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Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 review: Not worth it

Skip these and pick up a modern pair of true wireless buds.
By
December 31, 2020
7.5
B&O Beoplay E8
The bottom line
The Beoplay E8 true wireless earbuds have a great battery life and surprisingly good sound, but the high price and annoying connectivity make it hard to recommend to anyone that doesn't enjoy burning cash.

B&O Beoplay E8

The Beoplay E8 true wireless earbuds have a great battery life and surprisingly good sound, but the high price and annoying connectivity make it hard to recommend to anyone that doesn't enjoy burning cash.
Release date

August 2017

Price

$82 USD

Dimensions

Earbud: 23mm x 20mm x 25mm

Charging Case: 73mm x 47mm x 33mm

Weight

Right (Master) 7g

Left (Slave) 6g

Charging Case: 45g

Model Number

Beoplay E8

Waterproof
What we like
Battery life<br>
Pretty good sound<br>
Slick charging case<br>
Transparancy features are great<br>
Playback controls work perfectly<br>
What we don't like
Price<br>
Doesn't auto-connecting when you open the case<br>
No sweat resistance<br>
Weak EQ options in the app<br>
Uncomfortable<br>
7.5
SoundGuys Rating
7.5
User Rating
Rating Metric
Our Rating
User Rating
Sound Quality
7.6
7.7
8.0
Durability / Build Quality
7.0
7.5
8.0
Value
5.0
6.7
7.0
Design
7.5
8.0
8.0
Microphone
8.0
7.3
7.0
Portability
8.6
8.0
8.0
Battery Life
5.2
7.3
7.0

Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is one of those companies that a lot of people know of, but most people don’t. Which is a shame, because the its products usually look and sound great. Today, we’re looking at one of the first pair of true wireless earbuds the company made: the gen. 1 Beoplay E8. These have been out for a few years now and there are new version of this, but is the original still worth picking up in 2020? Spoiler alert: nope.

Editor’s note: This post was updated on December 31, 2020 to add links to the Spotify songs we mentioned in the sound quality section. 

Who are the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 for?

  • Commuters. Because of the long battery life and the transparency option that lets you hear what’s going on around you with just a tap of the left earbud, these are a pretty solid choice for commuters. Transparency is now a fairly common feature, but these were one of the first to get it right.
  • People who prefer to be discreet. If you don’t want to look like Rudy Giuliani when you wear true wireless earbuds, these have a more discreet design.

How’s the build quality?

The build quality of the Beoplay E8 is premium, as you’d expect from Bang & Olufsen. The case itself is gorgeous with a pleather exterior has an elastic band that make it easy to wrap around the key chain holder in your bag, so you always know where it is. It’s also pill-shaped like the one that the Samsung Gear IconX comes in. However, B&O engineers actually thought about how it would look in your pocket—unlike Samsung—and made the case more flat and elliptical than it is round. That means when you pocket the case, it doesn’t look like there’s a giant tic-tac in your pocket. It’s the attention to the little details like this that makes them great at design.

The charging case of the Beoplay E8 held open in hand so the earbuds are clearly visible.
The earbuds sit squarely in the center of the case which can be opened fairly easily.

The earbuds have a pretty simple design and are made entirely of plastic, which keeps them lightweight. The right and left earbuds weigh only 7g and 6g, respectively. The right is a gram heavier because it’s the master earbud which sends audio data to the left earbud. They’re also more squared off than some of the other ‘buds I’ve tried, which results in an aesthetically pleasing product that unfortunately doesn’t seem to fit properly in my ear.

Man holding each earbud in hand with a close-up of the logo.
The earbuds have a squared off part that’s supposed to wedge itself in your ear for a better fit.

The Beoplay E8 ‘buds don’t fall out; they actually stay in nicely. The problem is that it doesn’t take long for them to become uncomfortable. After an hour I had to take them out to let my ears relax, and I was definitely aware that I was wearing them the entire time. It’s not painful, just annoying.

Are the Beoplay E8 waterproof or sweatproof?

Unfortunately, the gen 1 Beoplay E8 earbuds are not waterproof or sweatproof so if you’re looking for a pair of earbuds for the gym, you might want to look elsewhere. That’s not to say that you couldn’t use them in the gym, you just shouldn’t. There’s no mention of sweat-resistance from B&O and these don’t have an official IP rating which is the official standard used to determine how water-resistant a product is.

How do you pair to the Beoplay E8?

