There’s something very special about listening to music on headphones. A sense of closeness to the artist, and, of course, with the right headphones, just enough isolation from the hustle and bustle of the outside world to make listening a real pleasure.
And while a great album is always a great album, sometimes a particular recording will lend itself to the intimate atmosphere of a great pair of headphones. Whether those headphones are connected to your home hi-fi or to an iPod for listening on the move, the experience can transport you.
We’d love to know what your favourite headphone listening pleasures are. Whether it happens to be on a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P5 mobile hi-fi headphones or something else.
Here’s a selection of ours just to get you started.
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
Read about it here.
Richard Buckner – Devotion and Doubt
Wonderfully recorded, simple guitar and wonderful voice.
David Crosby – If Only I Could Remember My Name.
Gloriously produced, and wonderful on headphones.
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I see a Darkness
A great hi-fi album full stop. Wonderfully intimate recording.
Massive Attack – Mezzanine
If your headphones can do great bass, this is a must-have recording.
What’s your favourite headphone album?
Beck – Sea Change
Posted: Wednesday, 3 March 2010Dr.Dre – 2001
As I was reading this, as the Peter Gabriel album downloaded, I had my faithful Grados injecting Jeff Beck into my brain… P5′s could do it better though ;-)
I’d strongly recommend his Live at Ronnie Scotts album and the standout tracks for me are “Cause we’ve ended as lovers” and “a day in the life”
Posted: Wednesday, 3 March 2010The Doors “Riders of the storm” rates just as high
Something to place the instruments would be the Pat Metheny group with Letters from home
Try “Spring aint here” and see if the bongos are above your right eye.
A final suggestion would be Steevie Wonder Innervisions “Living for the city” is 3 dimentional
Quadrophenia – The Who
Posted: Thursday, 4 March 2010Forever Changes – Love
The Boatman Calls – Nick Cave
i agree with your choice sanit, of quadrophenia with the waves featuring during the disc adding incredible atmosphere and having the whole thing explode in to ‘ love reigns o’er me ‘ very well chosen
my three tracks.
band of gypsy’s-jimi hendrix..with the greatest guitar solo ever put to disc on ‘ machine gun ‘ i’ve left the couch moist a few times over that one which is the most emotional scream of anguish and frustration.
here comes the flood-peter gabriel and frobert fripp, typically on the robert fripp album ‘ exposure ‘ from 1970 which is patchy but between the pooey bits is sensational, but also other versions.
and let me not forget ‘starless’ from king crimson’s red album and ‘great deceiver’ 4cd box set..mr fripp has got a great way with a guitar but my god his social skills when i met him in stockholm after the crimson gig were sullen and churlish and even then i’m being polite, crimson has meant a deal to me my entire listening life and i wanted to say something brief along those lines but he wasn’t having it..i read a lot of quite spiritual things that come from mr fripp on dgm and his recorded works but it is easier to throw down a few lines than to live by their example, why can’t he be like adrian belew, a lovely man.
Posted: Friday, 5 March 2010Anything by Leonard Cohen.
Posted: Friday, 5 March 2010It’s not the technical quality of his albums but the experience of having him inside my head. Cohen is one of the few performers I admire who I do not want to see in concert.
I doubt there’s an album that doesn’t sound good on good headphones :-)
Here’s two of my faves:
Loveless – My Bloody Valentine
Lazer Guided Melodies – Spiritualized
I recently upgraded to a pair of AKG K-271 cans, I didn’t know what i was missing.
Posted: Friday, 5 March 2010Well, I bought a pair of P5 headphones at the Apple store in Kingston on Friday and walked home along the river listening to Kraftwerk’s “Tour de France Soundtracks”. That was pretty good.
Earlier today I was listening to Bowie’s “Young American’s” & “Low” which I have heard countless times over the last thirty + years and really enjoyed through the P5s but Scott Walker’s “The Drift” is simply stunning through them.
Have to agree with tzed’s opening line though.
Posted: Sunday, 7 March 2010My P5′s arrived on Thursday last week and I’ve been thrown into a world of turmoil and change, as I now will re-import all my music in lossless format rather than the 192 bit ACC I was using for space reasons. I’ve solved those with a new ipod and a bigger hard drive.
The best albums I’ve listened to since then are On an Island by David Gilmour, Gwyneth Herbert and Charlie Winston – both of those are available on the download pages. Gwyneth sounds great on Nataliya and My Mini and Me, and “kick the bucket” just sticks in your head – music for the music rather than the sound.
