[angelom]

Is 4 months and 23 days from the day that I receiving my h95.

Today I charging again. This is, I think the 10th or 11th time in 143 days (I stopping counting after 7th time), and from the second or third charging, I always doing this when the battery is 30-40% remaining (I never allowing complete depletion). I think my average is about 3-4 hours of using the h95 a day. So, about 500 hours of listening to music and so little charging times is really, really excellent, and this without using the charge 100% every time!

This is other aspect of the h95 that people don't mentioning very much (never in the APM thread, for sure) and that is big positive aspect. So, in my case, with my everyday average, the battery of my h95 will be good for many years. I think I saying this before, but after 1 month with the AirPods Max, my respect for the h95 is more strong.

 

[rael67]

I fully agree with your opinion. I‘m using the APM since 3 weeks especially in Home Office. It’s fine for connecting with iPhone, iMac and iPad. With the H95 I always have to choose headphone on the iPhone when a telephone call comes in. But the battery management of the H95 is much much better. Today I started Home Office at 7:30 a.m. with 52 % battery on the APM. At 4 p.m. there was only 10 Percent left. With the H95 you get double time of battery life. Another big issue for me is that the audiogram cannot be saved in the APM. When using my Apple Watch, I have to use factory setting. The H95 saves the in the B&O App selected sound setting in the headphone, so you have the same sound with each device. BTW I only use the optimal setting in the B&O App. And when I will enjoy music after work, the H95 is my first choice. I hope Apple will bring spatial audio to Apple TV that would be an advantage for the APM.

 

[angelom]

I fully agree with your opinion. I‘m using the APM since 3 weeks especially in Home Office. It’s fine for connecting with iPhone, iMac and iPad. With the H95 I always have to choose headphone on the iPhone when a telephone call comes in. But the battery management of the H95 is much much better. Today I started Home Office at 7:30 a.m. with 52 % battery on the APM. At 4 p.m. there was only 10 Percent left. With the H95 you get double time of battery life. Another big issue for me is that the audiogram cannot be saved in the APM. When using my Apple Watch, I have to use factory setting. The H95 saves the in the B&O App selected sound setting in the headphone, so you have the same sound with each device. BTW I only use the optimal setting in the B&O App. And when I will enjoy music after work, the H95 is my first choice. I hope Apple will bring spatial audio to Apple TV that would be an advantage for the APM.

Yes, if you, like me, having many Apple products (I have MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, apple watch and apple tv), the APM offering some good advantages (and great anc and ambient mode too), but for me the h95 isn't having only better (factory) sound, but I'm not repeating all the opinions I having of both headphones where the h95, for me personally, is a very better user experience in different aspects.

For me is still interesting that even when head-fi is audio forum (supposing the sound quality is priority!) and people in the APM thread really aren't showing interest in the h95 even when is possible trying for free for one month. But this is ok, and is maybe not big surprise, and maybe isn't bad thing at the end. (my teenager part is very happy feeling special and different!)

About the battery, yes, like I saying before, the h95 battery is really incredible. But one thing I seeing too is that I don't using my h95 for maybe 3 days in Christmas time and, if my memory is good, the battery don't changing at all or only very, very little. This isn't true for the APM, I think. (by the way, this is a very, very BIG problem with the sennheiser momentum true wireless 1st gen (IEM) where the battery finishing if you don't using for only few days, a serious problem that sennheiser fixing only until the 2 gen and this making the 1st gen selling very cheap after many reports of the problem).

I never stopping loving my h95, but like with al the devices, after few weeks or months the new 'love affair' isn't so strong. My love for the h95 growing more again a lot after I having the APM for one month (but I must giving 100% honesty because I having probably more problems that the majority of people reporting (or they're big apple fanboys!), with heat, sweating ears sometimes, irritation of skin sometimes with the earpads cloth material and discomfort after about one hour outside of my ears).

(**By the way, only now I looking your head-fi name and is "rael" not "real" so now I understating why you asking about the Genesis remasters. I love 'The Lamb' and the other early albums with PG, but I'm young and never seeing this band live with PG. But I'm very lucky I seeing the 1982 Genesis Reunion in Milton Keynes with PG (and S Hackett). This day is a really very interesting day in my memory...)

