[winslord]

I have the H9's.
What are the differences between the H9i and H8i in terms of sound and ANC? Are they close or is the H9i decidedly superior?

How does the H8i compare to the original H9? I like the idea of folding and more compact.

I just answered that this morning man

 

[mgw01]

Did try both the H9i and H8i at Beo store today. Both are better than the H9. Went for the H8i. I like that you can fold them, they are lighter and more compact. H9i sound is more balanced than the H9. As other users have pointed out, the bass on the new headset has a better approach to sound and mimics the H6 more than a pair of brawly Beats.

As the comfort of the H8i has been improved with better and a little bit bigger cushions, I am choosing them. Sound is very good. Didn’t try out call quality.

What type of folding does the H8i allow? There's no mention of this on the beoplay website and I don't see a hinge in any of the pictures.

 

[beoneo]

What type of folding does the H8i allow? There's no mention of this on the beoplay website and I don't see a hinge in any of the pictures.

They fold flat, but they don't bend.

 

[beoneo]

I have the H9's.
What are the differences between the H9i and H8i in terms of sound and ANC? Are they close or is the H9i decidedly superior?

How does the H8i compare to the original H9? I like the idea of folding and more compact.

The H8i just felt a better buy than the H9i. With bigger muffs, the sound will have a bigger stage, but I care about the package. If I had a controlled environment without the need for ANC I would choose H9i or cabled H6, but for travel I would go with the H8i. My personal preference in any social scene, even in a work environment that allows headphones, I would prefer the sound of my colleagues and the AC.

Superior? I listened to my own Spotify list paired with my iPhone X, and based on sound I would choose H8i. ANC, I can't really tell, since I was alone in a store with a silent pair of employees. H6 is great for controlled environment, actually what I would use in an office, but not in public, in the air or while travelling at all. Form 2i has the best comfort because of the ultra light weight, but has no isolation and leaks so much you can't care about the guy sitting next to you. It also needs to be cranked up to kill the sound of an engine.

I was a bit skeptical not going for the most expensive and biggest selection, but this time it felt great to go for the H8i instead of the largest offering. I believe having buttons instead of touch will make it last longer. Again the only hardware touch interface that seems to nail it in this industry is still from Apple, the one and only trackpad.

The fold is still flat, but it doesn't bend like the Sony WH-1000XM2. I am comfortable with this selection, as I didn't like the Sony without the travel bag, which doesn't fit in any pocket of mine. I actually dreaded having a travel pack, make the headphones comfortable to have around your neck rather than forcing me to bring a bag or something like that. The H8i offers what the Sony WH-1000XM2 made so many reviewers adore it before Christmas, but in a more comfortable package. I did indeed get intrigued by the WH-1000XM2. The battery and the sound was good enough, but the heavy bass, like with the H9 turned me off. I then got the E8, it did have great sound, bad fit, but it was awful to use while travelling with engine noise competing with your music.

30 hours battery, better sound than the H9 and in a smaller package sealed the deal. I will say that the ANC on the WH-1000XM2 was breathtaking, but the touch controls sucked and the gestures was awful on the H9. They were both bass heavy and they did not feel premium. 2017 didn't have any premium wireless headphones, but this year, things have changed. You can't go wrong with either the H8i or the H9i, as long as there isn't any problems further down the road in form of quality control or weak components. Would buy both, but again, my ears are mine and your needs may be a bit different.

 

[buzzlulu]

Great write-up - very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to give a detailed explanation .

 

[nremondelli]

Can anyone compare these to the PXs? I’m between the two.

 

[anonymess]

Can anyone compare these to the PXs?

Have you read the extensive comparison I wrote in this very thread a few weeks ago? And the updated comments now I’ve bought the H9i?

I know this thread is stupidly long, but it would be very helpful if people could read back a bit.

 

[winslord]

Today I tried a direct comparison between my H9 and H9i. Here is my most recent observation. First, months ago I said that the H9 has more bass than the H7, but everything else (mid, treble) is relatively equal.

Now, today, I realized the sound of the H9i is an entirely new tuning. I think that it still got some expected B&O property; that said, the H9i has more shrill in the high. Not a welcome change for me, but probably serves the vast majority of “audiophiles” who can’t appreciate a non-ear-damaging treble.

The bass is, again tighter, but almost to the overall tone of the H7, but tighter and punchier. Not more rumbly than the H9, as contrary to what I said previously, but I love it. It doesn’t dominate other frequencies as much anymore. A higher quality and cleaner bass, if you will. In the default tuning, it doesn’t rumble like a subwoofer, but if you turn the bass up, it potentially could.

The change that matters most in my opinion was the mid. It now has more presence and weight, compared to the H9 and H7. I was originally attracted to these for the new bass port, but hey, a more powerful mid can’t hurt (pun intended).

 

[winslord]

The H8i just felt a better buy than the H9i. With bigger muffs, the sound will have a bigger stage, but I care about the package. If I had a controlled environment without the need for ANC I would choose H9i or cabled H6, but for travel I would go with the H8i. My personal preference in any social scene, even in a work environment that allows headphones, I would prefer the sound of my colleagues and the AC.

Superior? I listened to my own Spotify list paired with my iPhone X, and based on sound I would choose H8i. ANC, I can't really tell, since I was alone in a store with a silent pair of employees. H6 is great for controlled environment, actually what I would use in an office, but not in public, in the air or while travelling at all. Form 2i has the best comfort because of the ultra light weight, but has no isolation and leaks so much you can't care about the guy sitting next to you. It also needs to be cranked up to kill the sound of an engine.

I was a bit skeptical not going for the most expensive and biggest selection, but this time it felt great to go for the H8i instead of the largest offering. I believe having buttons instead of touch will make it last longer. Again the only hardware touch interface that seems to nail it in this industry is still from Apple, the one and only trackpad.

