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B&O Play BeoPlay H7 by Bang & Olufsen review: B&O Play's first around-ear Bluetooth headphone is well-built, stylish and sounds quite good, too

Although it carries a lofty list price of $450, B&O's first around-ear Bluetooth headphone is quite fetching -- and sounds quite good, too.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
David Carnoy
4 min read

No doubt about it, the B&O Play BeoPlay H7 by Bang & Olufsen is a swanky wireless Bluetooth headphone. Its headband is crafted out of anodized aluminum, and the plush, memory foam earcups are covered with lambskin leather. It looks expensive and it is: B&O's first full-size, over-ear wireless model lists for $450, although it can be had for $400, £330 or AU$750 online in two color options.

8.0

B&O Play BeoPlay H7 by Bang & Olufsen

The Good

The Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H7 has a sleek, sturdy design, with a metal and leather headband and plush earcups, not to mention excellent sound for Bluetooth. It also features touch controls in the right earcup and a replaceable rechargeable battery that delivers 20 hours of battery life.

The Bad

It's fairly expensive, and we'd like to see a better case and dual microphones (for cell-phone calls) at this price point.

The Bottom Line

Apart from some small flaws, the BeoPlay is an excellent wireless headphone that's very comfortable, well built, looks good on your head, and matches up well versus the competition.

I found it a pleasure to wear. It weighs in at 9.9 ounces or 280 grams, which puts it somewhere between lightweight and heavy. By comparison Bose's SoundLink Around-ear Wireless Headphones II weighs 5.27 ounces, or 149 grams. However, that headphone doesn't have a metal headband. Master & Dynamic's $550 MW60 wireless headphone, which does feature metal parts, comes in at 12.2 ounces or 345 grams. That tank of a headphone feels heavy, while the BeoPlay H7 doesn't.

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The headphone comes in two colors and has touch controls on the right earcup.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The earcups sealed out a good amount of ambient noise without clamping down on my head too much. Your ears will still get steamy wearing this headphone on hot days, but that's par for the course for full-size, around-ear headphones. Overall, the H7 is very comfortable.

B&O makes an on-ear wireless model, the BeoPlay H8, which adds active noise canceling, a feature this model leaves off. However, this H7 -- based on the wired BeoPlay H6's chassis -- does have similar touch controls to the H8. They're on the right earcup, and they allow you to switch tracks forward and back with a swipe, as well as adjust volume and answer calls. Occasionally, I found myself accidentally touching the earcup and pausing my music, which is why some people don't like touch controls on headphones. But I'm mostly a fan of them.

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What you get in the box.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Like other Bluetooth headphones, this one has a built-in microphone for making calls. It works well, but there are better microphone systems out there. At this price point (or less), some wireless headphones, such as the Beats Studio Wireless, Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II, and Plantronics BackBeat Pro, include dual microphones and a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice inside the headphones when you talk.

One of the nice pluses of the headphone is that the rechargeable 770mAh battery is removable and replaceable. That also means you can buy an extra battery and carry it along with you as a backup (battery life is rated at 20 hours, which is very good). Alas, there's no slot for stowing that extra battery in the included carrying case, because it's made out of fabric. It's nice fabric, but at this price point I'd like to see a hard case.

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The battery, which delivers 20 hours of juice, is removable and replaceable.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Performance

I encountered some flaws with the on-ear H8, including the occasional Bluetooth dropout and a weird echo while walking with the headphones on. But this H7 didn't have those issues. The headphone didn't always automatically re-pair with my phone when I fired it up after turning it off. But that was the only connectivity problem I encountered.

I liked the sound of the H7. Overall it's well balanced, with tight bass and good clarity, and it's pretty open for a close-back headphone. The only issue I detected was a little peak in the high end that created some sibilance at certain frequencies. There's just a little too much sizzle from the high-hat cymbals in some music tracks.

Editor Ty Pendlebury talked about it and he listened to his own music. He also liked the headphone and thought it would work really well with jazz and orchestral music, but also noticed the peak.

The headphone is tuned to deliver that extra presence and sparkle, and the headphone does sound really good (for a Bluetooth headphone) with the majority of tracks; however, it's not totally consistent. For instance, listening to Spoon's "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," the tambourine that's heard throughout the track is nicely defined and doesn't overwhelm the other instruments. But in Stevie Nicks "Stand Back," the high-hat just has a bit too much bite to it. Ty heard it too, in Metallica's "Enter Sandman." And George Michael's "John and Elvis Are Dead" really showcases the peak. (You probably never thought you'd see George Michael mentioned in a $450 headphone review, but hey, I'm not a music snob.)

Worth checking out if it's in your price range

Apart from high-end peak issue, which may not bother some people, the BeoPlay is an excellent wireless headphone that's very comfortable, well built, looks good on your head, and matches up well with competing premium Bluetooth headphones. It can also be used as a wired headphone with the included cord.

In other words: Definitely worth checking out if you can afford it.