Bang & Olufsen's new luxury headphones mock Apple's AirPods Max

Bang & Olufsen products are synonymous with quality, and the brand’s latest headphones, the Beoplay H100, aren’t shy about their luxury positioning. Indeed, the £1,299/$1,549 asking price pales in comparison to the £/$549 price tag of Apple’s AirPods Max.

But, as I know all too well, Bang & Olufsen products – in the Beosound and Beoplay ranges – are well worth their asking price given the quality, materials and craftsmanship that goes into creating such products. The Beoplay H100, which is an upgrade to the 5-star award-winning Beoplay H95, is no exception in this regard.

Where is the Beoplay H100 located? are The difference, however, is the introduction of Bang & Olufsen’s modular design language into its best headphones, meaning you’ll be able to use these over-ear headphones for years to come if you need to replace parts. Plus, there’s a 5-year warranty through Beocare, which is five times that of the British standard on electronics.

Bang & Olufsen says the Beoplay H100 headphones improve on their predecessor in “almost every discipline”, improving sound quality, noise cancellation and design, “drawing on the unrivalled performance of[Bang & Olufsen’s]Beolab speakers”.

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Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 headphones — (Photo credit: Bang & Olufsen)

The Beoplay H100 leaves nothing to chance when it comes to features: the headphones deliver high-resolution audio (up to 96kHz/24-bit) from custom 40mm titanium drivers; support for spatial audio, just like AirPods Max, including Dolby Atmos and head tracking; a battery life of 34 hours per charge; and “the most advanced noise cancellation and transparency mode yet” thanks to a 10-microphone array.

I’ve tried many Bang & Olufsen products and if there’s one thing for sure, it’s that the sound quality is sublime. The H100s use Bang & Olufsen’s new adaptive audio processing, called EarSense, which measures the wearer’s fit in real time for an “unparalleled listening experience.”

Design is an integral part of any headphone, but the Beoplay H100 offers a number of sumptuous-sounding material choices that I can’t wait to see and try in person. From the silky, scratch-resistant tempered glass touch interface with haptic control dials, to the “knitted textile” finish of the inner headband and the soft lambskin of the ear cushions.

There are three color options at launch: Infinite Black, which is black as the name suggests; Hourglass Sand, which I think is closer to a two-tone white; and Sunset Apricot, which I think has a burnt orange, copper-like visual appeal. You can see all three in the image gallery embedded above.

Modular seems to be the trend of the year, with the Dyson OnTrac headphones featuring a distinctive system of interchangeable ear cups and cushions. Bang & Olufsen is more interested in durability, with an extended lifespan giving that high asking price a more understandable context.