wilkins P7

Read full InnerFidelity review here: www.innerfideli...

[@alpinab14]

yet another great review tyle, Always nice to see great content rich and useful reviews rather than those dam unboxing vids unlike some others that seem to think unboxings are more important than an actual review, dont know about anyone else but i have yet to hear a cardboard box reproduce audio, You really do spoil us with your reviews and i always enjoy watching them, nice descriptions for build quality, comfort, unique features of a particular headphone a nice bit of technology and how products are engineered to make them work they way they do and of course sound quality with measurements and all this lovely info squeezed into a 10 min video in hd, with the added cherry of expo coverages , Defiantly a positive influence and contribution on this monster of awesomeness we call youtube, needless to say thumbs up from me thanks again tyle

[@InnerFidelity]

Thanks mate, I'll keep working at it.

[@jsense01]

After using all the suggested headphones in this review for quite some time, i can safely say that the P7s are in my eyes the best sounding of the group. I believe they do belong on the Tyls Wall of Fame, they are definitely on mine. I love them a lot.

[@MK2EA]

Can i just thank you, your videos are always very good, and every in depth you are like a video version of the website head-fi.org. You never miss a feature too, quite clearly you put a lot of effort into your videos, thank you!

[@realaudioreviews]

+1 for the Sennheiser Momentums, the new ones have a better fit since the EarPods are larger. Can't wait to get them!

[@jamiethornton6101]

The P7 hurt my ears too much. Maybe because I have glasses. I took them back and keep using my P5's. I love the memory foam on them and the p5's still sound great. When I want audiophile quality, I just listen on my B&W towers.

[@omeletpants]

I think any Bowers and Wilkins blows away the Senheiser Momentum. I have owned them both and sold the Senheisers

[@lordofthegme5282]

Yes, by miles. Even the new models, I have Momentum 2.0 and 3.0. The P7 wipes the floor with the 2.0, the P9 is a league ahead of the M3

[@arturtarnowski4023]

Totally agree. Heard both and im waiting for my brand new P7

[@falcodarkzz]

@@arturtarnowski4023 Step up and get the P9 you wont regret it

[@arturtarnowski4023]

@@falcodarkzz thanks for the tip, but I already payed it and no money now

[@thekash]

you have a chance to try out the P7 wireless version yet?

[@josephsaxon193]

Owned Momentums for a while when they first launched, liked them okay but wanted something that sounded a little better, btw I had no real fit issues. Now I own the P7 and after break in these headphone sounds much better to my ears, less boom and more detailed, un-fatiguing high end presentation. Midrange sounds good to me, I appreciate the depth of field that a SLIGHTLY recessed midrange can bring. Overall I say the P7 is a notch above the Momentum. Need to hear the NAD cans....

[@sandroorlandoni2614]

Hello, I would like to ask your advice. Wanting to listen to music from a PC (in FLAC format) and, possibly, from smartphones and MP3 players, would you recommend these headphones to be attached directly to the PC or to divide the same budget among a less accurate headphones plus a DAC? Thank you

[@Kadaf1]

I have had the P5 for about 18 months, only problem is they sneeze tightly to your head so after a while they become uncomfortable and I need to take them off. I guess the P7 is no different

[@dfainc9905]

Purchased the Sennheiser HD 800. I have a DAC that plays DSD64,128,256, 32-192 and all below. I would like to know if an upgrade cable to silver would make a difference as opposed to a stock headphone cable? Also as you know the impedance is 300 OHM, does this mean I would have to have a certain DAC to play these at their best? I have a TEAC AI-301DA, it seems to work good but didn't know if the Sennehiser HDV800 or 600 would work better? Thanks,

[@chopcookies]

Would love to see you review the KEF M500

[@sv1840be]

Looking forward to a review of the P9.

[@paulsmith1981]

I own these, I would say they sound much better plugged into my laptop rather then my iphone. they seem to benefit hugely form being driven by a mains feed source rather than a battery powers sources which tend not to produced enough power to really get the headphone diaphragms moving.

[@nativelover1969]

HI,THANKYOU for your reviews.Ive used them for years now and your attention to detail has made it easy for me to buy right.Im stuck on the BnW P7 AND The Sen..HD800 is it worth paying the extra as i do like a punchy bass?

[@kledder318]

I agree with what you're saying in the video. Today I briefly used these headphones while watching a movie. The voices are definitely not rich enough. Everything else is nice as long as you're not looking for a super realistic sound stage. Unfortunately this means that I'll have to continue my search for a high quality wireless headphone for watching movies and tv series. Any tips?

