[jonprocter]

I sold my H9i when I received Sony 1000m3 - no regrets. Better sound, better comfort and way better noise canceling. H9i won only in looks departament I simply can’t recommend H9i just because of silly sound harshness, that was hurting my ears badly.

Ohhh I need to try the XM3! Seriously didn’t like the XM2 (sounded bad to my ears, they were uncomfortable with glasses on, poorly built, their ANC gave me a headache, and I didn’t like how the touch panel felt on the side with the fake leather stuff) but hopefully the XM3 are substantially better.

 

[Deivydas]

Ohhh I need to try the XM3! Seriously didn’t like the XM2 (sounded bad to my ears, they were uncomfortable with glasses on, poorly built, their ANC gave me a headache, and I didn’t like how the touch panel felt on the side with the fake leather stuff) but hopefully the XM3 are substantially better.

When I bought M2, I sent them back to amazon next day, because they sounded that bad But M3 is just different kind of animal here - better comfort, hugely improved soundstage and that bass Of course, they are far from being neutral (not audiophile headphones for sure), but I love them

 

[jonprocter]

When I bought M2, I sent them back to amazon next day, because they sounded that bad But M3 is just different kind of animal here - better comfort, hugely improved soundstage and that bass Of course, they are far from being neutral (not audiophile headphones for sure), but I love them

Yep I took mine back too (same for B&W PX - they were painful to wear for me and I’ve never returnded anything so quickly). Will see if I can pick up a pair of XM3 to try!

 

[larzy]

I can second the xm3 from Sony. I have owned P7 and PX which were some of my favorites and have also owned the Beoplay wireless range. But finally have settled (for now) on the Sony 1000xm3. They are really good and much better then the old generation xm2. As for Beoplay H9i they are more expensive but looks cool and are very comfortable to wear.

 

[Rackhour]

Flawed first impressions incoming, NOT reviews.

I intend to pick up a pair of wireless over-ears by the end of this year, and I came back from a session at a shop today with the intention of trialing the PXC 550, H9i and XM3. I went through those, as well as the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless (non-Codex, rose gold version). I can’t return open merchandise in Korea, so other than buying and selling headphones used, my other option is to just spend hours and hours at the store (fortunately something the store keepers do not mind). My sources were my iPhone 6S and my iPod Nano (last generation).

It’s also worth mentioning that ANC is not important to me and that it’s not really on my must-have list.

Coming from the ER4XR and the 598SE, I’ve come to realize that I’m no longer a basshead and prefer the ER4XR’s ever-so-slightly enhanced bass and mostly neutral sound. That realization immediately eliminated the CFW from my list. That said, I could definitely appreciate the construction of it.

So that left me with the Sennheiser, B&O and Sony. The PXC 550 felt really off with my iPod - the music definitely sounded like the bitrate took a nosedive, but it sounded fine on my iPhone. Because these were the first cans I tried today, I forgot that there was a companion app that you could use to mess with the settings, so I’m going to return another day for another extended session before I eliminate the PXC.

Then I moved onto the Sony. The Sony reminded me of the app because the moment I paired it with the phone, I got a notification asking whether I want to download the companion app or not. I downloaded it, paired the headphones, and just started listening before I messed with other settings. The music from both the iPhone and iPod sounded really veiled to my ears, and this persisted even after I went through the optimization process. My conclusion was that I would need to mess with the EQ to get the sound I wanted. On the upside, the whole idea to cup the headphone to temporarily get ambient noise is brilliant; I could see myself doing this in buses to make sure I don’t miss my stop.

So now it’s time for the H9i. And wow. I think out of the box, prior to messing with the settings, the H9i sounds the most pleasant to my ears. Interestingly enough, with ANC on, I was getting the kind of sound I was used to from my ER4XR. What really got me going “whoa”, however, was how the BeoPlay app acts like a remote for the headphones **when it is playing music from my iPod.** I also appreciated how changing the EQ was done via a more descriptive graph rather than the conventional Hz list. And it also helps a lot that the battery is removeable.

On the downside, the touch gestures on the H9i felt the worst among these three. I could not for the love of me control the volume solely on the headphone. I kept twirling and twirling to no effect, only accidentally pausing the music, turning on/off ANC or transparency mode. This was a demo unit so maybe it has some wear and tear, but that didn’t really bode well for me.

I was not able to test telephony and chatting features on any of these headphones. I intend to return in a few weeks for another extended trial. But for now, the H9i is at the forefront for me.

 

[jonprocter]

Then I moved onto the Sony. The Sony reminded me of the app because the moment I paired it with the phone, I got a notification asking whether I want to download the companion app or not. I downloaded it, paired the headphones, and just started listening before I messed with other settings. The music from both the iPhone and iPod sounded really veiled to my ears, and this persisted even after I went through the optimization process. My conclusion was that I would need to mess with the EQ to get the sound I wanted. On the upside, the whole idea to cup the headphone to temporarily get ambient noise is brilliant; I could see myself doing this in buses to make sure I don’t miss my stop.

I had the same problem with the XM2 sounds like we have pretty similar ideal sound signatures.

On the downside, the touch gestures on the H9i felt the worst among these three. I could not for the love of me control the volume solely on the headphone. I kept twirling and twirling to no effect, only accidentally pausing the music, turning on/off ANC or transparency mode. This was a demo unit so maybe it has some wear and tear, but that didn’t really bode well for me.

