Home

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Avoid Like the Plague

Written by CL from Santa Monica

Jul 3, 2009

It is such a shame that a product with such good sound quality and a well constructed ear clip, would have such a poor wire casing. Believe me, if you buy this head set you will see the copper wire and it will fall apart on you in little time. I know this because it has happened to me one three different sets. (Every time it does, I go down to my local Apple store and I buy a new set, wait a few days, swap-out the old broken set in the box, and then I take back the box for a full cash refund.)

There are two other flaws. One is with the uneven length wires that branch from the Y-configuration (note to all headset designers: DO NOT EVER DO THIS). This always creates uneven tension and discomfort as the center wire gets tugged from time to time. The other flaw is with the oversized microphone disk on the left side. If you where a collared shirt, this will snag on the collar creating a annoying remainder that you hate this pair of headphones.

50 of 64 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Bad Design

Written by SB from Easton

Sep 4, 2009

I'm on my second set of these. Although they have the best sound quality of any of the speaker like headphones that I've tried in the end they just don't hold up. The wire for the earphone that goes behind your head has now pulled out from the mike/controller just like the first set did.

19 of 28 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

EarSets by B&O, Reviews by B&O?...

Written by CS from COPPELL

Aug 20, 2008

I bought this EarSet 3 & the EarSet 2 bluetooh (interesting Apple is not longer allowing reviews of the EarSet 2), so I will include it here. I bought both of these after reading the rave reviews here. Silly me. Should have gone into a B&O store & asked one of their snooty salepersons to let me test the sound first. But, I have some other great B&O gear, so just assumed the sound would be good.

It isnt. Its ok. Which is ok, except when you pay a price which is, hmm, how to put it, kind of lacking in any grounding in reality for what you receive. Apart from the magnificent packaging, never seen anything like it. Save the trees? :(

I actually thought my EarSet 2 was broken, the sound was so ordinary. It sounded just like the other bluetooth sets I have owned, except with more volume, and a more reliable link (after a LOT of fiddling, the link is rock solid). Sound was stretched, metallic, NO bass (repeat, NO BASS), with volume turned up enough to hear in traffic, hurts my ears (like my old BT devices). When you talk to someone else on an EarSet 2, you often get a high volume feedback & have to redial & turn the volume down. Where is the bass from that relex port they brag about? The open-ear full bodied natural sound experience advertised? The much talked about perfect fit? (fiddly to put on, fiddly to adjust, the earbuds don't sit into your ear enough to get any benefit from the supposedly quality speaker). And THE BUTTON!!! Oh my, the BUTTON!!! What an annoyance, the one button on the device, & it is tiny, sharp on your finger, & wobbles from side to side so you cannot push it in neatly to activate the function without effort. The overall sound is not too bad, you can hear the other person, & talk without hassle, but this is no Beocom bluetooth equivalent, no no no! But no, I was very disappointed, & I love my other B&O products.

Check out the specs, the 2's are running old firmware & an outdated BT version, the range is very short, the run time is shorter than competitors, there is no car charger, the proprietary charger costs a hundred bucks to replace; the 1's are a leftover product included with the B&O cellphone made by Samsung. Years old. OK sound, not primo. OK fit, nothing custom. OK mic pickup, meh.

Would you like to know what B&O charge for one of these puppies here in Australia? EarSet 2 $500 AU dollars. Thats $435 USD. And the Earset 3? $349.95 AU, that's $305.95 USD. Just FYI cousins, putting it in perspective. Australians are of course, (do the calculation & insert % here) more gullible, & less deserving, than the good citizens of the US.

So, who, I am lead to ask, is writing up all of these glorious B&O reviews my friends? Most wired mic headset buys, & most BY earset buyers have had experience of several devices by now, and can compare the relative sound qualities. These B&O earpieces are NOT WHAT THEY ARE ADVERTISED TO BE in terms of sound quality. Uber-design? YES! Exclusive? Hmm I guess so. Sound? NO! Nowhere even close. They are beautiful, nicely made, and they are about as good sound quality sound as the medium to higher priced stereo mic headsets & bluetooth iPhone devices in any other good brand.

The 1x star is my effort to make up for the gross inflation from other "reviews". Relatively, they should each receive 3 stars for overall, 2 stars each when price/quality is factored in. Maybe. Depends how annoyed you are at the time.