Top-down shot of the earbuds inside the open charging case against a fabric background.
The Beoplay E8 true wireless earbuds come in a small and discreet case that’s easy to pocket.

Pairing the earbuds was fairly easy. All that you need to do is:

  1. Remove the earbuds from the case to power them on.
  2. Hold down the touch-sensitive part of the earbud until you hear it enter pairing mode.
  3. Navigate to the Bluetooth settings of your source device and select “Beoplay E8” from the list of available devices.

The entire process is fairly simple, but what isn’t as smooth is the B&O app. It has a hard time finding the earbuds, even when they’ve already been paired. Once it does determine that you’re connected you’ll get access to extra features like some EQ presets and something that B&O calls transparency mode, which is basically the opposite of active noise cancellation. Instead of using built-in microphones to cancel outside noise, transparency uses microphones to let in sound from around you.

There are three different transparency presets you can choose.

There are three different presets you can choose from that each let in a different amount of noise. It doesn’t pause your music, instead, it just lowers it so you can hear what someone is saying. As someone who spends plenty of time on public transportation, I really like this feature. It lets me hear what the conductor is saying without needing to take out the earbuds. It also came in handy while waiting to hear my name called at Starbucks for my vanilla sweet cream cold brew. I don’t care; judge me. They’re delicious. It’s very similar in function to what you’ll find on newer models like the Sony WF-1000XM3 and the AirPods Pro, but these were one of the first to get it right.

Close-up shot of both earbuds on a coaster with the charging case in the background.
The Beoplay E8 earbuds are small and discreet, and you won’t look ridiculous wearing them.

How’s the connection strength?

I did have some other issues with connectivity. For one, the Beoplay E8 don’t seamlessly auto-connect once you open the case and take them out like some other true wireless earbuds do. Thankfully, I never had to go through the dreaded unpair/repair process, but I was tempted to. The only way I was able to get these to reconnect every time was by going into Bluetooth settings and tapping on “Beoplay E8.” In this day and age, this is unacceptable. On the bright side, they do automatically disconnect when you put them back in the case.

As far as connection strength goes I didn’t have any issues with that either. I read a lot of other reviews saying these had a problem with dropouts, but I never experienced a dropout in regular usage. Only when testing the limits of its range did music falter and skip, but as long as my phone was within 20-ish feet of the earbuds, the connection was fine.

The A/V delay is awful.

On the other hand, if you’re going to be watching videos with these, you might want to reconsider as the delay is awful. It seems like the audio comes a full second or two after the video. This is surprising due to these being compatible with both SBC and AAC, but as our testing shows AAC just doesn’t play well with Android. Either way, that’s something to keep in mind if you watch a lot of video on your device. But to complete my good-bad-good sandwich, let’s talk about the playback controls because. Although they are a little complicated, they work perfectly. The right and left earbuds share some controls and differ in others. But once you memorize the correct amount of taps and holds, the touch-sensitive earbuds are easy to control.

How’s the battery life of the Beoplay E8?

Close-up shot of the micro-USB input on the back of the charging case.
Unfortunately, these charge via micro-USB and not USB-C so be prepared to carry around another cable.

Another positive to these earbuds is the battery life. B&O claims about four hours of constant playback and nailed it. In our testing, we got around 4 hours and 27 minutes. While that has been far surpassed in the intervening years since this product came out by something like the Powerbeats Pro which got upwards of 10 hours of constant playback, it still isn’t bad and puts it right in the average battery life of most true wireless options. If you have a long commute these will have you covered. Then you can just toss them back in the case which will give you another two extra charges before it needs to be recharged via the micro USB port on the back.

But make sure that you put the earbuds back in the right way, or you’ll end up like me opening the case the next day only to find that one earbud didn’t properly charge. The case uses magnets to hold the earbuds in place and also to keep the charging case closed properly. This worked fine for keeping the case closed, but the problem is that putting the Beoplay E8 earbuds in the case and closing it, doesn’t mean that they’re properly in place. You have to take an extra second to make sure it’s actually charging (you can tell via two small LED lights on the back of the case).

How do the B&O Beoplay E8 earbuds sound?

A chart showing the frequency response of the Bang &amp; Olufsen Beoplay E8.
Easily the strangest note emphasis tested, the B&O Beoplay E8 emphasizes mids and highs. Though Bass notes are fine, using the foam tips will help them shine more.

