Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX - Wireless Bluetooth Earphones with Microphone and Active Noise Cancelling, Waterproof, 20 Hours of Playtime

I don't often write reviews for products, only those which I really think deserve praise and are perhaps under-appreciated in the user market. Quick TLDR: Summary: These are GREAT earbuds, with beautiful sound, outstanding connectivity (no problems for me connecting or staying connected), an app with EQ tuning, excellent battery life, high water-resistance, handsome quality physical details in the buds themselves, as well as the case. I think they're well worth the price. I purchased the Bang & Olufsen EX earphones around 2-3 months ago, and they're everything I hoped they would be, which is: a quality upgrade to the prior B&O earphone lines in terms of features and functionality. I expected that the sound quality would at the very least be on par with the previous models which I own: e8 generation one, e8 generation 2, and e8 generation 3, all of which have beautiful sound (which you really wouldn't expect from such SMALL earphones!). Well, the sound quality is real. I've attached some photos of my older gen e8's, all of which are still very functional and used as backups. They all still sound great. The H9 Gen3 also pictured are over-ear headphones with 25 hour battery life and now cost less than half what they did when I bought them, quite a deal. I'll first focus on the sound: it is rich, with defined highs, mids, and lows, but an overall 'neutral' sound. For those who prefer more bass or more treble...the accompanying B&O app (available for both Android & Apple devices) allows you to set EQ sound profiles (which you can name). I don't think they need much adjustment, though I do slightly alter mine to have a sharper sound in the highs and slightly less bass. That's because I love really clear vocals, guitar strings, horns, violins, etc, and I find much music is overproduced with bass tones overwhelming these higher tones. Sound is the primary reason I rate these Bang & Olufsen EX as a 5 star product. Functionality is the secondary reason I'm rating them as a 5 star product: -Bluetooth 5.2 (the latest and most connective) creates an excellent connection to my phone, computer, ipad, and watch, allowing me to stream music uninterrupted for around 4.75 hours with ANC activated. -Battery Life: around 4.5 - 4.75 with ANC activated. I've never used them with ANC off, so I can't say whether they reach the projected 6 hours with no ANC. I imagine they get close to that. -Recharging: Very fast, I think around 2.5 hours for a full charge. But a 15 minute charge will give you an hour of play, which is great if you're in a rush. The battery/charging case holds around 2 additional full charges. Technical production, physical quality: These are beautifully made, with tempered glass touch pads across the small covers. The units fit well in my ears, and you can use either memory-foam or silicone tips. I always use memory foam, as you get a better fit, better passive noise-isolation from your external environment, and better, fuller sound due to the increased isolation. And, as long as you keep your ears clean, memory foam buds last quite a long time before you need to replace them, in my experience. Even if I did need to replace them more frequently, I would still prefer them. They're also better for working out, as the buds are even more stable. Increased water-resistance! These are rated IP57, so they have up to 1 meter of water resistance. What this really means is they won't be damaged by sweat, rain, or tap water. This is an improvement over their previous e8 models which were only IP54 (less resistant to water, though I've been caught in the rain many times, and done plenty of workouts, likewise without problems). Stability of fit. I can dance, run, lift weights, whatever, and these earbuds don't budge in my ears. Love that! About ANC: These latest models have added something the e8 models didn't have: ANC. These days, ANC is pretty much a required and expected feature in any premium earphones (and even expected in more run of the mill brands). So, I was happy to see that B&O had 'finally' added ANC to their earbuds. I will say that I think the ANC is passable and could use improvement. But I think this is partially due to the form factor and incomplete closure to the external environment due to the small size. My Apple Beats Fit Pro have ANC of about the same quality, and those are supposedly equal to the AirPods Pro, which lead the market in this feature for this form factor. I will also say that my Apple Beats Fit Pro's sound far (far) inferior to my B&O EX's. Battery life is very similar between the two as well (though I think the EXs outlast the Beats Fit Pros).

