Bang & Olufsen A8 Headpones Review

For starters, Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones are at the low end of upper echelon headphones designed specifically for active users. They retail for around $166 which is far less than some of the Sure and Senheiser’s on the market, but savvy shoppers can often find them for far less, especially on Amazon.com.

The earphones come with a piece of black foam for each of the earpieces. It is recommended to use these if you have sensitive ears. If you don’t, throw them away. They’re a nuisance, get dirty easily and destroy the aesthetic quality of the headphones.

The materials are high quality - aluminum and rubber. They fit perfectly and are three way adjustable, when you fit them on they don't come off. One of the driving forces that led me to purchase these was the comments from other owners on how well they stay in place when running. I run a few times a week and was so tired of earbuds that continually have to be adjusted during my run. The Bang and Olufsen A8 headphones are the most comfortable I’ve ever run with. It doesn’t take long to adjust the perfect fit for your ear. . They are also one of few pairs of headphones that I have felt comfortable wearing for several hours. I don’t even notice them in my ears. With others I’ve used, the inside of my ears would be hurting with extended use, but not with these.

The sound is excellent. If you want bass heavy headphones then these are not for you but if you want headphones which reproduce music beautifully and add to your music listening experience then these are definitely for you. The Bang & Olufsen A8’s are able to produce high definition sound at low volume levels. It’s like listening to an acoustic version of the music. I continually find small sounds in recordings (intended by the musicians) that would have otherwise been masked using cheaper (in terms of cost and quality) earphones.

On their own, they’re not so great at creating a lot of bass (low frequencies) but there are ways of getting around that. I went into iTunes to edit my songs by putting the bass booster on, then on my iPod I switched the EQ to bass booster. It’s not the most bass but I’d say it improved the bass output by at least 60 percent.

For anyone that is a runner, or just loves the crystal clear sound of music, I strongly recommend that you try these. I doubt that you’ll go back to anything else. But one more bit of advice, If you purchase these headphones from a B&O outlet or Apple store you will also get a 3 year warranty (which I hear is rock solid) you will pay full retail price. If you’re not concerned with the warranty then try Amazon.com. You will find these with a great saving over the retail price, less the manufacturers warranty but Amazon guarantees purchases from Amazon Marketplace and Merchant sellers when payment is made via the Amazon.com website or when you use Amazon Payments for qualified purchases on third party websites. The condition of the item you buy and its timely delivery are guaranteed under the Amazon A-to-z Guarantee.

Stay clear of Ebay for these, there are a lot of fakes. Watch the video below on how to identify the real A8’s from the fakes.  You can also compare these with other headpones designed for the active person here.