B&O Play H3, H6 headphones debut stateside: danish design, premium prices

B&O Play H3, H6 headphones debut stateside aluminumclad danish design, premium prices

It was just last month that Bang & Olufsen unveiled the H3 and H6 headphones under its cheaper-to-enter B&0 Play brand for the EU. Today, B&O introduced these two dapper additions stateside, announcing them at its SoHo NY shop. If you'll recall, the aluminum-clad H3 in-ears pack 10.3mm drivers aided by mini bass ports, while the H6 over-ears feature 40mm drivers and a healthy heaping of leather-wrapped memory foam padding. Both have an iOS-friendly inline remote and straight 3.5mm-capped cabling. We spent some time with the H6 and we're surprised at how light it is -- which also made for an extremely comfortable first impression when it was placed around this editor's ears. The sound from the H6's drivers is crispy and light with a fairly flat voicing that's free of any noticeable sibilance. A 3.5mm input resides on each of its earcups, which allows for daisy-chaining so you can listen with a buddy. We're told the H3 intra-aurals should sound similar (we couldn't get a clean pair to jam in our ears).

Expect to pay $250 for the H3 and $400 for the H6 come July, which is a bit pricier than the likes of B&W's P3 and P5 headphones. We'll have to get back to you about whether the prices match the products, but grab a look in the gallery for now.

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B&O Play H3 and H6 bring Bang & Olufsen’s newer badge to headphones

Bang & Olufsen H3 and H6 bring the B&O Play badge to inear and overear headphones

Bang & Olufsen already offers headphones, and it has the B&O Play line to serve a mobile-oriented world. Wouldn't it be nice if the two categories mixed? As of today, they do. The B&O Play H3 in-ears and H6 over-ears apply that Danish love of aluminum and leather to the kind of headphones you'd want to pack with your MP3 player or smartphone. The H3 carries 10.8mm drivers, a mini bass port and a 20Hz to 16kHz range in a unibody shape that should hold up to exercise; the slightly more stationary H6 over-ears sport 40mm drivers and a wider 20Hz to 22kHz range. Both have primarily iOS-oriented in-line mics and remotes, although the H6 alone has Monster-sourced daisy chaining support to share tunes with others. Don't expect a significant break in B&O's premium pricing just because they're B&O Play-branded headsets, however. The H3 and H6 will respectively cost €249 and €399 when they hit some retail stores in May, and US pricing isn't likely to be much cheaper.

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Source: B&O Play