We can do this together - I'm also looking for quality wireless over-ears and for similar reasons, and I too don't need ANC! Let me copy and paste a different impression post I made earlier today:
I intend to pick up a pair of quality 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.
The H9i is more than $400, but Amazon has the black one on sale at $360.
