I’ve been testing the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 headphones — and these are the only on-ear cans I'd ever buy

The best headphones can make you fall in love with music that isn’t necessarily your regular beat. I’ve been testing one such pair, and they have me double-guessing my dislike for on-ear cans. The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 on-ear headphones look great and retro, and they sound ridiculously good: basslines sound powerful while vocals sound crisp and clear.

Boasting highly effective ANC and long battery life, the Aventho 100s nail nearly everything they need to. They are accompanied by a user-friendly smartphone app for easy customization too. Their comfort level is subjective, though, and depends on whether you prefer on-ears or over-ears.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A pair of wireless on-ear headphones with ANC
• Who is it for? For anyone who wants a retro-looking pair of headphones that sounds fantastic
• How much does it cost? $229 / £169
• What do we like? The powerful bass, clear vocals, highly effective ANC, user-friendly app, and long battery life
• What don’t we like? Comfort varies depending on individual preferences

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Specs

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Price & availability

The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 are mid-range on-ear headphones, retailing for $229 / £169 at Amazon, and they’re available in Black, Brown or Cream colors. They were launched this year and haven’t received a price drop yet.

Offering active noise cancellation and powerful sound, the Aventho 100s are on par with the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 ($279) and the Beats Solo 4 ($199) while sitting between the two in terms of price. But both of these pairs are over-ears, while the Aventho 100s are on-ears, and they compete directly with the Marshall Major V ($149).

Now, though the Aventho 100s are more expensive than the Major Vs, I believe they’re well worth the extra money. Their app is better and more user-friendly, and they feature ANC. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of on-ears (I’ll get into that soon), if I had to pick one pair, I’d pick the Aventho 100s.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Design & comfort

• Retro, ‘70s-inspired design
• Feels well-built
• On-ear design not the most comfortable

If you want a pair of retro-looking headphones, then the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s should be right up your street. As I mentioned up top, they’re available in Black, Brown or Cream colors. I tested the Black variant with silver hinges, and I think the headphones look great. They certainly feel inspired by the 1970s, just like Beyerdynamic intended. The model name is printed on each earcup, and Beyerdynamic logos grace the headband. Thankfully, neither looks to garish.

The Aventho 100s weigh just 7.73oz, making them some of the lightest headphones I’ve tested so far. They weigh less than the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 (11.64oz) and my go-to Marshall Monitor III (8.8oz). But the reason they weigh so little is because they’re closed-back on-ear headphones — just like the Marshall Major Vs (6.56oz) — which, by nature, are designed to be more portable.

The Aventho 100s sit directly on your ears rather than around them — the Melomania P100 are over-ear cans, for context. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of on-ear headphones. I’ve never found them as comfortable as over-ear models, and the Aventho 100s haven’t changed that.

Look, they aren’t the most uncomfortable headphones I’ve ever tested. In fact, I love the plush leatherette headband, which relieves pressure on the top of my head and keeps the headphones from slipping off.

The leatherette earpads feel lovely too. My only gripe with the Aventho 100s — as it is with other on-ear cans — is that the earcups sit too tightly on my ears. The longest I could wear them was a three-hour stretch. I had to take them off because my ears felt quite hot.

To wear them for longer periods of time, I recommend adjusting the height every now and then. That will relieve some pressure on your ears and let your ears cool down. Comfort is subjective, though, and so this will come down to personal preference.

On-ear headphones will no doubt suit some people’s ears — perhaps mine are simply the wrong shape for on-ears and are best-suited to over-ear cans. As on-ears go, the Aventho 100s are extremely comfy.

In terms of durability, the Aventho 100s are IP53-rated, so they’re protected against dust and spraying water with no pressure when tilted up to a 60° angle. While not the best, it’s rare to find better waterproofing on on-ears — the Major Vs aren’t waterproof at all, in contrast.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Connectivity

• Bluetooth 5.4 with SBC, AAC, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive
• 3.5mm for wired playback
• Google Fast Pair and multipoint connectivity

The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s utilize Bluetooth 5.4 with support for AAC, SBC, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive codecs. This is more advanced than the Beats Solo 4s which support AAC and SBC only, although you’ll find these codecs on the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100.

Featuring multipoint connectivity, the Aventho 100s can connect to two smart devices simultaneously. The cans also feature Google Fast Pair which means that as soon as the Aventho 100s are turned on, your compatible smartphone should recognize and quickly pair with them. My Google Pixel 7 Pro took mere seconds to recognize the headphones and before I knew it I was listening to my favorite tunes.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Controls & app

• Easy-to-use physical controls
• User-friendly app for customization

Controlling the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s is a walk in the park thanks to the straightforward control scheme. There are four physical buttons on the Aventho 100s’ right earcup, and all of them are easy to reach. They give tactile feedback when pressed.

