P7 WIRELESS HEADPHONES

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Lorraine Blair
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1 FEBRUARY 2017 BOWERS & WILKINS P7 WIRELESS HEADPHONES REVIEW / BOWERS & WILKINS / P7 WIRELESS HEADPHONES

2 BOWERS & WILKINS P7 WIRELESS HEADPHONES Included with the P7 Wireless is The clamp is initially quite tight, a 3.5mm cable (non-threaded) but after a few hours is made and a luxurious magnetic-latch more forgiving as the memory carrying pouch. With portable foam pads take shape. listening as the primary purpose in mind, there is no full-size jack Distributor: Convoy adapter or cable included. $ RRP Build True to usual B&W releases, both the build quality and chosen have B&W created an audiophile friendly Bluetooth headphone option? There are four buttons on the headphone: One for power on/off and pairing. Two for volume control. One for play/pause. materials are extraordinary. The The volume and play/pause are chosen design aesthetic is clustered together on the side unusual for a headphone, but of the headphone and have very works well in its favour. light travel and a decent click, with With two polished aluminium rails, the yolks are especially unique gently twisted from the a slightly disconcerting wobble however. The power/pairing button is a slider, which slides down for power on/off, and is Bowers & Wilkins was forged from B&W have since had a smattering headband to the cup, neatly the humble beginnings of a radio of headphone releases, ranging guiding the cable. Despite and electronics shop in a large from the in-ear C5 to the on-ear their stylish looks, the rails The headphones fold inward to seaside town in England, known P3. Eventually, a flagship landed are firm and solid, and keep a fit into their carrying case - the as Worthing. Its founders, John in the form of the over-ear P7 late comfortable angle on the cups. cups do not swivel flat. Bowers and Roy Wilkins, met in 2013 that would become a whilst serving in the Royal Corps huge success for the company. It s especially worth mentioning Inside you ll find a non- of Signals during World War II. It s since been trumped by the the sheer amount of leather on replaceable 370mAh battery, this headphone which covers which B&W say will last 17 the entire headband, the pads, hours. This battery supplies and even on the outside of the power to each of the 40mm full- cups themselves. range nylon-damped drivers, and When the shop began supplying public address equipment to schools and churches in Sussex, higher-priced P9 Signature but the P7 remains a staple in the Bowers & Wilkins headphone line-up. pressed in to pair to a new device. Bowers became increasingly Taking it a step further, B&W involved in the design and cleverly cut the cord and assembly of loudspeakers. released a Bluetooth version Eventually they d set up a small of the P7 late last year timed production line behind the store, either by chance, or by forward They weigh 323 grams, which is the remnants of which apparently, thinking, just as the latest iphone 33 grams heavier than the original For those considering the lost its headphone jack. P7. There are lighter wireless long-haul flight, surprisingly for options on the market (Sennheiser a premium offering there is no PXC 550 springs to mind at 227 noise cancelling feature on the grams) but despite this, the P7 P7 Wireless. are still visible in that backyard to this day. B&W are mostly known for their HiFi and Home theatre loudspeakers, but since their release of the P5 headphones back in 2010, they ve also become a strong contender in the Head-Fi market as well. The P7 has been a very classy blip on a lot of audio enthusiasts radar for a few years now. So naturally, a Bluetooth version is bound to pique some interest. Has Bowers & Wilkins created a truly audiophile friendly Bluetooth option for headphones? Conveniently, the memory the Bluetooth gadgetry. foam pads are removeable and There are also 2 microphones, user replaceable. for phone calls and voice control Wireless are by no means heavy. of a smartphone.

3 Cabled or Wireless The user has the choice of either wired or wireless connectivity. When using wired, the cable hiding mechanism is quite neat. Once the magnetic earpad is removed, the concealed connector is revealed inside. Once the cable is installed and the pad is placed back on, one would be forgiven for not even realising these are wireless headphones. The downside to this great looking concealment is the time it takes to install the cable. It makes switching between wireless or cabled just that little bit longer. Fortunately, you likely wouldn t need to make this change From the CSR website: In order to fit within the Bluetooth pipe and transmit wirelessly, audio needs to use a bit rate reduction technique. It replicates the entire frequency of the audio, reproducing pure sound and ensuring that users hear everything as the artist intended. By incorporating aptx audio coding technology into the next generation of Bluetooth stereo products, developers can offer consumers audio quality indistinguishable from wired with an impressive dynamic range. very often. The P7 wireless also feature Bluetooth aptx, AAC, and SBC. aptx is often seen as the current flagship version of Bluetooth audio, owned by CSR (who is owned by Qualcomm). the choice of either wired or wireless connectivity Desktop Listening Using desktop amplification is usually reserved for high impedance, low sensitivity headphones. The P7 Wireless is incredibly easy to drive, did not require heavy amplification, and did not do much justice to the Questyle Gold stack reference system (RRP $15,000 AUD). There s also no balanced option with the P7, but that s expected given that it s a portable headphone. Gain and volume had to be wound all the way down during these tests, and considering the 3.5mm connector of the P7 is not threaded, it s quite clear that the B&W offering was a fish out of the water in this circumstance.

