Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i Wireless Noise Cancel Over-the-Ear Headphones EXPIRED

I got these today. thanks for the post

I bought these a while back and returned them because there is no way to turn off noise cancelling by default. I own the Beoplay H6 and wireless H7, and only bought the H9i because I liked them in the Pine Green color and wanted a new pair of headphones. I don't care about the noise cancelling, and definitely didn't want to have to turn it off every time I turned on the headphones.

I'd pass on these unless B&O updates the firmware to allow the noise cancelling to be turned off by default. I'm guessing that won't happen.

Edit: adding an addition to my original comment here:

B&O makes one of my go-to headphone models and I didn't really have a choice to buy a newer B&O over-the-ear model without noise cancelling.

I own and regularly use Beoplay H6 (wired) and H7 (wireless) models, and they are very similar headphones. I would consider both flagship B&O models, at least at the time they were released. I bought both pairs because they were the portable, closed-back headphones I could find with the best mix of sound quality, comfort (the pads are cushy, and good for people with larger ears), build quality and materials, and looks.

If you love the H6 or H7 and are looking for a new pair of Beoplay over-the-ear headphones (in my case, I wanted a second wireless version in a new color), I believe the H9i (or newest version, the 3rd gen H9) are one of the first models you would consider. B&O makes the H4, but that isn't as premium as the H9 series as far as I'm concerned. When you go to the H9 (which has a $200 higher MSRP than the H4), you aren't just getting noise cancelling. It's also a better looking headphone, and more akin to the two models I currently own. I haven't found a pair of headphones–noise cancelling or not–that are a better overall product for me than the Beoplay models. I've looked at flagship models from Sony, B&W, Sennheiser (I have the HD650 for home use, but the wireless Momentum series has too small of ear pads for me), and Bose. In most cases, I find the Beoplay have a nicer build quality, or the competing models have ear pads that don't have enough clearance for my ears.

As far as my comment about passing on the H9i, I should've said that this model might not be great for you if you don't like or care about noise cancelling. I typically use wired Shure or wireless Jabra in-ear headphones when out and about, and both offer good passive noise blocking. If I'm home or at work, I use my Beoplay models, and I don't need the noise cancelling. If I'm working from a loud coffee shop, I usually use my H7's and find the passive noise blocking of the headphones, in conjunction with the volume I listen to music at, to be enough to mask background noise (not completely, but enough).

After buying the H9i in the Pine color for $285.81 (a great price at the time) as part of an Amazon lightning deal last November, I contacted B&O support to see if there was a way to turn off noise cancelling by default. I was told no. The majority of people here might not care about having that option, but I do. I don't often want the noise cancelling turned on, partially because I don't need it, but mainly because it gives me a minor ear pressure sensation. On a side note, I can't speak to the quality of the B&O noise cancelling (other than that I do get a pressure sensation when it is turned on), but I would guess Sony or some other manufacturer's noise cancelling is better. However, I would guess other headphones might not offer a better mix of features overall.

For me, having to open the B&O iPhone app multiple times a day (each time I turn the headphones back on) and swipe off noise cancelling is annoying to me, especially when it seems like B&O could offer a firmware/phone software update to give customers a choice. Better yet, maybe the headphone should just remember the last setting used. If you last used the headphones with noise cancelling on, it should be on when you next use the headphones. If it was off, the headphones should turn on with the feature off. Maybe there is a technical reason that can't happen, but lots of other devices remember the volume, sound mode, or other settings that were last used. I suspect the behavior I'm complaining about is a design failure or oversight that won't bother most people. I also don't know if the behavior I'm describing was addressed with the newer version of the H9i.

Regardless, I don't think anyone would complain if my issue were addressed. I think the headphones would be even better. I think most of you will love these headphones, especially at the price in this deal, but I ended up returning my pair to Amazon.

Quote from thatsfinebut : I bought these a while back and returned them because there is no way to turn off noise cancelling by default. I own the Beoplay H6 and wireless H7, and only bought the H9i because I liked them in the Pine Green color and wanted a new pair of headphones. I don't care about the noise cancelling, and definitely didn't want to have to turn it off every time I turned on the headphones. I'd pass on these unless B&O updates the firmware to allow the noise cancelling to be turned off by default. I'm guessing that won't happen.

Why would you pay a premium to purchase noise canceling headphones when you could buy a set without that feature? Then when you buy the set with the feature you dont want that you paid a premium for, you complain that the feature works when you turn on the headphones. And it just takes one gesture swipe down to turn it off so you literally cant be bothered to swipe your finger down when you put the headphones on if you want to turn off noise canceling?

Quote from thatsfinebut : I bought these a while back and returned them because there is no way to turn off noise cancelling by default. I own the Beoplay H6 and wireless H7, and only bought the H9i because I liked them in the Pine Green color and wanted a new pair of headphones. I don't care about the noise cancelling, and definitely didn't want to have to turn it off every time I turned on the headphones. I'd pass on these unless B&O updates the firmware to allow the noise cancelling to be turned off by default. I'm guessing that won't happen.

Why don't you just buy non noise cancelling headphones.....?

I got a set of these H9i one year ago for $250. Very happy with the purchase and I use them all the time at home, bus commute, office, and airplane.

