I thought I could never feel this way again: Oh hello, headphones! You cost $400, but I don’t care because you are so delicate and lovely and wonderful and beautiful. It turns out I’m not as jaded as I thought.
You can’t help but admire the design of the new H6 headphones from B&O Play, which should hit stores stateside sometime in July. They’re aesthetic bliss from their aluminium earcups, to their soft sheepskin-cloaked, memory-foamed earpads.
The design is more functional than their luxurious looks might imply. The H6 headphones are much lighter than most over-ear headphones in this range. And far from tacky, the big “L” and “R” labels inside the earcups take that moment of mystery out of figuring which side is which when you go to put the cans on.
I had the opportunity to listen to these headphones for a few minutes today, and I can say that they sound just fine. Though, they’re not the best-sounding $400 cans with 40mm drivers I’ve ever heard. The sound is nice and clear right at the middle frequencies, but you’re not getting a lot of support from the highs and especially not from the lows. That’s my initial impression anyway.
But if you’re buying anything from Bang & Olufsen, you know you’re paying a premium for snazzy looks, and a fancy-pants name. They’re supposed to excite your brain before a sound ever penetrates your ear holes. Does it work? [B&O]