As I type this, I can hear the clack of my mechanical keyboard and a bit of HVAC rumble make it through my moderate volume music, which just isn’t something I can say about the best from Sony and Bose. That largely has to do with just how much sound is leaking through the ear cups.
Microphones and noise-canceling itself are fine but not top-tier. I got decent call and Zoom quality but nothing to write home about for a pair of $400 headphones. The noise canceling was more than adequate for cross-country flights, but it wasn’t dead silent. It’s not utter trash, it’s just overpriced. For $400, you should get better noise cancellation.
World Class Sound
The real reason to consider the Aventho 300 for daily headphones is how good they sound. They have a classic and clean Beyerdynamic sound that really makes them a pleasure when you get some alone time with them.
As long as you’re not battling too much noise, these sound better than most high-end noise-canceling headphones do, especially when it comes to instrumental separation. Songs like Atlas Sound and Laetitia Sadier’s “Quick Canal” show layers both high and low, with the rhythmic bass line swirling below a sea of synths and organ. Many noise-canceling headphones seem to take a bit of life out of songs like this, favoring overall silence instead of musical nuance.
Photograph: Parker Hall
I’d normally call out an overly scooped midrange and overly bright high-end on headphones with this sonic profile, except I can’t, because the midrange is very present and clear here without feeling muted at all. Songs like Foxwarren’s “Everything Apart” find Andy Shauf’s perfectly tuned vocals sitting right in the middle of the sound profile, flanked on either side by hi-hat, guitar effects, and bass. It’s a clear musical image no matter where your ears turn, and a very impressive one for a pair of wireless headphones, noise-canceling or otherwise.
The real question to ask if you’re considering a pair of these headphones is: How much noise canceling and microphone access do you really need on a day-to-day basis? These can keep up with most of your noise canceling needs, so long as you’re not trying to block out construction noise or you’re not the world’s most frequent flyer. In exchange, you get better-than-average sound. If you really need the silence, I’d look elsewhere, but if you put sound quality first, the Aventho 300 are actually worth considering, especially if you can snag a pair on sale.
With 50 hours of battery life and build quality that matches up with any of Beyerdynamic’s classic studio products, I’d expect many years of solid use out of these headphones if you do bite the bullet. It felt unlikely at first, but they’re actually one of my favorite new pairs.