You can compare these with the Sony and Bose noise canceling models. What you will find is that H9i has comparable sound, worse noise canceling, but much higher build quality, materials, and aesthetics. Different people will place different weight into these categories.

One big advantage the H9i: it has a removable battery. So once your battery starts to die after a couple years, you can just replace it cheap instead of throwing away a set of nice headphones. Sony and Bose you will have to dump in the trash after a few years, by design of course. I think even B&O is heading this way for their new models.

For me, the Sony and Bose felt like cheap plastic, the fit wasn't as comfortable, and they did not look as nice as H9i aesthetically. H9i fit very well on me and I can wear them for 5+ hours with no discomfort.

H9i connects to my phone via BT and I can easily switch from noise canceling on/off via touch gesture on the right ear. You can swipe forward and back to skip tracks and you can rotate like a dial to adjust volume. All gestures work well for me once you feel where to place your finger on the touch area.

The H9i microphone is excellent so it is great for conference calls and work from home. I have checked and people hear me very clearly on phone calls. I can be on a call and when I hang up it automatically switches back to the music I was playing before the call.

H9i has USB-C charging and includes an AUX cable if you ever want to listen in wired mode for better sound quality.

There is a B&O app. It is not very useful outside of updating your firmware and simple EQ adjustments.

There is a feature called proximity sensor that will pause your music if you take the headphones off and resume playing when you put them on. I did not like this feature so I disabled it through the app.

When I originally bought these I thought that it was a little splurge or a luxury item, but it has actually been one of my most used purchases and for $200 you can't beat it. One thing it is missing is a hard case. I bought one from Amazon for about $20 and they fit perfectly. I would not carry these in a soft case anywhere out of fear I'd crush them.

Here is the hard case I bought on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R12LJYH

Quote from brandofo : I got a set of these H9i one year ago for $250. Very happy with the purchase and I use them all the time at home, bus commute, office, and airplane. You can compare these with the Sony and Bose noise canceling models. What you will find is that H9i has comparable sound, worse noise canceling, but much higher build quality, materials, and aesthetics. Different people will place different weight into these categories. One big advantage the H9i: it has a removable battery. So once your battery starts to die after a couple years, you can just replace it cheap instead of throwing away a set of nice headphones. Sony and Bose you will have to dump in the trash after a few years, by design of course. I think even B&O is heading this way for their new models. For me, the Sony and Bose felt like cheap plastic, the fit wasn't as comfortable, and they did not look as nice as H9i aesthetically. H9i fit very well on me and I can wear them for 5+ hours with no discomfort. H9i connects to my phone via BT and I can easily switch from noise canceling on/off via touch gesture on the right ear. You can swipe forward and back to skip tracks and you can rotate like a dial to adjust volume. All gestures work well for me once you feel where to place your finger on the touch area. The H9i microphone is excellent so it is great for conference calls and work from home. I have checked and people hear me very clearly on phone calls. I can be on a call and when I hang up it automatically switches back to the music I was playing before the call. H9i has USB-C charging and includes an AUX cable if you ever want to listen in wired mode for better sound quality. There is a B&O app. It is not very useful outside of updating your firmware and simple EQ adjustments. There is a feature called proximity sensor that will pause your music if you take the headphones off and resume playing when you out them on. I did not like this feature so I disabled it through the app. When I originally bought these I thought that it was a little splurge or a luxury item, but it has actually been one of my most used purchases and for $200 you can't beat it. One thing it is missing is a hard case. I bought one from Amazon for about $20 and they fit perfectly. I would not carry these in a soft case anywhere out of fear I'd crush them. Here is the hard case I bought on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R12LJYH

Thanks for the review! Out of curiosity did you get the black one or a different color?

Quote from C2extreme : Thanks for the review! Out of curiosity did you get the black one or a different color?

Black

searched h9i on sd. it made front page last year at $250. bought one

Bose for life

thanks got one.

I got latency issues when watching videos on my phone with B&O so I just use these for music. Definitely not my go to pair of headsets.

I tried bose qc35ii, bw px, bno h9 3rd gen, Sony mx thingy and the h9i. Finally settled down with h9i. Sound signature is second only to the px (which was too heavy). I think I paid around 260 or something when it went on sale when 3rd gen was released.

Bose and Sony both looked, felt cheap to me. Bose sound signature was not that bad. Somehow didnt like the sound signature of Sony at all. Px felt awesome and sounded outstanding. But couldn't wear it comfortably for more than 10 mins.
Couldn't find anything to hate about h9i. Sound excellence was in between bose/Sony and px. Was comfortable and premium built. Only downside is that the noise canceling degrades the sound quality significantly. I use it without noise canceling mostly but do very rarely turn it on. Its not non existent. But weaker than bose and Sony. So unless you intent to use it with noise canceling on most if the time this is an awesome option.

Quote from thatsfinebut : I bought these a while back and returned them because there is no way to turn off noise cancelling by default. I own the Beoplay H6 and wireless H7, and only bought the H9i because I liked them in the Pine Green color and wanted a new pair of headphones. I don't care about the noise cancelling, and definitely didn't want to have to turn it off every time I turned on the headphones. I'd pass on these unless B&O updates the firmware to allow the noise cancelling to be turned off by default. I'm guessing that won't happen.

Uhh, that's not true. You take your finger, put it on the tough pad on the earphones and slide down. Did you try to read the instructions?