[blueangel2323]

^ Sound-wise you can't compare them either; in fact they're almost opposites. 1R is very lush and thick in the mids, while H6 is on the thin side as you say. I wouldn't call it analytical though, as there is some colouration in the highs, it's just more of an audiophile kind of colour

 

[usrockband]

Thought I'd chime in one more time... Do NOT use Comply foam tips on these... Very disappointed, they ruined all of the treble and muddied them up completely... The only thing they have going for em is that they're very comfortable.

It almost seems as if the little screen inside the tip is at fault... I can't recommend them at all on these buds anyways. I would like to try the Sony Hybrids mentioned earlier.

 

[KennethRoberts]

GREQ, Just to confirm, you found the bass from the H6 to be marginally better than the Momentum? Very interesting. I found the H6's bass to be slightly weaker than that of the Momentum, on first listen. I'll have to take another listen to confirm that...

(Side note: I heard the Momentum for the first time last night and was deeply impressed! Such an amazing headphone for $350. Unbelievable value. I just wish it were better looking. The H6 makes the Momentum look like it got hit with the ugly stick!)

 

[KennethRoberts]

Okay, I listened to the BeoPlay H6 again. I went through half of my "headphone test" playlist.

The verdict: I cannot purchase this headphone. The low-end response is simply too weak.
 
Now, I'm no bass-head. I listen primarily to female vocals, folk and classical. But the H6 is WAY too thin in the lower third. From the midrange up, it's stellar: balanced, detailed and sparkling, transparent and three dimensional—with not even a hint of sibilance. The build quality and aesthetics are second-to-none (in its price range).

But the bass, while textured, is incredibly weak. It's a shame. The Momentum, in my opinion, kills the H6. And it makes me sad because I'm a long-time B&O fan. My main stereo and my bedroom system are both B&O. I've owned other B&O headphones too. This product, however, is a misfire. Especially for the market they're targeting.

Still, I'm eagerly awaiting other reviews, especially Tyll's. 

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

GREQ, Just to confirm, you found the bass from the H6 to be marginally better than the Momentum? Very interesting. I found the H6's bass to be slightly weaker than that of the Momentum, on first listen.

 
While I didn't have the Momentum on hand to compare directly when I was listening to the H6, I really cannot imagine that the H6 would have more bass than the Momentum. B&O went with a very lean overall sound with the H6 (which was really surprising). Bass was textured but it certainly did not have the same kind of bass/mid tilt the Momentum does.

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

GREQ, Just to confirm, you found the bass from the H6 to be marginally better than the Momentum? Very interesting. I found the H6's bass to be slightly weaker than that of the Momentum, on first listen. I'll have to take another listen to confirm that...

Weaker volume doesn't mean worse. 
Momentum's bass is slightly more present, but the H6's quieter bass digs a little deeper and is a little more textured and resolving.

 

[KennethRoberts]

Quote:

Weaker volume doesn't mean worse. 
Momentum's bass is slightly more present, but the H6's quieter bass digs a little deeper and is a little more textured and resolving.

Agreed. Weaker bass volume does not automatically mean "worse" bass. But to my ears, the H6 paints an unrealistic depiction of the source material (with regard to the low end). It's almost as if the low end were EQ'd down. If I listen very, very carefully, I can hear some detail and texture, but I find the Momentum's handling of the low end to be much more balanced, much more true-to-life. Still shaking my head on this one. I had very high hopes for the H6...

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

Agreed. Weaker bass volume does not automatically mean "worse" bass. But to my ears, the H6 paints an unrealistic depiction of the source material (with regard to the low end). It's almost as if the low end were EQ'd down. If I listen very, very carefully, I can hear some detail and texture, but I find the Momentum's handling of the low end to be much more balanced, much more true-to-life. Still shaking my head on this one. I had very high hopes for the H6...

I'll certainly give it another listen when I get the chance. I didn't throw much material at it, but I liked what I heard. 
Maybe it was just the initial 'wow factor' of holding such a beautifully crafted headphone.
 
Seeing and physically holding the H6 did give me 'upgradeitis'. Just like the Momentum it looks really good when worn... maybe even a little better.

