This is a review of Beyerdynamic iDX 160 iE premium in-ear headphones with in-line remote/mic. beyerdynamic iDX 160 iE: Premium in-ear headset with 3-button Apple-remote
I have reviewed the original Beyer DX 160 iE about 4 months ago, and was very impressed with its design and performance. One thing it lacked was an in-line remote/mic for smartphone control. Now, Beyerdynamic introduced an updated version of their DX 160 iE model, with iDX prefix to signify compatibility with iDevices. At first I thought to add the info about this new release as an addendum to my original review, but something changed my mind and I decided to post a new full review. This is a truly great pair of in-ear monitors from a legendary German headphone company, Unfortunately, their marketing could be misleading because they promote this headset as having remote that "supports ONLY iPhone" and other iDevices. Anybody from our Android community might get discouraged after reading this disclaimer and will pass an opportunity to buy these. I don't want to turn this into a public announcement but do want to make sure people are aware that with an exception of dedicated iDevice volume up/down control, the actual multi-function button and mic work great with most of the Android phones. Plus, this model got a few other tricks up its sleeve. Here is what I found.
Arrived in a similar packaging box as DX160iE model, you can read their box like a book to get a lot of info before you even get to the headphones itself. You get everything from hi-def pictures, to a relatively accurate description of the sound and the design, and detailed technical info and list of accessories. Furthermore, front magnetic cover flips open to reveal a display of the actual headphone set. One thing I do want to mention, something that I noticed in original model as well, on the cover it says "flat, detachable cable". In reality, it's "detachable extension cable" since the cables itself are permanently attached to earpieces and not replaceable, while the extension cable is. Inside, you will find a very impressive collection of accessories. First of all, you get 7 (!!!) pairs of silicone eartips in different sizes and single, double, and even triple flange design. There is also a pair of premium T400 Comply Foam eartips. Also, you get a shirt clip, a very unique adapter to attach another pair of headphones to share the music source, two detachable extension cables (more about this later), VoIP adapter cable that connects to your laptop headphone and mic ports and joints into 3.5mm female connector to attach iDX headset, and a premium hard carry case. A very detailed user manual is included as well.
Out of the box, the headphones have a lightweight design of all aluminum housing with a detailed anodized finish and textured aluminum ring design, and a metal mesh covering the nozzle. There is a pinhole port opening next to molded strain relief which typically assist with sound tuning, especially when it comes to bass control. Though L/R identification on strain relief is not easy to see, a noticeable bump on the R side guides you to id it even in a dark. Just like in their DX 160ie model, iDX also has a flat tangle free cable which gives it a more modern design look. The cable attached to headphones is very short, approximately 0.3m, and both of the flat cable sides come together in 3.5mm connector which serves as a y-splitter. The idea behind this design was to use it with your phone in a shirt pocket and a short headphone cable attached to it. But for most of us, the extension cable going to be a permanent fixture. Btw, the splitter adapter goes perfectly between original cable and extension so you can share your music source with another pair of headphones attached to it.
Two identical extension cables were included, and at first I was a bit confused, though I did notice their 270deg angled 3.5mm gold plated connector had different color plastic separation rings between TRRS elements of the plug. I had to turn to instruction manual to learn that each cable has a slightly different wiring to make it compatible with different smartphones. Now, that is truly brilliant! In my recent reviews we had a few discussions with people complaining that in some cases headphones with in-line remote used with Moto and Sony doesn't behave the same as with Samsung/HTC/LG smartphones, and vise versa. With so many different hardware versions of Android compatible headphones, some headphone manufacturers notice that difference and make bulky headphone connectors with a switch, while Beyer had a more logical solution with 2 different replacement extension cables! Next, when it comes to in-line remote, volume up/down is for iDevices only, while multifunction button has a single click for Play/Pause/Call, a double click to skip next, a triple click to skip previous, and a long press to activate Google NOW or SIRI. The quality of in-line remote was really good, buttons had nice tactile response and easy to locate without looking at remote. Mic sensitivity was good and I had no complains from talking to people on the other side of the line.
Now, about the sound quality. Despite using in-line remote control, I can confirm that sound quality between DX 160 iE and iDX 160 iE models is identical. You get the same balanced warm sound with a deep low end extension with enhanced bass quantity, and a bit of v-shaped curve response. Low end has a powerful slam with a deep sub-bass rumble and a fast mid-bass punch. Bass does spills a little bit into lower mids, but upper mids are crystal clear and very detailed, especially when it comes to vocals. I did feel mids very a bit recessed, thus giving it a slight v-shape signature. Treble is clear and well extended without being hot or peaky. There is no hint of sibilance, and overall sound is great for extended non-fatigue sound listening. Soundstage is average in width/depth, and it's more intimate in space. There is a little bit of cable noise, typical with flat cables, but shirt clip could take care of that so the cable doesn't move as much. Isolation was really good, even as a passive noise isolation ear-plug which attenuates background noise. You are still ware of surrounding, but with a right size of eartips or with ultimate Comply foam solution - you can really cut down on background noise.
Overall, I think these are fantastic in-ear headphones, now enhanced even further with in-line remote control to integrate with your smartphones. With it's commercial tuning of balanced warm sound and enhanced bass, you can consider these "modern audiophile" quality IEMs. It is a bit pricey at $135 MSRP, but if you can wait, perhaps Amazon prices will show some discount. Also, if you consider a plethora of included accessories, factoring that into the price makes it actually a great value considering we are talking about brand name German engineered pair of in-ear headphones!
