Bang and Olufsen, you have heard the name. Almost like you know the name Jason Bourne. They have been known for their quality of materials for years. The sound, depending on the person, is amazing or and one of the very best. They are considered the upper elites in audiophiles from speakers, headphones, and earphones. And if there is an iconic earphone mentioned in the last 3 years, it would be their EX lineup. At a whopping price of $500-$800 you can find them for or a version of them for. Bang and Olufsen have been known for their price Tag height for something as simple as a different color, while remaining the same in sound as the lower price variants.
And while these variants look absolutely beautiful and stand out, these types of examples will come with more $$ signs. So for a while I have not wanted to revisit Bang and olufsen ex’s since my first one failed. Those wouldn’t connect to the app, didn’t feel right, and had issues with the stability of the sound. So, I have always assumed that they might have been fakes off EBay because the sound was so basic. But with it not connecting to the app that made me think about things. Since that happened 2 years ago, I figured tech has moved on and yet their cost still didn’t drop.
Fast forward to today and it’s still on everyone’s top earphone list. But this time the cost went from $500 down to $199 on Amazon during their big sale. You could have even found them for $160 open box, in good condition on Amazon. So I got me another pair with the expectations that this time might not be different and yet it might be different. Everything was up in the air. But at $199 and a return policy, it was a great time. But what would be the result for sure???
For starters, these are connected to the app as they should. Great sign! Second was the fit, the comply tips never worked right on any earphone for me, this was not different. But when I went to the medium tips, everything sealed properly. Another great sign. Music played and EQ used, brought very nice, powerful, and detailed Bluetooth sound quality for sure, so of the best bass quality I’ve ever heard and some of the best imaging and separation for Bluetooth earphones. The volume though had to be set to 50% to hear it in a nice volume impact though(they are not very loud earphones) . The touch controls were perfect, as with most Bang and Olufsen. They know how to do touch controls. I love only lightly touching commands and they work every time. Again, great result. Then I took them out on a walk without a single skip or stutter, something the previous one failed at horribly. Again, great news. Then I used the ANC and it was nice, not great, but nice. Checked that box. Their transparency mode worked, not great but worked.
So, thus far, things are really nice for the Bang and Olufsen Ex this time around for me. It’s still crazy to think that I got them for $199, while a mere color change still costs $500 on the same product even during the sale. Yes, their style is a little dated and therefore these should be less especially with the Eleven’s out and the new $1500 Beo Grace, which is absolutely the worst priced Bluetooth product ever. But hey, I get it. If you like Bang and Olufsen, then you are used to paying too much. But this time I didn’t:) Next up will be a comparison of the EX VS the Bowers and Wilkins PI8’S, of which I’m sure it will win against the Bang and Olufsen Ex. But if their battery doesn’t drain like the PI8’S, I might just sell the Bowers and Wilkins PI8’S regardless because I’m tired of the battery issues. More to come later…
Tech-N-Things 