B&W headphones

**planitismetal** · 16 January 2009, 19:33 Friday

It would be a miracle for me B&W headphones, from the moment that I have already a Sennheiser HD650 and it is marvelous!!! I agree with you that it will be a huge new market for B&W, so B&W MAKE SOME NICE HEADPHONES!!!

**Grasynoll** · 16 January 2009, 19:47 Friday

Briz, one word for earbuds, Westone.

**Alaric** · 16 January 2009, 20:01 Friday

Don't forget STAX

ページが見つかりませんでした | STAX

http://www.stax.co.jp/Export/Distributor-Australia.html

The Founder of Earspeaker - Since 1938 -

**Race Car Driver** · 16 January 2009, 20:22 Friday

Sony

**sikoniko** · 16 January 2009, 20:38 Friday

I brought up a headphone amp connection for the SSP-800 with Dave Nauber (VP of Classe). There was another dealer in the room and he asked if they sell many headphones. The dealer said his favorite is KOSS. I think the dealers reaction my be worthy of Classe taking some action. Believe me, I told them (B&W) they need headphones at CES. It surprises me they hadn't already been working on it.

**bigburner** · 16 January 2009, 20:55 Friday

Briz, you make a solid case for B&W entering the headphone market. However I am confident that in their quest for growth B&W would have considered this already and presumably discarded the idea. My guess is that the headphone market is already saturated with manufacturers so it would be hard work becoming a major player. In contrast I would guess that the soundbar market is sparsely populated so it presents an opportunity to become a dominant force. This guess is based on the fact that I had never even heard of soundbars before B&W made their announcement. I can't imagine ever wanting one myself but I can imagine that there's a large "lifestyle" market out there that probably would be interested.

While on the subject of headphones I too have become interested in using them recently. In my situation I want to watch music DVDs later in the evening without disturbing my family. I have a lovely pair of Rotel RH-930 headphones from 1976 that my son now uses for mixing music (he says they're far better than any others he's tried). I was shocked to find that when I went to plug them into my Rotel RC-1082 preamp that the preamp has a 3.5mm socket whereas my headhones have a 6.5mm (1/4 inch) plug. I would be interested to hear whether 3.5mm is now widely used for quality gear as well as mass market stuff.

Nigel.

Attached Files

**Briz vegas** · 17 January 2009, 09:25 Saturday

Thats a very good point about market saturation BB. The list of brands that people have been mentioning here is almost enough to make me want to give up. I can't audition these things so its a real test of faith in others opinions and there are so many choices.

Weston seem to be well regarded but the 3 model is going a bit crazy price wise for a product type that seems to have an inherent weakness - a cable and plug that seems to fail after a few years and is a pain to fix. My source is only a Sony radio so I have to resist the temptation of over investing in the headphones relative to the source.

**William** · 17 January 2009, 10:29 Saturday

I'm a BIG iPod user (all lossless music and over an hour a day) and have been through dozens of IEM. By far the closest sounding to my B&W 803Ds and what I have been using for over a year now are UE 11Pro's.

Originally posted by Briz vegas

...My source is only a Sony radio so I have to resist the temptation of over investing in the headphones relative to the source.

...so not only are you are wishing B&W made headphones but would make $19.95 headphones? :rofl:

**joetama** · 17 January 2009, 13:32 Saturday

Originally posted by William

I'm a BIG iPod user (all lossless music and over an hour a day) and have been through dozens of IEM. By far the closest sounding to my B&W 803Ds and what I have been using for over a year now are UE 11Pro's.

...so not only are you are wishing B&W made headphones but would make $19.95 headphones? :rofl:

Does that say $1150?

At the rate I break earbuds there would be on way I could afford something like that.

I thought I was going overboard when I purchased my Sony MDR-EX90LP.

**William** · 17 January 2009, 20:01 Saturday

Originally posted by joetama

Does that say $1150?

At the rate I break earbuds there would be on way I could afford something like that.

I thought I was going overboard when I purchased my Sony MDR-EX90LP.

You also have to add a trip to the audiologist to have ear molds made. I run 40 miles a week and over 5 hours a week lifting at the gym. While I'm hell on cables (they are replaceable at $30 a pop) the IEM's are top quality and used by many artist on stage like John Mayer and Dave Matthews. Thy are extremely durable and the custom fit goes miles beyond fit kits.

