Re: [情報] B&W推出 P7，旗下首款耳罩
國外有評測囉~ http://tinyurl.com/kqd94xs
B&W -- or Bowers & Wilkins, if you prefer -- has for decades been one of the
world's most respected audio companies. Audiophiles and recording engineers
love its iconic 800-series speakers with yellow Kevlar drivers. Although the
company has recently shifted its focus to relatively inexpensive, iPhone-era
products like headphones and wireless speakers, it's kept its rep intact.
That's part of the reason why the introduction of the company's first
over-ear headphone, the $399 P7, got so much attention when it was announced
today.
Although the P7 is rather large and thus might be best-suited for home use,
it's no larger than some big travel 'phones like PSB's M4U 2. So to get an
idea of the P7's comfort and travel-worthiness, I took it out for a round
trip on L.A.'s Orange Line bus after first giving the headphone a few hours
of break-in with music.
It's a fairly large headphone, but the earpieces fold in, making it easy to
slip the P7 into the Tumi "man purse" I take on my jaunts around the city.
B&W also supplies a half-moon-shaped leather carrying case; it's a little
large to carry in your laptop bag, but just fine for a small suitcase or
rollaboard.
My earlobes are pretty large, and often get mashed by headphone earpads, but
the P7 stayed comfortable on my head for the full length of the Orange Line
ride, about an hour each way. I felt my left earlobe was getting slightly
mashed by the end of the ride, but still, for me this is above-average
comfort.
I was extra-impressed by the sound isolation I got with the P7. I could
barely hear outside sounds or most of the noise from the Orange Line bus.
When I played the quiet, acoustic opening of the live version of James
Taylor's "Shower the People" from Live at the Beacon Theatre, the whine of
the bus's tires and engine didn't drown out the details in Taylor's guitar. I
also found that I didn't have to turn the P7 up as loud as I do with most
headphones.
Lauren Dragan, headphone editor for The Wirecutter, happened to be over at my
house for some soundbar testing, so I asked her to give the P7 a spin. She
found it pretty comfortable, although she found it difficult to get a good
seal of the earpads against her face; I guess the headband didn't have enough
spring to press the relatively firm earpads firmly enough to get the great
seal that I got. (Note that at 7-3/4, my head is on the large side, and
obviously hers is much smaller.)
Performance
Just so you know, my source devices for this review -- on the Orange Line and
later at home -- were an iPod touch, a Samsung Galaxy S III phone and a
HiFiMan HM-601 portable music player.
From the first few notes of K-Pop band Big Bang's "Haru Haru," I knew I was
going to like the P7. The big, reverberant mix of this tune practically
exploded out of the P7. The sound was huge, yet the placement of the
instruments and the voices within the stereo soundstage was exceptionally
precise -- a sound similar to what I've heard when sitting at a mixing board
in a recording studio with professional studio monitor speakers placed just a
couple of feet to each side of my head. The dense mix of overdubbed voices
sounded unbelievably clear; I could hear more "into" the mix than I ever have
before.
Looking through the shaky notes I made on the Orange Line, I see the word
"detail" appear over and over. Don't get frightened off, though. Often, with
great detail comes great brightness and, eventually, great listening fatigue.
Not so with the P7. It definitely has some treble emphasis; some high-pitched
instruments like cymbals sometimes sounded a tad sizzly, and Robert Plant's
voice on Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days" sounded a little bit lispy, but
somehow the P7 never sounded bright to me and never fatigued my ears.
The detail was great not only in the treble but also in the midrange. I
noticed this especially on recordings with acoustic piano, such as Steely
Dan's "Aja" and the live version of jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd's "Sweet
Georgia Bright" (from Rabo de Nube). On both of these tunes, the piano
sounded unusually clear -- especially on "Sweet Georgia Bright," where it
stretched luxuriously across the entire stereo soundstage.
Lauren noted this same character, going so far as to call the sound "a little
mid-heavy," but still praised it overall, citing a satisfying tonal balance
and good low-bass defintion as the P7's strongest points.
What's not to like about the P7? That depends on what you like. It sounded to
me like the bass has a resonant peak around 50 Hz or so, which gave it an
extra-punchy sound but not much definition in the mid-bass. (Note that my lab
measurements did not reflect this perception, but still, it's what I heard --
and it's what Lauren heard, too.) So the powerful bottom-end in "Haru Haru"
sounded awesome through the P7, but the fine details of the acoustic bass in
"Sweet Georgia Bright" were lost, and even some of the groove in The Cult's
"Wild Flower" failed to come through.
So if you like your bass flat and accurately rendered, you might like
something like the PSB M4U 1 better. If you like your bass punchy and
exciting -- but never overbearing -- the P7 is likely to please.
Want another opinion? Check out Geoff Morrison's review on Forbes.com, where
he said, "I wish they were a bit cheaper, but they sound and look great."
Incidentally, if you're choosing between the P7 and the P5 on-ear model,
spend the extra $100 for the P7. Its sound is much fuller and better balanced
than the somewhat trebly P5, and the P7 is a billion, zillion times more
comfortable.
如果你在P5和P7間猶豫的話,多花一百美上P7吧.
P7聽起來比P5更完整且好多了,而且P7比P5舒適幾百萬甚至無數倍.
Final Take
The jack for the interchangeable cables is hidden behind the P7's
magnetically attached earpad.
Brent Butterworth
The B&W P7 easily ranks among my favorite passive headphones in its price
class, the others being the PSB M4U 1 and the Sennheiser Momentum. Which
would you prefer? It's hard to say. If you demand the flattest, most neutral
sound, I'd suggest the PSB. If you want a little more bass (and to save a few
bucks, too), get the Momentum. If you crave a more dynamic, detailed and
exciting sound, get the P7. If you crave an even more vivid sound, get the
Phiaton MS500.
The P7's $100 more than the M4U 1, and $50 to $170 more than the Momentum
(depending on where you buy it), so it's a more expensive option. But I
prefer the P7's comfort, form factor and styling to any of the other
headphones mentioned.
Does this all sound like an indecisive, fence-sitting, wussy conclusion? So
be it. When you have so many good products in a specific category, it all
boils down to personal preference.
--
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