[Wikiman616]

These are my third ANC headphones.

I had sony 1000MX3's. Two pairs of them actually, both had an issuue where I got a loud hiss in left or right ear while using ANC. I replaced first pair, got another which had the same issue, and got an refund.

I am not an audiophile, so I will not throw around terms I don't understand, but I like sound more in h9i than Sony. Sony's are very bassy and booming, that means they are more useful for movies. H9i are more detailed to me, whithout compromising on the "punchiness" of sound. But still, I give them two weeks and if my head will not get used to them, I will sell them.

 

[matteventu]

You might want to try the H4 then

 

[fonefan]

None of the B&O sets fit ‘over the ears’ unless you have tiny baby’s ears. The big oval pads on the Bose and Sennheisers don’t completely cover my ears either.

The H4 is 90% of a H9 for a lot less money.

 

[Cyrfer]

The H4 is 90% of a H9 for a lot less money.

How is the passive Isolation? better than passive Isolation of the H9? Similar strength?

Isn't the H4 pretty much a lesser H7?

 

[fonefan]

I meant more from an SQ perspective but I just tested the passive isolation differences, now that you’ve mentioned it

The H9v3 is ever so slightly quieter (both switched off). I suspect it has better ‘something’ inside them to help the ANC perform better. The H9 also has less sound leakage. That is one thing the H4 is pretty poor at actually.

The H4 goes a fair bit louder though, for those who like extra volume on quieter tracks, or to punish their ear drums!

 

[fonefan]

In all seriousness and in the interests experimentation, has anyone done any extensive comparisons of their H9 v3s wired versus wireless?

I know wireless headphones are purchased primarily for portability and convenience but humour me

You know how it is with a petrol or diesel turbo car. You like it as it is and then one day you get bored and remap it, and then you discover an entirely different car. It's the same car, but 50% better. Freed of the performance strangling emissions and longevity shackles, the car comes alive. And so it is with the H9s when freed of the onboard bluetooth DAC/amp.

I don't know if B&O have purposely held them back in the interests of battery life, or if Bluetooth is just a severely compromised audio codec/transmission method but the difference is so stark, it's hard to believe they are the same headphones. Dynamic range, frequency extension, volume, soundstage......they are all drastically improved when wired.

Don't get me wrong, they are still great daily drivers in wireless mode, but in the home and long haul flights to the far east, it's wired for me. I'm not in the least bit embarrassed using a cable on B&Os flagship headphones if it gives the sound I want It's great to have the option of wireless and wired as my mood chooses, in the same way you can have your car standard or remapped.

You would rightly think to yourselves, why bother with the H9s then, just get the H4s or H7s. Well, I already own H4s and have sampled the H7. The H9s just sound so much better than both of them. Initially I thought they were very similar after some quick comparisons, just less the ANC, but as is so often the case with audio equipment, when you find the time to really dig deep and do some extensive testing....opinions change.

Give them a go wired (and switched off), you might be surprised!

Can anyone recommend a decent headphone amp that can run off a 5V travel battery?

 

[matteventu]

Hello Guys,

I've got a couple of questions for owners of H9i (only H9i, not original H9 or H9v3), is there anybody who would be tk

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Hello Guys,

I've got a couple of questions for owners of H9i (only H9i, not original H9 or H9v3), is there anybody who would be tk

Ive had the h9i for a tiny while, whats up?

 

[matteventu]

Sorry the previous message for some reasons got cut lol.

Here's the original one:

Hello Guys,

I've got a couple of questions for owners of H9i (only H9i, not original H9 or H9v3), is there anybody who would be that kind to try these?

You need to be on the latest firmware (5.1.5).

1- Switch off the ANC on the headphones themselves, not via the app (swipe down on the control pad). Switch the headphones off. Wait 5 second. Switch them on. Is the ANC still off, or it's back on?

2- Connect the headphones to a laptop/computer via USB-C cable. Windows/macOS will detect the headphones as speaker and will also show them as having a microphone. Are you able to make the system "hear" anything from the headphones microphone?

3- Have you ever noticed the headphones' battery level reported in different places (natively from iOS/Android, from the B&O app, and other places...) not to be consistent (i.e. in Android settings you are the headphones' battery is at 60%, but if you open the B&O app it shows the battery has 70% of charge) ?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Sorry the previous message for some reasons got cut lol.

Here's the original one:

Hello Guys,

I've got a couple of questions for owners of H9i (only H9i, not original H9 or H9v3), is there anybody who would be that kind to try these?

You need to be on the latest firmware (5.1.5).

1- Switch off the ANC on the headphones themselves, not via the app (swipe down on the control pad). Switch the headphones off. Wait 5 second. Switch them on. Is the ANC still off, or it's back on?

2- Connect the headphones to a laptop/computer via USB-C cable. Windows/macOS will detect the headphones as speaker and will also show them as having a microphone. Are you able to make the system "hear" anything from the headphones microphone?

3- Have you ever noticed the headphones' battery level reported in different places (natively from iOS/Android, from the B&O app, and other places...) not to be consistent (i.e. in Android settings you are the headphones' battery is at 60%, but if you open the B&O app it shows the battery has 70% of charge) ?

Thanks a lot!

1. it should technically be off due to the headphones having some kind of memory for what is on or off.
2. I have not connected the headphones to my computer via usb-c cable so i can't answer this question
3. yes, i noticed at the time the headphones would usually say they have less power via my android phone (sony xperia at the time, now i have a samsung note9) than in the b&o app. make sure the app is up to date to the latest firmware and that the android device you're using is also up to date on the latest firmware. that being said, i find the phone has a better battery % reading than the app. so trust the phone more than the app.