 

[rael67]

In the german hifi-Forum it is the Same. I started a H95 thread, but there were only a few comments. I don’t know why more people try this great headphone. Last week we started there a round trip with the Valco VMK 20, that means you test the headphone for a few days and then send it further to next Person, who is interested. When all persons have tested each one writes a review. Maybe such a round trip would be a good thing with the H95, I‘m sure it would get a lot of fans. BTW, the Valco does not sound bad, but it’s very cheap made and the case smells very strong. Little Bit offtopic: Unfortunately I saw Genesis only in 1987 for the first time, but I like the old songs with PG the most, they were the basis for my musical direction (together with the first Marillion Albums and Rush).

 

[polymathic]

I'm also curious why more APM users are not giving H95 a try. Well, after reading this thread, I'm getting a set of H95 and APM delivered today for some serious comparisons. Currently, my favorite ANC are the Aonic 50s for the sound quality by far (compared to what I own XM3, XM4, and Bose 700). Since the pandemic, I spend many hours on Zoom with headphones on, so expense doesn't really matter. Hoping the H95 are cooler than the SA50s.

 

[WDitters]

I'm also curious why more APM users are not giving H95 a try. Well, after reading this thread, I'm getting a set of H95 and APM delivered today for some serious comparisons. Currently, my favorite ANC are the Aonic 50s for the sound quality by far (compared to what I own XM3, XM4, and Bose 700). Since the pandemic, I spend many hours on Zoom with headphones on, so expense doesn't really matter. Hoping the H95 are cooler than the SA50s.

Keep us informed about your impressions.. Enjoy the listening sessions

 

[garethr]

I'm also curious why more APM users are not giving H95 a try. Well, after reading this thread, I'm getting a set of H95 and APM delivered today for some serious comparisons. Currently, my favorite ANC are the Aonic 50s for the sound quality by far (compared to what I own XM3, XM4, and Bose 700). Since the pandemic, I spend many hours on Zoom with headphones on, so expense doesn't really matter. Hoping the H95 are cooler than the SA50s.

The H95 has a rather large flaw when used with calls in that ANC is disabled and the transparency mode is switched on fully. You can’t change this slightly bizarre behaviour either - apparently it’s a technical limitation with how the mics are used.
The mic quality on the H95 is pretty good, although not as good as the APM, although arguably the H95 is music first and foremost rather than being a great multitasker.
The other advantage of the APM if you’re heavily into the Apple ecosystem is the integration which is supremely good.

 

[adnhussn]

Yes, if you, like me, having many Apple products (I have MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, apple watch and apple tv), the APM offering some good advantages (and great anc and ambient mode too), but for me the h95 isn't having only better (factory) sound, but I'm not repeating all the opinions I having of both headphones where the h95, for me personally, is a very better user experience in different aspects.

For me is still interesting that even when head-fi is audio forum (supposing the sound quality is priority!) and people in the APM thread really aren't showing interest in the h95 even when is possible trying for free for one month. But this is ok, and is maybe not big surprise, and maybe isn't bad thing at the end. (my teenager part is very happy feeling special and different!)

About the battery, yes, like I saying before, the h95 battery is really incredible. But one thing I seeing too is that I don't using my h95 for maybe 3 days in Christmas time and, if my memory is good, the battery don't changing at all or only very, very little. This isn't true for the APM, I think. (by the way, this is a very, very BIG problem with the sennheiser momentum true wireless 1st gen (IEM) where the battery finishing if you don't using for only few days, a serious problem that sennheiser fixing only until the 2 gen and this making the 1st gen selling very cheap after many reports of the problem).

I never stopping loving my h95, but like with al the devices, after few weeks or months the new 'love affair' isn't so strong. My love for the h95 growing more again a lot after I having the APM for one month (but I must giving 100% honesty because I having probably more problems that the majority of people reporting (or they're big apple fanboys!), with heat, sweating ears sometimes, irritation of skin sometimes with the earpads cloth material and discomfort after about one hour outside of my ears).

