Luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen is known for its high-end design and affordable prices. Usually the company’s earbuds and headphones are more expensive than most of its competitors, but not astronomically. That changed with the company’s sound-enhancing headphones. Following the $999 Beoplay H95, B&O has announced the Beoplay H100 which will cost you $1,549. The company says the H95 was “the most successful headphone to date,” and the H100 has many improvements over that model.
Like most B&O headphones, the Beoplay H100 is built with quality materials, from the sheepskin ear pads to the use of aluminum and woven fabric. There’s even a touch of scratch-resistant glass on the outside of the ear cups. The company says it was inspired by the beauty of the black, sand and apricot color options, all of which combine “the strong sheen of aluminum, the softness of leather, and the cool-to-the-touch glass” of what B&O describes as “design elegance.” The inner headband and ear pad are both detachable, so you can replace them if they get too worn or dirty.
Inspired by the company’s Beolab 90 speaker, the Beoplay H100 packs in 40mm drivers with the “sound clarity and dynamic performance you typically hear in high-end loudspeakers.” High-resolution audio is in the mix, with support for 96 kHz/24-bits tunes. Dolby Atmos also plays, and head tracking is available if you’re into that. B&O says its adaptive audio technology, which it calls EarSense, monitors the fit of the headphones and adjusts the sound profile in real time.
B&O claims to have doubled the active noise cancellation (ANC) performance of the H95 for this set, using 10 microphones that provide what the company describes as its best transparent mode yet. In addition, the dial on the outside of the ear cups rotates to find your preferred level of so-called TrueTransparency. There’s also a Quick Listen mode for when you need to pay attention to your surroundings at a second’s notice, but don’t really want to leave the light on. Of course, there are also lofty claims of clear calls “even in the harshest of conditions,” but that’s a disclaimer to be expected from any headphone company.
The company has been designing its speakers and other audio gear for quite some time now. B&O says its building products can be updated for years before they expire. It also makes it easier for technicians to service, and all of this applies to the H100. That’s something to play with when you’re asking over $1,000 for a set of cans. Aside from the aesthetic improvements users can complete themselves, the company says the headphone design enables quick service access to batteries, glass surfaces, drivers and circuit boards. The software “will not be outdone by new technology,” the company explains, with key features such as wireless high-resolution audio and multi-device Bluetooth among future updates.
Similar to AirPods Max, the Beoplay H100 goes into low power mode when it’s out of the carrying case but not wearing it. The company says the headphones can last up to 90 days in this state, ready to use as soon as you plug them in. If you keep them in the case, the headphones will be fully powered off. The H100 will last up to 34 hours on a charge with ANC, which is less than four hours affordable H95.
The Beoplay H100 is available today at B&O stores and on the company’s website.
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