B&O Play H8 Review - Shutting the world out in style

I'll be honest. Sometimes, the biggest feeling of satisfaction is when you successfully manage to drown out the world. Of course, music is ideally suited for that, no matter what genre you prefer. The problem is that there are situations where you just can't crank up the volume on your phone, iPod, or whatever, because the people around you wouldn't be best pleased, and to be honest, the quality of moste phone speakers is horrible anyway. So, headphones are the logical choice, and the selection is all but limitless. I went through them in an earlier article on a headphone purchase. While those Sony headphones were damn good for their price, they didn't quite hit the spot. Don't get me wrong, if you're on a tight budget, they're still a good choice, but for me, they didn't quite hit the spot. So, once I was back in employment, and with a much more generous paycheck, I decided to go for another pair of noise-cancelling headphones. And this time, the sound of silcence started with a Bang.

Bang & Olufsen, to be precise. This Danish company has been at the forefront of cutting edge audio technology since the 1970s, and the design matched the avantgarde nature of their products. Unfortunately, so did the prices. When a company asks you to pay more for a speaker than for a new car, you know they're in the premium segment. For decades, this was a comfortable niche for Bang & Olufsen to sit in. However, as anyone who has not totally been living under a rock will have noticed, the audio and music landscape has changed over the last years, and Bang & Olufsen, to their credit, decided to embrace that change rather than feel overconfident at their little niche. The result of this embrace is B&O Play, sometimes also referred to as Beoplay, the "consumer brand" of Bang & Olufsen. Don't get me wrong, these products still aren't cheap, but with entry level prices of 129€, they are a far cry from the four to five digit price tags that Bang & Olufsen is known for.

The main reason for getting these new headphones was mainly that I was back in employment, and could now actually afford a decent pair. Also, I decided to reward myself after I got my first pay check from my new employer. Bang & Olufsen were always going to be my number one choice, but originally, and still under the impression of three months of involuntary austerity, I had my eyes set on the Beoplay H3 ANC, a set of noise cancelling in-ear headphones. However, common sense did not prevail this time, and I decided to go for Beoplay’s top of the line model, the H8. The fact that they ware available at huge discounts on Amazon certainly helped. 

So what is the H8 exactly? Well, they are on-ear headphones that can be connected either via bluetooth or via cable, and that are equipped with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology. I already described the principle of active noise cancellation in an earlier article, so I won’t repeat myself here. Once again, Amazon could not directly deliver these headphones to Ireland, so I again had to rely on Parcel Motel and my address in Northern Ireland to get my hand on these things. How that will work once Brexit is complete I have no idea. But back to the topic at hand.

Quite frankly, I would have expected a more high value packaging. Granted, Beoplay is Bang & Olufsen's "consumer" brand, but it's still very much upmarket.

The back contains all the main features and an overview of the headphones.

Nice touch. The sides of the packaging show the actual corresponding earcup of the H8.

The packaging is par for the course and to be honest, no as high value as I would have expected from such an exclusive company, even if it is their consumer brand. The headphones take pride of place, and rightly so, because they are simply gorgeous! I had decided to go for the “Dark Hazel” variety, and dark certainly was the main theme for these headphones. From the gunmetal grey of the polished aluminum of the ear cups, to the dark leather covering of the headband, or the amazingly soft lambskin covered memory foam of the earpads, these headphones look and feel amazing. Not only are they expertly crafted, but they feel rock solid. Apart from the usual warranty paperwork, the H8 also ships with two cables, one for charging, and an audio cable, as well as an airline adapter and a soft carrying pouch. The battery and the earpads are both removable by the way, making wear and tear much less of an issue. 

The inside of the box is a different matter entirely. The H8 takes pride of place, understandably so, given how gorgeous it looks and feels. 

What's in a box? Quite a bit, actually. You've got the headphones themselves, an audio cable, a Micro USB cable, a soft carrying pouch, and an airplane adapter.

These removable markings on the right earcup will be very handy to control music during bluetooth playback, but more on that later.

The battery is removable, which enhances the longevity of the H8 quite a bit.

There shouldn't be any confusion on which side goes where. Those earpads are memory foam covered with lambskin by the way. 

The headband is covered with cow leather, adding to the high value feel of these headphones.

Closeup of the left earcup. This contains the removable battery. You can also see one of the microphones used for both calls and active noise cancellation.

The most important part of any headphone review is the sound quality, and quite frankly, I was blown away by the audio quality. There is definitely an emphasis on the bass, which comes across reasonably forceful, and delivers nice “kicks” when needed. However, the midranges and highs aren’t exactly shrinking violets either. What’s more, the sound is crystal clear, and razor sharp. I constantly keep hearing new notes, instruments and nuances, even with tracks that have been in my playlist for years, in some cases well over a decade. I had thought that the assortment I had used up to this point, a wild mix of Sony, Sennheiser, and Beats headphones had been good, but all of them pale in comparison to this. More audiophile minds may find issues with the audio quality, but as I’ve never been one of those who connects audio cables to his speakers only at certain points in the lunar calendar, I’m more than happy.

