audiosplitz: Bang & Olufsen

Noise Canceling Immersion - A 3-Part Series

December 29, 2015

B&O BeoPlay H7 - First Glimpse

November 09, 2015

In mid Oct 2015, Bang & Olufsen launched the BeoPlay H7, a pair of wireless over-ears. They combine the over-ears comfort of the BeoPlay H6 and run on Bluetooth wireless technology of the BeoPlay H8.

What's the Big Deal?

1. Sound
Bang & Olufsen claims that the BeoPlay H7 allows you to 'enjoy the acclaimed B&O Signature Sound' regardless whether in wireless or corded mode. Leveraging on the recent Bluetooth 4.1 standard, they support high-fidelity sound via the aptX codec. However unlike the H8, there is no active noise canceling functionality.

2. Touch Controls
Similar to its on-ears sibling, the BeoPlay H8, the playback and volume controls lie on the aluminum surface of the right ear cup. Just swivel your finger clockwise to increase the volume and tap to change tracks. If it works like what we tried on the H8, you should be able to navigate songs without much issue. It is claimed to work 'even when wearing gloves'.

3. Battery Life
The BeoPlay H7 can last a good 20 hours of music playback after a 2.5 hour charge on the replaceable 770mAh Lithium Ion battery. Apparently, there's a also a useful battery-saving function that kicks in after 15 minutes of non-usage.

4. Design
At 280g, these over-ears are just a tad heavier than the 255g on-ears H8. As per many of B&O's headphones, the industrial design is Jakob Wagner's and materials such as cowhide leather (for the headband) and soft lambskin (for ear cups) are used.

Pricing

According to the Bang & Olufsen site, the H7 retails for EUR 449 / USD 449. We are currently checking on the Singapore pricing.

Availability
The two color variations available (for now) are Black and Natural.
According to their website, they are available from 15 October 2015 at B&O stores and selected design and department outlets worldwide. We shall check on the status in Singapore.

Where To Buy
If you like the product, do support me by purchasing through Amazon via these affiliate links - BeoPlay H7 Black / Natural / Cenere Gray / Cocoa Brown. They start from USD 396.

Update (9 Nov 2015)
Bang & Olufsen (SEA) confirmed that the price is set at SGD 649 and is available at the B&O Showroom at Grand Hyatt.

Update (30 Dec 2015)
The BeoPlay H7 is also available in Apple Premium Resellers, Challenger, Digital Style, Newstead, Sprint-Cass, Stereo, AV One, ConnectIT and Tangs.

Bang & Olufsen

B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC - First Look

October 05, 2015

On Sep 24, Bang & Olufsen announced the launch of the BeoPlay H3 ANC, a pair of noise-canceling in-ears. If you're familiar with the H3, these new buds look practically the same except for the microphone slits on the bud exterior and the additional circular noise-canceling unit.

What's the Big Deal?

1. Noise-canceling
These 40g in-ears claim to allow you to 'enjoy the acclaimed B&O Signature Sound whether the ANC (Active Noise Canceling) is turned on or off'.

2. Comply Foam Tips
We've tested these out on the Jaybird X2 Wireless so we know how these tips can perform for the H3 in terms of noise isolation and fit - pretty darn well. In addition, there are 4 different sizes of standard fare silicon tips thrown in.

From L to R - Silicon tips (XS, S, M, L) and Comply foam tip

Update (16 Nov 2015)
The Comply buds included are the Isolation tips (T-200) (M).

3. Battery Life
The BeoPlay H3 ANC clocks a decent 20 hours of battery life on this mode after a 2.5 hour charge. Beyond this timeframe, you can still use the BeoPlay earphones but without the ANC.

4. Design
Almost a standard unique selling point given its B&O branding. These are built from a scratch-resistant lightweight metal designed by one of their resident industrial designers, Jakob Wagner.

Pricing

According to the Bang & Olufsen site, these in-ears retail for EUR 249 / USD 249. We are currently checking on the Singapore pricing.

Availability
And again according to their website, they should be available by the end October 2015 in Gunmetal Grey.

Update (5 Oct 2015)
Bang & Olufsen (SEA) confirmed that the pricing will be at SGD 379 and will be available in Singapore from late Nov 2015 at the B&O Showroom at Grand Hyatt.

Update (4 Feb 2016)
Check out the full review of the BeoPlay H3 ANC!

Where To Buy
If you like what you have read, feel free to support me by buying via this Amazon affiliate link. Pricing is from USD 249.

B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC
(Gunmetal Gray)

USD 249

Bang & Olufsen

B&O BeoPlay H8 - Stylish and Feature Packed

September 10, 2015

The Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8 headphones, announced in early 2015, promised much with its wireless design combined with a fashion sense to match. Priced at SGD 699, this is one of the priciest on-ears available though one of the few to sport active noise-canceling.

Design
Let's check out the unboxing.
The box is very sturdy and gives the immediate impression it could pass drop tests in a heartbeat.

Opening the top cover unveils the Gray Hazel B&O unit in all its glory.

The removable labeled sticker gives a good idea how the touch controls are used.

Removing the foam layer by the side tabs reveals 3 boxes of accessories bearing a unique icon to identify its contents. I could only guess what one box contained - the one on the top right. The one with a droplet icon, believe it or not, actually stores the carrying pouch (go figure).

