Vanilla, for better and worse

Beyerdynamic is a huge name in the world of headphones. But the Aventho 300 a rare entry into the wireless market, and they have a lot to do to compete with premium headphones like AirPods Max.

At the crowded $400 price point, the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 headphones are not short of competition. In fact, they’re around $150 cheaper than Apple’s own AirPods Max, depending on which sale is running at the time.

They’re around the same price as the iconic Sony WH-1000XM6, the latest in a long line of crowd-pleasing ANC headphones out of Japan. But there is more to a good pair of headphones than their ANC performance — they also need to sound excellent.

In the case of the Aventho 300, expectations are high in that regard. Beyerdynamic is a brand that has built a name for itself around headphones that offer strong audio performance.

But you’ll find Beats-heavy bass here now. Beyerdynamic headphones are often found in music studios and on the heads of podcasters for a reason — they reproduce what goes into them. They don’t add their own flair, ala Beats.

But the Aventho 300 are a rare beast for Beyerdynamic. They’re wireless, leaving me to wonder how they’d fare in a world of premium-priced cord-free headphones.

So that’s the question I set about answering when Beyerdynamic offered to send a pair for review.

Aventho 300 review: Design

Beyerdynamic offers the Aventho 300 headphones in two colors, both understated. There’s black and “Nordic Grey,” which is white. Both have silver highlights.

Moving to the top of the headphones first, a soft memory foam headband features a fontanelle recess. Essentially, the band is designed with the contours of your skull in mind.

Moving down, we find a flexible swivel joint above each ear cup. That design should ensure you can always find a comfortable fit.

Those joints also mean the headphones can be folded up to fit in the included travel case. Something that Apple could learn a thing or two from. Its AirPods Max famously don’t fold away.

Continuing down, we find the earcups, both of which are angled for a more ergonomic fit. Coupled with the swivel joints above, they make for a comfortable listening position.

To say that the Aventho 300 give an air of quality is an understatement. They don’t have the heft of AirPods Max, but they have the same “expensive” feel.

You could argue that they should, given the asking price. But the reality is that it isn’t a given, even when spending $400 on some headphones.

For fans of facts and figures, the Aventho 300 weigh 319 grams, compared with the AirPods Max at 386 grams. The difference is noticeable when holding them in your hand.

Aventho 300 review: Specs

The first figure that jumps out when skimming the spec sheet is “50”. That’s the number of hours you can expect from a single charge with ANC enabled.

That figure compares very favorably with, say, AirPods Max. Apple quotes up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC enabled.

Should those 50 hours not be enough, a 10-minute charge will get you another five hours of listening time. Two hours on the charger will take the Aventho 300 from dead to full.

Speaking of charging, that’s done via the USB-C port found on the bottom of the right ear cup. You’ll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack and the power and ANC controls there, too.

In terms of connectivity, there’s the aforementioned 3.5mm headphone jack. But for wireless fans, Bluetooth 5.4 is the order of the day.

Beyerdynamic says that the Aventho 300 can transmit audio using the AAC and aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive codecs.

For those in the Apple ecosystem, using iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more, none of that really matters. You’ll use AAC, and you’ll like it — Apple doesn’t support the alternatives.

If you’re set on listening to lossless audio, the USB-C port has you covered. Both Dolby Atmos and spatial audio via Dolby Head Tracking are supported regardless.

Those used to AirPods will be pleased to learn the Aventho 300 support multipoint pairing. The device switching isn’t as seamless as Apple’s, but it does work.

Aventho 300 review: Features

As has become table stakes for any premium headphones, the Aventho 300 support active noise cancellation (ANC) technology. A transparency mode is also present, should you really need to hear your surroundings.

Beyerdynamic gave the Aventho 300s six microphones to help them capture ambient sound so it can be piped into the headphones. You can also disable both ANC and transparency mode, should you want to.

All three listening modes are controlled via a single button that cycles through them when pressed. One tip for headphone makers here: don’t put the ANC button right next to the power button as Beyerdynamic did. I think you know why.

The right ear cup also houses a proximity sensor so the headphones can pause the audio when you take them off.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 review: All of the ports and buttons live on one ear cup

Staying with the right ear cup, that’s where you’ll find the capacitive touch sensor for controlling playback and adjusting the volume.

Features extend to what comes in the box, and Beyerdynamic doesn’t disappoint. You’ll get a hard travel case, a 3.5mm headphone cable, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-A to USB-C cable. A handy drawstring bag is included for housing those cables, too.

Aventho 300 review: The app

Like all headphones these days, you can adjust the Aventho 300’s settings using a free phone app. The app offers quick access to toggling features like ANC and choosing when the headphones will power off to save battery, among other things.

Perhaps most useful is the customizable EQ, the settings for which are just a tap away. There are a handful of presets, or you can adjust things yourself via a five-band equalizer.

Using the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 headphones

Beyerdynamic sent me the Nordic Grey Aventho 300 headphones for review, and I’ve been using them with a range of devices. As you’d imagine, that includes Apple gear like an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a MacBook Pro.

I’ve used several headphones in this kind of price range, and yes, that includes a pair of the original Lightning-powered AirPods Max.

That inevitably meant that the first thing I did was compare the Aventho 300 to my AirPods Max. And the first thing I noticed was the weight.

The Aventho 300 are noticeably lighter to hold, but you really notice the difference on your head. I’m a fan of heavy, chunky tech, but not when it’s attached to me.

