I'm new to these high end ANC wireless headphones... i'm going to go try out the Dali io6 and the B&O h9 today... is there anything i should know about the H9?..... having to go through 102 pages would be too much in the time I have to decide
B&O H9 Discussion and Impressions thread
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I picked up a set of H9 Gen 3s on Friday. I immediately got onto B&O about a nasty glitch with the app when the H9 is paired to two devices and they've fixed that already (new version of the app rolled out Monday) which is great.
I also asked them about the possibility of a proper EQ and different sizes of ear cushions, seeing as they are detachable. Hopefully these will follow in due course.
I compared the H9 in store (with my own music) to the Sony WH-1000XM3, Bose QC35ii, Bose 700, B&W PX, Sennheiser Momentum 3, H9i and Audio Technica ANC-900BT.
They all have great ANC in the context of reducing customer chatter and A/C noises in store, but as mine are for home use only, I can't comment on planes, trains and automobiles.
In terms of sound quality, all of them apart from the H9 gave me an initial "They might grow on me......" feeling. The H9 sucked me in immediately. To quote Robert Dinero from the film 'Ronin': "If there is any doubt, there is no doubt".
H9 Gen 3 vs H9i was an interesting comparison. H9i has a lot of sibilance in the treble, which can be harsh at times. B&O have dialled that right back for the H9. They've also added a bass port in the H9 gen 3, so the bass sounds richer, tighter and deeper.
In terms of the others, I won't say too much as SQ is too subjective but my own opinions are:
Sony - Distorted easily compared to the others. Withdrawn soundstage. Subdued mids. Not in the least bit 'exciting' to listen to.
Both Bose - Clean,clear and open sound. Pretty good sounding objectively, but not enough weight in the bass for me. Treble rolls off early too.
B&W - Pretty good sound but again, not enough foot tapping excitement in the mids.
Audio Technica - A little light on bass but otherwise a really nice sound. Second to the H9 imo.
Sennheiser - I really wanted to love these but sounded a bit thin and brittle when pushed.
H9i - Chunky and funky sound but too sharp in the treble.
H9 - As above but better treble and the bass hits a little harder lower down.
The H9 is the kind of headphone you take off to check you haven't left the home cinema speakers running, they're that bassy and BIG sounding.
In terms of comfort, the Bose QC35s win hands down. The B&Ws the least comfortable, and the heaviest, and the ugliest.
In terms of build quality and styling, H9 all day long. Sony felt and looked the cheapest, like some kind of generic gamer headset.
Swipe control behaviour, the H9 can take 1st place for that as well.
My only complaint is they are 'on ear' and not 'over ear' as marketed, so there are comfort issues after a few hours, hence my request with B&O for larger interchangeable ear cushions.
In terms of volume, the H9 goes very loud with my Apple TV 4K and Mac Mini. Not so much from my iPhone 8 but that's phones for you. They are all garbage when it comes to audio.
Battery life is good on the H9. 25 Hours with ANC on but in reality I get closer to 30. The battery isn't replaceable like it is in the H9i, but it's a bigger battery to help compensate for that feature drop.
That's pretty much it. They are excellent headphones. Worth £450? Objectively no, of course not, but it's B&O we're talking about! In comparison to the others, then definitely!
I also asked them about the possibility of a proper EQ and different sizes of ear cushions, seeing as they are detachable. Hopefully these will follow in due course.
I compared the H9 in store (with my own music) to the Sony WH-1000XM3, Bose QC35ii, Bose 700, B&W PX, Sennheiser Momentum 3, H9i and Audio Technica ANC-900BT.
They all have great ANC in the context of reducing customer chatter and A/C noises in store, but as mine are for home use only, I can't comment on planes, trains and automobiles.
In terms of sound quality, all of them apart from the H9 gave me an initial "They might grow on me......" feeling. The H9 sucked me in immediately. To quote Robert Dinero from the film 'Ronin': "If there is any doubt, there is no doubt".
H9 Gen 3 vs H9i was an interesting comparison. H9i has a lot of sibilance in the treble, which can be harsh at times. B&O have dialled that right back for the H9. They've also added a bass port in the H9 gen 3, so the bass sounds richer, tighter and deeper.
