By the time you finish reading this article, you are likely to have a completely new outlook on ultra-expensive headphones. Bang & Olufsen have decided that Bluetooth technology has finally matured enough to be worthy of their attention. The BeoPlay H8 are premium, light-weight, wireless, active noise cancelling on-ear headphones that cost a few hundred dollars. Can such a high price for a pair of Bluetooth headphones be justified? This review will tell you everything you need to know.

Design and Build Quality

We could spend hours talking about the design and construction of these headphones. You won’t find a single part that didn’t receive loads of attention and care. The H8 are constructed from the best materials available – extra fine real leather and high quality aluminium – to enhance the tactile experience and durability.

The earcups are connected to the headband with a brushed metal toggle joint, which allows them to turn flat when not in use. You can be sure that the headband will fit your head with ease. The extra-soft earpads will then take care of your ears and make you forget that you are wearing any headphones at all.

Just how Bang & Olufsen managed to construct such a high quality pair of headphones without the usual size, weight, and bulk with audiophile-grade headphones remains a mystery. But one thing is certain: their weight of only 255g makes them the lightest wireless active noise cancelling headphones on the market.

The right earcup has an aluminum touch interface, which lets you completely control your music and phone calls. The built-in battery can last up to 14 hours of music playback with active noise cancellation.

Sound Quality

Perhaps surprisingly, the very first thing we wanted to test in terms of sound quality was the active noise cancellation. Our experience with various headphones from Bose taught us that it can have a dramatic effect on the character of the sound. But the sound signature of the Bang & Olufsen Bluetooth headphones remained the same no matter if active noise cancellation was turned on or off.

Once we started the actual listening, our jaws dropped to the floor. The lever of clarity and detail that these headphones are capable of is simply unraveled by anything else. The H8 are on the same level as audiophile-grade headphones from Sennheiser and Audio- Technica.

Still, the sound isn’t exactly neutral, either. It’s slightly warm, which makes it very musical and non-fatiguing. We have never found a single song that wouldn’t work well with the Bang & Olufsen H8 Bluetooth headphones.

What’s in the Box

The box contains everything you need: the headphones, pouch, and two cables (one for charging and one for audio).