[chriscym]

Hi Guys, I have a decision to make, which one would you guys would pick if you had to pick one?

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I have the B&O H6 (Gen2) and I personally love the B&O house sound.
I've tried the newest H9 Gen 3 and they're great! a little heavier than the H6 in terms of weight due to having an inboard battery.
The pads are just as soft and comfortable and if anything a bit more plush and better sealing than my used H6.

Has room for a 3.5mm aux and has USB-C !!!!!!! (thank god).
Mic quality is pretty good for in-cable mics.
ANC i didn't really use as its a feature i don't personally care for. But, I've heard from friends the Sony WH-1000XM3 is the best ANC on the market at the moment.

It's a better buy than the B&W PX7, i've tried them on and they're no comfortable, they give me a sore spot on the head and the ear pads feel more firm and less plush than the H9.

B&O is 10x better in sound+build than B&W.

 

[Makyo]

Tsukuyomi, are you sure you tried the PX7 and not the PX? I ask because the PX7 hasn't been released yet. Was it at a trade show? I owned the PX and they are just as you described in terms of discomfort. I'm really hoping the updated PX7 will improve on that significantly. That's what Bowers & Wilkins set out to do.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Tsukuyomi, are you sure you tried the PX7 and not the PX? I ask because the PX7 hasn't been released yet. Was it at a trade show? I owned the PX and they are just as you described in terms of discomfort. I'm really hoping the updated PX7 will improve on that significantly. That's what Bowers & Wilkins set out to do.

It was the PX, but ive seen things on the PX7 and it looks like they're keeping the same design ques. ive owned the B&W P5, P7 and tried the P9. thats B&Ws design, they use harder leather thats a lot firmer. B&O uses sheep skin so its always so plush and soft. they use better materials. B&O to me is a better quality maker than B&W.

 

[Dobber227]

I tried the PX7's and they are much more comfortable than the PX's. I've never found them to sound that great though. I currently own Momentum HD1's and love the detailed sound and I also just ordered the H9 3rd gens so I'm excited to compare them and then compare both with the PX7's at best buy. I'll add my recommendation once I get the H9's. I know my Momentum HD1's sound better than the PX7's at Best Buy so I assume the H9's will be my recommendation.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

B&O is 10x better in sound+build than B&W.

LOL. No.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

LOL. No.

Hate to disappoint but yes, B&W has been known to go for a more aggressive V shaped FR curve.
where as B&O is also shaped, but not nearly as aggressive.

 

[Dobber227]

Going to be honest, the Momentum 3's kill both of them in just about every area. I picked up the Momentum 3's a week or two ago and already sold my h9 3rd gen they were that much better. Drastic improvement over even the HD1's which already sounded good. I really liked the sub-bass on the h9s but the details and vocals pale in comparison to the new momentums. If you tune it right the momentum 3s can almost pick up that low bass like the h9s while providing the clarity and detail I love. When you listen to a song like Chris Stapelton's Death Row it literally comes to life when you listen to it on the momentum 3s. You don't realize all the detail you miss even wearing a set of 500 h9 3rd gens until you then listen to the same song on the Sennheisers. I considered keeping the h9 and my HD1 since both had different aspects I liked but the momentum 3s covered 95% of what I could get from both those.

 

[Mhog55]

Going to be honest, the Momentum 3's kill both of them in just about every area. I picked up the Momentum 3's a week or two ago and already sold my h9 3rd gen they were that much better. Drastic improvement over even the HD1's which already sounded good. I really liked the sub-bass on the h9s but the details and vocals pale in comparison to the new momentums. If you tune it right the momentum 3s can almost pick up that low bass like the h9s while providing the clarity and detail I love. When you listen to a song like Chris Stapelton's Death Row it literally comes to life when you listen to it on the momentum 3s. You don't realize all the detail you miss even wearing a set of 500 h9 3rd gens until you then listen to the same song on the Sennheisers. I considered keeping the h9 and my HD1 since both had different aspects I liked but the momentum 3s covered 95% of what I could get from both those.

Can you describe the sonic differences you're hearing between the HD1 and new Momentums?

