Apple picker What is luxury? For many of us, these are logos that predetermine that you belong to a certain group of people by wearing or using things with that logo. Once you get past all that, you'll find that luxury is all about materials, comfort and performance. The most expensive clothes in the world don't have any logos, but at first glance you know they are among the best and most expensive things you can buy. You can tell by the materials used, the quality of the seams and the way it looks at first glance. With the BeoPlay H9, at first glance, without seeing the logo of the Danish company, you have exactly the same feeling as when you see a sweater for twenty thousand and there is not a single logo on it.
The packaging is just as luxurious as the product itself, which is sure to be appreciated especially by lovers of Apple products. After opening the box, we will see the headphones themselves in microplush padding so that nothing can happen to them. Beneath them, there are three boxes that bring accessories in the form of a beautiful textile bag with a drawstring with a minimalistic logo, a Micro-USB cable for charging the headphones, an airplane adapter and, last but not least, an audio cable with a 3,5 mm jack, which you will use right away , when the battery in the headphones runs out. Everything looks perfect, which is one of the things you definitely expect from a brand famous for its design.
Having already mentioned the battery, it is hidden in the left earcup and, which will definitely please all those who take long flights and do not want to rely on cables, it is changeable. You can buy an additional battery in Bang & Olufsen stores and then replace it relatively conveniently whenever needed. However, it is questionable whether you will need it at all after 14 hours with Bluetooth on and active noise cancellation, 16 hours when using via Bluetooth without active noise cancellation and 21 hours with noise cancellation on and use with a 3,5mm audio cable. The headphones really reliably reach the durability declared by the manufacturer, and manage the indicated charging time of 2,5 hours without any problems.
Luxury design, luxury materials
To mention that what looks like metal is metal and what looks like leather is made of the finest leather is quite unnecessary in the case of headphones from Bang & Olufsen, because everyone expects this and their expectations are of course met. The best materials available, which not only look luxurious, but enhance the comfort and overall impression of using the headphones are a matter of course. As for the design, you have a couple of color options to choose from and one looks better than the other. As for the design, everyone can see for themselves, I'll just add that wearing the headphones is incredibly comfortable, especially thanks to the very well-padded bridge over the head and the large, extremely soft ear cups.
The whole brain of the headphones is hidden in the right earcup. You can find their activation here, including the option to turn on Bluetooth or switch it to pairing mode. By the way, the headphones have Bluetooth 4.2 and if you use it together with the ambient sound suppression function, they can last for an incredible 14 hours, but that doesn't mean the end of listening either. If your flight or journey takes longer, you can either insert the cable into the iPhone and headphones and continue listening, or you don't have to limit yourself to cables and simply replace the battery, which you can access in the right earcup and which Bang Olufsen sells as an additional accessory and is user changeable.
On the right earcup, you will still find a 3,5mm jack connector so that you can use the headphones even after the battery capacity has run out, as well as a microUSB connector, through which the headphones are charged. This ends the list of buttons, ports and jacks offered by the headphones and slowly but surely we will move to the controls, which will change your view of how technology can be controlled. The pair of microphones can be used by the headphones not only to suppress ambient noise, but also to make phone calls. However, due to the fact that the attenuation of the ambient sound is significant even if you do not have this function turned on and you rely only on the design of the headphones, you will not use the headphones as hands-free, because when you cannot hear yourself, it is quite difficult to make a phone call, but as an emergency, of course, it is enough and also this function it offers headphones which is nice because you can use them to make, answer and hang up calls and continue playing. So if you are on the terrace and someone calls you, you can take the call even if you have a mobile phone in the apartment and then continue playing music undisturbed.
BeoPlay H9 versus H8
You will probably be interested in the differences with the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H8, the review of which you can read right here. The price is the same, the appearance at first glance is also the same, and if you look at the product description on the official beoplay website, you will find that practically everything revolves around one single word and that is over-ear or on-ear. While the H8, i.e. the model introduced earlier, is so-called on-ear, the new H9 offers an over-ear solution. This means that while with the H8 you will have the earpiece placed directly on your ear, in the case of the H9 model your ear is hidden in the earpiece that completely surrounds it. This is related not only to the comfort during long-term wearing, which is understandably at a higher level with the H9, but on the other hand also to a little bit with the compactness, in which they have the upper hand for a change of the H8, which are after all a little smaller. H8 are definitely a better option if you want to wear headphones and glasses at the same time.