That is to say, I’m a big fan of the way the Aventho 300 feel when I’m wearing them. They’re light enough to disappear after wearing them for a while without feeling flimsy.

Another area where Beyerdynamic wins out is the way the Aventho 300 headphones fold away. It’s a simple thing that Apple seems to struggle with, as is the hard travel case Beyerdynamic’s headphones ship with.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 review: These headphones are considerably lighter than AirPods Max

The Aventho 300’s comfort extends to fixing another issue I often have with AirPods Max: they don’t make my ears sweat. I’m not the first to complain of overly warm AirPods ears, but I’m pleased to report there’s no such issue with the Aventho 300s.

In use, connecting the Aventho 300 headphones to my Apple devices is quick and easy. Pairing Bluetooth devices isn’t as easy as setting up new AirPods, true. But it doesn’t feel like a return to the dark ages, either.

As I alluded to earlier, I’m not a fan of the ANC and power buttons being so close together. I found it far too easy to turn the headphones off when trying to turn ANC on or off.

Another complaint involves the sub-par touch-sensitive playback and volume controls. Swiping to change tracks worked — at best — half the time, and the volume controls were equally unreliable.

Love it or loathe it, there’s a lot to be said for Apple’s use of the Apple Watch‘s Digital Crown on the AirPods Max.

Of course, all of this is the appetizer to the real deal. All headphones will live or die on two things in particular: how they sound, and how good their ANC is.

ANC and transparency mode

As I said, I’m used to the AirPods Max and their particularly excellent ANC capabilities. They’re class-leading, and very few headphones can compete on that front.

The Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 headphones are no different.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean the ANC feature is bad here, because it isn’t. I suspect that a lot of people will try the Aventho 300 and be more than satisfied with their ANC performance.

It’s clear that Beyerdynamic’s technology is working; it just doesn’t do it to the extent I’d like.

Great ANC makes external noise almost imperceptible. The Aventho 300s do reduce the volume of that noise, but it’s most definitely there.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 review: Few can compete with Apple when it comes to ANC

Its effectiveness also depends on what kind of sound you’re dealing with. If you’re dealing with the low-pitched drone of airplane engines, the Aventho 300s will perform well.

But switch that up to an office full of people or an area with various sources of sound, and they struggle. People talking, in particular, seem to throw the ANC for a loop at times.

Similarly, the transparency mode has its issues. In particular, the way it makes everything a little too shrill for my liking.

The Aventho 300s have half a dozen microphones collecting audio that is then piped back into your ears. But whether it’s the quality of those mics or the processing applied to the sound, something’s amiss.

Similar to the ANC, transparency mode works. But it’s some way off being anything to write home about.

My listening experience

So that brings us to audio. A pair of headphones has to be good at actually taking the sound from a source and transmitting it to your ears, after all.

Thankfully, it’s good news in the case of the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300. They definitely do a good job out of the box with their default EQ settings.

In that configuration, listening to music reveals a vocal clarity that not all headphones can match. There is no muddying here, and the soundstage is as wide as I’ve experienced.

Before the Aventho 300s arrived, I was expecting headphones that excelled at audio reproduction. To my ears, that’s exactly what I got.

But I’d wager that a lot of people don’t actually want that. Musicians, podcasters, and audio engineers absolutely do. They need their headphones to be vanilla, avoiding changing the sound wherever possible.

But the popularity of the Beats headphones of yesteryear categorically proved that a lot of people don’t want that. And, it turns out, neither do I.

I found the Aventho 300s to be lacking in bass somewhat, leaving me adjusting the EQ to try to boost it. And I never quite felt like I’d managed it.

By contrast, anyone else I gave these headphones to was happy with the bass levels. That suggests that I’m the odd one out here, and it’s made me realize just how bass-heavy my other headphones are.

All of that is to say that bass heads should probably look elsewhere when choosing their new headphones. But if you want accurate, unaffected sound, I think you’ll be more than pleased with what you hear.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300: Excellent, for some

At the end of every review comes a point at which the reviewer has to sum things up. The whole point of a review is to help people decide whether they should buy a thing. And this review is no different.

But I can’t recommend you buy a pair of Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 headphones without knowing more about you. The same goes for how you’ll use them.

If you’re shopping for a pair of headphones to listen to bass-heavy music or wear when playing booming action games, you should possibly look elsewhere.

But if you want a pair of headphones to help you create music or you want a vanilla listening experience, the story changes. If that’s you, you could do much worse than the Aventho 300s.

However, things aren’t even that simple. The middling ANC makes this a more difficult sell, especially if it’s an important feature to you.

One thing I might suggest is buying a pair of these headphones from a retailer with easy returns, like Amazon.

If you think you might like these headphones, give them a couple of weeks and try them on for size. There are some excellent headphones here. They just won’t be for everyone.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300: Pros

• Light and comfortable
• Foldable design and travel case included
• Clear and crisp sound
• Incredible battery life

Beyerdynamic Aventho 300: Cons

• Lacking in bass for some
• Fiddly touch sensitive controls
• A lot of competition at this price

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Where to buy Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 headphones

You can buy the Aventho 300 headphones direct from Beyerdynamic for $399.99, though discounts are also available, bringing it as low as $199.99. Amazon also has the same headphones available for the same $399.99. However, they’re often available for less on sale, and at about the same time as the main website.