>> the thrill of living well is in the pursuit. the pursuit of the rarest experiences. the pursuit of the finest products. the pursuit of quality in everything you do. and, in all of these pursuits, you need the best intelligence to make the best decisions. >> we know that she sells for a lot, but what makes her important? >> it isn't easy. it is difficult work. >> welcome to "bloomberg pursuits," where you find information that helps you to follow your inspiration. in this edition, utility meets luxury in three new suvs. >> immediate power. immediate response. >> master the offbeat etiquette of eating ramen. >> it is totally cool to pick up

the bowl and drink from it. >> and, find out how one master craftsman turns wood and stone into state-of-the-art sound. >> this is a very difficult, time consuming, expensive process. >> but first, nikki eckstein has a guide to making the most of london. nikki: london is one of the most dynamic cities in the world. for all its iconic sights, it is also full of hidden treasures. and now, with brexit looming, the city is on the verge of a total reinvention. i'm nikki eckstein, travel editor for "bloomberg pursuits," and i will show you how to make the most of london. out of london's 37 million visitors each year, a whopping 9 million come here on business, making it one of the biggest business travel markets in the world.

and that means busy airports. dodge the crowds by flying into london city, a small under the radar hub in the middle of town. landing here means short immigration lines and zero traffic, shrinking your travel time by an hour or more. until recently, business travelers had a tough choice, booking a bland hotel in the boring financial district, or staying further away than the heart of the action. not anymore. the city, london's financial hub, is suddenly cool, with two glamorous places to stay. the first is the net, a hotel and private members club designed by the ultracool soho house group. insiders say it cost more than $200 million to convert this 1920's bank. walk through the front doors and it hits you. 252 rooms, nine restaurants. this is the place to see and be seen, to impress and be

impressed. but if you want to escape the hustle, head to the rooftop. this view of st. paul's cathedral is instagram gold for london's work hard, play harder set, and is only accessible to hotel guests and private members. if the party, work, repeat lifestyle is a bit too much, the antidote is just one mile away. the new four seasons 10 trinity is the epitome of an urban oasis. indulging here means afternoon tea in the 1920's rotunda, or an after work massage in the glimmering spa. even hanging out in your room feels like a treat. you can order your favorite type of pillow from an ipad or soak in a gorgeous gilded bathtub.

londoners are punctual, so getting on their time zone is key. luckily for you, great coffee shops are everywhere in london. these days they are more ubiquitous than a proper english breakfast. workshop, which roasts its own beans, is my personal favorite. order their filter coffee. it is like a pour over with a built-in refill, and you can feel free to bring your laptop. head over to the east end for a work lunch at lyle's. it is worth the short walk. no mushy peas here, these are fresh from the farm in a garden salad with locally produced fresh cheese. order it with a mutton broth, a clear, delicate version of a heavy classic. here is a little psa. don't be afraid to order a glass of wine during the workday. abstaining is actually seen as an overly conservative move. with so much entertaining, you will want to squeeze in a workout.

in london, it's hard to find good boutique gyms that allow membership free drop-in's, but one rebel is one exception. everything from the music to the lighting to the moves will make you feel like a total rockstar. take that high into your most important meeting, the deal closing dinner. this russian inspired spot in soho is an ode to decadence. watching this juicy beef wellington get carved tableside? it is the best kind of dinner theater. whenever you are ready to toast your success, there is a champagne button built into every booth. >> cheers. nikki: by now, you have earned a day off. this is redchurch street, in the heart of shoreditch. stop by modern society for indie jewelry and clothing, or monologue for great home wares

and desk accessories. go around the corner for giftable travel sets, all in custom patterns. when it comes to british food, i can't leave without trying the real national dish -- curry. fabulous. at madame d's, the menu focuses on the himalayas. the talented indian chef is making excellent risks on these and amazing lamb noodles spiced with powerful thai red chilies, dishes you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. it is all proof that in this fast-paced city, things are always in a state of evolution. >> from this great destination, we shift our focus to the journey. up next, hannah elliott takes a drive in three of the best suvs money can buy. one of them sure to be right for

you. this is "bloomberg pursuits." ♪

>> ramen, the japanese staple, has gone global, with dedicated joints in cities around the world. so, it is a good time for a short course on the rules of ramen. >> hi, this is my shop. we are going to talk about the best ways to eat a bowl of ramen. the most important thing is to eat the ramen while it is hot. any good ramen shop will serve you a bowl while it is smoking hot and you need to eat it right away, because the noodles are overcooking. it is a lot like pizza. if you are a real new yorker you know that you do not wait for the pizza to cool down. you eat it while it is hot and

you risk burning your mouth. ramen is absolutely the same. >> you need to slurp. it cools down the noodles. don't fight the noodles. take a little less than you think you want to eat. pull them out from the pile because otherwise you will never be able to slurp. easy on the toppings if you are a first timer. so, when you order your first bowl of ramen ever, get it simple. taste it, see if you really like ramen, then you can jump on the toppings and specials of the day. don't forget to hydrate. i have been to ramen shops in tokyo where later my whole face is swollen with salt. it is the nature of the beast, so drink up. ramen comes with a terrible spoon, chinese in origin. it is great to be able to dip it into the bowl, but in japan it is totally ok to pick up the bowl and drink from it. remember, there are no real rules at the end of the day. you are letting your hair down.

