The evolution of earbuds has brought the consumer some very interesting styles, shapes, and sounds. Some wrap around your ear, others place themselves into your ear cannel.
With summer approaching us, some of us will be hitting the beaches to enjoy the fresh summer air and warmth of the sun. While sitting on the beach may be fun in its own, listening to your favorite tunes can make it that much better. Since it’s bound to be hot, wearing large bulky headphones isn’t a viable option and we certainly don’t want them to get sand on them, so seeking earbuds is a smarter option.
Welcome to my review of the new Beyerdynamic MMX 102 iE earbuds. Throughout this review I will discuss the following: the design, functionality, and my final thoughts. A special thank you to Beyerdynamic for providing these earbuds.
Design
While they’re not water or sand resistant, the new Beyerdynamic MMX 120 iE earbuds come in a stylish black/chromed or white/chrome look to keep your summer fashion in top notch. I’m using the black and chromed version.
The earbuds themselves sport the more traditional look of a bullet shaped earbud. Both earbuds are branded with a logo and R/L indicators on the black stalk that brings audio to the earbud. Your chrome accents come into play around the main housing of the ear bud. Surprisingly, the chrome is so well polished that you can actually see yourself in it.
To differentiate between left and right, about three inches below the left ear bud is your mobile music control device. Here you’ll find a single button that can control pause/play as well as a microphone. Unfortunately, the media control does not support volume rockers which can be a slight letdown.
Supplied in the packaging are three ear tips ranging from small to large. I had to opt for the smallest ones and their silicone material feels nice inside the ear cannel.
Lastly, the MMX 102 use a standard cable design that is more susceptible to tangles than the more desirable flattened cable that is standard on most Beyerdyanmic earbuds. On the end of the cable is a horizontal 3.5mm headphone jack that supports stereo audio as well as voice.
Functionality
Before bed, I usually listen to music through my smartphone. For music choices, I use Pandora to play a random playlist and selected to play music at a High Quality bitrate of 64k AAC+.
When listening to Pandora at night, I was pleased with the tunes and felt that voices and instruments were acceptable. I next changed my listening to YouTube for both general videos as well as music videos. Again, I found the same results as with Pandora; music sound acceptable, but there wasn’t anything special about it. There was acceptable bass and there were no random skips, hiccups, or errors in the music, but compared with the Beyerdynamic DX 120 iE or iDX 160 iE there wasn’t the extra flare.
Another thing I quickly discovered was that I felt like I was constantly looking for louder volume. I listen to music at a reasonable volume (about 60 – 70%), but when using the MMX 120 iE at night with no one else in the room, I was constantly hitting the Samsung volume warning limit and increasing the music to 75 – 85% volume.
I mentioned above that you may seek these headphones for the summer and with that coming just around the corner, you’d be walking down the streets with stylish earbuds. When placed in the ear cannel, the ear buds insert themselves quite far into the cannel to stay put. From there, they stay inside your ear as long as you are not doing any heavy chewing or major jaw movement. That said, they are also very comfortable and if it wasn’t for the music playing in my ears, I could even fall asleep with them inserted.
I was quite surprised to find that the MMX 102 iE come with non-flattened cable unlike the DX 120 or iDX 160. These headphones didn’t venture much farther from my night stand, but even still they would tangle easily and when inside a pocket, so expect to take a moment to untangle them. You can use the included carrying case to decrease the chances of tangling, but not always a great option for those who like pocket space for your phone, wallet, keys, and hands.
My Final Thoughts
After reading the review, you may believe that perhaps DX 120 iEs may be better suited for yourself and you may be right in thinking so. However, the MMX 102 iEs are some affordable, well-sounding, and stylish earbuds that can be used for everyday activities. Reasonably priced at $109, I feel they are worth the investment for some good everyday earbuds.
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