TWS earbuds are good for everything ranging from music enjoyment to gaming as well as blocking out unwanted noises in whatever area you may find yourself in. One of the uncommon brands in the game is Beyerdynamic which is known for constantly making high-end audio equipment.

Recently, the company has decided to enter the TWS earbuds market with its new Free Byrd and it’s definitely sitting in the premium region with a price tag in the same range as other premium-tier TWS earbuds such as the Apple AirPods Pro.

The all-new Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds come in a two-color configuration and have a solid audio output that would totally immerse you into your music completely. I also love the design of the device even though it has no stem – rather, the company took the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro’s route.

With a solid 11 hours of battery life, you can’t ask for more from this device even though you’ll be paying about US$249. It supports active noise cancellation even though the design is meant to help filter out ambient noises around you due to the presence of its silicone ear tips that stick deep into your ear canals.

Personally, I think the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds are pretty looking even though it only comes in two color options. At least, they were kinder than Apple’s single color option for the AirPods TWS earbuds out there.

While I love the portability and the lightweight-ness of the earbuds, they definitely stuck out a little bit while I tried them on and sweats can rid them out of your ear since there is no stem to keep things in place like other conventional TWS earbuds out there.

But Beyerdynamics isn’t the only brand taking this approach as other brands such as Sony with its WF-1000XM4 as well as the Jabra Elite 4 Active also came in such design.

There are just so many interesting things I find amusing about the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds and I will simply have to break down this review into different sections in order to get my points out in full detail. So without any further ado, below are things that are cool and uncool about the all-new US$249-priced Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds.

Design Aesthetics

The approach of the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds is quite simple. As mentioned above, the device has no stem to hold on to whenever you want to place them right into your ears. So those who don’t like this design can simply opt for something else but even with that, there are some other factors that might make you change your mind about the device such as the super-long-lasting battery life but let’s continue with the design of the TWS earbuds first.

It comes with support for silicone ear tips that hold the device tightened into your ear canals and the company is generous enough to include multiple options depending on the size of your ear canals.

The presence of the silicone ear tips helps the device to seal off external noises even without turning on its ANC which will definitely eat up into the device’s battery life.

As for the weight, it weighs about 7 grams and it has support for IPX4 splash proof which isn’t bad at all just in case you accidentally find yourself wearing them while it rains.

About comfort, I might be biased about this because of the fact that I am used to wearing earbuds for hours nonstop. Even with that, the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds offer great comfort and the soft silicone ear tips don’t have any negative effects on my ear canals even though I have to take them out a couple of times due to ear waxes or sweat that makes them slippery.

While also trying to move my head fast and turn in a different direction to see if the earbuds would fly out, it never happened. That is usually the problem with earbuds with stems.

Also do note that the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds- would stick out of your earlobes a little bit when you wear them unless you have some giant ear lobes. The charging case is pretty small and solid. At least, the device is on the premium side so I was expecting much.

I like the fact that it fits very well into the pocket and it can be easily carried around with me in the small pocket. The problem with this product is how easy it will be to get accessories such as a carrying case or pouch for the device just like those easily found on AliExpress for the AirPods Pro.

Audio Output

First of all, the audio output of the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds is great and because of the design and how close it is meant to be to your ear drums, you are certainly going to get the bass and punching directly into your ears.

I also love the beat separations which is another interesting feature of the device that makes the output funkier. Also, lead vocals and backup vocals are very distinctive. Listening to hip-hop tracks or R&B often sounds very resonating.

In comparison, it sounds great in the same region as other high-end TWS earbuds. First of all, it comes with the new Bluetooth 5.2 technology that allows for better pairing and reduced latency. While those don’t necessarily determine the quality of the audio output, one thing to put in mind is that it sports a big 10mm dynamic driver that chunks out a loud bang whenever you click play on music.

Even apart from that, I also enjoyed gaming with the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds thanks to their extremely low latency. While I experimented with it with Call of Duty Mobile, and basically other mobile games for that matter, the ANC came very handily giving me a distraction-free experience and the audio quality and latency helped me survey my environment and allowed me to notice enemies’ proximity or their closeness because both earbuds work in sync but also independently – if that makes any sense.

There are two microphones on each earbud for voice calls. While I wouldn’t necessarily say the audio output was superb, it definitely wasn’t bad after all. Despite the lack of a stem that protrudes and brings a microphone closer to your mouth, The Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds microphone works well while trying to make phone calls. However, it had serious issues while trying it on a moving bicycle as it picked more wind sound than my actual voice even though there is a mesh at the top of the microphones to prevent wind from blowing into the microphones.

