Bang & Olufsen - Beoplay EX

Bang and Olufsen Beoplay EX. Hands down.

I had the exact same issues with EX (loved the sound though)so it seems that they learned nothing. Connectivity was a disaster. Hoped they fixed things with eleven but nah.

Which is more important to you? The sound quality or the ANC? The reality is the best TWS earbuds for one aren't the best fit the other. And there are often clear tradeoffs. For example, the B&O EX had superb audio quality. But the Nothing Ear get really close while being lighter, having a better app, and being superior in most other ways for considerably less money. Just be aware of the compromises you're going to make when selecting the best sounding TWS earbuds.

Yeah absolutely, but I have never heard anything better than Ex's...

This week, the bang and Olufsen ex were on sale for $200. Pretty good earbuds.

The beoplay ex's, Gemini 2, pi8s and denon pros imo have better sound quality than those 3.

Would love a comparison to other lesser known premium brands (e.g. Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX)

Got it! I have the Beoplay myself and I'm quite happy with them. Never used any other earbuds though (aside from the cheap wired ones that came with phones in the past...)

Over here in Germany there's not that much of a price difference between the Beoplay EX and Airpods Pro 2.

I have the bowers Wilkins pi8, soundpeat H3, noble FoKus Rex 5, bang Olsen Beowolf ex, denon Perl pro, devalet Gemini 2, Sony xm5. Will be getting the geek fly vitas next.

I have the ex but the battery starts showing its age, am looking for cheaper alternatives 😅

I just got the AZ100s and I've only had them for a few hours, but they're fantastic. I would say the Denon Perl Pro, Pi8, Devialet Gemini 2, and BeoPlay EX still have a slight edge in terms of sound quality, but the AZ100 sound pretty fantastic and aren't that far behind, at least in LDAC (which is all I've tested). The AZ100 are better all-arounders than any of those, although I have no real complaints about the Devialet and Denon. My initial impression is that they've dethroned my beloved Sennheiser MTW4 for best sound in the $300-ish range, but I need to spend some more time with them to know for sure. I preferred the MTW4 over the AZ80 but so far I think the AZ100 has them both beat.

I have most of the best earbuds except the ones from Noble. Excluding the Noble, the best sounding are Devialet Gemini 2, B&W PI8, BeoPlay EX (and I'm assuming the new BeoPlay Eleven), and Denon Perl Pro. I'd consider the Devialet to be the overall winner for sound quality, but they're all pretty close. The Pi8 are the winners when you use the case transmitter function. AZ100 sound fantastic but they're not quite at the same level sonically as the others on this list.

Yes, I own the BeoPlay EX. I find them to be in the same league, sonically, as the Devialet, Pi8, and Denon, although I admit they're probably my least favorite of this bunch. I consider this league to be a bit better sounding than the next league down, which includes Technics and Sennheiser earbuds--also fantastic sounding earbuds. I do most of my mobile listening using high res streams through Tidal and the best-available codec, which for the BeoPlay is, I think, AptX adaptive. I have a custom EQ curve set just the way I like it, and I find the BeoPlay sounds best best on punchy, drum-heavy rock music, although it sounds quite good in other contexts too. It's been a while since I've listened to subtle, quiet, classical or cinematic music on the BeoPlays, so you may be right about its dynamic resolution. I find the Gemini and Denon really excel in terms of subtle dynamics (which is interesting because I think the Gemini don't even support 24-bit), and I tend to gravitate to the BeoPlay for crisp and aggressive music. I love the new AZ100 and think they may be one of the best overall earbuds on the planet at this point, and they're *almost* in the sonic league with the others I listed--close enough that it doesn't really make a difference unless I'm actively listening. The main thing holding them back, for me, is that they're a bit more reverberant than I like. I don't know if it's in the tuning/processing or if it's just the way they resonate in their own chamber/tips or in my ear canal, but it slightly washes out the sound and obscures the detail a tiny bit. The other buds, particularly the Devialet and the BeoPlay (and also the much cheaper Nothing Ear 2024) somehow manage to have a much more dry sound. The reverberant sound adds some fullness/lushness and excitement, but a drier sound brings out more detail and crispness, especially in transients. This is me being incredibly nitpicky: as I said, I think the AZ100 are still one of the best sounding earbuds, and they have no shortage of clarity and crispness, I just think the other earbuds do it a bit better. I'm a pro musician too, and part of my career involves recording and mixing, so I'm accustomed to pro gear and my ears are fairly well attuned to the details of musical timbre and production techniques. I'm not saying this to pull rank or suggest that my opinion is more valid, I just want to let you know I'm not a rube spouting hype I don't understand. From what I'm reading here, our difference in opinion is more a matter of differing personal preferences.

