Bang & Olufsen - Beoplay E8 True Wireless In-Ear Headphones - Black

I'm an audiophile and have used several high-end headphones made by Sony, Audio Technica, AKG, etc. to produce and mix music. I needed hassle-free truly wireless earbuds to inspire my gym workouts and found these. Prior to purchasing the Beoplay E8, I used other wireless earbuds including the Bragi Dash, Jaybird Bluebuds X, JAM Ultra True wireless headphones and Jabra Elite Sport. Sound quality: The E8's sound is fairly balanced and offers distortion-free listening across all sound frequencies. They can get really loud! I wish they were a bit punchier with the bass response. You can increase the bass slightly using the app but it's still not a significant difference. It's definitely not up to par with the powerful low end I heard with the Jabra elite sport. The EQ adjustment in the app doesn't offer as much customization as I'd like. You can tap certain profile sounds to change the audio profile but you can't individually raise and lower the frequencies yourself. Comfort: Theses are very comfortable to wear. No complaints here. Bluetooth Performance: The pairing process is fairly easy and consistent. However, Bluetooth connection is not entirely solid. The recent firmware update allows for better connection between the buds and the Bluetooth source. However, I experience several drop outs when using these at the gym. For example, I experience infrequent dropouts when placing my phone on the treadmill and running. The phone is literally within 5 ft of the buds. When placing the phone on the ground (again, within 5 ft) and doing crunches, It's almost unbearable how many times they cut out. I assume it's because I placed my hands around my ears when doing the crunches. Regardless, this shouldn't be an issue for a product priced at $300. I did not experience these cutout issues with the Jabra Elite Sport at all. There is zero lag when watching videos! Features/App integration: The microphone pass through (aka, "transparancy mode") works but the sound coming in from the left earbud is louder than the left. This is significantly noticeable. The earbuds also do a poor job at processing and leveling really loud sounds coming through the mics. Everything sounds "crunchy". The audi call quality is acceptable. The earbuds pair to an app that allows you to customize the EQ and spacial quality of the music. The battery life is as advertised. The tap controls work but take time to adjust to. I wish the surface was a bit easier to interact with. The shape of the tap area is circular with a sharp edge. If the edge was more rounded, it would make the tap controls easier to use. Product quality assurance: There is a noticeable difference in audio level with the left and right buds. The left buds are slightly louder than the right. I hear more bass frequencies pass through with the left. This is extremely noticeable when using the spacial adjustment in the app. The audio just doesn't sound leveled. This is actually a consistent issue I've experienced with the other brands as well (Bragi, Jabra). Final thoughts: I had very high hopes for these since I LOVE Bang and Olufsen products. My Audi is filled with B&O audio system and the sound and spacial customization is just amazing. I can't say the same for this product given the bluetooth limitations and sound quality.

So just an up front disclaimer: I work for Best Buy and paid way less than the normal $300 sticker price due to an offer for Best Buy employees from B&O, and I STILL returned these. Here's why: 1). The setup should be easy, but I spent over 30 minutes trying to get these darn things to pair. After reinstalling the app and rebooting the headphones multiple times, I finally got them to play some music from my Galaxy s6 (don't hate, I'm waiting for the s10). 2.) The app indicates that there is an update for the headphones, so I tried the update about 6 times, and each time it failed right at the end. It indicated not to touch or do anything on your phone or headphones while the update is in progress, and I followed these instructions exactly. 3.) The headphones sound "tinny", like you're listening to them through an aluminum can. The update that I couldn't get to work was supposed to help the overall balance, but I don't think it would fix this problem. The app has the ability to adjust the equalizer in a rudimentary way (by moving a slider near one of four presets) but no adjustment fixes this issue or gets close to providing any sort of flat reproduction of the source material. 4.) The B&O website lists the sound reproduction as 20Hz-20kHz. I find this hard to believe based on what they sound like. I'd guess closer to 100Hz-20kHz and as I mentioned before, the reproduction isn't even close to flat. Anything below 150Hz is almost inaudible. BUT, there are some redeeming qualities to these headphones. Firstly, the headphone itself and the charge case both look and feel really nice. The leather on the case is a nice touch, and the way the headphone magnetically snap into the case is convenient and satisfying. The case is small enough to be ergonomic, and fits nicely in my pocket. The controls on the headphones are well thought out as well. Because they utilize a touch sensor and not a button, you don't end up jamming them into your ear every time you want to change a song (like you do some other brand of earbuds). And lastly, the fit is not that bad, and they look decent in your ear. In conclusion, I would say that the sound quality alone would necessitate the price of the Beoplay E8's to be around $60 before I would buy them again. If B&O had be around a $100 price point for the normal price, maybe this would be a 2-3 star review, but $300? You should be embarrassed to put your brand on these, Bang & Olufsen. UPDATE: Following the return of the E8's I found out that one of my coworkers bought and returned his set too. I will encourage him to do a review so you can read his concerns as well.

