Fit and hardware
The beyerdynamic Free BYRD have a pretty subdued design, and they fit in the ear excellently. They come with one of the best assortments of tips I’ve ever seen. There are both rubber and foam ear tips, and different sizes of each. You have five sizes for the rubber tips: XS, S, M, L, and XL. The foam ear tips come in S, M, and L. All in all, there are 18 different tips; this includes the pre-installed tips.
As for the earbuds themselves, they’re really lightweight, and you don’t feel them after a while. Across each earbud, there’s a plastic strip, and you tap that strip to activate the touch controls. You can control the earbuds using a combination of taps and holds. This means that you can play/pause, skip tracks forward, skip tracks backward, activate ANC/transparency mode, raise volume, lower volume, and summon the voice assistant right out of the box.
The sound quality is amazing
These earbuds have some of the best sound you’ll find on a pair of earbuds anywhere. They manage to produce a substantially punchy sound without sacrificing clarity. There’s a pleasing amount of bass to immerse you in the sound, but the buds keep the sound from getting muddy on the low-end. This makes them ideal for listening to a plethora of different musical genres. You will get that satisfying punch by listening to pop, rock, and other modern genres of music. However, they manage to keep the sound balanced to make listening to classical and other orchestral music sound great.
You have plenty of touch controls
A big part of the TWS earbuds experience is how you’re able to control them. As stated before, these earbuds use touch controls, and you have enough touch controls to access just about any function you need. Each earbud has single-tap, double-tap, triple-tap, single-tap & hold, and double-tap & hold controls. Altogether, there are nine different controls you can access using the earbuds. This means that you have access to play/pause, skip track forward/backward, volume up/down, ANC/transparent mode, summon voice assistant, and accept/reject call. You have access to all of these functions. The only unfortunate thing is that you can’t customize them. It’s not all that important, but some people would like to tailor them to their needs.
The MIY app is a handy tool
Most premium TWS earbuds come with a companion app, and the Free BYRD come with the MIY app. This is the central hub to manage your buds. In the app, you can switch between normal, transparent, and ANC modes as well as switch on low latency mode. Along with those functions, you can choose the default voice assistant, change the language for the voice prompts, factory reset the earbuds, and choose the equalizer preset you want. If you want a quick way to disconnect the earbuds without turning off your Bluetooth, there’s a button up top to do that.
Also, up top, you’ll see your earbuds’ battery levels. It shows you the levels for each bud in 5% increments, so you’ll have a rough idea of how charged they are. The only thing that’s missing is the function that shows the battery level of the case. Instead, you only get the LED on the case as an indicator. When it’s white, the battery is high to full. An orange LED means that it’s moderate, and a red one means that it’s low.
Sound customization
Now, back to those aforementioned equalizer presets. You don’t have a customizable EQ like with the Edifier NeoBuds S, but you can choose between seven presets. You have Original, Bass Boost, Warm, Smooth, V-Shape, Speech, and Brilliance. Each one changes the sound profile to fit your needs. If you don’t want to bother with choosing, then you can have a sound profile tailored to you but the app. In the app, you can go through an audio assessment. Based on the results of the assessment, you’ll get a custom sound profile applied. The custom sound profile actually does make a noticeable difference to the sound quality.
The ANC is top-notch
The sound that the earbuds funnel into your ears is important, but the sound that they block from reaching your ears is also important. The ANC on the beyerdynamic Free BYRD does a great job at getting rid of the ambient noise that you hear in most situations. They do seem to miss canceling some of the higher frequencies, and that results in a bit of a hissing noise. The only complaint I have is that there’s no way to turn ANC off from the earbuds. ANC is great, but not for every situation. It would be nice to have an easier way to switch to normal mode. Having the ANC on all the time will tax the battery.
Battery life
Speaking of battery power, no matter the situation, I was able to get great mileage out of these earbuds. I’d typically use them for six-hour shifts with the ANC on and I’d finish with battery power to spare. With the ANC turned off, I can get all-day battery life with them. The charging case adds on about 3-4 additional charges as well. You won’t have any issues with the battery power for the beyerdynamic Free BYRD.
Should you buy these earbuds
The beyerdynamic Free BYRD cost a hefty $249, and I believe they’re worth every cent. The audio quality alone is enough to sell most people on them. They have a fantastic sound that’s balanced with the right amount of bass.
They have great noise cancelation, a plethora of touch controls, and a super handy app. If you’re looking for great-quality earbuds, then you should definitely give these a try.