(**By the way, only now I looking your head-fi name and is "rael" not "real" so now I understating why you asking about the Genesis remasters. I love 'The Lamb' and the other early albums with PG, but I'm young and never seeing this band live with PG. But I'm very lucky I seeing the 1982 Genesis Reunion in Milton Keynes with PG (and S Hackett). This day is a really very interesting day in my memory...)

Generic disclaimer that "I'm no audiophile" but I've had the H95 for about as long as angelom. I've tested numerous wireless ANC headphones and given my input on the H95 earlier in this thread, generally agreeing with almost everything angelom has said in the past. Having tested the APM for a couple weeks, I have to agree yet again with angelom. The H95 lost a little of their luster over time (seems inevitable over time with any pair of headphones), but the "love affair" has been restored after my time with the APM. Don't get me wrong—the APMs sounded great for a closed back, from soundstage to that sub bass (though sometimes they sounded a little too warm and subdued), but couldn't match the clarity and detail that I find in the H95.

The APM are certainly great for those like me who are heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, but I couldn't help but feel they might've been rushed to market. From the weird smart case to the issues with battery drain when in standby, there were some questionable design decisions made. Despite factory resets and an exchange, my APM would drain significantly overnight; sometimes they failed to charge or go into standby properly while in the smart case. While the H95 isn't as seamless to pair and the forced transparency mode during calls is a nuisance, I still found that the H95 are overall more convenient, have significantly better battery life, and just seem to work better for me. In terms of comfort, I honestly found the APM quite nice, with little pressure on the top of my head despite their weight. The H95 are just as comfortable though, lighter, and I prefer their lambskin to the cloth material of the APM's ear pads.

Also another nuisance with the APM...I hated how I could only set an audiogram on my iPhone and the settings were by device, not stored on the headphones themselves. This meant the sound was a little different using my iPhone compared to my iPad or MacBook, unless I turned off my phone's headphone accommodations. I keep the H95 on factory settings, but I think the EQ settings are stored on the headphone (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

That was all a long way of saying that, while I see the appeal of the APM, the H95 are the better headphone for me. Granted, they're $250 more, of course...

 

[Verificateur]

Hi everyone!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thread and keep on top of it, as well as interact with the many people here.
Big thanks to angelom for starting and maintaining it of course. I will admit he was the motivation for me to get the B&O H95 in the first place.

So... I thought it was time for me now to make a small contribution to this thread as well, and to provide my perspective to maybe balance things a little, as someone who owns both the H95 (for two months) and the APM (for one month).

I see a lot of love for the H95 and I think it's well deserved, they are an amazing pair of headphones.

At the same time, in my opinion, I do not think it is fair to say that they are de facto better than APM, as may seem to be the case from some posts here.
It's a bit more complicated than this, and likely what made me decide to share my impressions of both.

To start off - price was not a (major) consideration for me, I simply wanted the best ANC wireless headphones that I could find.

So I started my journey buy ordering H95 online (APM was not yet available at that time), but not before also trying the Sennheiser Momentum 3, Aonic 50, Sony XM4, B&W PX7... they all went back and H95 stayed. When APM came out, I ordered them as well, as for the past 1 month I have been comparing both side-by-side in my daily routines, which include music listening (mostly EDM, indie, pop and of course classical) and day-to-day working from home needs (phone calls, VOIP conference calls etc.). Also worth noting, I am mostly an iOS/Mac user for home and a hybrid of Mac/Windows for work. I use ANC and Transparency mode regularly. Sometimes listen to Music with Transparency mode ON to be able to hear my environment.
I use both the APM and H95 with their default stock tuning and haven't done any EQ (and not planning to).

I don't want my post to be too long, so maybe I will use the bullet format to summarize my thoughts.
I will try not to repeat my findings (e.g. one's Con is sometimes another's Pro).

