Beyerdynamic knows that, having spent £60 on a pair of headphones, you don’t want to be forking out even more on accessories – that’s why the DX 120 iEs come with more trimmings than Hulk’s Christmas dinner.
There are seven choices of eartip – five bowl-shaped, one double-flange and a triple-flange – a soft carry bag, cable clip, 1.2m-long cord extension (30cm without) and a splitter to share your music with a mate.
Sound
Once you’ve finished customising, the music is even and detailed. The layers are defined as the texture builds through Mogwai’s Remurdered, the treble is unrestricted and there is thump to the kick drum driving it forward.
The main synthesiser melody, when it arrives, bounces like a spider on a trampoline, and cuts through nicely as the left hand drones in the bass. Given DX 120 iEs’ even but lively balance, it’s a shame that impact is somewhat lost by a lack of dynamic range flattening the crescendo.
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Loose timing in the rhythmic patterns of Mars Volta’s Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) takes the edge off that track too, as the pallet regularly changes from harsh to soft.
While the percussion and guitar are supposed to be awkward, rather than difficult, Beyerdynamic sometimes falls just the wrong side of that divide, undermining the space and detail keeping the busy instrumentation from sounding like a mess.
Verdict
Physically, the DXs are a strong pair of earphones. The metal casing means they weigh a hefty 32g, but that does give you a sense of sturdiness and durability.
Acoustically, though, they are not infallible, and at the top end of this price bracket, you may be better off with in-ears more faithful to the complex recordings in your library. We'd recommend the Klipsch Reference R6is or, moving up a level, the Sennheiser Momentum M2 in-ears.
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