Bang & Olufsen H9i NR Headset Discussion, Issues (master thread)
 

Just had them on a DFW-AMS in J (772), then on LHR-DFW in F (77W). They are not nearly as comfortable as the Bose offerings that predated them. Nor is the noise-canceling as effective, IMO. However, the sound quality itself is a noticeable improvement, IMO.

The case and headset themselves are also pretty clunky. Not as compact as the Bose were.

Overall, if AA had to drop Bose, these are about as good of a replacement as you could probably hope for. Still beats any NC headset that most all other INTL J/F carriers provide.

Got a chance them out yesterday (LAX-HKG). Nice. no... very nice.. No nice I opted to put in my Bose ear buds during the 14+ hour flight at any awake moments. And to my surprise the FA didn't collect them until we were descending for landing.

Seemed pretty futile that people were opting to use the standard ear buds despite the fact that we would be landing within 30 mins... But I know the feeling of having the desire to finish that movie for sure!!!

The B&O headsets are way above and beyond the old Bose QC’s. Comfort is probably subjective but the sound quality and NC are superb. I bought my own headset a few days after trying it on my most recent HKG-LAX flight

Thanks, but no thanks!
 

I've tried to enjoy the B&O headsets, but they just disappoint. They are big, clunky, and very uncomfortable (unless you have little, circular-shaped ears!). About 1 out of every 5 headsets I've tried has had an annoying hiss/hum, and the overall noise cancellation is mediocre. I now toss the B&O in the overhead bin, and just use my Bose QC35s instead. The noise cancelling, sound quality, and comfort are far superior, and being wireless makes life so much better!

I had the opportunity to try them recently on a trip DFW-LHR and LRH-DFW. I thought they were OK; probably similar to the Bose that they had in the past. I didn't experience any issues with the size (my ears are at least of average size), and didn't have the hiss/hum either.
I do have my own Bose QC35s, which I pulled out when the FA's collected the B&Os well before we began our descent (somehow when I traveled on CX, QR, AY, and nearly any non-US airline they don't need to do that).

QR, CX, AY don't have nice headphones that people would steal. (At least in J). The CX ones particularly suck.

That said , there is no need to collect them as early as some crews do.

I had these on a recent flight and didn't like them. I did feel like the fit wasn't as comfortable as the Bose headphones. I can't say that I noticed any difference in sound quality. I am not a fan of shared headphones so I always bring my own but my Bose QC 20's got crushed recently and decided to use the airline ones for a change.

Every time I've flown with the BO's, they are dead. Thereby, producing no active noise cancelling. Oh well, one flight they'll work...!

Power switch?
 

Unlike my memory of the Bose headsets, these B&Os have a power switch that is active, meaning you can be plugged into aircraft power and still deactivate the active noise cancelling. Headsets may be in either mode when you open the case, so best to push the button to try.

I also loathe shared headsets, and often wipe them down with a Purell wipe, or something. The Bose were fine with this... the B&Os rub black debris onto the wipe. Yuck.

In my experience, youmust turn them off for the noise canceling to work. On likely uses the standard battery source (which doesn't exist), while off works though the wired power.

My elf ears take a beating every time I wear them. Too round.

That would explain why I thought they were rubbish then, and just used my Bose!