Beoplay H9 lack of volume

My H9's do not have sufficient volume with my iPhone 6 Plus. When on air travel, hard to really hear content clearly. Any ideas on whether this could be corrected through software? 

 

I have emailed B&O about this issue. I went from H7 to H9 and the H9 has much lower max volume.

Their answer below:

"I regret hearing that they have left you disappointed as you thought they would have been louder. However, the maximum sound pressure level is a compromise selected to secure a very low "noise floor" in weak music passages. This was a high-end request made from our customers using the BeoPlay H7, as the gain in dB will raise the noise floor. Via the Beoplay app there are a possibility to adjust the sound settings to your favorite preferences.

So it's not a fault, but rather a compromise to ensure the best quality in sound."

I bought a pair of H9 earlier this year specifically to use with the BV-14. I also thought the max volume was much too low and seemed to be limited by the BV-14 max volume setting in the bluetooth menu. The low max volume and an inability to reconnect with the BV-14 bluetooth even though it appeared paired meant they were returned within a month. A shame as they were very comfortable and had a lovely sound,  just not enough of it !

Best Wishes

aufan1981:

My H9's do not have sufficient volume with my iPhone 6 Plus. When on air travel, hard to really hear content clearly. Any ideas on whether this could be corrected through software? 

This is a Bluetooth issue. Connect the supplied cable from the H9s to your iPhone and hear the difference! I can't* listen to my H8s over Bluetooth. Just too quiet.

*edited - I accidentally wrote "can" before!

Yeah, use a cable with 500€ Bluetooth headphones to get them to work properly

leogoeswild:

Yeah, use a cable with 500€ Bluetooth headphones to get them to work properly

Erm, as I said - it's a Bluetooth issue not the headphones. But, hey, casually blame the headphones why don't you? Helpful.

No-one is saying that they aren't usable over Bluetooth. I know plenty of people who think it's plenty loud enough. For others, just not loud enough (and they want to damage their ears, too).

Well there is possibly a problem with using cable. I say possibly coz it might be the simplied cable isn't any good. Just got mine today and will invest in a high quallity cable before I make my final judgement.

Anyway. When I use Bluetooth I can't get it load enough, when I use the cable I lose all deep bass.
So I figured, haha, I'll just install the Equlazer APO and do a 12db preamplification of the signal.
But no, all that did was make the volume control do nothing from 50% to 100%.

I had this problem with some of my movies and the H8.

I am using now a Video Player called Infuse, that has the ability to boost the volume so that helped a lot. Note that for music I generally am fine.

Obviously that limits your sources, even though I think it might support Itunes content

 

 

I just bought a brand new pair of H9s (updated them to the latest firmware via the Beoplay app) and excitedly paired it with my iPhone 7 via Bluetooth only to find them to be very very quiet, even at maximum level they are just too soft in comparison to a wired connection.

really interested to know..

How did you with yours?

Did you contact B&O?

 

RIG:

I just bought a brand new pair of H9s (updated them to the latest firmware via the Beoplay app) and excitedly paired it with my iPhone 7 via Bluetooth only to find them to be very very quiet, even at maximum level they are just too soft in comparison to a wired connection.

really interested to know..

How did you with yours?

Did you contact B&O?

Not noticed this with mine. I play them around 66% volume and that is as loud as I need them. Wired is slightly (very slightly) louder but Bluetooth is good.

RIG:

I just bought a brand new pair of H9s (updated them to the latest firmware via the Beoplay app) and excitedly paired it with my iPhone 7 via Bluetooth only to find them to be very very quiet, even at maximum level they are just too soft in comparison to a wired connection.

As I said before, above, it's a Bluetooth issue - you have to make a choice: cable up (louder) or compromise via Bluetooth.

Also, the iPhone's Bluetooth is underpowered. You'll find it's louder via a MacBook, as an example.

I just started using the H9's with my Pixel 2 XL. I've found that the volume on the headphone operate independent from the volume on the phone. So often what I'd do is, use the earpiece to raise the volume to what I think is max, but actually the phone has more to give, and using the volume buttons on the handset seems to make it go much, much louder than I can handle. Not sure if you're tried this at all or if it's just a Pixel 2 thing?

Matt89:

I just started using the H9's with my Pixel 2 XL. I've found that the volume on the headphone operate independent from the volume on the phone. So often what I'd do is, use the earpiece to raise the volume to what I think is max, but actually the phone has more to give, and using the volume buttons on the handset seems to make it go much, much louder than I can handle. Not sure if you're tried this at all or if it's just a Pixel 2 thing?

It’s a Pixel thing most probably. Bluetooth volume sync works fine for me on iPhones + Galaxy S8 (had to enable it in the phone’s Bluetooth settings though) but I couldn’t get it to work at all on my LG G5 or Nexus 5 :(

Its by and large a Bluetooth issue, as Moxxey says.

Some headphones are louder than other for sure yes, but the main constraint is the BT vs wired issue.

I just bought a pair of wireless headphones (Master & Dynamic MW50s, on ears,  fantastic sound) last week - they are plenty loud enough over BT to my iPhone, absolutely no complaints whatsoever. But i'm one of those who like the option of cranking it up.

They get a bit louder wired to my iPhone (and are marginally louder when wired to my iPad Pro), but cabled to my MacBook Pro is a different experience. Louder clearly, but more than anything, much better sounding - assuming there is a better DAC in the MBP than the i-device. 

Very happy with what i bought, but playing around with connection options etc definitely made me think its bit questionable buying a super high end headset to use with an iPhone over BT  -  you need a separate DAC at least to get the best out of top notch headphones. And that's before you get to the volume issue.

That all being said re BT vs cabled connections, i do think headphones vary a bit natural volume wise.I haven't tried many of the BeoPlay range, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're not naturally the loudest. I tried the H8's last week - nice but nothing special sound wise.