In terms of the others, I won't say too much as SQ is too subjective but my own opinions are:
Sony - Distorted easily compared to the others. Withdrawn soundstage. Subdued mids. Not in the least bit 'exciting' to listen to.
Both Bose - Clean,clear and open sound. Pretty good sounding objectively, but not enough weight in the bass for me. Treble rolls off early too.
B&W - Pretty good sound but again, not enough foot tapping excitement in the mids.
Audio Technica - A little light on bass but otherwise a really nice sound. Second to the H9 imo.
Sennheiser - I really wanted to love these but sounded a bit thin and brittle when pushed.
H9i - Chunky and funky sound but too sharp in the treble.
H9 - As above but better treble and the bass hits a little harder lower down.
The H9 is the kind of headphone you take off to check you haven't left the home cinema speakers running, they're that bassy and BIG sounding.
In terms of comfort, the Bose QC35s win hands down. The B&Ws the least comfortable, and the heaviest, and the ugliest.
In terms of build quality and styling, H9 all day long. Sony felt and looked the cheapest, like some kind of generic gamer headset.
Swipe control behaviour, the H9 can take 1st place for that as well.
My only complaint is they are 'on ear' and not 'over ear' as marketed, so there are comfort issues after a few hours, hence my request with B&O for larger interchangeable ear cushions.
In terms of volume, the H9 goes very loud with my Apple TV 4K and Mac Mini. Not so much from my iPhone 8 but that's phones for you. They are all garbage when it comes to audio.
Battery life is good on the H9. 25 Hours with ANC on but in reality I get closer to 30. The battery isn't replaceable like it is in the H9i, but it's a bigger battery to help compensate for that feature drop.
That's pretty much it. They are excellent headphones. Worth £450? Objectively no, of course not, but it's B&O we're talking about! In comparison to the others, then definitely!
Hi fonefan, I currently have the H9i and am mostly happy with them. The biggest issue I have is with the touch controls: very inconsistent to the point that I usually only use the phone app to control them. I'm curious if you saw an improvement between the H9i and the H9 gen 3 in this regard? The other minor issue is with intermittent cut outs. I'm using an iPhone XS and sometimes can go hours with a solid connection, other times it cuts out several times per hour.
During the brief comparison, I didn’t notice any difference in the touch control behaviour. They both felt intuitive and responsive to me.
I’ve not had any trouble with the controls on mine yet, but I don’t use them much. I’m still not completely sold on the idea of rubbing/tapping my right ear, lol. SQ and ANC were the priorities.
I’ve not had any connection drop outs yet, not even during a 10 hour movie marathon. It’s all been very stable so far. I’ve also got a pair of H4s and they’ve never dropped out either. Could it be headphone battery level or phone related? Apple devices are normally good for Bluetooth, so I’m surprised you are having troubles, unless the XS has some quirks? I connect my 9s & 4s to iphone 8, Galaxy S9, mac mini and apple TV 4K and they work flawlessly on all of them. Sorry that doesn’t help!
For reference, I’m close to the devices (less than 3m) and never run them with less than 20% battery.
Hey all, thought I’d give my two cents worth on H9i vs H9 3rd gen. Having owned and used (and abuse - mine has scratches all over it now!) the H9i as a daily headphone for 4-6 hours a day with 50% podcasts and 50% music, I think I’m in a good enough position to give my view. I’m no audiophile by any means and do not know all the terminology but my ears are very sensitive and I know what I like and dislike. I currently use the H9i as well as the Sennheiser Momentum Truly Wireless as my ear buds when I’m at gym or running. And just for other recent history, I used and promptly got rid of both the Sony XM3 (that lasted a few days - thought I would give it a chance as everyone rave about it but my initially impressions didn’t change) and Bose 700 (not bad, but the H9i sounds better so why bother - ANC and phone calls in noisy environment is superior with the Bose though if that’s your thing).
The first thing I noticed was that the clamping force on the H9 is much stronger, and better suited to my face shape. This became obvious later when I lay both down side by side. The H9 parabolic shape is more “closed in” than the H9i. This was immediately a plus for me as I often feel the H9i is too lose on my head. I guess this one is very subjective depending on the head size and shape.
