Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H9

Stellar battery life ; Luxurious materials ; Effective noise cancellation

Overpowering bass ; No multipoint pairing ; Poor value

The B&O Beoplay H9 are luxury headphones that miss some key marks. Materials, battery life and active noise cancellation are great, but their overwhelming bass, lack of features and high price make them hard to recommend.

Very comfortable to wear for long periods ; Great sound that’s rich across all frequencies ; Wide soundstage due to large earcups ; Subtle noise-cancellation is great

Battery doesn’t last for an age ; Bluetooth doesn’t disengage when idle ; Expensive ; Bluetooth too quiet from smartphones (an EU regulation limit) ; Wind tear is an issue

It would be too easy to criticise the B&O BeoPlay H9 for the high price and the noise-cancellation being too subtle for some. But that would be shortsighted: because the H9 is a killer over-ear headphone.

Great battery life in ANC-mode; Good sound quality; Feature rich device

Very pricey

Apart from the drops of condensation that formed from time to time, there is little fault to find with the Beoplay H9's. If you're in the market for a good quality pair of headphones that will see you through a few years, the H9's hit the mark. Add to...

Great design and build quality ; Comfortable fit

Mediocre-at-best noise isolation ; Leaky at higher volumes

They look fantastic, are comfortable to wear over long periods of time, and play amazingly.

The price is high, and can probably seem discouraging.

The B&O PLAY Beoplay H9 retains the audio signature of sparkling highs and deep bass. If you want even more deep bass effects, you have to check out Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2, although the treble clarity on the Beoplay H9 is still better.