Last Tuesday, almost a week ago now, I bought a pair of P100s. I needed a pair of wireless cans to listen to French radio while out walking along country lanes, and removing the noise of passing cars is essential. My Bose QC25 did the job, but the cable was annoying, getting caught on something at any opportunity, and the sound is so so as lower frequencies are exaggerated and mushy. After reading reviews, and looking at frequency response plots, I narrowed down my shortlist to the P100.
Anyway, the P100s are impressive. The sound is clear and very neutral. I rejected most wireless cans as they come with non replaceable batteries, which means that after ~500 recharges they have to be thrown away. As said earlier, the P100s have a replaceable battery and ear pads. And the battery life is an incredible 60 hours. Every time you recharge the battery, it shortens the life, so the fewer recharges, the better.
Did the review mention the graphic equaliser? Unlike Bose and B&W, and maybe everyone else, it has seven bands. Bose and B&W have three. That means that I can adjust the frequencies to match my hearing. I’m 61, and a typical 60 year old loses many dB in the higher frequencies, and even neutral cans will sound bass heavy. So I created a preset that slopes upwards with frequency. Another advantage is that the P100 has a neutral sound, whereas Bose, B&W and Sony have exaggerated bass. I’ve listened to their cans and I can’t stand them. Even the B&W Px8 has a consumer grade bass heavy sound signature. Oh, and my iPhone does not have its own equaliser, unless I pay an absurd yearly fee for a third party one.
This evening I’ve listened to Sibelius, John Coltrane, Aphex Twin and Motorhead. These cans are the mutts. I knew I’d like them when I saw that WH gave them three stars.
FWIW my other cans include Sennheiser HD600 (superb), Senheiser IE200 (annoying cable), Audeze Sine (beautiful sound, very poor build quality) and Bose QC25 (excellent noise reduction and build, mediocre sound quality).
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram