I love the style and quality of the Bang and Olufsen brand, but I cannot decide between the A8s or the form 2s. I listen to rock and soft rock with some swing tossed in. I do not like traditional earbuds that much as far as comfort and I am not sure how comfortable the A8s will be for me. Could someone please inform me about the sound quality compared between the two. As regards to price, I do not have a set limit

Firstly A8's are more comfortable than traditional earbuds as they do not rely soley on their fit into the ear canal for they retention and they are adjustable to maximise comfort for each user (they are sometimes an issue if you wear glasses). There's also an obvious benefit in portability if you listen to music on the go. The sound quality is also very good - for an earbud. Noise blocking (on planes, trains etc) is not very good).

I have no experience of the Form 2's but there are several threads discussing their merits elsewhere on this forum (search for Form 2 at the top of this page).

If they are to be for in-house listening only however, and you have no price limit, I would bypass both and look at Sennheisser's or Grado's.

Sennheisser HD600's can be found for ~ £140 (RRP ~£250) and get universally good reviews as "real" audiophile headphones. If you're feeling flush then they are the HD650's or several from the Grado range.

I'm a proud owner of A8, using and enjoying them every day.

 

Hi despotjoe and welcome to BeoWorld!

I have A8s and Form 2s, but I only ever use these to listen to music on the go via my BeoSound 2 or my laptop. At home I will always listen to music via my B&O system instead.

I find that the A8s are very portable and I have no worries about keeping them in their small leather pouch in my pocket. Form 2s however are more delicate and it becomes annoying to be 'looking after' them when you're out in busy London.

Sound wise, they are both very impressive. If you're only going to use your A8s / Form 2s on a long journey - plane / train, I would recommend the Form 2s as background noise is blocked quite a bit more than the A8s. But if you are going to use your A8s / Form 2s on short, rushed and busy journeys I would certainly choose the A8s.

I prefer the design of the A8s, and if you use the earbud foam cushions as well you will forget you're even wearing them. Overall A8s would be my recommendation and in fact, I use my A8s much more than my Form 2s. 

does the from 2 fit on your beosound 6 ?

Ericvr6:

does the from 2 fit on your beosound 6 ?

 Just arrived home and got my form2 fits and sounds great. Some times are those big cosy kussens better than the small A8 ones

gr eric

Ericvr6:

does the from 2 fit on your beosound 6 ?

 Just arrived home and got my form2 fits and sounds great. Some times are those big cosy kussens better than the small A8 ones

gr eric

Thank you, is there anywhere I can try them out besides a Bang & Olufsen store?

Form 2.

I had both for a while until I sold my A8's on ebay - I hated them.  They never fit right in my ears (my ears dont it well with the bud types) and they were always uncomfortable and as such they sounded awful.  The F2's are much much much better - they sound fuller, deeper, and are comfortable.  

 

-michael 

A8 or Form 2. Neither!

do you think the apple store will let me try the headphones on at their shop?

Hi, having had both, I would say they are completely different :

- sound is good on both, but F2 will provide more bass with a much shorter treble range, it sounds like older generation BeoLabs whereas the A8s sound more "modern" with a brighter top end;

- design is also old vs. new ;

- ease of use depends on what you use them for: for travelling, I would take the A8 because they fit in the original leather pouch, are light & compact, have a shorter cable; F2s have a very looong cable (originally for video use), but eventually if you have the cable free, you'll walk on it and damage the phones (happened to me a couple of times), besides, the head strap is very fragile, I broke it twice, the screws come loose very quickly (I had a very bad experience with them!); A8s are not perfect either in terms of ergonomics, because the bass performance is really depending no how deep you insert them in your ears: putting them on will give you average bass, but inserting the earphone in your ear (don't be afraid to push!) will cut outside noise and greatly improve the bass.

- if you have to put them on and off several times while listening, then I would suggest  F2s, because wearing A8s is almost like coronation ceremony..

 

I think it will depend on whether you are going to use them for running or other very active exercise.  If so, then the A8 is better.  Otherwise, I found the Form - 2 to be very good, the one that I prefer for an overall "fuller" sound, whatever that really means.  I think the Form - 2 is just the type of item that gives people a taste of what B&O is all about:  superior quality, excellent design and a logical price for the quality you are getting.  Just read some of the online reviews for this, which are, overall, very good to excellent, except for the one or two that complain, I believe unjustifiably, about the price.  For $100.00 it is an excellent product.

Also, the ones I bought, which I think are also marketed through Apple and the Apple stores, have the medium length wire, which is a good length for "arms length" listening.  Some people complained that the longer wire was too long, so B&O responded to the apparent public feedback!  And apparently Apple really liked this headphone, so much so that they encouraged B&O to offer them for sale with Apple.  I bought mine through the B&O online website store, but it took them quite a while to ship them out, so that is my only complaint.  It's better to go to a B&O store and buy them in person, which I should have done.

Some other observations:  The wire is quite substantial, which is good.  It's not a flimsy wire.  The plug also appears of very good quality, with gold contacts! 

So, I would definitely recommend the Form - 2.

Good luck! 

waltoninn:

 ... I bought mine through the B&O online website store ... 

 

where d'oes exist one? Do you have a link?!

 

thx 

muck22:

waltoninn:

 ... I bought mine through the B&O online website store ... 

 

where d'oes exist one? Do you have a link?!

 

thx 

Whereabout's are you? They are available here for £79. Steer well clear of ebay, the vast majority you see there are fakes.

Have all the B&O offerings in the headphone field. The Form 1 is the best but not available new any more.  I find the Form 2s uncomfortable and only fair sound. The A8 are great for mobile music. However if you want to listen to music at home with headphones, go for either the HD600 mentioned above or the Grado RS-1. I have both of these and they are streets ahead of the B&O models. I actually prefer the HD600s as they allow one to listen in bed with one's head on the pillow! Both are source dependent - bad MP3s are not going to sound good!

Peter :

Have all the B&O offerings in the headphone field. The Form 1 is the best but not available new any more.  I find the Form 2s uncomfortable and only fair sound. The A8 are great for mobile music. However if you want to listen to music at home with headphones, go for either the HD600 mentioned above or the Grado RS-1. I have both of these and they are streets ahead of the B&O models. I actually prefer the HD600s as they allow one to listen in bed with one's head on the pillow! Both are source dependent - bad MP3s are not going to sound good!

I actually prefer the A8's to my Form 1's - I find the Form 1's very bright and, consequently, a tad bass light in balance (or it could just be the shape of my head)

I have used HD600's in the past and they are very, very impressive (I just don't listen to enough music via headphones in a "static" situation to justify more headphones).

Got both, I did. The A8 is for on the "go" and Form2 for relaxing at home.