In the B&O app, you can tweak the way your music sounds via a screen that lets you drag a ball between four options: warm, excited, relaxed, and bright. Very descriptive… What’s a little more helpful are the presets. They’re self-explanatory with names like commute, clear, workout, or podcast. For the purposes of this review, I kept all of these turned off, so I was only listening to music the way they sound fresh out the box.

The more I listened the more I enjoyed the low end.

At first, listen the low-end seemed to be a little weak for my liking, but the more I listened the more I enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong it didn’t do justice to the sub-bass in Summertime Magic by Childish Gambino, but the alternative for earbuds this small is an artificially exaggerated low-end that ends up masking more important notes in the mids (like vocals). Though the lower notes weren’t strong, they’re still clearly audible.

Some vocals sound like you’re listening to them from behind a stage curtain.

But where the low end manages to scrape by without sounding fake, some vocals end up sounding like you’re listening to them from behind a stage curtain. It’s not exactly muffled, but you don’t get some of the details that make the vocal performance great. For example, during the first chorus of Gimme All Your Love by Alabama Shakes (about 1:05 minutes into the song) Brittany Howard chuckles in the background, and I completely missed it on my first listen because of everything else going on. I had to rewind the track and give it another go to catch it behind everything else going on. That said, I found that the treble reproduction surprisingly good (considering the 5.7mm drivers making all the sound).

Throughout the song Katie Queen of Tennessee by The Apache Relay there’s plenty of cymbal play throughout, and though you can hear it, they don’t exactly sound like they’re providing a sense of space. They’re easy to hear which is good, but because of the lack of soundstage, or perceived 3D space, they aren’t able to fill the space how they should.

Should you buy the B&O Beoplay E8?

As I’m updating this today, the answer to this is no, you shouldn’t. The Beoplay E8 sound pretty good considering they are true wireless earbuds and they were one of the first to get the passthrough feature down, but that didn’t make them a must-have back when they first came out and it doesn’t now.  They’re held back by their uncomfortable design, annoying connection process, and subpar charging process which sometimes leaves one earbud uncharged.

What alternatives are there?

The new Pixel Buds on the page of a colorful book with open charging case in the background.
I like the mint-like shape and design of the earbuds but I can see how they might not be for everyone.

If you’re really set on having a pair of true wireless ‘buds from Bang & Olufsen then you might want to check out the 3rd generation of these earbuds, or any number of other options that are also great for less money than the newest E8 model.

Sony WF-1000XM3

Close-up image of a Sony WF-1000XM3 earbud with the touch panel clearly visible.
The WF-1000XM3 earbud nozzles are angled which alleviate pressure along the ear canal.

If you’re really sold on good sound and the transparency feature, definitely take a look at the Sony WF-1000XM3. These are widely regarded as one of the best true wireless earbuds you can get thanks to a good sound and great noise canceling technology. They also have a decent battery life and touch controls. The downside is that they are way more expensive but if you want the best it might be worth looking into.

AirPods Pro

A picture of the AirPods Pro earbud with the silicone sleeve removed to reveal the nozzle.
The AirPods Pro silicone sleeve pops into a divot surrounding the nozzle, which ensures a more stable connection between the pieces.

Speaking of wanting the best, you’d be making a mistake if you didn’t at least seriously consider the AirPods Pro, at least if you’re an iOS user. While you can use these on Android you’ll get the most out of them if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem. It’s no secret we didn’t like the original AirPods here at Sound Guys, but the AirPods Pro made us believers thanks to swappable ear tips that allowed for a better fit and a functional stem that lets you control playback.

Anker Soundcore Spirit Dot 2

The Anker Soundcore Spirit Dot 2 pictured on a shelf next to plants.
The Anker earbuds don’t look like anything special, but looks can be deceiving.

For those not looking to leave the sub-$100 category but still want a good pair of true wireless earbuds make sure to check out the Anker Soundcore Spirit Dot 2. These have a fairly standard design but if you can get past that, you’ll get an IPX7 waterproof build, USB-C charging, quick charging, and a nifty carrying case that slides open.

There are still plenty of other choices

If none of these spark your interest don’t worry, there’s tons of true wireless earbuds for you to choose from. You can also check out the Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds instead which were recently updated via a software update to include noise canceling. For any Android users who want the equivalent of AirPods for their Android phone I’d also recommend checking out the Galaxy Buds Plus or the new Pixel Buds, both of which are great true wireless earbuds with their own strengths and weaknesses that are better than the Beoplay E8 earbuds.