 

[costinstn]

Hy..
Just went to a B&O store in Shanghai, and auditioned the H3 and H6 , and i left with the H3.
I spent all all last night comparing them to the Future Sonics Atrio M5 and the Klipsch Image X10i.Being a dynamic driver, you would maybe start to compare them with the Atrio M5 , but there is no comparison here..even if the sub-bass on the Atrio is very hard to surpass, the overall presentation of the lower end freq are more enjoyable on the H3.What strikes you from the beginning with the H3 , is the sense of space that you get.All the instruments are no longer stuck inside your head.You get the feeling that some sounds come from outside the headphones.they do leak some sound outside because of the holes on the back,but is not very disturbing.Except for the lower end freq, H3 are in another class from the M5,so i let this comparison go, and switch to the X10i.
These are different technologies,but are surprisingly similar in sound.Bass is stronger, more punchy and better defined on the H3.When it comes to vocals, i think that on the X10i , they are somehow more refined..more sintetized...On the H3 , you feel every gasp,and harshness in the voices of Diana Kraal or Adele or Joe Cocker.To my ear it seems to be more natural,and i enjoyed it more...When i bought these , i was set up to find a phone that can be more enjoyable for classical music. there is nothing wrong with the X10i's , and while they are great for blowing instruments( trumpets,sax..) for violins and cello they are a little recessed.I wanted to feel and hear the vibration and the friction of the bow against the chords.(i found the beyerdynamic dtx80 to do this very well) , and the H3 delivers all this pretty great.Just try listening  to some violin concertos by Jascha Heifetz ( tchaikovsky, brahms, mendelssohn) . Who is familiar with Heifetz , knows that he has a particular sound and a particular setup for his violin and for his recordings.It's not as easy sounding as Julia Fischer, Nigel Kenedy or Hillary Hahn. Only Itzhak Perlman comes somewhere close,but still different. So..back to the H3...The great part when listening classical music is the symphonies. It goes far away from the X10i in term of space and you start to feel enveloped in sound.Like i said before, the instrument are no longer inside you head...they are all around you.I even tried to listen a DTS video of Beethoven 6'TH symphony conducted by Karajan , and there a big difference between stereo and DTS track( on a Yamaha AV receiver)...It just opens up and you get surrounded by instruments, but at the cost of some clarity and refinement.
On the high end freq, i think that the X10i are doing a slightly better job, and the H3 suffers from a little harshness. Not much, not like the M5 , you just find some hisses a little piercing sometimes, but overall very enjoyable.I switched the silicon buds with the X10i, and because the canal is smaller in diameter from the H3 buds, it cuts the high freq, but a little too much.I found it to be better balanced with the stock buds.Also, while X10i suffer from horrid microphonics from the cable,on the H3 is barely noticeable.
So..overall, i found the H3 to deliver a better sound and it benefits from a much wider soundstage compared to the X10i.Seeing that the X10i are more expensive ( at least in China) than the H3, i highly recommend them.To be noted that i used different sources to audition them( iphone 4 , iphone 4s , ipad mini , Yamaha AV receiver).Apple changed the manufacturer of the audio chip between the Iphone 4s , and iphone 5/ipad mini.Like many others, i find the Iphone 4s delivers the best sound in all the apple products( also better than Samsung GS 2,3 ) with better soundstage and more power than any other.Even if some say that Iphone 4s is abble to handle over ear headphones, which may be true, i tried the B&O H6 , and i was dissapointed.I think they really need an amp to power these..They are supremely confortable ,design is great and have better seal than Sennheiser HD650 , or Mommentum, but really underpowered from an iphone 4s.
 
Final words : Put the H3's on and start AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long...(lossless preferably) or Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel...it will be hard to ignore these phones...
 

 

[thatBeatsguy]

How much is the H6 again? I think I just found my next headphone...but will it comepare to the COPs?

 

[usrockband]