That's my 2 cents worth, and my advice? Go listen to one in a store, with the phone/iPhone you wish to use it with, before laying down your dough. That's all.

23 of 36 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Comfy but too fragile

Written by GS from Seattle

Apr 14, 2009

I picked up this set back in September of '08 and the thin cord from the right earpiece separated and exposed the wiring within 3 months. This was through normal use. Apple was awesome about it and replaced the set with a new one as Bang & Olufsen never got back to me about the issue. Now, just after 3 months the same problem has come up again. These things apparently have a 3 year warranty, but that is laughable. They felt great as they could adjust in 3 ways, but they just can't hold up. Back to the drawing board I guess.

11 of 14 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Bitterly Disappointed

Written by SC from Sugar Land

Sep 21, 2008

These headphones were absolutely pathetic. The cords stretched out of one of the ear pieces as well as the "microphone" and both are inoperable.

Though I enjoyed them for the first 5 or 6 weeks, they were a total waste of money. I am going to try to exchange them at the Mac store and will update the post.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY

19 of 31 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

DOA...

Written by BW from Washington

Apr 20, 2009

The right ear piece worked and sounded fairly nice. Too bad the left ear piece was busted straight out of the box. Big pain returning them -- they gave me the run around at the Apple store, even though I returned them a day or two after purchase. Ugh.

8 of 11 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Don't waste your money

Written by RV from San Jose

Jan 25, 2009

I am big fan of B&O and have all their Earsets in our family. I can say this is the worst of all their headsets. Here are the issues....

- First, the microphone is closer to your right ear and the wire to the left ear is too long.
- After some use (about a month), the protection shield near the microphone just comes out leaving the internal cables exposed
- The head set gets tangled up all the time.

The second point is a biggie for me. There is no point buying a headset when it is going to break in a month or two, especially at this price.

I am disappointed B&O.

7 of 9 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Not even close to worth the money

Written by JH from Jenks

Mar 2, 2009

For 2 Benjamins one would think that you would be getting high quality in sound and construction. I found neither to be the case. The sound quality was only slightly better than the out-of-the-box set that comes with the iPhone and the construction is such that the rubber tubing can't seem to stay within it's sheathing. My first pair came apart after about 3 months of use, now the replacement pair that B&O supplied has just come apart. No thanks. I'll go back to the $29.00 pair. I mean, come on, the music is only playing at 128kps anyway...it isn't like the headphones are going to improve the quality over the source.

10 of 16 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Love it, but can't recommend it

Written by SB

Feb 2, 2009

Like the other 1 star reviews - I am very disappointed at the quality of this device. The design is FABULOUS. I love how the ear buds attached to the ear. The sound quality is great, the ability to go from music to phone is convenient. But this is my second set within a year. The rubber that connects the to the parts are so flimsy and weak. I use this EVERY DAY - all day - why wouldn't you? I would never spend $200 on ear phones that are only meant to use once in a while. I trusted the B&O name, spent the extra, only to have it fall apart. I even duct taped the connections on my second pair to give it extra support. The wires are too thin, so that didn't help. Apple employees should WARN buyers about this!

6 of 9 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

great sound, lousy materials

Written by RG from New York

Dec 26, 2008

Now, after having the pleasure of exchanging my second set of headphones due to the protective coating of the wires being too short, not securely connected to the microphone, being brittle, and the wire splitting, I thought I needed to document my experience here.
Even though I am an avid user of Bang & Olufsen audio, video,speakers and digital equipment, this product is simply put a deal-breaker and great disappointment.
To save costs, inappropriate material for the wires was chosen and the craftsmanship is not up to par with the actual in ear speakers and metal components. Be aware: return the headphones to a B&O dealer as soon as you see the wires exposed! I had the fortune of being told that due to the separated wire, the set could not be exchanged.

Shame on you B&O for using materials which are substandard... perhaps someone should look into the wire covering of v-moda.

7 of 12 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Lousy material

Written by ソア from 中央区

Jan 25, 2009

I agree 100% with RG from New York, that despite the good sound that ES3 produces, the material really bad, three weeks after I purchased the ES3, the wire is splitting and the cheap plastic that covers the wires are pealing off. I can only put one star because I had to rate the product, it doesn't deserve any star.

