Bang & Olufsen has announced its new Beoplay H100 headphones from $ 1,549which debut at an even higher price than its four-year-old H95, which now costs $999. The company justifies that price with a focus on premium materials, improved noise cancellation and better repairability that will potentially extend the life of the headphones.
Using materials like lambskin on the H100’s ear cushions and scratch-resistant glass protecting the earcups’ touch controls isn’t new for Bang & Olufsen. But the earcup and headband cushions can now be easily removed and replaced when they get worn or dirty, and the company says the H100s feature a revamped design that makes it easier to repair or replace components like batteries, drivers, and circuit boards. That’s a big selling point, because when you’re spending upwards of $1,500 on headphones, you don’t want them to become e-waste just because the batteries no longer hold a charge.
Sound is delivered through a pair of 40-millimeter “custom-made titanium drivers,” and the H100s not only support 96kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Audio, but also Dolby Atmos spatial audio with built-in head tracking. Active noise cancellation is now powered by 10 microphones, which Band & Olufsen claims doubles its performance, and switching between ANC and Transparency modes is handled by an adjustable haptic dial on the earcups themselves — a feature included on older Band & Olufsen headphones and pioneered on Microsoft’s Surface Headphones.
The H100s’ 32 hours of battery life (with ANC on) is a bit short of the H95’s 38 hours. With spatial audio and head tracking active, the H100s’ battery life drops by another two hours. Like Apple’s AirPods Max, the H100s don’t have a power button. Instead, they automatically turn on when worn, go into a low-power mode when removed with 90 days of standby time, and power off completely when placed in an included carrying case. If the earbuds do run completely dry at an inopportune time, Bang & Olufsen says a five-minute charge will provide an additional five hours of playback.
