Bowers & Wilkins P5 Recertified Mobile Headphones, Ivory P5 Ivory RC

I started out a few years ago with a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort Noise Canceling Headphone and they sounded fine to me but fell apart in no time. I sent them off the Bose to be repaired under warranty but they tried to charge me for the work they did. I fought it and won. After that, I kept taping them back together at the point where the headband meets the earpiece until I got tired of doing that and gave up. I liked the sound but didn't want to spend that much on another new set of Bose phones so I bought a pair of their Triport headphones. They sounded really good as well but gave out at the same place as the Quiet Comfort ones had, where the earpiece meets the headband. I didn't even bother trying to have them repaired, and just taped them up too. Believe it or not, I take very good care of my possessions and I treated those Bose headphones very well but both pairs still fell apart. I know I'm not the only person that this has happened too either because I found plenty of horror stories online about the same thing happening to other people.Enter the B&W P5's...I am so happy that I discovered these phones! I happened to pass by the Apple Store in my local mall and went inside to check out the iPhone now that Verizon has them. I was playing with the iPhone and listening to the music it contained through a pair of the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) headphones. I was amazed at how good they sounded! I listen to mainly jazz and classical music and that's what I was auditioning through the B&Ws. I can tell you that they sound incredibly natural and lifelike; not "electronicy." The wooden instruments sound like wood, not like some synthesized material. They have all the bass you could ever want, but it's not exaggerated like most other headphones. If it's in the recording you hear it, as if you were there at the studio, but it doesn't beat you to death like cheap cans do.As for comfort, I'm very pleased. I can wear these things for hours without fatigue because again...they just sound so natural and musical. I haven't had a problem with hot sweaty ears like some of the reviewers here, but that's me. I can also tell you that these babies are built to last. They don't have the cheap feel that the Bose phones do. Another point I'd like to mention is that I haven't had a problem wearing my eyeglasses while listening to these headphones. After I put the phones on my head, I simply rest the arms of my glasses on the tops of the ear cups and can spend hours reading without discomfort.I'm not crazy about the storage bag that comes with them but I guess it will keep the dust off. My wife tells me that if the case had a strap on it, it would look like a purse. Maybe I'll start using the case that came with my Bose phones instead. :-D

These headphones are awesome! They are everything B&W says they will be.Most of the time, I listen to a wide variety of music, from Slayer and Metallica to Miles Davis and Mozart, and so far I am very satisfied. At normal listening levels, they've exceeded my expectations and after about six months, I still enjoy them as much as day one. If you are looking for headphones with earth shattering bass, don't buy these. I do listen to some Hip-hop/rap/R&B as well and I am very satisfied with the P5's but I wouldn't be surprised if someone didn't like them because they preferred the coloration that some headphones add to bass and highs of music.The P5's are sophisticated and refined and reproduce the music as it was intended to be heard. They don't appear to boost the lower or higher frequencies as many other headphones do, but then they aren't marketing towards the teenager market.I've auditioned almost everything else in the same price range and these seem the most "neutral" sounding. I got to play the Monster Beats and they are fun: loud, crisp highs, and head rattling bass but they quickly wear on you. After an hour or two I couldn't stand them any longer as they made my ears feel "tired." I also spent some time with the Bose headphones and they are well rounded but after two hours or so my ears would hurt. Everything else had either had crisp highs but lagged with bass or dull highs but heavy bass. As I mentioned earlier, if you're looking for over-the-top bass, these are not the headphones for you.I've worn the P5's for as long as about four hours in one sitting and so far they haven't bothered my ears. They also do a nice job of keeping out ambient noise but I would never compare them with other "noise canceling" headphones. I haven't used the mic with my iPhone but I thought it was cool that it came with that cord. Overall build quality is comparable with others in this price range (good but not like a tank) and I wish the cord was built better but I haven't had any issues and if I ever do, it would be extremely easy to replace (as would the ear pads).Overall, I would recommend the P5's to anyone looking in this price range. If something ever happened to my own pair, I would run right out and buy these again.