I also went out and bought Bonnie Prince Billy – I see darkness -and really wished I hadn’t – not my type of music.
I am looking forwards to next year when my new home is built and I can set up a nice listening area – some B&W 803′s look like they would make a great start.
Posted: Monday, 8 March 2010See what buying a pair of really nice headphones can do to you!
I recently enjoyed those:
Very nice:
Kings Of Convenience – Declaration Of Dependence
La Roux – La Roux
Awesome:
Marc Collin Featuring Valente Bertelli & Katrine Ottosen – Two For The Road
Yello – Touch Yello
I listened on my HD650 powered by a Benchmark DAC1, a highly recommended combination, the DAC1 is very impressive. Still waiting for the P5 in the US…
Posted: Monday, 8 March 2010Can someone please let me know when the P5′s will be available in the US?
Posted: Tuesday, 9 March 2010Too tough for a definitive list, but these spring to mind…
Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Some of the best albums I’ve listened to on both hifi and headphones are:
Massive Attack – Mezzanine – already listed but worth a second mention
Parov Stelar – Coco
Fleetwood Mac – Rumors
Cinematic Orchestra – Man With A Movie Camera
The Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (especially Hotel California live)
Tori Amos – Tales of a Librarian (greatest hits) – The piano sounds beautiful on a good system especially as you can hear the strike of every note.
Headphones: Sennheiser PXC450s
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010Hifi: Roksan Kandy K2, Linn Majik DS, Bowers and Wilkins CM5′s
i have to agree with itay beck sea change is just wonder full on headphones :)
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010and i personaly realy enjoy dj shadows endtroducing on headphones .
oh i would like to add my personal favorite track onto this :D
dear prudence by the beatles
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010the best listening experience with the P5 goes with:
* Jan Garbarek – Twelve Moons
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010” Manu Katché – Playground
* Tomasz Stanko -Dark Eyes
* Kanye West – 808s Heartbreak
* Dire Straits – Private Investigations & Alchemy
Kevin Blanc?
Are you the Kevin Blanc who worked with Yello? I watched the Touch Yello DVD this afternoon. Amazing.
I’d love to see it on a big screen here in London.
Anyway, I also had a listen to Touch Yello via the P5′s and you’re right, it is awesome – and that’s not a word I use a lot.
Posted: Monday, 15 March 2010Let me recommend the Head-Fi / HDTracks Headphone System Test Album…
http://ow.ly/1lrzH
Really though it depends on the phones (and associated equipment). Whats sound great on a Grado may not on a Sennheiser, Etymotics, JH Audio or Stax.
Looking forward to hearing the P5s at some point in the future.
Posted: Tuesday, 16 March 2010Any thing by Tunng, but especially Good Arrows and the latest, And Then We Saw Land. As an audio professional, the quest for great sounding music is never ending for system tuning, but Tunng’s music has remained as first choice for 4 years now.
Posted: Tuesday, 16 March 2010Also, Talk Talk’s 1986 album, The Colour of Spring is an amazing recording, and headphones eally bring out the space and energy that was captured in the studio.
where to get B&W headphones, apple store is not available anymore!!!! quick!!!
Posted: Tuesday, 16 March 2010One of my favorite bands is Nine Inch Nails and I ALWAYS test a pair of headphones with them. There are so many sounds layered on a track and some so subtle that if your NOT using at least a mid level set of headphones or, you’d never be able to appreciate them. Their experimental album GHOSTS is has a great supernatural feel.
Posted: Wednesday, 17 March 2010Just got my P5s.
First album I listened to was U2′s Achtung Baby. Not sure why, it just seemed like the right thing to try them out with. And i must say, both the headphones and the album sound fantastic to me.
Posted: Wednesday, 17 March 2010Thomas Dolby’s ‘The Flat Earth’ has some great headphone moments in particular Screen Kiss, I Scare Myself and the title track. Roddy Frame’s Surf also works well for different reasons: in contrast to The Flat Earth’s expansive sound Frame’s close mic’ed vocals sound extremely personal.
Posted: Wednesday, 17 March 2010Pink Floyd – WIsh You Were Here
Telefon Tel Aviv – Fahrenheit Fair Enough
Nick Drake – Pink Moon
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
Radiohead – Kid A
Tool – any LP
DJ Shadow – …Endtroducing
Portishead – s/t
these are a few of my favorite things…
Posted: Friday, 19 March 2010The Beatles ‘Love’ Album.
