Review: Beyerdynamic Byron BT wireless in-ear headphones

We have been hot on the roll with testing out a wide selection of headphones, both in-ear, on-ear, over-ear and so forth. Some of these have been sounding absolutely wonderful, and some, not so much. Thankfully, in today’s round, we get to talk about a good one.

Beyerdynamic has a giant range of product that is well known across the globe. From headphones to microphones and more, we have both covered and purchased a number of items by them in the years, and it isn’t very often that we have anything to gripe about. Mostly because they produce high quality German products with a heavy emphasis on quality assurance. Simply put, they know what they are doing.

Today, we get to talk about their Byron BT wireless in-ear headphones, a strong player in today’s modern selection. These headphones both look wonderful, feel great and sound pretty darn good for their price range.

They feature a simple metal construction to the buds with a gunmetal gray theme and white lettering that proudly displays their company logo. They are shaped basically like two soda cans with a wire coming from below each and a gel cap thrown on the front. The gels are extremely comfortable and there isn’t a lot of weight to the headphones themselves, despite the metal housing. They are a little heavier than cheap off-brand alternatives, but this is more than likely due to the quality of drivers inside as well as an extra magnet on the back of each bud, which allows them to snap to each other for storage while around the neck (this helps keep them put, so they don’t fall off during motion).

There is a flat black wire that runs between the two buds, making the only wire in their design (meaning, beyond that, they are “wireless” since they don’t have to physically connect to a phone or other device). The wire runs naturally around the back of the neck and doesn’t seem to cause any noticeable noise when it is rubbing across the clothes while moving around.

Just below the right bud, about two inches or so down, there is an in-line remote with microphone. The remote is small and unnoticeable, with a smooth finish to it and plastic housing. It is the same color as the wire (black), which helps it to blend in as you are wearing it. On the remote, there are three buttons (pretty much the common layout). The outer two buttons function as your volume and track control (single presses control volume, and long presses control track). The middle button does all sorts of tasks. You press and hold it down to turn the headphones on and off. Single press will play or pause the media you are listening to. Longer presses may trigger your devices AI assistant if it supports it. You can also press it to answer calls as well as they are coming in.

There is a small hole on the back of the remote where the microphone rests inside and picks up everything you are saying while in a call. During our tests, we found it to be pretty clear with minimal distractions from any background noise in the user’s environment.

The side of the remote features a small hatch that leads to a micro USB port for charging the headphones with. A cable is provided with the headphones and it can be inserted into any computer or wall adapter that has a USB port. You should be able to get around 6.5 to 8 hours of listening and talk-time on a single charge, and the recharge is only supposed to take around 2 hours for a complete refill.

Now, how about that quality assurance? Giving these headphones a listen, we found ourselves nodding away to all forms of audio candy. They offer such crisp highs that give way to such smooth vocals and their accompanying instruments. Brass and keys sound so good and everything below the highs comes in neatly. The mids are not the best, but more than enjoyable and there is enough bass to add just the right amount of oomph to anything you are feeding yourself. The latter however, required a little adjustment. We found that changing the size of the silicon tips didn’t always give you the best seal to keep all the bass in with. At first, we didn’t know what to think of them. The highs sounded decent, but everything below was variable. Then, we pulled on the back of each ear slightly (to open the ear canal), and slid them in a little further like you would a pair of ear plugs. That changed everything. They were still comfortable to keep in, and the stage was secured.  The highs became so much more, and the bass burst onto the stage like the Kool-Aid man. We really enjoyed tracks that gave focus to the vocals and acoustics. Albums from artists like Chris Cornell, and Chris Jones caused you to want to close your eyes and drift away with the music.

Another benefit of bringing them in a little tighter like that, was noise suppression. One of my cohorts received a phone call, while sitting at the desk (or at least one of the random things we consider to be our desks) next to me. That phone was a typical Cisco unit, with no wireless headset, that didn’t allow him to walk away with the call (unlike just about every other phone in the building…go figure). This meant, he was forced to make an attempt to ruin my experience by continuing to talk during one of my favorite Chris Cornell acoustic sessions. Thankfully, I didn’t hear a single word of his discussion. I saw his lips moving, but all I could hear was Mr. Cornell’s lyrics. Not bad. Sadly, it doesn’t come naturally by simply/gently sliding them in, but it can be done and without discomfort (and the results are great).

They are simple to work with, and connect real easily to your device. The first time you turn them all, they immediately seem to have gone into pairing mode, making it quick to get them working. The tips are a little challenging to got on and off, but you get over that quickly since you should only have to swap them out once, if at all (they come with the medium size already loaded). Distance is pretty average–nowhere near subpar. We spent a lot of time around 20ft away from the playing device without any interruption (it is spec’d for up to 10m).

Inside the box, there are three types of tip sizes (small, medium and large), as well as a pair of small silicone hooks to keep them in place inside the ear. There is the before mentioned USB cable for charging, and a storage bag that snaps open and close by pinching the two corners with your fingers. Beyond that, you have your instructions and that is all.

Our Conclusion

These are a fantastic Bluetooth in-ear solution for media lovers, including those looking for a good range of sound. Unless you are looking to spend more than $99, these a solid option to go with, and they offer a great design to them that looks good, feels good and doesn’t seem like it will fall apart.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

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Specifications:

• Transducer type: dynamic
• Operating principle: closed
• Frequency response: 10 – 23,000 Hz
• Nominal SPL: 90 dB SPL (1 mW / 500 Hz)
• Max SPL: 100 dB SPL (200 mW / 500 Hz)
• T.H.D: < 0 7% (1 mW / 500 Hz)
• Sound coupling to the ear: in-ear
• Ambient noise attenuation: 10 dB @ 1 kHz
• Bluetooth version: 4.1
• Frequency range: 2.402 – 2.480 GHz
• Power class: 2.0
• Supported profiles: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP, SPP
• Supported codecs: aptX, SBC
• Operating range: up to 10 m
• Runtime music: 7 5 hrs
• Runtime standby: 5 days
• Runtime talk-time: 9 hrs
• Charging time: 2 hrs
• Battery capacity: 110 mAh
• Battery type: lithium polymer battery
• Charging port: micro USB
• Cable length: 560 mm
• Weight: 13 g

What’s Inside:

• 3 Pairs of silicone eartips (S, M, L)
• 1 Pair of ear hooks
• 1 Charging cable (USB-A to micro USB)
• 1 Case

Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.