Bang & Olufsen has updated a trio of headphone models, under its B&O Play lifestyle brand.
At CES 2018 in Las Vegas, the company took the wrappers off the stylish Beoplay H9i, Beoplay H8i and also debuted new colours for the Beoplay E8 in-ear buds.
The improved flagship H9i over-ear cans (which succeed the H9 model), have slimmer cushion design as well as a reshaped mono arm.
The company says there’s improved Active Noise Cancellation technology, designed to cancel out human voices more effectively.
There’s also a Proximity Mode that will automatically detect when you remove the headphones and pause the content. Naturally, it’ll start playing once you put them back on again.
All this means you don’t have to fish your smartphone out of your pocket just to hit pause. Neat.
Available in 2 colours (black and grey), the #449 H9s package a battery that allows up to 14 hours of noise-cancelling out of a three-hour charge. As the battery is removable, should you desire, you can swap it out for a different if you run out of juice or opt to attach an old-school sound cord to maintain listening.Prettier than many competitors, the metallic and leather H9’s headband includes a solid, lightweight aluminium frame topped with stitched cowhide, while the soft lambskin ear cushions include memory foam which supposedly forms to the shape and curve of the wearer’s ear. WIRED likes the appearance of these cans.The active noise cancellation tech works off multiple microphones set on the outside of the ear pillow, as well as inside, to capture the noise before it reaches the ear and generate a reverse signal. This effectively dampens unwanted ambient sounds.Find from which headphones WIRED Recommends together with our review of their ideal headphonesReminiscent of the Parrot Zik headphones, these also have a touch port on the face of the right ear cup. By touching or swiping the headset’s anodized aluminium surface, you can trigger the sound cancelling, change tunes, answer calls, dial up your last call or restrain the volume. This port supposedly even responds in the rain and when you have gloves on — but we are going to have to try out that to confirm this.You may also select the audio profile through the Beoplay App, picking between “Commute”, “Clear”, “Workout” and “Podcast”.
B&O is also adding a new Transparency Mode to ensure you can instantly shut off music and ANC with a quick gesture on occasions when you need to be instantly aware of your surroundings.
The company has also played with the innards in order to boost battery life by four hours, to 18 in total, while overall sound has been improved thanks to a new bass port.
Modern classic
With the Beoplay H8i reveal, the high-end audio giant says it is revitalising a modern classic.
The design has been streamlined, while physical buttons have been added to both ear cups. Battery life has been upped to an insane 30 hours, even when ANC and Bluetooth are switched on.
Beoplay H8i
Transparency Mode and the Proximity Mode are on board here too.
Finally, B&O is releasing special editions of the E8 wire-free earphones. The All White and All Black iterations will arrive in February for the same £259 price tag.
Which ones to get, though? Well, naturally, it all is dependent upon how much you really want to invest. The B & W P9 Signatures, for instance, will set you back #700 — which is definitely worth it in terms of style, sound quality and the credibility you will earn both from teenagers and chin-stroking audiophiles. These cans, a special edition to observe Bowers and Wilkins’s 50th anniversary, are a legend and have had nothing but five-star testimonials. I tried them Led Zeppelin, Skrillex, Purcell’s Queen Mary funeral songs and Jack Cheshire and they did immaculate justice to the lot. Heavenly.B&O Play focuses on high quality earsets and cans featuring sophisticated design, elegenat craftsmanship and the best sound technology.The B&O Play assistance of the Quick-Step Floors team means that during races, the riders will wear the Beoplay 3i earset, or the Beoplay H3 earphone to ensure clean and clear communicating with all the sport managers. For use in down time, and when warming-up before time trials, the riders are provided with the elegant Beoplay H4 and H9 wireless earphones.For transfers between races, or simply to create a distinctive atmosphere before rivals, team buses and motorhomes are outfitted with exquisite Beoplay A6 speakers.B&O PLAY is the world’s leading lifestyle audio brand for young, urban creatives. Founded in 2012 as a sister company to world renowned Bang & Olufsen, B&O PLAY is firmly grounded in 90 decades of design excellence, craftsmanship and product innovation. We don’t just create cans, we don’t just design speakers and we’re not only in the business of electronic equipment.
The Beoplay H9i arrives later this month for £449, while the Beoplay H8i are somewhat more affordable at £349.