Next I tried the touch controls. I didn’t really feel any difference between the two. The design of the ring on the H9 is supposed to make the newer headphone easier for volume control but frankly I didn’t feel any different. Both work really well and there is no issue there.
Next up was the ANC. Again no real difference there, but maybe a bit better with the new one. Not a big deal for me as I use my headphones mainly in the office/at home. I never really understand the need for super ANC anyway. Even on the plane, once you have a little music on, whether you have the XM3 with its superior ANC or our B&O doesn’t really make a difference.
Finally the big one for me. Sound quality. For me the most important thing about earphones are sound quality. This is why I would never swap my Sennheiser buds for an Apple AirPod Pro even though the user experience is terrible on the Sennheiser with its battery issues. I spent an hour testing various podcasts and my usual music I listen to from Classical/baroque to some of my favourites from the 90s to some current chart favourites. One song I use to test all audio equipment is Sarah McLachlan’s Angel. I like something that can control the highs well and I find that this song test it like no other.
First up podcasts. Immediately I discovered that on podcasts, the H9i biggest sound annoyance, the over sharp sibilance especially when turned up louder, is gone! Try listening to Malcolm Gladwell on Podcast and you’re see what I’m talking about. Of course you can tune this out with the EQ on the H9i, but to get rid of it completely also makes his voice sound much flatter than the way I like it. Then I moved on to various different music. The sound signature between the two are almost identical to my untrained ears, and both have good sound stage. The H9 seems to have better control at the top end, and sounds “tighter” overall albeit only very minor difference between the two and you really have to listen for it to hear the difference. As a final piece I spent 15 mins listening to Angel on both of them. The difference is obvious here! The H9i suffers distortion at max volume in a few parts, and that is something that no matter how I tune it, has not gone away. However, the H9 out of the box has much better control of the high notes, resulting in almost no distortion at all! It was really refreshing listening to Angel on the H9, to the extend that I didn’t want to listen to it anymore on the H9i.
All in all, dispite what I have read, the H9 is not exactly the same headphone as the H9i from a sound perspective. I don’t know what B&O has done from a hardware perspective, but they certainly improved it. Perhaps this change isn’t going to impact 95% of buyers but to some the difference will be obvious. I was so tempted to just buy a H9 there and then but at $840 in Australia I just didn’t have that kind of money to waste given I already have a H9i. If I had been able to do this test when I bought the H9i, I would have happily spent an extra $200-300 extra for the new H9. So for those of you who are on the fence between the two, go listen to them and spend some time with both of them. You might come to the same conclusion as me.
The first thing I noticed was that the clamping force on the H9 is much stronger, and better suited to my face shape. This became obvious later when I lay both down side by side. The H9 parabolic shape is more “closed in” than the H9i. This was immediately a plus for me as I often feel the H9i is too lose on my head. I guess this one is very subjective depending on the head size and shape.
Next I tried the touch controls. I didn’t really feel any difference between the two. The design of the ring on the H9 is supposed to make the newer headphone easier for volume control but frankly I didn’t feel any different. Both work really well and there is no issue there.
Next up was the ANC. Again no real difference there, but maybe a bit better with the new one. Not a big deal for me as I use my headphones mainly in the office/at home. I never really understand the need for super ANC anyway. Even on the plane, once you have a little music on, whether you have the XM3 with its superior ANC or our B&O doesn’t really make a difference.
Finally the big one for me. Sound quality. For me the most important thing about earphones are sound quality. This is why I would never swap my Sennheiser buds for an Apple AirPod Pro even though the user experience is terrible on the Sennheiser with its battery issues. I spent an hour testing various podcasts and my usual music I listen to from Classical/baroque to some of my favourites from the 90s to some current chart favourites. One song I use to test all audio equipment is Sarah McLachlan’s Angel. I like something that can control the highs well and I find that this song test it like no other.
