Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven

Bang & Olufsen has a bit of a reputation, doesn't it? A well-deserved one, too. They are known for delivering a signature sound that is recognisable, even iconic, and for combining this with striking materials and a luxurious and detail-oriented sense of aesthetics and craftsmanship. In other words, they are a true luxury brand.

Therefore, it really doesn't make sense to look at their in-ear headphones, Eleven, and conclude that just because they cost $429, they are automatically a disappointment, or even poor.

Let's take a moment to consider what Eleven actually is. A relatively small (but larger than a number of competing models) aluminium case that supports both USB-C and Qi wireless charging. Inside, you will find the two devices, which combine matte plastic with aluminium. They are quite exquisitely produced, but even though there is a kind of "stem", they cannot be squeezed, because control is done exclusively through small circular touch surfaces on each one. This is where B&O really stumbles, because being able to "squeeze" this stem is a rather nice way to use your in-ear headphones, as demonstrated by Apple's AirPods Pro for many years now. Instead, you are forced to use these touch surfaces, which are surprisingly small and therefore not quite as precise as hoped.

That said, the case, the pulsating LED that indicates battery level, the magnets that hold both the lid and the devices in place, it's all beautifully designed and effectively realised, and you notice this attention to detail in everyday use. It's quite clear that Bang & Olufsen still knows how to put these things together. And yes, it's all IP57 certified, which is very welcome.

Each unit has an electrodynamic 9.2 mm neodymium driver that operates in the 20-20,000 Hz frequency range. Bluetooth 5.2 is supported, which generally provides impeccable range and clarity without you having to worry about how far you stray from the playback device, and more serious codecs such as aptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC are also supported. There is no LDAC support, which I know generates some who would like to see support for these high-end codecs as quite necessary to maintain this luxury identity. To be completely honest, I doubt that the intended consumer group cares about that kind of thing, but of course there is a point in saying that if you are the most expensive, you should have the whole package.

Fortunately, Eleven makes up for this by having quite fabulous ANC. B&O claims twice as good noise reduction as in the previous model, EX. I can't comment on that off the top of my head, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by both the sustained and sudden elimination of noise in a busy city environment, which to my ears is on par with, for example, AirPods Pro. No, it wasn't a transformative experience, but Bang & Olufsen delivers where it matters, and their Transparency Mode is also quite impressive across the board.

I would also like to mention the new Wind Guard feature, which is specifically designed to mask and eliminate wind noise during calls. They don't beat Samsung's almost magical Galaxy Buds Pro 2 on that front, but it's really impressive and a huge leap forward on a parameter you use every single day.

So far, so good, right? But there is a bit of an Achilles' heel here, because the battery life did not live up to my expectations during the test period. I measured approximately 5.5 hours on a single charge, and there should be about four full charges in the case, so that means we're looking at about 20 hours in total. These estimates are with ANC turned on, but I find it a bit pointless to measure battery life with one of the key features turned on. It's just not quite good enough, unfortunately.

Fortunately, the Eleven sounds quite magical, and that's enough to act as a central mitigating factor, to be completely honest. The signature is warm, the range seems wide, and whether I threw Bill Evans' slightly delicate Nardis at it, Krister Moltzen's delicious delivery of the excellent Third Ear podcast Dæmonernes Verden (seriously, they are so talented) or harder Soulwax remixes from my slightly wilder youth, the Eleven gave me some truly cool sound experiences that stand out as being among the better ones of the last few years.

But they also have to be before the price makes sense. Bang & Olufsen comes close here, pretty close. I think the interface should be rethought, I don't like using my fingertip to half-heartedly control the devices that way, and the battery life should get a boost of 20-30%, especially considering the size of the case. That said, call quality, sound quality, and build quality are among the most essential driving forces, and this is where we get a slam dunk in all three categories, clearly.