As for the active noise cancellation, that is out of this world. My first test was at home in my apartment, with my windows open to let in street noise. The moment I switched on ANC, those pesky idiots with their cheaply tuned rice racers on the road below all but disappeared. So far, I’ve tested them in busy cafes, my office, on public transport, and on aircraft, and noise cancellation has worked almost perfectly. That said, there are clear issues with the technology. First of all, there are issues with filtering out the human voice, so an attempt to shut out that screaming baby, or that adult that acts like a screaming baby, may only be partially successful. Second of all, the headphones aren’t always capable of filtering out the vibrations of a car or bus, but that seems to depend on a number of factors. However, even when it doesn’t completely filter the noise, active noise cancellation gets it down to an acceptable level, which is often all you need to get peace of mind. 

Some of you may have noticed that the H8 sports almost no physical controls, only a three-way slider. Well, Bang & Olufsen have never been known for letting practicality or usability get in the way of a good design. In all seriousness though, the company really pulled out all the stops when it comes to the audio controls on these headphones. The anodised aluminum of the right earcup actually serves as a multi-touch surfaces, enabling you to control the H8 with a series of gestures and taps. It takes some getting used to, but turns out to be surprisingly convenient, if not exactly intuitive. However, for reasons known only to Jakob Wagner and his design team at Bang & Olufsen, these controls only when using the H8 as a bluetooth headset. It does not work in cabled mode, seriously reducing comfort when using them on an airplane for example. What’s more, the audio cable that ships with the H8 does not have any controls or microphone either, meaning you’re at the mercy of the actual audio device you’re playing music from. I really expected more from a company with that kind of reputation.

As for the bluetooth connection itself, I have no complaints about that. I use my H8 with an iPhone 5s, an iPad, and a MacBook Air, so I can’t speak for the Android side of the market, but the range is more than adequate even in busy environments like a main street. I haven’t tried the call function yet, as I rarely get or make any calls these days, but if the music quality is anything to go by, calls should be crystal clear. 
A quick word about the battery. Bang & Olufsen has included a 3.7V, 770 mAh Lithium Ion battery, that comes preinstalled, but can easily be removed. The good news first. The headphones will still work even when that battery is drained, you'll just have to switch to the audio cable, and ANC won't work either. Bang & Olufsen states that depending on what functions you use, you should get between 14 (Bluetooth & ANC), or 35 (ANC only) hours of usage  out of a fully charged battery. That pretty much checks out with the usage that I've been getting out of these things. The only drawback is that it takes about 3 hours to fully charge a drained battery, although you can still listen to music while the H8 is charging. You'll need a computer or a separate USB charger, as none is included. Also, there is no warning tone once the battery approaches empty, you will however hear significant audio interference. That's definitely a no-go, B&O!

And then, there’s the app. Yep, you heard correctly. Bang & Olufsen provides an app for iOS and Android devices to get the best possible sound quality from their devices. Once again, I’m firmly entrenched in the Apple camp, so I can’t comment on how things work in Google’s mobile OS, but the iOS side is pretty nice. You can of course edit the name of your B&O product, or shop for others, control playback or turn ANC on or off for devices that feature it, but the main function is what the guys at Bang & Olufsen refer to as ToneTouch. This is not much more than a poor man’s equaliser, enabling you to adjust the tone of the music to whatever mood you’re in, or want to be in. There’s also a number of presets included, in case you don’t want to fiddle around with the settings yourself. An app for Apple Watch is also included, this gives you access to the presets, as well as basic device functions, like Active Noise Cancellation, or the battery status. While I’m using the app occasionally, I haven’t really been a power user, so I’m holding back on a final judgement on the app for now.

In case you haven't spent enough money on Bang & Olufsen products yet, the app will do it's best to help you out of that situation.

Standard playback controls in the app. You'll still need to go into your music player app for more advanced controls.

This is ToneTouch. Just dragging that white dot into one of the four quadrants will make sure that the music fits your mood

This is what it looks like when you've maxed out one of the settings.

Apple Watch users like yours truly will be intimately familiar with this sort of screen.... 

The controls available in the app are much more scaled back, due to the smaller screen and other restrictions.

So, was it worth the steep price? Well, to be blunt, Bang & Olufsen products have never been just about value for money. They’re much more, a statement, and to a certain extent a work of art. Just like you can’t put a return ROI on that favourite painting of yours that hangs on the wall, you can’t put them on a Bang & Olufsen or Beoplay product. They’re simply not designed with that in mind. That being said, the H8 is an amazing piece of technology, and, as far as I’m concerned, it was certainly worth spending the money on these. Also, and some family members may wince in pain when they hear this, they won’t be my last Bang & Olufsen product.