If you're looking for pure audio opulence in a pair of headphones, there are six dozen ways to get your ticket punched. Granted, most of the top-shelf headphones choices are going to run you over a thousand dollars, which is way too much to spend just so you can hear the squeaky drum pedal on Beatles for Sale more clearly.
Instead, consider spending $400 on these gorgeous over-the-ear headphones from Bowers & Wilkins.
The British hi-fi company has been tickling the ears of the audio elite for decades, but it's been building itself up lately as a high-end consumer brand by consistently delivering amazing-sounding, beautifully designed personal audio products at a relatively modest price point. These new P7 headphones continue the trend. The design and the build quality are very close to the company's best-selling on-the-ear P5 headphones, including all the black leather, the metal frame, and the magnetic clasps that let you remove the pads. Everything is just bigger on the P7s. The most obvious difference is the design of the earpads, which are fully circumaural. The P7s are the first over-the-ear headphones B&W has ever made, and of course, the build quality and the choice of materials is exquisite, bordering on decadent.
The big, leather pads are super-soft (think of all the cliched things we usually compare soft leather to, then double them) and they scoop around the ear to create a comfortable, tight seal. Inside are 40mm aluminum-copper drivers, and the sound they put out is just phenomenal. I've only listened for an hour or two, but so far, the richness is astounding. I'm finding it difficult to concentrate on work -- I just keep cueing up songs.
So yep, $400 is a lot of money. But I think these are worth it if you really love great-sounding headphones -- and especially if you're already a fan of B&W's other mobile-friendly on-ear and in-ear models. Plus, four bills is small money in the world of high-end audio, and given that the headphones come with pads and cables that are user-serviceable, they'll likely be able to delight your ears for a very long time.
