The B&O H6 heaphones sport a slick look as well as the brand's famous audio tech heritage, but are they worth the salty price tag?
The B&O BeoPlay H6 is not the first time Bang & Olufsen has made headphones, in fact it's been making them since the late 1970s with the U70, which looked not unlike a prop from UFO.
Thankfully Bang & Olufsen has remained as forward thinking as it was back then, but instead focused on a more minimalist design ethos. Headphones are now as much a statement about yourself as they are a device for listening to audio.
With the launch of the Philips Fidelio L1 showing that the Dr Dre Beats Studios were no longer the premium commuter headphones of choice B&O enters a market that already offers as much style as it does performance.
B&O BeoPlay H6: Build and design
One of the first things you notice when you take the cans out of the box is just how light they are. At 230g the H6 almost feels like it could take very little wear and tear, on closer inspection, however, you realise that the materials used are more than up to the task.
Using a machined aluminium frame with a premium leather headband, the H6 comes in two colours: Black or 'Natural'. While the natural may split opinion it's impossible to deny that the Black version is one of the best-looking headphones around.
The design is faultless, thanks to simple touches like the circular metal accents on the cans and even the inline remote, which makes sure it treads the line perfectly between being neither crass nor boring.
Our only grumble is the use of plastic around the edges of the cans themselves, considering these headphones are well into the premium price range it seems odd to skimp on something so noticeable.
B&O BeoPlay H6: Performance
Considering you'll be forking out over £300 for these (yes, breathe) it would seem reasonable to assume that the H6 offers some of the best sound you can get when on the move.
While we're happy to report that sound quality is way beyond anything you'd find with a 'b' on its side, the quality isn't perhaps up to the level you'd get from the likes of the Sennheiser HD 700.
That said we never once found the H6s straining, despite their appearance these are some seriously powerful headphones that can happily chew through anything from Vaughan Williams to Metrik.
B&O BeoPlay H6: Sound quality
Which rather handily leads us onto how they actually sound. The answer can be summed up with the word 'balanced'.
By this we mean that almost all ranges perform excellently, but never does one take precedence over the other. For some this could be problematic as everyone has different tastes, so if you're looking for something that can handle the latest dubstep EPs then we'd probably recommend the Beats Studio.
For those who have a wide-ranging taste in music you'd be hard-pressed to find better short of the superb Philips L1s we mentioned earlier. The bass is clear, punchy yet also deep enough that you feel it's just shy of making your head explode.
High notes are extremely well defined also. The best example we found to demonstrate its prowess was the new track 'Over The Love' by Florence + The Machine. Tackling both the shrillness of Florence's voice and the deep drums that runs throughout you never felt like one was going to overtake the other.
B&O BeoPlay H6: Verdict
The B&O BeoPlay H6 is one of the best-looking pairs of headphones we've seen, and thankfully they sound as good as they look.
Whether or not they're worth the colossal price tag or not is up to you, for some design is as important as performance and so for these people it will be an easy sell.
For those who are a little more weary of spending that much we can happily report that while Philips L1s are more 'retro' in their appearance, they sound just as good.
B&O BeoPlay H6 release date: Out now
B&O BeoPlay H6 price: £329