To be honest, I never saw myself owning a pair of true wireless headphones. I felt that they were a gimmick and that their use would be rather limited. Apple EarPods dominate the field in this space but I'm not a fan of the shape and style of them so I decided to try these on a whim. I've used Skull Candy earbuds and many other cheaper quality ones, Beats Solo (wired), and PowerBeats wireless. These are a different animal in terms of sound and quality. When I first purchased them, I walked out of Best Buy, sat down in a McDonalds for lunch and set them up using wifi and paired them with my iPhone 6 Plus (just switched to an iPhone XS Max and the experience is replicated to my newer phone). I live in New York so I wanted to see what they would sound like on my 1 hour train ride home. I must say that my first experience was rather disappointing. I was hearing outside sounds, the app seemed a bit odd to navigate and the sound was very underwhelming. My first thought was to take them back to the store immediately. Then when I got home, I went to the B&O website, read through everything carefully, read a few reviews online and listen to tips on set up and use. Then my experience changed drastically. Most of us tend to adopt the Apple mentality when it comes to device use. We have minimal instructions and want a stellar experience right out of the box. Sometimes slowing things down to actually learn about a product, its intended use-case and learning the extent of its abilities helps our experience in the end. I also had some issues for a week or two when I first got them with the left earbud dropping sound when I turned my head. Happy to report that issue corrected itself. Not sure if through and over the air update from B&O or with an Apple iOS update but I don't really experience it anymore and I keep my phone in my right pant pocket. I initially though the distance from the earbuds and clothing was the issue but that was in the summer. I wear a lot more layers now in the winter including pulling a beanie over my ears and have no connecting or break up issues. The case is nice and small. It doesn't take up a lot of room and you can actually attach it to a belt loop using the elastic strap on the case. The case recharges the earbuds. You just have to make sure you install them properly in the case and that they connect magnetically or you may just charge one side and not the other. My ride to work is about 45 minutes each way and I can get through an entire week of using them to and from work and putting them back in the case to recharge. I've used them up to 3 hours continuously and still had some juice left. B&O advertises 4 hours at moderate level so your use may vary. I listen to Spotify about 90% of the time on these. When I listen to iTunes, the sound is considerably lower and less dynamic even with adjusting the equalizer in the setting on the iPhone. Not sure why that is. Netflix and YouTube sound fantastic and I do not experience any lag. They come with 4 sets of eartips (3 rubber, 1 comply). I use the comply and found them to be quite comfortable and the best for sound insulation. So to sum these up: PROS Sound Size Well made Easy to pair with phone CONS App can be a bit confusing Loudness (I would like to be able to turn them up just a hair louder but they are really good with sound across the board) Price