you want to have fun. get splashy, get noisy, get messy, but most importantly, enjoy yourself. >> choosing the best suv is a complex task. you have to consider size, power, and of course, value. hannah elliott weighs all of the elements in this review of three suvs. hannah: with suvs growing in popularity, it only made sense to get some on this show. so, in this review, we are going to compare three of the best rated luxury suvs on the market. this isn't going to be easy. we've got our hands on an audi q5, a porsche cayenne gts, and a bmw x5. i decided to spend a day in the hamptons with each of them to get an in-depth look. this is the q5. it is audi's midsize suv and starts at about $41,000, which is way more affordable than the other two cars we are looking at.

this is kind of like the iphone of luxury suvs. it is designed well, but also affordable within the segment. this is a four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive, seven speed automatic with paddle shifters, 252 horsepower, and there is no lag. immediate power, immediate response. the minute you step on the gas, you are there. hannah: q5 has by far the most futuristic interior of the three cars. it is minimal. it is clean. the sunroof spans the entire width of the ceiling. it is really cool. there is plenty of room for five adults, lots of headroom. but, this is the smallest car of the ones we are testing. the trunk is 29 cubic feet, in the middle of our range. a family on a trip might have trouble fitting everything in. there are other cars that are more powerful that look more distinct, but it is also really affordable, and audi is the sweet spot.

so, how did it add up? the immediate response made me feel in control. the horsepower was a little weaker at 252, and the 22 miles per gallon means this is in the middle of the road. looks-wise, it was a bit conservative. it is the smallest of the three, but with a sleek interior. and the pricing is the best at $41,000. now, this is the bmw x5 hybrid. that means it gets 56 miles per gallon combined between the electric motor and conventional engine. this car starts at $62,000, right in the middle of our group. the electric motor and the engine switch off depending on what drive mode, how fast you are going, all of that. what you won't find out from the stats on the website is how big this car feels when you sit in it, and how small it drives. it is a nice balance. the interior is not as futuristic. it is not as clean and modern

feeling, but it is also a little less full of buttons and levers and gauges. this does feel like it is the roomiest of the three. i think a lot of it has to do with the natural light. the most visibility for sure. and, with the seats in use, the trunk still comes up with nearly 36 cubic feet, which is massive. to recap, the handling was exceptional. 308 horsepower is in the middle of the range. and an amazing 56 miles per gallon with the combined electric motor, it was sporty without being overaggressive. the roomiest, but with a toned down interior. at $62,000 it is midrange for our selection. now, the third car in our group is the porsche cayenne gts. this is a higher tune version of porsche's cayenne, and it starts at $97,000. that is by far the most expensive of any car in our

group. it is also the most powerful. porsche was among the first the luxury carmakers to introduce an suv. it really sets the standard for a lot of things. the engine is a 3.6 liter v6 twin turbocharged engine, 440 horsepower. almost double the horsepower of the audi. 443 foot pounds of torque, and you definitely feel it when you push the gas pedal. the thing that you notice are the buttons and levers and knobs and vents. if you are someone that likes cockpit stuff to play with, you will love this car. this trunk was the smallest at 24 cubic feet, but after you put the seats down, you will get by. it drives fast, it feels really luxurious inside. it is really striking to look at. it just costs a lot of money. okay, this car was the most powerful. 440 horsepower, 434 pounds of torque.

unfortunately, only 19 miles per gallon combined. this is a true sports car in suv form. it has decent space, and the interior loaded with gadgets. but the downside, i would say, is price. $97,000 means this car will dig deep into your wallet. the luxury suv segment is a competitive field. there are a lot of really competent players, and these three are all excellent vehicles. however, after three days of driving, i felt the bmw checked the most boxes in terms of performance, agility, style, and value. was it the fastest and most powerful? no, but it was the most versatile while moderately priced. with the largest interior, the most visibility, and the fact that is a hybrid with a 56 miles per gallon rating, that pushes it over the edge. this car has a great value and anyone would be happy to have it. >> coming up, the best in high-end audio equipment. headphones that feel as gorgeous as they sound. >> the cup pads are incredibly

squishy and marshmallowy. they feel really great on the side of your head. >> and speakers crafted from ancient materials for the ultimate in modern audio quality. >> none of this stuff is convenient, small, or cheap, but it does represent the best sound that has ever been made. >> this is "bloomberg pursuits." ♪

