I’m still playing catch up in trying to put out more Bang & Olufsen headphone reviews; the company has lots of models to fit almost every price point. Today we are taking a look at the B&O Beoplay H7. The H7 sits one step above the H4 in terms of the company’s wireless Bluetooth headphone line and represents a significant jump up in terms of fit and finish.
They have a lot of the features that the more expensive H8 and H9 have, but they cost a little bit less. So where have corners been cut, and how do they stand up to the competition within its price point.
The building of a stylish headphone brand
The styling on the right through Bang and Olufsen's headphone line all follow a very similar style. This is good because they manage to build a brand identity to compete with other more established brands like Bose and Sennheiser. All B&O headphones look very similar, and that’s a good thing because they all exude class and clean lines. There is nothing shouty, nothing brash, and in your face, just a refined and subtle style.
Immaculate build quality
We knew what to expect when coming into this review, having featured the bang & Olufsen products on the past site. The attention to detail plus the fit and finish of their products never fail to impress, and the same can be said for the H7. These headphones are reinforced with metal and draped with leather in all the key points. There are no creaks or groans. When you get rough with them, they feel like they would be up for taking years of abuse.
The middle ground on features
So the B&O H7 is essentially the chassis of the H6 with some of the features of the H8. Unlike the 6's, these headphones are wireless with built-in APtx Bluetooth connectivity. They don't adopt the noise-canceling technology of the more expensive H8, but they do get the touch controls on the right earpiece. Battery life is rated at 20hours, but we got closer to 18 during the course of this review.
Comfort and Isolation
They get good marks for both the comfort and isolation as the luxurious leather pads and headband both have a perfect amount of padding. Clamping pressure is just right for my fairly normal-sized head, and the smooth swivel motion on the earcups helps them mold closers to my ears.
The headphones are closed back and have a metal panel, and this does an excellent job of blocking out unwanted external noise. However, it is nothing compared with a set of noise-canceling headphones, so if that is of the utmost importance, then it’s best to look at the H8.
Sound Quality - Smooth for the most part but with some sibilance
I do like a bit of top-end sparkle to my music, but the H7 has a weird little spike in the top end that I found, at times, to be somewhat distracting. The funny thing about it was that it wasn't always there, even on tracks where I thought I would have trouble. Other than that, they are pretty good sounding for a set of wireless headphones.
The H7 has nice clean and clear mids that are given a slight bump to the warm side. The bass is quite punchy, and they do have the ability to hit quite hard, although these are not what I would consider basshead headphones. Soundstage is quite big for a closed back, with perhaps a bit more depth being displayed than width.
The competition kills them on price.
I'm sorry to say that the H7 gets absolutely slaughtered by the competition when we consider value for money. There are just too many more feature-rich and better-sounding headphones on the market than the H7 for them to be able to charge such a high price.
I know the company has positioned itself as a luxury brand, and that may be true in the speaker and the home audio world, but it isn't in the headphone world. Here they are generally seen as overpriced for what you get (I mean, seriously, at over $300, you cant even throw in a travel case?).
I couldn't see any reason at all to recommend the H7 over something like the Bose QC35 or Sony MDR-1000XB, which are both cheaper and more feature-rich. Unless the company offers you something more in terms of performance or feature, they will have to rethink their pricing policy.
Conclusion
The B&O H7 is a very nice set of wireless headphones. They tick all the right boxes apart from one. The build is good, the sound is good, and the styling is on point, but the truth is other companies’ offerings outdo these headphones, and I would recommend going with one of them and leaving the H7 on the shelf.