I like B&O products, they are premium but they're well-built, stylish, and have top notch audio quality. Their Bluetooth speaker (BeoPlay A1) is one of my favorite speakers. I'm not a fan of their H9i headphones but I enjoy my H7's. That being said, I'm not sure what they've done with these earbuds but they aren't very good. B&O was able to pack a bunch of tech in here. The touch controls actually work, I like that I can let in outside noise and actually amplify it a bit, and the custom (but limited) EQ is also a nice touch that too many companies look over. The charging case is compact and relies on USB-C, they even made it textured. The earbuds magnetically snap into place and they're coming out with a new charging case, and stand, that support wireless QI charging. The earbuds themselves are extremely lightweight and comfortable, I could wear these for hours without issues. The included ComplyFoam tips were my favorite and always kept the earbuds in place. I didn't have to adjust them during an exercise sessions. Their audio quality was also really good. I ended up boosting the bass a bit but the stereo separation, clear highs, detailed mids, and rumbling lows were all a delight for a pair of earbuds. The part where B&O messed up is the connectivity. These would disconnect from my phones way too often. During a 1-hour exercise session, these would disconnect 6 times. That's just unacceptable whenever other companies (Apple and Bose) have it figured out. At first I thought it was my phone (iPhone XS Max) so I tried them with my work phone (Note9) and the results were the same. There weren't any firmware updates or anything like that. I think it was the review from The Verge that was pretty spot-on with these. There is a lot to love but their connectivity is killer. I exchanged my pair for a second just in case and the results were exactly the same. I even took them into a B&O store and they didn't know what to do. They had a pair that I could try and they did the same thing. The sales person didn't act very surprised and said the only thing they could do is send them off for repair. So I returned my earbuds and bought a different pair (Jaybird Runs). They were a slight improvement when it came to the connectivity issues so I returned those for something else. I really wanted to like these earbuds. They are sleek, have great sound quality, the touch controls actually work, USB-C charging is great, and the companion app is easy to use. But it's hard to like a pair of wireless earbuds if they are always disconnecting from the audio source. It didn't matter if I was at the gym, my office, outdoors, walking downtown, or at home. These would constantly skip and, to me, that makes them unusable.

Ok... let's get this out of the way. I bought these only to prove them wrong. I have the experience with some of the very best earphones and headphones out there. The Westones, Ultimate ears, Bose, Master and Dynamics, and even Sennheiser to name a few. So now that you know I at least have a good idea of "quality" we can move on. These earphones were released in 2017. That's right 2017!!! Do you really understand the weight of this statement? Bang and Olufsen are the oldest industry leader in sound, older than Sennheiser, Bose, and others. And yet in 2019, their sound signature is still being measured up against the best there is being released now. And here's the point...they are still better than the rest. That goes for the latest Master and Dynamics, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless, and Bose. How do I know because I have all of them and this is the best package, especially when the add the fact that it's less than all the rest. And if you thinking about getting the 2.0's, I will say you the questions. They are the exact same sound signature so all you buying is a better case, not better sound quality. That says a lot when this company can't beat itself in sound quality with a 2.0 version. But then again, it doesn't surprise after hearing these. The Bass, sound stage and highs that probably rival most wired ones that I have heard to date. There is no wonder why they couldn't make it better. As to the elephant in the room, I'm just as floored by this as you are. I have no idea how anyone in their right mind or should I say right ears rank these blow anything but a 4. I wanted to hate them and couldn't and had no choice but to give them a perfect 5. Even an uninformed person who had no reference earphones to compare them too should have still come to at least a 4. The only foreseeable issues I can say is the initial pairing process was a little shaky so if you just threw in the towel maybe there will be a "one" ranking here and there. But averaging a below a 4 is just crazy. These have replaced my Sennheiser for my #1 used earphones and that was not small feet. So buy, use the app and create the best possible sound world you can live in your earphones. 2017 -2019 still the best sound signature.

