Beoplay EX - Sound Fidelity
I recently purchased a pair of Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX earbuds. I usually avoid unnecessary product refresh cycles by purchasing products that are built to last, or have good enough specifications to sustain a longer product refresh cycle.
For instance, I am still using a MacBook Pro M1 Max released in 2021, and an iPhone 13 Pro, also released in 2021. Those devices do a perfect job, and I don't feel the need to replace them, just as I'm fine with my car.
The Circle of Life: Repair or Replace?
Although I'm avoiding unnecessary expenses, things will break out from time to time. When repairs are possible and make economically sense (notably in the case of household appliances), I will usually opt for a repair. If a repair is not possible, I will do some extensive research to select the best compromise between quality, outcomes, and price.
In other cases, I will immediately rule out cheaper options, especially when experience has proven that the "premium choice" is not enough. This has already happened with a steam ironing system, where we had to jump to a higher category (we don't joke with ironing in our household, a thing I've learned over a few years of happily married life).
Technological Grief
Long intro to just say that all good things eventually have an end, and the AirPods Pro I purchased around 2019-2020 (which I religiously took care of) seem to have succumbed to the not-so-worrisome handling of a few members of our household.
As an outcome, the sound has become extremely scratchy and makes it a pain to listen to any sort of music, save alone use them properly in noise canceling mode on a plane trip. While this might not be a major issue on short trips, it becomes a major annoyance during intercontinental flights.
The Quest for Ultimate Sound
If it's not enough, I wrongly feel that I am a very unique individual who has a deep enjoyment for music (probably only a few more billion) and for outstanding sound quality (audiophiles are looking down at me like a peasant though). Your mileage may vary when it comes to ultimate sound, but I am of course not talking here about uber-expensive audiophile equipment.
I have favorite tracks where I want to listen to every instrument, or particular vibration of chords; some tracks have heavy, complex bass lines that make me vibe and bring me in an elevated state of enjoyment / happiness.
The contrabass in Photek's "Modus Operandi" is a good example of what I mean here. It's not just a sound, it's envisioning the pinching of the chords and the induced visual and auditive vibration.
This induces that I don't necessarily want to invest "only" 100-200 USD into a new system and be happy with an average sound rendering. If I have to buy something, it better has to deliver, else I will delay the purchase. In my case, with frequent travel (including flights in the ~12 hour range), quality noise canceling and great sound is one of the few comforts that I want to afford.
Be it a TB-303 bass line (Palms Trax - Sumo Acid Crew), a classical music track (Smetana - Vltava), a heavily layered goa trance classic (Hallucinogen - L.S.D.), a top notch world music with aerial lyrics and oriental instruments (Vas - In The Garden Of Souls), or some solid Black Sabbath / Dio (too much to mention), rendering and execution should be flawless.
The Beoplay EX
I do not deny that purchasing a $399 / EUR 399,- set of earbuds is definitely North of anything reasonable: I could have gone for the Sony WH-1000MX5 and get top-notch Active Noise Canceling, at a reasonable $249 / EUR 249,- but I somehow favored the ability to consistently cover a very broad frequence range. No justification about traveling, sound quality, or other excuses will elude the brutal reality: this is an expensive purchase, which goes against most of my spending / budgeting principles.
On another hand, it is an extremely pleasant aural experience whenever I get to listen to any of my favorite tracks, as if rediscovering them and enjoying them more than ever.
There are many reviews on these earbuds, so I will not embark into a redux of my own. Instead, look here:
I'm not an expert at assessing earbuds, but I am totally pleased with the sound quality, build, ergonomics, app, etc.
My hope is that, with great care (and avoiding family members stealing them from me), these will go on to serve my music needs for a very long time.