Beoplay EX first impression: While washing my face in the shower, I hear a distant bullet stray wide. I’ve listened to this song a hundred times but this is the first time I’ve been able to hear this detail. My face is under a stream of hot water and I’m experiencing music in a way that isn’t possible with other earbuds in a quiet room. Wow. The extra detail that I was able to hear elevated the song for me in a way that I think the artist intended for me to hear. If these can make all my music this enjoyable then I don’t have a problem with the price. It’s a different experience. Update: The sound is on another level but I have become aware that it is not just the EXs that make this happen. You need a good source, a good speaker, and a way to get the source to the speaker. Bang & Olufsen offers all three with this package. With the EX they provided a 30-day trial to Deezer. This allows me to stream high-fidelity music giving me a clean source to start with. The EXs speakers/drivers (whatever, I’m not a speaker guy) are like nothing I’ve ever heard. But most people miss the part about how the music gets from the device to the speaker. Bluetooth can inhibit the flow but with Qualcoms’ aptX enabled the floodgates are opened and your music is allowed to reach the EXs uninterrupted (again, I’m not a speaker guy and these analogies are just my non-technical bs). It works. It works in a way that has brought my music to life. Old music is new. Can you put a price on that? Cons: ANC isn’t great. Why do they want me to hear more wind noise when enabled? Pros: Sound. Build. Controls. Fit. Waterproof. Microphone. Warranty. Final thoughts: I ended up with these earphones after my partner loaned me her pair of first gen AirPods. I fell in love. They were magical the first time I used them and I've needed a pair of earbuds ever since. I was really excited about the Pixel Bud Pros and pre-ordered them. IMO the design doesn't work for two reasons, fit and microphone. The microphone basically didn't work so I sent them back and got myself a pair of AirPod Pros. I was convinced that I was in earphone heaven again, but as I walked out of the store and tried to turn up the volume I realized they lacked swipe controls. I was deflated. Something had to be available that fit my desires. Enter the EXs. Are they perfect? No. Are they incredible? Yes. I use them all the time. About HiFi/Hi-res music…Try it! Enable it in Apple Music, try Tidal, try Deezer, or any other HiFi streaming service. Try it on different speakers and in different places (try your car). You will notice a difference that I wasn't aware of until now. I am keeping Deezer because of their EU approach to privacy. I don't feel like I'm being watched when I use their service. My Teams meetings are more sufferable as I am confident that my coworkers will be able to hear me when I speak and I am always able to clearly hear them. Most importantly, I am excited to listen to my music. I keep thinking of songs and artists who build great soundscapes for me to surf. The EXs have given me a new appreciation for some artists while I have come to judge others as amateurs. Being able to distinguish the subtleties of every song is a gift that I am happy I gave myself and that I should be able to continue to enjoy for years to come.

This is a great headphone right out of the box and you can’t compare these with bose, Sony or bowers and Wilkins. I have the EQ and EX and here is the comparison. The EQ is bulky (not as large as Bose) but has a smaller charge case and the sound is a notch better than the EX and clearer and lovely to listen on default settings The EX is slimmer like the air pods but has a bulky charge case and the sound is great but not crispy clear in comparison to the EQ. Pairing is easy and no delays. The eq or ex are stellar with only tiny comparisons between each other. A definite W for your playlist!

In a nutshell Poor performance and hefty price tag

Bought these for use on walks and for their sound quality in an office environment. Their use for Microsoft Teams is perfect too. The microphone department is really good. As I have them now they are comfortable and never fall out. And yes they can be used in the shower if that is your thing, they are water proof to a depth of 1m for 30 minutes. That's more than enough for me. The ANC and Transparency modes are ok since recent firmware updates, but the ANC is still not great. They remind me of the Bowens & Wilkins PI7's (of which I had 4 faulty pairs & gave up) in that department. The ANC seems to take out the hum of an air purifier, but that is all. Don't get these if your objective is a quiet environment where any noise is cancelled out. The quality of the build has always been great with B&O. My old original E8's still work fine, but needed to be glued together after many years of gym use and the occasional drop. The EQ's while sounding great look clunky in comparison to these. And yes the bass response is much clearer and pronounced on these, but very refined. My usual volume comfort level is achieved around 60-70%, music is described so clearly that there's no need to crank it up so that your eardrums hurt. The soundstage is wide and clear and only fails against full headphones in the description of musical instrumentation on the far left and right of a 180 degree sound stage. I would say the far left and right is about 85% of the description of full H95 corded headphones. And yes these seem to need time for the bass frequency to develop too. I nearly sent them back straight away. I have replaced the tips with Comply Sport Pro B&O Earbud Tips - Medium which are a few millimetres longer than the ones in the box, as these seemed to short for my ears. It took a week of playing these about 6-8 hours a day for them to start sounding great. My sound eq adjustment slowly wandered up from 100% warm (bass with reduced treble) to 50% excited (increased bass and treble response). Popular scientific opinion says that burn in doesn't exist, but my ears seem to require it. The BeoSound Equaliser is an unusual beast but seems to deliver for people not used to handling equaliser presets and what they can do. Preferences can be saved and it is really quite good. So these earphones are currently a mixed blessing, but meet my needs. I keep searching for similar specifications, but nothing in this style and specification seems to really hit the mark. The case is a quality item too and unlike some reviewers I don't find they damage easily. They appear to be anodised, and not painted, high grade aluminium. It is really quite nice and I don't find them bulky either. I hope this helps you make an informed decision on these very expensive earbuds. You are buying into a product that will probably last several years. The EQ's and EX both deliver and are made by the same manufacturer Merry Electronics. It's September 2022 now and they still work great, no faults, the case is still undamaged and that despite carefree handling.

Increíbles estos auriculares, calidad de sonido exquisita, diseño premium y cancelación de ruido a un nivel inalcanzable. He probado casi todos los del mismo segmento premium, Airpods, Bose, Sony y creanme estos B&O los supera con creces, claro esta su elevado precio pero si amas la musica y quieres lo mejor simplemente tienes que tener estos. A fecha actual y siempre bajo mi experiencia son los mejores del mercado, logran un equilibrio perfecto entre calidad, comodidad y diseño. Son Increíbles. Estos auriculares ofrecen una calidad de sonido simplemente espectacular, son esos que estas deseando usarlo para poder disfrutarlos. El diseño y la calidad de los materiales van a la par y son excepcionales en ese aspecto. He podido compararlo con los competidores directo en el sector premium como los Sony 1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, AirPods Pro 2 y Senherisser momentum 3, y sin duda estos B&O son los mejores. Hay aspectos donde ganan otro modelos como en la cancelación de ruidos donde los Sony están por encima pero en equilibrio estos arrojan mejor resultado o los Bose con un sonido más grave. Salvo el precio elevado no le veo nada negativo al producto. 1.- Presentación y contenido. Vienen presentados en una caja de cartón con buena calidad, caja gruesa con detalles de fotografías y especificaciones. Dentro de ella y junto a los auriculares, un cable USB-C de 50 cm muy buena calidad, unos sencillos manuales y un estuche con las 4 almohadillas adicionales mas un par adicionas con el sistema COMPLY que ofrecen mayor confort y son visco con efecto memoria, son las que uso. 2. Diseño y aspecto. Calidad premiun en todo el conjunto, destacando aluminios en la mayor parte. Diseño tipo bastón super elegante, detalles con aro de aluminio y con recubrimiento de la superficie táctil de cristal brillante con el logo de la marca bien visible. El resto de plástico agradable al tacto. Tamaño justo no pesan en la oreja ni se nota que los llevas puesto, solo pesan 6 gramos cada uno, ni te acuerdas que los llevas puesto. El estuche de carga de aluminio, muy elegante y agradable al tacto. Pequeño cabe en cualquier bolsillo y pesa poco. Lo único que no tiene resistencia a golpes y arañazos por lo que se rayan y pueden aparecer pequeños golpes. 3. Comodidad al uso. Son muy cómodos la verdad, después de varias horas no molestan para nada al llevarlos. Puede pasar horas y ni lo noto que los llevo. Las funciones táctiles responden muy bien, aunque es algo que no suelo usar y lo tengo desactivado. Incluso valen para hacer deporte ya que en ningún momento tengo la sensación que se vayan a caer, tienen ademas protección IP57 y se pueden sumergir hasta un metro bajo el agua por un tiempo de hasta 30 minutos, aunque bueno mejor que esto no ocurra. 4. Calidad de sonido. Increíbles estos B&O EX el sonido es espectacular, buen equilibrio entre agudos y bajos, son una maravilla. Ademas la cancelación de sonido es muy muy buena, aunque aquí siguen ganando los Sony, pero personalmente es algo que no suelo usar, aun así funciona muy muy bien y podemos ajustar por la aplicación. Puedes jugar con los ecualizadores y configurar a tu gusto, he puesto mas bajos y son increíbles. Respecto tienen a las llamadas tiene 6 micrófonos y estas se realizan muy nítidas con buena calidad de audio y sin cortes. Otra cosa a su favor es que tienen un volumen bien alto. 5. Batería. Están sin pelín por encima de sus competidores mas directo, ofreciendo 6 horas con función ANC “cancelación activa de ruidos” activada y hasta 8 horas ANC desactivado. El estuche de carga ofrece hasta 3 cargas completas más con un total de 28 horas. Dispone ademas de carga inalámbrica. 6. Aplicación y sincronización. Sincronizan perfectamente, la aplicación es muy completa y permite una gran variedad de ajuste y personalización. Podemos elegir el ecualizador, ajustar la reducción de ruido. A parte permite la conexión multipunto con dos dispositivos a la vez, útil para sincronizar por ejemplo móvil y ordenador. Otra cosa positiva es que suelen hacer actualizaciones muy regularmente. 7. Aspectos negativos. La ANC no es la mejor, siendo superada por los Sony. Precio elevado. Estuche de carga elegante si pero de metal que se raya y golpea con facilidad. No cuenta con sonido espacial. 8. Conclusión. Sin duda los recomiendo mas que nada por su brutal calidad de audio y diseño super elegante, son bonitos y discretos. Después de tener y probar otros del mismo segmento sin duda alguna me quedo con estos. Poco se habla de esta firma en torno a sus productos, pero sin duda actualmente son lo que ofrecen una mejor calidad de audio, altamente recomendables.

