Gadgets : Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones
Gadgets : Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones
Bowers & Wilkins was one of the last audio firms to adopt Bluetooth for its portable speakers, preferring technologies like AirPlay for stability and quality of wireless transmission. But that was before Bluetooth aptX came along and the company released the excellent T7 speaker, which retained its trademark audiophile quality approach to sound while remaining portable and, most importantly, wire-free.
Now it has used that experience to tread further new ground in releasing its first pair of wireless headphones. And not just any cans but Bluetooth enabled versions of its P5 Series 2 on-ears that also won many plaudits at the tail end of last year.
We have been using the wired version for a while now, so when we got a chance to quickly check out the new pair we could do so knowing exactly what to listen for and how we would expect them to sound. And as far as we can tell at this early stage, there's no noticeable difference at all. Not even with our lossless tracks.
We've only listened to a few tracks so far, hence this is a preview rather than a full review - which will come when we've had more time with the cans - but as they are now on sale on Bowers & Wilkins own website, we wanted to at least give our first impressions.
Aesthetically and in the materials used they are nigh-on identical to the wired pair, save for a little extra depth in the earpieces to add the extra tech required. It doesn't affect the design lines though and like the P5 Series 2 headphones, these are tasty to look at. They also weigh just 213g. The soft leather and aluminium build helps and they are very comfortable, especially so without a cable to tie you to anything.
Like on the Bowers & Wilkins T7 portable speaker, the quoted battery life is impressive - conservatively estimated at 17 hours of playback at 75 per cent volume.
The drive units inside each earpiece are 40mm full range drivers, frequency range of 10Hz to 20kHz, and with an impedance of 22ohms. With Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity (using the aptX codec) they will hook up to just about every smartphone or tablet, but we get the feeling they are best suited to an iPhone thanks to the volume and play/pause buttons also doubling as controls to fire up Siri. However, they will work with Android, for example, to answer calls and the like as well.
There are two tiny microphones built-in. The one at the front is used for voice calling (or Siri, for iOS users) and the rear-placed mic is used by the tech inside to rebalance ambient noise to help calls sound better for both parties.
They are charged through a Micro USB port and should you run out of battery life on your travels, you can remove one of the cups to reveal a cable port to turn them into wired headphones until you get back to a power point.
Initially available through Bowers & Wilkins' website for £329.99, the P5 Wireless headphones will also roll out to other retailers over the coming weeks. And on first impressions, it looks like the British audio company's first foray into the world of wire-free cans was well worth the wait.
Purchase here.
Contact Bowers & Wilkins
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram
Contact Pocket-lint
Website | Twitter | Google+ | Facebook
Sources : Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones Photo | Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones Article
Bowers & Wilkins was one of the last audio firms to adopt Bluetooth for its portable speakers, preferring technologies like AirPlay for stability and quality of wireless transmission. But that was before Bluetooth aptX came along and the company released the excellent T7 speaker, which retained its trademark audiophile quality approach to sound while remaining portable and, most importantly, wire-free.
Now it has used that experience to tread further new ground in releasing its first pair of wireless headphones. And not just any cans but Bluetooth enabled versions of its P5 Series 2 on-ears that also won many plaudits at the tail end of last year.
We have been using the wired version for a while now, so when we got a chance to quickly check out the new pair we could do so knowing exactly what to listen for and how we would expect them to sound. And as far as we can tell at this early stage, there's no noticeable difference at all. Not even with our lossless tracks.
We've only listened to a few tracks so far, hence this is a preview rather than a full review - which will come when we've had more time with the cans - but as they are now on sale on Bowers & Wilkins own website, we wanted to at least give our first impressions.
Aesthetically and in the materials used they are nigh-on identical to the wired pair, save for a little extra depth in the earpieces to add the extra tech required. It doesn't affect the design lines though and like the P5 Series 2 headphones, these are tasty to look at. They also weigh just 213g. The soft leather and aluminium build helps and they are very comfortable, especially so without a cable to tie you to anything.
Like on the Bowers & Wilkins T7 portable speaker, the quoted battery life is impressive - conservatively estimated at 17 hours of playback at 75 per cent volume.
The drive units inside each earpiece are 40mm full range drivers, frequency range of 10Hz to 20kHz, and with an impedance of 22ohms. With Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity (using the aptX codec) they will hook up to just about every smartphone or tablet, but we get the feeling they are best suited to an iPhone thanks to the volume and play/pause buttons also doubling as controls to fire up Siri. However, they will work with Android, for example, to answer calls and the like as well.
There are two tiny microphones built-in. The one at the front is used for voice calling (or Siri, for iOS users) and the rear-placed mic is used by the tech inside to rebalance ambient noise to help calls sound better for both parties.
They are charged through a Micro USB port and should you run out of battery life on your travels, you can remove one of the cups to reveal a cable port to turn them into wired headphones until you get back to a power point.
Initially available through Bowers & Wilkins' website for £329.99, the P5 Wireless headphones will also roll out to other retailers over the coming weeks. And on first impressions, it looks like the British audio company's first foray into the world of wire-free cans was well worth the wait.
Purchase here.
Contact Bowers & Wilkins
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram
Contact Pocket-lint
Website | Twitter | Google+ | Facebook
Sources : Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones Photo | Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones Article
0 comments: