Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 Premium Comfortable Wireless Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Over-Ear Headphones with Protective Carrying Case, Gold Tone

I’ve been very impressed with my Beoplay H95 headphones, which I have been using for about 2 weeks. For context, I am a classical musician and record my own music. When researching BT ANC headphones, I sought out experiences by classical musicians, or people who listen to classical music, as the needs are different compared to other musical genres. Despite an extensive search I did not find much in this area so I am posting some of my experiences as they might be of interest to others.I use several different pairs of headphones, some for monitoring use in recording and editing, and others for sound checks and pleasure listening. It is unusual for any one headphone to serve all purposes! During recording, I generally use the tried and true and surprisingly inexpensive ubiquitous Sony MDR-7506 headphones for monitoring. Most agree that these are very detailed and help reveal all the “warts” during the recording process, which is essential. However, I feel their sound signature is very bright and frankly unpleasantly harsh so they are not ideal for pleasure listening. I also use some excellent higher end headphones including the Sennheiser 800s, along with the companion Sennheiser headphone amp HDV 820, for critical and pleasure listening, as well as the Audeze LCD-X headphones which I use as a reality check during the recording process as well as for pleasure listening.With that context, enter the Beoplay H95. I purchased these for pleasure and convenience listening – as opposed to critical listening or recording - in a sometimes noisy home environment (lots of nearby heavy construction noise and leaf blowers nearly every day). I was seeking a pair of Bluetooth headphones with ANC that approached the higher fidelity of my other cans. After extensive reading of reviews of popular Bluetooth ANC headphones, for example Sony WH-1000XM4, Bose 700 and Apple Air Pods Max I decided to trial the Beoplay H95. Note that I did not audition these other lower cost headphones so I can’t realistically compare them to the Beoplay H95. However, I can compare the H95 to my higher end headphones and this may be of interest to some.Now, for additional important background, my use case is probably different than that of other headphone users. I don’t intend to use full size headphones walking about outdoors – I use Apple Airpod Pros for this. I also don’t intend to use full size headphones with ANC on commutes or on planes. Again, I would use the Airpod Pros or an older pair of Bose wired QC20 earbuds for this. So – my use case for a full size Bluetooth ANC headphone is for use indoors, freeing me from the cable tethering me to my good rig, listening for pleasure in a sometimes noisy environment. Other than ANC, sound quality is of paramount importance to me. Other features such as phone calls, apps, control gestures, voice control, are of secondary importance to me.I’ve found the Beoplay H95 sound signature to be very neutral and transparent. While clearly not as fine as higher end - and more expensive - cabled headphones, the sound quality that the H95 offers is quite respectable. The soundstage is fairly expansive, and while it may not be as wide or deep as the Sennheiser 800s (which is unusually vast) – the H95 soundstage is quite generous. This makes spatial location of different instruments, for example in an orchestra, better than in lesser headphones. The mid-upper frequencies are transparent and airy, and vocals, such as in classical art songs (e.g. lieder) sound very true and engaging. Instrumentals (piano, strings, orchestra) seem pretty accurate as well. Bass is tight and certainly present in sufficient quantity for classical music. It is not boosted or exaggerated as some might prefer for other genres of music. Recordings I’ve made of myself (i.e. me as performer) also seem pretty accurate. Of course, when I compare the H95 sound to my good rig, the difference is readily apparent – for example the Sennheiser 800s has a great deal more body, heft, clarity, liquidity, dynamic range and nuance where the H95 is a bit lighter weight, somewhat veiled, slightly grainy and compressed by comparison - but I feel overall the H95 does quite a very respectable job representing reality for a BT headphone. Again, it is unreasonable to expect a BT ANC device to perform at the same level as much more expensive corded audiophile equipment. The H95 does come surprisingly close however!I have noticed what some others have called out, that to achieve decent listening volume, I need to dial the H95 up to >70% volume, which I feel is less than ideal and shouldn’t be necessary. For some softer classical tracks I need to dial it up to 90-100%. This suggests to me that there isn’t adequate headroom in the amplifier. The supplied USB-C to USB-A cable, intended for recharging the H95 battery, can also be used as a wired connection to a computer. In this case, the achievable volume is much improved compared to BT. I estimate that at 50% volume level in this wired setup is similar to 70-80% level in the BT configuration. A similar “boost” in volume occurs when using the supplied 3.5mm cable to the source, be it my iPhone 11 (with a lighting to USB cameras adapter), or PC. I believe the sound quality is also improved using the USB-A to USB-C cable, perhaps because the digital signal from the PC is bypassing the DA conversion in the H95. Another factor in the low volume output of the H95 via Bluetooth from my iPhone is EQ. Usually I have this set on “Classical” as that is the majority of my listening. However, I found that the EQ setting “None” (or “Flat” which seems equivalent) is still excellent sonically for my needs, and the volume is noticeably louder.I did have occasion to use the H95 in a phone call, and the sound was quite good at my end. At the other end, the sound quality was good enough for a hard of hearing elderly person to carry on a conversation better than when we use my land line.Regarding ANC – I agree with some other reviewers that while the dial on the left earpiece is handy for immediate control of ANC vs transparency, it would be nice to have a physical “stop” where it is obvious where the dial is minimized and where it is maximized. The dial spins freely so you have to judge based on your hearing to detect and set the desired amount of ANC. To be fair, they do offer audible tones instead of a physical stop, but you need to learn to “decode” the different tones. I found the ANC effective enough to minimize noise from construction next door through open windows, nearby washer/dryer noises, and even our land line ringing 3 feet away from where I’m seated was barely audible. Standing outside in my yard, a wood chipper being used 2 doors down was fairly noisy as one would expect. With the H95 on full ANC but without music playing, the wood chipper was about 80+% dampened, still somewhat audible. With music at low-moderate volume (~40-50%), the wood chipper was not apparent.Other Notes:- The dial on the right earpiece for volume is a brilliant feature in my opinion. Might be easier than APM's small knob. Incidentally, the small knob on the Apple Watch does control H95 volume when listening to Apple Music in an iPhone.- H95 has physical shut off switch, unlike APM, although the H95 has an ultra long battery life (38 hrs with ANC on and 50 hrs without ANC) making this less critical.- H95 has multipoint connection, allowing maintain connections to two Bluetooth sources, which means for example you can listen on one and make calls on the other- H95 has two corded options, both provided in the box: 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (analog), and USB-C to USB-A (digital).- H95 has a real case, unlike APM. However, I feel it is useful mainly as a protective case at home, not practical for travel.- The Bang & Olufsen app is nice but not essential. I did not find the EQ options to be as useful as expected. I’ve settled on “Optimal” and have not found a need to change it. The variable option didn’t seem helpful or practical. The battery level indicator is useful to a degree, but due to the very long battery life, it doesn’t come into play much. On my PC Bluetooth section, the battery level is also indicated. The volume level can be adjusted on the H95 with the dial on the right earcup so the app is not needed for this. The app is a little glitchy on the iPhone – more than once even though it was paired (appears in Settings>Bluetooth and music plays through) the app sometimes paradoxically cannot detect the H95. I had to delete and reinstall the app more than once. There is no app for computers (just mobile devices) but sometimes the Bluetooth connection on my PC is glitchy with drop outs.SummaryWhile it is not fair to expect that Beoplay H95 would perform at the same level as corded audiophile headphones costing much more, I believe that B&O did right by most things that count to optimize fine sound quality. The only significant downside for me is the relatively lower volume level, requiring cranking up the volume >70%. Whatever this suggests about the amplifier design and relative lack of headroom, it is not a deal breaker in my mind. And even though the H95 is much more expensive than every other BT ANC headphone currently available, for me attaining this high level of sound quality was worthwhile. Of course, each person must make his/her own assessment and decision based on their sound goals and personal financial situation.

Beoplay is the absolute best in headphones! My HX headphones are over 3 years old so I decided to splurge for these H95 and they are amazing. I have to wear headphones in my job (editing live legal proceedings) and have tried every brand out there for over 25 years. The Beoplay are so far above the other brands, I can't rave enough. Never ever disconnect you (bluetooth). Sound is crystal clear and lets you adjust on the headphones themselves without using a stupid irritating app. I can't recommend these enough. I will be a forever customer of Beoplay!

I've been using these headphones for about six or so months. Prior to owning these, I primarily listened to my AirPods Max whenever I wanted a decent over-ear headphone experience. While I enjoyed my APM, it sometimes made me desire a little bit more in terms of sound quality. With more reputable audio brands stepping into the fray of high quality wireless headphones, the first one I decided to try was B&O's H95. At first, it seemed as though it blew away what the APM was capable of. It had deep rich bass unlike any other headphone I'd heard, a surprisingly wide soundstage with impressive imaging, and most of all it just sounded extremely crisp. It was the first time in a long time that a headphone took me by surprise, which was a pleasant experience. As I continued to use the H95 however, I started to progressively feel less impressed by it, sometimes outright disliking it. Eventually, I decided to test out other high-end wireless cans like the Focal Bathys, ML 5909, and the B&W PX8. While each of them had something to offer, I just couldn't really commit to any of them over the H95. The reason for this that I eventually realized what that the H95 completely spoiled me in terms of my expectations of good sound. Instead of remaining this thing that I simply enjoyed upon first listening, it became my new benchmark and just like the APM, I ended up craving more in terms of quality for whatever reason. Upon further comparison to similar products, I realized that the H95 always has been the 'more' that I've been craving, I've just created unfair expectations for what good headphones should sound like. That's not to say that I feel like the H95 is perfect, but it's great, fantastic even. I'm sharing all this because I feel like there's at least someone else out there who's going to have a similar experience, of setting unrealistic expectations of what good audio sounds like and not being able to enjoy it when you're already listening to it. Still, I'm sure I'm the minority here and many will be satisfied by the sound of these and a few will never be for other reasons. There are other valid reasons not to like these such as subpar NC, no wear detection, possible comfort issues for some people, and even potential build quality concerns as the first one these I got actually arrived with a defective headband. Despite all that, if you're purchasing these mainly for sound quality, I believe they will offer you a satisfying experience.

I’ve always wanted a pair of quality headphones, and I thought that’s what I was getting! For over 900$ you expect a good product! Well, you would be wrong! I’ve had them for 3 months, used them only a couple of times due to a lot of work. They are still on the charge they came from the box, never even had a chance to charge them. All together listen time was les then 40 minutes. Today, having time off finally I decided to enjoy some music, and wouldn’t you know it, a crackling sound coming from them! How??? The music I listen to is Amazon music, so it’s all good quality! Also to mention, the headphones never left my work room. They have been in the box on my desk for 3 months, only used occasionally. And now, when I finally have time to enjoy them, they don’t work! They don’t have a single scratch on them, not even the smallest sign of usage! That’s how much I did not use them! And for them to not work after 40 minutes tops listening time is insane! The worst part is, they seems fine, no issues at all, and now this! And Amazon doesn’t care, they won’t even entertain the idea of this being a bad product, the manufacturer doesn’t help at all either! Just a waste of money! Please save yourself the trouble and buy literally anything else, I guarantee it will be better!