Rolls Royce, Bentley and Mercedes are all brands at the pinnacle of the luxury car segment. They have different takes on the money game, with Mercedes going for austere class, Bentley going for a special look of power, and the Rolls Royce blinging it out with an almost vulgar display of wealth. Translated to the pinnacle of headsets for the iPhone I would call the Bose On-Ear a Mercedes, the Beats By Dr Dre Solos a Bentley and finally we have the Rolls Royce of headsets: Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile.
Just looking at the P5 Mobile you can see that these are special, and that it comes at a high cost. The design focuses on leather and metal used in a classic retro style. No plastic at all to be seen on the headphones makes them breath style. The ear pads differ from the usual oval around the ear shape, and instead comes as squares. I have tried the P5 Mobile in a lot of different conditions, and they stay put even when out running. The headband is extremely comfortable, and the headphones can be worn for long sessions. There is one major concern though when it comes to the ear pads. They tend to get rather hot, and sweaty when used in a hot environment or exercising. Furthermore this might be a problem even in a normal temperature, and I find that I need to adjust them to keep them from making my ears hot. I have a rather large head, and this is not the same problem for my wife with a slightly smaller noggin. The headphones are limited in the size of the user’s head. If you know that your head is big, please test them out somewhere before buying.
The sound of the P5 Mobile is simply awesome. All source materials are well represented with a good dispersion of sound. When listening to well produced music I can feel for example the hi hat somewhere behind me, the bass drum to my left, bass guitar front and centre, and singer right in my face. The bass is ok, but compared to both the Bose On-Ear and Beats by Dr Dre Solos it is rather weak.
The microphone is good, and the P5 can be used as your complete communications solution. You also get volume controls buttons next to the microphone for usage with the iPhone 3GS. It feels a bit like being a pilot using them for calls, and as they give great noise isolation they can be used in quite noisy environments. The microphone could be place closer up to the mouth, and it is more sensitive to wind than ambient noise. When outside in the wind it needs to be cupped to allow other than a bunch of wooshes to meet the recipients ears. Speaking of wind, a really neat thing with the square ear pads is that they don’t pick up or transfer wind sounds. These are the first on ear headphones that I have had this experience with.
The cord is quite thin, and feels fragile. It can be replace easily by removing the left ear pad. The cord has little to no tendency to tangle. I would have liked a clip for it though, and at $299.95 such small extras should be included. What is included is the following: a thin pouch that looks great, but offers limited protection(according to my sources the European version released this summer will feature an improved pouch), an ordinary audio cord and finally a ¼” jack adapter.(the European version will probably include an airplane adapter as well)
Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile is the Rolls Royce of headsets, and if you look for the best you have to dig deep into your wallet. It is designed by the same team that produced the B&W Zeppelin, and the talent shows just as well in the headphones. Durable high quality materials combined with a classy personal design makes for something special in the headset segment. Some aspects warrant a caution such as the small headband, tendency to become hot and spindly cord. The fact that it sounds great, isolates well and comes with a good microphone still makes it a contender for the title best on ear headset for the iPhone so far.
Final Rating
B&W P5 Mobile at Bowers & Wilkins
B&W P5 Mobile at the US Apple Store $299.95
B&W P5 Mobile at the UK Apple Store £249.95
