[dB Cooper]

Subject of review: Beyer ’Amiron Home’ headphone, MSRP $599

Associated equipment: O2 headamp (Modified w/ agdr Audio ‘Booster Board’ ); Schiit Modi Multibit DAC; MacBook Pro Retina 2013. Other headphones on hand for comparison: Sennheiser HD650, Shure SE535 IEMs with custom silicone tips, Etymotic HF5 IEMs.

The Beyerdynamic Amiron Home is an open back circumnaural high end headphone. You can tell it’s ‘High End’ because it says so right on the box. This affectation would be more annoying if the Amiron didn’t ‘walk the walk’. Fortunately it does. And then some.

You can tell from my equipment list that I am not playing in the rarefied realm of the highest priced products. I have never had the kind of resources to sink into ‘deep-end’ audio. But not every piece of big-buck gear earns the price of admission, not all moderate-priced gear is ‘mid-fi’, and my strategy has always been to find value for money and aim for that place on the ‘value curve’ right before the law of diminishing returns starts to really kick in. The Amiron fits into this strategy quite well. In my opinion, they hold their own with some considerably more expensive kit. For example, I preferred them to the $400 more expensive (and well regarded) Focal Elear I heard at Capital Audiofest, for sound and even more so for comfort. YMMV of course, especially where sound signatures are concerned.

Those familiar with the ‘DT’ and ’T’-series Beyers will find the basic form factor of the Amiron pretty familiar. The Amiron has a ten foot ’Y’ cable with double 1/8” plugs into the headphone whereas the more expensive T’s have a single sided cable. The headband is nicely padded all around (including fabric on the top) and there is no lateral swivel as on my HD650’s. I don’t miss it; these are definitely more comfortable and apparently the headband flexes enough to make them fit quite well even with nicely low clamping pressure.

I first heard these headphones at Capital Audiofest in November and was immediately impressed, starting out with ‘Take Five’ form the classic Brubeck ‘Time Out’ album. Further listening only cemented my first impressions. Overall signature is maybe just little north of dead neutral (which I adjusted to quickly despite coming from the very different 650s). These things have excellent transient response and detail, particularly low-level detail; you’d almost think they’re planars, except they have better dynamics than the single-ended planars in the middle price ranges I’ve heard (which is almost all of them). One might suspect that the perception of greater detail is due to the brighter ‘signature’ of the Amiron compared to the infamous Sennheiser ‘veil’. No doubt that’s part of it, but the effect is full spectrum- I heard details in the bass line in ‘Inca Roads’ from Frank Zappa’s One Size Fits All’ I haven’t heard before, and I have been listening to that album for 40 years.

Speaking of bass, it’s excellent for an open can- try your favorite bass torture track and see what they’ve got. Excellent extension and detail.They do have a slight mid-bass ‘hump’ but not as obvious as the 650’s, partly because they don’t start rolling off immediately following it. Treble is very detailed but still smooth, without the ‘edginess’I hear from many headphones (AKG K701 comes to mind). Some user reviews I’ve seen claim ’soft’ treble.  I don’t know what they have upstream. I’m getting a great balance of smoothness and detail here, much better detail than my 650s. In fact, as much as I respect my 650s as a longtime owner, the Amiron pretty much runs the table against it. (Have not heard the slightly less expensive HD650S so cannot comment on that.) I haven’t mentioned the crucially important mids because they don’t draw attention to themselves- they are smooth yet detailed too. This is a well-balanced piece in terms of performance traits.


The Amiron is a 250-ohm can, so despite what Beyer claims, don’t expect high SPL or great dynamics from your portable device. (A Dragonfly or similar may work OK.) Personally, I think the ‘Home’ in the name is there for a reason. Give these a robust amp   and a quiet environment (they are open, after all)and they’ll really sing. Even if I was going to use full size headphones portably, which I’m not- IMHO that’s a task much better suited to a quality IEM- it would be a closed, not open, pair, possibly noise canceling- a different product category.

Summing up, give these a try if you’re looking for a mid-priced full sized open can that can hold its own soundwise against anything in its price range and even versus many considerably more expensive sets, and is one of the most comfortable cans I’ve ever put on. Put them on your short list unless your budget is over $1K. Even then, give them a try to see if your more expensive candidate is really worth it. You may end up with some extra cash you can spend on concert tickets.

This is the first time I've been moved to review a product and hope you find it useful, or at least entertaining.

[adydula]

Thanks for the review, well done!

I was interested in two things, one was how do they compare to HD650's and to T90's.

I have had the T90's for a few years and like them alot, so your telling me how these follow-on Amirons play was very interesting.

