mbee wrote:

@1990 put the wrong list of characteristics on the first post : this list comes from his second link which was the launch article about the H9i when it replaced the H9.

so AptX, 1,25m cable, etc was features from the H9i

I don’t think it’s a wrong list. The second link was posted May 16, 2019 and was named:

Beoplay H9 3rd Generation vs. Beoplay H9i

poodleboy wrote:

This portion of the thread was telling for me so I went through the main web site for each page. I think it might be challenging for a newbie to understand the brand from it's seemingly random layout. 

Well, the irony is if you're a newbie looking around and you searched for 'Bang & Olufsen H9 in black' on Google, which let's be honest most people do to look for discounts, you'd find something like this: 

moxxey wrote:

poodleboy wrote:

This portion of the thread was telling for me so I went through the main web site for each page. I think it might be challenging for a newbie to understand the brand from it's seemingly random layout. 

Well, the irony is if you're a newbie looking around and you searched for 'Bang & Olufsen H9 in black' on Google, which let's be honest most people do to look for discounts, you'd find something like this: link

And naturally you'd not know this was the original H9!

Good point. Even thought main site has bigger purpose, Irony II is that beoshop web site is better layout for people looking to buy, discount or not. "We are here to shift stuff".  

Ok, that makes a huge difference. Who would want to buy one that you cannot replace the batteries? I would think the useful life of the headphones would exceed the life of the batteries. The question now is will the batteries still be available when needed in several years? 

AnalogPlanet wrote:

...and btw, aptx means nothing to iPhone people, only to Android folks. Just fyi.

That's interesting and thank you for that info - I get that aptx is a higher bitrate for bluetooth wireless connectivity, but am unsure how that benefits Android OS phones and not IOS phones.  I assume apple doesn't support it, and hence its plain vanilla Bluetooh 4.2 for them?

On the other hand, I would also assume that as you can use an cable if the power of the battery runs out, that plugging a cable in (with the battery charged and bluetooth switched off on your iDevice or H9 which I also assume is possible), would essentially mean that all audio is transmitted by the cable and not bluetooth, hence giving higher audio quality anyway than either Bluetooth 4.2 or aptx which use significant compression algorithms to keep bandwidth down and transmission distance longer.

Of course if you're listening to streaming music over the internet at say 256 AAC as per apple music, one may not hear much to an advantage, but as I have an iPhone 7 plus full of Classical and Jazz recorded in ALAC, I would hope using an audio cable rather than bluetooth for static listening, would provide an audible advantage - at least in theory.

Having recently purchased a pair of B&O E8 2.0's with which I'm very happy (apart from some yet to be resolved hassles as with all in-ears re getting the perfect ear tip seal) I have been interested in a pair of H9/9i's for some time - usually when an update has been released is the best time to buy to get the latest specs and features etc.

So I may well dive in and add a pair to my modest collection - initial reports sound very positive.

Thanks again for your info - much appreciated

Cheers

John 

John wrote:

AnalogPlanet wrote:

...and btw, aptx means nothing to iPhone people, only to Android folks. Just fyi.

 

That's interesting and thank you for that info - I get that aptx is a higher bitrate for bluetooth wireless connectivity, but am unsure how that benefits Android OS phones and not IOS phones.  I assume apple doesn't support it, and hence its plain vanilla Bluetooh 4.2 for them?

On the other hand, I would also assume that as you can use an cable if the power of the battery runs out, that plugging a cable in (with the battery charged and bluetooth switched off on your iDevice or H9 which I also assume is possible), would essentially mean that all audio is transmitted by the cable and not bluetooth, hence giving higher audio quality anyway than either Bluetooth 4.2 or aptx which use significant compression algorithms to keep bandwidth down and transmission distance longer.

Of course if you're listening to streaming music over the internet at say 256 AAC as per apple music, one may not hear much to an advantage, but as I have an iPhone 7 plus full of Classical and Jazz recorded in ALAC, I would hope using an audio cable rather than bluetooth for static listening, would provide an audible advantage - at least in theory.

Having recently purchased a pair of B&O E8 2.0's with which I'm very happy (apart from some yet to be resolved hassles as with all in-ears re getting the perfect ear tip seal) I have been interested in a pair of H9/9i's for some time - usually when an update has been released is the best time to buy to get the latest specs and features etc.

So I may well dive in and add a pair to my modest collection - initial reports sound very positive.

Thanks again for your info - much appreciated

Cheers

John 

In that case - when you already have a set of bt earphones - why not use these for convenience and buy a set of pure cabled over the ears like the H6 for more concentrated listening?

MM

Millemissen wrote:

In that case - when you already have a set of bt earphones - why not use these for convenience and buy a set of pure cabled over the ears like the H6 for more concentrated listening?

MM

As I understand it, the H6's are no longer available new.  

Versatility favours the H9 with the addition of ANC - a boon for use in any noisy indoor/outdoor situation, provided you have a backpack or the like to carry them.  I would think they would better the E8 2.0 on audio quality, whilst of course being no where near as convenient to carry from a portability POV.

But for serious, at home static listening - yes a cabled pair of headphones would be the way to go - my favourite from what I've heard without spending ridiculous money would be Sennheiser HD800's.  I've listened to the 800's and the 'improved' 800S, but for classical music and jazz would personally pick the 800's over the later 's' variant which I felt better suited to rock and pop music in it's tonal balance.

But they have no ANC, and are not the sort of headphone in style and cost I would want to take out of the house - hence the E8's and H9's.

Cheers :-)

John

Jon wrote:

I was thinking that earlier. Why are these the H9 (3rd gen) (same as H6 (2nd gen)), but the H9i were called the H9i, and the new E8 aren't E8 (2nd gen)??

This is funny. I noticed B&O promoted the new H9 MK3 on Facebook and there were comments from people asking how they tell the difference between a H9 and H9 MK3 - it's a very valid point.

I pointed them to this forum discussion!

Thanks for this precious information. Together with the review on YouTube from the Manchester store (https://youtu.be/My9fYbOZsho) there are now two sources that confirm ANC and audio improvement although it isn't mentioned on any official communications. Only battery, comfort, controls and voice assistant buttons.

One question though, besides having less impact one sound quality, is the efficiency of ANC improved? It was pointed was a weak point comparing to the competition and if it it's really improved those are great news that I don't understand why isn't the brand also advertising as improvement.