peniku8
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A while ago I saw an ad on Instagram about these new IEMs from Beyerdynamic and left a critical comment regarding their decision to use the (now over 90 years old!) Fletcher Munson curves as inspiration for their tuning targets. This sparked a short private discussion where they offered to send me these new IEMs to test (cool!).
These IEMs cost 500€ each.
As you can tell by the descriptors, these IEMs are meant for stage-use and each unit has a frequency response that is tailored for a specific application. I was mainly interested in the DT70, made for mixing and critical listening use. Before doing any measurements or listening tests, I guessed the DT70 to sound neutral, the 71 to be bass heavy and the other two to be bass-light, while the 72 might have some extra energy in the 1-2Khz region for some extra vocal presence.
Each IEM comes in a small semi hard case with a selection of silicone tips in different sizes, a 3.5mm to 6.35mm TRS adapter and of course the cable, which attaches to the IEMs via the MMCX connector (which I like).
All of my measurements were taken with a chinese 60318 coupler, so take these measurements with a grain of salt. Previous measurements I've done showed good corelation with other reviewer's data however and I can confirm that these IEMs do indeed sound just the way they measure. Each response is the average from 3 reseats for the left and the right ear piece.
I conduct my measurements as well as my listening tests on a Topping L30, which is fed by my RME Fireface UC. The Fireface's internal headphone output is unfit for either, due to its high output impedance of 30 Ohm.
Raw Frequency response:
Compensated to IEF Neutral 2020:
Oh boy, I was not ready for this, but let's unpack what we got here:
All units have a bass boost and a treble recession where the bulk of the pinna gain lies. This isn't a bad thing for stage monitoring tho. I'm a musician myself (drummer) and I tuned my own (stage) IEMs similarly to what the DT71IE look like. If you're not using custom IEMs (molds) that shield yourself from the surrounding noise, you will have to cope with elevated monitoring SPLs and reducing the pinna gain region makes this a whole lot less uncomfortable. You also need to boost bass, since you won't hear anything in that region otherwise, if you've got a big PA blasting the venue (similar to why modern cars boost bass when you drive faster). What surprised me the most were the supposedly neutral DT70. They have such a big treble scoop (the biggest of all 4 for some reason) that I would almost like to think I got the units mixed up, so I double checked to make sure these were indeed the "Mixing&Critical Listening" IEMs.
Listening Test
Music
I conducted my listening tests months ago, but then didn't have any time to finish this write-up, so I'll try to remember as much as I can.
I started my listening tests with the DT70, actually before I even took any measurements. The first impression was 'inoffensive with some minor spikes in the treble', but it does indeed sound how it measures: like a big bathtub EQ. Taking them out and switching the music over to our studio monitors revealed just how much of the frequency spectrum got lost.
Drumming IEM
I then sat down at the drum kit and was curious how well these IEMs sealed. I've played with other, similarly expensive IEMs which blew me away in terms of the passive noise reduction they offered, so I was immediately disappointed that the Beyers performed just as bad as most other IEMs I have used, if not worse. They don't isolate well and they don't do it evenly (changes the sound signature/frequency response of the noise). Their own sound signature turned out to be pleasant tho and I could turn them up quite a bit before I would start feeling uncomfortable. Sadly, this happened before the "it's loud enough to play the drums to" point so I stopped here.
Live sound mixing IEM
I am a touring live sound engineer and have mixed just about the largest festivals in Germany, such as Wacken, Rock am Ring, Open Flair, Summerbreeze and others.
IEMs are a huge part of my workflow, which is out of the scope of this review, so I won't go into detail here, but I've gone through a dozen of em until I found something that makes me happy, which is the Moondrop Aria.
For me, IEMs for live sound mixing need to fulfil the following criteria:
1) Have a neutral sound signature aka sound like a well set-up and calibrated PA (typical IEMs measuring well on the 5128 are good; a certain degree of (low) bass boost is okay)
2) Have a flat impedance response (many mixing consoles have high output impedance headphone ports, which change the sound of IEMs that have a highly variable impedance)
3) Have a decent level of passive noise isolation (most IEMs work for me; I always bring a 3M Peltor if I need better noise isolation on top of the IEMs)
4) Have a uniform noise reduction
5) Have decent fit and be comfortable even after hours of use
The Arias only fall short in the last point here, but I think that's not too unusual. IEMs will start hurting my ears after an hour or two. Something like the Crincale Zero series didn't work because of point 2 and 4, altho I found them to be particularly comfortable.
