Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 Sport review: Classy workout 'buds

 

Quick verdict

The true wireless 'buds' of Bang & Olufsen set themselves apart from the normal crowd by looking and sounding ultra-premium. It also happens that these in-ears are waterproof, functional and sturdy too. It's a perfect mix, and the sound profile can be tailored and the match is great.

Read the complete verdict

For

Premium construction and materials

Comfortable and safe fit

Great, customizable sound

Waterproof enough to cleanly rinse them

Case of wireless charging

 Against

No active noise-can't make noise-can't

Really quite price

(Pocket-lint) - Think of earphones for sports and there is a certain aesthetic in mind. In most cases, you'll look at plastic buds, mostly brightly coloured or wrapped in a canvas-like material, in the case of on-ears. You'll also see certain vivid colours used to match the colour schemes on running shoes and tracksuits.

What you probably don't see is that a pair of buds are always made using typically luxurious or premium materials. Not until now, at least. Enter Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay E8 Sport - which seeks to combine the sporty and premium into a single product.

Design

• 4 silicon tips (XS, S, M, L) & Comply Foam tips; 3 earfins (S, M, L)
• Finishes: Black, Oxygen Blue (and limited edition collab models)
• IP57 water- and dust-resistant

The argument of Bang & Olufsen for not rushing into the sports earbud market is based on its own insistence on using specific materials and not compromising on the principles of its design. Specifically, in this instance, it means that B&O adheres to its tradition of using aluminium in at least part of the design.

You'll spot it in a few locations on E8 Sport. Firstly, you can see a polished aluminium surface covering the entire top of the case with cutouts where the earbuds rest to charge when you open the case. It's finished in matte black in our model, camouflaging it with the rest of the case, however you'll find the polished, chamfered edge reflects light if you tilt it into any light. Secondly, you can find another polished, chamfered aluminium ring after echoing the style on the 'buds'

Get it in matte black and you get that classy, stealthy look that works as well as it does in the gym in your regular carry. But it's not the only choice, so there are choices for those who want a splash of colour: the limited version of Fernando Alonso features a teal metallic ring around the touchpad; the Rapha edition has a red ring around it; or there is an Oxygen Blue variant that has a pastel turquoise colouring that is a little too boring for those who feel black.

Of course, being sports earphones, the focus of the design is also on grip-ability. Interestingly, this emphasis has been taken by B&O and extended not only to the 'buddies, but also to the event. Both have a ridged finish around the edge, so they're very unlikely to get slippery while you're carrying the case or wearing the earbuds, even when wet.

B&O's earbuds are IP57 water resistant, ensuring they're going to get through your sweaty workouts, or run in the rain. If the buds get too grubby or sweaty, to get the grime off, you can cut them and quickly wash them under running water.

The 'buds remained very firmly in our ears with the default tips and wings added in our own research. It's a safe fit, but one that doesn't feel too pressurized or snug. It's a good light balance that means that after a run, these 'buds don't get sore, but also implies that the risk of one dropping out is slim - so nothing to deter you from that best personal attempt.

The hinge of the charging case is actually one of our favourite components of the design. You flip the lid open, like so many other manufacturers, to get to your buds, but the motion of this hinge is so smooth. It is not loose or rigid, which leads to the general sense of attention to detail in design. It's a luxurious touch that makes it feel like its very high price tag is worth the 'buds'.

The event, though, is not just a luxury object, it's also practical. When empty, you can position it on a wireless charging pad to refill the battery inside, or use the Type-C connector on the back if you prefer.

The hinge of the charging case is actually one of our favourite components of the design. You flip the lid open, like so many other manufacturers, to get to your buds, but the motion of this hinge is so smooth. It is not loose or rigid, which leads to the general sense of attention to detail in design. It's a luxurious touch that makes it feel like its very high price tag is worth the 'buds'.

The event, though, is not just a luxury object, it's also practical. When empty, you can position it on a wireless charging pad to refill the battery inside, or use the Type-C connector on the back if you prefer.