First up podcasts. Immediately I discovered that on podcasts, the H9i biggest sound annoyance, the over sharp sibilance especially when turned up louder, is gone! Try listening to Malcolm Gladwell on Podcast and you’re see what I’m talking about. Of course you can tune this out with the EQ on the H9i, but to get rid of it completely also makes his voice sound much flatter than the way I like it. Then I moved on to various different music. The sound signature between the two are almost identical to my untrained ears, and both have good sound stage. The H9 seems to have better control at the top end, and sounds “tighter” overall albeit only very minor difference between the two and you really have to listen for it to hear the difference. As a final piece I spent 15 mins listening to Angel on both of them. The difference is obvious here! The H9i suffers distortion at max volume in a few parts, and that is something that no matter how I tune it, has not gone away. However, the H9 out of the box has much better control of the high notes, resulting in almost no distortion at all! It was really refreshing listening to Angel on the H9, to the extend that I didn’t want to listen to it anymore on the H9i.
All in all, dispite what I have read, the H9 is not exactly the same headphone as the H9i from a sound perspective. I don’t know what B&O has done from a hardware perspective, but they certainly improved it. Perhaps this change isn’t going to impact 95% of buyers but to some the difference will be obvious. I was so tempted to just buy a H9 there and then but at $840 in Australia I just didn’t have that kind of money to waste given I already have a H9i. If I had been able to do this test when I bought the H9i, I would have happily spent an extra $200-300 extra for the new H9. So for those of you who are on the fence between the two, go listen to them and spend some time with both of them. You might come to the same conclusion as me.
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Would love to hear your feedback, I’m on the fence about these 2 as well.
102 pages of feedback isn't enough? 
Only your ears, hands and eyes are the judge, jury and executioner, so get yourself down to the store and listen to both. Or why not 4 or 5 pairs? All of the top players are objectively superb headphones. The H9 just has a little extra finesse.
Things to know about the H9 gen 3:
25 Hours battery life (1120mah) with ANC on.
Google assistant button on the left cup.
Swipe, rotational and tap controls on the right cup.
Dual pairing.
40mm drivers with bass port.
Competitive ANC performance, perhaps not quite up there with the Bose 700 and Sony XM3 but near as dammit.
A rich and detailed sound with no over bloated emphasis at either end of the frequency range.
Replaceable ear cups.
USB C charging (Standard 1.2M cable included).
A carry bag included (would prefer to see a rigid case at this price point but the Raiace case on Amazon is great, and cheap).
At the heavier end of the weight spectrum at 290g.
Fairly strong clamping with a firm headband, and the pads sit on your ear lobes, so extended listening comfort is an issue for some.
ANC on emphasises 30-100hz ish and 3-5khz ish (probably the key frequencies to reduce vehicle rumble and hvac drone) the net result being the mids sound slightly retracted and the bass deepens, but for me it doesn't completely ruin the SQ.
ANC 'ear pressure' feels about the same as the other top players. Some folk are sensitive to it, others not so much.
Plus some other stuff I can't remember off hand.
Oh and there's B&O app that duplicates all the right cup functions, and has an EQ.
Ultimately it comes down to priorities. If you want SQ, styling, build quality and satisfactory ANC then the H9 should be shortlisted. If the absolute best ANC is a top priority, then the Bose and Sony should be top of the list.
As per the second sentence, only you can decide.
Only your ears, hands and eyes are the judge, jury and executioner, so get yourself down to the store and listen to both. Or why not 4 or 5 pairs? All of the top players are objectively superb headphones. The H9 just has a little extra finesse.
Things to know about the H9 gen 3:
25 Hours battery life (1120mah) with ANC on.
Google assistant button on the left cup.
Swipe, rotational and tap controls on the right cup.
Dual pairing.
40mm drivers with bass port.
Competitive ANC performance, perhaps not quite up there with the Bose 700 and Sony XM3 but near as dammit.
A rich and detailed sound with no over bloated emphasis at either end of the frequency range.
Replaceable ear cups.
USB C charging (Standard 1.2M cable included).
A carry bag included (would prefer to see a rigid case at this price point but the Raiace case on Amazon is great, and cheap).
At the heavier end of the weight spectrum at 290g.
Fairly strong clamping with a firm headband, and the pads sit on your ear lobes, so extended listening comfort is an issue for some.