[@marvellousmusic4336]

Hi, i have these headphones and the left side are snapped on the 2 prongs that go into the tiny drum shape, do you know how i could fix them please?

[@Lucaat]

So what about the KEF M500? Please Tyll :D

[@1ceCold037]

i just got mine the other day... they sound great! better sounding than my momentums for sure!

[@ericbakke3060]

Hey Tyell, could you please do a video of the B&W P9's? I'm dying to know how these sound.

[@sultanabran1]

i'm seriously interested in Focal headphones. i love their car audio speakers. i saw your review on the Spirit One, have you got a review on the Spirit Classic? I can't find it.

[@579093]

Great video! I have a question, I love that best buy always has their headphones for demo but upon purchasing it and burning them in for a couple hours I find that the demo headphones sound better in the stores. What do you say? Im planning to purchase the p5 and tney sounded great in the store. All my music is at least 256 bit rate kbps but sometimes. Do u think its because they have amps we cant see?

[@MascareV1]

Love your reviews.Watched B&W P 3,5,7.So which one would you choose after having these for a while.Thanks

[@michiel75]

I own a p3 and a p7 and i think the P7 is worth every extra penny. I sounds incredible good, with a full well defined bass, expresive midrange and amazing treble. They are Miles ahead in soundquality next to the P3 and its more comfortable cause its around instead of on the ear. I really don't think its EQ happy balanced, its full bodied and warm with an extreme open and expressive treble.

[@damianmb5]

Hello Tyll, thanks for your reviews. My main driver is a SRH1840 so really good sound... I'm looking something better but closed. Ideally I would like them to be wireless to and last the whole day (concerned about how long the battery would last thought). What do you think about the W7 Wireless, Oppo PM3, Sony 1000X? I would like good isolation too, I'm not sure about NC if it sacrifice good quality. My DAC is a Firefly 1.2.

[@janparson7696]

Good Job - Good in depth review

[@havok2022]

I was not at all a fan of how the EQ was done on these. I think you touched on what I experienced, but it was far more extreme for me. The bass seemed overblown and muddy. Vocalists were difficult to hear and took a back seat to other instruments. Especially female vocals. Also, not the typical use case, but I use these headsets a lot for conference calls from my mobile as well. The way that female vocals were EQed, I had a very difficult time hearing female voices on calls and found myself asking them to repeat quite often. I really liked the Senn Momentums, but the fit caused me pain. I've ordered some NAD HP50s to try next.

[@lukewang4676]

Wonderful review! Keep up the good work!

[@janhrusovsky6995]

You look like David Gilmour

[@oskarstrom4034]

Great review as always. So weird though: you describe the sound characteristics of these the way I would describe the Sennheiser Momentum. "Accentuated treble and bass and withdrawn mids with a slightly muddy bass". And since you adore the momentum I have to conclude that these would be far too bassheavy for me.

[@BESTOFTHEABOVE]

How do these compare to the Sennheiser Amperiors?

[@trilingualkid]

InnerFidelity can you do a review on the Phiaton Chord MS 530? I have not seen many do a review of these.

[@wagsbass]

i am fighting with my wallet to buy this. I love the fact that there is no cheap plastic in the construction of the P7

[@cosmoshfa88savant66]

hope u are keeping well Tyll ......

[@trampleking83]

Bought these headphones about 4 months ago. I am using fiio x3 as my audio source and I learned that these pair are easily bassier than the Audio technica m50s which I own as well. I found that when the bass was turned up to full, these headphones give out a rattling vibration which i found annoying. The tracks i played were flac files which played fine on the audio technica m50s.

[@IainMacUK]

Try the NADs. VISO HP50... Better and cheaper. I spent one week on research and testing. So I'm very sure of my statement. Tell me what you think after trying them...

[@m42martin]

Does the clamping force decrease any over time? Has anyone tried to stretch them out a bit?

[@FM19964]

Anyone noticed that this headphone is similar in look to the monster inspiration and also the way they fold ?