Features and performance 

• Bluetooth 5.1 and aptX
• 7 hours music playback
• 30 hours including case
• Audio transparency mode

Although there is no active noise cancellation (ANC) to talk about here, there are a lot of modern features that help the E8 Sport perform really well in terms of connectivity and longevity.

The fit of the tips suggests that these 'buds give a strong passive seal to help keep unnecessary noise out, so here, ANC is not a significant miss. You do, however, get an audio transparency mode that you activate by pressing the left earbud quickly. The touch-sensitive panels on the two buds allow this feature, which you also use to play and pause or skip between tracks forwards and back.

You can change the amount of audio clarity you want, if you load the Bang & Olufsen app on your smartphone, it's not a case of being stuck with an all-or-nothing strategy.

Bluetooth 5.1 is another useful modern technology, which lets the buds remain attached to each other and to the source computer. With that, and the support of aptX for Android users, during our testing we got a consistent and lag-free experience. Even when leaving the source device in another room, not once did we find the connection drop.

You seldom have to think about the battery life, like the link, either. When you remove the 'buds from the case, Bang & Olufsen says you get up to seven hours of music playback before the need to dock again for recharge. We were able to listen for a good two or three hours with the app showing a percentage decrease of about 30 percent in our everyday usage.

If you somehow end up using these 'buds for the full seven hours, in the case before you need to plug it in or put it on a wireless charging base, you can get just over three extra full charges from the battery. That's a substantial sum of 30 hours.

Sound 

• 20Hz - 20KHz frequency response
• 5.7mm electrodynamic drivers
• Customisable EQ in app
  

B&O has a fixed approach to sound quality, like its design emphasis, and it's very much 'how the artist wants you to hear it'. That means that you're not getting loads of heavy bass. Instead, but with quality, balanced mid-level and low frequencies, the effect is clarity and detail.

That's at least the default, and it's a great place to start, because the bass is well regulated and informative, if not loud and prominent. We found that when you turn the volume down, you lose some of the balance, losing the bass, but once you're up to 50 percent or higher, there's a great balance to it all.

Bang & Olufsen also allows you to change the equalizer, unlike some other manufacturers. You get a single dot instead of complicated faders on the screen, which allows you to pick the way you want the music to sound, whether it's warm and mellow or bright and exciting. You can have that if you want a dynamic, thrilling sound with more bass. What's more, for various moods, you can create different profiles and save those with their own names in the app.

So, for instance, if you want a specific kind of sound for when you work out and another for when you listen to music on the bus/train, or when you work at your desk, for each case, you can have a different profile. There is a certain 'signature' of something in the way you get clarification, regardless of how you change it. Everywhere, there is tight power, so you never get distortion at the upper frequencies, and even if it is more pronounced in your chosen profile, the bass maintains its sound and tightness. A sound that is extremely flexible is the end product of all this.

Verdict

True wireless 'buds' from Bang & Olufsen's E8 Sport set themselves apart from the normal crowd by looking and sounding ultra-premium. It also happens that these in-ears are waterproof, functional and sturdy too. It's a perfect mix, plus the profile and fit of the sound is great.

Combine the practicality with the signature sound of B&O and an app that allows you to tailor the equalizer to your liking, and you'll find that this is probably the market's best-sounding pair of workout headphones.

Except, you can wear these buds during your commutes to work with your business attire thanks to the luxury styling, and nothing will look out of place. How premium and flexible it is.

Alternatives to consider

Powerbeats Pro

The Powerbeats Pro has been basically unchallenged as the best workout headphones since launch. It will cost you less than the effort of B&O, and has a design that will keep these 'buds fixed on your ears while offering excellent battery life and sound.

Master & Dynamic MW07 Go

The smaller and more accessible true wireless 'buds of Master & Dynamic offer a dynamic design sound that fits snugly in the ear with a lightweight, grippy comb-fin. The battery life is not as good as that of B&O, but the price is much lower.