$1,150 is about $17,000 less than a pair of 801'D's :T

As I previously said the sound signature is a close as I've found to B&W Diamonds. The bass response from the sub woofers (yes it has 4 drivers) is almost unbelievable and rivals just about all full sized closed headphones I've heard. A test tone at 30Hz almost feels like the ground is shaking. The highs are much like the B&W Diamonds (smooth, flat response and *bright).

*Why does bright sound get a bad rap? When someone says: "B&W speakers are bright" I respond: Have you ever heard a cymbal, triangle, harp or steel guitar live? News flash it IS BRIGHT so why do you want it to sound mellow at your home.

**Briz vegas** · 17 January 2009, 20:03 Saturday

Originally posted by William

I'm a BIG iPod user (all lossless music and over an hour a day) and have been through dozens of IEM. By far the closest sounding to my B&W 803Ds and what I have been using for over a year now are UE 11Pro's.

...so not only are you are wishing B&W made headphones but would make $19.95 headphones? :rofl:

Headphone snob!........or is that Apple snob........or MP3s better than FM snob.

Of course I was not referring to top of the line professional studio monitors. i am talking about the upgrade market for personal audio on the move. Ipods are where most of the audio market seems to be these days.

As far as I know you can't buy anything above a Sony/Apple/Samsung portable device. Thats where the market begins and ends. Its all about gigabytes, although the ipod classic is said to have better sound quality than the other ipods. My little sony had far better FM radio than any of the MP3 players with that feature.

Think 600 series. Everybody likes the 685, good quality audio without going crazy. Most of the IEM I have been looking at are up to $200 US. This is the volume market for "decent" headphones from what I have read.

I will keep my extravagant purchases for my listening room at home.

**rgbyhkr** · 17 October 2009, 18:29 Saturday

Originally posted by William

I'm a BIG iPod user (all lossless music and over an hour a day) and have been through dozens of IEM. By far the closest sounding to my B&W 803Ds and what I have been using for over a year now are UE 11Pro's.

...so not only are you are wishing B&W made headphones but would make $19.95 headphones? :rofl:

Love my UE 11s but have become quite curious about the JH Audio 13Pro. Man, do I have to stop spending time over on HeadFi.... :B

Jeff

**Horacio** · 18 October 2009, 07:52 Sunday

Briz,

I have Etymotic 4 and LOVE them. As most things, though, they are not suited for everybody's tase and/or use.

They isolate you from the outside world pretty well which is great for sound but might be an issue if you use them for things such as riding a bike on the street, plus you need to be comfortable getting them really into your ear canal.

I use them with a little portable amp, which makes a big difference as these little things are a significant load for the iPod's amp. I can't remember the 4P from the 4S...I have the one that is a worst load and needs an amp.

But then the sound is fantastic. Very detailed but never harsh. I paid us$200 4-5 years ago, and same for the amp. I was traveling a lot and the Etymotic just kept the airplane noise out of my head. Actually I later bought Etymotic's ear plugs just to get a better sleep on the plane. Check head-fi if you haven't yet.

As to your point of a new biz for B&W, I'm not big on brand extensions. They end up diluting the original brand. Needless to say that is for B&W management to decide, but their move towards mass market is putting me a bit off. They seem to be positioning somewhere between the audiophile brands (by definition niche players) and mass marketers...want to be everything to everybody??? Sorry, it's Sunday and I shouldn't be working!!

Back to my audiophile hat: I believe great earphones can be had for $200.

Best of luck!

**rgbyhkr** · 18 October 2009, 09:44 Sunday

Originally posted by Horacio

As to your point of a new biz for B&W, I'm not big on brand extensions. They end up diluting the original brand. Needless to say that is for B&W management to decide, but their move towards mass market is putting me a bit off. They seem to be positioning somewhere between the audiophile brands (by definition niche players) and mass marketers...want to be everything to everybody??? Sorry, it's Sunday and I shouldn't be working!!

B&W has certainly taken strides to offer a ton of range within their product lineup and this move is another step. While high end audio appeals to folks like us, there is a huge segment of the market who is focused only on portable and computer audio. B&W is making these customers aware of their brand and you can make the argument that without products like the Zeppelin and the upcoming headphones, they would never hear of it. What they are doing smartly is purposely staying at the high end of this lower end segment. The Zeppelin is among the most expensive speaker docks and the $300 price point I've heard for the headphones puts those into the more expensive range as well. In doing so, their specific products retain a premium brand image and perhaps open up customers to the rest of the B&W product line. In my book, it's a smart strategy in the iPod age. Apple stores were never going to sell classic B&W products and many Apple store customers were never going to walk into a custom HT shop.