My original comment was based on your first list. I've owned most of the earbuds in your edited list, and I'd consider them *all* among the best sounding earbuds out there. I'd probably say the Gemini, Denon, B&W, and B&O are roughly tied for "best sounding," and the winner comes down to personal preference. But if I had to choose only one set, I'd still probably go with the Sennheiser MTW4 or Technics (AZ100, which I like better than the AZ80). The Gemini and others may have slightly better sound but the Sennheiser and Technics still sound fantastic: they're not far behind, and you wouldn't be missing out on some mindblowing sonic experience. But I consider these two to be better overall, in terms of functionality, app, features, etc.

>If you don't mind, could you share your ranking list for best overall and one for sound quality? Thank you in advance! Of the ones listed in your post, my personal rankings would be: BEST OVERALL: 1. Sennheiser, Technics 2. Denon, Devialet 3. Bose, Sony 4. Pi8, BeoPlay BEST SOUND: 1. Devialet, Pi8, Denon, BeoPlay (in roughly that order if I *had* to rank them, but I consider them more or less tied, and my preferences might change from day to day or song to song) 2. Sennheiser, Technics AZ100 3. AZ80 4. Sony, Bose I've never used the EQ or the Eleven.

The Jabra are my favorites all around, but I have a lot of earbuds and there are a lot that beat them in one area or another, but none (in my opinion) that beat them *overall*. Comfort: no earbuds beat Jabra Elite 10 for comfort. Probably the next most comfortable would be Nothing 2024 / A or OnePlus 3/3Pro/2Pro or maybe Galaxy 2Pro/3Pro. But I find Technics, Devialet, Bose to all be reasonably comfortable. Sound: I love the Jabra 10 sound but plenty of premium earbuds beat them in sound. Technics AZ100/80, Sennheiser MTW4, Denon Perl Pro, and at a higher price point: Gemini 2, Pi8, BeoPlay EX (and probably Eleven but I haven't tried them). The Nothing 2024 in LDAC could potentially beat the Jabra in sound too but it's a close call. Most of these would be overkill if you're primarily listening to audiobooks and podcasts: in fact the Jabra are my favorites for spoken word, especially since the recent LC3 firmware update. ANC: Bose beats everyone. To my ears, the Jabra ANC is roughly tied for 2nd place ANC with Sony, Sennheiser, and Devialet. Some might argue that Sony is 2nd place and the others are tied for 3rd. Either way. I particularly like the Jabra ANC for flights, but the others are comparable. Microphone: I don't use earbuds much for calls so this is one area I never have much of an opinion on. My understanding is that Huawei buds have the best mics for calls but I've never tried them. Water Resistance: the Jabra 8 Active are the only earbuds I'm comfortable showering with. Beyond that I don't pay too much attention to IP ratings. My understanding is that Jabra generally leads in this area but that there are some (which I can't recollect) that are comparable. Physical buttons: nothing that I'm aware of beats Jabra in this area. I know the Status Between 4ANC (or something like that) has a physical button in addition to touch controls, but I only had these briefly and I don't remember how useful it was. Transmitter: Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 has a transmitter case (I think B&W were the innovators in this area). When using the USB-C transmitter, the Pi8 sound is *incredible*. I don't think I've tried the headphone/aux cable transmitter yet (the Pi8 comes with two separate cables instead of the Jabra version which has a built in adapter on a single cable). I think JBL Tour Pro 3 also have a transmitter option but I only had these briefly and I don't think I tried it. If your otherwise-perfect earbuds are missing the transmitter case feature, you can always get something like this: https://a.co/d/bbJW8Yn. I've used a similar device on a plane and it worked great, but I didn't do any side-by-side comparison of sound quality or anything. If all my Jabra earbuds disappears today, the Technics AZ100 or Sennheiser MTW4 would probably be my new daily drivers. Both have better sound than the Jabra and are probably 2nd-ish place in all the other areas: they're great overall earbuds. But this choice puts a lot of emphasis on music sound quality. For primarily audiobooks/podcasts, I'd probably choose the OnePlus Buds 3 Pro or Nothing 2024 (or Nothing A) as daily drivers. (Don't get me wrong, they both sound fantastic on music too). OnePlus would probably win out because of their controls and somewhat better ANC and battery life.