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B&O Headphones - Vintage vs Beoplay?

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This post has 12 Replies | 1 Follower

Steve at Sounds Heavenly
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The cable workshop, Leics, UK
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Steve at Sounds Heavenly Posted: Tue, Nov 5 2019 11:01 AM

Hi Beoworlders,

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Lee (of BeoWorld and beobuyer.co.uk fame) for the kind loan of three pairs of vintage B&O headphones (U70, Form 1 and Form 2) Geeked

I will be visiting B&O Derby on Friday to see how they compare to the current Beoplay models - the results will be uploaded over the weekend at youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

Kind regards, Steve.

Steve.

www.soundsheavenly.com

Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen

Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!

Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

Peter
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Peter replied on Tue, Nov 5 2019 8:13 PM

Do the U70s still have the leatherette finish?!

Peter

Steve at Sounds Heavenly
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The cable workshop, Leics, UK
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Hi Peter,

Unfortunately, the U70s have lost their leatherette pads and the Form 1s have foam rot Sad however they both sound great.  It will be interesting to see how good they sound against the new Play headphones......

Kind regards, Steve.

Steve.

www.soundsheavenly.com

Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen

Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!

Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

Jaffrey2230
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Washington DC
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I have owned several Play headphones. H4 (OK), E8 (Poor), H9i (OK) and most recently the H9 3rd gen. I find the new H9 the best wireless headphones I have owned both when used with or without ANC. It is a significant improvement in my humble opinion. I just switched from the Sony 1000 MX3 to the H9. Never tried a vintage pair though....

B&O in my life 😊: 

 

  • Beolab 8002 + Beolab 2 + Beosound Core with Essence Remote (Office)
  • Beolab 6000 + Beolab 11 + Beosound Core with Essence Remote (Bedroom)
  • Beoplay A9 Mk2 (Living Room)
  • Beosound 1 with wireless dock (Portable)
  • Beosound Balance (Dining)
  • Beoplay H95 (Focused listening, travel)
  • Beoplay H9 (3rd gen) (retired)
  • Beoplay P6 (Portable)
  • Beotime wall clock (hallway entrance)
  • BMW X5 50i with B&O Audio Package (Commute/drive)

 

 

 

Steve at Sounds Heavenly
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The cable workshop, Leics, UK
Posts 2,165
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Hi Jaffrey,

Hopefully this test will be an interesting one, we are looking to have three "bouts":-

1) "Heavyweights" - U70 vs. H9/H9i

2) "Welterweights" - Form 1 vs. H8/H8i

3) "Flyweights" - Form 2 vs. H4

On paper, some of the specifications appear to be very similar (we will be looking at direct cabled connections for the purposes of these tests), despite age gaps of up to 40 years.........

Anyone care to predict the outcome of any of these fights? I have been listening to the vintage headphones for a few days now, but I'm not going to let on what I think yet Whistle 

Kind regards, Steve.

Steve.

www.soundsheavenly.com

Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen

Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!

Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

MrRoast
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MrRoast replied on Wed, Nov 6 2019 7:34 PM
Well design wise I’d go for the Form 1 - but I guess the modern ones will take the audio prize.
Opman
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Opman replied on Wed, Nov 6 2019 8:36 PM

Hi Steve

I have both Form2 (Original Bang & Olufsen version) and BeoPlay H4.

IMHO for comfort and sound quality H4 hands down. That said, I will never part with the Form 2's.

Regards

Nick

david707
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I'd say H9 are better than U70. I remember the U70 as very comfortable but they take a lot of driving. The H9 is effortless with much more bass at low volume. Form 2 are great to look at and the sound is good, but I found them very uncomfortable to wear and ended up reselling them.

An interesting test and looking forward to your conclusions

David

Puncher
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Puncher replied on Thu, Nov 7 2019 3:44 PM

I think I preferred my A8's to my Form1's!

The Form 1's always seemed to be far too strong in the Treble range.

Ban boring signatures!

Saint Beogrowler
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The H6s are my B&O favorite headphone, if I wasn’t so far away I bring a set over for you to add to the comparison.

And I too have a set of Form 2s that I won’t part with. Sometimes they are just the sound and weight experience I want. Like sitting in the sun on a hot day listening to a podcast or a lecture. So many headphones make listening to spoken words exhausting.
Steve at Sounds Heavenly
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Thanks guys,

I am really interested to see how they compare now......  Off to the store in a couple of hours to have a listen, results to follow in the next couple of days on YouTube!

Kind regards, Steve.

Steve.

www.soundsheavenly.com

Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen

Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!

Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

Jeff
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Jeff replied on Fri, Nov 8 2019 4:20 PM

We have A8s and H6s, bought for my wife, and a pair of Form 2s for me. I got the Form 2s for listening and mainly because they are so stunning looking. I am not a big headphone user at all, never have been, but the Form 2s work well enough for the few times I use them.

The A8s were bought for my wife when she traveled a lot back in the day, they never fit her ears well, just are OK for mine, but what a beautiful bit of precise metalwork they are. Gorgeous. She has the H6s, and I have to say out of all the headphones I've ever listened to in the past few decades, the H6 is the most comfortable pair ever. Excellent sound as well, a tad bass shy but I'd rather have that than overblown bass, a slight tip up on the bass control solves that nicely, and the mids ahd high end are sublime.

I've heard the Beats stuff, and to my ear it's rubbish, but lord they do seem to sell.

Jeff

I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus. Sad

Steve at Sounds Heavenly
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The cable workshop, Leics, UK
Posts 2,165
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Hi everyone,

Thanks for your patience, I am pleased to confirm that the results are now online here: https://youtu.be/4N23rHBPjm4

Please let me know what you think!

Kind regards, Steve.

Steve.

www.soundsheavenly.com

Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen

Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!

Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables

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