Here are the pictures.
I have reviewed the original Beyer DX 160 iE about 4 months ago, and was very impressed with its design and performance. One thing it lacked was an in-line remote/mic for smartphone control. Now, Beyerdynamic introduced an updated version of their DX 160 iE model, with iDX prefix to signify compatibility with iDevices. At first I thought to add the info about this new release as an addendum to my original review, but something changed my mind and I decided to post a new full review. This is a truly great pair of in-ear monitors from a legendary German headphone company, Unfortunately, their marketing could be misleading because they promote this headset as having remote that "supports ONLY iPhone" and other iDevices. Anybody from our Android community might get discouraged after reading this disclaimer and will pass an opportunity to buy these. I don't want to turn this into a public announcement but do want to make sure people are aware that with an exception of dedicated iDevice volume up/down control, the actual multi-function button and mic work great with most of the Android phones. Plus, this model got a few other tricks up its sleeve. Here is what I found.
Arrived in a similar packaging box as DX160iE model, you can read their box like a book to get a lot of info before you even get to the headphones itself. You get everything from hi-def pictures, to a relatively accurate description of the sound and the design, and detailed technical info and list of accessories. Furthermore, front magnetic cover flips open to reveal a display of the actual headphone set. One thing I do want to mention, something that I noticed in original model as well, on the cover it says "flat, detachable cable". In reality, it's "detachable extension cable" since the cables itself are permanently attached to earpieces and not replaceable, while the extension cable is. Inside, you will find a very impressive collection of accessories. First of all, you get 7 (!!!) pairs of silicone eartips in different sizes and single, double, and even triple flange design. There is also a pair of premium T400 Comply Foam eartips. Also, you get a shirt clip, a very unique adapter to attach another pair of headphones to share the music source, two detachable extension cables (more about this later), VoIP adapter cable that connects to your laptop headphone and mic ports and joints into 3.5mm female connector to attach iDX headset, and a premium hard carry case. A very detailed user manual is included as well.
Out of the box, the headphones have a lightweight design of all aluminum housing with a detailed anodized finish and textured aluminum ring design, and a metal mesh covering the nozzle. There is a pinhole port opening next to molded strain relief which typically assist with sound tuning, especially when it comes to bass control. Though L/R identification on strain relief is not easy to see, a noticeable bump on the R side guides you to id it even in a dark. Just like in their DX 160ie model, iDX also has a flat tangle free cable which gives it a more modern design look. The cable attached to headphones is very short, approximately 0.3m, and both of the flat cable sides come together in 3.5mm connector which serves as a y-splitter. The idea behind this design was to use it with your phone in a shirt pocket and a short headphone cable attached to it. But for most of us, the extension cable going to be a permanent fixture. Btw, the splitter adapter goes perfectly between original cable and extension so you can share your music source with another pair of headphones attached to it.
Two identical extension cables were included, and at first I was a bit confused, though I did notice their 270deg angled 3.5mm gold plated connector had different color plastic separation rings between TRRS elements of the plug. I had to turn to instruction manual to learn that each cable has a slightly different wiring to make it compatible with different smartphones. Now, that is truly brilliant! In my recent reviews we had a few discussions with people complaining that in some cases headphones with in-line remote used with Moto and Sony doesn't behave the same as with Samsung/HTC/LG smartphones, and vise versa. With so many different hardware versions of Android compatible headphones, some headphone manufacturers notice that difference and make bulky headphone connectors with a switch, while Beyer had a more logical solution with 2 different replacement extension cables! Next, when it comes to in-line remote, volume up/down is for iDevices only, while multifunction button has a single click for Play/Pause/Call, a double click to skip next, a triple click to skip previous, and a long press to activate Google NOW or SIRI. The quality of in-line remote was really good, buttons had nice tactile response and easy to locate without looking at remote. Mic sensitivity was good and I had no complains from talking to people on the other side of the line.
Now, about the sound quality. Despite using in-line remote control, I can confirm that sound quality between DX 160 iE and iDX 160 iE models is identical. You get the same balanced warm sound with a deep low end extension with enhanced bass quantity, and a bit of v-shaped curve response. Low end has a powerful slam with a deep sub-bass rumble and a fast mid-bass punch. Bass does spills a little bit into lower mids, but upper mids are crystal clear and very detailed, especially when it comes to vocals. I did feel mids very a bit recessed, thus giving it a slight v-shape signature. Treble is clear and well extended without being hot or peaky. There is no hint of sibilance, and overall sound is great for extended non-fatigue sound listening. Soundstage is average in width/depth, and it's more intimate in space. There is a little bit of cable noise, typical with flat cables, but shirt clip could take care of that so the cable doesn't move as much. Isolation was really good, even as a passive noise isolation ear-plug which attenuates background noise. You are still ware of surrounding, but with a right size of eartips or with ultimate Comply foam solution - you can really cut down on background noise.
Overall, I think these are fantastic in-ear headphones, now enhanced even further with in-line remote control to integrate with your smartphones. With it's commercial tuning of balanced warm sound and enhanced bass, you can consider these "modern audiophile" quality IEMs. It is a bit pricey at $135 MSRP, but if you can wait, perhaps Amazon prices will show some discount. Also, if you consider a plethora of included accessories, factoring that into the price makes it actually a great value considering we are talking about brand name German engineered pair of in-ear headphones!
Here are the pictures.
