Wi-fi headphones have been round for years however by no means fairly took off with the audiophile crowd as the constraints of Bluetooth codecs and bandwidth left a number of audio element out. Fortunately, nonetheless, Bluetooth has superior fairly a bit over the previous a number of years and now we’ve codecs like aptX HD and LDAC, providing hi-res wi-fi help that assist headphones minimize the wire with out dropping constancy.
The results of all this progress within the wi-fi house is the brand new Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi, the best-sounding wi-fi headphone we’ve ever heard.
Whereas there are some compromises – like its cumbersome design and common noise isolation that make it lower than ultimate for journey – if any headphone will persuade the audiophile crowd to embrace wi-fi, it’ll be the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi.
Design
The Amiron Wi-fi options the enduring Beyer look … which is to say the headphones are big however extraordinarily snug.
It is price noting that these headphones are circumaural, which implies the ear cups envelop your ears reasonably than sitting on them. This leads to a supremely snug headphone you’ll be able to put on for hours, even when they’re not the lightest at 380 grams. (For comparability, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II weigh 235g.)
Because the Amiron Wi-fi are so large and don’t fold up, they’re not ultimate for touring and, even when you needed to take them with you, you’d want a backpack to lug these large headphones round. That being stated, it is not arduous to search out lighter, smaller journey headphones on the market – a lot of which characteristic noise-cancellation tech that eliminates exterior noise on the expense of sound high quality.
Construct high quality is great and the headphone seems like it should final for a few years to return. The headphone is made from a mixture of plastic and steel to maintain weight down. The scarf and earpads are made from Alcantara, an artificial suede that’s extraordinarily snug and constructed to final.
Talking of the ear pads, they’re consumer replaceable, which is nice. Nevertheless, they’re extraordinarily tough to place again on as you must rotate the pads whereas making an attempt to not unseat the bead. Fortunately you’ll be able to change them out for pads discovered on its siblings the DT 1770 Pro and DT 1990 Pro. They’re additionally fairly stiff out of the field and can have to be damaged in.
By way of noise isolation, the earpads do a good job of maintaining some noise out however the Amiron Wi-fi are actually meant to be worn across the workplace and at dwelling.
For controls, Beyerdynamic determined to go together with a big touchpad on the fitting earcup. We often dread utilizing contact controls as they by no means work 100% of the time however the Amiron Wi-fi proves it’s potential to create glorious contact controls for headphones: The massive trackpad prevents mistaken gestures due to the will increase floor space so that you can swipe. Faucets registered each time, in contrast to our struggles with headphones just like the B&O Beoplay H9. The best ear cup additionally homes the USB-C charging port, energy button, three.5mm headphone jack and mic.
Efficiency
When first listening to the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi, we weren’t blown away by anybody facet of its sound. It’s solely after a number of weeks of listening and switching between different wi-fi headphones that we appreciated the degrees of element, vast soundstage, and dynamics of the Amiron Wi-fi. No, these aren’t headphones that wow you with large bass or glowing highs – they only sound so clear that it’s like going from a 1080p TV to a 4K one.
Bass extends low and has first rate affect, although it received’t fulfill those that feeling a visceral affect of bass. Then once more, these are audiophile cans that purpose to indicate listeners precisely what’s on the monitor, reasonably than exaggerate anybody half. Mids are easy and do a great job of highlighting vocals and acoustic devices just like the guitar and cello whereas highs have nice element, extension, and power. The headphones by no means sound too shiny or fatiguing, even after hours of listening.
Extra impressively, the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi sounded precisely the identical whether or not wired or wi-fi. We will’t say the identical for some headphones that depend on digital sign processing, or DSP for brief, to sound good, leaving listeners disenchanted when the battery runs out or when sitting at dwelling hooked as much as a correct amplifier. When wired, you’ll need a first rate amp to drive them although they’re quiet acceptable straight out of the smartphone in a pinch.
Beyerdynamic’s cell app additionally performs a listening take a look at to tailor sound to your listening to skills and you’ll regulate how a lot of an affect the customized EQ is current from 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%. Annoyingly, you’ll be able to’t disable it totally, nonetheless. The app additionally helps you to see your battery life, replace the firmware, regulate the contact sensitivity and achieve some perception about your listening habits.
By way of codec help, the Amiron Wi-fi helps AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, and aptX LL. aptX HD helps as much as 48kHz / 24bit LPCM audio information, offering increased than CD high quality sound you probably have the supply materials. We loaded up Radiohead’s A Moon Formed Pool in 48/24 on our OnePlus 5T (which helps aptX HD) and the Amiron Wi-fi sounded glorious with a black background and no stuttering in any way. We may hear the quiet voices whispering within the background on the monitor “Daydreaming” with no downside. Nevertheless, you’ll undoubtedly wish to go wired when you’re listening to supply materials that’s increased decision than 48/24.
Battery life is rated for 30 hours of listening and we noticed round 25 hours listening at round 50-75% quantity – which is effectively above the competitors. Not solely do these headphones final a very long time, however they cost up comparatively shortly due to USB-C, too.
Verdict
The Beyerdynamic Amiron Wi-fi are the best-sounding wi-fi headphones we’ve ever heard. However with nice sound there are compromises like its cumbersome design and common noise isolation, making it lower than ultimate for journey. They’re additionally very costly at $700 (£699, AU$999), however that worth isn’t too loopy when you think about the DT 1770 Pro price $600 (£430, about AU$800).
In sonic skills, the Amiron Wi-fi are in a category of their very own. The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless 2 and Sony WH-1000XM2 sound nice (and the Sony gives ANC) however can’t match the Amiron Wi-fi by way of pure sonic efficiency. In case you will need to have the perfect sound in a wi-fi bundle, the Amiron Wi-fi is it.