Top left - Carrying pouch ; Top right - Cables
Bottom - User Guides

Now to the BeoPlay H8 proper - it looks and feels great. The Jakob Wagner designed cans have a seemingly durable cow leather-made headband supported with a solid anodized aluminum frame.

The flipside is at 255g, this is one of the heftier on-ears headphones when you consider the 215g Beats Solo 2 Wireless or the 150g Jabra Move Wireless. The additional weight could be put to the noise canceling function (which the other 2 do not have) and a solidly built aluminum headband.

The cups can be rotated 90 degrees for easy storage.

The ear cushions are made with lambskin clad memory foam which are marketed to give comfort. My personal experience was quite the opposite, especially with prolonged usage, so I do encourage you to try them on for yourself 'cos you may have a different take.

The ear cushions are easily replaceable with a counter-clockwise swivel.

Features
The touch controls are very well thought out and they function in wireless mode. For playback, you can skip tracks with a single finger gesture to the right (forward) or left (back). Activating play / pause or taking calls can be done with a single touch and adjusting the volume is by swiveling your finger clockwise (increase).

Noise canceling is actuated with a vertical flick of the finger, with a satisfying click to confirm the action. My error rate of triggering an action was not too high. On occasion, I mistakenly did a double tap which gave some folks a few miscalls (my bad if any recipients are reading this :).

On first pairing, just hold the power slider to the Bluetooth icon for 2 seconds which triggers a flashing blue LED. Once you connect your player, two click sounds will confirm the pairing.

Now the H8 is a Bluetooth 4.0 unit. Is this a big deal? Yes and no. The major difference with previous versions is its low energy capability which by right, should translate to a longer battery life. If your source player is using an older Bluetooth version, no problem - the music plays.

The BeoPlay H8 supports aptX, allowing for CD-quality sound over Bluetooth. While enabled by default for the Samsung Galaxy S4, the iPad Air I tested is not a compatible product. It is nonetheless not a showstopper unless you need the very best in sound (read 'audiophile').

The Lithium-Ion battery that powers the Bluetooth and noise cancelling is user replaceable. It is stashed away in the left side and is opened with a slider switch. A big thumbs up to this as this is not seen in on-ears like the Beats Solo 2 Wireless or the Bose SoundLink on-ear Bluetooth.

Performance

There are many ways to enjoy music with the B&O BeoPlay H8. Let's take you through the experience of each.

1. Bluetooth Wireless:
During testing, there was intermittent interference as the music got disrupted when walking with my source device (the Galaxy S4) in my pocket. This interference was removed once I held my phone in my hand. In active noise canceling (ANC) mode, the battery lasts for 14 hours and 16 without.

2. Wired
The B&O headphones include the 3.5mm stereo cable for a wired connection. As this was missed out in my test unit, I linked this with the Beats Solo 2 Wireless cable which fitted and was functionally fine. The audio quality manages to hold up well on its own when compared with wireless mode. The touch sensor is disabled, meaning that you have to interact with the playback functions on your source player directly. ANC can still be enjoyed for 35 hours when the power switch is turned on. When switched off, music can be enjoyed for as long as needed.

3. Active Noise Canceling (ANC)
Ambient sounds are quite effectively blocked out when traveling on the train. The flipside is that the audio sounds somewhat squeezed. Once the ANC is off, I personally found this to be ideal for listening purposes as the soundstage widens significantly. A travel adapter is provided for usage on the plane. Unfortunately, we couldn't test this out but if it's anything like the train experience, it's not too bad at all.

The Argilla Bright variant

Let's now look at the audio quality. Depending on the music genre, your music experience can be quite different. Keane's Russian Farmer's Song is somewhat infused with a good dose of bass. Tom Chaplin's vocals and piano riff are, at times, drowned out by the enhanced low frequencies. Dubstep is a great genre to try on the BeoPlay H8. Flux Pavilion's Lines in Wax addictive basslines are very engaging and make for enjoyable listening.

Amazingly, it appears that walking was missed out during the testing of the unit. During brisk walking, there is a knocking sound that resonates with each footstep.

The clamping around the ears is rather strong, resulting in some discomfort after prolonged usage. This is not unexpected as this helps in improving the noise isolation of the on-ears headphones.

Charging just takes 3 hours. The LED will flash yellow and displays green when done. When charging via the micro-USB, you are still able to listen via wireless or wired mode - a great feature if you want to keep the music going.

Overall
The BeoPlay H8 is a premium looking pair of noise canceling on-ears. While the headphones are on the higher end of the price spectrum, they are loaded with features. Its 3 year limited warranty, durable build, battery and ear cushion replaceability all give the impression that it is a generally well thought out product that is built to last.

Where To Buy
If you like this product, feel free to support me by buying via this Amazon affiliate link. Pricing is from USD 439.

B&O BeoPlay H8
(Gray Hazel)

USD 439

Audio Sources
Russian Farmer's Song - Keane (Spotify 320kbps MP3) on Samsung Galaxy S4
Lines In Wax - Flux Pavilion feat. Foreign Beggars (Spotify 320kbps MP3) on iPad Air

The unit was provided by Bang & Olufsen for an evaluation.

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