B&O H95

AirPods Max

Pros: * Pleasant sound signature with a more 'open' midrange, great treble * Slight edge to detail retrieval/resolution compared to APM * Simply amazing battery life, lasts about 2x longer than APM * One of the softest and most comfortable real leather ear pads * Touch controls are better implemented than the competition * Beautiful design and good choice of materials * Comfort - 7.5/10. Good comfort overall. Pads are soft and amazing but ears start feeling hot after 3 hours of wearing them, around same time I start feeling pressure from headband Cons: * They are 'windy' headphones... when ANC or Transparency modes are on, even by walking indoors I get 'wind' in my ears that the microphones seem to amplify. Outside is even worse. No such issue with APM. No such issue when H95 are used in the "Off" (Neutral) mode. * Everyone says they are amazing build quality... maybe I am too picky, I expected better build tolerances. I did not appreciate the slight 'wobble' and uneven tension of the Volume and ANC rotary dials that both my H95 pairs had (exchanged one as thought it was a defect, turns out it's normal). * Volume and ANC adjustments are sometimes hit or miss. Sometimes I have to rotate twice for the volume to adjust itself, and there is a lag. Definitely not as responsive as APM's dial. There is a technique- you have to do quick fast short motions and it helps for it to register. * A big one for me... Noise/Hiss, not a completely silent noise floor - max Transparency with low-volume music and I can hear the faint mosquito buzzing noise (maybe my ears are too sensitive?). Max ANC is much better but can still hear the 'mosquito' (again, both H95 pairs had this 'issue', so it seems the noise comes from the bluetooth module itself).

Pros: * Non-fatiguing sound signature with a more pronounced sub-bass adding an extra dimension to music * iOS/Mac integration and seamless switching between phone calls and music * Excellent/Superb build quality (better than H95! ... hurts to say this a bit) - see Cons for H95 for info * Excellent control buttons - can feel&hear each click of the volume wheel, precise gradations, don't miss the touch controls especially if wearing gloves outside * Easy one-button-click transition between ANC to Transparency or Off and to answer a phone call * Best ANC and Transparency from the ones I have tested/owned * Quietest noise floor of any ANC Bluetooth headphone I tried. ANC hiss is very light and no bluetooth buzz. Transparency mode has no 'mosquito' buzzing. * Can choose ANC/Transparency/Off for Phone Calls and VOIP calls - comes in very useful * Better Mic quality for Phone calls and VOIP calls (did A/B testing with colleagues on the other line) * Apple Care - pay the extra fee & use/enjoy/abuse them without worrying (incl. full replacement) * Comfort - 8.5/10. Huge ear cups, ears don't sweat and don't touch the mesh, no pressure on scalp from headband, heavier weight isn't noticeable as distribution is good Cons: * No ability to On/Off headphones, have to rely on Apple's always-on and hibernation-mode approach * Already bought a 'proper' Case * No way to use the headphones with 3.5mm passively (when no battery) - same issue with H95, but APM is even worse in this regard as it doesn't even allow a proper 3.5mm cable to be used...

At the end of the day... the APM turned out the better pair of headphones for me (and I do not feel like I am 'compromising' on anything by choosing them).
I do not think that it would make sense for me to keep both, so the APM will stay, the H95 will go.

Hope my impressions help someone.
Cheers!

 

[rael67]

Hi everyone!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thread and keep on top of it, as well as interact with the many people here.
Big thanks to angelom for starting and maintaining it of course. I will admit he was the motivation for me to get the B&O H95 in the first place.

So... I thought it was time for me now to make a small contribution to this thread as well, and to provide my perspective to maybe balance things a little, as someone who owns both the H95 (for two months) and the APM (for one month).

I see a lot of love for the H95 and I think it's well deserved, they are an amazing pair of headphones.

At the same time, in my opinion, I do not think it is fair to say that they are de facto better than APM, as may seem to be the case from some posts here.
It's a bit more complicated than this, and likely what made me decide to share my impressions of both.

To start off - price was not a (major) consideration for me, I simply wanted the best ANC wireless headphones that I could find.

