Cambridge Audio P100 Over-Ear Headphones with Active Noise Cancellation (White)

I was surprised to see that the reviews for this pair of headphones are so polarized, but I can confidently say from my own experience that these have been an excellent choice and I'm very happy with them so far.Sound is obviously a preferential and subjective thing, so that may explain why some people don't seem to care for them. However, from my point of view, these hit it out of the park. I originally bought a pair of WH-1000XM5 and found that even after a few days of careful listening, I just didn't enjoy the way they sounded. I already had these headphones in the back of my mind so I figured I'd try these instead, given that they are from a reputable company and many people had been praising the way they sounded. A day with the P100's sealed the deal, and the Sony's went back to Amazon. I wouldn't say I'm an audiophile but I have a few headphones to compare them to, such as B&O, Audeze, Sony, Hifiman, etc., and I find these to be some of, if not the best sounding.These headphones just sound really, really good. It's a neutral sound that balances everything beautifully so that you get a nice blend of detail and tonality, all while being very pleasant and non-fatiguing to listen to. And unlike many other types of ANC headphones, they don't sound claustrophobic and are able to provide a surprising amount of soundstage. Recently, I tried my HE400s that I have hooked up to a Monoprice liquid spark amp and sat down for a few songs, and while the planar magnetics had the wider soundstage (obviously) and were slightly more detailed, I found myself putting the P100s back on because they just were more enjoyable to listen to.Comfort is a tough one because again, I feel like everyone is different and it's difficult to say one pair is more comfortable than another. I can see that these felt more comfortable than the WH1000XM5s, despite being heavier. And maybe my head is small, or maybe the other reviewers' skulls are just soft, but I have found these really comfortable and the clamping force just right. Your ears feel like they have plenty of room.Also, the other reviewer talking about how wide these were and that he was hitting them on doorframes is exaggerating greatly. That or there's something genuinely wrong with his gait or balance and he needs to see his doctor. They're wide, but its not like having a 2x4 nailed to your head like that other guy made it to be.The other perks worth mentioning include the replaceable batteries, which is a huge plus to me, even though you can't currently buy them as it seems they're out of stock on their website. The battery life itself is monstrous; as I'm writing this review, I've been lightly using the headphones on and off for about 3 weeks since their last charge (mostly ANC off), and it currently has 72% battery left.Physical button controls are also very nice and easy to use. One of the issues with the Sony capacitive controls is that, at least in colder climates, the air would start activating the controls so you would have to go through the app to manually disable the touchpad. These obviously don't have that problem.The cons that I think worth mentioning are as follows:1.) The app and software still have some kinks. Sometimes it will just keep repeating that it has been paired or unpaired, and you just have to disable the voice prompts. It seems like having it connected to more than 2 devices at a time triggers that for me. Also, the app itself takes a few seconds to boot up and find the headphones.2.) The headphones' ANC is good, not great. They feel about on par or slightly slightly worse than my WH1000XM3s, and behind the WH1000XM5s. Also, it seems easy to break the seal they make on your head when you move around or turn your head (in my case), so sometimes this lets in noise and hurts the ANC's ability to work. However, it seems you can avoid this by repositioning your head/headphones.3.) These aren't made for the gym. They're slightly heavier than most headphones and their wider stature means that they will generate more angular momentum and are more likely to slide off your head. I personally only wear ear buds when I workout anyway, so not a problem for me but maybe a problem for you if that's something you're into.4.) I'm sure there's something else but it's probably not that important.Bottom line:These are great sounding headphones (regardless of price), comfortable (to me), are solidly built, have excellent battery life, are designed for many years of use with their large replaceable batteries, all while undercutting most of the other ANC headphones you can currently buy in terms of price. They're definitely worth a shot, and I view those super negative reviews with a grain of salt.

Ignore all the negative reviews people. The only, and I mean ONLY feature that could be slightly improved is the ANC. Other than that, build & sound quality is literally second-to-none audiophile level. I do a lot of international traveling and bring these wherever I go. For under 250, you can’t go wrong. Excellent product that is highly recommended!

At this point, it is well-established around the Internet that these headphones have what probably amounts to a design flaw -- there are noticeable audio artifacts when using noise cancellation. This results in a faint "puffing" noise when the ANC is on.I returned one unit because of this issue, but the same was true with the second one, and I've also read enough reviews of the headphones to conclude that this is a design or manfacturing issue. Whether it's correctable via a firmwear update remains to be seen.What is equally well established is that, for all intents and purposes, this an audiophile quality Bluetooth headphone that functions at or near the top of the pile.This is of course a subjective issue, but I am among those who can describe these headphones as clearly superior in fidelity to the Focal Bathys, which is $700, and the B&W Px8, which is $600.I have not owned a B&O H95 or a Dali IO-12, so I cannot compare these to headphones in that $1K+ price range. I can tell you I have seen reviews of the Melomania P100 which prefer it over the H95.Because it is a close-back headphone, even in "normal" mode there is enough noise cancellation to satisfy me, which is another reason why the ANC issues don't bother me.The fact that this is a "vegan" product is not unimportant to me, and B+O's of lambskin is actually a deal-breaker for me. So I hope Cambridge Audio continues in this vein.These headphones are pretty comfortable, and feel lighter than the Bathys. For overall comfort, for me the B&W PX8 is by far the best, which is why I use that headset when I'm falling asleep to podcasts. But as most people will tell you, the PX8 is not an audiophile quality headphone.If the ANC issues could be resolved either through firmwear or manufacturing changes, this would be a slam-dunk five star rating.The fact that we are even talking about this headphone equalling or exceeding the Bathys, the PX8, and the H93 is astonishing. So if you care about sound quality but need to save some money and aren't obsessed with ANC, this headphone is essentially a no brainer purchase.As some people have pointed out, if Cambridge Audio could sort out the kinks with the ANC and also raise the sound bar even further, they could release a $600 headphone that could be a game changer. But even at present, the P100 is basically the talk of the tone amongst fans of Bluetooth headphones.