Posted: Friday, 19 March 2010Are the P’5 headphones going to be available anywhere else besides apple stores and apple.com….i.e bestbuy
Posted: Tuesday, 23 March 2010Just this second finished listening to Off He Goes by Pearl Jam (off the No Code album). I have always “quite liked” the song, but my P5′s have just given it a depth, detail and meaning I have never heard before – definitely a track for the private world of headphones!
Posted: Friday, 26 March 2010life’s the same living in stereo, life’s the same except for my shoes
Posted: Saturday, 27 March 2010american beauty
if i could only remember my name has the best production of any lp i ever heard
stage fright and big pink
blonde on blonde, nashville skyline
buffalo springfield
since the evolution of digital and the ability to make anything perfect it’s interesting how that fragile analog has held up. the lines weren’t quite as fixed in some ways………….
Vincent Gallo- When
Posted: Saturday, 27 March 2010Joao Gilberto- Amoroso
Colin Blunstone- One Year
Velvet Underground- White Light/ White Heat
Syd Barrett- The Madcap Laughs
YES- Tales of Topographic Oceans
Bohack- It took Several Wives
Frank Zappa- Hot Rats
Charles Mingus- Mingus Plays Piano
The Beatles- Abbey Road (Mono)
Jackson C Frank- Jackson C Frank
The latest issue of Wired (UK) says, on page 82, that the P5s are available from Bowers & Wilkins for £225.00.
Bowers & Wilkins own site shows that they are available for $299.95 from Apple US – which the Financial Times currency converter tells me is £200.12 in real money.
Either of those are better than the £249.95 I paid at the Apple store in Kingston.
The MM-1 speakers are $499.95 on the Apple (US) site which works out at £333.96 as opposed to the £399.95 that Apple UK charge.
Why are goods from a British company more expensive for British buyers?
Posted: Monday, 29 March 2010Some really fine picks from the posts above.
Posted: Wednesday, 7 April 2010A couple of my favourite CD’s are:
Murray Head -Say it ain’t so
The Strawbs – Hero and Heroine
Just got my P5′s today; great sound..but different listening experience to my Sennheiser IE8′s (mobile) and Sony MDR SA5000′s (home). Initial impressions- very good- build quality excellent!
Posted: Saturday, 10 April 2010Fav album- Electribe 101- Electribal Memoirs (1989)- haunting, atmospheric electronica with soaring vocals of Billie Ray Martin- I’ve never tired of listening to it :o)
Tool – (any)
Posted: Thursday, 15 April 2010Radiohead – Ok Computer
Fleetwood Mac – Rumors
Massive Attack -
Pink Floyd Ummagumma
Posted: Friday, 16 April 2010With my Grados
@Kevin Allen
Sales Tax is a big factor. US prices don’t include them, UK prices do. Add the UK’s 17.5% to the US prices and you are a long way to the same price. £333.96 (US Price) + 17.5% = £392. US sales tax varies from state to state.
Personally, my favourite tracks on my P5s are:
AC/DC: Back in Black
Posted: Monday, 19 April 2010KanYe West: Welcome to Heartbreak
Laura Marling: Devil’s Spoke
Massive Attack: Teardrop
Without a doubt, my favourite headphone album is
Rock Action by Mogwai
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rock-Action-Mogwai/dp/B00005AQCB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1271676115&sr=1-1
Absolutely stunning
Posted: Monday, 19 April 2010Where I can get these? I currently in mexico, dose de itunes store UK ships internationally?
Posted: Monday, 19 April 2010…just listened to the outstanding Grindhouse modo caine album on my Koss portapro
Posted: Thursday, 29 April 2010Roger Water – Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, and of cource his first Soloalbum called The final Cut – performed by Pink Floyd, both with the Holophonics sound effects from Zuccarelli Labs.
Posted: Friday, 30 April 2010Based on the artists and tracks listed here, it’s clear that only an app like the original Napster will ever be satisfactory for searching for new music. When I searched for a track I liked, Nap would list all the people who had it. From that list, I could see what else all of those people were listening to, and expand my collection thus. Nobody can do that today, and nobody can “recommend” new music – the only way is to find actual users who enjoy the same music I do (mostly indie girlrock – none of that folk music or canned stuff please).
Posted: Saturday, 1 May 2010“Axis/Bold as Love” – Eddie Kramer was listening to Joe Meek and had to do him one better. The old-school hand style flanging works way better on cans than boxes.
Posted: Tuesday, 4 May 2010