The Earset was originally designed in the 1990s by Anders Hermansen and the basic architecture of the arm, piston and ear hook was a strong focus from the beginning. The design remained largely consistent through models up to the Earset 3, and iPhone version, the Earset 3i.
The brand new Earset — with no specific model number — is not only the first to be completely wireless, via Bluetooth but also updates the iconic design with a new look.
At the same time, it’s also the first to contain a battery, but it is charged using a standard micro USB cable and supports up to five hours of playtime. For business users, that should see you through a full day of phone calls and conferences.
As you would expect from Bang & Olufsen, the audio experience has been finely tuned by sound engineers to deliver rich and powerful sounds, while still permitting ambient sounds to be heard.
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The Bang & Olufsen Earset is available in Graphite Brown and in White and has a recommended retail price of $449. That sounds like a lot for a set of earphones. However, I can attest to the quality and comfort of the Earset 3i predecessor, having used it daily from 2009 through 2016 – and on a cents-per-use basis that works out to be good value. It’s a premium quality product, engineered for audio quality, for comfort, and to last.
The aluminium used for the telescopic piston has been precision-forged for fluid movement, the ear hook has sections of soft rubber, and the piston is attached by a hex screw. The aluminium has been anodised so its colours blend deep into the material, while the aluminium on the housing has a diamond-cut edge.
The in-line remote contains three buttons and a built-in microphone so you can control music, take calls, and activate your smartphone’s personal assistant, be it Google Assistant or Siri or Cortana.
The Earset box includes a carrying pouch for on-the-go protection so you don’t have to lose them in your pocket or bag, or risk tangling them up. You can see the contents here for yourself as I unbox it for the first time:
Earset is available from B&O online or from stores.