[@JOOODYJOOODY]

i bought these and returned them immediately... believe it or not my 18 dollar tascam th02 beat them in every way ... suprize suprize

[@festushaggen2563]

I listened to these at Best Buy today and was very impressed by them. I found them very pleasing to listen to. Clarity was excellent. They seem to favor treble and bass ( V shape) like I prefer. They're comfortable and the build is simple yet elegant. If I had the money for high end headphones, I'd be very tempted. I'm happy with my M50x's but I must admit, these sounded better to me. And they should for $200+ more. Update: I ended up buying them but returned them a few weeks later. The clamping force on my head would hurt significantly after a half hour and in doing a side by side comparison with my M50x's, they didn't sound $200 better. They sounded warm in comparison to the point where I was losing cymbals in some rock music. I was incredibly disappointed because I loved the look and feel on the leather and metal.

[@fastguitars4380]

These P7's have a dip in the mids......The classic "V" shape.....and if you like that, you'll love these........If i were you, i'd skip them and run straight for the new Hifiman HE-400i's.....As these are infinitely better sounding and more comfortable.

[@TheWolod]

Hello guys. I listen to a lot of trance music. Which headphones (not earbuds) would you recomed me to use with the genre?

[@metal571]

Vladimír Petija HD 600, Q701.

[@Eleventhearlofmars]

If you want great sound, lovely bass and supreme comfort and wireless, I would definitely go for parrot Zik 2, they also have an app you can use with them to tweak the sound more but they sound supreme anyway, they have strong but not overblown bass, and touch controls on the right ear, if you've got a good budget and can afford £300+ the P7 wireless are also excellent, but Parrot zik2 are around half the price £150 ish so are an excellent option because the soundstage is nearly as good as P7, can't recommend both headphones highly enough

[@momo-hs5jn]

How does it compare to the Sennheiser Momentum? Which one would you prefer (for long time listening)?

[@djiscrazy9008]

Hellooo! I have the Sennheiser momentum and I am looking to buy another pair of headphones. Would you recommend the P7 or Beats by Dr. Dre Pro Over-Ear Headphones? I am looking for headphones good for alternative rock, pop songs mainly and wide soundstage and sounds great in general. Thank you!!

[@allthenamesaretaken2]

Why the fuck...the momentum sounds better than both of those. Holy trinity. Hd600/dt880/k701, you can't go wrong with any of them.

[@theyruinedyoutubeagain]

krisspykrapper HD600 are open, that might be an issue.

[@darkholyPL]

Could you review the CAL!2 by any chance?

[@lucasguy99]

I can't decide, should I buy these or the sennheiser momentum(over ear)?

[@MusicFillsMyLife]

0.55 That sniff lol!

[@mohammedmuddasser4645]

Could you compare it to the Bang&Olufsen H6 plsss

[@Sazo523]

How are these compared with bang and Olufsen h7, and which one is the best headphone under 500 to use outside( close back)

[@adrianuk]

I own the P5's....my biggest issue is I have gone through 2 pairs since 2009 mainly because the glue keeps melting and B&W keep sending me a new pair, and while its great customer service, why is the glue continuously melting ??

[@InnerFidelity]

What glue where are you talking about?

[@adrianuk]

InnerFidelity Ok this might be a bit hard to explain, I could easily send you some photos of the problem. But ill try to explain. When you take the removable ear cups off, theres a felt like material that covers the headphones itself (where the serial number is) the glue used to stick the material seems to have lost its tolerance and has started to become very sticky, even seals the magnetic ear cups shut to the headphone itself. I contacted B&W and they wouldn't comment on the problem but apologised numerous times and sent me a new pair.

[@InnerFidelity]

kingpush K. Thanks!

[@michaelbarajas9079]

This is also annoying me ugh

[@LiberatorOfAmerica]

While using these headphones on an ipod, would it be worthwhile to get an amp for them? If so, which amp would you recommend?

[@Ratstick58]

Does it use aac on apple devices? Got some conflicting information.

[@johnnyvvlog]

Still can't decide between these and the P5.

[@wagsbass]

P7 good sir

[@johnnyvvlog]

I agree. But the P5 is also good and much more portable.

[@mainmanvern]

I own the P5s and I have listened to the P7. First impression with the P7s on and ipod was they do not seem to play as loud as the P5s, that may be because the 5s do a better job as noise isolation. I do believe the 7s would shine on higher quality gear. The 5s seem to produce a more natural sound by comparison to the 7s, but if you like your music a bit bass heavy then the 7s may be your choice.

[@wagsbass]

I would recommend going to Bestbuy and checking both of them out. I went to Bestbuy and listened to both to get a feel for what they sound like side by side. After listening to the P7 then switching to the P5, the lack of definition especially higher up the frequency range became very obvious. Cant go wrong with either but for $100 extra the P7's are well worth the upgrade IMO.