So I started my journey buy ordering H95 online (APM was not yet available at that time), but not before also trying the Sennheiser Momentum 3, Aonic 50, Sony XM4, B&W PX7... they all went back and H95 stayed. When APM came out, I ordered them as well, as for the past 1 month I have been comparing both side-by-side in my daily routines, which include music listening (mostly EDM, indie, pop and of course classical) and day-to-day working from home needs (phone calls, VOIP conference calls etc.). Also worth noting, I am mostly an iOS/Mac user for home and a hybrid of Mac/Windows for work. I use ANC and Transparency mode regularly. Sometimes listen to Music with Transparency mode ON to be able to hear my environment.
I use both the APM and H95 with their default stock tuning and haven't done any EQ (and not planning to).

I don't want my post to be too long, so maybe I will use the bullet format to summarize my thoughts.
I will try not to repeat my findings (e.g. one's Con is sometimes another's Pro).

B&O H95

AirPods Max

Pros: * Pleasant sound signature with a more 'open' midrange, great treble * Slight edge to detail retrieval/resolution compared to APM * Simply amazing battery life, lasts about 2x longer than APM * One of the softest and most comfortable real leather ear pads * Touch controls are better implemented than the competition * Beautiful design and good choice of materials * Comfort - 7.5/10. Good comfort overall. Pads are soft and amazing but ears start feeling hot after 3 hours of wearing them, around same time I start feeling pressure from headband (reference is Denon 9200 as being 10/10 for me) Cons: * They are 'windy' headphones... when ANC or Transparency modes are on, even by walking indoors I get 'wind' in my ears that the microphones seem to amplify. Outside is even worse. No such issue with APM. No such issue when H95 are used in the "Off" (Neutral) mode. * Everyone says they are amazing build quality... maybe I am too picky, I expected better build tolerances. I did not appreciate the 'wobble' and uneven tension of the Volume and ANC rotary dials that both my H95 pairs had (exchanged one as thought it was a defect, turns out it's normal). * Volume and ANC adjustments are sometimes hit or miss. Sometimes I have to rotate twice for the volume to adjust itself, and there is a lag. Definitely not as responsive as APM's dial. There is a technique- you have to do quick fast short motions and it helps for it to register. * A big one for me... Noise/Hiss, not a completely silent noise floor - max Transparency with music is not usable due to the mosquito buzzing noise for me. Max ANC is much better but can still hear the 'mosquito' (again, both H95 pairs had this 'issue', so it seems the bluetooth module noise itself).

Pros: * Non-fatiguing sound signature with a more pronounced sub-bass adding an extra dimension to music * iOS/Mac integration and seamless switching between phone calls and music * Excellent/Superb build quality (better than H95! ... hurts to say this a bit) - see Cons for H95 for info * Excellent control buttons - can feel&hear each click of the volume wheel, precise gradations, don't miss the touch controls especially if wearing gloves outside * Easy one-button-click transition between ANC to Transparency or Off and to answer a phone call (H95 * Best ANC and Transparency from the ones I have tested/owned * Quietest noise floor of any ANC Bluetooth headphone I tried. ANC hiss is very light and no bluetooth buzz. Transparency mode has no 'mosquito' buzzing. * Can choose ANC/Transparency/Off for Phone Calls and VOIP calls - comes in very useful * Better Mic quality for Phone calls and VOIP calls (did A/B testing with colleagues on the other line) * Apple Care - pay the extra fee & use/enjoy/abuse them without worrying (incl. full replacement) * Comfort - 8.5/10. Huge ear cups, ears don't sweat and don't touch the mesh, no pressure on scalp from headband, heavier weight isn't noticeable as distribution is good (reference is Denon 9200 as being 10/10 for me) Cons: * No ability to On/Off headphones, have to rely on Apple's always-on and hibernation-mode approach * Already bought a 'proper' Case * No way to use the headphones with 3.5mm passively (when no battery) - same issue with H95, but APM is even worse in this regard as it doesn't even allow a proper 3.5mm cable to be used...

At the end of the day... the APM turned out the better pair of headphones for me (and I do not feel like I am 'compromising' on anything by choosing them).
I do not think that it would make sense for me to keep both, so the APM will stay, the H95 will go.

