Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE

General Information

Premium in-ear headphones

SOUND

Efficient, powerful neodymium drivers deliver fantastic sound, making this headphone one of the best in its class: deep low-end, clear mids and transparent treble set the DX 160 iE apart from its competitors.

PERFECT FIT AND ISOLATION

Wearing comfort, isolation of ambient noise and a deep bass-response are crucial for any in-ear headphones. The DX 160 iE achieves all three of these with ease, coming supplied with one of the biggest choices of eartips available: 5 pairs of bowl-shaped types, 1 pair of double-flange types and 1 pair of triple-flange silicone types ensure that you can enjoy your music the way you like it. In addition, should you prefer foam types then the original Comply™ eartips (type T-400) provide a great fit, reducing ambient noise and enhancing bass – right down to the very low-end.

FLAT CABLES - AS LONG AS YOU NEED THEM TO BE

The DX 160 iE is supplied with a flat, tangle-free cable for easy handling and convenience. Should you need this to stretch a little further, an extension cable is also included with the headphones.

MATERIALS AND DESIGN

Full-metal-housings, attractive anodized surfaces, shiny aluminium rings and careful attention to detail make the DX 160 iE a headphone with quality you can see and touch. Sturdy design, rugged TPE-material and a 45° angled plug ensure your earphones will stand the test of time, no matter how you wear them.

SHARE MUSIC WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Simply unplug your extension cable and plug in our adapter to share your music with friends or colleagues, quickly and easily.

COMPATIBILITY

The DX 160 iE is compatible with all current portable devices equipped with a 3.5 mm jack output (including smartphones, tablet computers and laptops).

Package includes:

extension cable
7 sizes of silicone eartips (5 types bowl shape, 1 type double flange, 1 type triple flange)
1 size of original Comply™ eartips (type T-400)
adapter plug to share your music with friends
hard carry bag with zipper
cable clip

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Latest reviews

mp101

100+ Head-Fier

3.50 star(s)
Aug 20, 2016

Pros: Build, Sound

Cons: Long cable, cable microphinics

Originally post 25th April 2014, but turned into a review

Review - Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE

Many thanks to Beyerdynamic for this opportunity for me to review their latest 'Flagship' In Ear monitors. I have not reviewed anything before, so this will be my first time, please be gentle!

Packaging & Accessories

I won't bore you with more photos of what has already been seen. The packaging is very well though out, not too large.

The supplied accessories

7 Pairs of different Sizes/Styles of Silicone eartips, very comprehensive set of tips, I did find myself trying combinations of 2 or 3 tips to get a good fit.
1 Pair of Comply foam eartips, nice touch.
Splitter/adapter, to allow earphones to share a source, useful little accessory.
Detachable extension cable, well not really an extension cable, its really kind of needed to attach to any player unless of course you keep it in a top pocket.
Hard Carry Case, nice case, with a small webbed area for accessory storage.
Cable clip, another useful item, I found I had to use it to help combat micro-phonics.

Fit & Comfort

Fit
I did have some issues with the fit, It took me a while to get it right, and had to use 2 different tips, seems my ears are different sizes or the tips just have different properties prevent a nice fit, I've not had this issue with some other brands of tips, and Comply's for obvious reasons are much better in this respect.

Comfort
Once I had sorted the fit, the earphones were very comfortable, no fatigue after 2 hours, though when I didn't have the fit quite right the outer silver part of the housing did dig into part of my ears.

Micro-phonics
I did experience a lot of noise from the cables, especially (and obviously) when rubbing against a zipper, but even against a cotton polo shirt, the cable clip helped heaps in this regard, all manufactures should supply these if they don't already.

Source Equipment

For this review I used my AK-100 with no external amplification

For reference my non headphone listening setups are;

My HiFi setup built up over 20+ years;

Linn Sondek/Keel/Urika/Radikal/Ekos/Akiva
Linn Unidisk 1.1 - CD/DVD/SACD Player
Linn Kisto - Pre-Amplifer
Linn Klimax Chakra Twin - Power Amplifier
Linn 242 - 5 way Loud Speakers

My computer setup is

JRiver MC 19
M2Tech HiFace 2
Violectric V800
Genelec 8020 Studio Monitors

Source Material

FLAC tracks of the following;

Brendan Perry - Ark
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
Camel - Stationary Traveller
Suzanne Vega - Tales From The Realms of the Queen of Pentacles
Aimee Mann - Whatever
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Level 42 - Level 42

Sound

To me this is all about did I enjoy the music the earphones were producing?

