If you want Bang & Olufsen’s signature sound and have longed to seize it in a wi-fi in-ear monitor, look no additional than B&O’s Beoplay E6.
This in-ear-headphone is gorgeous to behold. The headphone’s most important housing is encased in a textured rubber and polymer that B&O says is designed to withstand sweat and moisture. The headphones have that tangible heft and really feel that tells you there’s no low-cost plastic right here.
Form and performance have all the time been hallmarks of B&O audio gear. You can select from three colours: Sky, sand, or black. My evaluation pair had been the final.
The Beoplay E6 are available in three completely different shade types, together with Sky, proven above.
The headphone’s color-matched cable sports activities a braided sample that elevates the headphone’s styling and premium really feel. During my evaluation interval, the braided cable resisted tangles and kinks regardless of what number of occasions I shoved the headphones into pockets of all sizes. Unfortunately, the braided cable additionally had an inclination to switch the noise of it rubbing towards my clothes. For a $300 headphone, that’s one thing that must be corrected.
A 3-button inline distant management handles fundamental features, and this element is fabricated from aluminum, additional highlighting the E6’s premium appear and feel.
Look intently and also you’ll see a flat facet on every earpiece. Those surfaces are magnetic, so should you contact one to the opposite, they’ll cling collectively. B&O applied this slick design characteristic so you possibly can put on the Beoplay E6 round your neck and scale back the danger of shedding them after they aren’t in your ears. I cherished this characteristic. And clicking the magnets collectively has one other characteristic: the headphones robotically shut down to save lots of battery energy.
The Beoplay E6 has magnets that clasp collectively to maintain the headphone round your neck when not in use.
Battery life
Speaking of energy, the B&O Beoplay E6 are rated to ship about 5 hours of playtime at average quantity. If you haven’t used the headphones in 15 minutes, they’ll robotically shut right down to additional save energy. There’s no method to make use of the headphones in a passive mode if the battery runs out, nevertheless, and it takes about two hours to recharge the headphones absolutely. I must also word that the Beoplay E6 comes with a proprietary charger. Lose the charger and you may’t energy your headphones till you purchase a $55 alternative.
Bluetooth and companion app
Bluetooth 4.2 is onboard. As with B&O’s different wi-fi headphones, you’ll discover help for the AAC audio codec, however you gained’t discover help for different high-quality codecs reminiscent of aptX, aptX HD, or LDAC.
I had no troubles pairing the Beoplay E6 with my iPhone XS. I did discover, nevertheless, that after in a blue moon, Bluetooth connectivity would get finicky. After talking with representatives at B&O, I decided the sample was being in areas with a excessive density of Bluetooth interference (Midtown Manhattan for instance) whereas additionally holding my iPhone in my again pocket.
These headphones are designed to mate with B&O’s Beoplay companion app. Once paired, the Beoplay app will present all of your paired B&O wi-fi headphones at a look. From there, you possibly can see present battery life and apply DSP settings, known as “Tonetouch,” to tailor the sound of the headphone. Unlike some merchandise that provide you with multi-band EQ, which could be daunting for the non-technical person to suss out, the Beoplay app offers you 4 quadrants that can nudge the sound to “warmer” or “brighter” in addition to “relaxed” or “excited.”
As in my evaluation of the Beoplay H9i over-the-ear headphones, I discovered Tonetouch to be extremely efficient. The bullseye motif is simple to know, and any adjustments are instantly audible. I believe many customers will want to nudge the sound towards “warm.” I didn’t like shifting the headphone’s EQ towards “bright” or any of the opposite choices. I left Tonetouch off (in impartial) for functions of this evaluation.
Included equipment
The Beoplay E6 comes with a strong set of equipment. There are 4 silicone ideas, starting from additional small to giant. Three of those include silicone wings (B&O calls them “fins”) to extend the headphone’s grip throughout lively exercises. B&O gives an attractive cinch sack so that you can carry your headphones.
A facet view of the B&O E6, with its charging.cable connected.
Potentially fussy match
Getting an excellent seal with an in-ear-headphone is the important thing to getting the most effective sound. If you don’t get a strong seal with the ear ideas, in-ear headphones will sound skinny and anemic. Bass response specifically will undergo, and the headphones would possibly even slide out of your ears.
