The Beoplay EQs are undoubtedly the best sounding earphones I have ever used. The bass is deep, vocals are clear whether I am listening to music on the train, wandering around the park, or sitting on my turbo trainer dripping sweat. Their only noticeable downside is that they are not great if you want to hear what's going on around you with Transparency mode when you're outside on the bike, as opposed to on the turbo.
Transparency mode pics up ambient sounds via six microphones and mixes them into what you're listening to, and on the turbo it's great. What it can't handle on the roads, though, is wind noise. For real riding, you're forced to switch it off.
It's difficult to criticise earphones for blocking out traffic noise because there's a simple solution: don't wear them. Plus, the person who sent them to me from B&O stipulated very clearly that they don't recommend these outside bike use, but that they work well on a static bike. However, I do want to mention this because it is only fair when the other earphones I have looked at have been judged on this criterion.
If you're happy being totally isolated from the outside world as you ride outdoors, these earphones are great and, as I mentioned, the sound quality is awesome. Tech ed Mat uses them in this way a lot for non-urban rides (you don't approve? He's happy with that) and loves the performance.
When you're riding indoors, the transparency mode (adjustable via B&O's app) works very well. I can clearly hear everything that's around me when I'm riding. The noise cancelling also works fantastically well, almost entirely drowning out the sound of my turbo trainer.
Connectivity
Firstly the Bluetooth connection holds well, and I never had it drop on either my phone or my laptop even using it for hours at a time. Unlike some though, there's no automatic pause when you remove one or both earphones, and I found it unpredictable whether they would connect automatically or need manually adding.
This isn't exactly the end of the world, but compared to something like the AirPods Pro and Jabra Elite 75T, the connectivity is not quite as good.
The controls
There are touch panels on either earbud, with the right one controlling playback and volume, and the left cycling through the various audio setups. I found them fairly easy to use once I'd got used to them, but there were several times where I accidentally turned the volume up when I meant to pause, and vice versa.
Your options are Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency, and Neutral. ANC listens to what is around you and actively counteracts it so you can only hear what is playing; Transparency listens to what is around you and plays it through the earphones; and Neutral just has them working normally.
Each works well, and I found the ANC works particularly well, blocking out pretty much everything you can reasonably expect. For instance, I could ride on a turbo without hearing the constant whirring, but it wouldn't be able to keep out a police car coming past me (not that many cars drive through my house).
> 14 of the best home trainers for 2021 – get fit indoors
Bang & Olufsen offer a simple but effective app with basic controls, such as switching the EQ between five presets (or to one of your own creation), and settings for calls and standby mode. It doesn't offer a huge amount of customisation, but in my opinion it's got what's needed without making it overly complex.
The Beoplays are relatively big and heavy at 8g per bud, and sit quite far out of the ear. It took me a couple of experiments to find the most comfortable tips from the five options provided, but once I did I had no issue with stability.
These are not sports headphones but offer IP54 water and dust proofing, which is more than enough for most workouts – even very sweaty indoor turbo sessions. I also had no issues with them in heavy rain.
Battery life
Detailed battery life percentages (left, right and the case) are shown in the app, while the aluminium case uses a three-stage LED (green, orange or red) for a quick readout. You can expect between 6-7 hours per charge, and the case can fully recharge them twice before it, too, needs recharging. That means around 20 hours of use before you have to find a wall socket.
On the mains, the USB C charging cable takes you to full charge in under one hour. You can charge them on wireless chargers too, but those vary in speed.
The case doesn't scratch easily and feels premium – even the sound of it shutting feels high quality.
Value
RRP on these is £349, which is steep for earbuds, but are about what I would expect for a set that sound this good. You could compare them to the AirPods Pro earbuds I tested recently, and at £239 those have superior connectivity and sports-specific functions. Despite sounding impressive though, they are not as impressive as these.
I also tested £179.99 Jabra Elite Active 75t earphones and, although they are better on a moving bike, once again the sound quality is not as good.
Overall
For turbo use, these are brilliant. Transparency mode works well when there's no wind noise to spoil things, the noise cancellation can even rid you of the turbo's whirring, and frankly these are some of the most beautiful-sounding earbuds I've used. They're also simple to operate.
