[RamGuy]

So I got my BeoPlay H7 replaced on warranty, and I also own a pair of BeoPlay H9 as well. These new ones are rev2.0 or whatever as they feature bluetooth 4.2, something the original BeoPlay H7 didn't have. And the sound signature is now pretty much identical to the BeoPlay H9. I suspect they use the exact same drivers and DAC with this new revision so the only difference is the added active noise cancellation on the H9 compared to the H7.

For me this is a step backwards as I always preferred the more flat, natural and open sound signature of the BeoPlay H7 over the BeoPlay H9 which is why I kept using the H7's even after getting the H9's as I didn't find the active noise cancellation to really offer much. My girlfriend still have the original BeoPlay H7 with bluetooth 4.1 (or is it 4.0?) and they do indeed sound different. The newer H7 and the H9 both feature a warmer sound signature with added emphasis on low (bass). I actually have to use the BeoPlay-app on my iPhone and activate the 'Podcast" preset on the EQ when listening to some of my podcasts as this sound signature makes a lot of male voices sound way too bassy for my liking.

I'm starting to consider whether I should just sell them and look for something new. It's not like they sound bad by any terms of the definition, but the microphone is severely lacking (people keeps complaining when I try to answer calls using both the H7 and H9) and the active noise cancellation on the H9 was a huge disappointment to me. And now when the newer H7 have taken a step back in sound signature, at least according to my liking and there is still a real hassle connecting them to multiple devices as the switching between devices is confusing at best so I mostly end up with just re-pairing them when going between devices I feel I could do much better.

I still love the look and feel, and they are indeed very comfortable. But new bluetooth headphones seems to get released pretty much every day and I feel Bang & Olufsen is really lacking in terms of functionality. Having such a poor microphone, releasing a new model with ANC that does so poorly in terms of ANC and still having this confusing sync between devices is just not cutting it.

 

[puhn]

So I got my BeoPlay H7 replaced on warranty, and I also own a pair of BeoPlay H9 as well. These new ones are rev2.0 or whatever as they feature bluetooth 4.2, something the original BeoPlay H7 didn't have. And the sound signature is now pretty much identical to the BeoPlay H9. I suspect they use the exact same drivers and DAC with this new revision so the only difference is the added active noise cancellation on the H9 compared to the H7.

For me this is a step backwards as I always preferred the more flat, natural and open sound signature of the BeoPlay H7 over the BeoPlay H9 which is why I kept using the H7's even after getting the H9's as I didn't find the active noise cancellation to really offer much. My girlfriend still have the original BeoPlay H7 with bluetooth 4.1 (or is it 4.0?) and they do indeed sound different. The newer H7 and the H9 both feature a warmer sound signature with added emphasis on low (bass). I actually have to use the BeoPlay-app on my iPhone and activate the 'Podcast" preset on the EQ when listening to some of my podcasts as this sound signature makes a lot of male voices sound way too bassy for my liking.

I'm starting to consider whether I should just sell them and look for something new. It's not like they sound bad by any terms of the definition, but the microphone is severely lacking (people keeps complaining when I try to answer calls using both the H7 and H9) and the active noise cancellation on the H9 was a huge disappointment to me. And now when the newer H7 have taken a step back in sound signature, at least according to my liking and there is still a real hassle connecting them to multiple devices as the switching between devices is confusing at best so I mostly end up with just re-pairing them when going between devices I feel I could do much better.

I still love the look and feel, and they are indeed very comfortable. But new bluetooth headphones seems to get released pretty much every day and I feel Bang & Olufsen is really lacking in terms of functionality. Having such a poor microphone, releasing a new model with ANC that does so poorly in terms of ANC and still having this confusing sync between devices is just not cutting it.

I've had a very similar experience with the replacement H7,
the first week the sound is very bassy, on the second week the mid-treble get very sharp, but three weeks later since the open box it sounds like my old H7 - so I visit the newly open store that has a demo H7, unsurprisingly, it sounds bassy like the newly opened box one.

