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Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Review (headphone)

Rate this headphone:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 83 45.9%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 71 39.2%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 21 11.6%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 6 3.3%

  • Total voters
    181

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home open back headphone. It was kindly sent to me by a member. Looks like the wired version is discontinued but cost roughly US $400.

This is an attractive headphone:
Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Review open back Headphone.jpg


Overall fit was fine other than slightly pinching my earlobes. Weight is about average at 345 grams without the cord:

Lightest open back headpone reviewed.png


Cups are round and have a circumference of 62 mm and depth of 20 mm.

Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!

Fitment on the fixture was good.

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Measurements
Let's start with our usual frequency response:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Frequency Response Impedance Headphone.png


There is decent amount of bass but could use more subbass and less upper bass. The main issue however is the recession between 500 Hz and 3 kHz. It has an odd shape so hard to fix with a filter or two. Here is a the relative response for purposes of developing said EQ:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Relative Frequency Response Impedance Headphone.png


I was disappointed with how fast bass distortion escalated up with level:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Relative Distortion Impedance Headphone.png


Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Distortion Impedance Headphone.png


The rising distortions are unfortunately where we need frequency boosts with EQ so they are going to be more audible.

Group delay just confirms the dip on bass and not revealing of much else:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Group Delay Impedance Headphone.png


Impedance is high and varies by a ratio of two:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Impedance Headphone.png


Sensitivity is below average but not too bad:

best headphone review.png


Headphone Listening and Equalization
Out of box experience is decent due to adequate amount of bass. But it is unexciting and closed due to droop in energy between 500 and 3 kHz. So I brought out the EQ tool:

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Equalization EQ Headphone.png


Alas, On the first track I listened to, I got screeching highs and crackling. I decided to add the two high frequency filters but that was not it. The problem was as I mentioned, the boost in the 500 Hz to 2 kHz. It is a much needed correction but with the right track, it can sound terrible especially at higher levels.

I originally had the bass boost higher to match the measurements. While again that sounded good on some music, on others, it caused terrible distortion with drivers almost modulating the sound. At the levels I have it, it seemed to work across most music.

At first I was going to ditch the EQ due to distortion but it really lifts the performance of this headphone. Spatial effects come to their own and overall fidelity is quite nice.

Conclusions
If there is a norm in my headphone reviews, it is the sound being near terrible without EQ, and being good to great with. Here, that is not the case. Without EQ the sound is tolerable. With EQ it gets much better but then distortion comes to haunt you and haunt you big time depending on your music spectrum and how loud you listen.

I can't recommend the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home with or without EQ for reasons mentioned.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 

Attachments

  • Beyerdynamic Amiron Measurements Frequency Response.zip
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sweetchaos

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To import this PEQ profile into 'Equalizer APO', use:
Preamp: -6.3 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 5.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 210 Hz Gain -3.0 dB Q 3.0
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain 4.0 dB Q 2.0
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1270 Hz Gain 3.8 dB Q 2.0
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 8500 Hz Gain -4.0 dB Q 6.0
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 14100 Hz Gain -7.0 dB Q 6.0
Otherwise, see my PEQ guide.
..................................................................................................................
For those who don't have PEQ-capable app, and want to use GEQs instead:
See my GEQ guide for 10-band, 31-band, and 127-band GEQ profiles.
 
Last edited:

respice finem

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I'm wondering whether this is a kind of "house sound" or they just don't care?
 
OP
amirm

amirm

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I'm wondering whether this is a kind of "house sound" or they just don't care?
I think headphone designs has been wild west with no norms or standards. Everyone seems to have had its own ideas of what the response should be. Hopefully this will continue to change.
 

Thomas_A

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I think headphone designs has been wild west with no norms or standards. Everyone seems to have had its own ideas of what the response should be. Hopefully this will continue to change.

With Beyerdynamic there are models that have some house signature with slight differences. And then there are models that differ significantly in a positive way eg the DT-150 or negative eg the DT-100.
 

solderdude

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I think headphone designs has been wild west with no norms or standards. Everyone seems to have had its own ideas of what the response should be. Hopefully this will continue to change.

Which headphone had Amir on his head during this review ?

I agree that most Beyerdynamic headphones sound quite good with some proper EQ providing you don't play them at impressively loud levels.