ANC on emphasises 30-100hz ish and 3-5khz ish (probably the key frequencies to reduce vehicle rumble and hvac drone) the net result being the mids sound slightly retracted and the bass deepens, but for me it doesn't completely ruin the SQ.
ANC 'ear pressure' feels about the same as the other top players. Some folk are sensitive to it, others not so much.
Plus some other stuff I can't remember off hand.
Oh and there's B&O app that duplicates all the right cup functions, and has an EQ.
Ultimately it comes down to priorities. If you want SQ, styling, build quality and satisfactory ANC then the H9 should be shortlisted. If the absolute best ANC is a top priority, then the Bose and Sony should be top of the list.
As per the second sentence, only you can decide.
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Comfort wise, I think H9i were a bit more comfy but that's due to being lighter, it doesn't mean the Dali aren't comfortable, they're very comfortable, I have yet to experience ear fatigue.
In regards to sound, I just found the Dali more enjoyable, more life to them, they sound amazing, been listening to different genre of music just to see how they sound, blown away each time, especially when I get to listen to movie soundtrack... some of the daft punk stuff just amazing.... sound stage is great, I think you should pull the trigger on the Dali... you'll love them....
Is anyone else getting this issue after installing version 2.10 of the B&O app (released 4 days ago) on their iPhone? Android people, do you get this as well?
The correct icon for the H9 has gone and won't come back regardless of what I try! I have reported it to B&O.
In other news, this version of the app massively stabilises the bluetooth connection when paired to 2 devices whilst using the app.
The correct icon for the H9 has gone and won't come back regardless of what I try! I have reported it to B&O.
In other news, this version of the app massively stabilises the bluetooth connection when paired to 2 devices whilst using the app.
B&O is the worst tech company on the planet for Software. Their staff should have been fired years ago. QA is non existent there, and if it were not for their awesome designed products (which I stopped buying with the H9i) the company would fail.
Software and UI is key today, and they don't get it or seem to even care to try
Software and UI is key today, and they don't get it or seem to even care to try
I suspect the software is outsourced and the two companies don't share the same core values and integrity. I've seen it all too many times working in IT for 25 years. Save a buck here, but lose 10 bucks there through loyal customers defecting because of standards dropping. B&O must have a hard enough time winning new business as it is because of their pricing, so they absolutely need to be 100% on top of the user experience - which includes the software. Fortunately for them, their fan base are somewhat forgiving due to the high build quality and styling of their hardware.
To their credit, the issues and suggestions I put forward to them were responded to extremely quickly. The latest app release appeared 3 days after I complained about it. Coincidence or not, I was impressed by that to be honest.
Poor QA is across the board these days, not just at B&O. Apple....arguably the biggest 'lifestyle' tech company in the world regularly use customers as beta testers. I know from experience how much contract testing companies charge for Q&A, and its scandalous the amount of obvious flaws they let slip through the net. Incompetence is rewarded in this day and age it seems.
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garethr
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Yep, same here. I’ll take a missing image though for the much better Bluetooth stability with the app.Is anyone else getting this issue after installing version 2.10 of the B&O app (released 4 days ago) on their iPhone? Android people, do you get this as well?
The correct icon for the H9 has gone and won't come back regardless of what I try! I have reported it to B&O.
In other news, this version of the app massively stabilises the bluetooth connection when paired to 2 devices whilst using the app.
I suspect the missing image isn’t even an issue with the app’s binary - more likely someone accidentally deleted the single image on the their cloud storage (ISTR they use Azure).
That said the option in the app to change the device colour isn’t working either!
garethr
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They’re admittedly not the best but certainly not the worst by a long shot. The new app is miles better than the old version, and given the complexity of the B&O ecosystem with the mix of proprietary protocols, legacy, and modern standards like Airplay 2 and Chromecast I don’t think they’ve done too bad a job here all things considered.
At least unlike competitors like Bose they’ve not got multiple slightly different apps for various different products.
garethr
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Fairly certain it’s developed in house and they’ve been super responsive to feedback and beta testing through the Beoworld forums.
Yeah it is better overall. The previous app couldn't run my Beolit 15s as a stereo pair for more than a few minutes, but the new app handles it perfectly.
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