Hope my impressions help someone.
Cheers!

Which alternative case did you buy for the APM? And does it have a chemical smell?

 

[angelom]

Also another nuisance with the APM...I hated how I could only set an audiogram on my iPhone and the settings were by device, not stored on the headphones themselves. This meant the sound was a little different using my iPhone compared to my iPad or MacBook, unless I turned off my phone's headphone accommodations. I keep the H95 on factory settings, but I think the EQ settings are stored on the headphone (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Yes, the changes in EQ are saving in the headphone so you can using with all different devices and keeping the sound you changing with the EQ in the b&o app.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thread and keep on top of it, as well as interact with the many people here.
Big thanks to angelom for starting and maintaining it of course. I will admit he was the motivation for me to get the B&O H95 in the first place.

Thank you for your comments about me and my contributions in this thread. And thank you for your comparison even if we aren't agree in some aspects.

--------------------------

Now I want speaking about something strange AND positive that happening yesterday with my h95.

I don't using my h95 usually for calls, I preferring using my normal AirPods (AP) (not the AirPro (APP) because of quickly convenience and I don't needing ANC, so the natural no isolation of AP (like transparency mode) is perfect for my necessities.

But yesterday I having a very long (5 hours Zoom call) and the battery of my AP finishing after 4 hours approximately. So, I must changing with my h95 for continuing with the Zoom call. When I changing, I noticing that my own voice for me is sounding like in vacuum, and I think "this is strange, I know that in normal telephone calls my voice with the h95 is sounding normal because transparency is on automatically, and I like this". Then after 2-3 minutes of not liking my "vacuum voice" I noticing the ANC is actually active in my call! And I'm thinking "But this isn't possible because transparency is automatically on in normal telephone calls and WhatsApp calls".

So, I testing changing the anc/transparency dial and the two modes are working! This is meaning that in the middle of the Zoom call I can having transparency or anc on and the different levels of each of the two modes (so I choosing my normal preference of transparency on always). I remember that I and other people in this thread saying that transparency is always on and ANC isn't possible, and some people don't liking this.

So I don't know why this is 'working' now. I know I don't doing firmware update manually and I don't think is like with Apple earphones and APM that firmware update is happening in background and you don't having control of this.

Maybe this is only with Zoom or only with the Zoom app in my MacBook Pro. I will trying testing later again with normal telephone and whatsapp calls (maybe Skype call too) and see if this is changing for all or is only happening with Zoom (I don't using Teams).

 

[matteventu]

@angelom: not sure about this and whether it fits your case, but I think the ability to enable ANC/transparency is dependent on the Bluetooth profile the headphones are in (AD2P you can, HFP you can't).

AD2P is the Bluetooth profile that allows for stereo channels and high bitrate sound streaming, however it's a unidirectional profile (the headphones can only receive).
HFP is the Bluetooth profile that allows bidirectional sound stream (from device to headphones, and from headphones to device - for using the headphones' microphone), however the sound is capped at a much lower bitrate (sound quality is inferior and is in mono, not stereo), and it supports some call-specific commands (redial, reject call, etc).

AD2P is the default profile for when you stream media to the headphones (i.e. you listen to music or watch a video), while HFP is the profile the headphones are required to switch to when the software wants to access the microphone (i.e. during calls).

The change of profile is determined by the software, not by the headphones.

Most phones, don't let you easily manually change the profile (i.e. if you, with your iPhone, listen to music, it will by default ask to the headphones to use AD2P, if you instead start a call with the iPhone, it will ask the headphones to switch to HFP, and there's no easy way to change that).

On the other hand, on desktop operating systems (macOS, Windows, etc) you can at system-level override the Bluetooth profile that the application (whether it is VLC media player, Netflix, or Zoom) requests, by using the output volume panel of the OS (plus, sometimes the OS itself changes it randomly simply because their Bluetooth stack is a mess compared to mobile devices).

