Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC Review

If you thought that neckband-style earbuds were a point of nan past, you surely weren’t alone. That is acold from nan case, arsenic nan Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds show. Unlike astir different neckband earbuds connected nan market, these person really moved guardant successful position of features and comfort.

As nan sanction implies, these earbuds are outfitted pinch progressive sound cancellation arsenic good arsenic a Transparent mode to fto you perceive your surroundings. While older neckband style earbuds utilized a rigid integrative collar of sorts, nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC are flexible, making them overmuch much comfortable than nan older type.

Beyerdynamic tin battalion each nan modern features and conveniences it wants into nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC, but nan existent mobility remains whether location is still a spot successful nan world for neckband-style earbuds.

Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD ANC 2

The Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC return neckbud-style earbuds into nan coming by making for a much elastic fit, modern Bluetooth connectivity, and a coagulated app to power EQ and different features. If you're not a instrumentality of existent wireless earbuds, these make a awesome alternative.

Brand Beyerdynamic

Battery Life 14 hours

Bluetooth 5.2

Additional Tips XS, S, M, L, XL

Noise Cancellation Yes

Charging Case No

Codecs SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX Adaptive

Drivers 10mm

IP rating IPX4

Wireless charging No

Multipoint support Yes

Weight 1.16oz (33g)

Dimensions 3.54 x 5.31 x 1.18in (90 x 135 x 30mm)

Price $149

Pros

• Great sound pinch a coagulated debased end
• Good artillery life
• Nice prime of audio codecs
• USB-C charging is fast
• Features multipoint Bluetooth

Cons

• No civilization EQ successful nan MIY app
• ANC isn't great
• Neckband creation isn't for everyone

Price and Availability

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

The Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC unit for $149, which whitethorn look a small overmuch for an “older” style of earbuds. That said, these person travel a agelong measurement from nan erstwhile Blue BYRD model, and considering nan features and build, nan value seems fair.

You’re retired of luck if you’re looking for much colorful options. The Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds are only disposable successful black.

Design and Fit

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

The neckband of nan Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC mightiness look for illustration nan neckband from older earbuds, but it’s overmuch amended successful position of comfort. By making nan neckband flexible, Beyerdynamic has eliminated astir of nan comfortableness issues of older-style designs.

While nan backs of nan earbuds are glossy integrative emblazoned pinch nan Beyerdynamic logo, nan remainder of nan cablegram and neckband are made from sweat-resistant rubberized plastic. This is portion of what gives nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds their IPX4 h2o guidance rating. This intends they’ll withstand sweat aliases a fewer splashes, but don’t effort washing them disconnected successful nan sink.

In position of fit, Beyerdynamic includes 5 sizes of silicone tips, pinch other mini and other ample joining nan emblematic small, medium, and ample tips. I usually return a medium-sized receptor tip, and nan mean present fresh securely and comfortably. You do request to beryllium mindful of really you position nan neckband truthful they're balanced from your near receptor to your correct ear, a information you don't request to make pinch existent wireless models.

You’ll find astir of nan controls connected nan correct broadside of nan cable: a multifunction fastener to power playback and calls, joined by 2 measurement buttons. Another multifunction fastener connected nan near controls nan powerfulness and cycles done sound cancellation modes.

Sound and Call Quality

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

One of nan advantages neckband-style earbuds person complete existent wireless earbuds is much room to fresh nan artillery and different components. In this case, it leaves nan earbuds themselves pinch plentifulness of abstraction to fresh 10mm move drivers, which usually connection amended bass consequence than smaller drivers.

Beyerdynamic offers a characteristic called Hearing ID that tailors nan sound to your ain hearing. We’ll look astatine this much later, but I didn’t usage this characteristic while evaluating nan sound of nan headphones. I simply listened to euphony pinch nan EQ group to nan Original setting, which appears to beryllium arsenic level arsenic you tin get pinch these.

Kendrick Lamar’s “i” sounds bully connected astir headphones, but it’s still a awesome trial track. The Beyerdynamics lent plentifulness of heft to nan bass line, but not capable that it overpowered nan guitar sample that drives nan track. While each nan instruments were well-balanced, Lamar’s vocals still trim conscionable arsenic they should.

New Order’s “This Time of Night” is simply a opus some up of and very overmuch of its time, and nan Blue BYRDs handled some aspects of nan opus well. While nan keyboards and echo-laden guitars sound dated, nan pulsing bass statement that drives nan opus tin still get a creation level moving, and nan earbuds represented nan debased extremity well.

There is simply a adjacent magnitude of sonic chaos connected nan Dirtbombs screen of Stevie Wonder’s “Livin’ For The City,” acknowledgment to 2 drum kits, 2 bass players, and a trebly sounding guitar. The Blue BYRD 2 ANC's delivered without everything turning into a harsh-sounding mess, but they didn’t do rather arsenic good pinch this arsenic they did connected nan 2 different songs.

