Bang & Olufsen Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven True Wireless Review

At $599, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven are a luxury tax, not a performance product. Their ANC ranks in the 40th percentile and sound in the 47th, which is mediocre, especially when competitors like Sony and Bose offer vastly superior tech for half the price. Buy these only if the logo matters more than the specs.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven True Wireless earbuds are a $599 statement piece. That price tag puts them in a different league, and the performance data shows it's a league where you're mostly paying for the brand name. Our scoring system rates them at 9.7/100 for music, which sounds great, but that score translates to the 47th percentile for sound quality. That means over half the earbuds in our database sound better, at a fraction of the cost.

You get a premium aluminum case, glass touch controls, and the B&O aesthetic. The specs list 20 hours of playback with ANC and a 9.2mm driver. But when you look at the numbers, the story is one of middling performance across the board. The ANC ranks in the 40th percentile, the mic in the 43rd, and comfort in the 40th. For six hundred dollars, you'd expect to be at the top of the charts, not hovering around the middle.

Let's talk numbers. The Beoplay Eleven's sound quality sits in the 47th percentile. That's not bad, but it's firmly average. For context, the $99 Anker Soundcore P31i scores in the 65th percentile for sound. The active noise cancellation is even less impressive, landing in the 40th percentile. You'll get some noise reduction, but it's not going to compete with class leaders like the Sony WF-1000XM5, which consistently scores above the 90th percentile for ANC. Battery life is a bright-ish spot at the 56th percentile, meaning you'll get about the expected 20 hours, but nothing groundbreaking. The six-mic array for calls yields a 43rd percentile score for mic quality, so call clarity is just okay.

The value proposition here is almost non-existent. At $599, the Beoplay Eleven costs more than double the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and nearly triple the Sony WF-1000XM5. Yet, its performance metrics are consistently 30 to 50 percentile points lower than those top-tier competitors. You are unequivocally paying for the Bang & Olufsen name and design aesthetic. If those are your primary drivers and budget is no object, fine. But from a pure performance-per-dollar standpoint, this is one of the worst ratios we've seen.

Stacked against the competition, the Beoplay Eleven struggles. The Sony WF-1000XM5 ($299) dominates it in ANC (90th+ percentile vs. 40th) and sound quality. The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds ($279) offer legendary comfort and ANC that also crushes B&O's offering. Even budget kings like the Nothing Ear (a) or Anker Soundcore P31i, both under $100, offer comparable or better sound and ANC performance. The only area where the Beoplay Eleven might have a subjective edge is in its specific tuning or design, but that's a luxury, not a performance advantage.

Skip these if you care about getting what you pay for. Gamers, commuters, and anyone who prioritizes top-tier noise cancellation should look elsewhere, as the 40th percentile ANC score is a deal-breaker. Budget-conscious buyers should obviously steer clear—the 2.7/100 score for 'budget' is the lowest we've seen in a while. Even audiophiles seeking the absolute best sound should note the 47th percentile ranking; there are better-tuned options for less money.

We cannot recommend the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Eleven True Wireless earbuds based on the data. For $599, you should be getting best-in-class, chart-topping performance. Instead, you're getting mid-pack specs wrapped in a premium shell. Unless your absolute top priority is owning the B&O brand and you're willing to accept significantly worse technical performance for the privilege, your money is far better spent almost anywhere else.