I disagree with the statement that Bluetooth is not meant for streaming while on the move.  Many companies have been able to provide this without having drop-outs.  Plantronics have streaming earphones that i use at the gym and it does not have drop-outs.

I can understand if there's *some* interference if I had my phone on my desk and I was walking to the next room.  But I would not expect to have any drop-out if the phone is in my pants pocket and It's within 3 feet of the headphone.

It's great to have bluetooth, but if it requires me to plug it in 50% of the time (basically every time I'm not sitting still) it's not that much of a benefit.  It turns from the advantage of being able to plug in if your bluetooth is out of juice, into "I need to plug it in b'cuz it doesn't work when I walk around"

I disagree with the statement that Bluetooth is not meant for streaming while on the move.  Many companies have been able to provide this without having drop-outs.  Plantronics have streaming earphones that i use at the gym and it does not have drop-outs.

I can understand if there's *some* interference if I had my phone on my desk and I was walking to the next room.  But I would not expect to have any drop-out if the phone is in my pants pocket and It's within 3 feet of the headphone.

It's great to have bluetooth, but if it requires me to plug it in 50% of the time (basically every time I'm not sitting still) it's not that much of a benefit.  It turns from the advantage of being able to plug in if your bluetooth is out of juice, into "I need to plug it in b'cuz it doesn't work when I walk around"

I contacted beocare regarding the H8 dropout issue rather than just approaching my dealer for a replacement pair of headphones as I wanted to ensure they were fully aware of the issue and seeking a resolution. The end result of which is that my pair of H8s are going to take a journey to Struer.

Email from BeoCare wrote:

Thank you for contacting Bang & Olufsen Customer Service regarding your BeoPlay H8.

  

I have forwarded you e-mail to the product responsible service manager and we would appreciate very much if you would send your BeoPlay H8 to us for examination. Although we know the phenomenon and is working to find a solution, the frequency of drop-outs described in your e-mail by far exceeds what we have heard of before.

 

If we may therefore kindly ask you to return the product using this link: http://return.beoplay.com/" style="color: rgba(0, 102, 204, 1)">http://return.beoplay.com  we shall send you a new set of BeoPlay H8. Please, quote the following in the error description field: "To be replaced due to repeated drop-outs. Product to be sent to XXX for examination. Ref. no. XXXXX. Please forward the ticket number to me as I shall then be able to follow the incident from here.

 

I am sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you; however, please be assured that we are doing our utmost to find a lasting solution and in this process, your BeoPlay H8 may contribute with important and valuable findings to us.

I know this doesn't yet provide a solution to those of us experiencing this issue, but I do take some encouragement from the response as they have been quick to acknowledge the issue and confirm that they are actively looking for a solution, whereas in my experience, other companies in a similar situation regarding a product with issues have simply chosen to deny any problem exists or make no comment at all until they are forced into a state of acceptance by overwhelming evidence of the facts.

There have understandably been a lot of negative comments in this thread given the issues being experienced, but ultimately those of us who have purchased the H8s have done so because we like the product and it's concept. The fact that some have accepted several replacement pairs in the hope of resolving the issues rather than just demanding a refund bears testament to this. I still love my H8s, and in a way that is why the sense of disappointment and frustration is so severe, but I am also mindful that manufacturers with much higher budgets and resources have launched products that have made it all the way to the mass market before major flaws have been discovered, so whilst it is not good, I am prepared to cut B&O a little slack in this regard (Apple's antennagate has already been mentioned in this thread, and there are plenty of other examples).

I really hope B&O are able to resolve these issues quickly, before too much damage is done to the product's (and brand's) reputation.

Martin.

Thanks Marin!

My local B&O called the service and they requested that my unit gets sent to them as well.

I love B&O and their product.  I'm definitely not moving away from it in any way.... and hoping this next lot of shipment will be an improvement.  

And I definitely agree that they're really taking care of their customer in terms of accepting what's happening to the units and taking corrective actions.  It's much better having the sales person just saying "sorry, we'll give you a refund".  

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi,

have a look on Us amazon.com site. Out-of-stock now, either a very good turnover article or they stopped production/delivery due to issues.

21 5star reviews, none mentioning the dropout issue.

One rating with 3 stars only due to dropouts, two comments on this rating, one from Beoplay. It look's like B&O really cares about this potential issue.

I will buy a H8 as soon as they become available in Germany (seems quite limited availibilty here).

And I am more interested into the Noise Cancelation Feature. How does it perform in trains, planes, open office space?

Currently i am using a  Bose QC20 inEar. I love them for their Noise Cancelation capability during airtime, but they hurt my ears...can't wear them for hours.

I walked next to the road today (heavy traffic), and I could not hear the cars passing by. I would say the noice-cancelling is dangerously good 😕

kiwi4all wrote:

One rating with 3 stars only due to dropouts, two comments on this rating, one from Beoplay. It look's like B&O really cares about this potential issue.

Yes, as I wrote in response to my communication with BeoCare it does seem that B&O care and are taking the issues seriously, and they are right to do so as I truly believe this is a product that could do so much to capture the imagination of a whole new generation of B&O customers if they can get the quality control issues resolved quickly. There seems to be a real buzz of interest around this product and that after all was the whole aim of the BeoPlay range from day one. This for me is perhaps the first BeoPlay product that genuinely stands a chance of achieving that aim.

kiwi4all wrote:

And I am more interested into the Noise Cancelation Feature. How does it perform in trains, planes, open office space?

In common with all other noise cancelling headphones I have tried, they will attenuate but not cancel out the sounds of peoples voices / conversations etc but do a fantastic job with monotonous droning type sounds. One of the first tests I performed was with the air-con in my van - the fan has four speeds, the highest of which is very loud, but sounds quieter with ANC on than the lowest fan speed does with ANC off. The extractor fan in my bathroom is also quite loud and the sound of this just disappears completely when noise cancelling is activated. I haven't yet tried them on a train or plane but my suspicion is that they will perform really well in this environment.

kiwi4all wrote:

Currently i am using a  Bose QC20 inEar. I love them for their Noise Cancelation capability during airtime, but they hurt my ears...can't wear them for hours.

Comfort wise, the H8s are outstanding. I have worn them throughout a 10 hour working day and were it not for the exceptionally detailed sound you could forget you were wearing them - I've had numerous moments where I've heard something new in a track that I thought I knew well - sometimes even to the point where I have skipped back to listen to a part of a track again just to check I hadn't imagined hearing some 'new' detail that I'd never noticed before.

Martin.

Not really wanting to jump until evidence of progress with the Bluetooth issue but wondering how the noise cancelling compares with the fairly good isolation I get from my H6s?