P7 Wireless was very easy to drive in our smartphone tests Portable Listening Wireless Listening More appropriate perhaps was The P7 has been a staple in the This won t be noticed when the use of the

4 P7 Wireless was very easy to drive in our smartphone tests Portable Listening Wireless Listening More appropriate perhaps was The P7 has been a staple in the This won t be noticed when the use of the outstanding Chord portable audio lovers diet for a out and about, either on public Electronics MOJO headphone while now, but with the added transport or in-flight. But in a amplifier/dac combination for benefit of going wireless, the new quiet room (when listening to the travel-friendly P7. When in offering from Bowers & Wilkins is music at lower volumes), it s cabled mode, the P7 Wireless now a truly viable option for travel. noticeable. Bluetooth mode has some clever Having Bluetooth in a headphone features, such as powering also means that there is internal itself off after ten minutes of no amplification, and in the case use. Many users of Bluetooth of the P7 Wireless, the internal headphones complain that their amplifiers seem to have very high batteries drain once they sit the gain. This is evidenced by the fact The P7 Wireless was also headphones down and forget that face melting volume levels very easy to drive from our to switch them off; a problem on the P7 Wireless are incredibly smartphone tests, which solved with the P7 wireless. The easy to achieve. Although with included both Google s Pixel and battery will be saved after the unit both our smartphone tests, the iphone 6s Plus. They were turns off automatically. It s also comfortable listening levels are easily capable of driving the P7 worth mentioning though that the found within the first 30% of the Wireless to very loud volumes. automatic off feature is not able volume range. No extra amplification required to be adjusted or switched off. and the MOJO are a match made in heaven. The MOJO is particularly good at scaling with a wide range of sensitivities, so playing with the highly sensitive 22 ohm P7 was a breeze. here, even when in noisy environments the P7 Wireless will deliver dollops of volume. The downside is this means that The good news is that sound the P7 Wireless has a very small quality is very similar to when window of volume steps to play connected via the cable, which with, as anything above 40% It s quite clear that portability was in itself is quite an achievement volume will be far too loud for the the intention of the product, and and not an easy task. Thanks, average listener. Both the audible it truly shines in this area. Any no doubt to the inclusion of aptx hiss and loud volume are likely the capable smartphone or MP3 technology. result of the high gain, and I can t player will be able to make the P7 Wireless sing. It s worth mentioning that the hardware buttons on the P7 are only useable when in wireless mode. They don t work in the same way that an inline cabled remote would work. At quieter volumes, however, there is some audible hiss. help but wonder if the inclusion of user-selectable gain may have been a worthwhile feature.

Conclusion A terrific portable headphone, with stunning materials and design. A warm, fun, and detailed signature, without any painful sibilance. A great travel companion, and well-priced.

5mm stereo jack (TRS 3-pole unbalanced stereo spec.) // CCAW coil // Micro USB 2.

5 Conclusion A terrific portable headphone, with stunning materials and design. A warm, fun, and detailed signature, without any painful sibilance. A great travel companion, and well-priced. SPECIFICATIONS Mode Distortion // P7 Wireless // (THD) <0.3% (1KHz/10mW) Description Sensitivity // Wireless Headphones // 111dB/V at 1kHz Technical features Inputs // Nylon damped cone // 3.5mm stereo jack (TRS 3-pole unbalanced stereo spec.) // CCAW coil // Micro USB 2.0 (Battery Charging, Service & FW update) // Dual cavity ear cushions // 2x microphones supporting CVC2 algorithm // Changeable ear cushions // Bluetooth v4.1 // 1.2m Drive units Bluetooth codecs // 2x ø40mm (1.6in) full range // aptx (standard latency) AAC SBC Frequency range Net weight // 10Hz 20kHz Impedance // 22 ohms (passive) Sound True to the Bowers & Wilkins headphones uncoloured, and have a raw feel to them. bigger brother, the P9, has in spades, it can house sound, midbass has a controlled yet Imaging is strong and accurate, and not keep up and pull its weight in these ranges. solid thump. Details in bass lines are clearly congested. Acoustic, classical, orchestral, audible, and the P7 Wireless is not exempt and instrumental pieces have authentic and from the bass benefits of having a 40mm faithful reproduction in the midrange. closed-back design. Despite the lack of active noise cancellation, classic Bowers & Wilkins isolation is still prevalent here. The firm clamp and memory In terms of quantity, the midbass and foam pads, combined with the thick materials They also react well to some mild EQ and midrange don t fight each other. The bass and leather create an almost lonely passive bass-boost and without going too crazy, doesn t bloat and bleed into the lower isolation experience. Fortunately, the passive the drivers can take a healthy amount of midrange, and takes a slight step back to let isolation does an above average job for a punishment without distorting (if you re into the mids shine through. closed back headphone. that sort of thing). During our testing, we noticed there is mild Soundstage is decent for a closed-back can, The bass has neat humps around the but recognisable emphasis around the 4kHz and there are a few out-of-head experiences 140Hz and 60Hz ranges, then reaches and 6kHz areas. to be had here. However, the angled drivers down to around 25Hz before rolling off. Even with modest portable amplification, the P7 Wireless is very capable in the bass department, and can be flexible if required. The highs are gentle, relaxed, and nonfatiguing. They are not sibilant unless listened to at loud volumes. Details are effortlessly of the flagship P9 headphones would have been warmly appreciated to expand it out even further. retrieved at any listening level, and are not The midrange is where the P7 Wireless shoved down the listener s ears. Whilst the sound truly shines. Vocals sound natural and P7 Wireless lacks the same sparkle that it s WORDS & PHOTOS: Matthew Jensy Jens Cable length // Folding (hinged) design // 325g

Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and P7 Wireless Headphones ENGLISH

P7 Wireless Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and P7 Wireless Headphones Thank you for choosing Bowers & Wilkins. When John Bowers first established our company he did so in the belief that imaginative design,