 

[Monstieur]

I'm starting to consider whether I should just sell them and look for something new. It's not like they sound bad by any terms of the definition, but the microphone is severely lacking (people keeps complaining when I try to answer calls using both the H7 and H9) and the active noise cancellation on the H9 was a huge disappointment to me. And now when the newer H7 have taken a step back in sound signature, at least according to my liking and there is still a real hassle connecting them to multiple devices as the switching between devices is confusing at best so I mostly end up with just re-pairing them when going between devices I feel I could do much better.

When I bought my H7 I thought it was a solid 8/10 because of its bass response and aptX Low Latency. Then I got a Beyerdynamic Amiron Home which I rate 7/10 because the bass isn't full range and only goes down to 30 Hz. After listening to the life-like sound stage and positioning of the Amiron Home which rivals my calibrated home theatre, my H7 is now 4/10.

I don't even want to risk buying another closed-back headphone now. I am tempted to sell the H7 and get the new BackBeat PRO 2 which also has aptX Low Latency, in hopes of getting a better sound stage.

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

Will it sounds better with a DAC or wireless with apt-x bluetooth ?

I read that it souds better wireless... I want the LG V30 with the Quad DAC and expect the best sounds from it.

 

[RamGuy]

It all depends on your equipment. When using wireless/bluetooth you are utilising the built-in DAC and amplifier in the headphones and you can use the app for EQ. When using cable you are utilising the DAC and amplifier in your phone/whatever device you are connecting from and you wont be able to utilise the EQ within the app. As many phones have lousy DAC's and lots of phones, even those with good DAC's still have some issues with interference as you don't really have much room for isolating the audio components within a phone in order to avoid noise/interference as pretty much all phones are packed to the bone you might be better off with using wireless.

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

Yeah that's my question, is the built-in DAC already top notch, or you can get better sound with external DAC....

I noticed something else, the APP EQ is different from phone EQ, Phone EQ = add artificial bass, APP EQ = the headphone add more true bass, I don't know if you understand...

 

[bobcat0217]

I bought a Grey pair of H7s from the Beoplay Ebay store on Black Friday for £179 so a pretty good deal here in the UK. Thought I'd chip in regarding the Bluetooth issues and the 9.1.8 firmware update.

Out of the box mine came with the clicking noise which was noticeable but not as severe as described by some other posters. It did not however come with the ticking sound which I understand is distinct from the clicking noise. Apart from this I sometimes also had a G7 tone in the right ear cup but it was barely audible (to the point where I didn't even notice until I really listened for it after reading about it here). Anyway, connected to the Beoplay app to see my H7s were on 9.1.3. Proceeded to update to 9.1.8 and noticed the clicking noise was gone and replaced by a low level hiss which wasn't there before. For me this is much less distracting probably because I am used to the white noise of ANC headphones and I consider the sound of a Bluetooth signal floor more "natural".

Wondering if others have similar experiences after updating to 9.1.8?

 

[TooFrank]

I bought a Grey pair of H7s from the Beoplay Ebay store on Black Friday for £179 so a pretty good deal here in the UK. Thought I'd chip in regarding the Bluetooth issues and the 9.1.8 firmware update.

Out of the box mine came with the clicking noise which was noticeable but not as severe as described by some other posters. It did not however come with the ticking sound which I understand is distinct from the clicking noise. Apart from this I sometimes also had a G7 tone in the right ear cup but it was barely audible (to the point where I didn't even notice until I really listened for it after reading about it here). Anyway, connected to the Beoplay app to see my H7s were on 9.1.3. Proceeded to update to 9.1.8 and noticed the clicking noise was gone and replaced by a low level hiss which wasn't there before. For me this is much less distracting probably because I am used to the white noise of ANC headphones and I consider the sound of a Bluetooth signal floor more "natural".

Wondering if others have similar experiences after updating to 9.1.8?

