A Renowned Hi-Fi Company Says These New Headphones Sound Like $150,000 Loudspeakers

Bang & Olufsen is no stranger to wireless noise-canceling headphones — its first pair, the original Beoplay H9, dates back to late 2016. Since then, the Danish luxury hi-fi maker has released several different models (and iterations), all combining premium design, luxury materials and high-end sound. And yes, they’ve all been pretty pricey.

After four years, the company is finally releasing a new flagship pair of noise-canceling headphones. The all-new Beoplay H100 are the successors to the 2020-released Beoplay H95 (which launched at $800 but now costs $999) — and they’re better in pretty much every way.

Of course, they’re considerably more expensive, too.

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100

Bang & Olufsen

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100

• $1,549 at Bang & Olufsen

Inspired by B&0’s $150,000 loudspeakers

The Beoplay H100, first and foremost, are designed to sound supreme. They feature 40mm custom-made titanium drivers that draw inspiration from the company’s $150,000 Beolab 90 loudspeakers.

According to Kristian Teär, Bang & Olufsen’s CEO, the headphones deliver “sound clarity and dynamic performance that you normally only hear on high-end loudspeakers.”

As you’d expect from wireless headphones in this price range, the Beoplay H100 promise to deliver really high-resolution audio over Bluetooth. They support audio up to 24-bit/96kHz, but they also support spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and dynamic head tracking — these are similar features to Apple’s AirPods Max.

Bang & Olufsen

Vastly improved action noise-cancellation

Naturally, the Beoplay H100 promise to feature the most powerful active noise-cancellation and best transparency mode of any B&O headphones to date.

They feature a total of ten built-in microphones — and big upgrade over the Beoplay H95’s four microphones — and this helps them double the active noise-cancellation’s effectiveness.

One of the coolest things about the Beoplay H100 is, like B&O’s other headphones, the earcups feature large haptic dials that, when rotated, let you adjust the levels of noise-cancellation and transparency modes.

Bang & Olufsen

Luxurious, with replaceable parts

Bang & Olufsen has decked out the Beoplay H100 with the high-end materials you’d expect from such lavish headphones. The earcups and headband are made from lambskin leather. The accents are aluminum. And there’s scratch-resistant glass coating the earcups.

What’s different from other Bang & Olufsen headphones is that most of the elements on the Beoplay H100 are replaceable and repairable. Both the ear cushions and the inner headband can be detached and even replaced (for an additional cost, of course), which should help extend the headphones’ lifespan.

According to the company, the electronic elements of the headphones are designed to be more repairable, too. So if the battery stops charging (or stops lasting very long), you can send the Beoplay H100 to be serviced.

Bang & Olufsen

No power button, just like Apple’s AirPods Max

The Beoplay H100 charge via USB-C and are rated to have a 34-hour battery life with ANC turned on. That’s pretty good — for context, Apple’s AirPod Max has a 20-hour battery life with ANC turned on —but it’s actually a drop-off from the Beoplay H95’s 38-hour battery life.

One thing that’s a little frustrating with the Beoplay H100 is that, like the AirPods Max, it lacks a dedicated power button. They automatically turn on when you place them on your head and then go into a low-power mode when you take them off.

To completely turn off the Beoplay H100, you need to place them in their special carrying case … just like AirPods Max.

Bang & Olufsen

Price and availability

Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay H100 cost $1,549, making them one of the most expensive noise-canceling headphones you can buy — the only ones that come close, to my knowledge, are Dali’s $1,499 IO-12.

The headphones are available in three different colors: infinite black, hourglass sand and sunset apricot.

You can buy the Beoplay H100 headphones right now from Bang & Olufsen’s website.

Bang & Olufsen

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100

• $1,549 at Bang & Olufsen

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