Many IEMs—because of their design, measurement, and assortment of included ideas—will match nearly any ear. Others, just like the B&O E6, are a bit fussier. Some shoppers will get an incredible, trouble-free match, whereas others (like me) would possibly encounter challenges.
I attempted all of the included silicon ideas and none would give me an excellent, secure seal. Even the included silicone fins failed so as to add the steadiness I wanted to maintain the headphones in place. They would initially match, however then tilting my head or turning it (producing micro tugs on the cable) would pull them out a tiny bit at a time. It was demise by a thousand cuts. My suggestions to the B&O crew are:
- Include a good bigger sized silicone tip.
- Add higher grip to all of the silicone ideas.
- Include a curved fin possibility. The included fins didn’t present sufficient maintain for my ear form.
But all is just not misplaced. Thankfully (and well), B&O features a medium pair of Comply premium foam tips with the packaging. The Comply ideas, which I’ve referenced many occasions in different opinions, are a reminiscence foam-based product that conforms to the form of your ear canal at physique temperature. The Comply ideas gave me a strong seal and did a a lot higher job of holding the B&O E6 in place.
To get the most effective match and seal, nevertheless, I had to enter my very own Comply foam assortment and select a bigger, extra rounded tip. Once I did that, the Beoplay E6 made an ideal seal. The disadvantage of Comply reminiscence foam ear ideas is that their seal is so good that they’ll elevate the bass response of the headphones you might be listening to—though that’s one thing many shoppers will discover euphonious with the E6.
The B&O Beoplay E6 include a braided cable. The headphone itself is sweat and sand resistant.
Stunning, signature B&O sound
I performed my evaluation of the B&O Beoplay E6 with an iPhone XS with Tidal as my supply. I performed Tidal Master tracks after I might.
If you’re out there for a great-sounding in-ear-headphone, take coronary heart: the B&O E6 sound stunningly good. They excelled at conjuring up a deep, three-dimensional sound stage on tracks reminiscent of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ 1967 basic, “Nowhere to Run.” Orchestral works jumped to life. Hymns to the Mother of God, by Lycourgos Angelopoulos’ acclaimed Greek Byzantine Choir basked within the stage the E6 afforded.
An in depth view of the Beoplay E6, with a small fin connected.
The Beoplay E6 even have an uncanny knack for reproducing music with presence and dynamism. These headphones reveled in extracting the emotional vitality from Elaine Paige’s basic, “Memory,” from Cats. The identical was true of Loren Allred’s “Never Enough,” and “The Greatest Show” from the The Greatest Showman soundtrack. Both of these latter tracks had been intoxicating by way of the E6.
The Beoplay E6 excelled at delivering audiophile-quality bass, too. Low frequencies had been managed and refined with out being boomy. I famous all these traits on Khalid’s “Young Dumb & Broke,” Shaed’s “Trampoline,” and Imagine Dragon’s “Bad Liar.” But the E6 couldn’t fairly muster the deepest bass notes with influence and presence. On Imagine Dragon’s “Believer” and Holly Cole’s “Train Song,” for instance, this headphone couldn’t fairly muster the oomph of the acute backside finish that high-performance headphones and audio system can ship.
That mentioned, I’d like to emphasise that these headphones are able to strong bass response. If you’re utilizing these headphones and the bass sounds anemic, you don’t have the right seal—strive completely different ear ideas.
The Beoplay E6 has the charging module on one facet and the inline distant on the opposite for a balanced really feel.
Conclusion
Bang and Olufsen has managed to ship the most effective components of the corporate’s signature sound with all its emotional influence in a wi-fi in-ear-monitor. That’s not a small feat by any means. With AAC codec help, they sounded actually good over Bluetooth linked to my iPhone XS. Unfortunately, they don’t help aptX, aptX HD, or LDAC.
The Beloplay E6 have two shortcomings: First, some of us might be unable to discover a tip within the field that delivers an ideal seal. If you’re in that quantity, I encourage you to order a bigger set of Comply reminiscence foam ear to seek out one that matches excellent. Second, The E7 depend upon a proprietary charging cable and dongle, and a replacement costs $55. As lengthy as neither of these two points are deal breakers and also you’re searching for an emotionally participating, dynamic, and toe-tapping set of in-ear screens, give these an pressing audition.