Test: Rapha and Bang & Olufsen - the sexiest couple since Posh-Spice and Becks. A pairing that simply fits or, similar to Apple and Beats, arouses such a great desire in all of us that in the end only availability stands in the way when the servers smoke for the release of a new iPhone. The proud price changes little, which in the case of the limited Rapha Beoplay E8 headphones is a whopping 350 euros. But what can the Danish earphones from the luxury couple Rapha and B&O do?
Rapha Beoplay E8 – if you want it, you have to be quick
Unfortunately, we have to say one thing right away: If you want to be the proud owner of Bluetooth in-ear headphones from Rapha and Bang & Olufsen, you have to be quick. Rapha is known for its exclusive partnerships - most recently at the Giro d'Italia with the skate brand Palace - but these are only available for a very short time window and therefore sell out in a very short time.
The Rapha and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 Sport Earphones are specifically only available on November 16 in select B&O stores available or available now rapha.cc
Are the Rapha and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 Sport Earphones worth the hassle?
As always in life - it depends. There are hardly any more elegant in-ear headphones at the moment - the packaging and unboxing are in no way inferior to that of a new iPhone.
Installation and start-up work quickly and smoothly – it only takes two minutes at most. Only if you want to use one of the alternative silicone plugs for a more suitable fit in the ear, you should plan a few more minutes for the anatomical adjustment.
It is advisable to load the B&O app onto your smartphone, as it is very easy to make tonal adjustments based on personal preferences.
The earphones themselves are of very high quality and also have a valuable haptic effect. At 13,1 grams for the ready-to-use pair (6,55 grams each), they're lightweight and barely noticeable when worn in the ear.
The charging box weighs a comfortable 55,1 grams and is quite compact. It can also be transported inconspicuously in the jersey pocket. It offers "juice" for three full charges of the headphones, which should offer around seven hours of uninterrupted music enjoyment when fully charged.
Both earpieces have an integrated microphone, so you only need to wear one of them to make calls and you can hear and speak from either side. The audio and voice quality when making phone calls is very good and has passed all practical tests: making calls in an open-plan office, doing sports, Zwifting, driving a car - no complaints from the other party.
And by the way, no complaints from the wearer either: the fit of an earphone has not loosened over a longer period of time, nor has wearing it become uncomfortable in the long run - on the contrary, after a few minutes you forget to have the in-ears in your ears.
How is the sound of the Rapha Beoplay E8?
Well, what would we expect from the Bang & Olufsen name? We're not a hi-fi magazine and we certainly don't have audiophile ears - but we all like listening to music. And if you sit on your Wahoo Kickr for two hours, you also want to listen to loud and dynamic music - or even a podcast where the quality of the speech is important. The noise canceling can be controlled via the transparency function in the app and works very effectively. The Rapha Beoplay E8 master these criteria with flying colors. "It doesn't get any better than this" is quickly said, and perhaps it should be phrased more like this: "At least I don't know it any better..."