I have also been listening to the same tracks over the past few weeks on my home HiFi or my computer setup.

Wintersun from Brendan Perry, I hadn't heard much of Brendan Perry, he is recently new to me, but I really like this track, and was not disappointed with the sound on this track, nor in fact the whole album, I really enjoyed the whole album with these.

Dark Paradise from Lana Del Ray, again great control, this is also a bit bass heavy, but they seemed to control it much better than the last track, vocals are great here too, drums are particularly clear also.

Stationary Traveller from Camel, now this is a very different track, kind of like some of Mike Oldfields work, mixed with Queen, lots of great electric guitar work, but also pan pipes and synth's, however was pretty enjoyable

Song of the Stoic from Suzanne Vega, I haven't listened to Suzanne Vega for a very long time, until recently and I enjoy this album, I found some of the vocals to bloom (merging into the instruments) and just becoming a wall of noise, but on the whole pretty decent.

Jacob Marley's Chain from Amiee Mann is a great track and the earphones performed great, giving me plenty of feeling, fingers on strings, sounds from the triangle were really clear, tiny bit bass heavy on the acoustic guitar , but the track is that way.

Daft Punk, such a great album (if you like this kind of thing !!) admirable performance again from the earphones, Give Life Back to Music & Get Lucky felt great, didn't seem to lose me, kept me loving the tracks.

Level 42, Not bad for a 33 year old album, I've always loved the bass guitar on this album and I wasn't disappointed here either.

Conclusion

I really like these earphones, I found them very controlled, occasionally too much even woolly bass, but it can be corrected somewhat with equalisation, the mids & high frequencies were very good also, I did find highs a tiny bit lacking on very energetic or bass heavy tracks though.

Overall I am very impressed, for the asking price which is currently $119 these (for me) are well worth the money, for some music they are a very close with some of the more expensive offerings from other manufactures.

Thanks for taking the time to read the review

acain

Headphoneus Supremus

4.00 star(s)
Aug 30, 2015

Pros: Big full sound, great build, lots of accessories

Cons: Y splitter heavy

BEYERDYNAMIC iDX 160 iE

INTRO

If you're reading this you must be a Head-Fi member or just looking at reviews for a new pair of headphones or iem’s. Let me introduce myself, my name is Adam I am 38 years old obviously a male. I work in a machine shop and am required to wear hearing protection all day, so my hearing protection for my 8 hour shift is a pair of earbuds. I have been a member of the Head-Fi forum for awhile now, my journey to Head-Fi started by doing a web search for a new pair of earbuds for work. I am your average Joe, Dick or Harry and write my reviews towards the average consumer. A good amount of reviews are written with a bunch of audiophile lingo, that the average consumer wouldn’t be able to decipher. This is the reason I started to write reviews to make them user friendly. The main reason could be I am a terrible writer, I am a way better listener.

I don’t consider myself an audiophile but I do like my music to sound good. Most audiophiles want their music to sound the way the engineer mastered it. I don’t necessarily want my music to sound how the engineer mastered it. I am willing to buy endless amounts of headphones, iems, dacs and amps to make it sound good to MY ears. In my reviews I don’t use meters, charts or graphs, the only graph or charts I care about are the quarterly ones that come in the mail to tell me how my 401K is doing. In the end the most important tools are your own ears, remember it only has to sound good to you. Head-Fi reviews typically get more views than any pro-magazine or any dedicated review site, with most web searches landing you here one way or the other.

Describing sound can be a challenge since we all have different preferences, sources, files, environments, amps, dacs and ears. My goal in my reviews is to let the average consumer know if this product is worthy of their hard earned cash, and maybe make them into a new Head-Fi member. The more people that become interested in this hobby of ours the more products companies will offer us, the more the better.

