Bowers & Wilkins P5 On-Ear Headphones B&W - Black (discontinued by manufacturer)

Product Information

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the P5 is the design and standard of build. The looks were influenced by the early headphone styles seen in Abbey Road's photo archives and it's clear the company has worked hard on the details. Though the cans are constructed mainly of metal and leather, they are comprised of 100-percent attention to detail. These are simply the best-made headphones you've ever seen. From the memory-foam-padded, sheepskin-swaddled earcups to a subtle biomimetic cant that evokes the placement of ears on a head, evidence of careful consideration is front and center.

CANCEL THE NOISE, NOT YOUR MUSIC: The Bowers and Wilkins PX7 S2 headphones use a total of six microphones for outstanding noise cancellation that shuts out unwanted intrusions without harming your favourite music’s dynamics and energy. As an added bonus, they also provide crystal-clear call quality. Play to their strengths with a listen to Smog’s Dress Sexy at My Funeral and the P5s serve up a coherent, well-defined soundstage and give each element of it plenty of room for manoeuvre.SMART, INTUITIVE, EFFORTLESS: Use the Bowers & Wilkins Music App to adjust noise cancellation, select your EQ preferences or launch your phone’s voice assistant. And with 30 hours of battery life, you can listen all day long on just one charge.

Isolation (9.5/10): The P5 is surprisingly well-isolating, nearly keeping up with the legendary HD25-1 despite also being more comfortable. The flat earpads, surprisingly, seal well enough for some driver flex to be coaxed from the P5. Obviously designed with portability in mind, the P5 performs beautifully as an on-the-go set on busy streets or public transport. Leakage is a little higher than with the HD25-1 but still impressively low for a supraaural.

Premium on-ear headphones that raise the bar for design and performance

They are also composed, beautifully balanced and unquestionably natural, although at times we craved a bit more sparkle in the treble. Our sample improved with a 60-hour run-in period and got better with time. Android App offerings vary per country. For more details please visit your local Google Play Store. Listening to music was consistently fantastic, but I encountered slight discomfort at times while wearing the P5 Series 2. Ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, everything is peachy. But extended use past the one to 2-hour mark requires some adjustments to carry on without annoyances. This type of discomfort is common with on-ear headphones, and my experience with the P5 Series 2 wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I was just a little surprised that the premium materials didn't do more to reduce typical discomfort. CARBON CONES: The Px8’s new Carbon Cone drive unit reduces distortion, resulting in massively improved clarity. Coupled to a fully optimised drive unit ‘motor’ system’, with revised magnet, voice coil and surround, the result is unparalleled accuracy and realism. Although, we experienced no fatigue in long-term listening from the drive units, we did find the snug fit led to some discomfort on our ears. The flip side, however, is that the noise isolation is highly effective, drowning out all but the loudest Underground lines.

Internally, 9.2mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 10Hz to 20kHz. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0, and support AAC, AptX, and SBC codecs. That said, we suggest you skip meals for a couple weeks and divert the money you would've spent eating on a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P5s. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.

The P5 Series 2 are a fantastic set of on-ear headphones that audio aficionados will cling to for a the remarkable sound. The fashionable leather, aluminum and incredible build quality only work to sweeten the deal further. We disliked Comfort (9.5/10): Far smaller than I originally expected, the B&W P5 occupies about the same amount of aural real estate as the Monster Beats Solo and Sennheiser HD25-1. The flat rectangular pads remind me of the ones used by Sennheiser’s HD228 and 238. Helped along by the compliant fitment mechanism of the P5, the pads spread pressure very evenly across the ear and remain comfortable for many hours. The supraaural coupling also prevents the headphones from getting too warm over prolonged listening sessions. Philips TV Remote app and related functionalities vary per TV model, operator and country, as well as smart device model and OS. For more details please visit: www.philips.com/TVRemoteapp. THE NEW LEADER IN HEADPHONE DESIGN: Px8 over-ear headphones combine cast aluminium arms for superior durability, plus sumptuous Nappa leather plus perfectly crafted memory foam earpads for effortless all-day comfort. Diamond-cut bright metal detailing perfectly finishes the luxurious, premium look.