Beyerdynamic Verio 200
The Beyerdynamic Verio 200 offers good, but not class-leading open-ear sound from a design that’s a good fit for most listening scenarios.
Pros
- Good power and awareness experience
- Solid battery performance
- Reliable fit
Cons
- Sound quality not best in class for open-ear
- Touch controls can be hit and miss
- Not the smallest ear hook design available
Key Features
- IP54 ratingSweat-proof and splash-proof protection
- Fast-charging10 minutes charge provides 60 minutes of playtime
- BluetoothBluetooth 5.3 support with aptX Adaptive streaming
Introduction
The Beyerdynamic Verio 200 sees the German audio brand venture into the now bustling world of open-ear earbuds, seeking to deliver safer listening with a sound performance to better the competition.
These are open-ear earbuds that sit at the more premium end of the open-ear earbud price scale, going up against the likes of the Shokz OpenFit and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which similarly promise high quality sound for a bit more of your money.
The Verio 200 are designed for all-day use so I’ve been using them for work to workouts to see if Beyerdynamic’s debut open-ear earbuds hit all the right notes.
Availability
As already mentioned, the Beyerdynamic Verio 200 isn’t a cheap set of open-ear earbuds. At £169, they’re actually £10 cheaper than the Shokz OpenFit (£179), the Soundcore Aerofit Pro (£149.99) and cost a lot less money than the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (£299).
You can find cheaper options out there from the likes of the Shokz OpenFit Air (£119.99), the JBL Soundgear Sense (£99.99) and the Sivga SO2 (£69.90).
Design
- All-in-one ear-hook design
- Built-in touch controls
- IP54 splash-resistant design
Beyerdynamic opts for an all-in-one ear hook design that comes in three different colours with your pick of black (pictured), cream or its sport-focused orange-black model. These certainly aren’t the most discreet set of buds to wear, though there is something very likeable about the clean, all-matte design while elements like the silicone is used to keep them sitting comfortably on your ears has a high quality feel to it.
They weigh 10.8g per bud and to put that into perspective, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds weigh 6.4g per bud while the OpenFit weighs 8.3g, so they’re not the lightest options available. While they don’t weigh too heavy, you also don’t forget that they’re on either.
I’ve found that the secureness of the fit overall has been very good. They do noticeably sit close to the ears compared to similar open-ear earbuds and I found that while there was a little bit of movement during one hotter, sweatier run, the fit has been reliable and secure.
On the topic of sweat, they carry an IP54 water-resistant rating, which translates to splash-resistant, letting you use them in the gym or in light rain.
Along with two microphones to let you handle calls, the Verio 200 also includes a set of touch controls, which you tap single or multiple times or hold down to activate controls like playing and pausing audio, skipping tracks or summoning your phone’s smart assistant.
Like a lot of touch-based controls, these are easier to use when stationary and less so on the move. They’re baked into the logo on the outer of the buds offering a quite sizable area to direct your taps and presses. It can just be challenging at times to use the double and triple tap commands for activities like running. Outside of that, they work pretty well.
Features
- Likeable call quality
- Includes fast-charge battery mode
Powering performance are 16.22mm graphene-neodymium drivers with a set of EQ presets and a custom EQ mode available in the very basic, yet easy-to-use Beyerdynamic companion smartphone app, which is available for both iOS and Android. The onboard microphones use Qualcomm’s aptX voice technology to promise exceptional call quality and they stream audio over Bluetooth 5.3 with support for aptX Adaptive.
As far as call quality is concerned, there’s good volume and enough in the clarity department to make it workable for calls. In true open-ear fashion, it’s a better fit for indoor calls than outdoor ones, but the volume generated means they can work for calls on the move.
In terms of battery life, I’ve had a good experience with the earphones retaining battery over a week’s use, especially if you’ve fully charged the charging case. Beyerdynamic suggests you can get up to 8 hours of battery and an additional 27 hours with a fully charged case for 35 hours in total.
There’s also a quick charge mode to give you an hour’s listening from a 10-minute charge. A full charge takes less than an hour and a half. I found that an hour’s listening saw battery drop by an average of 12-15%, which would suggest those numbers are about right.
Sound Quality
- Good, but not class-leading open-ear sound
I’d put the Beyerdynamic Verio 200 in the same open-ear earbud category as similar air conduction-based truly wireless options like the Shokz OpenFit and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, and by that I mean these aren’t simply aimed at fitness fans that want that greater awareness when working out. They’re made for listening to your audio or taking calls outside of that time too.
I’d class the OpenFit and the Ultra Open Earbuds as offering the best sound quality in this category and while I think the Verio 200 musters up some likeable sound, I don’t think it quite matches up with the best.
While there’s good overall power to the sound, which is key to making them work effectively in busier environments for a better balance of between what you hear and the environment you’re in, the exceptional clarity and balance I was hoping for wasn’t there. The awareness experience on the whole though has been good both indoors and out, though I could still hear the gentle whirring of an indoor fan and the introduction of traffic and wind outside didn’t entirely drown out audio.
The sound profile lacks a little finesse, which isn’t remedied by using the available EQ presets, of which some don’t drastically differ from another.
On David Bowie’s Heroes, the bass performance is thumpy but lacks tightness. Mids have a boxy quality to them, while treble performance is more grainy than sparkling. On Tracy Chapman’s Talkin’ Bout a Revolution and Van Morrison’s Moondance, there’s a very likeable warmth and mids are relatively smooth, but they can feel a bit screechy on the treble front.
On more up-tempo, workout-friendly playlists, the Verio 200 don’t give that more bass-heavy audio justice or offer the kind of detailed sound I’d associate with other open-ear earbuds that sit around and above this price.
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Should you buy it?
You want open-ear, truly wireless earbuds that offer good overall sound
While not impeccable in all departments, the Beyerdynamic Verio 200 serves up mostly likeable sound that make them a good fit for everything from working to work outs.
You want the best open-ear, truly wireless earbuds
The Beyerdynamic Verio 200 doesn’t quite match the best open-ear earbuds you can buy right now, which costs slightly more or significantly more for something like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.
Final Thoughts
Given the price of the Verio 200 and Beyerdynamic’s heritage in the audio space, I expected big things from its first foray into the world of the open-ear earbuds. While there are definitely some likeable qualities about the design and the sound here, I do think there are better-sounding options that offer a more balanced profile and crucially, deliver better overall detail and clarity.
I think they’re a good option if you’re looking for a set of open-ear, truly wireless earbuds for everyday wear, but paying a little extra for something like the Shokz OpenFit Air or more for the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds will get you a more memorable open-ear sound.
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Tested with real world use
Battery drain carried out
Tested for a week
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FAQs
There is multipoint Bluetooth support for the Verio 200, so they can be connected to two devices at once.
Full specs
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