Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 Sport - True Wireless Sports Earphones, Oxygen Blue

FURTHER UPDATE, FEB 2021I have experienced pairing issues with my E8 v3.0 for the first time in nearly a year of ownership. I emailed B&O and they were brilliant, quick to reply, and sent me a set of instructions, which worked. If you have installed 6.1.0 firmware (via the B&O app) you need to go the support pages on the B&O website. Here if you search support for Bluetooth pairing faqs you will find the process to re-pair your earphones. Here is the link:https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050363091-Pairing-the-left-and-right-earphone-of-your-Beoplay-E8-3rd-Gen-software-version-6-1-0-or-higherI still love these earphones they are fantastic, though I’ve gone off using the computer foam tips. I’m now a convert to the silicone tips. Another great use for these E8 3rd Gen is as a Covid test! Every night before I go to sleep, I sniff the beautiful leather case. If I can smell it, I know I’m ok!===========Here’s my update after having owned these for over a month, as at 18th May 2020:I have grown to truly love my B&O. I have had absolutely no connection problems at all, the app is great and the whole experience of owning them is a pleasure. The transparency mode is great, especially since I am a little deaf in my right ear (never ever ride a motorbike without ear plugs!) This feature, which of course is not exclusive to B&O is excellent. Every time I pick up my leather covered, chrome edged case, a little smug, smile of satisfaction comes across my face. The listening experience is superb, especially after having saved a bass enhanced profile. When watching films or videos, there is no lip sync’ lag and the optimal setting for the equaliser is perfect for dialogue and even special effects.As I have often noted when there are disparaging reviews, these mostly arise from operator error and instructions not being followed. My E8 3.0 connect seamlessly to my iPhone X, and my iPad Pro (2018 3rd gen). When I have had them in whilst walking and I get in my car (a Merc CLS) they disconnect and the Merc’s system takes over. When I leave the car, the E8 3.0 re-connect to my iPhone X. If you’re having connection problems, turn off all other Bluetooth devices in range, which is what it says in the instructions if you have problems. I have a Bluetooth keyboard, an Apple Pencil, a Loewe speaker, a Mackie Thump 1300W 15BST speaker all in range or connected to my iPad by bluetooth. I never have a problem connecting to my E8s. Perhaps others have received a faulty pair. When I received my E8 3.0 they were running v5.6 of the firmware and needed immediate updating to v5.7. They recently updated to v5.8 and during all my limited period (over a month) of ownership I have only ever been extremely pleased with the purchase. One last thing: my eldest son bought a pair of Shure SE425s on my recommendation. He was on the phone to me in central London using the £100+ bluetooth Shure cable. I was using my E8 3.0s. I had to ask him to speak on his phone since there was so much squawking and high pitched whining from his Shure Bluetooth. Apparently, I’m not the first to complain to him. My advice, buy B&O E8 v3. I guarantee, if you appreciate luxury, you will not be disappointed. Alternatively, you could waste your money as my son and I did on overpriced, poorly manufactured American goods.PROS:1) Premium quality materials .2) Premium quality build3) Superb sound4) 100% stable connection5) Simple but full control of tracks, volume, calls and voice assistants.6) Premium look7) Prestige brand8) Strong Retaining magnets, they will never fall out of the case9) Massively long duration on one charge (just short of 8 hours from my test)CONS:1) B&O are tight with the ear tips. Only 1 pair of comply tipsBang and Olufsen are a renowned Danish Consumer Electronics company who, like all truly premium brands are careful who they let sell their products. They are what might be called a lifestyle brand which epitomises the industrial, clean Scandinavian design school. Anyone who has ever been into a B&O shop will know that these really are ultra-premium. Any company that can sell 1 speaker of a pair for a starting price of £61k is definitely ultra-premium.B&O therefore has a reputation to protect so it’s interesting that given their history, the brand image and the quality of the design that they can sell these at only £300. In actual fact, I got mine luckily for £233.95, but the price has now gone back up. Even at £300 these truly are worth every penny. B&O could sell these at £600 or even £900 and the sort of person who values their design and sound signature wouldn’t blink an eye. Now, the cynical amongst you might say that they’re overpriced, but in actual fact the Shure SE425s in the pictures cost me over £300 when they first went on sale. Shure 425s are typically American in the use of materials, and the build quality, especially when compared to the E8 3.0. The packaging is almost a work of art, and it reflects the Scandinavian minimalist design. The box is made from quality card stock. The inner layer presenting the case and earbuds is a high density polymer akin to rubber. It has a cotton tag on it to help you get to the accessories below. Even before you use them, it’s a top quality experience. My one and only gripe is that they have only supplied one pair of Comply Foam Sport Tips in Medium.I spent a lot of time researching these before I pressed the “buy now”. I had to be able to justify spending this money to my wife who would eventually realise how much they cost. These earbuds are made of truly premium materials. Leather, aluminium soft feel polymer with superb retaining magnets. When you see the packaging, inside and out, you realise this isn’t some cheap, worthless product. It’s never clear from photos or videos how tiny these Bang and Olufsen Beoplay E8 3.0 actually are. So for comparison, I’ve added the Shure case and the SE425 earbud so you can get a better perspective.The leather covered case takes it up a notch, and the sound is great. I’ve downloaded the new software before I had a good nearly 8 hour session on them. The funny thing is even with the medium silicone tips they are completely secure in my ears. I’ve always had big issues with my shure se425s with silicone. I always used the yellow memory foam tips which were the only ones that worked for me. I tried the medium B&O comply foam, but I funnily need a large in those. They are very comfortable for me with the medium silicone tips that come attached to the buds. Even with these in the passive noise isolation is excellent. They are also very secure in my ears as the mad dog ear shake proved. Even in the case, shaking it wildly with it open didn’t let the buds fall out. Even using an inertia shake (accelerating fast forward and stopping suddenly) didn’t dislodge them. That’s a tribute to the build quality and the premium materials used.For those out there who’ve tested these and said the sound is poor, and the sound stage is poor, I think if anyone is buying these buy them from Amazon or B&O direct because they have a 30 day return period. My SE425s are dead now, but from my memory of them once I adjusted the E8 3.0 equaliser to the 4 o’clock position that’s between excited and (closer to warm) the bass is perfect for me. They are much better in my opinion than the SE425s. The transparency mode is fantastic with the ability to set different levels of background music. Transparency allows the wearer to use the external microphones (these have 4) to hear people or the outside surroundings. B&O’s implementation is superb, as you’d expect. As for base, on the factory settings with no profile (type of listening) or equalisation for frequency emphasis, they are very good. However, once you use the app to configure them to your personal taste they are superb.I’ve not used the previous E8 1.0 or 2.0, but what I can say is the sound from these once set up is superb. They are also unbelievably light, and very comfortable in the ear. They are relatively discrete when they’re in your ears. I used them on one charge for nearly 8 hours of continuous use. It was set low to medium because I was working at the same time. However, that’s more than enough time for the majority of people. If anyone is considering these get these in your hands and there’s no way you won’t buy them. My wife looked at them when they arrived and said “wow they must have cost a fortune!” Not compared to what I paid for the Shures SE425s, though. Making the comparison between the quality of Shure v B&O it’s like comparing a Mustang to a Ferrari. You can’t.Sound like taste, is a subjective sense. We all have different ear shapes, unique ear canals, and bone structure in the skull. All these affect sound, as does age and the previous noises you’ve been subjected to over the years. In my opinion, even if you can aurally compare these to another wireless set of buds, you should buy them. These are more than just a functional item, they truly are a pleasure to own and use. BUY THEM, THESE ARE DOTTORE APPROVED!

Bang & Olufsen were high end last time I looked, or at least solid performing. The sound quality might be excellent in these but you hardly ever know as getting a reliable fit, consistently is nigh on impossible so often you end up listening to something that it sounds like was recorded in the days before bass. Maybe I have ears like a claret jug, or maybe they're tiny like a house mouse - I dunno, but getting a comfortable fits was also virtually impossible. For me, the touch controls are over sensitive and using this product while actually running or doing sport is a total pain as more often than not you give up on the touch controls and you have to resort to the app to change anything to do with the buds. Returned and replaced with Bose earbuds which out of the box are instantly a better fit, more reliable sound, stunning noise cancellation and responsive but not overly responsive touch controls. Granted they're an extra 100 quid but ce la vie.

Likes:Top quality sound reproduction.Light and comfortable, easy to use once familiar.Have used in the gym for Weights, Treadmill, Cross Trainer, Floor work / Ab Wheel, they remain in your ears when used with the supplied Comply Memory Foam Tips which also have a membrane to prevent sweat / ear wax from entering the buds, they also expand in your ear and form the noise cancelling which is very effective, no external noise can be heard over your music once you have mastered how to insert the buds into your ears correctly with the correct size tips which makes all the difference.Voice control apps like Alexa can be easily accessed.If using for phone calls the speech and audio provide first class 2 way transmission enabling clear conversations.Dislikes:Only 1 pair of Medium Comply Tips supplied, the silicone ones are not the best if you're going to be active whilst wearing these, but fine for sitting around.It's quite easy to accidentally touch the left bud and put them into transparency mode when you don't want to.In General:No problems so far, yes the app is a bit basic but it does what it needs to including a software update which I'd recommend you do straight away to iron out any potential glitches, the product arrives with version 5.0 but the latest version is 5.7 so well worth bringing straight up to date, it takes about 20 minutes to load and install over the bluetooth 5.1 connection with which I've had no problems, connects straight away with no loss of signal at all.As mentioned, great for gym and general use but I wouldn't risk outside running or biking in case of loss.A quality item which looks and feels good to use and easy to re-charge with long battery life. Produces superb sound which is why you're buying them, yes they're expensive but you get what you pay for!