The Beyers (I forgot whether I took the 70 or the 72 with their more neutral frequency response with me) failed point 1 here, since they definitely don't have a neutral sound signature, but could theoretically be workable, since there are no high Q errors in the response.
I took them to a show in a venue that fit about 6-800 guests. I used them for soundcheck and was immediately annoyed by something that not many people would take issue with: it took me way longer to get them in my ears than other, larger IEMs. I sound- or line-check instruments individually on the IEMs, develop a basic EQ, dial in my gate and the compressor and only then pull the signal up on the PA, when I take the IEMs out. So it's not unusual for me to go through a few dozen cycles of taking the IEMs out and putting them back in again during soundcheck. The Arias have a nice large flat surface and I can just push them in my ears and they'll sit right almost every time. The Beyers required some "fiddling" most of the time, but that may as well just be lack of practice.
The odd sound signature of the IEMs surprisingly didn't bother me all that much, altho it certainly didn't help either.
What really broke its neck was the uneven noise reduction, which is a massive issue when the full band is playing over the PA and I solo an instrument on my IEMs to track down issues or to refine the mix listening to instruments in isolation. It's been a long time so I don't remember the precise location of the boost, but iirc these IEMs attenuated the 1-3Khz region less, so everything would sound harsh on the IEMs while the PA was on. Turn the PA off and the signals would sound "normal" again. This is the exact reason why I sent back so many other IEMs that could've been a promising candidate, most recently the 7Hz Zero2.
I confirmed that the other units have the same noise isolation properties and the only (relevant) difference between them is the frequency response.
Impedance:
Impedance varies from 15 to 16 Ohm from 20Hz to 10KHz and rises to 19 at 20K. This means the IEMs will not change their sound signature much even on headphone amplifiers with a relatively high output impedance (good!).
Conclusion
I tested these IEMs in 3 different scenarios: for music (enjoyment), as actual IEM for a drummer and as a tool for a live sound engineer.
Sadly, I can't recommend them for any of these uses, especially at this price point. The frequency response is not neutral enough to be a proper mixing platform and the noise isolation is not good enough to be a stage monitor, at least in high noise environments. Maybe they can be great for actual classical musicians, for jazz bands or for singers in the studio, but I couldn't get much out of this product. I want to thank Beyerdynamic for providing me with these tests units anyways and I hope they can get something out of this review, even if it's not exactly positive. I was extremely happy with the mics I got to test tho and will definitely extend our mic selection with some Beyers in the future
Cheers!
These IEMs cost 500€ each.
As you can tell by the descriptors, these IEMs are meant for stage-use and each unit has a frequency response that is tailored for a specific application. I was mainly interested in the DT70, made for mixing and critical listening use. Before doing any measurements or listening tests, I guessed the DT70 to sound neutral, the 71 to be bass heavy and the other two to be bass-light, while the 72 might have some extra energy in the 1-2Khz region for some extra vocal presence.
Each IEM comes in a small semi hard case with a selection of silicone tips in different sizes, a 3.5mm to 6.35mm TRS adapter and of course the cable, which attaches to the IEMs via the MMCX connector (which I like).
All of my measurements were taken with a chinese 60318 coupler, so take these measurements with a grain of salt. Previous measurements I've done showed good corelation with other reviewer's data however and I can confirm that these IEMs do indeed sound just the way they measure. Each response is the average from 3 reseats for the left and the right ear piece.
I conduct my measurements as well as my listening tests on a Topping L30, which is fed by my RME Fireface UC. The Fireface's internal headphone output is unfit for either, due to its high output impedance of 30 Ohm.
Raw Frequency response:
Compensated to IEF Neutral 2020:
Oh boy, I was not ready for this, but let's unpack what we got here:
All units have a bass boost and a treble recession where the bulk of the pinna gain lies. This isn't a bad thing for stage monitoring tho. I'm a musician myself (drummer) and I tuned my own (stage) IEMs similarly to what the DT71IE look like. If you're not using custom IEMs (molds) that shield yourself from the surrounding noise, you will have to cope with elevated monitoring SPLs and reducing the pinna gain region makes this a whole lot less uncomfortable. You also need to boost bass, since you won't hear anything in that region otherwise, if you've got a big PA blasting the venue (similar to why modern cars boost bass when you drive faster). What surprised me the most were the supposedly neutral DT70. They have such a big treble scoop (the biggest of all 4 for some reason) that I would almost like to think I got the units mixed up, so I double checked to make sure these were indeed the "Mixing&Critical Listening" IEMs.
Listening Test
Music
I conducted my listening tests months ago, but then didn't have any time to finish this write-up, so I'll try to remember as much as I can.