Also not having any Senns. I have come close to buying the 650's just to see what the hype about them is compared to the Beyer sound.

It may not be worth it for me to buy the Amirons seeing how I have the T90's, kind the same thing with folks having 1st gen T1's vs 2nd gen T1's.

I did read several reviews, about their improved transducers, new dampening, etc...

I have been to one Capital Area audiofest and hope maybe this year to get up there from North Carolina.

I found the T90's are very comfortable and light weight and can listen for hours in relative comfort.

Alex

[dB Cooper]

Some of the professional reviews I have read indicate that this model is intended as the successor to the T 90, specifically vs that model, the manufacturer claims to have tamed resonances at high frequencies. I have heard the T90 but not extensively. So going by reputation only, similar to the T90 but a little less edgy.

As far as comparison to the HD 650, it's definitely a more forward signature, and definitely more detailed, but without losing that smoothness. In my opinion it clobbers the 650 and the 650 is a very good headphone, which is why it has survived in the marketplace for lo these many years.

[kphooligann]

Just a note here.  I believe a Bluetooth version of the Amiron Home is in the works.  And, I read, somewhere, that it will have the ability to equalize for your own hearing (eg.: boost highs for old age hearing loss).  I read this on the internet so it has to be true!  Price should be between $500 and $1000.  Here's a link:
https://www.cnet.com/news/beyerdynamic-amiron-wireless-hands-on-preview-ces/

[Tyson]

Some of the professional reviews I have read indicate that this model is intended as the successor to the T 90, specifically vs that model, the manufacturer claims to have tamed resonances at high frequencies. I have heard the T90 but not extensively. So going by reputation only, similar to the T90 but a little less edgy.

As far as comparison to the HD 650, it's definitely a more forward signature, and definitely more detailed, but without losing that smoothness. In my opinion it clobbers the 650 and the 650 is a very good headphone, which is why it has survived in the marketplace for lo these many years.

I bought a pair of HD650's recently mainly because I owned them a long time ago and loved them back in the day.  I have to say that the Beyer sound is similar to them, but just way, way better quality.  Smoother, more detailed, more punch, more beautiful mids, everything tips toward the modern Beyer sound, IME.

[dB Cooper]

kphooligann: I have heard the same thing; actually looked for it on the Beyer website but apparently not out yet. Since MSRP on the Amiron Home is $599, I think the price will obviously head upward from there. This would be interesting for those who really want wireless. For this application, I don't. You are bound to lose some mount of 'fi' in the Bluetooth transcode process. This is my 'I wanna hear it all' headset. So I'll pass on the bluetooth. For someone else, it might be the perfect choice.

Tyson- I have a lot of respect for the HD650 too, having owned both that and the 580 predecessor. A classic design, its endurance in the fickle audiophile world is testament to its quality and performance. To me the overall signature is pretty different though; quite a bit more upper-mid and high-frequency energy from the Amiron. The detail makes the 650 sound slightly 'smeared' in comparison, but without sounding harsh. It is competitive with similarly priced planners  as far as I'm concerned.

[dB Cooper]

Watch for deals BTW if you're C&C like me. I got mine as an open-box return from amazon around holidays time for $444 and used a $100 gift card, so my out-of-pocket was a little over half the MSRP. A great headphone at $599, a flat-out 'steal' at $344.

[gefski]

Thanks for the review -- informative and entertaining! Nice price-shopping too. It's always fun to compare the new sub $1k cans to the classic mid-fi trinity (which hang around because they don't have glaring flaws IMO). Hopefully I'll get to plug in a pair at our upcoming meet at Bottlehead.

[Tyson]

Tyson- I have a lot of respect for the HD650 too, having owned both that and the 580 predecessor. A classic design, its endurance in the fickle audiophile world is testament to its quality and performance. To me the overall signature is pretty different though; quite a bit more upper-mid and high-frequency energy from the Amiron. The detail makes the 650 sound slightly 'smeared' in comparison, but without sounding harsh. It is competitive with similarly priced planners  as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, you are probably right.  I was talking more about the HD650 in comparison to the Beyer T1 gen 2s that I have at home.  The Beyers are far more detailed, and in fact are better in just about every respect.  BUT the place the HD650's match the T1s in that rare ability to never, ever sound bad.  No matter what music or recording you throw at them, it's always musically enjoyable. 

[dB Cooper]

True; the errors of the 650 are, for the most part, errors of omission, which (to my ear anyway) are more forgivable than errors of commission. It does kind of limit their transparency when all is said and done though. The Amirons manage to surpass the 650 in detail while sacrificing relatively little smoothness.