The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are noise cancelling over-ear headphones that you can use for many daily uses. They have an excited V-shaped sound profile, better suited for bass-heavy genres. They're similar to the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9 Gen 1 Wireless, with better wireless range and about twice the battery life. While their ANC is slightly better than the previous model's, its performance is just decent. On the upside, they kept the same high-end design as the H9 and feel like premium headphones.
Our Verdict
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are decent for mixed usage. These headphones have an excited sound profile that's better suited for bass-heavy genres. Their ANC feature makes them a decent option for commuting and to use at the office, but it's not great at blocking out bass-range noise. Their high-end over-ear design isn't for sports. They also aren’t very stable, so running or doing physical activity with these headphones is not recommended. Also, due to their Bluetooth latency, they’ll be sub-par for gaming and watching TV content.
- Great design and build quality.
- Comfortable fit.
- Good battery life.
- ANC struggles a bit with bass-range noise.
- May be too bass-heavy for some.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are okay for neutral listening. These headphones have an excited, v-shaped sound profile. Their bass is good but is overly thumpy, which bass fans may appreciate. The mid-range is also good, but their treble is overemphasized and fairly uneven. Overall, vocals and lead instruments sound thin and a bit pushed back in the mix. Due to their excited sound profile, these won’t be ideal for vocal-centric music and are better suited for bass-heavy genres.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are decent for commuting. Their ANC isn’t the best but blocks out a decent amount of noise overall. They don’t leak much, so you can block out more noise by listening to higher volumes. Unfortunately, their design is quite bulky and won’t be the easiest to carry around, but they do lay flat for you to carry them around your neck. On the upside, they’ll be comfortable to wear for hours, and their battery will last you for long rides or flights.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are okay for sports. They can keep you pumped during sports with their excited sound profile, but they aren’t designed as sports headphones. Their design isn’t very stable, and they trap heat inside their ear cups, which could make you sweat more than usual. These high-end headphones won’t be the ideal choice for running or any physical activity.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are good for the office. They isolate you from a good amount of ambient chatter and A/C system noise. They're comfortable to wear for a while, and their battery will last you a full workday without a problem. They also don’t leak too much. If you don’t blast your music, you shouldn’t disturb surrounding colleagues. Unfortunately, they can’t connect to multiple devices like your work PC and phone.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i aren't suitable for wireless gaming. These headphones won’t be great for gaming as their wireless latency will be too high for this use case. Also, their microphone won’t be ideal for online games. They have a companion app but aren’t as customizable as many gaming headsets. On the upside, you can get rid of the latency by using their included audio cable.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 31, 2024: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 Wireless in Battery.
- Updated Jun 11, 2021: Changed USB Audio results for clarity.
- Updated Dec 09, 2020: We've retested and updated the PC/Wired USB test for PC/PS4 Compatibility.
- Updated Jun 19, 2020: We've retested the wired audio playback via their USB cable.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i are high-end headphones that are very comfortable and set themselves apart by their great design and build quality with premium materials. Unfortunately, their ANC feature isn’t the best and struggles with bass-range noise like rumbling bus and plane engines.
See our suggestions for the best noise cancelling headphones and the best travel headphones.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 are better headphones than the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i Wireless. While the H9i have a more comfortable fit, the H95 are a step up in most areas. They have a more intuitive control scheme, and the companion app has improved UI and customization options. The H95 also have a much longer continuous battery life and superior ANC performance.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9 Gen 1 Wireless and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i Wireless are very similar headphones in practically every category. They are built the same way and are made out of the same high-end materials. However, the H9i has a much better battery life, which gives you about twice the amount you get on the regular H9 model. Also, their sound profile is a bit more exciting, and you can also enable a talk-through mode. If you don’t feel like having more than 14 hours of battery with the H9 is necessary, then the H9i might not be worth the upgrade.
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 are better headphones than the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i Wireless. The Bose's ANC blocks way more background noise and they're much lighter and more comfortable than the Bang & Olufsen. Also, the sound profile of the Bose is very well-balanced. However, they can get a bit leaky at high volumes, and the high-end metal build quality of the Bang & Olufsen surpasses the Bose. You also get a few hours more of battery life on the Bang & Olufsen and their app allows for better customization, too.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i Wireless won’t have a good isolation performance like the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless/HD1 Wireless, but they are definitely more comfortable and offer more controls. The Bang & Olufsen sound profile is also more exciting to listen to right out of the box, but you can’t EQ them as precisely as you can inside the Sennheiser Captune app. Also, the Sennheiser can connect to two devices, which is convenient. They also have an in-line microphone, which the Bang & Olufsen lacks, and have pretty low latency for Bluetooth headphones, which will be decent for watching video content.
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