 

[Mhog55]

I have the B&O H6 (Gen2) and I personally love the B&O house sound.
I've tried the newest H9 Gen 3 and they're great! a little heavier than the H6 in terms of weight due to having an inboard battery.
The pads are just as soft and comfortable and if anything a bit more plush and better sealing than my used H6.

Has room for a 3.5mm aux and has USB-C !!!!!!! (thank god).
Mic quality is pretty good for in-cable mics.
ANC i didn't really use as its a feature i don't personally care for. But, I've heard from friends the Sony WH-1000XM3 is the best ANC on the market at the moment.

It's a better buy than the B&W PX7, i've tried them on and they're no comfortable, they give me a sore spot on the head and the ear pads feel more firm and less plush than the H9.

B&O is 10x better in sound+build than B&W.

How close are the H9 gen 3 and H6 sonically? Can talk about the differences? The H6 was my 1st portable can, and I chose and preferred it over the Momentums.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Hate to disappoint but yes, B&W has been known to go for a more aggressive V shaped FR curve.
where as B&O is also shaped, but not nearly as aggressive.

First, your preferred sound signature is subjective. Second, I bet you’ll find very few members of this forum or online reviewers that would agree with you that the B&O sounds better than B&W, let alone the laughable “10x better” claim.

Ditto on build quality.

Neither of your assertions hold weight, objectively speaking. You may prefer the B&O sound. Great. But B&O doesn’t make a 10x better product than B&W in this universe or any other.

 

[Mhog55]

First, your preferred sound signature is subjective. Second, I bet you’ll find very few members of this forum or online reviewers that would agree with you that the B&O sounds better than B&W, let alone the laughable “10x better” claim.

Ditto on build quality.

Neither of your assertions hold weight, objectively speaking. You may prefer the B&O sound. Great. But B&O doesn’t make a 10x better product than B&W in this universe or any other.

You made a point of disagreeing with his claim, so in a since, you're doing the same thing. Clearly you prefer the B&W, because yes, it is completely subjective. His 10X better claim is indeed outlandish, however your claim that very few members or reviewers would support the idea that they prefer the B&O. You said it yourself, it's subjective, and that's why reviews mean jack crap. We like what we like, but nobody gets to claim with any certainty that one is better than the other.

 

[Dobber227]

Can you describe the sonic differences you're hearing between the HD1 and new Momentums?

I just did a quick test between both of them (HD1 and Momentum 3). I didn't have much time so I did my favorite test track Death Row and then Stay With Me by Brett James (it's on YouTube, has a full orchestra and is another great song for listening to headphones, and a great song in general). There are 2 big differences. The 3's have a wider sound stage, and they are much better with bass. I like the sound of the HD1's, but after listening to the 3's I almost feel like I'm listening to music from a can on the HD1's. Then I put the 3's back on the world opens up. The 3's have fantastic clarity and accuracy. You can hear when Chris slides his finger on his guitar string on Death row or other live tracks it's so accurate. You don't hear that or with near as much detail on almost any other can except maybe the M&D MW65. The MW65's also have almost no bass when I listened to them and were very bright sounding so those were out right away. When it comes to bass and midrange, the HD1's are punchy with a good amount of bass. The bass on the 3's just sounds and feels more full, and it gets deeper than the HD1's. If you tune them with an EQ, the bass gets even more amazing. I'm not sure if it's the larger drivers, but the 3's sound more dynamic and you feel the music much more.


A couple other notes:

The 3's are way more comfy than the HD1's and slightly more than the H9's. The ear cups are much larger on the 3's, my ears actually fit inside very nicely. I was fine with how they were on the HD1's but now after wearing the 3's, I really don't like how the HD1's feel as much with the smaller ear cups. The h9's were comfy, but for some reason every now and then they would rub against the back of my right ear and couldn't get comfy. Padding on the top of the HD1 is a joke, which always drove me nuts. Padding on the H9 is better but still a bit rigid and would start to cause soreness on the top of my head after hours of wearing (I wear headphones almost all day at work, so unless I decide to use my earpiece for meetings I will wear them up to 7 hours a day or so). The padding on the 3's is wider and memory foam so for me is significantly more comfortable than either. The 3's do start to make the top of my jaw ache after a while where the bottom of the ear pads sit which is my only big complaint with them aside from the crap battery life.