Over time might this dilute the view of B&W as high end? Perhaps. But you could argue that they had already done this given all the lower end offerings they already have in their speaker line. As long as they keep putting out great products at the high end, I think they'll be fine. They're not Wilson, but nor do I think they want to be.

Jeff

**Industrial** · 19 October 2009, 17:13 Monday

Originally posted by William

*Why does bright sound get a bad rap? When someone says: "B&W speakers are bright" I respond: Have you ever heard a cymbal, triangle, harp or steel guitar live? News flash it IS BRIGHT so why do you want it to sound mellow at your home.

Ive heard so called even Higher End speakers at different shops and I found them muffled sounding. I like my highs being clean and detailed. Closest thing I heard so far that came close to the B&W sound I like in earphones was Grado 225's. Haven't been able to try anything higher in that line however.

**sikoniko** · 19 October 2009, 18:09 Monday

Originally posted by rgbyhkr

B&W has certainly taken strides to offer a ton of range within their product lineup and this move is another step. While high end audio appeals to folks like us, there is a huge segment of the market who is focused only on portable and computer audio. B&W is making these customers aware of their brand and you can make the argument that without products like the Zeppelin and the upcoming headphones, they would never hear of it. What they are doing smartly is purposely staying at the high end of this lower end segment. The Zeppelin is among the most expensive speaker docks and the $300 price point I've heard for the headphones puts those into the more expensive range as well. In doing so, their specific products retain a premium brand image and perhaps open up customers to the rest of the B&W product line. In my book, it's a smart strategy in the iPod age. Apple stores were never going to sell classic B&W products and many Apple store customers were never going to walk into a custom HT shop.

Over time might this dilute the view of B&W as high end? Perhaps. But you could argue that they had already done this given all the lower end offerings they already have in their speaker line. As long as they keep putting out great products at the high end, I think they'll be fine. They're not Wilson, but nor do I think they want to be.

Jeff

The funny thing is the b&w system in the jaguar is awful. I heard it at CES this past year and walked away highly disappointed.

**rgbyhkr** · 19 October 2009, 19:36 Monday

Originally posted by sikoniko

The funny thing is the b&w system in the jaguar is awful. I heard it at CES this past year and walked away highly disappointed.

Personally, I've never heard a stock car audio system that I thought sounded really good. In my view, the car is a less than desirable place to create quality audio reproduction as external noise is hard to control, physical speaker placement is limited and aesthetics usually demand that they be out of sight. Plus, less than ideal seating positions usually mean that even the driver doesn't get a quality soundstage. Of course, that view comes from me having been "poisoned" by years of previous experience with good 2-channel reproduction in a controlled environment at home. :B

Generally, I try to keep my expectations low in car audio. I've heard B&O's Advanced Sound System on Audis and just heard Burmester's High-End Surround Sound System in the new Porsche Panamera at CEDIA. Certainly, these were better than most stock systems, but not mind-blowing. So, when I get around to hearing B&W's new system on the 2010 Jaguar XJ, I'd be surprised if I came away impressed. As optional systems that can cost over $5K, we as audiophiles tend to expect more, but the general public usually thinks they sound awesome.

Jeff

**sikoniko** · 19 October 2009, 21:21 Monday

Originally posted by rgbyhkr

Personally, I've never heard a stock car audio system that I thought sounded really good. In my view, the car is a less than desirable place to create quality audio reproduction as external noise is hard to control, physical speaker placement is limited and aesthetics usually demand that they be out of sight. Plus, less than ideal seating positions usually mean that even the driver doesn't get a quality soundstage. Of course, that view comes from me having been "poisoned" by years of previous experience with good 2-channel reproduction in a controlled environment at home. :B

Generally, I try to keep my expectations low in car audio. I've heard B&O's Advanced Sound System on Audis and just heard Burmester's High-End Surround Sound System in the new Porsche Panamera at CEDIA. Certainly, these were better than most stock systems, but not mind-blowing. So, when I get around to hearing B&W's new system on the 2010 Jaguar XJ, I'd be surprised if I came away impressed. As optional systems that can cost over $5K, we as audiophiles tend to expect more, but the general public usually thinks they sound awesome.

Jeff

I built a better car audio system in my car for around $1500. I just find it hard to believe that a system custom built for this automobile would sound so poor. I can't come up with an excuse. It really sounded like they put 600 series speakers in the car and touted it like it was 800's.

**Industrial** · 19 October 2009, 21:35 Monday

Originally posted by sikoniko

The funny thing is the b&w system in the jaguar is awful. I heard it at CES this past year and walked away highly disappointed.

