The wireless headphones arena can sometimes feel like WWE’s annual Royal Rumble event. If you’re not familiar with the concept, the signature pay-per-view consists of 30 wrestlers sequentially entering the ring at regular intervals in a last-person-standing contest, whereby an elimination is scored by unceremoniously slinging your opponent over the top rope. Some are thrown from the ring early, some manage to stay through to the end, but all are desperate for the esteem that career-defining Rumble victory brings.
It’s a similar story in the world of wireless headphones. No matter the weight class (i.e. price) or brand, there’s always a steady flow of contenders seeking to become champion. Beyerdynamic has staked its claim within the proverbial premium wireless ring with the Aventho 300 over-ears, and while competition is fierce, the German audio brand will expect its considerable pedigree to give it the edge against the class-leading heavyweights. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Price
Costing £359 / $400 / approx. AU$640, the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 sit comfortably within the premium realm. Competition in this more exclusive arena comes from the five-star Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (currently around £350 / $429), as well as the outstanding Dali IO-8 over-ears (now £499 / $499) and the ever-popular Apple AirPods Max which, at the time of writing, are £450 in the UK and between $500-$550 in the US.
Build
The Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 aren't the sort of wireless headphones that will attract the same levels of attention, unwanted or otherwise, as the distinctive Apple AirPods Max or the classy Dali IO-8. That’s no great issue, as while the Aventho 300 don’t necessarily wear all of their considerable price tag on their sleeve, time has evidently been spent on bringing their quality and usability up to a good standard.
In fact, the Aventho 300 keep things simple to their benefit. The premium cans consist of a light metallic frame connecting to a soft foam headband and two plastic earcups, folding away neatly and smoothly in much the same way as the similarly-priced Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. They’re not quite as comfortable bending and flexing as the master yogi Bose cans, but any foldability is a welcome asset, especially if you plan to take your Aventho 300 cans on the road or have them accompany your daily commute.
Bluetooth 5.4
Codec Support SBC, AAC, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive
Noise-cancelling? Yes
Battery Life Up to 50 hours (ANC on)
Finishes x 2 (Black, Nordic grey)
Weight 319g
When the time comes to unfold the headphones and clamp them onto your head, the Aventho 300 again prove to be a comfortable and nicely thought-out set of over-ears. Some users may find their fit to be slightly too tight (though this will likely ease off with use), while others voiced concerns that their earpads’ tapered bottom ends led to slight on-head rocking. But those niggles aside, the lightweight earcups and well-padded headband will grant most users a pleasant experience.
The Beyerdynamic cans offer a healthy array of on-cup touch controls, as well as a host of physical buttons located at the base of the right earcup. Those buttons control active noise cancellation (ANC) modes, Bluetooth pairing and power, and while they don’t feel particularly special, they’re fine for getting the job done.
Aside from physical toggles, the Aventho 300 offer a raft of functionalities via the cans’ touch-sensitive right earcup. Beyerdynamic lists this impressive array of tricks on its simple-to-navigate app, but most of them will be relatively intuitive to anyone who has used a pair of wireless headphones before – swipe up for increased volume and down to lower it, double tap to skip a track, and so on. It’s a competently implemented system, and though there’s occasionally a slight delay as the headphones take a small beat to figure out each command, it’s not quite enough to have you tearing your hair out in frustration as you wait for the Aventho to figure out that you’ve now asked them five times to accept an incoming call.
Features
Features-wise, the Aventho 300 don’t lag too far behind the competition at this level. To get the most out of the premium wireless cans, you’ll need Beyerdynamic’s bespoke app, a well-laid-out platform that presents information in a bold, clear manner. Customisation levels are strong: the app offers a five-band custom equaliser and an array of preset profiles, not to mention access to the cans’ noise-cancelling modes and a Dolby Atmos toggle switch.
The app displays your battery life as both a percentage and in hours, and thanks to the cans’ strikingly long-lasting performance, those figures are rarely in danger of running dry. The Aventho 300 offer an extremely competitive 50 hours of life on a single charge, and if you do end up getting low, you’ll be treated to five whole hours of playtime from a mere 10-minute fast charge via USB-C. For context, the Dali IO-8 manage around 30 hours of life with the ANC switched on, while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones can only muster about 24 hours at a push.
Digging further into the Aventho 300’s spec sheet reveals Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio with head-tracking support. The Beyerdynamics showcase their spatial capabilities when listening to a specially mixed Tidal rendition of Gorillaz’s Cracker Island, which rejigs things so that the tune’s percussive woodblock, synthy stabs and snappy drums enjoy their own respective spaces within the sound field, making for an enjoyable, well-curated rendition. Head tracking, which can be toggled on and off via the app, also works as it should, effectively anchoring sound to a fixed point as you turn your head from side to side.
The Aventho 300 pack in the latest Bluetooth 5.4 specification and has Multipoint Bluetooth connectivity for hooking up to two devices simultaneously. If you want to go traditional and listen with wires, you can do so thanks to the provided USB-C / USB-A terminated cable, although the bulk of our listening was performed wirelessly via Bluetooth.
