Bang & Olufsen’s Beo Grace in-ear headphones are the best our writer has used in years

No piece of audio equipment has evolved more in recent years than the in-ear headphone. Earbuds, especially those without wires, have always been more convenient than over-ears, but now, thanks to increasingly small drivers, they also sound as good. There’s no pair this is more true of than Bang & Olufsen’s new earbuds, the Beo Grace.

The Danish company’s latest caused a stir when they were announced in September. It wasn’t their design, aluminium construction, or long-lasting battery life that got people talking; it was the €1,200 price. I’ve since spent a few weeks with the Beo Grace, using them to listen to music on walks, drown out the subway during my commute, and relax at the end of the day. They’re impressive by any metric, but read on to find out whether or not they justify their cost.

Audio performance

This year’s Robb Report Audio Awards showed that there are several in-ear headphones that offer excellent sonic performance, like the Bowers & Wilkin Pi8 and the Technics EAH-AZ100. But none of them can match Beo Grace.

Incredibly, listening to music on Bang & Olufsen’s latest doesn’t feel all that different from slipping on the brand’s top-of-the-line over-ears, the Beoplay H100. Each ’bud features a 12 mm titanium driver covered by a precision-milled aluminum grille that delivers audio that is powerful, rich, and startlingly clear. Whether I was listening to Rosalía’s boundary-pushing pop, Kali Malone’s austere chamber arrangements, or Earl Sweatshirt’s fuzz-drenched rap, the music came through sounding lively and detailed. Fidelity-obsessed audiophiles will find something to quibble with, but everyone else will be wowed.

The Beo Grace has five pre-set Sound Modes that you can cycle through on the company’s app—including a surprisingly useful podcast setting—along with a Spatial Audio feature that actually makes some recordings feel more immersive. You can also create your own mode, giving you access to the brand’s easy-to-use BeoSonic equaliser.

Noise cancelling and battery

Headphones aren’t just expected to sound good in 2025. They also need to produce something close to pure silence. I found the Beo Grace’s Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) are just as effective at blocking out environmental din as the Bose Ultra QuietComfort Earbuds. Working with six studio-grade microphones, the software offers five levels of ANC; the lowest, TrueTransparency, might make you forget you’re wearing earbuds. That last setting was particularly useful while on the phone, since it negated the echo of my voice. Unfortunately, ANC can’t be turned off, though I, someone prone to eardrum suck over prolonged periods, found this easy to deal with.

Battery life was also stellar. Bang & Olufsen says its headphones offer up to four and a half hours of listening time between charges, a number that can be boosted to 17 hours if you’re using them with the charging case. A five-minute charge is all you need for two-and-half hours of listening time, too. Beo Grace was designed to last, and because of this its custom battery management system was designed to surpass 2,000 charging cycles, four times more than is standard.

Look and feel

Bang & Olufsen is known for placing an emphasis on how its products look, and the Beo Grace doesn’t stray from that in the slightest. Sure, they have those ubiquitous stems—just like ever-popular Apple AirPods Pro and the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven—but their sculpted, jewellery-inspired look ensures they stand out. At first, I thought the polished aluminum was a little too much, but I’ve really come around to it.

The earbuds, which are made entirely of aluminium except for the silicone eartip, are also light. This makes it easier to get the right fit since you don’t have to worry about them shifting around too much, which was an issue with the Beoplay Eleven. The touch controls are also reliable, including the Neartap feature, which has you tap the skin in front of your ear to increase or decrease the volume. Finally, I loved the pearl-blasted charging case, which not only doesn’t feel like an afterthought but is also actually nice to hold in your hand.

There’s no way around it: The Bang & Olufsen Beo Grace are expensive. But they’re also the best pair of wireless earbuds I’ve used over the last few years. They both look and feel great, and sound just like a pair of top-rate over-ears. Their promised battery life also suggests that buying them is more of an investment than a splurge. If you don’t want to have to worry about buying another pair of in-ear headphones in a year or two, the Beo Grace is the choice.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Bang & Olufsen