It takes a bit of time to get used to the touch gestures, I've been using B&O headphones for a couple of years now had the H7 briefly (didn't like the background hiss but after getting Apple AirPods it looks like that's a Bluetooth problem), and the H9 and now the H9i and now I get the gestures perfect every time I use them. Being a demo pair probably means there's some wear and tear like you said. It takes a bit of practice but I prefer the B&O touch panels to Sony's now and anything with buttons (even if I still do the swipe up/down to turn ANC on/off because that's how it worked on the H9 because they only added transparency with the H9i).

 

[Rackhour]

I had the same problem with the XM2 sounds like we have pretty similar ideal sound signatures.

It takes a bit of time to get used to the touch gestures, I've been using B&O headphones for a couple of years now had the H7 briefly (didn't like the background hiss but after getting Apple AirPods it looks like that's a Bluetooth problem), and the H9 and now the H9i and now I get the gestures perfect every time I use them. Being a demo pair probably means there's some wear and tear like you said. It takes a bit of practice but I prefer the B&O touch panels to Sony's now and anything with buttons (even if I still do the swipe up/down to turn ANC on/off because that's how it worked on the H9 because they only added transparency with the H9i).

Yeah, extended usage of the ER4XR outside and the 598 indoors has turned me into a bass liker from a basshead.

On the note of the H9i, how easy or difficult is it to get to the battery or remove the earpads? I recall seeing in reviews how you can remove them all, but I didn't want to destroy the demo unit.

 

[jonprocter]

Ohh cool! Yeah I'd say I'm a bass liker but not at the detriment of clarity elsewhere.

Pretty easily, the ear cups twist left (if you're looking at the L/R printed on the inside and then to put them back on just align the little dots on the ear cup and on the headphone itself and twist right. As for the battery, you just need to put two fingers and a little bit of pressure and twist anti-clockwise . You won't break anything trying to remove it haha

 

[Rackhour]

How long of a support period can I feasibly expect from B&O for their headphones, or the H9i in this case? Can I expect to be able to seek out-of-warranty repairs down the line?

 

[Michaelc136]

How long of a support period can I feasibly expect from B&O for their headphones, or the H9i in this case? Can I expect to be able to seek out-of-warranty repairs down the line?

That’s the downside. After about a few hours of research I found out that their customer service was horrible. They will find a way to blame you for the problem it seems.

Shoot I experienced it first hand, when I called customer service once I could tell he was ready to laugh at me.

Then two months later I get an email saying , “sorry we took so long to respond to your ticket”

Then they had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to leave a review of their service.

—
Long story short, they don’t offer the best warranty and after calling and asking they DONT do out of warranty repairs on the H9i. They will tell you to buy a new one plain and simple.

Keep in mind this is not the case for all their products only the Beoplay line.

 

[Michaelc136]

That’s the downside. After about a few hours of research I found out that their customer service was horrible. They will find a way to blame you for the problem it seems.

Shoot I experienced it first hand, when I called customer service once I could tell he was ready to laugh at me.

Then two months later I get an email saying , “sorry we took so long to respond to your ticket”

Then they had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to leave a review of their service.

—
Long story short, they don’t offer the best warranty and after calling and asking they DONT do out of warranty repairs on the H9i. They will tell you to buy a new one plain and simple.

Keep in mind this is not the case for all their products only the Beoplay line.

EDIT: it was actually 5 months they took to respond to my ticket.

 

[Rackhour]

That’s the downside. After about a few hours of research I found out that their customer service was horrible. They will find a way to blame you for the problem it seems.

Shoot I experienced it first hand, when I called customer service once I could tell he was ready to laugh at me.

Then two months later I get an email saying , “sorry we took so long to respond to your ticket”

Then they had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to leave a review of their service.

—
Long story short, they don’t offer the best warranty and after calling and asking they DONT do out of warranty repairs on the H9i. They will tell you to buy a new one plain and simple.

Keep in mind this is not the case for all their products only the Beoplay line.

That’s messed up! You’d think that for the price you’re paying, you would also get decent consumer support as part of the package!

I mean, I don’t expect them to swap out a broken pair completely for free five years down the line, but I think it’s fair to expect at least timely responses and the desire to repair for some kind of cost.

Also, what was the aftermath of the episode with CS? Were you able to get a way to have them honor the warranty, or are you no longer using the H9i?

 

[xtrocata]

I have a problem with my h9i and maybe someone could help me with telling me if it's fixable or if I should return the pair for repairs.

Every time I remove the headphone from my head and put them back on the touch pad stops working for about a minute or two. All except the pause and play gesture, but every other gesture doesn't work. It doesn't mattet if I turn then off or on, it needs a few minutes to resume normal function.

I tried disabling the proximity sensor, enabling it back, reseting the headphone, updating the softwear, leaving just the default factory softwear. Nothing helped

I have the headphones for about 5 months and this problem accured around a month ago

Is there a fix to this or should I just return them for repairs, since they're still in warranty?

 

[Rackhour]

I have a problem with my h9i and maybe someone could help me with telling me if it's fixable or if I should return the pair for repairs.

Every time I remove the headphone from my head and put them back on the touch pad stops working for about a minute or two. All except the pause and play gesture, but every other gesture doesn't work. It doesn't mattet if I turn then off or on, it needs a few minutes to resume normal function.

I tried disabling the proximity sensor, enabling it back, reseting the headphone, updating the softwear, leaving just the default factory softwear. Nothing helped

I have the headphones for about 5 months and this problem accured around a month ago

Is there a fix to this or should I just return them for repairs, since they're still in warranty?

I’d just send them for repairs. Use that warranty while you have it.

 

[Marsson]

So to kick some life into this thread When do you guys think B&O's next big pair of flagship headphones will go retail?