If you're looking for earphones for indoor use on the turbo – or anywhere else besides on the road – you will be hard pressed to find any that sound better.
Verdict
The best sounding earbuds for turbo training, if not recommended for riding outside
Make and model: Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EQ earphones
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
B&O says: "Tuned by acclaimed sound engineers, true noise cancelling earphones delivering Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound. Enjoy powerful, authentic audio delivered by a 6.88 mm electro-dynamic new driver. The powerful audio performance is enhanced by a customisable fit for passive noise reduction."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Noise Isolation
Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation
Driver Type
Electro-dynamic, 6.8mm diameter
Driver Sensitivity
107dB +/- 3dB, 1kHz @-3 dBFS (max volume) with Bluetooth playback
Frequency Range
20 - 20,000 Hz
Impedance
17 Ohm +/-2.55 @ 1KHz
Customizable Sound EQ
Presets available and fully customisable through Bang & Olufsen App
Designer
Thomas Bentzen
Fit
True Wireless In ear
EarGels
4 pairs of silicone tips (XS, S,M,L)
COMPLY Isolation ear tips series 200 (Size M)
Materials
Hard anodised Aluminium in space craft grade quality
Polymer
Silicone
Dust and Waterproof Rating
IP54 (dust and splash/sweat resistant)
Dimensions (mm)
Earphones: 24 W x 22 H x 27 D
Charging case: 77 W x 40 H x 26 D
Weight
Earphones:
Right: 8g
Left: 8g
Charging case: 50 g (without earbuds)
Battery Life
Up to 6.5 hours with ANC
Up to 7.5 hours without ANC
Up to 20 hours with charging case at moderate volume
Charging Time
Earphones: approx. 1.5 h
Charging Case (USB-C): 1.40 h
Charging Case (Qi Wireless): 1.50 h
Charging for 20 minutes gives approximately 2 hours playback.
Battery Size
Earphones:
Right (Primary) 85 mAh
Left (Secondary) 85 mAh
Charging Case: 340 mAh
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.2
Sound Codecs
SBC, AAC codec, aptX Adaptive
Microphone
6 x MEMS, omni-directional (beam directional for speech)
Inputs and Outputs
0.50 m USB-A to USB-C cable for Charging Qi Wireless Charging
- 5V DC / 500mA USB-C or 400mA Qi charged
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Well machined and sturdy case and premium-feeling earbuds.
Rate the product for performance:
10/10
Brilliant on a turbo; they excel in pretty much every other (indoor) situation. On the road wind noise is excessive in Transparency mode, but they're not designed for that. If you're happy using them like 'regular' headphones and blocking external sounds though, they're great.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Well made and feel like they will last.
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
6/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
8/10
Once I had got the ear tips right, they were very comfortable.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Inside on the turbo these work fantastically, and if you're happy to block external noise they're great on the road too.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The sound quality - it is the best I have heard from wireless earbuds.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Transparency mode can't cope with wind noise over 10mph.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The AirPods Pro at £239 have superior connectivity and sports-specific functions, but despite impressive sound, the quality can't match these. I also tested the much cheaper (£179.99) Jabra Elite Active 75t and, although they are better on a moving bike, again the sound quality is not as good.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
The sound quality of these is exceptional, and the noise cancelling mode is genuinely useful for indoor training. They are expensive though, and not well suited to on-road bike use. While they're not intended to be for sports, there are cheaper rivals that can do more... though the others can't match the sheer quality of the B&O's sound. As an overall prospect though, they're very good.
Age: 33 Height: 6 ft Weight:
I usually ride: CAAD13 My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed,
Add new comment
3 comments
I'd have thought the price was a significant downside too!
Or you can pick up some B&O wired for sport earphones for £59.99, down from £180 that will at least stay on / in...
https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/1883282
I bought the previous generation of these earphones and could not get them to connect to my samsung, ipad, and speakers.... Anything. Absolutely useless. Don't bother with them. Search the user forums. Littered with complaints. I've had Braggi, JVC and other lesser well known brand and all connected fine. Asked their customer help. Nothing. Utter trash for exorbitant money. You be better advised to purchase elsewhere.