[Review] B&O A8 headphones

B&O A8 headphones

These are things that look like this:



I've seen people using them in the train en route to work and was always rather taken with them - until I saw the (Swiss) price - over 200 Swissies (approaching £100) . Then on eBay, I came across a Hong Kong-based gent who sold them for much cheaper than the Swiss - this guy:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3274&item=5770679840&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

in real life a Mr. Joseph Lai. As I spend over three hours a day on trains, I decided to treat myself. Mr. Lai was patience itself - he accepts only Paypal, and was prepared to wait (nearly a month) until I got the number to activate a Paypal account. The goods finally arrived yesterday. They are nicely made and come with a leather carrying pouch, an extension lead and two pairs of soft covers for the earpieces. Moreover, everything sings and dances - the earpieces pivot and telescope in and out of the tube, and the curved ear holders also pivot, so finding a comfy fit is no problem.

My first impressions on trying them out were, Omigosh! They sounded astoundingly good, far better, it seemed to me, than any small headphone had any right to sound. So, I pitted them against my current train headphone, the Sony MDR-EX71.:



As always, Trevor Pinnock and Handel's Water Music was the test piece. The interesting thing was that I found myself with a rerun of the Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser confrontation that I had gone through when I got full-sized 'phones. In comparison, the Sonys were like the Sennheisers, dullish in the middle range, whereas the B&Os sparkled here. Perhaps the Sonys are optimised to the rock music to which most people listen, I don't know, but they have now lost the top spot in my affections. For my particular tastes, the B&Os were clearly superior, with a bright, clear, crisp sound.

In addition, the Sony's lead is sooooo short (especially that to the left ear) that you really have to use the Sony's extension lead, unless you like your music machine right under your nose. The A8s have a sensible length, that often allows them be used without the extension lead.

It has to be said that the Sonys, bettered though they are by the B&Os, are still fine headphones. Moreover, they are substantially cheaper than the B&Os (in Swizzieland, less than half the price - 80 Swissies as against over 200). However, the B&Os are my kind of headphones, sound-wise. They are also very comfortable to wear. Highly recommended, especially to the classical listeners (both of you).

 

the quoted bass response only down to 50hz? Or is that them being extremely modest?

 

Don't know, don't care, they sound great.