Before I get into the review I would like to say thank you to Peter at Beyerdynamic for sending me a demo unit to review. I am not employed or affiliated with Beyerdynamic in any way, or am I being compensated for this review. This review is based off of my honest opinions and my 38 year old ears. Beyerdynamic iDX 160 iE can be purchased directly from their website for $139.00 at the following link.
http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/idx-160-ie-black.html

SPECS

Transmission type		Wired
Headphone design (operating principle)		Closed
Headphone impedance		47 ohms
Headphone frequency		10 - 25,000 Hz
Nominal sound pressure level.		107 dB (1 mW at 500 Hz)
Remote		3-button Apple remote
Construction Sound		In-ear headphones
Cable & plug		0.30 m straight flat cable / extension cable 0.90 m with mini stereo jack plug 3.5 mm / 1/8”
Net weight without packaging		53 g

HOW IT GETS TO YOU

Beyerdynamic iDX comes in a cardboard box with a nice hi-res glossy picture of the iems on the front. The front opens up like a book that reveals a clear viewing window to view the product. On the back of the package you will find all the technical data and included accessories. On the inside the iems are securely placed in a precut hi-density foam insert to ensure safe traveling from point A to B.

THE EXTRAS
7 sizes of silicone eartips (5 types bowl shape, 1 type double flange, 1 type triple flange)
1 size of original Comply™ eartips (type T-400)
Adapter plug to share your music with friends
VoIP-Adapter
Extension cable (90 cm)
Cable clip for secure and firm hold
Convenient and sturdy hard case with zip fastener

Wow I have never seen so many cables for one set of iems, the iDX include a cable for Apple products and Android based cell phones. This is a big plus since most iems controls only work with Apple products. I have never owned any of Apples cell phones, but my kids have owned every version. There is every size of silicone tips included for proper fit, they also include a set of Comply foam eartips. If you would like to share your music with someone they also included a splitter. That’s not all, you also get a VoIP-Adapter and a very nice hard shell case that closes with a zipper. Beyerdynamic has really piled on the accessories at this price point.

BUILD FIT
Beyerdynamic iDX 160 iE are an all metal design housing that has been anodized, with two silver rings wrapping around the outside. On the inside there is neodymium drivers to produce the sound. The housings have 2 small holes on the underside for the drivers to move and breathe freely. Traveling down the flat tangle free cable is a 3 button remote and microphone. The flat cable is made from a non-slip rubbery material that is very thin but strong. The controls worked flawlessly with my daughters Iphone 6, using it with my Samsung Alpha the only button that worked was the pause button. The cable plugs into your source with the plug on a 45 degree angle.

The build quality is top notch, wouldn’t expect anything less from Beyerdynamic. Myself being in the Tool & Die industry, German Tool & Die and Machinist are highly regarded as the world's best. The only problem I had was were the cable connects and splits it’s kind of chunky and has some weight to it. If you are moving around or being active the weight can tug on the iems and causing them to fall out. The fit of the iem itself is very comfortable and can be worn for hours, the iem is pretty light itself. They can be pushed in pretty far and sit flush in your ear, I was able to lay down on the couch with no problems. I am happy to see the materials Beyerdynamic decided to use, most iems in this price range are completely plastic.

THE IMPORTANT PART

All my listening was done with hi-res files using my Samsung Alpha or my Lenovo laptop with the Apogee Groove. If I had to describe the sound in one word it would have to be Big, the overall sound is neutral with an emphasis on the low end. Starting off with the low end it definitely has a big presence but well controlled. They go low and have a nice low end rumble, the mid bass is still more prominent. Having a good seal and fit was crucial for getting the most out of the low end.

Mid-bass never spills into the midrange, keeping the mids nicely detailed and smooth. I didn’t expect the vocals to be so detailed for the amount of bass these can produce. They are balanced with the rest of the spectrum especially with good recordings. WIth low res files the iDX seemed to help them and are not too revealing, but at the same time they are revealing with quality recordings. If that makes any sense then you know what I mean, so pretty much they can produce fine details with hi-res music and with bad recordings they are not to brutal. The higher end of the frequency is just as good as the bottom and the middle. The treble is very clear and transparent and never harsh or fatiguing on the ear drums.

