Bowers & Wilkins P7  Headphones Review

Reviewed Aug 08, 2016 at 11:42am
Test bench update Nov 21, 2019 at 11:23am
Tested using Methodology v1.3.1 
Bowers & Wilkins P7

Track

0.0
Mixed Usage 
0.0
Neutral Sound 
0.0
Commute/Travel 
0.0
Sports/Fitness 
0.0
Office 
0.0
Wireless Gaming 
0.0
Wired Gaming 
0.0
Phone Call 

Track

 0
The Bowers & Wilkins P7 are well-built and sturdy headphones. They deliver a good and balanced sound. They're comfortable and have a decently stable design. However, they only block noise passively, which is not sufficient for loud environments, and they also leak quite a bit.

Our Verdict

0.0
Mixed Usage 

The B&W P7 are above-average everyday headphones. They're well designed and sturdily built. They also deliver a good, well-balanced sound quality. However, their poor passive isolation means they won't be versatile enough for all environments.

Pros
  • Good audio reproduction.
  • Comfortable and stable fit.
  • Sturdy, durable build.
Cons
  • Poor noise isolation.
  • High leakage.
0.0
Neutral Sound 

The Bowers & Wilkins P7 deliver a good, balanced audio reproduction for neutral listening. They sound a little bit closed due to their closed-back design but reproduce the bass, mids, and treble frequencies accurately. They're also moderately comfortable for long listening sessions.

0.0
Commute/Travel 

Mediocre for commutes. They're comfortable and have a decent control scheme, but the noise isolation is not sufficient for loud environments.

0.0
Sports/Fitness 

Average for sports use. They're moderately stable and can fold to fit into a backpack. However, they're a bit too bulky for strenuous exercise.

0.0
Office 

Mediocre for office use. They won't block the ambient chatter of a busy office, and they also leak quite a bit. On the upside, they're comfortable to use for hours.

0.0
Wired Gaming 
0.0
Phone Call 
  • 0.0
    Mixed Usage
  • 0.0
    Neutral Sound
  • 0.0
    Commute/Travel
  • 0.0
    Sports/Fitness
  • 0.0
    Office
  • 0.0
    Wireless Gaming
  • 0.0
    Wired Gaming
  • 0.0
    Phone Call
  • Changelog

    1.  Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
    2.  Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
    3.  Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
    4.  Updated Oct 02, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
    How We Test Headphones: Over 800 And Counting!
    How We Test Headphones: Over 800 And Counting!

    Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.

    You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.

    Test Results

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    RATINGS
    Category:
    All
    Design
    Style
    TypeLockedOver-ear
    EnclosureLockedClosed-Back
    WirelessLockedNo
    TransducerLockedDynamic

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    0.0
    Comfort
    WeightLockedLock lbs
    Clamping Force
    LockedLock lbs

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    0.0
    Controls
    OS Compatibility
    LockedLocked
    Ease Of UseLockedLocked
    FeedbackLockedLocked
    Call/Music ControlLockedLocked
    Volume ControlLockedLocked
    Microphone ControlLockedLocked
    Channel Mixing
    LockedN/A
    Noise Cancelling ControlLockedN/A
    Talk-Through
    LockedN/A
    Additional ButtonsLockedLocked

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    0.0
    Breathability
    Avg.Temp.DifferenceLockedLock °C
    0.0
    Portability
    LLockedLock"
    WLockedLock"
    HLockedLock"
    VolumeLockedLock in³
    Transmitter RequiredLockedN/A

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    0.0
    Case
    TypeLockedLocked
    LLockedN/A
    WLockedN/A
    HLockedN/A
    VolumeLockedN/A

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    0.0
    Build Quality

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    0.0
    Stability

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    Headshots 1
    Headshots 2
    Top
    In The Box