Hy..
Just went to a B&O store in Shanghai, and auditioned the H3 and H6 , and i left with the H3.
I spent all all last night comparing them to the Future Sonics Atrio M5 and the Klipsch Image X10i.Being a dynamic driver, you would maybe start to compare them with the Atrio M5 , but there is no comparison here..even if the sub-bass on the Atrio is very hard to surpass, the overall presentation of the lower end freq are more enjoyable on the H3.What strikes you from the beginning with the H3 , is the sense of space that you get.All the instruments are no longer stuck inside your head.You get the feeling that some sounds come from outside the headphones.they do leak some sound outside because of the holes on the back,but is not very disturbing.Except for the lower end freq, H3 are in another class from the M5,so i let this comparison go, and switch to the X10i.
These are different technologies,but are surprisingly similar in sound.Bass is stronger, more punchy and better defined on the H3.When it comes to vocals, i think that on the X10i , they are somehow more refined..more sintetized...On the H3 , you feel every gasp,and harshness in the voices of Diana Kraal or Adele or Joe Cocker.To my ear it seems to be more natural,and i enjoyed it more...When i bought these , i was set up to find a phone that can be more enjoyable for classical music. there is nothing wrong with the X10i's , and while they are great for blowing instruments( trumpets,sax..) for violins and cello they are a little recessed.I wanted to feel and hear the vibration and the friction of the bow against the chords.(i found the beyerdynamic dtx80 to do this very well) , and the H3 delivers all this pretty great.Just try listening  to some violin concertos by Jascha Heifetz ( tchaikovsky, brahms, mendelssohn) . Who is familiar with Heifetz , knows that he has a particular sound and a particular setup for his violin and for his recordings.It's not as easy sounding as Julia Fischer, Nigel Kenedy or Hillary Hahn. Only Itzhak Perlman comes somewhere close,but still different. So..back to the H3...The great part when listening classical music is the symphonies. It goes far away from the X10i in term of space and you start to feel enveloped in sound.Like i said before, the instrument are no longer inside you head...they are all around you.I even tried to listen a DTS video of Beethoven 6'TH symphony conducted by Karajan , and there a big difference between stereo and DTS track( on a Yamaha AV receiver)...It just opens up and you get surrounded by instruments, but at the cost of some clarity and refinement.
On the high end freq, i think that the X10i are doing a slightly better job, and the H3 suffers from a little harshness. Not much, not like the M5 , you just find some hisses a little piercing sometimes, but overall very enjoyable.I switched the silicon buds with the X10i, and because the canal is smaller in diameter from the H3 buds, it cuts the high freq, but a little too much.I found it to be better balanced with the stock buds.Also, while X10i suffer from horrid microphonics from the cable,on the H3 is barely noticeable.
So..overall, i found the H3 to deliver a better sound and it benefits from a much wider soundstage compared to the X10i.Seeing that the X10i are more expensive ( at least in China) than the H3, i highly recommend them.To be noted that i used different sources to audition them( iphone 4 , iphone 4s , ipad mini , Yamaha AV receiver).Apple changed the manufacturer of the audio chip between the Iphone 4s , and iphone 5/ipad mini.Like many others, i find the Iphone 4s delivers the best sound in all the apple products( also better than Samsung GS 2,3 ) with better soundstage and more power than any other.Even if some say that Iphone 4s is abble to handle over ear headphones, which may be true, i tried the B&O H6 , and i was dissapointed.I think they really need an amp to power these..They are supremely confortable ,design is great and have better seal than Sennheiser HD650 , or Mommentum, but really underpowered from an iphone 4s.

Final words : Put the H3's on and start AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long...(lossless preferably) or Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel...it will be hard to ignore these phones...

 

Funny you say that... I mostly listen to this kind of music and Back in black was the first record I threw at them. For those who didn't know, alot of studios use Back In Black to tune their studio monitors because of how well it was mixed/recorded. I usually compare buds with this record firstly.

I can agree with most comments on the H6 here, I tried them too and was not phased by the sound. I'm not a headphone guy however, and prefer the sound and isolation of IEMs to headphones, which is why I got the H3 between the H6. But I also think the H3s outperform the H6 in several ways.

I think one thing we all need to keep in mind is that the H3s do not have a very complex design compared to some other earbuds out there. My point being that B&O probably really did focus on sound quality with these IEMs more then they did looks. Listen to a pair and you'll see what I, and some others here, mean.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

I think one thing we all need to keep in mind is that the H3s do not have a very complex design compared to some other earbuds out there. My point being that B&O probably really did focus on sound quality with these IEMs more then they did looks. Listen to a pair and you'll see what I, and some others here, mean.

 
I think I should point out that the H3 is still fairly overpriced even if they did 'focus on sound'. The H3 is similar in character to the $99 RE-400 and (it has a more natural and open soundstage but the overall sound lacks a little definition in comparison, especially in terms of bass).
 
It does however offer a pretty relaxing, inoffensive overall sound - I think B&O was clever with their tuning.

 

[usrockband]

Quote:

 
I think I should point out that the H3 is still fairly overpriced even if they did 'focus on sound'. The H3 is similar in character to the $99 RE-400 and (it has a more natural and open soundstage but the overall sound lacks a little definition in comparison, especially in terms of bass).
 
It does however offer a pretty relaxing, inoffensive overall sound - I think B&O was clever with their tuning.

Interesting... I've been doing a lot of reading on these buds and would love to give them a shot... So many thing's I'd rather listen to then my Bose MEI2's 

 
However the lowest I've seen them (Re-400's) go for here in Canada on Amazon is a smokin $175.... 

 

[a_recording]

If the H3 was about $200 I would consider it a very fair price considering the fit and finish. I've loaned my pair to MrAdrian but I'm planning to include it in a big comparison review :3

 

[Twinster]

Interesting... I've been doing a lot of reading on these buds and would love to give them a shot... So many thing's I'd rather listen to then my Bose MEI2's 

However the lowest I've seen them (Re-400's) go for here in Canada on Amazon is a smokin $175.... 

You can get them from Head-Direct.com shipped to Canada for less. I've ordered from them and shipping wasn't bad.