>> picking the right pair of headphones for you can be tough. you have to think about what they cost, what they look like, how they fit on your head. and obviously, you care about the sound. plus, there are tons of brands that make them. a pair of wireless headphones that checks the most boxes for me are the sennheiser hd 1 over ear. the sound quality is wonderful. bass beats feel full and satisfyingly funky.

middle notes are clean and bright, and scratchy sounds or whispers have a very satisfying texture. the materials are excellent. all of the soft parts are sheathed in this creamy dark leather. the cup pads are squishy and marshmallowy. they feel great on the side of your head and they don't have that super firm grip that some headphones have. the bluetooth is totally seamless and totally easy. it takes one touch to link it with your phone. once you're listening to music, the volume button is also the pause button and the skip ahead button. you can feel it easily without looking. it remains charged for up to 22 hours. the bluetooth range is remarkable. i actually tested it out, and i walked an entire city block away from my phone, and i had no disruption in any of the noise. it will skip a little bit, that is how you know you are at the end of your range. but a whole city block's worth of bluetooth range is pretty good. fair warning -- all of this quality comes at a price. if you're looking for a good pair of wireless headphones it will run you between $120 and

$500. the hd 1's are right at the tippy top of the range at $499. but, for the build quality, the easy technology, the great sound, and i think the overall handsomeness, these are worth the investment. >> to close out "bloomberg pursuits," a regular series we call "made." because to truly appreciate an object of luxury, you need to go back to the beginning and see how it came to be. ♪ >> my name is jonathan weiss. i'm the founder and ceo of oswalds mill audio, known as oma, and we are in our dumbo, brooklyn showroom surrounded by all of our products. we are really an outlier in the high-end audio world.

we make everything from the signal source in terms of analog -- that is record players, which we make out of solid slate. we make our own line of tube amplifiers. and we are the only company that makes conical four moded loudspeakers for home use. we make everything so that we have total control over the sound. one of the first phases to our products is coring the slate. this is a very special slate, because it is actually very soft, which from an acoustic standpoint is really desirable. it dissipate vibrations and resonances extremely well, much better than harder slate. so, when they are quarrying the slate, they will literally use hand tools to cleave off sheets

which break off and then are placed on a truck or taken with a gondola into the main fabrication part of the quarry, where a huge diamond saw with water is used to cut, cleave off irregular pieces of slate. >> the last stage is honing and putting a very fine age, a bevel , so that it doesn't chip. we use cast metal in a lot of different products. they have as -- furnace. the metal is put in solid form into this that, and it becomes molten, like just out of the movie terminator. you had a rough casting which

goes through various finishing processes. then it has to be welded. edge treatment. then that is accomplished, it goes to be powder coated. curederally is based and into this super hard durable finish. they all have steel stands or infrastructure. all those elements are powder .oated the middle is essentially our laboratory. our listening space where we can put elements new and altogether.

the industry has moved in ways that are not about ultimate sound quality but about size, convenience, and cost. ise of this stuff convenient, small, or cheap, but it does represent the best sound that has ever been made. all of our loudspeakers are made out of pennsylvania hardwood. these are all woods which martin guitar, which is the world's best acoustic tar company, they use the same woods that we do, so i know that they are totally tib==iould -- totally -- -- tonally great wood. they will be broken down to create loudspeaker enclosures, amplifier enclosures, all using meticulous, hand done joinery that allows the wood to expand and contract in your home. it's like a living thing.

a very difficult, time-consuming, expensive process for the only company in the world that does this. nobody makes loudspeakers using solid wood joinery construction, not today, not that i know ever. at a certain point, the parts come from the wood shop, metalworking shop, powder coat. come to our central facility where they do the final assembly. most of our equipment is very big, and it's very big because it have to be -- it has to be. in some ways it cannot be miniaturized. it's physics. that's very old-school. not mass production. the components we use are simply

the highest grade possible. aerospace level stuff. you have an amazing system, it's frightening, like he's right there. what the system is doing is taking the energy that came out -- literally, sound waves are energy. it's taking that energy and reproducing it so perfectly that you have this uncanny feeling that somebody is there that has been dead a long time. that is what amazing sound quality is. >> you can find more films from our "made" series as well as many more pursuit stories and videos at bloomberg.com/ pursuits. hanks for watching "pursuits."

this is bloomberg. ♪

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that openness, capacity for risk-taking is very exciting. >> shows the first-ever black woman to have a show at the temple gallery and more recently, shockingly, she is still the first black woman to become a royal act