Straight out of the box they were really boomy and a little uncontrolled to my ears, I have to say they really improved over time. The amount of improvement was very noticeable to me mostly low end control. Compared to the iDX 120 the 160s have a fuller sound with more bass presence and refinement. Beyerdynamics 120s also don’t have the ability to separate instruments as good as the 160s, The 160 mids compared to the 120s is slightly on the warmer side, they don’t necessarily sound veiled or laid back the 120s are just more forward. Overall the 160 sound leans towards the neutral side with a slight emphasis in the bass.

You also get quality hands free cell phone calls, I always test these features calling my mother. She is up there in age and is hard of hearing, she had no problem hearing me talk into the mic and didn’t no I was using a hands free headset. My loving mother's voice came over crystal clear, her repeating herself wasn’t due to me not being able to hear her. You know how moms are the must repeat what they say at least 100s times. Then they will call you back just to say the same thing.

WHAT I REALLY THINK

Who are these for, anyone that doesn’t want to spend a ton of money on iems but want’s a highly detailed sound. After using these for 2 straight weeks at work everyday, I can honestly say these are way overlooked especially at this price point. iDX 160 work really well with today’s music, what I mean by that is if you listen to anything in the top 100 music charts. To top it off they are built with Beyerdynamic quality that they're known for. You are not going to get a cheap piece of plastic, the metal housings will for sure withstand everyday usage. These are the type of iems that you use to just enjoy your music, they're not perfect by any means but what product is. I would highly recommend these to anyone looking to upgrade their free earbuds from their cell phones for the first time. Audiophiles won’t be doing any critical listening with these but I think it will please most of the discerning listeners.. So do yourself a favor and give these a try, or if you have them and haven’t used them in awhile go spend some more time with them. To be honest after using them for a short period I wasn’t to impressed. After racking up some hours and switching to some of my higher priced iems I realized how good these actually are. Thanks for reading I hope this helped anyone interested in these.

Reactions: Slaphead, peter123, twister6 and 2 others

View previous replies…

acain

I have been impressed especially for the price.

hanselmann

Thanks for the great review on behalf of beyerdynamic!

Let me add one thing about the two cables: the one with the white isolation rings is for CTIA pinouts devices, the one with the black ones for OMTP pinouts. For this reason, even with most Android phones/tablets you would rather use the white isolation ring cable. It's not a Apple vs. Android but a CTIA vs. OMTP thing.

xkonfuzed

My take on these: They sound absolutely fantastic. They're built horribly and are uncomfortable, and will probably break after just a month of use (like mine did). I wouldn't recommend them but YMMV.

shannon111

New Head-Fier

1.00 star(s)
Jun 23, 2014

Pros: Great sound, the bass in particular.

Cons: Cable is not durable

DO NOT BUY.

The sound, in particular the bass is great. BUT, I've had the cable break at the jack on two pairs within a month of getting each (they were replaced under warranty). I have not abused them or dropped my phone hanging from the cable: it is just poorly designed. This is unacceptable for a $160 pair of phones, when the standard phone ones last longer. DO NOT BUY - unless you only want them for a month.

The cable does connect to another 3.5mm jack at the point the cable splits. This is good, as one can easily replace their hopeless quality cables, but is a bit heavy if you use them for running: the mass of the extra jack tends to pull them out of their ears, although they do come with a clip, but this results in the cables 'looping' near your ears.

sallypandy1999

I agree with above review, the sound is great, for 3 months the cable shorted ,open. received warranty replacement these failed less 2 months, called Beyer Dynamic they said they would send new cable that was 11 days ago, I believe my use is minimal, 10 12 hours a week,just for gym.

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Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE

General Information

Latest reviews

mp101

100+ Head-Fier

Review - Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE

Packaging & Accessories

Fit & Comfort

Source Equipment

Source Material

Sound

Conclusion

acain

Headphoneus Supremus

shannon111

New Head-Fier

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