I started my listening tests with the DT70, actually before I even took any measurements. The first impression was 'inoffensive with some minor spikes in the treble', but it does indeed sound how it measures: like a big bathtub EQ. Taking them out and switching the music over to our studio monitors revealed just how much of the frequency spectrum got lost.
Drumming IEM
I then sat down at the drum kit and was curious how well these IEMs sealed. I've played with other, similarly expensive IEMs which blew me away in terms of the passive noise reduction they offered, so I was immediately disappointed that the Beyers performed just as bad as most other IEMs I have used, if not worse. They don't isolate well and they don't do it evenly (changes the sound signature/frequency response of the noise). Their own sound signature turned out to be pleasant tho and I could turn them up quite a bit before I would start feeling uncomfortable. Sadly, this happened before the "it's loud enough to play the drums to" point so I stopped here.
Live sound mixing IEM
I am a touring live sound engineer and have mixed just about the largest festivals in Germany, such as Wacken, Rock am Ring, Open Flair, Summerbreeze and others.
IEMs are a huge part of my workflow, which is out of the scope of this review, so I won't go into detail here, but I've gone through a dozen of em until I found something that makes me happy, which is the Moondrop Aria.
For me, IEMs for live sound mixing need to fulfil the following criteria:
1) Have a neutral sound signature aka sound like a well set-up and calibrated PA (typical IEMs measuring well on the 5128 are good; a certain degree of (low) bass boost is okay)
2) Have a flat impedance response (many mixing consoles have high output impedance headphone ports, which change the sound of IEMs that have a highly variable impedance)
3) Have a decent level of passive noise isolation (most IEMs work for me; I always bring a 3M Peltor if I need better noise isolation on top of the IEMs)
4) Have a uniform noise reduction
5) Have decent fit and be comfortable even after hours of use
The Arias only fall short in the last point here, but I think that's not too unusual. IEMs will start hurting my ears after an hour or two. Something like the Crincale Zero series didn't work because of point 2 and 4, altho I found them to be particularly comfortable.
The Beyers (I forgot whether I took the 70 or the 72 with their more neutral frequency response with me) failed point 1 here, since they definitely don't have a neutral sound signature, but could theoretically be workable, since there are no high Q errors in the response.
I took them to a show in a venue that fit about 6-800 guests. I used them for soundcheck and was immediately annoyed by something that not many people would take issue with: it took me way longer to get them in my ears than other, larger IEMs. I sound- or line-check instruments individually on the IEMs, develop a basic EQ, dial in my gate and the compressor and only then pull the signal up on the PA, when I take the IEMs out. So it's not unusual for me to go through a few dozen cycles of taking the IEMs out and putting them back in again during soundcheck. The Arias have a nice large flat surface and I can just push them in my ears and they'll sit right almost every time. The Beyers required some "fiddling" most of the time, but that may as well just be lack of practice.
The odd sound signature of the IEMs surprisingly didn't bother me all that much, altho it certainly didn't help either.
What really broke its neck was the uneven noise reduction, which is a massive issue when the full band is playing over the PA and I solo an instrument on my IEMs to track down issues or to refine the mix listening to instruments in isolation. It's been a long time so I don't remember the precise location of the boost, but iirc these IEMs attenuated the 1-3Khz region less, so everything would sound harsh on the IEMs while the PA was on. Turn the PA off and the signals would sound "normal" again. This is the exact reason why I sent back so many other IEMs that could've been a promising candidate, most recently the 7Hz Zero2.
I confirmed that the other units have the same noise isolation properties and the only (relevant) difference between them is the frequency response.
Impedance:
Impedance varies from 15 to 16 Ohm from 20Hz to 10KHz and rises to 19 at 20K. This means the IEMs will not change their sound signature much even on headphone amplifiers with a relatively high output impedance (good!).
Conclusion
I tested these IEMs in 3 different scenarios: for music (enjoyment), as actual IEM for a drummer and as a tool for a live sound engineer.
Sadly, I can't recommend them for any of these uses, especially at this price point. The frequency response is not neutral enough to be a proper mixing platform and the noise isolation is not good enough to be a stage monitor, at least in high noise environments. Maybe they can be great for actual classical musicians, for jazz bands or for singers in the studio, but I couldn't get much out of this product. I want to thank Beyerdynamic for providing me with these tests units anyways and I hope they can get something out of this review, even if it's not exactly positive. I was extremely happy with the mics I got to test tho and will definitely extend our mic selection with some Beyers in the future
Cheers!
