Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 True Wireless Headphones Review

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 are just as stylish and sleek as their predecessors, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 Truly Wireless 2018 and the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 2.0 Truly Wireless 2019. They have a similar fit to the 2.0; they're slightly angled to fit into the ear, and they have a fairly low profile. The only change to the style is that the silver ring around the logo is now shiny black, making them look even more minimalist than before.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 are less comfortable than their previous generation, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 2.0 Truly Wireless 2019. While they come with the same four different sizes of silicone tips and one pair of foam tips, once inserted into the ear, these earbuds produce a plunger-like feeling. This might not be comfortable for everyone, especially if you're using the larger tips. However, these earbuds are just as lightweight as the 2.0, meaning you should be able to wear them for a long time without too much discomfort.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's touch controls are okay. They're decently easy to use: you can play/pause your music, skip tracks, take calls, and even change the volume just by tapping or holding the logo. They also have a talk-through mode that allows you to hear your surroundings without pausing your music. It's activated by tapping once on the left ear, which is great when you're out running and need to be aware of traffic. However, just like their predecessors, these earbuds don't provide tactile feedback and only produce beeps for some controls.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have fantastic portability. They're slightly larger than their previous generation, and they can still easily fit inside most pockets or a bag. Their hard charging case is also fairly portable and should fit in most pockets too.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's charging case is good. Just like the earbuds, it's slightly bigger than the case that comes with the previous generation. Its faux leather coating and silver finish make it feel premium and sleek. While generally sturdy, the lid's magnet isn't very strong and can open if you're not careful. Additionally, when equipped with foam tips, these earbuds don't sit properly in the case, making it hard to know whether they're charging or just sitting just above the charger. On the upside, this case is compatible with wireless Qi charging, which is a nice touch.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have a great build quality. They feel study as they're made with dense plastic, metal, and faux leather. They should survive a few accidental drops with little damage. The lid on the case doesn't feel as sturdy and secure as previous generations' cases, meaning that it may open in your bag or pockets.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have good stability. Although they don't come with stability fins, they do come with four differently-sized sets of silicone tips and one pair of foam tips so you can find the most stable fit for your needs. Once in your ear, they don't tend to move. Their small, wireless design also means that you don't need to worry about snagging a cable on the corner of the kitchen table while you're running out of the house.

• Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 earbuds
• 4x silicone tip sizes
• 1x foam tip size
• Charging case
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Manuals

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 has a warm sound profile that is still fairly balanced, making it suitable for most genres. It can help bring warmth and smoothness to vocals but can sound cluttered depending on what you're listening to. However, if this sound profile isn't to your liking, you can tweak it using the ToneTouch EQ found in the Bang & Olufsen app.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's frequency response consistency is outstanding. If you can get a good fit and an air-tight seal using the tips provided, you should get consistent bass and treble response every time you use these earbuds.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have great bass accuracy. Slightly below the target range, their thumps and rumbles sound less intense and lack a bit of body. However, a slow rise in the high bass can add a bit of boominess. Overall, while the bass may be slightly recessed, it's well-extended and fairly balanced.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's mid accuracy is great. The small bump in the low-mid can make mixes muddy and vocals thick. However, the mid-mid and high-mid are very smooth and will produce good harmonics for vocals and leads in this range.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's treble accuracy is mediocre. There's a dip in low treble, making notes in this range dull and recessed. However, a high spike in the mid-treble sound overly bright and piercing, especially on sibilants (like S and T sounds).

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have okay peaks and dips performance. The dip between the mid-high bass reduces bass, which might not be great for those looking for more thump and rumble in their audio. The following peak in high bass to low-mid overemphasizes vocals and instruments. Another dip in the low treble makes notes here dark or less detailed. Finally, the spike in mid-treble adds sharpness that some might find piercing, although this is towards the end of the audible range for most people.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have great imaging. The group delay falls below the audibility threshold and results in a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Our unit's left and right drivers were both very well-matched in phase, frequency, and amplitude, so there were no gaps in the stereo image, and objects, like voices or footsteps, were accurately placed. However, this is specific to our unit and might not be the case with every pair.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have a bad passive soundstage. To create an out-of-head and spacious soundstage, the pinna or outer ear needs to be activated with resonances. The design of in-ear earbuds bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it, giving you a very shallow soundstage. Also, because of their closed-back design, their soundstage tends to be less open than open-back headphones.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 don't have any virtual soundstage features

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. While there's more distortion at higher frequencies, this won't be noticeable to most listeners. Its frequencies otherwise fall within good limits, which should result in clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0. Our results are only valid when the headphones are used in this configuration.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have decent noise isolation. If you take lots of trains, buses, or planes, you'll hear a lot of engine noise. However, these earbuds do better blocking out sounds in the mid-mid to high-treble range. Sounds like chatter will be reduced whether you're working at the office or chilling out in a cafe.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have a fantastic leakage performance. Leakage is concentrated more in the low bass than the treble range, resulting in slightly more full-bodied sound leaking. However, it's still low enough that your coworkers at the office shouldn't be bothered if you crank up the volume on your favorite tracks.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 in-ear headphones have an integrated microphone.

The recording quality of the Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's integrated microphone is mediocre. Your voice will sound thin and muffled over the phone. Speech is understandable but it lacks brightness.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's mic has a decent noise handling performance. While improved from previous models' mics, even in moderately noisy environments, it struggles to separate speech from ambient noise.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's battery performance is a step down from its predecessor's due to its lack of an auto-off timer. You'll need to remember to put them back in the case when you're not using them; otherwise, the battery continues to drain. On the upside, they offer more battery life, though their roughly 6.6 hours of continuous playback time is unlikely to last through your 9-5 workday. However, you can easily charge these earbuds during your lunch break since they come with a case that holds about four extra charges. According to the manufacturer, a 20-minute charge will get you around 1.5 hours of playtime, although we don't test this. Also, battery performance can vary with real-life use, so your experience may vary.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have an okay app. While sleek-looking, it doesn't have a lot of features. You'll have access to an in-app player, battery information, and you can turn on and off transparency mode. Instead of a 5-band EQ, the app offers ToneTouch, a quadrant EQ that you can slide around between four sound profiles: warm, excited, relaxed, and bright. Because there isn't any way to control specific frequencies, we consider these presets rather than an EQ.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 have alright Bluetooth connectivity. Similar to their previous generations, they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing, but it's still easy to connect your headphones to your device: you only need to hold down the left and right earbud simultaneously for 5 seconds until the lights flash blue. These earbuds do have lower Bluetooth latency than the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 2.0 Truly Wireless 2019. Unfortunately, you'll still notice a lot of delay if you use them with a PC, making them less than ideal for watching videos or playing video games. In comparison, the latency on iOS and Android is far less, but you might still notice some lag. It's worth noting, however, that some apps tend to compensate for this, so your mileage may vary in regular usage.

These earbuds are Bluetooth-only. If you're looking for in-ears that support non-Bluetooth wireless, consider checking out the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless since their carrying case can be used as a wireless transmitter.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 are Bluetooth-only earbuds that can't be used wired. They come with a USB-C to USB-A cable so that you can charge the case.

These headphones aren't compatible with PS4 consoles. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled PC, you can only use these headphones via Bluetooth. However, they'll likely have noticeable lag and it could ruin your gaming experience.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0 aren't compatible with the Xbox One.

The Bang & Olufsen E8 3.0's come with a case that holds about four additional charges. While it doesn't have any inputs, the case charges with the included USB-C to USB-A cable or via wireless Qi charging.