 

[Demis013]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share a small update. After my 4th or 5th (I honestly lost count) issue with a H9i, I contacted B&O customer service once again. They were very helpful and understanding, and offered to swap my H9i for a H9 3rd gen. I agreed with the offer, since I completely lost trust in getting a fully working H9i ever again. The issue with my last H9i was that every now and then the headphone wouldn't turn off. If you'd turn the switch, it would stay on as if you hadn't touched it. Anyways, the story with the H9i is over now, and I've been trying out the H9 3rd gen for a few days now and I thought you'd be interested in some of my findings

- H9 3rd gen definitely has a more comfortable headband and slightly more comfortable earcups (even though I didnt have any issues with the H9i's earcups)

- ANC is slightly better, but more importantly: the sound with ANC on doesn't change nearly as much as with the H9i; I'd go as far as saying that there's barely any difference anymore between ANC on or off. This is the biggest plus between the 2 models in my opinion.

-The soundstage is rich, but more neutral than the H9i's. I had gotten so used to the H9i's punchy and vibrant sound that my ears had to adjust to the more neutral H9 3rd gens. But after listening to them for quite a few days now, it makes me realize how fatiguing the H9i's brightness could be for my ears from time to time. I can listen to the 3rd gens for many more hours without any problem.

-Didn't notice any difference with regards to the touch controls, they respond exactly the same as on the H9i's in my experience

-The app is (still) finicky

That's it basically. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[matteventu]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share a small update. After my 4th or 5th (I honestly lost count) issue with a H9i, I contacted B&O customer service once again. They were very helpful and understanding, and offered to swap my H9i for a H9 3rd gen. I agreed with the offer, since I completely lost trust in getting a fully working H9i ever again. The issue with my last H9i was that every now and then the headphone wouldn't turn off. If you'd turn the switch, it would stay on as if you hadn't touched it. Anyways, the story with the H9i is over now, and I've been trying out the H9 3rd gen for a few days now and I thought you'd be interested in some of my findings

- H9 3rd gen definitely has a more comfortable headband and slightly more comfortable earcups (even though I didnt have any issues with the H9i's earcups)

- ANC is slightly better, but more importantly: the sound with ANC on doesn't change nearly as much as with the H9i; I'd go as far as saying that there's barely any difference anymore between ANC on or off. This is the biggest plus between the 2 models in my opinion.

-The soundstage is rich, but more neutral than the H9i's. I had gotten so used to the H9i's punchy and vibrant sound that my ears had to adjust to the more neutral H9 3rd gens. But after listening to them for quite a few days now, it makes me realize how fatiguing the H9i's brightness could be for my ears from time to time. I can listen to the 3rd gens for many more hours without any problem.

-Didn't notice any difference with regards to the touch controls, they respond exactly the same as on the H9i's in my experience

-The app is (still) finicky

That's it basically. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

So can you confirm that the sound of the H9i sounder brighter to you?

 

[Demis013]

So can you confirm that the sound of the H9i sounder brighter to you?

Most definitely.

 

[hifinoob005]

The H7 pads finally arrived (via B&O). Only used them with the H9i for a few hours.
Did not like the sound. Less bass, more boomy, less tight, more distant sound and a general loss of dynamics. Put the original pads to compare. Then when I put the H7 pads again I tried to see if they fit better. So I pressed and they went deeper on the cylinder that hold the speaker. On the cylinder, where the pads go over, there is less space than with the original pads. With the second fitting, the space is not uniform around the cylinder between the pads and where the cylinder ends and a 90 degree piece of the casing.

LE: managed to get the space between the pads and the 90 degree casing uniform.

With the new fitting, can't tell if there is a difference between the original and H7 pads. There might be less tightness/punchiness in the bass, and the sound might still sound distant. But I can't really tell. They sound great with the H7 pads.

Finally got the H9i's a few weeks ago.

In the showroom they were nice, but at home comparing them to the 380Pro's and HTF600's less so.
Out of the Xonar DGX/Mojo they have less lower base, tighter base, more present highs. Much narrower sound stage. Less muddy than the 380's in distinguishing separate instruments. Still muddy in audio with "crowded" instruments/vocals. But very similar to the 380Pro's. If anything, this made me appreciate the 380's more.

Not comfortable, for me. Depth is 25mm. I plan on getting a pair of H7 pads that have 29mm.

I'd like to add they are still fun headphones.

The H7 pads still touch my ears, but are much more comfortable than the original.

LE2: I was wondering why the pads still touch my ears. So I measured them. Turns out the depth measurements given by B&O are inaccurate. For the H9i, the total pad thickness is 25mm, but the usable depth (to the mesh) is 18mm. The H7 pads have 22-23mm depth, and total thickness of 29mm.

BeoPlay H9i

• 18 mm depth, total pad thickness 25mm
• 90mm diameter
• 46mm inner diameter

BeoPlay H7

• 22-23 mm depth, total pad thickness 29mm
• 90mm diameter
• 46mm inner diameter

BeoPlay H9 cushions does not fit on a BeoPlay H9i or BeoPlay H7.

B&O H4
89 mm exterior
54.8 mm interior
(claimed) 20 mm (+/-2mm) depth.

 

[NY24]

When can we expect 4th gen version ?