B&O H9 Discussion and Impressions thread

[matteventu]

Officially unveiled the successor of the H9 series: Beoplay HX https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/headphones/beoplay-hx

Main differences:
- new button layout (finally gets rid of the fiddly on/off switch that has failed to many people), but still keeps media controls via touchpad
- not 100% sure, but it seems ear cushions are not replaceable
- new headband leather design inspired by H4/H95 (which is not necessarily a good thing, as it's glued instead of stitched)
- improved headband padding for better comfort
- 4 mics for calls (vs 2), same configuration as the H95
- more battery life (35 vs 25 hrs with ANC ON, 40 vs 32 hrs with ANC OFF)
- has a "mute" button/gesture (still not clear) for voice calls
- it seems all the metallic parts are made out of aluminium (vs some in stainless steel)
- same "Bluetooth platform" as H95 (BT 5.1, aptX Adaptive, Microsoft SwiftPair, Google Fast Pair, MFi)
- loses official Google Assitant built-in integration, goes back to standard Voice Assistant integration
- not clear whether the battery is as easily serviceable as with the H9 3rd Gen (which don't have it swappable like the H9i, but still it's fairly easy to replace)
- loses aptX Low Latency (replaced by aptX Adaptive, which is however not nearly as widespread)
- they come with a proper fabric carrying case
- they come with a 3-year warranty

Same price as H9 3rd Gen.

We'll have to wait for someone to purchase them to talk about differences in sound signature, as I'm 100% all the reviews and YouTube unboxing/ads will be totally clueless about that.

Should we create a new official thread for them? Any volunteers?

 

[fonefan]

I’ll wait for the inevitable switch failure on my second set of gen 3s and swap to the HX under warranty

I certainly wouldn’t ‘buy’ the HX as a gen 3 replacement!

 

[fonefan]

Also seems like the HX has variable ANC vs fixed on the gen 3. Still not a compelling upgrade for gen 3 owers imo.

 

[matteventu]

Unfortunately, confirmed that Beoplay HX don't work in passive mode
https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc...he-Beoplay-HX-battery-have-no-battery-charge-

 

[Ravencroft]

I ordered them yesterday. I wonder how they compare to the H9s (3rd gen) and H95s in terms of sound quality.

 

[matteventu]

I ordered them yesterday. I wonder how they compare to the H9s (3rd gen) and H95s in terms of sound quality.

What other headphones do you own and can compare them to?

 

[Ravencroft]

What other headphones do you own and can compare them to?

I have Sennheiser Momentum 3 (which I got last year after comparing them with Sony XM3s and B&W PX7).

 

[meomap]

Hi,
Curious about H9 3rd Gen, on sale now due to HX coming out.
Own MD mw65 right now. Also Sony XM3 and XM4....
Anybody having both and would like your impressions or comparison would be greatful.....

 

[matteventu]

Hi,
Curious about H9 3rd Gen, on sale now due to HX coming out.
Own MD mw65 right now. Also Sony XM3 and XM4....
Anybody having both and would like your impressions or comparison would be greatful.....

H9 3rd Gen are more balanced in sound than both MW65 and WH-1000XM3.
Design wise, built wise, better than both.
Depending on the devices you use them with and on what media you play, you may have better codec support (H9 have aptX Low Latency, which both M&D and Sony lack).
ANC should be similar to M&D, Sony is way better.

Comfort-wise, they're heavier than Sony and not as much comfortable, but they're still - generically speaking - a quite comfortable headphones.

 

[meomap]

H9 3rd Gen are more balanced in sound than both MW65 and WH-1000XM3.
Design wise, built wise, better than both.
Depending on the devices you use them with and on what media you play, you may have better codec support (H9 have aptX Low Latency, which both M&D and Sony lack).
ANC should be similar to M&D, Sony is way better.

Comfort-wise, they're heavier than Sony and not as much comfortable, but they're still - generically speaking - a quite comfortable headphones.

Thank you.

 

[Ravencroft]

H9 3rd Gen are more balanced in sound than both MW65 and WH-1000XM3.
Design wise, built wise, better than both.
Depending on the devices you use them with and on what media you play, you may have better codec support (H9 have aptX Low Latency, which both M&D and Sony lack).
ANC should be similar to M&D, Sony is way better.

Comfort-wise, they're heavier than Sony and not as much comfortable, but they're still - generically speaking - a quite comfortable headphones.

I completely agree with the assessment of the sound quality, butI had a slightly different experience regarding the comfort. The most comfortable headphones I have tried so far were the horrendous Bose QC35s, followed by the H9 (3rd gen). The headband on the XM3s was causing quite some discomfort.

 

[meomap]

I completely agree with the assessment of the sound quality, butI had a slightly different experience regarding the comfort. The most comfortable headphones I have tried so far were the horrendous Bose QC35s, followed by the H9 (3rd gen). The headband on the XM3s was causing quite some discomfort.

Well, thank you both of you.
Just placed my order now.
Wait and see....then

 

[darkxvx]

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/03...x-bang-and-olufsen-beoplay-portal-headphones/

These look very similar to the HX. Besides maybe dual pairing for Bluetooth, I wonder if there are any sound quality differences.

 

[matteventu]

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/03...x-bang-and-olufsen-beoplay-portal-headphones/

These look very similar to the HX. Besides maybe dual pairing for Bluetooth, I wonder if there are any sound quality differences.

They're much better than the HX, which is quite disappointing.

Much more features that are not necessarily gaming-related and that would have fit the HX as well.

 

[Ravencroft]

They're much better than the HX, which is quite disappointing.

Much more features that are not necessarily gaming-related and that would have fit the HX as well.

I had a nice long chat with the B&O customer support. They told me that in terms of sound and mic quality, the HX and the Portal should be quite similar. The Dolby Atmos in Portal works only for games and only in Win 10 and Xbox. And the HX benefit from the battery life. So personally, being in apple ecosystem the Portal would make no sense. But if someone has Xbox and/or windows machine, then I guess Portal would make more sense... I still wish I could compare them both myself.

On a side note, I went to the local store and compared my new HXs with the H95s and H9 (3rd gen), and I must say they are quite close to the H95s (bear in mind that I'm no audiophile by any stretch of the imagination) and much better than the H9 (3rd gen).