While most of the attention these days is on true wireless earbuds, it’s easy to forget that some folks much prefer the older neckband style for its simple convenience and longer battery life. Beyerdynamic clearly hasn’t forgotten. Despite launching its first true wireless earbuds in 2022 — the Free Byrd — the company is continuing to develop its original Blue Byrd neckband-style buds with the introduction of the second-gen Blue Byrd ANC ($149).
As the name suggests, the new earbuds have active noise cancellation (ANC), a feature that remains fairly rare in the neckband earbuds category. You can buy them now from Beyerdynamic or Amazon.
With ANC on, you’ll get a claimed eight hours of playtime, but turning off that feature bumps that number to 14 hours. As with many ANC earbuds, the Blue Byrd ANC also offer a transparency mode so you can hear your surroundings. Similarly, a sidetone setting lets you hear your own voice more clearly during calls.
Beyerdynamic hasn’t held back on other in-demand features — the new buds can pair with two devices simultaneously thanks to Bluetooth Multipoint, and you can use the included USB cable for a lossless, direct digital audio connection to a computer, though, according to the available specifications, this is limited to CD quality at 16-bit/48kHz.
Bass response should be impressive: Beyerdynamic claims that the Blue Byrd ANC can reach frequencies as low as 10Hz — well below the range of most human hearing (about 20Hz). To help with wireless audio performance, Android users will be able to take advantage of Qualcomm’s aptX and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecs, for up to 24-bit/48kHz hi-res audio.
Customizing the Blue Byrd ANC can be done via Beyerdynamic’s MIY app for iOS and Android, including the creation of a personalized hearing profile, which may improve sound quality.
The earbuds work with Siri and Google Assistant and have Amazon Alexa built-in. They’re rated IPX4 for water resistance and can be quickly set up on Android devices with Google Fast Pair. They come with their own travel case and five pairs of eartips, to help with comfort and fit.
