ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
L1NO:Could you specify this noise? Is this something you would have not bought the H8? I'm want to buy these but expect high quality. The drop-outs and hiss would make me reconsider.
Hm, well its a faint buzz that I think I will have to get used to. Not too bad while commuting but would be annoying at home. I guess it will go away if I use them powered off with a cable. But the dropouts are annoying, noticed them a lot today when walking at the train station and around town. The music stops for a second and it is a bit strange. Perhaps it is my iPhone6 that is the problem, but it shouldn't be. Quite weird that the headphones doesnt support Siri either.
For the high price I paid for them I am a bit disappointed but they also look great and sound is quite good. The best thing you can do is to try them out I think. I just got them yesterday so I´ll have to evaluate more
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
Hey Michael,
What I've noticed it's not really drop outs... It sRena that the control is the part that goes nuts.
the songs seems to skip forward and back and sometimes even pause.
at least that's what seems to be happening to me.
i'm also using iPhone 6. I'll be testing out with my Note 4 too.
Temi: Hey Michael, What I've noticed it's not really drop outs... It sRena that the control is the part that goes nuts. the songs seems to skip forward and back and sometimes even pause. at least that's what seems to be happening to me. i'm also using iPhone 6. I'll be testing out with my Note 4 too.
Hi Temi, hm, I think I notice dropouts. Or it stops for a short short time and continues. Will have to listen more. Good that you have another phone to try it with too.
991fan: Has anyone else who's got these experienced terrible feedback when moving or adjusting the headset?
Has anyone else who's got these experienced terrible feedback when moving or adjusting the headset?
I have when noise cancelling activated. Some feedback on the left earpad but really loud sound when moving or adjusting the right one.
Qobuz French review of the new H8, for me its my second language but Google translate will do the job.
http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/info/Hi-Fi-Guide%2FBancs-d-essai%2FTest-du-sur-attendu-nouveau-casque176745?utm_medium=e-mail&utm_source=newsletter_qobuz_hifi_guide_194
In short:
- Its absolutely not made for bald headed people who are traveling on a train.
- Excellent sound but a bit costly in comparison to other well sounding headphones (Sennheiser…).
- Quality of materials and workmanship is impeccable.
"Believe nothing you read and only half of what you see, let your ears tell you the truth."
Will the brown get much warmer during sunny days than the lighter colour?
"You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
So I've had the H8 for a few days and:
• Sound is good, bass is good.• Not as clean sound as with a cable, but its ok.• My ears hurt after a while but it´s only noticeable when I first take them off. • Sometimes bluetooth doesn't come on by itself.• They are on while charging, even if turned off.• They don't send battery status to the phone (not god, only way to find out battery status is when it is below 10% and they start to turn off/blink red).• I accidentally call people all the time because they think I want to double click.• I can't use Siri without having to use my phone´s home button. • I can't turn on/off ANC with gloves for some reason.• The new bag feels cheaper and like nylon compared to the H6 bag that feels better (cotton?).• I want more batteries, are they special for the H8 or could I buy other brands on eBay?• I don't like the micro-usb cable, it has a strange texture. Going to buy another one or an adaptor so I can use my lightning cable.• The ANC is useless in wind. It makes the wind noise more obvious so in wind turn ANC off.• Music cuts out _alot_ especially when I am outside. At least once per song, but usually more often. Not acceptable. Perhaps my phone or a bad pair of H8´s? Only noticed from my iPhone 6, not from my Mac (which uses AptX instead of AAC). • There is an odd label inside that only says XXXXXXX. Probably not a valid certification :P.
I totally agree with Michael.
I'm a bit surprised that only me and Michael are the only ones having problems with dropped/skipped sounds on the H8 using through Bluetooth.
I've tried with my Note 4 and same things happens. Went to the B&O Shop and they've never heard of anything like this (obviously they don't come to this board). The shop called their tech support, and the tech said to actually exchange mine for a new one and send it to them for analysis.
So with my brand spanking new H8... still having the same issue. I'm noticing that his is happening when I'm outside with people around (I can be standing still)... or when I'm walking. If I'm sitting on the train... or at home, this doesn't happen.
