Like most people, I love my music. It helps me focus, it helps me fall asleep, it lets me pretty much do anything during the day. A good pair of headphone is like a good pair of shoes, you can take them anywhere, do anything with them, and feel great doing whatever it is you’re doing.
Of course, finding something that is perfect is not easily done. When it comes to electronics, and specifically headphones, every single unit you pick up and use will be slightly different from one another. A quick search on Amazon for the term ‘headphones’ returns 2,477,322 products; all ranging from different prices to different styles, and having different features.
Now, I’ve had the great opportunity to review some outstanding pairs of headphones and earbuds, a few of which that have turned into the units that I use on an everyday basis. Although, something new to me are wireless headphones.
Cable-based headphones, in my opinion, are far superior to their wireless counterparts for multiple reasons. There’s no lag in communication, they don’t need to be charged, they almost never fail, and they can typically output more power and bass than battery operated units.
Yet, when walking or on the go, having a wire hit your chest or get tangled inside your pocket isn’t the ideal situation. Plus, cable-based headphones are typically larger and not travel-friendly. Therefore, the need for wireless headphones grows.
My first experience with wireless headphones was recent with the iClever Wireless Bluetooth headphones. While they were inexpensive, their larger earbuds and lack of bass had me searching for a new solution. Something that is small, pocket sized, and can provide a superior sound signature.
A company that I am well associated with decided that they could win me over with their latest wireless headphone creation. Labelled under the Byron lineup, the Beyerdynamic Byron BT wireless earbuds are a Bluetooth headset that may just be the perfect to-go headphones.
Welcome to my review of the Beyerdynamic Byron BT wireless earbuds. Throughout this review, I will be discussing the following topics: the design, functionality, and my final thoughts. A special thank you to Beyerdynamic for sending out these earbuds.
Design
I want to begin this review with a funny story. Typically, when I write a product review I have everything around me: the product, the box, manuals, everything. When I sat down to begin typing today I noticed that the product box for this review was not next to me and instead was across the room. A sigh came out of my mouth because I had to take off my headphones to walk over there. The funny part about this was that I wasn’t wearing headphones; I didn’t have a tether; I was wearing wireless ear buds!
By now, most of us know what a pair of wireless earbuds looks like. Unlike the mediocre Apple Earpods, wireless earbuds typically feature two earbuds connected by a short cable that runs behind your neck. Then, using Bluetooth, the earbuds connect to any Bluetooth compatible device.
With its matte black finish, the Beyerdynamic Byron BT wireless earbuds are a go-anywhere, do-anything type of product. Looking at the design of the Byron BTs, they are remarkably smaller than other earbuds I have used in the past.
Both for personal use and for reviewing products, I’ve had a good selection of earbuds to try out. For my wired earbuds, I have been using the Grado iGes which feature a larger earbud and then on the wireless side, I recently tried out the iClever Wireless earbuds that are somewhat heavy for my liking.
On top of being light and smaller than most, the Byron BTs have a flat cable that connects the two earbuds together. With a cable length of 1.875 feet, I would have preferred it to be just a tad longer. This has always been a hit or miss thing with me and wireless earbuds. Since the wire runs behind your head, turning your head left and right will end up pulling the cable to that direction. Then, when you begin to look forward again, the cable can get caught in your shirt or not settle right.
Having a flat cable certainly decreased the occurrence of this problem, but I was still fidgeting with the cable every once in a while. While being only two feet long is already fairly short, the flat cable makes it difficult to clip it to your shirt or use a cable tie.
Of course, the benefit here is that the cable does not tangle or get caught up into itself. A flat cable will not bind to itself or tangle meaning when you take them out of your pocket, they are ready to go.
Closer to the right earbud is an in-line remote that houses three clickable buttons as well as the microphone and microUSB charging port. The buttons that it houses are for volume controls as well as a multipurpose button that can do certain functions, including power on.
These buttons are marked with different embossed symbols, but due to their size, it is impossible to tell what each button does. While it is self-explanatory that the button closest to the earbud is volume up, the middle one is user controlled, and the farthest button is volume down, it would have been best to have the buttons feel just a little bit different from each other.