Always thought it would be funny if they had went with BMW instead of Jag.

**audioqueso** · 20 October 2009, 18:23 Tuesday

Originally posted by Industrial

Always thought it would be funny if they had went with BMW instead of Jag.

Me too. But in a silly way, I think B&W realized that they would not obtain much marketing from BMW as everyone would read B&W and automatically think BMW.

**rgbyhkr** · 20 October 2009, 18:28 Tuesday

Originally posted by Industrial

Always thought it would be funny if they had went with BMW instead of Jag.

As a BMW owner, I wish they did. The sound systems in BMWs are far from special and they don't really offer any "special" high end systems. They work with Harman Kardon and just signed a new deal to have HK design their future infotainment system.

Jeff

**audioqueso** · 20 October 2009, 21:26 Tuesday

I think Industrial was talking about the coincidence it would be for B&W to make speakers for BMW (because the names sound the same).

**rgbyhkr** · 21 October 2009, 14:44 Wednesday

Originally posted by audioqueso

I think Industrial was talking about the coincidence it would be for B&W to make speakers for BMW (because the names sound the same).

Yeah, I got the joke. It just reminded me about how average the BMW audio systems are.

**Audio_ElF** · 23 October 2009, 05:07 Friday

Originally posted by audioqueso

I think Industrial was talking about the coincidence it would be for B&W to make speakers for BMW (because the names sound the same).

Thats why the company is no longer B&W but re-branded back to Bowers and Wilkins.

Eloise

**emig5m** · 23 October 2009, 07:29 Friday

I was just thinking the other day about what headphones I could get to sound like my B&W's, heh. And I just love the stock speakers in my F150... Sounds like crap and I wouldn't want it any other way. It de-tunes my ears from my amazing sounding home system so that I never get used to it and it sounds amazing every time, hehe.

**sikoniko** · 23 October 2009, 15:32 Friday

Originally posted by MM1-MZ1-P7

Does $1500 dollars get you 800 series surround system or a 600 series system? You have to remember your working in the confines of a car, shallow drive units, limited space & low budgets. It's not like you can say I want 60 litre cabinets in each door with drive units 10" deep.

Anyway what's wrong with the 600 series? :roll:

Bowers & Wilkins Win Six What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision Awards 2009

The repeat winners continued in the Best Speaker Package category, where the 685 Theatre was named as best system above £1000 for the second year running.

Link to award details

doesn't change the fact that the jaguar system sucks compared to what I could do for $1500 in any car. The jaguar system is overrated and under delivered. Don't get mr wrong I like b&w but the car audio system sucks mnkey b@ll$. I expected more from b&w.

**wettou** · 23 October 2009, 19:32 Friday

Originally posted by sikoniko

doesn't change the fact that the jaguar system sucks compared to what I could do for $1500 in any car. The jaguar system is overrated and under delivered. Don't get mr wrong I like b&w but the car audio system sucks mnkey b@ll$. I expected more from b&w.

Agreed, ever listen to the B&O in the Audi that's a killer sound

**Briz vegas** · 23 October 2009, 20:02 Friday

Well my next car is likely to be something like a Renault at this point in time.

I'm holding out for one of their new electric jobs. (good excuse for putting car related money into hifi - it will be some time before a company like betterplace gets going locally to support such a car). No B&W system in Renaults.

Great thing about electric cars - they are quiet inside so you can hear your music all the better.

**sikoniko** · 24 October 2009, 17:40 Saturday

Originally posted by MM1-MZ1-P7

Which car did you hear

the one at CES in january.

**wgriel** · 24 October 2009, 20:11 Saturday

Originally posted by emig5m

And I just love the stock speakers in my F150... Sounds like crap and I wouldn't want it any other way. It de-tunes my ears from my amazing sounding home system so that I never get used to it and it sounds amazing every time, hehe.

Yeah - you can get decent sound in car audio, but I've never heard anything approach even say a 600 series in the home.

I did put some Boston Acoustic separates in my old Ranger pickup and I appreciate it (tons better than any stock system I've heard: but I haven't heard any of the "top of the line" stock systems either). However, with road noise, poor acoustic environment and so on, it's trivially easy to beat with a modest home system.

**MikeFL52** · 09 November 2009, 15:37 Monday

Well it has hapenned. Introducing the B&W P5 Headophone

Introduced at last:

Page Not Found | Bowers & Wilkins

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=4534

B&W headphones

B&W headphones

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