Design and features:The headphones work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on, and you can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have medium sensitivity regardless of whether the noise canceling feature is turned on or off, so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and all but the lowest powered portable audio devices. The BeoPlay H8 has an integrated microphone and touch sensitive Bluetooth volume, music player, call connect/disconnect, and noise cancellation on/off controls. This model has earcups that swivel to flat for ease of carrying and storage and comes with a detachable 48-inch long standard audio cable for wired use, a USB charging cable, a mini-plug-to-airplane-jack adapter, and a storage bag.
Sound quality: With this model we found that turning the noise canceling feature on or off had a noticeable effect on sound quality, but the connection means (Bluetooth, or cord connected) did not. In noise canceling mode the BeoPlay H8 provides excellent active noise reduction and delivers sound quality that falls in the low very good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable (very noticeable in the case of this model) sonic quirks. The overall sound with the noise cancelling feature turned on can best be summarized as very bassy, yet thin and dry. The bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) goes deep, but has excessive impact and is very prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is constricted (think straightjacketed), a bit distant, slightly thin, has a hint of graininess, and is overwhelmed by the bass. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended, but thin and slightly smeared - sounds that should have a delicate shimmer sound blurred. While the sound has a good sense of liveliness it is closed-in -- sound-wise it is obvious that you have something covering your ears. When the noise cancelling feature was turned off the sound improves a bit but still remains in the low very good range. The midrange looses the constricted quality, is less distant and thin, and is not as overwhelmed by the still very prominent bass, and the treble sounds fuller. This model provided excellent noise reduction overall, but it's noise reduction is directional and the noise cancelling characteristic changes depending on where the noise is coming from - when noise came from the front there was less noise reduction on high pitched noise, as the source of the noise moved toward the rear there was slightly more reduction of low pitched noise. We also found that a very faint hiss can be heard when no ambient noise or audio program to drown it out.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a moderate sense of pressure on the ears. The ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. When wearing this model while walking the vibrations from each foot step can be heard as a "rumbling thump" through the headphones. In Bluetooth mode incidental contact with the touch controls on the right earcup can cause unintentional track pause, playback, skip, noise reduction on or off, call disconnect, or volume level changes, but it is less likely than many other models with earcup mounted touch controls.