The DT 700 PRO X and DT 900 Pro X indeed seem to break with the original 'Beyerdynamic sound'.
Here's the Amiron I measured.
The Amiron is one of the 'warmest' sounding headphones Beyer has together with the DT880 Black Special Edition.
I could easily say the DT880 Black Special Edition is a much cheaper tonal equivalent to the Amiron.

dt880be-vs-amiron-home.png

The plot above is comparable to the compensated plot from Amir (below).

index.php
 
Last edited:

Robbo99999

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I voted this "Poor", if the much needed EQ causes audible distortion, then that's a no-go! Distortion is generally not a problem in headphones, yet it was in this particular headphone, therefore definitely deserves headless panther.
 

JJB70

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Whenever I have listened to these they sounded fine. Whether the tuning is to taste is a matter of opinion but personally I think that they do what they do well. I find them very comfortable too, but comfort is a very personal thing. Something to keep in mind is that Beyerdynamic headphones tend to have good long term manufacturer support and are very serviceable. All the ones I have had have been very well made too, despite the rather homespun styling they tend to make a solid product. On volume, I found them fine at sensible volume, if listening that loud then people should probably be more worried about their hearing than headphone distortion.
 

Jimbob54

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I'm wondering whether this is a kind of "house sound" or they just don't care?

Its a puzzler- the T1 measured here has some of the same issues- bass obviously but also in the hundreds and around 1500 but the T1 is also blighted by the 8k Mt Beyer peak. I believe the Amiron are the same Tesla drivers as the T series so not that surprising but also the Amiron looks more sensibly tuned at a far lower cost.

I think they just dont care that much and trade on reputation.
 

PeteL

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Its a puzzler- the T1 measured here has some of the same issues- bass obviously but also in the hundreds and around 1500 but the T1 is also blighted by the 8k Mt Beyer peak. I believe the Amiron are the same Tesla drivers as the T series so not that surprising but also the Amiron looks more sensibly tuned at a far lower cost.

I think they just dont care that much and trade on reputation.
They are discontinued, maybe someone can correct me, I'm not 100% sure, but I thought I remember it being much more than 400$, the prices Amir found may an effort to liquidating. This was in their High end line up with all the Tesla drivers. That would I guess still make the "at a far lower cost" relevant if we cam find them at this price, but circumstantial.
 

Jimbob54

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They are discontinued, maybe someone can correct me, I'm not 100% sure, but I thought I remember it being much more than 400$, the prices Amir found may an effort to liquidating. This was in their High end line up with all the Tesla drivers. That would I guess still make the "at a far lower cost" relevant if we cam find them at this price, but circumstantial.
I can get them at just over £400 in the UK now at a few sellers. What hifi review was at £545. Thats considerably less than the T1.2 ever were (more like £800 in latter days). I've seen the amiron regularly pop up on amazon warehouse deals for sub £400. Still not sure why anyone would even at that price, but they can be had.
 

respice finem

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Its a puzzler- the T1 measured here has some of the same issues- bass obviously but also in the hundreds and around 1500 but the T1 is also blighted by the 8k Mt Beyer peak. I believe the Amiron are the same Tesla drivers as the T series so not that surprising but also the Amiron looks more sensibly tuned at a far lower cost.

I think they just dont care that much and trade on reputation.
I'm afraid you're right. I don't have the Amiron, but I have the T1 Mk2. Well, what measures bad can still sound pleasant :facepalm:
 

Jimbob54

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Jabinho

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home open back headphone. It was kindly sent to me by a member. Looks like the wired version is discontinued but cost roughly US $400.

This is an attractive headphone:
View attachment 162503

Overall fit was fine other than slightly pinching my earlobes. Weight is about average at 345 grams without the cord:

View attachment 162505

Cups are round and have a circumference of 62 mm and depth of 20 mm.

Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!

Fitment on the fixture was good.

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Measurements
Let's start with our usual frequency response:

View attachment 162506

There is decent amount of bass but could use more subbass and less upper bass. The main issue however is the recession between 500 Hz and 3 kHz. It has an odd shape so hard to fix with a filter or two. Here is a the relative response for purposes of developing said EQ:

View attachment 162507

I was disappointed with how fast bass distortion escalated up with level:

View attachment 162508

View attachment 162509

The rising distortions are unfortunately where we need frequency boosts with EQ so they are going to be more audible.

