The P series from B&W are great speakers with some well documented weaknesses. The ferrofluid in the tweeters is nearly always dried up at this age and needs to be replaced. This is doable for a competent DIYer. IMO they still don't really come alive until the 2 electrolytic capacitors capacitors are replaced with film types. Again a very rewarding job for a DIYer. It's surprising that electrolytics were used in the first place, as these were expensive speakers new. WIth these 2 weaknesses addressed they are very fine, handsome speakers, with deep solid bass and sparkly top end.

Just don't pay too much for a non-refurbished pair.

Answer to serafin:
you don't need to replace the tweeters. If you clean them (remove the old ferrofluid gunk from the voice coil and magnet part) and add new ferroluid, they will be as good as new. Get the right amount of high quality ferrofluid for 1" tweeter (100µL) for each tweeter.

http://www.first4magnets.com/applications/2016/01/replacing-the-magnet-in-a-speaker/

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/ferro-fluid-speaker-repair-kit-mi-ff100.html

Hi, i have this p5 Floor skeaker since 1996, but I need to replace the tweeters. Could someone recommend me a Tweeter brand, cause B & W does not have spare for this Speaker.
Thank in advace for your advice: Serafin Spain.

Bought these speakers some months ago, and shifted the tweeters. They are very good looking and well build; real Ash tree. I use bi-wire, and they simply sound amazing; very rich sound, with lots of clarity and detail. The bass is so deep and well balanced, when watching a film it feels like being in a cinema. As well voices sound great; lots of depth and body. If you can find a pair, I highly recommend them. I have listened to many speakers, and these are absolutely the best I have heard. Of course I think they as well would be quite expensive if i had to buy them from new today in my country; Denmark.

Since I bought the very little-used pair P5 from my brother who owns Thiel, I must say I've been very impresses with the clear, crisp, floating mid-range and highs. When listening to female voices, be it sopranos or those in an 8-voice,20-voice masses, they really stand out from the background bass. I suppose the dynamic gains are much higher,across the spectrum, in B&W than in other speakers. I tested much more expensive speakers like ProAc, Usher, TAD, etc. driven by big amplifiers(to give solid sound,but lacking the 'float characteristics of B&W), and P5 wins hands down.
The bass is quite adequate, one can feel the power everytime the drum hits.

Just a great speaker!

I've had teh P5's for two months now and like I read here, the Tweeters are doing practically nothing..
I've ordered a new set but now I don't know how to replace the old ones, coud anyobe help me??

email: jfoekens@hotmail.com

Midrange liquidity
Deep, tight bass
Smooth and airy highs
Cabinet construction is second to none
Biwireable, which IMO makes a HUGE difference
Support from B&W even for as long as they have been discontinued

Tweeters????
Terminals are not staggered which makes connection via spades a bit cumbersome. SO What go with bananas

I purchased a pair of P5's in black ash. I know, the cherry finish is gorgeous, but I couldn't pass this pair up for the price. I have been listening to them for well over a year now and I can honestly say, they are the best speakers I have ever had in my system. The midrange is silky smooth with extended, but never harsh highs. The bass is deep and tight without being boomy. I am driving these with a Jolida 202a integrated tube amplifier. It puts out 40 wpc and it makes the P5's sing!.
One thing I did discover while tinkering is that the soundstage and midrange open way up when they are biwired. It made a huge difference in both width and depth.
If you can biwire, do it. You will be amazed. I listen to mostly jazz, vocals, and easy rock and they all sound as they should, clean, clear and fluid. Fortunately, I haven't had the same problems with the tweeters as other owners, but I was told by B&W tech support that they are available through them.
I couldn't be happier with these and I think You would need to spend much more to get a speaker this good in todays market. If you find a used pair, don't hesitate
BUY THEM!


System:
Jolida 202a amplifier
CAL CL-15 CD player
Project 2xpression turntable Grado gold cartridge
Synergistic alpha x2 speaker and interconnects

Customer Service

Excellent I needed a new set of spikes and they had them.
I was also told for all who need them thet they carry the tweeters as well

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Paradigm studio 60's
Audio Physic Sparks
B&W nautilus 804
Boston VR3's
JM labs chorus 716
Triangle antal

Good balance for both home theater and music. Adequate but not excessive or boomy bass. Clean, attractive appearance. Good build quality (these have moved with me about 7 times in the past 12 years, and I lost the boxes years ago). Backed by a company that stocks spare parts for 12-year old products and has tech support people you can reach over the phone (at least here in the US).

Finite lifespan of tweeter... tech support guy said the cooling fluid tends to dry/leak out. I imagine this problem isn't be unique to B&W.

Purchased these about 12 years ago. Have been using them as fronts in a home theater for the last 2 years. After reading another review on this site I took a closer listen to them in a stereo configuration and realized the tweeters weren't doing much. I ordered a replacement set from B&W for about $130 (2 x dome + driver) and it's like night and day... hard to believe I hadn't noticed how bad they'd gotten, but I guess the other (much newer) speakers in the system were picking up the slack. In any case, the upgrade was simple (the tweeters can be gently pried out from the front). As an experiment, while doing the replacement I listened to one speaker with and without its old tweeter - there was some difference, but not that much. Now they sound great and I want to start listening to music again.

Customer Service

Fantastic. The new tweeters were manufactured in April 2007 so it seems B&W is still making replacement parts for a 12+ year-old product.

Georgous rosewood cabinets, Sound, Size

Tweeters ???

I Bought those on eBay without ever hearing those speakers, based soly on their appearence and the company's reputation at making some of the best speakers in the world. The first time I listened to them I noticed a total lack of high frequencies. After close examination I found that both tweeters were playing at about 10% capacity. Since they are ferofluid metal domes, I suspect that with age, something went wrong around the voice coil. Until I can find new factory replacement tweeters, I substittuted a pair of Technics tweeters and I must say that they now sound extremely good. The bass is abundant yet very tight, not boomy or muddy at all. The mids could not possibly be sweeter and the newly found highs make them sound like they should. Wheter or not new factory tweeters would improve their sound, I don't know. But I would like to keep them original so if anybody know where I can find B&W P5 replacement tweeters, I would welcome their suggestion.

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ESS, JBL,KEF