Are you likely to be tempted buy B&O’s new offerings? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
“The challenges we faced with the acoustics back then are the same challenges we face now — ergonomics,” explained Knud-Erik Lauridsen, Bang & Olufsen Executive Sound Engineer. The Bang and Olufsen Play H7 has witnessed some extreme popularity surrounding it. Incorporating wireless connectivity and that trademark B&O sound, it’s a heavy hitter with a hefty price tag to boot up. But at $449, can it be worth the money?The H7 comes with a stylish headband with cloth cushioning which matches the fashionable pleather cushioning on the earcups. In the box, there is a carrying pouch and a headphone cable, in addition to some literature concerning how stylish these cans are.Comfort wise, they are okay. Even though the headband is not the most comfy on the market, the earcups make up for it. Honestly, I could see myself sitting here with these headphones on my head for a loooooong time.As we can see from the specs, these headphones offer a pretty run-of-the-mill, with what we could only presume to be a normal volume level and nominal impedance. While both the SPL and impedance were absent from the specs page on the company’s site, the designer is given as Jakob Wagner. So there is that.The low end of the H7 is indicated by a few detail, but the very low end could come off as shallow or dull. Bass has a little oomph to it, but there’s also some bleeding, resulting in a feeling of sub-par sound.The midrange is fine. Quite precise, the mids may suffer from a compression and distortion, but the sound isn’t terrible.Bright and thin, the large end lacks some finer detail in some portions of the high end.
But before you throw down $300 for all these buttery sounding beauts, take note: they are for homebodies only. They don’t fold up for transport, and they did not come with a case to keep them safe from nicks or scratches. Sadly, they didn’t arrive with a headset rack, either, since they’re so pretty you might want to set them on screen when they’re not at all use.Bluetooth earpieces connected by a ribbon-thick cord, the X3s can be worn several ways: using the cord wrapped up over your ears, under them or perhaps just hanging out of one. They’re light enough you could hardly feel that the cable on the back of the neck, and the in-line remote is really thin and slight, it barely moves when your jogging shoes hit the pavement. The following note on the remote: Its buttons are spaced out nicely and they are easy to find, even if running in cold weather. That is something other headphone makers are forgetting about in their endless pursuit for thinner and sleeker.The Jaybirds include three pair of fins for wearers who prefer to lock their earbud to the ear’s concha (it is a true word, we promise). In addition, six pair of hints help personalize the seal in the canal. That’s twice as many as many headphones provide, and Jaybird not only includes the typical rubber covers, but in addition, it throws in Comply foam cushions, which isolate the X3’s sound extremely well. Finally, the X3 comes with clips to decrease the length of the cable, which can be more useful than you might think.
Here at the Strategist, we like to think of ourselves as crazy (in the fantastic way) about the things we purchase (like pens), but as much as we would like to, we can not try everything. Which is the reason why we have People’s Choice, where we locate the best-reviewed (that’s four-to-five-star reviews and tons of ’em) goods and single out the most persuasive. Here, the very best wireless headphones on Amazon — our colleague Jake Swearingen has also named the best wireless headset, wireless headphones for under $150, and wireless headphones to the audiophile before — according to the people (note that reviews have been edited for length and clarity).Go ahead and buy two pairs. Maybe three. I must share mine with my spouse. These are awesome! I Purchased these and a set of Mpow Thor. These are far better. I wear them at work in my office to drown out the distractions, in addition to in my side job — my lawn-care business. They work very well to block out the loud engine noise and create a fantastic listening experience. I often listen to audiobooks, which are extremely easy to hear in a loud environment. These cans have a rich and deep sound for music. As great as Beats, to me personally. A very long battery cycle is nice. I charge mine maybe once a week, if even that. And that’s listening for a few hours at work, just two to four hours in the evenings. They adjust well and match well. They do not feel cheap.If a buddy asks me about the ideal Bluetooth headphones, I love to generate some chitchat first. I will say, “Hey, how’s it going? I haven’t seen you since the [popular music group] show at [popular music venue] that time!” And I love to get down to business. The easy reply to the Bluetooth headphone question is … well, it depends.
In case you don’t enjoy these presets you may tweak the tone and sound staging yourself using B&O Play ToneTouch. Once updated, the Beoplay H9s save the setting until you adjust it again.Born in 1981, Bloomberg is a forward-looking firm focused on building products and solutions that are needed for the 21st century. As a global information and technology firm, we link decision makers to a lively network of information, people and thoughts — accurately delivering financial and business information, news and advice to customers around the world.B&O Play has announced a refresh of the Earset earbuds. The new Earset come with wireless audio technologies, Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound and a new fresh look, while preserving the elastic design aspects of the first. “We are exceptionally proud of our design heritage, and also the first Earset has been a long-lasting favorite due to their elastic, yet precise industrial design and acoustic brilliance,” said Jakob Kristoffersen, B&O Play Concept and Design Manager. “We’re excited to bring forward the new Earset that has been upgraded with wireless technology and a classic updated hue and lace” The initial lines to the design were drawn by Anders Hermansen in the ’90s with a solid focus on creating a pair of earphones flexible enough to accommodate any ear. The adjustment process on the earphones lets you modify the angle of this earbud, the elevation of the piston, and the curve of the earhook separately to guarantee a good fit.