The fold is still flat, but it doesn't bend like the Sony WH-1000XM2. I am comfortable with this selection, as I didn't like the Sony without the travel bag, which doesn't fit in any pocket of mine. I actually dreaded having a travel pack, make the headphones comfortable to have around your neck rather than forcing me to bring a bag or something like that. The H8i offers what the Sony WH-1000XM2 made so many reviewers adore it before Christmas, but in a more comfortable package. I did indeed get intrigued by the WH-1000XM2. The battery and the sound was good enough, but the heavy bass, like with the H9 turned me off. I then got the E8, it did have great sound, bad fit, but it was awful to use while travelling with engine noise competing with your music.

30 hours battery, better sound than the H9 and in a smaller package sealed the deal. I will say that the ANC on the WH-1000XM2 was breathtaking, but the touch controls sucked and the gestures was awful on the H9. They were both bass heavy and they did not feel premium. 2017 didn't have any premium wireless headphones, but this year, things have changed. You can't go wrong with either the H8i or the H9i, as long as there isn't any problems further down the road in form of quality control or weak components. Would buy both, but again, my ears are mine and your needs may be a bit different.

I suggest against using Spotify. In my testing with several other people, Apple Music has the closest quality to Tidal (lossless streaming). The only difference is Tidal had more presence in the low. Through either cable and Bluetooth, I’d instantly recognize a bad quality from Spotify, even in its highest bitrate.

 

[mattbanks]

Today I tried a direct comparison between my H9 and H9i. Here is my most recent observation. First, months ago I said that the H9 has more bass than the H7, but everything else (mid, treble) is relatively equal.

Now, today, I realized the sound of the H9i is an entirely new tuning. I think that it still got some expected B&O property; that said, the H9i has more shrill in the high. Not a welcome change for me, but probably serves the vast majority of “audiophiles” who can’t appreciate a non-ear-damaging treble.

The bass is, again tighter, but almost to the overall tone of the H7, but tighter and punchier. Not more rumbly than the H9, as contrary to what I said previously, but I love it. It doesn’t dominate other frequencies as much anymore. A higher quality and cleaner bass, if you will. In the default tuning, it doesn’t rumble like a subwoofer, but if you turn the bass up, it potentially could.

The change that matters most in my opinion was the mid. It now has more presence and weight, compared to the H9 and H7. I was originally attracted to these for the new bass port, but hey, a more powerful mid can’t hurt (pun intended).

Interesting. I've always changed the TrueTone settings for H9 to boost the treble (stay on the X axis mid line, but move 50% right towards Excited/Bright) to give a sound more closely resembling the H6 gen 2. I'm curious if the base level of the H9i would sound similar to this EQ change on the H9? Do you happen to have the H6 gen 2 to compare with the H9i?

 

[beoneo]

I suggest against using Spotify. In my testing with several other people, Apple Music has the closest quality to Tidal (lossless streaming). The only difference is Tidal had more prefense in the low. Through either cable and Bluetooth, I’d instantly recognize a bad quality from Spotify, even in its highest bitrate.

Have tried switching to Apple Music, Tidal and other apps, even copied high bit-rate files from quality rips unto my devices, still I always come back to Spotify due to the fact that it is a pure music company and seems to have nailed the way I like to discover, manage and play my music.

 

[winslord]

Interesting. I've always changed the TrueTone settings for H9 to boost the treble (stay on the X axis mid line, but move 50% right towards Excited/Bright) to give a sound more closely resembling the H6 gen 2. I'm curious if the base level of the H9i would sound similar to this EQ change on the H9? Do you happen to have the H6 gen 2 to compare with the H9i?

Wow! For me, the normal tuning hurts my ear from 60% iPhone volume and up. I think now that you mentioned the H6 sounds that sharp, I guess each one of our tastes and preferences are determined by familiarity. This is probably why an editor of The Verge hates the new B&Os so much, knowing that he loves and was addicted to his H6. Also why some people love AMG N.A engines while I who grew up as a younger generation around the new ones prefer the baritonal sound of the turbocharged ones.

 

[winslord]

Have tried switching to Apple Music, Tidal and other apps, even copied high bit-rate files from quality rips unto my devices, still I always come back to Spotify due to the fact that it is a pure music company and seems to have nailed the way I like to discover, manage and play my music.

Well, can’t blame you for that. I just happen to be someone that hates most algorithm recommendations so what I do is browse Apple Music’s A-List human-curated playlists based on the genre and find what I like from there.

 

[mattbanks]

Wow! For me, the normal tuning hurts my ear from 60% iPhone volume and up. I think now that you mentioned the H6 sounds that sharp, I guess each one of our tastes and preferences are determined by familiarity. This is probably why an editor of The Verge hates the new B&Os so much, knowing that he loves and was addicted to his H6. Also why some people love AMG N.A engines while I who grew up as a younger generation around the new ones prefer the baritonal sound of the turbocharged ones.

With Apple Music, I can't get above ~50% with most songs on the H6 or H9. It's too loud for me at anything higher. With Spotify, I usually have to get up to ~75% volume.

Just to make sure I'm understanding (I need more coffee today lol) - the H9i normal tuning sounds sharper like the H6 and the tuning I use on the H9 now?

 

[winslord]

With Apple Music, I can't get above ~50% with most songs on the H6 or H9. It's too loud for me at anything higher. With Spotify, I usually have to get up to ~75% volume.

Just to make sure I'm understanding (I need more coffee today lol) - the H9i normal tuning sounds sharper like the H6 and the tuning I use on the H9 now?

No, I meant the normal tuning of the H9i sound sharper than the H9 hahaha.

Yeah, also to clarify, I meant my pain threshold stops at 60% and up of Apple Music on an iPhone.