B&O H6 or Beats Studio

[willyx]

Hi all,

I'm debating myself over the purchase of a pair of headphones. I can't decide between B&O H6 or Beats Studio, wired or wireless.

On the one hand I think that being dependent on batteries just to use your headphones could be an annoyance and a little bit of a "slavery". I plan to use these headphones a lot, so at 6-10 hours of battery life for the wired version and 12 for the wireless, I will have to be constantly changing/charging batteries. B&O H6 does not have this problem.

On the other hand, I realise that batteries give a much better noise isolation with the Beats than with the B&O. This is important, as these headphones will be used mostly at the (noisy) office. I have tested the B&O and they have a good passive noise isolation, but the Beats ANC seems much more effective.

Do you guys have any thoughts about this?

Thank you!

 

[Tucom]

I've tried the B&O H6's on numerous occasions - both in Apple Store and in a dedicated B&O showroom store with my source material on my iPad and, unequivocally, they are the *BEST* headphones I've ever heard. The only other real competitors being the Master & Dynamic H40's and possibly the Philips Fidelio X2's.

After hearing the Bang & Olufsen's I am no longer even considering Beats. Not that Beats are bad, because these days the updated models are pretty great, but the H6's are just in another league of their own.

I think once you have music playing in addition to the passive noise cancellation of the H6's you'll forget they're not ANC. BTW, if you really want the ANC, B&O make the H8 - Wireless with ANC. Easily outperforms anything Beats has to offer.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

If your choice is solely between the two sets of headphones you have mentioned, then, to my mind, there is no contest, and I would recommend that you choose the B&O H6 headphones.

 

[cdcastillo]

Don't know if you are still doubting about this (it has been more than a month), but if they are the only pair of headphones you're getting, you are picky about sound quality, don't care that much about the noise cancelling, and the money is no problem, without a doubt go get the B&O.

This said, the current version of the Studio Wireless are not that bad, its sound quality has improved vastly from the previous one, the noise cancelling is really good and the battery now lasts 12 hours wireless and 20 hours in wired mode. Since I haven't run the batteries down completely, I can not be sure, but I understand they continue working in wired mode without battery, only the noise cancelling does not.

 

[Tucom]

Don't know if you are still doubting about this (it has been more than a month), but if they are the only pair of headphones you're getting, you are picky about sound quality, don't care that much about the noise cancelling, and the money is no problem, without a doubt go get the B&O.

This said, the current version of the Studio Wireless are not that bad, its sound quality has improved vastly from the previous one, the noise cancelling is really good and the battery now lasts 12 hours wireless and 20 hours in wired mode. Since I haven't run the batteries down completely, I can not be sure, but I understand they continue working in wired mode without battery, only the noise cancelling does not.

I'm actually considering the Beats Pro, that or the H6 or maybe Master & Dynamic H40. If the comfort is tolerable - which I read can me a major hit or miss depending on the shape of the wearers ear - then I think the Pros have my money.

Not to hijack, but have you tried the Pros for any length of time? And if so, how was the comfort?

 

[cdcastillo]

Haven't tried anything from beats but the Studio wireless, they were a gift. I didn't expect much but was pleasantly surprised.

I'm actually considering the Beats Pro, that or the H6 or maybe Master & Dynamic H40. If the comfort is tolerable - which I read can me a major hit or miss depending on the shape of the wearers ear - then I think the Pros have my money.

Not to hijack, but have you tried the Pros for any length of time? And if so, how was the comfort?

 

[cdcastillo]

Update: I have now run the batteries of the beats studio wireless completely down, and they DO NOT WORK AT ALL without battery, not even in wired mode.

Disappointing, but at least they were free.

 

[Tucom]

I'm actually considering the Beats Pro, that or the H6 or maybe Master & Dynamic H40. If the comfort is tolerable - which I read can me a major hit or miss depending on the shape of the wearers ear - then I think the Pros have my money.

Not to hijack, but have you tried the Pros for any length of time? And if so, how was the comfort?

An update: Extensively listened the Bang & Olufsen H6's vs the Beats Pro and the Beats Pro are out, hands down the H6's are just better and are getting my money.

 

[Tucom]

Don't know if you are still doubting about this (it has been more than a month), but if they are the only pair of headphones you're getting, you are picky about sound quality, don't care that much about the noise cancelling, and the money is no problem, without a doubt go get the B&O.

This said, the current version of the Studio Wireless are not that bad, its sound quality has improved vastly from the previous one, the noise cancelling is really good and the battery now lasts 12 hours wireless and 20 hours in wired mode. Since I haven't run the batteries down completely, I can not be sure, but I understand they continue working in wired mode without battery, only the noise cancelling does not.

Just wanted to throw an update out there - I ended up picking up the Beats Studio Wireless - yes, over the B&O, AND - I could NOT be happier!

The sound quality is incredible - absolutely DESTROYS anything I've heard before, and overall even bests the B&O. Super comfortable, flawless BlueTooth performance so far and, overall, just a very well built and great sounding headphone.

A+ to Beats on this one.

 

[willyx]

Thank you all for your input! I am finally on an extensive test of the Beats Studio Wireless and, as Tucom said, they are very good, but not without flaws.

One of them is that they do not work without battery. Apart from the annoyance of recharging, I fear the battery will wear out in 1-2 years making the headphones unusable unless you spend $90 on a battery change at an authorized repair service. Considering the premium you pay for these headphones, this is, well... kind of sh*t.

The other one I find is that the mic on wireless does not work very well. Sometimes during calls people say they barely hear me.

These are the only issues making me think twice about these headphones. For the rest, I find them super good.

 

[Tucom]

The non-replaceable battery potentially wearing out rendering the headphones useless is a valid argument, but I really think that given Beats is now under Apple's umbrella, they would work with you on a repair. I can't see them doing anything else.

I also highly doubt the battery would retire after that short amount of time. Remember Apple now controls everything Beats, and that includes their quality and quality control; 10 year old iPods still hold a charge, so I would personally not worry about it. Also, I haven't heard any cases of the batteries failing, yet.

The mic is a bit meh, but I don't really use it for calls.

 

[cdcastillo]

Thank you all for your input! I am finally on an extensive test of the Beats Studio Wireless and, as Tucom said, they are very good, but not without flaws.

One of them is that they do not work without battery. Apart from the annoyance of recharging, I fear the battery will wear out in 1-2 years making the headphones unusable unless you spend $90 on a battery change at an authorized repair service. Considering the premium you pay for these headphones, this is, well... kind of sh*t.

The other one I find is that the mic on wireless does not work very well. Sometimes during calls people say they barely hear me.

These are the only issues making me think twice about these headphones. For the rest, I find them super good.

Ditto on the "does not work without battery" flaw. It seems a major one to me.

About the mic not working for calls in wireless mode: I've noticed that since the mic is in only one of the earcups (the right one I believe), when you are out and about and the air is blowing on that particular cup, the wind noise overwhelms your voice. Just change your head position and the other side should hear you fine.

 

[Tucom]

Ditto on the "does not work without battery" flaw. It seems a major one to me.

Disagree on this one, and here's why: The drivers and enclosure were all designed and tuned around the DSP circuitry being active all the time. Take that away, and the sound could change drastically. Sure one could argue any sound is better than no sound, but IMO I'd rather have the experience be consistent all the time rather than have it perform subpar just to hear something when the battery runs out.

But that's just me. I'd personally carry a cheap set of EarBuds for analog playback in a pinch.

We all agree on the sound and everything else being fantastic though, so OP I'd go for it.