ANC & call quality
The Aventho 300 handle calls well. Voices are communicated in a way that sounds natural and articulate, as the Beyerdynamic sidestep the pitfalls of muffled speech or hard, mechanical-sounding dialogue. They do let in a little more background noise, say if you're on a busy road or bustling office, than the rival Dali IO-8, but the Aventho 300 make up for it with how authentic and articulate they render human speech. All told, taking calls with them is a pleasure.
Active noise cancelling is the keystone feature of practically any set of wireless headphones at this price, and Beyerdynamic has duly obliged, packing in its own take on the tech by offering a standard noise cancelling setting alongside transparency mode for a more aware listening experience.
Powered by dual Sony chipsets on each side of the headphones, the standard performance on display is solid enough, reducing the swooshes of traffic or the hum of electrical equipment before allowing subtleties of human speech to flow more freely through when transparency mode is selected. It’s solid ANC for the price paid, but many will prefer the comprehensive cocoon of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones’ unparalleled talents in this arena.
Sound
The Aventho 300's on-paper credentials are impressive, and while we were only treated to a small taster of their capabilities during launch at last year’s IFA 2024 showcase, it was enough to have us craving more. The premium cans' engineering is based around Beyerdynamic’s Stellar.45 drivers, the same units found in the company’s five-star DT 700 Pro X and DT 900 Pro X wired studio headphones, while aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless capabilities grant the possibility of higher-quality hi-res streaming from compatible source devices over Bluetooth.
First up on the menu is D.C. Fontaines’ Starburster, a thrusting, raucous blast of rock that the Aventho 300 keenly gobble up. The cans’ clean and punchy character shines through as the bop thunders through its rowdy verses and fist-pumping chorus, allowing proceedings enough power and pace to keep us nodding cheerfully along. The Aventho deliver Starburster with decent bottom-end punch while they’re at it, conjuring a rendition that feels sparky and alive without overegging the proverbial pudding.
This is what the Beyerdynamic over-ears do so well – they’re a pair of neutral, nicely judged headphones that demonstrate competence across the sonic spectrum but seem happiest delivering a decent dose of midrange bite. The Aventho 300 are clean and even-handed, preventing excessive sonic overspill and sounds in their respective lanes as they play things with a noticeably straight bat.
Detail levels are strong, too. We change pace with Alice In Chains’ downtrodden ballad Down In A Hole, and all of that punch remains, with that impressive Beyerdynamic studio heritage on display as the Avnetho 300 get to work displaying their textural savvy. The track’s opening guitar is distinctive and resonant, while the dual vocal harmonies sound sincere and authentic yet appreciably distinct in their tone and delivery.
Keen to discover if the Aventho 300 have the chops to match the market’s best, we pit them against the five-star Dali IO-8, and it’s here that we shine a light on both their strengths and limitations. The Aventho 300 are composed yet punchy in their delivery, but their more limited grasp of dynamic contrast renders undulating tracks as slightly restrained. That rigid approach is especially true when we listen to how the competing cans handle dynamics; listen to Starburster again and the shifts in volume, tone and texture are rendered with greater distinction through the Dali, with punchy bass notes arriving with a real feeling of power and occasion through the more colourful IO-8.
That’s not to disregard what the Beyerdynamic hopefuls do well. What the Aventho 300 provide is a remarkably composed, controlled character that will win fans among wearers who want their headphones simply to get out of the way of the music. There’s an admirable competence, clarity and feeling of maturity that they provide over the Dali IO-8, and while many will prefer the latter’s more expressive character, the Aventho’s virtues will, rightly, have their fans. Meanwhile, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones favour a slightly fuller sound with a more rounded bass reproduction, whereas the Aventho 300 have a clearer, lighter touch and a tauter lower end.
We also find that the Aventho 300’s performance is improved when listening via wired USB-C. It’s not a complete about-face transformation, but we discern more space, detail and clarity when a physical tether is introduced, as well as a more perceptive sense of dynamic differentiation. The sound of the guitars on Ghost’s Kaisarion comes over as more layered and detailed, whereas Lana Del Rey’s voice sounds more Del Rey-esque than when enjoying signature tune Off To The Races wirelessly.
Verdict
The Beyerdynamic Aventho 300 won’t be for everyone. They’re not an overly characterful pair of headphones, and listeners craving class-leading handling of dynamics should seek out the rival Dali IO-8, or else discover the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones if portability and class-leading ANC rank high on the agenda.
That said, these are really solid performers for the money, that resist the urge to impose their will on your music and instead step back and allow your tunes room to shine. Add to that a solid build quality and a decent array of well-performing features and it all adds up to an impressive wire-free effort from Beyerdynamic.
First reviewed: March 2025
SCORES
- Sound 4
- Build 4
- Features 4
MORE:
Read our review of the Dali IO-8
Also consider the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
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