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    Sound
    Sound Profile
    Bass Amount
    LockedLock dB
    Treble Amount
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Frequency Response Consistency
    Avg. Std. Deviation
    LockedLock dB
    Raw Frequency Response
    0.0
    Bass Accuracy
    Std. Err.
    LockedLock dB
    Low-Frequency Extension
    LockedLock Hz
    Low-Bass
    LockedLock dB
    Mid-Bass
    LockedLock dB
    High-Bass
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Mid Accuracy
    Std. Err.
    LockedLock dB
    Low-Mid
    LockedLock dB
    Mid-Mid
    LockedLock dB
    High-Mid
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Treble Accuracy
    Std. Err.
    LockedLock dB
    Low-Treble
    LockedLock dB
    Mid-Treble
    LockedLock dB
    High-Treble
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Peaks/Dips
    Peaks
    LockedLock dB
    Dips
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Imaging
    Weighted Group Delay
    LockedLock
    Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
    LockedLock
    Weighted Frequency Mismatch
    LockedLock
    Weighted Phase Mismatch
    LockedLock
    0.0
    Soundstage
    PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
    LockedLock dB
    PRTF Size (Avg.)
    LockedLock dB
    PRTF Distance
    LockedLock dB
    Openness
    Locked
    0.0
    Acoustic Space Excitation
    Locked
    0.0
    0.0
    Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    WHD @ 90
    LockedLock
    WHD @ 100
    LockedLock
    Isolation
    0.0
    Noise Isolation
    Isolation Audio
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    Overall Attenuation
    LockedLock dB
    Noise CancellingLockedNo
    Bass
    LockedLock dB
    Mid
    LockedLock dB
    Treble
    LockedLock dB

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    0.0
    Leakage
    Leakage Audio
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    Overall Leakage @ 1ft
    LockedLock dB

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    Microphone
    Microphone Style
    Integrated
    LockedLocked
    In-line
    LockedLocked
    Boom
    LockedLocked
    Detachable Boom
    LockedN/A
    MicLockedYes
    0.0
    Recording Quality
    Recorded Speech
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    LFE
    LockedLock Hz
    FR Std. Dev.
    LockedLock dB
    HFE
    LockedLock Hz
    Weighted THD
    LockedLock
    Gain
    LockedLock dB
    0.0
    Noise Handling
    Speech + Pink Noise
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    Speech + Subway Noise
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    SpNR
    LockedLock dB
    Active Features
    0.0
    Battery
    Battery Type
    LockedN/A
    Continuous Battery Life
    LockedN/A
    Additional Charges
    LockedN/A
    Total Battery Life
    LockedN/A
    Charge Time
    LockedN/A
    Power Saving Feature
    LockedN/A
    Audio While Charging
    LockedN/A
    Passive Playback
    LockedN/A
    Charging PortLockedN/A
    0.0
    App Support
    App NameLockedN/A
    iOSLockedN/A
    AndroidLockedN/A
    macOSLockedN/A
    WindowsLockedN/A
    Equalizer
    LockedN/A
    ANC Control
    LockedN/A
    Mic ControlLockedN/A
    Room effects
    LockedN/A
    Playback Control
    LockedN/A
    Button MappingLockedN/A
    Surround SoundLockedN/A

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    Connectivity
    0.0
    Bluetooth
    Bluetooth Version
    LockedN/A
    Multi-Device Pairing
    LockedN/A
    NFC Pairing
    LockedN/A
    Line of Sight Range
    LockedN/A
    Default Latency
    LockedN/A
    aptX Latency
    LockedN/A
    aptX(LL) Latency
    LockedN/A
    0.0
    Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    Non-BT Line of Sight Range
    LockedN/A
    Non-BT Latency
    LockedN/A
    0.0
    Wired
    Analog Audio
    LockedLocked
    USB Audio
    LockedLocked
    DetachableLockedLocked
    LengthLockedLock ft
    ConnectionLockedLocked
    Wired Latency
    LockedLock ms
    PC / PS4 Compatibility
    PC / PS4 Analog
    LockedLocked
    PC / PS4 Wired USB
    LockedLocked
    PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
    LockedLocked
    Xbox One Compatibility
    Xbox One Analog
    LockedLocked
    Xbox One Wired USB
    LockedLocked
    Xbox One Wireless
    LockedLocked
    0.0
    Base/Dock
    Type
    LockedN/A
    USB Input
    LockedN/A
    Line In
    LockedN/A
    Line Out
    LockedN/A
    Optical Input
    LockedN/A
    RCA Input
    LockedN/A
    Dock Charging
    LockedN/A
    Power Supply
    LockedN/A