Bowers & Wilkins announced the P7 Mobile Hi-Fi headphones. The P7 headphones are the first over-the-ear model from Bowers & Wilkins. The ear cushions not only provide noise isolation, their dual-cavity construction helps the pads mold to the contours of the wearer's head. This design reportedly maintains a consistent volume of air between the drive unit and the surface of the ear at both sides of the head. Bowers & Wilkins claims that this not only enhances stereo imaging but also optimizes sound for every listener.
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Moving parts are constructed from brushed and stainless steel, as is the folding mechanism. The logo plates are crafted from brushed aluminum. The headband and ear pads are encased in leather. The P7s also features a detachable remote-control- and-microphone cable.
For the P7 Bowers & Wilkins has created a headphone driver that they claim works more like the drive-unit in a hi-fi speaker, with a diaphragm focused purely on the job it's supposed to do: generate sound.
The internal speaker baskets encasing the P7s' drive-units are perforated with air vents covered with a resistive film. This design allows for control of the airflow from behind the drive-unit, supposedly resulting in a more uniform, piston-like movement. Plus, the P7s' voice coils are constructed from a light aluminum-copper compound. The decrease in weight means that the drive-unit can move more freely, improving high frequency dynamics.
The P7's speaker baffle plates are constructed from a polymer material that has been heavily braced and tuned to make it very rigid and inert. This allegedly limits resonances that might color the sound of the headphones. Finally, damping material inside the speaker enclosure helps control and dampens internal reflections.
The Bowers & Wilkins P7 headphones are available now, priced at $399.99.
Additional Resources
• Read more headphone news from HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Explore reviews in our Headphone Review section.
• See a review of the Bowers & Wilkins P3 headphones.
