Anyone hunting for a new pair of wireless headphones is spoiled for choice these days.
Every company and its dog seems to be rushing to make a pair (or three), to the point that we have a growing pile of shame in our stock room.
Sadly, our ever-busy reviews team simply doesn’t have the capacity to review every pair we receive.
It also means there’s usually a perfect fit for any type of listener and budget. Jump to our best wireless headphones buying guide and you’ll find everything from super affordable but wonderfully musical sets, to ANC powerhouses and, thanks to a bold move by Grado, even quirky open-back wireless offerings.
But it was only recently that lightning struck and I found a specific pair of wireless headphones that perfectly matched with a specific need I have. And to my surprise, they weren’t from the brand I expected.
Specifically, I’ve come to rely on the four-star Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 as my daily commute and nine-to-five workhorse.
Why those over the sea of similarly priced, five-star sets, which include the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Sony WH-1000XM6, you ask?
It’s a good question and one that merits, like any good story, me starting at the beginning.
Our senior staff writer, Harry McKerrell, visited our London office to attend a launch event and, as always, turned up with a portfolio of wireless headphones in tow to help him comparatively test the latest pair he was reviewing on the handily (for this scenario!) noisy London public transport system.
And as he dragged out the usual suspects, including the Sonys and Boses, one addition immediately caught my attention: the new Beyerdynamic.
Featuring a barebones folding design, with next-to-no flourishes outside of the earcup branding, I was immediately curious.
I’ve been a fan of the firm’s past cabled studio headphones, including the older Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X and DT 900 Pro X, which both offer a wonderfully articulate, controlled performance that really benefits a lot of the genres I listen to.
But it was only when the team engaged in its usual game of trying all the new treats Harry brings to our London office (from our main Greater London testing facility) that I really got excited.
Thankfully, when I put them on, powered up Tidal and started playing some of my go-to tracks – including Bill Evans' Peace Piece, Art Pepper's Patricia, Pat Martino's Both Sides Now and John Coltrane's You Don’t Know What Love Is – my excitement wasn't misplaced.
I found myself increasingly moving away from critical listening and just enjoying the music.
Are they perfect? Definitely not; not even those that leave our test rooms with five-star ratings are!
My colleague tried them and blasted out Taylor Swift. The Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 simply couldn’t match the dynamic expression and sense of fun that his workhorse Sony WH-1000XM5 offered, so he understandably favoured his daily drivers.
Beyerdynamic headphones typically favour control, neutrality and transparency, but in our experience aren't often the last word in musicality. For all their precision and detail, they can therefore sound a little restrained, especially with upbeat music.
But for me, a music fan who tends to listen to a lot of jazz, the 300’s spacious, even-handed and nicely judged sound across the frequency spectrum proved the ideal sonic character.
With a genre like jazz, where phrasing is often subtle and nuanced, the 300’s analytical nature and impressive midrange let the music retain the imperfections and tiny touches that make it so great.
The minor inflections as Evans’ adds jabbing discordant notes to Peace Piece’s two chord progression base, and the subtle swells in volume as Martino adjusts the force of his right hand in Both Sides Now, leaving room for Cassandra Wilson's haunting vocals – all of these things were there and delivered with the precision the material demands.
After three months of living with them, the 300 have become a daily staple, and stand as a shining example of why you should never write off four-star products – sometimes, though they may not be a class-leading all-rounder or right for every taste, they may be a perfect fit for you specifically.
Variety is the spice of life, after all.
MORE:
These are the best headphones we’ve tested
We rate the best wireless earbuds
Our picks of the best wired headphones
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