Hi,

just  unboxed my pair of H9i and I noticed the same issue. It is exactly as you describe and not only audible for me but to other family members as well (of course only when they wear the headphones).

Since this is the first experience when trying a brand new gear that is sold with the "superior sound quality" tag, this definitly leaves a negative taste.

But as you I have not heard the sound yet after the bluetooth connection is established. So I think I will live with it. Since you have experienced it with different pairs, I think it is of no use to have them replaced.

In the meantime, did you (or anyone) come across a pair of H9i that does not have this issue?

Regards

Dear all

Made exactly the same experience with an already 3 months old H9i. Does B&O offer a process to report this issue?

Hi carlito,

I just reported the issue to the Beoplay Support. I'll let you know about the answer.

Great! Thanks

I got an answer from the support.

Perhaps I should say that I decided to report the issue to the support because I started to hear this noise even after a bluetooth connection was established. I noticed it for several minutes after power on, and even during music playback it was audible.

The support recommended me to do a factory reset (slide and hold the power button to its upper position for 10 seconds). This would clear all saved bluetooth connections. After that I had to do the pairing again.

This definitly improved my situation. Now the high frequency sound is only audible for a very short period after power on.

I should add that I had muliple bluetooth devices paired with the headphones (at least four). After the reset I have only paired one device so far.

So my conclusion is that the noise is correlated to the headphones scanning for a special (maybe the preferred?) bluetooth device. If the device is found or a timeout occurs the hissing sound stops.

The support also recommended to first power on the headphones and then wait until the signal LED turns off before putting them on. This would ensure that the proximity sensor can be calibrated. This has nothing to do with the high frequency noise (as far as I know), but at the time when the signal LED turns off, now the noise already has stopped.

Other than that the support neither confirmed nor denied that this issue is special to my pair of headphones, if all H9i are affected, or if this is a known problem at all.

I will see how this develops once I haved paired more than one device again.

Greetings

I have the exact same hissing problem.  I reported it to B&O support.  They told me it was normal behavior and that most people can't hear it. They offered to warranty them for me, though, just in case.  I'm disappointed in this response.  I'm hoping more people report this issue so they correct it. 

Just want to report how my story continued:

The hissing noise returned after I paired my H9i with another device. When one of the paired devices was not present at power-up, the noise was there for at least two minutes, sometimes even longer.

The support in my case stated that this was not normal behaviour and recommended me to send them in for repair/replacement. I did so. A few days later I got the notification that they "identified a defect on the product" and sent me a replacement. That sounded good, but the disappointment came after unboxing the new pair of H9i: The hissing sound was there exactly as on the first pair.

So the conclusion is that there is no way of repairing the issue and even getting a new pair will not fix it. It is by (bad) design.

What strikes me is that in my case they were more willing to scrap one unit and send me a new one rather than to admit that it is a common flaw.

I just cannot believe that most people cannot hear this sound. While it is drowned when you listen to loud music, it is extremely annoying when listening to podcasts, movies and classical music.

I wonder what those highly praised sound engineers at B&O do when they tune headphones like these...

Greetings

I'm sorry to hear that.

Does anyone from Beoplay read these forums?

Before a bunch of H9i owners give up on their headphones, it would be great to hear Beoplay's take on this problem.

I’m having exactly the same problem. I’ve read elsewhere, and this may be myth, that the Beoplay headphones done have enough insulation around the Bluetooth module and this causes the interference. 

I have a week to return them, which I’m inclined to do. I love these headphones, and the sound is perfect for me. But it’s such an annoying noise. My only other solution is to pair my iPhone and use my iPad (for video) wired, but I shouldn’t have to do this for £400! As much as I think the QC35 is a less exciting, and cheaper feeling, headphone - it might be the way for me to go.