 

[TooFrank]

Hi all, just for the record:
I have had my H7 for quite some time now. I really do love them and their sound. All about the "hiss or clicks", I've never experienced any "problems". However, I have never updated the firmware, so I am still on 9.0.9.
Don't know what the other updates have done anything good? My paradigm: Why update - if you're happy?
Cheers

 

[bobcat0217]

Hi all, just for the record:
I have had my H7 for quite some time now. I really do love them and their sound. All about the "hiss or clicks", I've never experienced any "problems". However, I have never updated the firmware, so I am still on 9.0.9.
Don't know what the other updates have done anything good? My paradigm: Why update - if you're happy?
Cheers

I was hoping mine were an earlier batch but unfortunately they came with 9.1.3 loaded. Apparently the updates increase max volume but also affect the sound signature. I am not too impressed with the sound of the H7s at this point. Bass is noticeably bloated, highs are harsh and mids are lacking especially compared to the H6v2. Wish I had a chance to hear a first gen batch!

 

[Monstieur]

After several software updates over the last year, I didn't hear any difference in sound. It's just placebo. The clicking was directly caused by the position of my Bluetooth transmitter. It completely stopped once I moved the transmitter to my right side.

 

[Monstieur]

I'm starting to consider whether I should just sell them and look for something new.

Get the WH-1000XM2. I tried the QC35, QC35 II, and MDR-1000X.

I found the QC35s unlistenable due to their ear-piercing treble, despite it being digitally calibrated - I preferred the H7. They had an artificially wide soundstage that must be from DSP. They were much more comfortable than the H7.

Then I tried the MDR-1000X, which was significantly better to my ears. There is no sound stage, which is actually a good thing. It sounds like an IEM. It's digitally calibrated like the QC35 but without the ear-piercing treble. The clamping force is greater than the H7 but it's still more comfortable. It's not nearly as comfortable as the QC35. It supports AAC and aptX, but lacks aptX Low Latency. I ended up ordering the new WH-1000XM2 which sounds identical.

Both the QC35 and 1000X had better and more powerful bass compared to the H7, since they are calibrated.

 

[Johnpdoe2]

I just got my hands on a refurbished pair of these at a very good price and I like how they sound! To my ears they sound a bit better wired than wireless, but I’m overall happy with the sound signature over Bluetooth. I think I’m going to keep them.

In the beoplay app where you can change the sound profile, it says ‘pinch (zoom in gesture) to widen the soundstage’ and in doing so, the headphones do quite an interesting sound effect. Is that crossfeed what I hear, or how is this achieved?

 

[Monstieur]

Is that crossfeed what I hear, or how is this achieved?

It is crossfeed, since you can hear a pure left / right test tone from both ear cups while the setting is active. It sounds fake compared to an open-back headphone which produces a similar sound stage, but using only one ear cup.

 

[MoneJone]

I just got a pair of beoplay H7 and I wanted to share my impressions. I really love the sound signature and clarity, I think they have more than enough bass to my taste (I usually prefer headphone on the bright side, so these may be a tad too bassy, but the bass is well controlled and it is not bloated or overbearing so it's actually not too bad). I don't have much experience though, and these are the first pairs of wireless can that I own (a part from them, I owned akg k550, akg y50, audio technica AD700, brainwavz HM5), but so far so good, I think they are the best sounding cans I have ever tried (and the most expensive indeed).

I have been reading a lot about ticking and clicking sound and white noise while on BT, things that I am not experiencing on mine, some said they may be related to firmware upgrades... I just paired them to my devices right out of the box and started listening and had no trouble at all. I didn't bring them outside yet, I have been listening to them in my bedroom mostly and I can't think of a quieter environment, and still I couldn't notice any "noises". I guess I will keep them as they are.

One thing I am a bit disappointed about is the lack of any kind of carrying case or even a pouch (that I know was included in previous edition of these cans). Given that they are wireless so they are meant to be used on the go, I found it weird they did not include one, considered the retail price of 329pounds. But even at 200, as they were on sale when I bought them... :/