Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsThese earbuds BEAT the best industry standard professional AND consumer full-sized headphones!
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2018
I'm a record producer and audio engineer with 20 years of experience. My go to headphones for most live FOH gigs and occasional studio use are industry standard Sony MDR 7506's or Sennheiser HD280's (which sell for about $100 each)
Let me just say, this unassuming little earbud is as good, or better than both of them across nearly all key categories, which for me are; overall sound quality, detail, sound stage, flat response, sensitivity (ease of which they can be driven by a given headphone amp), listening fatigue (or lack thereof), low frequency extension/accuracy, isolation (noise rejection as well as bleed), and overall build quality.
These little Beyer buds excel in each of these categories.
When compared to my planar magnetic listening cans ($300 and generally regarded as some of the best budget headphones one can buy), they compare very favorably! Low frequency extension is as good or better, they are flat, detailed and have a great sound stage (although not as wide as the planars, which is mostly due to the planars relative boosted highs, which make them far more fatiguing). I would actually much prefer the Beyers for long term (30m+) listening over any of the other options mentioned, simply due to their lack of ear fatigue due to less high frequencies.
I DO NOT get the impression they are muted or muffled at all. They remind me of a good "mid forward" studio monitor with an incomprehensible (impossible??) amount of bass extension for such a small package at a low price point (think earbud equivalent of the Equator D5 studio monitor, which currently sits next to my $3k Amphions One18's and holds up extremely well, does things and reveals things the Amphions struggle to.)
But I digress. Let me clarify what I mean by "low frequency extension". These do not have gimmicky and undesirable "boosted bass" like most every other consumer earbud/headphone on the market. These have MORE bass, as in the low frequencies actually go LOWER, but stay linear (ie not boosted to make up for lack of low frequency extension). You can think of it as having a sub for your ears as opposed to turning up the bass EQ for crappy little speakers that can't handle real bass. This results in clarity in the lows, ability to hear thumping kick drums, tight, rumbling bass and synth and trunk rattling frequencies of hip-hop and rap.
Other earbuds/cans with gimmicky boosted bass end up sounding flabby and woofy in the bass, which also impacts clarity of the mix, sound stage and overall sound quality.
Isolation is amazing too! About as good as my planar magnetics with huge thick pads!
Easily driven to LOUD volumes with my smartphone.
Fit is great, never any issues with them sealing or falling out of my ears, even at the gym. Quality is okay (I'd say good for the price) but not stellar. The buds themselves are great but the cable leaves a bit to be desired. Sticky rubbery feel, thin and tangly (us that a word?) with bad noise transmission. Lower noise, tangle free cables would make this a perfect product with no flaws whatsoever IMHO. But at this price point, something's gotta give, and I'd rather have it be the cable than anything having to do with sound quality.
Overall, this earbuds (yes, EARBUD) in most cases beats some of the best, industry standard professional AND consumer full-sized headphones costing 3-7 times as much $$$. Extremely impressive Beyer!! You can bet I'll be buying more of these with 1/4" adapters for easily packable FOH, ENG and field work!
