Why You Can Trust CNET Bang & Olufsen's $399 Beoplay EQ earbuds are its first to feature active noise canceling
They're the Danish company's most advanced earbuds yet -- and also among the priciest out there.
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The Beoplay EQ comes in this sand-gold color and black.
While there are plenty of inexpensive true-wireless earbuds to choose from these days, the list of high-end true-wireless buds is also growing and now includes the $399 (£359) Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EQ, the Danish company's first earbuds to feature active noise canceling. They'll be available in August in two color options, sand or black.
The Beoplay EQ joins the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 in the $400 earbuds club. Master & Dynamic's MW08 Sport are $349, Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 are $280 and Bang & Olufsen's own Beoplay E8 Sport list for $350.
I haven't gotten my hands on the Beoplay EQ buds yet, but I'll let you know how they perform as soon as I do. in the meantime, here are their key specs, according to Bang & Olufsen:
- Dedicated ANC DSP chip and 6 microphones allow for automatic adjustment of ANC levels
- Microphones enable directional beamforming technology for clear calls and speech quality
- Spacecraft-grade aluminum charging case with wireless charging
- 6.5 hours of playtime with noise canceling turned on (20 hours total with 2 additional charges from charging case)
- Quick-charge feature gives you 2 hours of playtime with a 20-minute charge
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Supports aptX streaming with compatible devices
- IP54 splash-proof
- Price: $399 (£359; Australian price TBA, but UK price converts to AU$680)
Read more: Best true wireless earbuds for 2021