After losing a pair Shure SE535 headphones I needed something to replace them. I decided to try a pair of True Wireless earbuds. I had never owned a B&O product but have always heard good things about them so I decided to give these a try. First and foremost they are NOT my beloved Shure 535 in any way, especially sound. To be fair the Shure is in a category all on its own so I had prepared myself to look at the B&Os on their own merit. What I found pleasantly surprised me. True Wireless earbuds are not known for their sound quality but these really impressed me. Soundstage is extremely wide and very open. Bass is good without being boomy, although getting the right ear tips to seal correctly is key. Highs are crisp without being overly bright. Mids are strong without being overpowering. I wish that they came with more than just the medium Comply foam ear tips. I had better luck with a good seal with the foam ear tips on my Shures and I have no reason to believe that these B&Os would be any different. While the sound quality does not compare to the Shure 535s they are also almost half the cost of the Shures as well. These are definitely better sounding than my Bose QC35s which cost more than the B&Os. Battery life seems to be decent so far. I don't have that many hours on them yet but the more I listen to them the smoother they get so I am betting with a hundred hours or more break-in time they will really start to shine. The build quality is excellent and the feel extremely solid without being heavy. The leather charging case feels luxurious. Everything about them screams timeless luxury. I am looking forward to getting to know these new friends. I would definitely recommend them to anyone who wants the freedom of a true wireless headphone with compromising build and sound quality. The only downside that I have found, so far, is I would like for them to be able to produce just a bit more volume for really demanding music. They aren't horrible, they just leave me wanting about 10% more and honestly getting the right Comply foam ear tips may take care of part if not all of that.

After getting a chance to try out a pair of these, I decided to give it a shot and see if these "true-wireless" earbuds had any merit to them. Before I had no real desire to ever have a pair of True-Wireless buds, finding the lack of any real battery life a massive issue. After trying out a solid brand name for a while? I'm still far from being sold. Though they do sound fine (after a firmware update of all things), the real issue comes down to the price. True-Wireless buds are still priced at a premium, like all new technology. As such, they're more priced for the tech than the overall quality, it seems. A prime example are the Apple EarPods. At &160 a pair, their sound quality is about equal to the $30 standard buds available. If you look at it this way, then you're paying a premium of well over 50% for the ability to have no wires. I'd say, quality wise, these earbuds are worth $100 at best. They sound alright, but my $100 LG Tones sound good as well but also give me better access to the controls. In short? Save your money. Find some nice wireless buds if you need something convenient. About Transparency Mode: The much talked about Transparency Mode on these buds (one touch to the left earbud) mutes your music and lets the earbud's mic carry external sound to your ear. It is very tinny and not all that useful, in all honesty. I do hope the mic itself is not that poor when used on calls... That, however, I did not test out. Pros: Good sound. Longer battery life than other True-Wireless buds on the market at 4 hours (+8 with charged case). Charging case is nice and compact, providing a good charge in a short time. Cons: Sound quality does not justify the cost. Requires a firmware update to improve overall sound. Touch controls can be a bit wonky to get working. Personal issue: I typically wear only a single bud in my ear when listening to music (the left). These only have so many controls mapped to the left bud, namely volume down and "back track". You can also activate the bud's much hyped "Transparency mode" with the left bud, but with the rest of the controls mapped to the right bud, they just don't fit well with how I work things.

The connection issues if you are using a late model Android phone are REALLY complicated and B&O doesn't really know what to do about it. The first time out of the box they paired up with my Galaxy Note 8 and worked fine. That lasted a day. The next day when I went disconnected them from my laptop and went to reconnect them to the GN8...the pairing was GONE! No worries I thought just repair them and go. Uh-uh. The phone would only see them as "paired but not connected." For anything. Useless. I Googled, I searched, I factory reset them, spent a half an hour on the phone (using my old wireless headset thank you) with B&O in Denmark, discovered there's even a YouTube video on this problem. NOTHING WORKED. Then miraculously when trying one of the solutions suggested in the vid they suddenly decided to behave and paired up! That lasted four days during which I successfully used them with my phone, my laptop and a wearable at different times with no problems. Then on day 4 the dreaded "paired not connected" indication on my phone. They STILL won't pair with my GN8 no matter how many times I try. They work fine with everything else but not my phone. They're going back. At $300 they should wash the dishes for me NOT cause me to waste my days fighting with a broken pairing problem. As a post script I can say the sound is good...on my devices it was NOT loud...I ran at full volume all the time and wished for a little more. The base is good..not great but good. And the mid range and high end are excellent and clean. They do NOT use the APTx Bluetooth codec...I tested that extensively...they DON'T. They do use the AAC codec but that's an Apple thing. My devices are other brands. AND oooohhhh...the pairing problems. If they happen to work on your phone you'll be happy...but if they don't you will want to hit yourself in the head. 'Nuff said.