One last thing, I'm not a Sennheiser fan boy even if it sounds like it... I genuinely look for the best wireless headphones out there and have listened to a lot of wireless headphones trying to find that perfect set. I really wanted to like the H9's more and I was fine with them until I got the Momentum 3's. I then realized that even though he H9's are probably the best on bass, or at least the sub-bass that I've really not heard on any other wireless headphones, I was missing a lot of the song with the H9's. Some people like that sound, I prefer a more vibrant sound than the H9.


So there's my take. I know all of our ears are tuned differently so my take is subjective to my ears, but for what I like the Momentum 3's are the closest thing to perfection to me.

 

[Dobber227]

You made a point of disagreeing with his claim, so in a since, you're doing the same thing. Clearly you prefer the B&W, because yes, it is completely subjective. His 10X better claim is indeed outlandish, however your claim that very few members or reviewers would support the idea that they prefer the B&O. You said it yourself, it's subjective, and that's why reviews mean jack crap. We like what we like, but nobody gets to claim with any certainty that one is better than the other.

You are exactly right. Our ears are all tuned differently. When I say I love the Momentum 3's and the next guy says they sound like crap, based on our subjective ears we could both be correct.... Reviews almost carry more weight in regards to comfort and build quality. Plus, when you have people reviewing who are coming from a pair of Skullcandys or beats almost anything is going to sound fantastic, so there's another reason reviews don't hold much weight.

 

[Mhog55]

I just did a quick test between both of them (HD1 and Momentum 3). I didn't have much time so I did my favorite test track Death Row and then Stay With Me by Brett James (it's on YouTube, has a full orchestra and is another great song for listening to headphones, and a great song in general). There are 2 big differences. The 3's have a wider sound stage, and they are much better with bass. I like the sound of the HD1's, but after listening to the 3's I almost feel like I'm listening to music from a can on the HD1's. Then I put the 3's back on the world opens up. The 3's have fantastic clarity and accuracy. You can hear when Chris slides his finger on his guitar string on Death row or other live tracks it's so accurate. You don't hear that or with near as much detail on almost any other can except maybe the M&D MW65. The MW65's also have almost no bass when I listened to them and were very bright sounding so those were out right away. When it comes to bass and midrange, the HD1's are punchy with a good amount of bass. The bass on the 3's just sounds and feels more full, and it gets deeper than the HD1's. If you tune them with an EQ, the bass gets even more amazing. I'm not sure if it's the larger drivers, but the 3's sound more dynamic and you feel the music much more.


A couple other notes:

The 3's are way more comfy than the HD1's and slightly more than the H9's. The ear cups are much larger on the 3's, my ears actually fit inside very nicely. I was fine with how they were on the HD1's but now after wearing the 3's, I really don't like how the HD1's feel as much with the smaller ear cups. The h9's were comfy, but for some reason every now and then they would rub against the back of my right ear and couldn't get comfy. Padding on the top of the HD1 is a joke, which always drove me nuts. Padding on the H9 is better but still a bit rigid and would start to cause soreness on the top of my head after hours of wearing (I wear headphones almost all day at work, so unless I decide to use my earpiece for meetings I will wear them up to 7 hours a day or so). The padding on the 3's is wider and memory foam so for me is significantly more comfortable than either. The 3's do start to make the top of my jaw ache after a while where the bottom of the ear pads sit which is my only big complaint with them aside from the crap battery life.


One last thing, I'm not a Sennheiser fan boy even if it sounds like it... I genuinely look for the best wireless headphones out there and have listened to a lot of wireless headphones trying to find that perfect set. I really wanted to like the H9's more and I was fine with them until I got the Momentum 3's. I then realized that even though he H9's are probably the best on bass, or at least the sub-bass that I've really not heard on any other wireless headphones, I was missing a lot of the song with the H9's. Some people like that sound, I prefer a more vibrant sound than the H9.


So there's my take. I know all of our ears are tuned differently so my take is subjective to my ears, but for what I like the Momentum 3's are the closest thing to perfection to me.

Is it pretty much just the low end you like better on the 3s? I didn't care for the mids on the HD1. They sounded a bit soft and too recessed for me.