Bang & Olufsen’s new $1,500 headphones combine luxury and repairability

Bang & Olufsen has announced its new $1,549 Beoplay H100 headphones, which are debuting with an even steeper price tag than its H95, which were introduced four years ago and which now cost $999. The company is justifying that pricing with a focus on premium materials, improved noise-cancellation, and better repairability that will potentially extend the lifespan of the headphones.

The use of materials like lambskin leather on the H100’s ear pad cushions and scratch-resistant glass protecting the headphone’s touchpad controls isn’t new for Bang & Olufsen. But the ear pad and headband cushions can now be easily detached and replaced when they get worn or dirty, and the company says the H100 feature a revamped design, making it easier for components like batteries, drivers, and circuit boards to be repaired or replaced. That’s a big selling point because when you’re spending over $1,500 on headphones, you don’t want them to become e-waste just because the batteries no longer hold a charge.

Sound is delivered through a pair of 40-millimeter “custom-made titanium drivers,” and the H100 support not only high-resolution 96kHz/24-bit audio but also Dolby Atmos spatial audio with built-in head tracking. Active noise-cancellation is now powered by 10 microphones, which Band & Olufsen claims double its performance, and switching between ANC and transparency modes is handled by an adjustable haptic dial on the ear cups — a feature included on older Band & Olufsen headphones and one that was pioneered by Microsoft’s Surface headphones.

The H100’s 32 hours of battery life (with ANC on) is a bit of a step down from the H95, which managed 38 hours. With spatial audio and head tracking active, the H100’s battery life is reduced by another two hours. Similar to Apple’s AirPods Max, the H100 don’t have a power button. They instead turn on automatically when worn, go into a low-power mode when taken off with 90 days of standby time, and power off completely when placed in an included carrying case. Should the headphones completely die at an inopportune time, Bang & Olufsen says a five-minute charge will deliver an additional five hours of playback.