Bowers & Wilkins Unveils P7 Wireless Headphones

Bowers & Wilkins is one of the most acclaimed consumer audio companies. They are known for their wired headphones, but released the P5 Wireless in 2015 to much acclaim. Reviewed.com gave the headphones an 8.9/10 rating.

“The Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless (MSRP: $399.99) look nearly identical to the wired P5 Series 2 headphones, but is now packing Bluetooth aptX tech for high-end wireless audio. Not only do they sound amazing—both wired and wirelessly—but they have the same premium design that we were such big fans of before.”

The only thing the article didn’t like was the $400 price, especially since they didn’t have active noise cancellation. However, most thought the passive noise cancellation worked well enough. The sound signature was slightly bass-heavy, but also displayed distinctive highs.

Many who liked the P5 Wireless said they would love it if Bowers & Wilkins put out a wireless version of their P7 headphones, which are considered by many to be the best-sounding on the market for true audiophiles. Well, this week, their dreams came true as Bowers & Wilkins announced that their P7 Wireless headphones are now for sale.

Trusted Reviews gave Bowers & Wilkins’ new wireless cans four out of five stars.

“Third time’s the charm for Bowers & Wilkins and Bluetooth – the P7 Wireless look and sound great,” says critic Richard Easton, who says the audio quality on the headphones is distinctive and sharp, especially for wireless earphones.

So far, Trusted Reviews has been the only site to review the headphones, but this author is receiving a pair to review and a hands-on article will be posted sometime this week. This has definitely been a great summer for wireless headphones. Besides the P7 Wireless, Bose released the QuietComfort 35 Wireless, while Sennheiser released the PXC 550 wireless cans.

So far, Bose has received the best reviews out of any wireless headset this past summer. Trusted Reviews gave the QuietComfort 35s a 9/10 rating.

“In the weeks I’ve been using the QC35, I’ve fallen a little in love. I’ve found myself listening to music on the go far more frequently, because I was enjoying it more. I put this down to the awesome noise-cancelling feature, but also to quality of the sound and comfort of the headphones – the QC35 are easy on the ears, in more ways than one,” says critic Evan Kypreos.

CNET gave the QC35s 4.5 stars and said they are the best noise cancelling headphones you can buy now. PC Magazine gave them the same rating while appreciating the sound, but especially loving the noise cancellation.

If you use both Android and Apple devices, the Bowers & Wilkins P7 wireless headphones are probably your best bet. They have the aptX codec for compatible Android devices (which include all Samsung smartphones) and the AAC codec for Apple devices.

These codecs compress sound in a way that allegedly produces better sound quality than regular Bluetooth compression. However, there are some who say that these special codecs, especially aptX, are nothing but hype and the sound quality depends on the headphones you are using. For example, many believe that the Sennheiser M2 Wireless, which the Inquisitr talked about last year, are the best sounding headphones on the iPhone, even though the M2 Wireless don’t have the advanced AAC codec that the iPhone is compatible with.

The future has arrived @BowersWilkins New P7 wireless headphones ?? . Next the personal jet pack and flying car ? pic.twitter.com/OE8UPuKOlZ

— Hi-Fi Corner (@hifi_corner) September 2, 2016

Whether or not you like wireless headphones, it’s time to get used to them. According to most sources, the iPhone 7, which will be announced on Wednesday (September 7), will not have a headphone jack. Many think this is a start of a new trend. It’s important to note that wireless sound quality has increased significantly over the past couple of years. If you want the best wireless headphones, it sounds like the Bowers & Wilkins P7 could be the ones for your ears, although your wallet will bleed $400 for wireless listening bliss.

[Photo by John Minchillo/AP Images]