I have to agree with Dane here, which might come as no surprise, since I have always appreciated the sonic quality, if not the price, of B&W products. I purchased a set of these a few months ago. I already had an excellent pair of AKG Q701 phones. The only drawback with those is that the use of a portable headphone amp with dac really helps when you're listening via an i-device or any other portable, I would imagine. And the cord on my AKG's is LONG, quite the opposite of the cable on the P5s. The P5s are really outstanding, even without a preamp. I mean, who wants to mess around with a preamp when you're out somewhere, like at the beach or on the bus or whereever that isn't home? I don't mind the short cable, since I do use these exclusively with i-devices, not with my home stereo preamp. I still love my akgs, but these p5s are outstanding and more practical to use.
Mary