[@johnnyvvlog]

mainmanvern The loudness won't be a problem since I have a FIIO connected to my iPhone. wagsbass That would be nice if we would actually have Bestbuy stores here in Belgium. For now I have to wait a couple of more weeks 'till my local hifi store has the P7 in stock so I can listen to both. For the moment they're still in backorder and can't be listened to. I only heard the P3 & P5 and found the P5 pretty good.

[@ashneelneo4796]

The CAL2 Tyll!!

[@asadb1990]

The headphones in terms of comfort and sound quality. but they fail in a few major ways. 1) the cable is proprietary and hence will only be available through B&W. 2) the pads are also proprietary and dont come with an extra pair. (Shure provides an extra pair with most of their headphones. 3) the cable is very thin. if you think these are adequate, take a look at the sony mdr 1r cable and beyerdynamics custom one pro cable. Heck even my $100 audio technica ath pro500mk2 have a thicker cable and it is pretty easy to outsource the cable if I prefer.

[@InnerFidelity]

Thicker cables are not necessarily better. The MDR-1R cable freezes nearly solid in cold weather.

[@asadb1990]

InnerFidelity well the sony mdr 1r are an exception but in most other cases a thicker cable will be better. I have used many other sony headphones in around -30 deg Celcius and the thick cable on models like xd100 and zx100 stays flexible. It will be stronger and will take a lot more force to damage. think of it this way, thicker cable means higher tension resistance. The cables on the p7 is like the ones found on many ear phones. the shure se215 cable is thicker. I understand there is a limit to how thick the cable should be but it should increase with increase in price.

[@InnerFidelity]

Asad the great Sorry mate, cable thickness just doesn't mean anything...or not much anyway. The conductor materials, soldering methods, insulation dielectric, kevlar reinforcement, and stuff like that matters. You could have all sorts of good materials in there and still have the cable be thin. Thin cables are also less prone to mechanical noise transmission.

[@asadb1990]

InnerFidelity if by mechanical noise, you are referring to noise that a heavy cable will make then that is negligible if you are moving around a lot which if you are then these are the wrong type of headphones. However, the kevlar lined wires can be thin because they are designed to be strong but the cable on the p7 are thin and break easily. In fact, the test sample they had at the store in bestbuy starting fraying. Making the cable thick is the easiest way to make it durable. Sure there are other ways to make a thin cable strong, but the most confidence inspiring way is to make it thick. Now I buy all my headphones, so I value durability and best bang for buck but I guess you get most of your headphones for free and don't want to bad mouth the distributor, you hide the faults of the different headphones.

[@elijahpennyo5273]

Would you recommend Psb M4U 1's or the Sennheiser Momentums?

[@Linkmat97]

Would you recommend the P7 or the B&O H6

[@InnerFidelity]

The B&O H6 is a bit too tizzy for me to review...I think. Got to spend a bit more time with it.

[@supaxui]

InnerFidelity would love to see a review for B&O H6

[@Cerim112]

InnerFidelity Hi I have a quick question which headphones would you recommend for somebody that has very sensitive ears and get easily herring fatigue. I have her the Sennheiser HD 650 has very dark sound and very easy to listen to which would you recommend sennheiser or B&W P7 or p5

[@guyplay]

InnerFidelity Can you please review these? I'm on the fence between the two. Love to hear your opinion.

[@guyplay]

***** Thanks! I'm not looking for a bass heavy headphone. I would prefer something more neutral and natural sounding. My choices so far are the Shure 1540, The B&W P7 and the BO H6.

[@Ragingfighter1]

Make a second wall of fun eq headphones.

[@riasatahsan6094]

Hey man. These vs Sennheiser momentums?

[@sternleo8578]

for home user whitch is better?p7 or dt880

[@TheFloatingBartender]

I heard a rumour that they are really re packaged Phillips is this true?

[@InnerFidelity]

I doubt it. Talked with B&W engineers, they seem to have done the design work. Don't know who the OEM is, but pretty sure it's not Philips.

[@TheFloatingBartender]

Thank you so much, I know they get people say bad things about them but I love my Air Zeppelin. Really impressed with it!

[@staticosaur]

Do I need any time of headphone amplifier for P7 if I want to use them on my smart phone?

