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Best bluetooth headphones? Beoplay H9 or B&W P7 Wireless?

  1. rihsc102
    First a bit of background. I've been working from home for the last 7 years, but I have taken a new job which means I will be out of the house 12 hours a day. It seems pointless having a nice setup at home and crappy portables if I'm going to be using the portable headphones 90% of the time, so (with much reluctance) I'm selling my Beyerdynamic T90s, dac, and amp, and buying the best bluetooth headphones money can buy.......
    From reading reviews I thought the best ones were the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless, so I bought them. I am not impressed with them at all. Now I know it may be unfair to compare the Beyerdynamic T90s to bluetooth headphones, but I picked up the T90s unused, opened box, for £270. I paid £350 for Momentums and they don't even come close. Nowhere near. I listen to a wide range of music genres, including a lot of EDM, and the bass is soooo muddy compared to the T90s. I'm not expecting the same sound quality, but I would like something that sounds good. I will be sending the Momentums back tomorrow.
    After a bit more research I have narrowed it down to the Beoplay H9s or the B&W P7 Wireless. I'm going to listen to some P7Ws tomorrow, but I have no way to test a pair of Beoplay H9s. Does anyone have experience with either of these? Or any others I haven't considered? Any help would be appreciated.
    EDIT. The most important thing to me is sound quality. ANC is not important. Comfort is important but not nearly as important as SQ. And I definitely want wireless.
  2. RedHotFuzz
    I own the P7 Wireless and gave the Beoplay H7 and H8 a good listen the other day. No comparison: P7 wins hands down for SQ.

    I have not sampled the H9 but reviews indicate a similar sound to the H7. If you don't need ANC and SQ is priority #1, I think the P7 Wireless are the cans for you.
    rihsc102 likes this.
  3. rihsc102
    Ok thanks! Gonna go try them in a couple of hours :)
  4. vourt
    Please keep us updated on your decision since i also look for best wireless in term of SQ
  5. rihsc102
    Just been to John Lewis to listen to the P7W. They sound excellent wired, much better than the Momentums. The bass is so much tighter. Mids and highs were good on the Momentums, and they were just as good if not better on these. The fit is perfect for me. My first good quality headphones were DT990s, so I have always preferred a tighter grip. But the problem is I couldn't try them in wireless mode! They were not charged and even after the store charged them I couldn't find them even after multiple bluetooth scans.
    How does the wireless mode compare to the wired?
    The only other thing that worries me is sound isolation. I have heard that it's very easy for people close to you to hear your music. Is this true?
  6. UoKTeN
    I have both H9 and P7W and I can say that H9 leaks more sound when used with a wire due to less clamping force. When wireless, P7Ws leak more sound at higher volumes.

    But here is the thing,
    In my opinion P7W sound better and more detailed. I think P7W has tighter bass and better mids. Recessed mids issue is a known problem for H9s. No matter what I still think they sound great. Just not as great as P7Ws.
    Another thing is that when you use them both wireless with an iPhone/Android, I find the max volume output of H9 very low. Every single person that I handed them tried to increase the volume at max volume and were disappointed that they were not loud enough. This is not an issue with P7W. They are one of the loudest wireless headphones I have ever used. (According to my comparisons it is P7W > Bose QC35 = H7 > H8 > H9). When on commute I can still hear noises in the tube even if the ANC is on due to low volume. This wasn't an issue with QC35 but they sounded horrible compared to H9s. This also wasn't the issue with H8s since they have better ANC and more max volume. When using P7W on the comute I can still hear the noises a little but when I listen to them at max volume they are so loud that sometimes it works like they block more sound than H9 (Only with some songs, this wouldn't be applicable with classical music tracks.) According to my tests, %60 volume of P7W is equal to max volume output of H9.
    When in the office I use both of them wired to save battery (P7W don't waste battery when wired and H9s are using the battery only for the ANC). Since computers have more power, max volume output is not an issue for wired use in the office. They are both sufficiently loud and H9 block more noise. However this time at the same loudness level, H9 leak more sound since they have less clamping force and looser fit.
    I also think that P7W has better call quality and better bluetooth connection (They can connect to 2 devices at the same time). But H9 is way more comfortable for using for long hours.
    I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any more questions.
    rihsc102 likes this.
  7. rihsc102
    Thanks for the advice! I have just finished reading through all 30+ pages of the H9 thread and all 60+ pages of the P7W thread. From what I have read, it definitely sounds like the P7W would be better for me, and I loved the sound of them wired. Plus they are much cheaper! Price wasn't really a factor as either way I would have had plenty of change left over from selling my home setup, but it's certainly a nice bonus. Amazon UK will have more of the P7W in stock on Monday, so hopefully they will be with me on Tuesday. I just wish they were in stock now lol.
    One last question, what's the volume like when comparing the wired to wireless mode on the P7W? When I tried them wired connected to my Galaxy S7 Edge, I was listening at max volume. In the P7W thread (edit: or was it the H9 thread?) I read people saying it would damage your hearing this way. Do I play my music too loud or is wireless much louder?
  8. UoKTeN
    I have just tried them, and I think wireless sounds louder on iPhone 6.
  9. Ben LaFleur
    i have the P7 wireless, The H7 and the H8,
    in terms of Sound Quality the P7 wireless is the best, while the others are more comfortable 
    i heard the h9 has a worser SQ then the H7, so i would guess  the P7 is way better
    Zoide likes this.
  10. esung
    Any differences in comfort between the H7 and H8?
  11. mickeydean
    How do these compare to the QC35 or MDR-1000X?
    Zoide likes this.
  12. m1dday
    I've tried all - and here's how I'd compare them:

    Sound quality:
    P7W >>> 1000x > H9 (not loud enough!) > QC35

    QC35 > H9 > 1000x >>>>>>>>>>> P7W

    Looks (for me):
    1000x = P7W > H9 > QC35

    ANC is about the same for QC35 and 1000x, but 1000x wins with intensely loud environments - I basically wasn't able to hear a whole crowd of a few hundred lining up in at the movies! It also helps that even just noise isolation for it is amazing. ANC for H9 is pretty bad. P7W has surprisingly good isolation even without ANC.

    In the end I kept the 1000x. The only downsides for it is it can get pretty hot and that it has a LONG charging time.
    Zoide likes this.
  13. hfsealer
    Why does the clamping for loosen when you attach the cord? Also, have you had the chance to wear the H9's' for a long time? How do they last in terms of comfort? I'm a bit concerned about the stiff headband pillow as I've had previous experience with getting a "headache" through wearing a headset with a stiff pillow.

    In terms of comfort, how much more comfortable would you say the qc35's are compared to the H9's. Also, I've noticed that the H9's have a pretty stiff headband pillow. Have you ever tried out the H9 over a long time (couple of hours maybe) and was this ever an issue?
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017

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