Group delay just confirms the dip on bass and not revealing of much else:

View attachment 162510

Impedance is high and varies by a ratio of two:

View attachment 162511

Sensitivity is below average but not too bad:

View attachment 162512

Headphone Listening and Equalization
Out of box experience is decent due to adequate amount of bass. But it is unexciting and closed due to droop in energy between 500 and 3 kHz. So I brought out the EQ tool:

View attachment 162513

Alas, On the first track I listened to, I got screeching highs and crackling. I decided to add the two high frequency filters but that was not it. The problem was as I mentioned, the boost in the 500 Hz to 2 kHz. It is a much needed correction but with the right track, it can sound terrible especially at higher levels.

I originally had the bass boost higher to match the measurements. While again that sounded good on some music, on others, it caused terrible distortion with drivers almost modulating the sound. At the levels I have it, it seemed to work across most music.

At first I was going to ditch the EQ due to distortion but it really lifts the performance of this headphone. Spatial effects come to their own and overall fidelity is quite nice.

Conclusions
If there is a norm in my headphone reviews, it is the sound being near terrible without EQ, and being good to great with. Here, that is not the case. Without EQ the sound is tolerable. With EQ it gets much better but then distortion comes to haunt you and haunt you big time depending on your music spectrum and how loud you listen.

I can't recommend the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home with or without EQ for reasons mentioned.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I think your subjective view is 100% correct and it's well appreciated by your loyal followers.
 

maxxevv

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Could this be one of those cases where its better to pull down the highs rather than push up the lows ? Or would it actually work well at all ?
 

Dana reed

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Subjectively, these have been one of my favorite headphones for a long time. Granted, this was before I started using EQ for each headphone. I still use these on my portable rig with the Pono player in balanced mode, and I've worn the headband down to a nub. My biggest beef with these is that there's no way to replace the headband without breaking it or getting a whole new headband/yoke assembly.
 

dmac6419

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home open back headphone. It was kindly sent to me by a member. Looks like the wired version is discontinued but cost roughly US $400.

This is an attractive headphone:
View attachment 162503

Overall fit was fine other than slightly pinching my earlobes. Weight is about average at 345 grams without the cord:

View attachment 162505

Cups are round and have a circumference of 62 mm and depth of 20 mm.

Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!

Fitment on the fixture was good.

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home Measurements
Let's start with our usual frequency response:

View attachment 162506

There is decent amount of bass but could use more subbass and less upper bass. The main issue however is the recession between 500 Hz and 3 kHz. It has an odd shape so hard to fix with a filter or two. Here is a the relative response for purposes of developing said EQ:

View attachment 162507

I was disappointed with how fast bass distortion escalated up with level:

View attachment 162508

View attachment 162509

The rising distortions are unfortunately where we need frequency boosts with EQ so they are going to be more audible.

Group delay just confirms the dip on bass and not revealing of much else:

View attachment 162510

Impedance is high and varies by a ratio of two:

View attachment 162511

Sensitivity is below average but not too bad:

View attachment 162512

Headphone Listening and Equalization
Out of box experience is decent due to adequate amount of bass. But it is unexciting and closed due to droop in energy between 500 and 3 kHz. So I brought out the EQ tool:

View attachment 162513

Alas, On the first track I listened to, I got screeching highs and crackling. I decided to add the two high frequency filters but that was not it. The problem was as I mentioned, the boost in the 500 Hz to 2 kHz. It is a much needed correction but with the right track, it can sound terrible especially at higher levels.

I originally had the bass boost higher to match the measurements. While again that sounded good on some music, on others, it caused terrible distortion with drivers almost modulating the sound. At the levels I have it, it seemed to work across most music.

At first I was going to ditch the EQ due to distortion but it really lifts the performance of this headphone. Spatial effects come to their own and overall fidelity is quite nice.

Conclusions
If there is a norm in my headphone reviews, it is the sound being near terrible without EQ, and being good to great with. Here, that is not the case. Without EQ the sound is tolerable. With EQ it gets much better but then distortion comes to haunt you and haunt you big time depending on your music spectrum and how loud you listen.

I can't recommend the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home with or without EQ for reasons mentioned.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I have these they sound good to me.
 
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