Well, my search for quality earbuds appears to have come to an end. The Beoplay EX are that good. If you're searching for the best for sound in your music, this has got to be it. I have gone through several top brands, some of which I've listed for comparison which I hope gives you information that took me some time to figure out; Jabra 75t; very good with probably the best overall sound until I heard the Beoplay EX. The Jabras have fantastic bass and are well tuned. They have good ANC and work great for phone calls. I've used them for a couple of years, they have been reliable and I certainly recommend them. Sony WF-1000XM4; I'm not a fan of the Sony sound signature, kind of veiled to me. Some call it warm. These buds sound good otherwise, function well. Though I felt they weren't very comfortable, even though I like the material they are made from. I didn't keep these as the Jabras beat the sound easily. Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds 2; the Bose have the best ANC, hands down of all these buds. They feel very well constructed and were more comfortable than all the buds in this review. Though, the Beoplay EX are nearly as comfy. The sound for music the Bose give you is good, I wouldn't say great. Like all these earbuds except for the Beoplay EX, the volume at max on the Bose is too low for me. I didn't keep these. Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro; these buds come with an exaggerated bass tuning out of the box, but luckily the app has so much adjustment over the sound, tuning them with the software gets them to sound pretty good. The fit is good for me, they function well, they seem well built and the price makes these possibly the best value here. The ANC is good, not as good as the Bose or Sony, but it works well. As with the other buds (except the Beoplay EX), they suffer from a low maximum volume in my opinion. I kept these for biking as they feel secure in my ears and give me a decent sound. I do recommend them. The Beoplay EX have the nicest feeling build quality of all these, but it's not a night/day difference. The case is, meh. The ANC isn't very good. Phone calls work, but the other buds mentioned are better, especially the Jabra 75t. Then of course there's the price and that's gonna be a big issue for many. The sound when listening to music blows the other buds mentioned in this review (and others), right out of the water. I've never heard earbuds sound like this. The bass is strong and musical, the mids and treble are distinct yet blend so well. These buds have been tuned in an extraordinary way. The treble isn't harsh, after repeated songs, I heard no sibilance and after playing everything from hard rock, reggae to classical, I'm really floored. These buds also have a considerably higher volume ceiling as well, so they are louder if you crank it to full. And with the additional volume, there is more definition in the music. Without any distortion. I enjoy the sound from the Beoplay EX nearly as much as my Audeze LCD-X using a Burson headphone Amp. That says quite a bit. The Beoplay EX are expensive and with the market offering so many choices these won't be high on the shopping list for many. However, if listening to tunes is your first objective, these are truly phenomenal. Kudos to Amazon for allowing me to go through my earbud search and finally find these. Highly recommended.