My favorite feature is the ear-detection sensor that automatically pauses a song when you pull out the earbuds from your ear and auto-resumes when you put them back into your ear.

And considering the premium price tag that the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds cost, I would certainly ask for all the features that I can get on a pair of Bluetooth wireless earbuds.

Battery Life

I cannot but talk about how amazing the battery life of the device is. Despite being tiny TWS earbuds, the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds sport a whopping 11 hours of battery usage (when ANC is turned off and 8 hours when ANC is turned on) which in my opinion is amazing. Ask anyone and they’ll certainly support the fact that the battery life of the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds is just too amazing.

Add the charging box with that and you’ll get two days of continuous usage. Being an obsessed music listener myself, I find it interesting that I can wear the earbuds for so long and the noise cancellation is just powerful.

It also has a transparency mode so you wouldn’t have to pull out the device from your ear every time you want to listen to someone next to you. The microphones on each earbud amplify the sounds coming into your ear so you can hear them much better while the noise cancellation does the exact opposite.

Although some might prefer to use the device for recreational purposes, I think it can still serve other purposes including normal day-to-day activities such as working, making calls, and so forth. Thanks to the long-lasting battery life, you’re definitely getting the most amazing audio output that trumps anything else.

You double-tap to toggle between noise-canceling mode and a transparency mode. The noise cancellation is effective, though it’s a clear step below what Bose and Sony offer on their flagship earbuds. The transparency mode sounds natural, which is good, but I wouldn’t expect stellar noise-canceling performance from these.

In the box, you get a USB Type-C cable because it’s 2022 and it can be used to charge the casing of the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds from 0% to 100% under 2 hours depending on the power adapter you use.

Control

There are a lot of controls on the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds which makes it interesting, to say the least. As mentioned earlier, the device is ridden with loads of interesting features, and the fact that you can easily control music tracks in a few clicks also makes the TWS earbuds usable in any situation that you may find yourself in.

I also mentioned earlier that it came with additional ear-detection sensors that auto-pause or play your music track if you pull the earbuds in or out of your ears. I also love the fact that both earbuds work independently from each other so no master or slave situation here.

Did I mention that the device comes with a mobile application called Miy app with which you can customize the features and functionalities of the device with ease? Things like double-tapping or triple tapping can be reconfigured to your very own taste and how you’d like it to be or function.

There’s also the “Mosayc” feature which is also part of the audio output enhancement feature to allow you to enjoy the best of the earbuds in full detail. There’s a 2-minute hearing test baked into the application as well as the ability to set a custom sound profile for each of your ears. I personally like this considering the fact that my two ears aren’t exactly the same in how they listen to music. Additionally, you get some preset equalizer settings to play around with.

Audiophile-grade sound

Equipped with 10mm drivers, the buds support the AAC and AptX Adaptive audio codecs. I tested them with an iPhone 13 Pro and a Motorola Edge Plus Android phone. My phone supports AptX adaptive Bluetooth streaming and playback of high-resolution music files through services such as Qobuz and Tidal.  

Beyerdynamic is known for its over-ear wired studio headphones, including the newish DT 700 Pro X ($259). The Free Byrd buds exhibit many of that model’s sonic traits, including clean, accurate sound and an airy open quality (wide soundstage).

The Free Byrd is articulate and revealing, but also have a more exciting sound than your prototypical studio headphone, which tend to restrain the bass and hew toward a neutral sound profile. The Free Byrd’s bass is tight and punchy with ample kick. That said, you may be more impressed with how natural and clear the mids sound (that’s where vocals live) and how the treble brings out the fine details in well-recorded tracks. These earbuds are certainly fun to listen to.

My final take on the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds

The fact that the device seals off your ear in order to focus its audio output directly into your ear in subtlety makes a lot of sense and that’s one of the excellent features of the device.

With a US$249 price tag, you might be wondering if that’s just too much or way out of your budget but considering the unending list of interesting features and quirks all of which make the device interesting for anyone be it a regular user or a complete audiophile.

With its long-lasting 11 hours of battery usage, total customization, latest Bluetooth 5.2 technology with AptX audio codec, and a mobile application to get all those things done, I think the Beyerdynamic Free Byrd earbuds are definitely of my favorite TWS earbuds in the year 2022 and will certainly make the list of the best this year.