The in-line remote is a little larger than most, but in the sense of length, not width. As you can see in the product pictures of this review, the remote is a little too close to the right earbud. I would have preferred the remote to be pushed back just a bit.
Finally, the earbuds are built in an aluminum housing and feature a brushed aluminum look. Beyerdynamic truly added a great premium look and feel to these earbuds and it’s something that I quite enjoy. Just by holding them in your hand or by looking at them in the mirror, you can easily tell that they are a quality-made and performance product.
When the earbuds are not in your ears and resting on your shirt or table, both earbuds feature a built-in magnet that allows the butts of the earbuds to snap together. Not only is it super comfortable to wear around your neck, but it also helps keep them together and not flopping around on your chest.
Functionality
Rocking that German engineering, Bluetooth 4.1, and a universal remote control, the Byron BT earbuds are small in size with a sound signature that is far superior to other earbuds I have reviewed in the past. Even when compared to other Beyerdynamic headphones.
With 9mm drivers in each earbud, the sound that comes out of these earbuds is just fantastic. I decided to test them out one afternoon while walking and it was if the world around me was just perfectly quiet. I could barely hear what was going on around me and the music was as perfect as it was when listening to the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro, a $600 headset.
Later on, I thought I would give them a full day’s worth of testing by using them during an eight-hour work shift. With Pandora One as the music source on my Galaxy Note 4 smartphone, the headphones performed quite well. Beyerdynamic states that the headphones will go for a 7.5-hour play-time. Seeing that I used them all day at work, I would agree with the battery life.
My listening/play-time wasn’t continuous as I took breaks for lunch and meetings, but it did get me through the day without recharging. I also took this opportunity to test out how far the Bluetooth 4.1 connection would go without dropping. To my surprise, I walked 40 feet away from my phone before it began to stutter. As long as I continued in direct line of sight, the connection was strong and allowed me to go farther. It was the walls that began to degrade the connection.
I’m sure many of you have heard of the company Qualcomm, a mobile processor manufacturer which has many technologies in today’s smartphones. Well, surprisingly, Beyerdynamic partnered with Qualcomm to create something special.
These Byron BT earbuds feature Qualcomm’s aptX audio coding algorithm. What all that means is that these wireless earbuds play music in the same way that they would when wired. Qualcomm calls this technology “CD-like quality” for wireless audio. There’s no interference or overrun caused by Bluetooth, it’s a smooth and clean communication signal.
It was a nice surprise to see that these earbuds featured this technology and in testing it was apparent. On top of being able to block out the world noises around you, the sound signature of the Byron BT is seriously impressive.
Lows, mids, and highs are all perfect to my ears and everything sounded like it should have. Again, my tests included rock and roll, today’s top hits, instrumental, and country rock, all of which were flawlessly reproduced by the speakers. There was just a pleasant sound signature that was true to life and a sound signature that blows the competition out of the water.
The lead singer’s voice, the guitarist, and other instruments could be easily identified per song. Then, if that wasn’t good enough, the bass is noticeable and powerful for wireless earbuds. I wouldn’t call the bass perfect, but it’s better than other earbuds I’ve tried before.
In terms of sound, I would go as far as to say that these wireless earbuds easily beat any other earbuds I’ve reviewed in the past. Everything is loud, but not muffled, and the claim that the music is “CD-like” is a perfect representation of how the Byron BT sounds.
Finally, I want to talk about the fit of the Byron BT. There are four silicone earbuds that all have the same dome shape. To me, I find that they sit inside my ear canal quite well and comfortably. Not once while running or walking did they bounce out. Even if they would, I opted to use the ‘ear wings’ which are silicone loops that help the earbuds to stay inside your ear.
My Final Thoughts
Priced at $99.99 I find that these Beyerdynamic Byron DT wireless earbuds are a fantastic deal. Their sound is among the best I’ve heard throughout multiple different earbuds and the noise cancellation is superb. While I do wish that the cable was an inch longer, the tangle-free mess and universal in-line remote makes up for that. Supporting up to seven hours of battery life and pumping rocking music through every moment, I would easily recommend these earbuds to anybody. Plus, their premium build quality and look adds style to anybody wearing them.
Buy it now:
© 2017 Justin Vendette
1 Comment
this is very nice and wonderful