[jagwap]

That's crazy given its flaws.

Not give the dollar tanked 9% in the last few months. The printing dollars to buy the way out of the Covid cluster F' will have consiquences.

 

[polymathic]

Except for the fact that the US$ has continued to rise since Jan 1, especially against the Euro, and is currently at its highest point against the Euro this quarter.

 

[MayaTlab]

In regards to the potential for sound quality differences between the HX and Portal, B&O Manchester's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BangOlufsenofManchester/videos) shows images of the design in front of the driver and it's very, very different :

HX :

Portal :

There's really no way whatsoever to anticipate exactly how each one of them will sound and they certainly won't sound exactly identically, even if B&O tries to use the DSP to EQ them to the same ballpark (which remains unknown and IMO unlikely), if only at higher frequencies where EQ has limitations because of anatomical variations. Let's hope that we'll soon see measurements from the same source for both devices.

 

[angelom]

Not very important but from a perspective of design only, the hx model is looking better than the portal model, with more sophistication (with the metal arms from the top to the sides of the ear cups, more thin earpads and more dark / discreet surface in the area for touch controls).

 

[thersites]

Not very important but from a perspective of design only, the hx model is looking better than the portal model, with more sophistication (with the metal arms from the top to the sides of the ear cups, more thin earpads and more dark / discreet surface in the area for touch controls).

It's a question of taste. The Portal's construction is simpler and might be sturdier; the straight connection to the ear cups means no pivoting toward and from the sides of the head, so B&O compensated by making the cups themselves pivot.

More importantly, I hate the touch controls (particularly the gesture for volume) because they're unreliable.

 

[tinyman392]

Not very important but from a perspective of design only, the hx model is looking better than the portal model, with more sophistication (with the metal arms from the top to the sides of the ear cups, more thin earpads and more dark / discreet surface in the area for touch controls).

Eh... I'm not sure I actually like one over the other IMO. They both look great; B&O's design language has never been an issue.

 

[tombrisbane]

Still loving my H95’s - absolutely cemented in as my perfect BT headphones. I’m also a big gamer so when I saw the portals I had to jump on them, have them pre-ordered

 

[Coztomba]

Very interested in the Portal. I returned the AirPods Max (uncomfortable), and canceled my preorder of the Penrose. One headphone that could do me for portable (don’t need them that often) and xbox would be great if they’re good.

 

[Ravencroft]

Found quite an informative video review of the HXs:
The person in the video also compares them with the H95s. I must say his verdict matches my experience with the HXs.
The video is unfortunately in Italian, but one can use Youtube's auto-translate feature.

 

[thersites]

What has your experience been? There's no English captioning available for that video.

 

[MayaTlab]

Rtings has purchased the Portal so a review should come soon. The H95 is quite high in their voting ranking so with a few extra votes it may get reviewed. the HX on the other hand still only has two votes so a long way from getting reviewed : https://www.rtings.com/headphones/suggestions

 

[angelom]

H95 & HX

 

[angelom]

Before writing this, I'm thinking waiting minimum one hour, but...

I trying listening first without updating firmware, and then after update. The sound is the same.

The h95 and hx are having VERY different sound. The difference is NOT small and is really very clear in favour of the h95. This is a big surprise for me because I expecting better sound in hx. The difference is so big / obvious, I needing less than 10 seconds for hearing the difference.

 

[angelom]

Quick notes I making after one hour:

• More full sound in h95, very more correct and realistic comparing with speakers.
• HX sounding thin. Sibilance present (probably peak in about 7kHz), snares and cymbals hurting my ears in some tracks. Never in h95
• Low end extension not so good in hx, excellent in h95
• Next/previous touch control not always responsive in hx. I understanding people complaining about this in other headphones (like hx now), yes!, but not in h95 that is 99,9% responsive. (h95 owners never mentioning how good is this aspect, and this is so very important for me)
• Carry case better (more practical) in hx even if h95 case more classy and beautiful
• Volume control so so in hx, is definitely better having physical buttons like many headphones in this case (qc35 perfect example, and best with this type of buttons). Can't comparing with fantastic h95 volume dial (for me critical aspect) that having best volume control than all headphones.
• Better ear cups adjustment in h95 for precision in fit.
• Pause feature in hx working fine and is nice having but isn't necessary.
• I preferring on-off button in h95 (feeling very, very solid) than press on/off in hx that feeling more cheap.
• I liking the more black / more dark colour of h95 than dark grey (not really black) of hx.
• HX isn't so heavy like the h95, but the h95 is feeling definitely more solid and premium.

After trying the hx, I'm again appreciating the h95 more. This happening when I trying the AirPods Max (APM) too, but I prefer the APM than hx. I'm a fanboy of h95? No (even if this post is looking like that). But a premium headphone from the same company (the hx) isn't, in my opinion, comparing very well with the excellent h95.

Independent of sound, price and features, if you liking 'bling bling', buy the hx (or better, the Portal!). If you liking more sophistication, buy the h95 (see the photo below).

 

[thersites]

The HX isn't "bling, bling." It has usable ANC during phone calls, unlike the H95. It has a transparency/ANC button that is far easier (and quicker) to use than the dial on the left ear cup. I would argue that the on/off/bluetooth switch on the HX is better than the slider on the H95 -- easier to press, and most importantly, it can't confusingly be in the "on" position when the headphones are off.

I certainly hope that the H95 has better sound! The H95s may have the best sound quality for an ANC headset -- the problem is that none of the B&O bluetooth ANC headsets have very good ANC (as compared to Bose/Sony/Apple).