I still have a little time to exchange this... so I'm contemplating if I should keep this or change it for a H6 w/ DJ Kalid mod (for better Bass)
I've been away for a week and have been using my new H8's fairly extensively during that time but have not had a single dropout so far - connected via Bluetooth to my phone, an HTC One M8 (which uses AptX).
I haven't got an iphone I can try but I think I still have an ipod touch somewhere so I will see if I can try that and report back as to whether I have any issues as this might help narrow down the cause of the issues others are experiencing.
I also haven't experienced any feedback noises when adjusting the earpads (and I have tried quite hard to reproduce that problem since seeing it reported here).
I have however discovered that because the headphones are on whilst being charged - if I try to charge the H8's from my laptops USB port, whilst simultaneously listening to audio via the headphone jack, there is a lot of high frequency 'digital chatter' type background noise introduced via the USB power connection (which probably says as much about the poor filtering of my laptops 5V DC as it does about the H8's - but it would not be an issue if they remained powered off whilst charging). It's not loud, but it is significant enough to be distracting during quiet passages of the audio.
Overall I remain pretty happy with my H8's though.
Martin.
I got my H8 about a month ago here in New York and this is my third pair because of the BT drops....mostly when I am outside but really bad. Tried with different players, battery levels, ANC on/offetc, inside/outsode....still present. B&O is aware of this and that is why I am on the third replacement. I do not think players I have are the problem (tried my AK100ii, AK240, apple products etc..) because all of them are OK when using my B&O A2. Too bad this is happening; they are the best BT headphones so far but you can not take advantage of the BT feature. Not sure a firmware can fix this.
I am using mine with Ipad (2nd Mini) and Iphone (6) and have no issues in regards of drop outs.
I do have gripes with them not providing a propper travel case. Also, dislike the on and off switch cause I accidentally switched mine on. That happened right before an 7 hour flight with no power in seat. With A\a proper case, this should not have happened. Also, there is no way to check the status of the battery. Some BT phones display the battery level as a small symbol on the iphone, i.e. my 2 year old Jawbones that I use for workouts do. I would have loved that too.
Very happy with them though, just looking for a proper case.
riverstyx:I've been away for a week and have been using my new H8's fairly extensively during that time but have not had a single dropout so far - connected via Bluetooth to my phone, an HTC One M8 (which uses AptX).
Okay, I take it all back - I have experienced major dropout issues today
I couldn't figure out why I hadn't had any dropouts whilst using the H8's on holiday, but walking into town from where I live I had a dropout every few seconds so I looked at what had changed.
Whilst on holiday I was wearing my walking clothes, and my phone was in a pocket on the right sleeve of my coat. Today I wore different clothes.
To confirm this issue I have tried with the phone in a number of different positions and discovered the following:-
So it would appear to me that this is a bluetooth signal strength / antenna efficiency issue.
I don't know enough about the bluetooth protocol to know whether this is the case but I suspect there maybe some feedback between paired devices regarding their received signal strength such that transmission strength (and hence device power usage) can be adapted on the fly, so it might be possible for B&O to resolve this issue in firmware, but equally it may require a redesign of the antenna in the H8's.
I will contact beocare with my findings, but perhaps it would help if others could experiment and see if they can reproduce / confirm my findings.
Hi Martin, I do have the same issues you are having and tried already to figure it out with no success.....player up/down, left/right pocket, with case/with out etc.... You will be surprised to see that you can find the opposite effect of what you have tried in some days...please read my post from yesterday..
asnyc75: Hi Martin, I do have the same issues you are having and tried already to figure it out with no success.....player up/down, left/right pocket, with case/with out etc.... You will be surprised to see that you can find the opposite effect of what you have tried in some days...please read my post from yesterday..
Thanks async. I've just been out again wearing my walking jacket with the phone in the sleeve pocket and had zero dropouts during an hour of listening, then moved the phone to my trouser pocket and experienced constant dropouts. I don't doubt that the frequency of dropouts will be quite variable with position, and for me it improves if I stand still or am indoors, but if we can establish that the dropouts don't occur when the device is held close to the headphones then at least that points to it potentially being a signal strength issue.
Having said all that, at the end of the day it is for B&O to determine the cause of the issue, not their customers, so I've reported my findings to beocare (and my dealer) and will await their response.
Kind Regards,
Martin
...and all that with 500 EUR headphones. Planned to buy them - no freakin' chance now until they release v2.
That's just not luxe.
