B&O Play's H7 headphones trade silence for longevity
Bang and Olufsen held out on Bluetooth for a lot longer than other audio businesses, waiting until it could guarantee that the standard had good enough sound. Ever since it was satisfied, the usually restrained Danish firm has been throwing out wireless audio gear at a rate of knots, and another one arrives today. The BeoPlay H7 is a cheaper, over-ear version of the on-ear H8 cans we first saw in January, the biggest difference between the two being the loss of active noise cancellation. Losing that feature means that the battery, rated for 14 hours on the H8, is promised to last 20 hours on its smaller sibling.
Otherwise, the unit is pretty similar to its big brother, with the same aluminum touch panel and memory foam ear cup. Another similarity is that the H7 will "age with beauty," since the natural materials used in its construction will scuff -- beautifully -- if you treat 'em rough. The BeoPlay H7 goes on sale from today and is priced at $449 / £329 / €449 should you want to grab one in preparation for the holidays. Except, we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't at least point out that the technically superior H8 isn't that much more expensive, costing $499 / £399 / €499. If you're already pulling out four Benjamins from your pocket, it seems silly not to at least consider getting the model with ANC.
