ErikaSzabo
on - last edited on by
ElizabethS
British high-end-audio manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has been making speakers for over 40 years, but their venture into private audio listening has to be one of their smartest ideas yet. Offered as a set of premium, full-size headphones for mobile listening the $300 Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile Hi-Fi is pricey but is extraordinarily powerful, comfortable and plain nice to look at. Now is this piece of eye candy worth the money? We'll get to that later.
These headphones are pure class. Each earpiece is made of brushed and polished aluminum, the earpads and trim are made of extremely soft New Zealand sheep leather, and the sturdy, polished-metal headband is cushioned by thick, leather-covered padding. These features alone should already give you an idea as to why these headphones are so costly, but they're extremely comfortable and fairly durable for your listening pleasure.
The P5 comes bundled with two cables: a basic cable for using the headphones with any audio device sporting a 1/8-inch minijack, and a cable with a microphone/remote module for use with an iPhone, iPod, or a iMac or MacBook. The mic/remote module is an Apple-approved three-button version, letting you control playback as well as volume level, and a modular design lets you easily swap between cables or replace a bad one—a welcome feature to anyone who’s ever had to buy a new set of headphones because of a loose connection or a broken wire.
With that in mind, don't do what I did and leave either cable (or headphones, for that matter) lying around if you have pets. I learned the hard way after finding the mic/remote cable torn to pieces by my ever-curious cat. While I have plenty of cables lying around my living room none are nearly as soft and delicate as the P5's are so, while replaceable, the last thing anyone needs in their life is to find a broken wire to a $300 pair of headphones—thank god she didn't chew on the leather!
As for performance, the P5's ooze quality. One of the main perks about these headphones are their total balance in sound, revealing richness and detail in your music. While many headphones tend to compensate for a weak midrange with exaggerated bass and treble, the P5 strays away from that initially-appealing, somewhat-tiresome feature. Instead, B&W provides a more natural sound, loyal to what the artist and sound engineer intended.
To the average user the P5 Mobile Hi-Fi may be a bit too costly, but for someone looking for not only some nice looking headphones but ones with impeccable sound quality should look no further. The P5 may be an investment, but it's one worth taking.
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