Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H3 ANC In-Ear Headphones - Gunmetal Grey

I have now been using these for a bit and I have to say that the sound quality is the best I have heard with in-ear headphones. This is for rock, folk, jazz and classical. Bass is realistic and solid/controlled, trebles and mids beautifully laid out on the sound stage. All is very clear. Nothing is missing. Using these is a true pleasure. This is of course the most subjective part of any review, so I'll just say - it is excellent for me, a middle-aged (as my teenage son never fails to point out) man who likes various kinds of music (as listed), but not necessarily garage, drum and bass, dubstep or other bassy genres.What I read here about the microphone effect (cables rubbing) is true for me too, you can hear the cables loud and clear, but that's not an issue for me. I don't use these top quality headphones for running or exercise, or even while walking, so no problem here. I can see how this could be an issue though. The cables are thick, good quality and not hugely pliable.The noise cancellation was a problem to start off with, I even contacted B&O about (and asked a question here). It was up until I picked the right ear-tip, got the position of the headphone right, so that it sat nice and deep, and went on the plane with them. Yes, it works. Not wonderfully well, does not 'produce silence' like Bose QC20, but it does dampen the aircraft noise quite a bit. I guess there has to be a compromise between sound quality and ANC.If you are unhappy with the sound or ANC, I suggest experimenting with the various ear-tips supplied, positions in your ear. To counter the microphone effect - moving the cables around. Finally, the sound improves with use - they get even better - I did not think that was possible with this pair.

Having used these for a couple of weeks, I've got really mixed feelings (I got mine on a £110 deal). They sound lovely, so when sitting down somewhere you can really listen to your music. However, they're expensive, bulky and 'noisy' when moving about, the noise cancelling doesn't do very much (and the buttons don't work on Android, even with things like RocketPlayer which have a compatability mode).I'm no audiophile, but these headphones really do bring out some of the sounds you've probably been missing from the headphones you got with your phone or whatever. Without changing anything else, it feels like you're getting much more of the 'range' of sounds in the music, and you can start to hear some of the problems with your MP3s. After re-encoding my MP3s to a higher bitrate from the FLAC files, things are better in that regard, and I'm really quite pleased with the sound.However, the actual earbuds are quite big, and the cable is thick and not very soft, so you'll need quite a bit of friction to keep the buds in your ears (I found the memory foam too soft for this). That friction requirement makes them a bit less comfortable after a couple of hours, but I've got used to it pretty quickly.When walking, you can hear your own footsteps, breathing, and the cables scraping about on your clothing. I find the only make to make this bearable is to tuck the cables inside my coat (and maybe inside my jumper) to stop them moving about. The 'blob' which has the noise cancelling stuff in it is a pretty big thing to hide, so you'll need an inside pocket for it and your player. I guess all that will have to go in my jeans/shorts in summer. If I'm honest, all of this isn't much different to any old pair of 'earplug' style headphones, although the added 'blob' is a bit of a pest.I'm not sure what the added cost of the noise cancelling is, but it's almost certainly not worth it (for me, at least). I can hear a bit of difference when turning it on and off, but honestly, the 'plug' effect of the buds is 90% of the noise cancelling - the rest may be some clever B&O amplification or DSP or whatever, but I think I'd live without all of that if I could get rid of the 'blob' and have thinner wires.So in summary - they're great for sitting still somewhere quiet. They're okay for sitting on trains/tubes/buses etc, but they're distinctly average for walking about, and quite probably awful for exercising (I tend to use some super-light buds for that sort of thing, so haven't bothered to try these). I don't regret buying them, but they're not as good as I'd expected, and I wouldn't say they're especially good value (especially not at normal price).

Beoplay H3 ANCAt almost 50% off RRP I thought this was the right time to buy my first set of B&O earphones. Having been an avid collector and restorer of '80s B&O gear I thought I'd take a look into a more modern interpretation of their product line.These buds are fantastic and score highly for sound quality and comfort imo. The product arrives beautifully packaged with everything in its right place and no surprises; from the outset you get the feeling you've bought a top quality product.I use my earphones on the train - a commute of about 90 minutes each way. For this purpose the 'phones are comfortable and unobtrusive. In particular the in-line remote control doesn't keep snagging on my shirt collar, something which I've found irritating beyond belief with other earphones.I use the earphones with my iPhone 5S playing tracks of varied bitrate. Considering the source the sound is quite glorious.Lower frequencies are presented gently but with a firm weight. Makes a change to hear a bass that remains controlled and clear. The mids are nicely seperated and hang freely in a glorious spacious soundstage. At the top end I find the treble surprisingly controlled and pleasing on the ear. I've not heard anything shrill from these buds yet. All positives as far as I'm concerned for sound quality.Noise cancellation:The technology has moved on a lot since my old 'on ear' Sennheiser PX200s - it's a whole lot better nowadays.These earphones demonstrate a subtle noise cancellation which works really well on the train. In particular the rumble of the carriage is completely removed. The actual music appears to remain unchanged though, which is a real surprise after experiencing other brands of noise cancelling technology where the music appears to be boosted a little too much, almost like hitting the 'loudness' button.The technology is generated by a small processing unit which sits inline about 10cms from the headphone jack. The idea being that it sits with your device in your pocket. It's a little bit annoying purely because it's there. It's something you get used to working with though and shouldn't put you off buying.I'm taking these buds on holiday next week so will be able to add my experiences from onboard a 2 hour flight.The only issue:I use a pocket DAB radio on my commute as well as my iPhone. The noise cancellation technology completely blocks the reception of DAB, so it's not possible to use DAB with ANC switched on.I wrote to Beoplay about this on Twitter and was told to try using a different piece of equipment or to turn ANC off(!).I didn't know B&O were world leading representatives of the ISTBO. I do now.Verdict:The noise cancelling technology works very well and doesn't eat through battery power very quickly.For superb comfort these earphones come supplied with Comply soft tips (lovely memory foam type things which adapt to the shape of your inner ear for a snug fit).At £104 I think these earphones are still expensive but do provide a very pleasing level of sound quality married to exceptionally good build quality.