Was at the store today and said I would buy a pair on the condition that I could return them if dropouts turned out to be an issue. So they offered me to borrow a pair until monday. This is my experience so far:
-Not a singel dropout when I am wearing the phone on me.
-Leaving phone and moving to the next room causes many dropouts if ANC is activated. De-activating ANC improves it alot, only a short drop-out now and then.The dropouts can be forced by touching the headphones.
As long as dropouts are not experienced while wearing the phone or as I am in the same room as the source, they are doing the job for me.
I am returning them on monday, so I will get on a bus or train to do the final testing. If I don´t experience dropouts going there, I will def get a pair!
Thanks Michael. It is true that we can not control many of the factors related to the BT drops. For me sometimes the wind affects that sometimes not....when outside even with the player in front of me without a case a have drops...
double post
leosgonewild:DJ Kalid mod?
http://www.beoplay.com/dj-khaled
It feels like H8 was rushed to market (even tough B&O America said in an interview they where late to wireless headphones because they wanted to do it just right). I haven't had so many drop outs since my first portable CD-player. I remember when I had a MiniDisc player and how it lasted about a minute if I would run with it. The H8 dropped out 58 times in one song earlier on my morning walk. It is just not acceptable. How could that gone unnoticed in development? If so many of us here have the issues I don't think it is just my own headset that is an issue. I am considering to stop using them because they are ruining how I perceive my music collection.
I went back to the store to retunr my "loaners". Took both tram and bus in order to test them. Walked around in the city. Didn´t experience any drops, so now I am sitting here with my new, brown H8´s
leosgonewild: I went back to the store to retunr my "loaners". Took both tram and bus in order to test them. Walked around in the city. Didn´t experience any drops, so now I am sitting here with my new, brown H8´s
Hi leosgonewild :D. What kind of phone do you use with them? To be honest I have had walks and rides without drop outs but also the same with tremendous amounts of dropouts. I commute on a daily basis and have been travelling a lot with my H8´s already. What I mean is that I would not be surprised if you would get dropouts any time soon :/.
I work in a university.. which is also right in the middle of all the tech-industry environment..
I'm wondering if this has to to with the signals in the air that causes the interference.
I notice that if I'm just sitting on the train during my commute, it's fine.
But when I'm in the university walking around... and sometimes just waiting at the bus stop pacing... I would get A LOT of drop outs.
The B&O branch near me is receiving a new shipment in today... and I'm going to go exchange mine for a 3rd one. I'm hoping it's the manufacturing of the units...(I heard they're made in China? I haven't looked at the box) and this lot will be better.
I have an iphone 5. Been using iphone ever since the 1st gen.
But I have been wanting to try Microsoft for a while, so today after buying the H8, I went by the microsoft store and bought a Nokia 1320, as it was only 249euros, and has a huge screen.
I live in Helsinki, and it is not as crowded as the situations as you describe in your testing ;)
Will update with my experiences. (Someone has to be early adopters )
I'm really glad I don't work for B&O when reading these threads. I think my face would turn red and steam would blow from my ears.
Just like the A2 thread where there are some very vocal complaints about "lack of bass", I'm wondering if this is a "laws of physics" type of problem here. I don't think bluetooth was ever designed for communication between objects that are moving independently from one another in "noisy" (radiowave noise) environments. I'm also willing to bet that the most common "use case" is sitting on a plane or train (so there should relatively little noise or movement vs. walking in a crowded urban environment)... and I hope they work well in this environment because that is where I plan to use mine whenever they arrive (waiting on brown ones) - and even if they don't I'll just use the a wired connection because I'm sitting it's not that big of a deal - I'm not saying this is a solution for everybody - after all, what is the point of wireless headphones if they only work well when wired?
I'm sorry that they're not working for you guys, and if there's a fix, that would be great. Then again, sometimes stuff just doesn't work the way you want it to because the laws of physics get in the way, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Has anybody used other bluetooth headphones in similar environments with better results? I'm really curious as I'd like to understand if these dropout problems are unique to my favorite brand or is this just the nature of bluetooth? I have a bluetooth mouse that dropout every once in a while, and it is right next to my laptop...
Stan
Good point, Stan. My bluetooth keyboard and mouse sometimes acts up. But most of the time it works as it should.
