I'd like to briefly share my search of several months for the "perfect" pair of headphones. Maybe it will help one or the other.
As a teenager I owned Denon and Sennheiser HD, until at some point I came across the B&O H7 and kept them for a long time. After a few years, however, I wanted to upgrade and real Active Noise Cancelling.
On Prime Day it was then the XM4 and XM5. First happy with the incredible good ANC, I'm stuck with the XM5 and still researched further. Various YouTube videos have praised the Px8. I couldn't resist and bought the Px8 for comparison. I wanted to hear it with my own ears, plus the XM5s became a bit uncomfortable on my ears as the non-angled drivers in the ear cup flattened my ears uncomfortably.
So now back to the B&W Px8s: wow. The comfort was unbelievably good, the sound other-worldly like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I was rediscovering my sound library. I got more curious, wanted more and got the B&O H95. The sound is for my taste even better than that of the Px8, the sub bass and the operation just terrific, even if the comfort was then not as good as the Px8. Tried the AirPods Max in parallel, but after a few hours it was clear: the AirPods Max are more of a fashion statement with good ANC and transparency mode. The comfort wasn't there (I felt like I had little weights to the left and right of my head). The sound was also artificial rather than warm and well tuned. At the store store, I had also tried the Momentum 4 and Px7 S2.
After much wrestling, I decided to go with the H95. All the remaining pairs of headphones had to go back. But what still bothered me... the yet rather weak ANC, which is why I was originally looking for headphones. In terms of comfort, the H95 are really good, but also not the lightest headphones.
Now appeared the Bose QuietComfort in my favorite color green and the QC Ultra. Before I decide for the B&O H95 final, I had to check again: Can the H95 stand up to the new Bose QuietComfort? I don't think so. But the Quiet and Comfort in the name kept me curoius.
I was surprised. The Ultra was a huge bummer, with heavy EQ-ing I didn't get them sounding good. But with the regular QC, the race in terms of sound is close, but the difference is there: the B&O present the sub-bass clearer and deeper, less punchy than the B&O. With the Bose you can feel the bass pressure, with B&O the headphones purr more. The overall soundstage of the B&O seems closer, the sound is transported more delicate and thoughtful on a silver platter. Not that the regular Bose QC are bad. No, on the contrary, I'm pleasantly surprised and for a long time wondered if the difference was big enough for me to justify keeping both headphones.
And yes, it is. I'll keep the B&O H95s for evenings on the couch when I want the maximum premium experience in feel and audio. For everything else, the Bose QuietComfort will be my to-go headphones: for on the go and at work, or when I want a little more quiet or long audio-sessions.
Hi there , wow what a journey , very similar to mine
Please have a look at the Focal Bathys and the Mark Levinson 5909, I have these and the H95 and XM5+XM4 and the Airpod Max , also upgraded my B&O H9i to the H95 wow what a difference .
Just tried the 5909’s in a busy shopping centre cafe , lots of conversations going on , needless to say I was really impressed by the level of noise cancellation together with the honey liquid sound from the 5909
In no way did the surrounding noise distract me from the sweet sound !!
I mostly listen to female vocal though and the 5909 are perfect for this , it has comparable sound like a high end Hifi system , more detail than the the Focal and the H95.
So I have now reached my personal “End Game” Bluetooth/ANC headphones !!!
Soo happy
This will be the one I will be wearing daily , on a train , on a plane and just walking around in shopping centres and coffee shops.
The sound was so good sitting in the cafe , I just had to close my eyes and get lost in the music !!, that’s when you know you have achieved audio Bluetooth nirvana !!
Unfortunately the Bathys and H95 don’t have the level of noise cancellation that the 5909s have as I see the 5909’s have the best passive isolation out of all the headphones I own , so I cannot enjoy the music as much which is my goal for a portable Bluetooth headphone , to be able to listen to great sounding music in challenging noisy environments .
I have wired ones connected to headphone amp and dac for listening at home so don’t need to listen to these in quiet environments.
Still breaking the 5909’s in but I am loving the journey , just trying qobuz now as the 5909’s came with a free 3 months subscription , sounds great a bit more open and more natural than Tidal
I love the tech !! These headphones are now at a level where you can enjoy great sound anywhere !!! Unbelievable !!
I tried both the Bose Ultra and the Quiet comfort today at the shops but in my opinion the sound was not up to standard , bearing in mind that it was just the demo set and the source may have been sub par
I was also looking at the new Bose eagerly as I have the Qc35 and the NC700 and wanted to see if they had improved the sound quality.
There are minor issues with the 5909 , but none are deal breakers for me , those are
1. Twice on a telephone call , the headphones shut off , so not sure if there we too much noise outside or what happened , this has not happened again so I will monitor closely. so Bluetooth did not only disconnect but it actually powered off , I know this as I usher the power button and it powered on again , so that was a concern
2. Apparently there are reports of the headband splitting and the leather is just glued on and the stitching is fake stitching which is also an issue on a headphone of this price and level .
3. Battery is not replaceable at all
4. Sometimes when I move my head on the left head cup there is a strange sensation of “phasing” like the headphone is adapting to the sound , not sure what this is but I am also monitoring this , this doesn’t happen when you are not moving.
5. The “on head detection “ option when turned on causes Tidal to stop after a few seconds , I am at the latest firmware which has not been updated for a year my next point
So I just turn it off as I’m not worried about this
6. No customisable EQ except increasing or decreasing bass
7. Minor concerns -
7.1 Case is heavy
7.2 Velcro cable ties are crap , should be leather like h95
7.3 No touch controls like B&O on ear cup I miss those
All these issues get instantly wiped out when you listen to them and they are the most comfortable headphone I own , I think more comfortable than h95
Bathys is second , XM5 s are light but headcups get hot and uncomfortable for me after long usage they also feel super cheap compared to the others
For H95 issues I have had
1. Not good enough for plane travel , anc is not enough
2. Super clear engaging sound , but not enough body and soundstage like the Bathys
Zero other issues
Love
1. I can fold them up
2. Stunning build quality , each time I reach for them they make me happy it’s like putting on a nice watch !!
Hope this helps you in your journey !!
Happy Listening and please feel free to discuss with me , I love learning about other folks experiences on searching for that holy grail headphone !!