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Flying around the world with Apple At first glance, this could be the end of all the differences, but even if the manufacturer does not mention it directly, there are still some details that are worth mentioning. The H9 brings the so-called aptX Low Latency codec for audio transmission, while the H8 only has the aptX codec. The important difference is that while the latency, i.e. the delay in audio transmission with standard aptX is between 40-60ms, in the case of Low Latency technology it is only 32ms and that is guaranteed. The shortest possible latency is used especially by computer game players, who thereby reduce the sound delay compared to the image they see on the monitor. You may not care about it when listening to music, but if you are really a gamer, then aptX Low Latency is a bit better, but let's face it, we are talking more on a theoretical level. The last difference between the H8 and H9 is that, thanks to their design, the H9 has a more pronounced suppression of ambient noise even when you have Noise canceling turned off.
The H8 headphones in the photo are more subtle compared to the reviewed H9.
Beoplay on your iPhone
You can connect the products from the Beoplay range to the application of the same name on your iPhone, in which you can not only see the current settings, battery life and the same controls that you have on the headphones themselves, but you can do something more. The thing that you can't do with the headphones themselves is an equalizer, but not the classic one you know from your iPhone, for example, but an equalizer in which you set your feelings or what you're doing right now, and the headphones then try to adapt the sound to it. You can thus set the four modes Relax, Bright, Warm and Excited, with which the headphones will change the sound to suit your needs as much as possible. You can also set the other four modes according to what you are doing. Personally, I don't use equalizers because I want to hear the music exactly as the artist recorded it, but in this case, the equalizer is fun and so easy to use that you just want to turn on the Relax mode before going to bed.
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Sound
Personally, I like that even though Bang & Olufsen aims for a higher range of headphones, the H9 does not need only the highest quality sound source and, unlike others, you do without FLAC, Apple Lossless and similar formats that some headphones require for quality reproduction. Of course, the H9 lets you know whether you're playing music via YouTube on your Mac or whether it's playing from a professional FLAC player or directly from a CD. However, there are headphones, and quite a few, that make YouTube music almost unlistenable, which is not the case with the H9. They are perfect not only for listening to music in the highest quality, but you can listen to them as headphones for your computer and play music or videos from YouTube without any problems.
Thanks to the comfort and sound performance, which is suitable for both music and watching movies or playing games, these are ideal headphones for the living room, when you don't want to listen to the hum of the Playstation while playing, but really want to enjoy only the sounds from the game. I really like the fact that the headphones have a very interesting sound performance that doesn't play on extremely sharp tones, but at the same time they don't distort too much, because that's why you can use them for other things than just listening to music.
The sound is not without coloring, but it has the typical touch of all Bang & Olufsen products. However, the tone of the sound is very balanced and the headphones can offer everything from details to dynamic performance. The most striking thing you will notice is the high-quality bass and how the whole sound has a solid impression, thanks to which you are really in the center of the action. The headphones also play well via Bluetooth, but if you're a true detailer and want to sacrifice comfort, you always have the option of plugging the cable into the headphones and instantly turning them into classic wired headphones. The bass is excellent both when listening to rap based on it and when you want to relax with Sinatra or Roger Waters. You will always hear a quality performance of the bass, which is distinct, but does not interfere with the mids and highs. What relatively changes the whole listening experience is turning on or off the suppression of ambient noise. This affects the color of the sound, but at the price of not being bothered by the hum of the engines for 10 hours on the plane, you will surely sacrifice it.
Summary
Headphones are similar to cars. You can drive 300 km/h, but you will feel every bump in the road, your teeth will be knocked out, but you will just drive three hundred. However, you can sit in a Rolls, drive "only" 200 km/h and have all the comfort you expect from a Rolls. There are headphones that play better and cost less. However, it is difficult to find headphones that have a similar design, the most luxurious materials and at the same time play as well as the BeoPlay H9. Bang & Olufsen plays on luxury, on materials and tries to combine all this with the best possible sound, and I have to admit that it really succeeds. It depends only on you, just like with the choice of a car, what you prefer and whether you want the highest sound quality at all costs, which can be achieved in this price category of headphones hovering around the amount of ten thousand crowns, or whether you sometimes close your eyes while listening and some you will overlook the inaccuracy with the fact that you are wearing a design gem made of the best imaginable materials and in the most precise possible design.
For me personally, the BeoPlay H9 headphones are the ones that will bring sound to the vast majority of listeners in a quality that is almost at the limit of what they recognize and perceive during normal listening. The vast majority of people, including myself, will be delighted with their sound, and I don't want you to get me wrong, I'm just saying that for a similar price you can buy headphones with better sound, but by no means a better ratio of price, performance, design and luxury. And to say about Rolls that it's worth a fart because your car goes 300 and he only 250, that's nonsense as you yourself admit. Plus, it's exactly like that speed. As a result, those moments when you pour yourself a glass of Hardy, light up a Partagas and listen to the individual notes and pick up every single note in the composition are as few as those when you salt it to three kilos on the highway. So if you want emotion, luxury and experience, there is nothing to hesitate and definitely go to the H9, because they will transport you to a world that you will love.
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