For me, a wireless headphone shall allow me to move freely. If they don´t, I could just use wired ones.
This is my first wireless headphones, and I must say that the freedom I experienced today when leaving home to go to work was wonderful. Turning on the H8, putting them on, and out the door I went. No need to think about how I should put on my scarf.
I disagree with the statement that Bluetooth is not meant for streaming while on the move. Many companies have been able to provide this without having drop-outs. Plantronics have streaming earphones that i use at the gym and it does not have drop-outs.
I can understand if there's *some* interference if I had my phone on my desk and I was walking to the next room. But I would not expect to have any drop-out if the phone is in my pants pocket and It's within 3 feet of the headphone.
It's great to have bluetooth, but if it requires me to plug it in 50% of the time (basically every time I'm not sitting still) it's not that much of a benefit. It turns from the advantage of being able to plug in if your bluetooth is out of juice, into "I need to plug it in b'cuz it doesn't work when I walk around"
I contacted beocare regarding the H8 dropout issue rather than just approaching my dealer for a replacement pair of headphones as I wanted to ensure they were fully aware of the issue and seeking a resolution. The end result of which is that my pair of H8s are going to take a journey to Struer.
Email from BeoCare: Thank you for contacting Bang & Olufsen Customer Service regarding your BeoPlay H8. I have forwarded you e-mail to the product responsible service manager and we would appreciate very much if you would send your BeoPlay H8 to us for examination. Although we know the phenomenon and is working to find a solution, the frequency of drop-outs described in your e-mail by far exceeds what we have heard of before. If we may therefore kindly ask you to return the product using this link: http://return.beoplay.com we shall send you a new set of BeoPlay H8. Please, quote the following in the error description field: "To be replaced due to repeated drop-outs. Product to be sent to XXX for examination. Ref. no. XXXXX. Please forward the ticket number to me as I shall then be able to follow the incident from here. I am sorry for the inconvenience this is causing you; however, please be assured that we are doing our utmost to find a lasting solution and in this process, your BeoPlay H8 may contribute with important and valuable findings to us.
I know this doesn't yet provide a solution to those of us experiencing this issue, but I do take some encouragement from the response as they have been quick to acknowledge the issue and confirm that they are actively looking for a solution, whereas in my experience, other companies in a similar situation regarding a product with issues have simply chosen to deny any problem exists or make no comment at all until they are forced into a state of acceptance by overwhelming evidence of the facts.
There have understandably been a lot of negative comments in this thread given the issues being experienced, but ultimately those of us who have purchased the H8s have done so because we like the product and it's concept. The fact that some have accepted several replacement pairs in the hope of resolving the issues rather than just demanding a refund bears testament to this. I still love my H8s, and in a way that is why the sense of disappointment and frustration is so severe, but I am also mindful that manufacturers with much higher budgets and resources have launched products that have made it all the way to the mass market before major flaws have been discovered, so whilst it is not good, I am prepared to cut B&O a little slack in this regard (Apple's antennagate has already been mentioned in this thread, and there are plenty of other examples).
I really hope B&O are able to resolve these issues quickly, before too much damage is done to the product's (and brand's) reputation.
BeoNut since '75
Thanks Marin!
My local B&O called the service and they requested that my unit gets sent to them as well.
I love B&O and their product. I'm definitely not moving away from it in any way.... and hoping this next lot of shipment will be an improvement.
And I definitely agree that they're really taking care of their customer in terms of accepting what's happening to the units and taking corrective actions. It's much better having the sales person just saying "sorry, we'll give you a refund".
Keeping my fingers crossed.
Hi,
have a look on Us amazon.com site. Out-of-stock now, either a very good turnover article or they stopped production/delivery due to issues.
21 5star reviews, none mentioning the dropout issue.
One rating with 3 stars only due to dropouts, two comments on this rating, one from Beoplay. It look's like B&O really cares about this potential issue.
I will buy a H8 as soon as they become available in Germany (seems quite limited availibilty here).
And I am more interested into the Noise Cancelation Feature. How does it perform in trains, planes, open office space?
Currently i am using a Bose QC20 inEar. I love them for their Noise Cancelation capability during airtime, but they hurt my ears...can't wear them for hours.
I walked next to the road today (heavy traffic), and I could not hear the cars passing by. I would say the noice-cancelling is dangerously good