This means that if you start a Zoom call and the OS requests the headphones to use HFP, you can switch to AD2P while still receiving the sound of the Zoom call (but you won't be able to use the microphone of the headphones, so the Zoom call will revert to using the microphone of the laptop in case it has one) and, since you're in AD2P, you'll also be able to use ANC/transparency

Edit: also, just to add in, HFP has priority over AD2P, so when the headphones are in multipoint (two Bluetooth devices connected simultaneously) the device that asks them to switch to HFP will take control of them. If someone is having issues with multipoint while using the headphones with phone + laptop, I'd advise playing with the Bluetooth profile settings on the laptop, 80% you're gonna resolve this way.

 

[WDitters]

New version of the Bang & Olufsen app is out in beta channel... Version 3.10.0.33913

So far so good.. Things seem to be back to normal. Some more in depth listening later this evening... But the shift to left and the EQ issues seem to have been corrected, even though they are not mentioned in the change log... Connectivity issues are gone also. Connection to the H95 is actually quite swift..

 

[angelom]

@angelom: not sure about this and whether it fits your case, but I think the ability to enable ANC/transparency is dependent on the Bluetooth profile the headphones are in (AD2P you can, HFP you can't).

AD2P is the Bluetooth profile that allows for stereo channels and high bitrate sound streaming, however it's a unidirectional profile (the headphones can only receive).
HFP is the Bluetooth profile that allows bidirectional sound stream (from device to headphones, and from headphones to device - for using the headphones' microphone), however the sound is capped at a much lower bitrate (sound quality is inferior and is in mono, not stereo), and it supports some call-specific commands (redial, reject call, etc).

AD2P is the default profile for when you stream media to the headphones (i.e. you listen to music or watch a video), while HFP is the profile the headphones are required to switch to when the software wants to access the microphone (i.e. during calls).

The change of profile is determined by the software, not by the headphones.

Most phones, don't let you easily manually change the profile (i.e. if you, with your iPhone, listen to music, it will by default ask to the headphones to use AD2P, if you instead start a call with the iPhone, it will ask the headphones to switch to HFP, and there's no easy way to change that).

On the other hand, on desktop operating systems (macOS, Windows, etc) you can at system-level override the Bluetooth profile that the application (whether it is VLC media player, Netflix, or Zoom) requests, by using the output volume panel of the OS (plus, sometimes the OS itself changes it randomly simply because their Bluetooth stack is a mess compared to mobile devices).

This means that if you start a Zoom call and the OS requests the headphones to use HFP, you can switch to AD2P while still receiving the sound of the Zoom call (but you won't be able to use the microphone of the headphones, so the Zoom call will revert to using the microphone of the laptop in case it has one) and, since you're in AD2P, you'll also be able to use ANC/transparency

Edit: also, just to add in, HFP has priority over AD2P, so when the headphones are in multipoint (two Bluetooth devices connected simultaneously) the device that asks them to switch to HFP will have get control of them. If someone is having issues with multipoint while using the headphones with phone + laptop, I'd advise playing with the Bluetooth profile settings on the laptop, 80% you're gonna resolve this way.

Thank you for your post and explanations.

So, you're saying that when I'm using Zoom yesterday the h95 is receiving the audio via BT BUT I'm using the MacBook Pro (MBP) mic all the time, not the h95 mic. This is probably true because when I go in another room quickly sometimes yesterday, and I'm speaking, they telling me they can't hearing me so good until I'm close to the MBP again, but for me the audio is always good in the 2 rooms. This is happening too with my AirPods, by the way.

I will testing again with normal mobile call and WhatsApp too so I'm 100% sure, but I think your explanations are very correct. Thank you again.

 

[matteventu]

New version of the Bang & Olufsen app is out in beta channel... Version 3.10.0.33913

So far so good.. Things seem to be back to normal. Some more in depth listening later this evening... But the shift to left and the EQ issues seem to have been corrected, even though they are not mentioned in the change log... Connectivity issues are gone also. Connection to the H95 is actually quite swift..

Have they just fixed the channel imbalance (i.e. leaving anyway the new default "Optimal" preset with enlarged dot) or have they switched back to the old "Optimal" profile with small dot?