So shame on on BO for such a lousy workmanship, never buy any product again from BO should change the name to BS full stop

5 of 9 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Not worth $200

Written by UK from SAN JOSE

Sep 27, 2008

In my opinion, the sound quality is slightly better than the included iPhone headphones. I tried using the iPhone equalizer to improve sound quality but the improvement was marginal. In my opinion, these B&Os should not cost more than $50. Your paying for the name and style.

10 of 20 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Great Gimmick

Written by CE from Anchorage

Jan 27, 2009

These sound great, but will only last if you use them 1/2 hour a day. I had to send my first pair back because the protection for the cord broke in 2 places. Took them 3 weeks to get me a new set. After using the second set for 3 months, same thing.

If you plan on using these for more than a half hour a day, or want something cool to hang on your ear, they might be for you, but the overall quality of these things along with the B & O service is horrible.

5 of 11 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Good. Cords failed. Not worth the money.

Written by IH from Houston

Sep 17, 2008

I bought these headphones.

1) They don't sound as good as they cost. Buy a pair of Shures if you're looking for sounds quality.

2) The glue holding the cord to the headphone plug is not strong enough and the cord will pull loose. This is a known problem to B&O, and they changed the glue. The new ones should be fine.

3) If they were $100 I'd say get them. But for more than twice as much, buy a better pair (check out Shure. I don't own them yet, but I tried them in the store and it was like night and day). But, you do get to have B&O headphones... fancy.

18 of 22 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

What a waste of money!

Written by JS from derry

Aug 27, 2008

I bought these because of the good reviews, but by the 3rd month the earphones were beginning to sound faded and the richness of the music was definitely reduced. There is also very poor quality base, it's geared toward higher notes. But I guess if I really wanted more out of a product I should have got a Bose.

22 of 30 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Good Headphones With Large Flaws

Written by MC from New York

Feb 23, 2009

These headphones are pretty good. I'm a fan of this style of eat attachment. The sound is great. When it comes to calls, I prefer them over the built in iphone speaker/microphone.

Given that:

-They tangle easily without a good way to store them (it comes with a pouch, but it isn't ideal).

-The wire for the left and right ear meet at the microphone, so they have to be of unequal length (look at the pictures). I prefer the default iphone headset style, where the two wires are the same length. As it is, my left ear gets tugged too much. It comes with a clothing clip, but it falls off the wire too easily (and fell off during a long walk).

-My first set broke in 1.5 months. The main wire's sheath disconnected from the jack, exposing the wires (with the jack flopping about). I am worried about the same thing happening where the wires that go from the microphone to the ear sets, as they are considerably thinner. It gives me pause to wrap them up.

For the price, they shouldn't break so easily. Therefore, they are greatly over-priced.

If you buy these, save your receipt for the warranty.

17 of 21 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Great Shound but very fragile

Written by MS from ASTORIA

Apr 14, 2009

The sound on these headsets are the best I’ve heard so far, but the wires on the mic have broken on the two pairs I’ve had. I returned my 1st pair, with no questions asked they gave me a replacement set. I was extremely careful with my second set aware of how fragile they were, but 2 months after the exchange my 2nd set broke in the same exact same spot. I wish I could find sturdier head sets for the iPhone with the sound quality that these headsets provide but sadly these are not designed well enough to be worth the price.

11 of 13 people found this useful

Bang & Olufsen EarSet 3

Good sound, bad ergonomics

Written by CW from Vancouver

Aug 24, 2008

I bought these headphones for my iphone thinking I would be using them for many years, however after three weeks I ended up returning them. On the positive side of things, the EarSet 3 sounds very good. Clarity is top notch, the base is decent, and the microphone is better then the standard iphone microphone. But for $200 would anyone expect anything less?
Now for the negative, while the headphones will not fall off your ears they do become loose, causing minor adjustments at least once for a 30 min walk. Second, do not exercise with these headphones!! In a 30 min run I had to do at least 6 adjustments, very annoying. Also, sweat gets into the headphones easily, causing them to fail just like the ipod headphones. Third, the actual earpiece is relatively large and my girlfriend complained it was to big for her ear. Finally, the Earset 3 is comfortable for about 1.5 hours, however, fatigue begins after that. After three weeks the right headphone started to give, probably because of the sweat from exercising, causing me to return the Earset 3 at the B&O store.

14 of 19 people found this useful