As nan sanction implies, nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds characteristic progressive sound cancellation. That said, it’s not peculiarly effective unless you person euphony playing. Even then, I had a difficult clip telling whether it was enabled aliases not.

On nan different hand, nan Transparent mode was beautiful good. As is usually nan case, it didn’t travel adjacent to nan Transparency Mode you’ll find connected immoderate Apple AirPods models. Still, while it sounded for illustration I was listening to a microphone alternatively than thing wholly natural, it still worked rather well.

Voice value for calls and video chats was decent, but thing special. There appeared to beryllium immoderate dense compression applied to my sound that tin amplify inheritance sound alternatively than select it out, but this didn’t hap often while I was testing nan Blue BYRD ANC 2.

Microphone Audio Sample: Indoors

Microphone Audio Sample: Outdoors

Software: Easy to Use, but Has Some Limits

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

You tin usage nan earbuds without installing nan Beyerdynamic MIY app (available for iPhone and iPad, arsenic good arsenic Android devices), but it was a useful capable app that it’s worthy installing.

When you first group up nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds pinch nan app, aft stepping done a fewer steps, it prompts you to group up Hearing ID. The process is comparatively simple: spell to a quiet room and perceive arsenic nan app plays a bid of rising and fading beeps, first successful 1 ear, past nan other. Press an onscreen fastener erstwhile you commencement proceeding nan beeps, past fto it spell erstwhile you don’t perceive them.

This characteristic seems useful, particularly since galore group perceive otherwise successful each ear. That said, I recovered that my results ever seemed to make euphony sound unnaturally crispy successful nan high-end, almost distorted. You tin tally nan Hearing ID trial arsenic galore times arsenic you for illustration to effort for amended results.

The MIY app is besides wherever you tin toggle betwixt nan ANC and nan Transparent mode aliases alteration EQ settings. While location are a fewer different EQ presets for illustration Bass Boost, Smooth Treble, Speech, V-Shape, and Warm, location is nary civilization EQ feature, astatine slightest astatine nan clip of this writing.

Battery Life

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

Beyerdynamics claims up to 8.5 hours of listening clip pinch ANC enabled, aliases 14 hours without ANC. This will evidently spell up aliases down depending connected nan measurement you perceive at, but successful my case, I was capable to easy get complete 8 hours of listening clip utilizing a operation of ANC and Transparent modes.

While galore group are utilized to carrying astir earbuds successful nan charging case, nan Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds person nary specified thing, arsenic these aren’t existent wireless. There is simply a case, but it’s only to protect nan earbuds. What you extremity up pinch is longer continuous playback clip than existent wireless earbuds, but much predominant recharging.

It takes little than 2 hours to complaint nan earbuds utilizing nan included USB-C cable. This could return longer if you’re utilizing an underpowered charger, but moreover pinch a low-power charger, it shouldn’t return overmuch longer. That said, if you’re successful a rush, a 10-minute complaint will get you up to 2 hours of listening time.

Competition

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

You won’t find galore neckband-style earbuds connected nan market, and of those you do find, nan immense mostly will apt beryllium from LG aliases Sony. For example, nan LG Tone Style HBS-SL5 are cheaper, but clunkier, pinch a rigid integrative neckband that apt won’t beryllium arsenic comfortable arsenic nan Beyerdynamic earbuds.

On nan much costly broadside of things, nan Sony WI-1000XM2 earbuds spell for astir doubly nan value of nan Beyerdynamic Blue BRYD 2 ANC. These whitethorn person amended sound cancellation, but nan Beyerdynamics will still beryllium nan amended action for astir group acknowledgment to nan value and nan much elastic design.

Should You Buy nan Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC?

Looking strictly astatine performance, nan Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC earbuds had bully sound value for nan price, intuitive controls, and an easy-to-use app. The ANC wasn't very effective, but was available, while Transparent mode was rather a spot much useful.

The creation has surely evolved beyond nan earlier, much rigid style of neckband earbuds, but nan wide thought remains nan same. This is nan facet of nan Blue BYRD 2 ANCs that will either make aliases break them for you. The bully news is, if you emotion neckband-style earbuds and are reference this to make judge location is thing incorrect pinch nan Beyerdynamics, location isn’t.

For anyone who isn’t already a instrumentality of neckband-style earbuds, these are much akin to older-style accepted wireless earbuds pinch a cablegram connecting some sides. They’re not up to par pinch higher-end earbuds that costs doubly nan price, but if you for illustration nan design, these are perfectly worthy checking out.

Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD ANC 2

The Beyerdynamic Blue BYRD 2 ANC return neckbud-style earbuds into nan coming by making for a much elastic fit, modern Bluetooth connectivity, and a coagulated app to power EQ and different features. If you're not a instrumentality of existent wireless earbuds, these make a awesome alternative.