By Adele Chan
DESIGN:
B&O definitely wins in the design department; and I really feel that they can charge a premium just for its better looks. The case is a little black leather pod that houses the two earbuds. It’s no frills and that’s what I love about it. I don’t want to carry anything larger than it needs to be, and this small case fits into my bag, my pocket, and even has an elastic band that allows me to clip it somewhere that I’ll not forget (like my bag handle so it doesn’t get lost in bigger bags). See here:
The earbuds are just the right size as well — not too big that they’ll feel uncomfortable when worn, and not too small that I’ll lose them easily.
The E8 is available in two colours. I suspect most people will go for the all black, like the set I am testing now. But after looking at pictures of the grey version, I’m definitely a grey girl. It’s a smooth, velvety, corporate grey, with a touch of copper gold which makes it super classy and very expensive looking.
SOUND:
These sound better than I actually thought they would. In the past couple years, B&O has been releasing a whole lot of mini portable bluetooth speakers with substandard sound; and I imagined these buds wouldn’t sound that great either. On the contrary, they sound pretty decent. Mids are clear, the treble isn’t too sharp, and there’s sufficient bass to make me happy. Importantly, the sound isn’t muddy. I don’t understand how anyone can stand muddy sound (AirPods! There I said it!).
I have a pair of B&O H5s, and first difference I noticed in the two earphones is the volume. The H5s are a lot louder at the same volume level as the E8s. Does this mean with the E8s I have to max out the volume on a flight? Who knows. I just hope not. The H5s also sound more rich and full, which is a disappointment because I was really starting to like the E8s and was hoping for at least the same kind of sound quality.
FUNCTIONALITY:
My first attempt at connecting these in the office was painful. It took me several tries before I had to update the software, then restart everything. It wasn’t as seamless as their marketing spiel claims, but once I managed to get it working, the gestures of tapping and holding to change tracks, volume and so on were fairly intuitive. I like that B&O didn’t try to be too fancy here, and kept the motions straight forward — just tap and hold, or tap once, or tap twice. Nice.
I do have an issue with adjusting them in my ear though. I have a habit of stuffing earbuds into my ears and moving them about from time to time to get the right sound and fit; and with these touch controls, something happens when I’m not careful. The song stops, the “transparency” function turns on (which I’m not a fan of), or worse of all, I shut the E8s off. No doubt this is something I can train my hands to avoid doing if I end up owning a pair of these.
These claim to have four hours of playtime on one charge, and that’s not enough for me. Four hours on a flight to London won’t even cover half the journey. I would need to bring a second pair of earphones along in the plane, and that really defeats the purpose of getting these for their compact size.
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY:
These are the best looking earbuds and charging case I’ve seen, and I really wanted to like these earphones; but the sound can’t compare to my H5s, and that’s the deal breaker for me. I need good, clean sound, and my rule of thumb is to upgrade sound. I never downgrade sound in my next earphones purchase — it must always be better, if not, why not just stick to what I already have, right?
The Beoplay E8 comes with a leather charging case, five ear tips, and charging cable. Available in Black and Charcoal Sand, and priced at $429. Sold at Analogue +, Apple Premium Resellers, Bang & Olufsen Store, Changi Airport Duty Free, Robinsons, TANGS and other leading independent retailers.
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