[@InnerFidelity]

No. They'll play just fine on a portable...they sound better as you feed them with better gear though.

[@staticosaur]

InnerFidelity Thanks for the reply! Does it mean that if I really want an amplifier I can do it, however it will not bring dramatic difference in what I hear, worth e.g. $500 more?

[@jasonmapotts]

Hope you smell the Bushmills when they get there as well. We need to know if they smell like whiskey or not. :)

[@Galdring]

Hmmm... These, or the Oppo PM-3?

[@pitylaugh]

Please review the KEF M500 :)

[@6doublefive3two1]

SPL Phonitor 2 Review please.

[@jamescollett2625]

how do these compare to the p7 wireless

[@eLicky]

Is it just me or is Tyll looking younger each video? I could almost swear he's had cosmectic surgery done recently.

[@InnerFidelity]

Ha! Not a chance. Have lost a bit of weight though.

[@Hitrate]

InnerFidelity Try to go gluten free for a month :)

[@papoopa5800]

My Beats Studio headphones are now 3 and a half years old. These days they sound pathetic and just about last week, the right channel lost its bass completely. I'm considering the P7s but how can I be sure the same won't happen with these in such a short span of time?

[@ihaverecon]

3 and half years is not a short amount of time, you're lucky they made it that long

[@purplegoat2500]

I've had my HD280's for 5+ years and have not once had an issue. Not only that, I've abused them quite a bit.

[@papoopa5800]

I finally received the shipment of my P7s last week. At first I wasn't quite impressed with the sound as I was too accustomed to the heavy bass of my Beats Studio headphones. It seems like the sound of the P7s has improved with usage and now I'm quite pleased with the acoustics and the bass is pretty decent as well. Moreover, the build quality is beyond impressive! I'd highly recommend these headphones to anyone willing to spend $400.

[@kevin-zd4po]

papoopa5800 they need a couple of hundred hrs to break in. after they loosen up. they will be amazing. but if u abuse them out the box. they will never break in right.

[@papoopa5800]

kevin u You're right. They sound awesome now! The only problem now is finding a way of maintaining the leather

[@olimphus26]

also where can i try them out

[@riasatahsan6094]

Beat by Dr Dre Headquarters... At the airport. In the Basement.

[@mrnyc220]

I totally disagree those sound better then the headphones mentioned

[@GMT2019]

P7 wireless or PX better

[@Ic3psycho]

vs shure 840 ???

[@olimphus26]

better than beats studio?

[@riasatahsan6094]

NOPE BEATS FOR LIFE YEEAAAH SWAG YOLO YEEAHH!

[@meirben-zvi189]

wich is the best amp for the bw p7?

[@omeletpants]

Fiio e12 the combination is fabulous

[@matthewshaw8917]

Smells great? Hmmm... Sure, I'll drop fivehundo on these!

[@Bibhor4]

p7 or hd 600?

[@Eleventhearlofmars]

Greenhorn88 P7 wireless are better than the wired version they have upgraded the speakers and used different materials in the earcups, I'd recommend B&W P7 over sennheiser all day long

[@nylesprint]

I respect that these get high praise from you but do not make the Wall of Fame. Disappointing that the vocals are a little recessed.

[@i_read_bad_reviews]

Uh uh uh uh

[@TheJullim]

first

[@greenrolaids]

i hate to admit it.. but i dont think i could ever buy a headphone from a company that has produced so many mediocre sounding / vanity type of headphones. Add that B&W are sold by the apple store, and i will never purchase a pair of b&w's no matter how good they sound.

[@derbigpr500]

Do you even know what you're talking about? Obviously no. B&W makes mediocre headphones? They've only started making headphones like a year or two ago...this is their third model, and the last two were not exactly mediocre either. I guess you're not aware that B&W is one of the oldest and best high quality speaker manufacturers in the world...they know what they're doing.

[@InnerFidelity]

I like the P5, the P3 not so much. And " i will never purchase a pair of b&w's no matter how good they sound" seems like a silly attitude. I'd buy a Beats model if they made a good one.

[@MrRoden96]

InnerFidelity Hey, the new beats aint to bad! (compared to the old ones)

[@allthenamesaretaken2]

Custom one pros and Amperiors are also sold on the apple store, that means sennheiser and beyerdynamics suck too right?

[@greenrolaids]

nope.. im not a big fan of the beyers.. but i rock HD600's .. my point got a little sideways when i tried crapping on apple when i should have been more concise.