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B&W's sweet new P5 headphones

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has a new headphone, the P5.

B&W is one of the more legendary names in British hi-fi, and its speakers are used in many of the world's top studios, including the Beatles' favorite, Abbey Road.

B&W is also known for its sleek styling, and the P5 is definitely a looker. Its real leather and chunky construction put all of the other $300 headphones on the market to shame. The P5 is a handsome luxury design, on par with B&W's high-end speakers.

Comfort? The P5's thickly padded leather headband and ear pads are soft and comfy. That's great, but the full leather-to-ears contact may promote perspiration. My ears didn't sweat, but they sure felt hot when I wore the P5s for extended periods. The upside to the close contact design is that it blocks a fair amount of external noise. Not as effectively as noise-canceling headphones, but the P5 doesn't need batteries.

The P5 is being marketed as a portable design, so it's smaller than most full-size, over-the-ear headphones. The included quilted carry bag is nicer than what you get with most headphones.

A user-replaceable 48 inch cable is attached to the left earcup. The P5 is supplied with two cables, one of which, the MFI cable with built-in microphone, is for use with the very latest Apple iPod and iPhone models. The removable (magnetically attached) earpads are more squarish than round, about 3 inches high, and they fold flat against your chest when you put the headband on your neck.

.… Read more

B&W's new P5 headphones, MM-1 PC speakers available soon

Late last year, Bowers & Wilkins was quietly showing off its fancy new P5 headphones and MM-1 multimedia speakers. Well, we got word that those products should be available for purchase in the next month or so, with the P5s priced at $299 and the MM-1s at $499.

With the distinct and stylish P5s, B&W's touting their natural sound, which allows you to wear them for longer without experience listening fatigue. The company claims these guys have "some of the most advanced technology ever to be put into a set of headphones," including specially developed … Read more

Cowon goes haptic with P5 video player

Cowon has released photos and specs of a new portable video player dubbed the P5. As a successor to their Q5W mega-gadget released last year, the P5 adds a few new tricks to the Q5W's features and wraps it all up in a less intimidating design.

Offered in silver, red, and black, the Cowon P5 includes a 5-inch touch screen with a 800x480 resolution and a new haptic feedback feature. In the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tradition of the Q5W, the Cowon P5 includes stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, TV-output (component, composite, and S-Video), stereo speakers, USB and USB-host ports. Noticeably missing from … Read more