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Meet the Beoplay H5, B&O PLAY's first wireless in-ear headphone

The B&O Play H5 earbuds are your ticket to freedom from the messy tangles of traditional headphones.

Justin Yu Associate Editor / Reviews - Printers and peripherals
Justin Yu covered headphones and peripherals for CNET.
Justin Yu
2 min read

Sending music over Bluetooth inevitably cuts into sound quality, but headphone brands can no longer ignore the convenience of wireless in the personal audio space.

B&O PLAY introduced the Beoplay A7 wireless over-ear headphones earlier this year, and now the company is cutting the cord again with its newest addition, the Beoplay H5 wireless earbuds.

Since the headphone industry is still on the cusp of developing a totally wireless pair of Bluetooth earbuds that can transmit music without interruption, it's probably a good idea that B&O PLAY went with the single-cord design for the H5.

It also means that there's room on the cable for the three-button remote control that you can use to change tracks and adjust the volume of your music.

While it's true that most audiophiles stay as far away from Bluetooth as they can, the company points out that the H5 can play high-resolution files and also supports the aptX codec that promises "CD-like quality" sound.

The headphones themselves have a 6.4mm dynamic driver in each earbud with an overall impedance of 16 Ohm and a frequency range between 20 and 20,000Hz. If you don't know what that means, check out this primer by CNET's own Audiophiliac Steve "Sphere" Guttenberg.

B&O PLAY claims the rechargeable battery can last for up to five hours of continuous playback at moderate volume, which actually comes up short compared to similar Bluetooth buds like the Jaybird X2 that have 2X mAh capacity and lasts for eight hours before needing to recharge.

I haven't heard the H5s in person yet, but you can change the sound signature of the H5s using the free Beoplay app for Android, iOS and WatchOS.

There's a visual equalizer that you can mess with while you're playing music or you can cycle between in-house presets to match your mood or activities.

The Beoplay H5 is available now and comes in two colors (black and dusty rose) for $249 in the US or £199 in the UK. The company hasn't announced availability in Australia yet, but the retail price converts to about $335 AU.