These are used to adjust the headphones’ volume, power them on/off, and toggle between different ANC modes. There’s also a multifunction button (located between the volume up and down buttons).Short- or long-pressing it enables you to skip tracks, go to the previous one, answer/reject calls, and more.

If you want to remap the buttons, you can do so via the Beyerdynamic app, available for free on iOS and Android. The app itself sports a clean user interface with plenty of signposting, and it’s easy to customize the three levels of ANC and transparency mode, choose from several EQ presets or personalize the five-band equalizer, and update the cans’ firmware.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Sound quality

• Powerful bass with plenty of warmth
• Crisp vocals and highs

I haven’t found the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s the most comfortable headphones to wear, and that’s no secret — I talked about it in my first impressions article too. However, I’d happily bear the pain because of how outstanding these headphones sound. The Marshall Monitor IIIs are my daily drivers, and usually when I’m testing headphones or earbuds for work, I end up missing them. To my surprise, I didn’t miss them at all while testing the Aventho 100s, which speaks volumes about their sound quality.

The Aventho 100s house large 45mm drivers with “studio-quality tuning,” according to Beyerdynamic — and I’m inclined to agree. They have a 20Hz-22KHz frequency response range which extends into the upper treble beyond typical human hearing. I tested the headphones by listening to my usual range of testing songs on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for hi-res audio, with aptX Lossless enabled. Regardless of the genre I listened to, the Aventho 100s left me gobsmacked.

I’ve been on a Tame Impala kick ever since I got tickets to see him live next year, so naturally, I listened to ‘Dracula’ through the Aventho 100s. I was immediately taken by the well-balanced sound profile and powerful bass. The kickdrum at the beginning of the song ended up carrying the song beautifully, and the non-human grumbling throughout the track sounded loud and clear but didn’t overpower Kevin Parker’s primary vocals.

I then switched to ‘Dream Steppin’’ by Two People, and the dreamlike vocals sounded crystal clear while the synth and other electronic instruments came together to create a wonderful melody. Even though it isn’t the most bass-heavy track, I could hear the simple bassline clearly throughout the song.

Bass is my favorite element (and the backbone) of any track, and it’s something I always look out for when listening to music. To test how the Aventho 100s handled bass, I listened to ‘Harridan’ by Porcupine Tree and ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd. Basslines in both tracks sounded powerful with plenty of warmth, and I could make out every single note plucked. ‘Harridan’ is one of Porcupine Tree’s heaviest tracks, and the Aventho 100s did a great job of balancing every instrument, and made Steven Wilson’s vocals sound a little distant but still loud, just as he intended.

Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ has sounds of coins and teller machines going off in one ear or the other, and I could hear it in a sort of 360° way through the Aventho 100s, which made for a highly immersive listening experience. I noticed this with Lana Del Rey’s vocals in ‘A&W’ as well, where it felt like she was whispering in my left ear and then my right.

Speaking of, vocals through the Aventho 100s sound crisp and detailed. Lana Del Rey’s voice in ‘A&W’ sounded sharp but never piercing, and I loved listening to the so-called hidden vocals, such as the singer saying “Oh my God” around the 5:30 mark. 070 Shake’s voice in ‘Elephant’ sounded scratchy, as the artist intended, with every word discernible.

Overall, the Aventho 100s thoroughly impressed me with their ability to reproduce powerful bass and crystal clear vocals, with well-balanced lows, mids and highs. I loved playing around with the equalizer too, to make the bass more powerful.

I was also impressed by the fact that the audio didn’t sound too muffled or muddy at 100% volume — although I advise against listening to music at such high volumes, as it can have a negative effect on your hearing.

Listen along to our review with the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 testing playlist:

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Active noise cancelation

• Highly effective ANC indoors and outdoors
• Handy transparency mode

I want my headphones’ ANC to be so effective that I’m unable to hear anything else and can fully immerse myself in my favorite tunes — and the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s do just that. These cans feature highly effective ANC that works well both indoors and outdoors, and they one-up rivals such as the Beats Solo 4, which don’t feature ANC at all.

The ANC is customizable at three levels, as is the transparency mode, so you can adjust both to suit your needs. At the highest ANC level, the Aventho 100s blocked out nearly every sound. Indoors, I couldn’t hear the TV with its volume turned up, or the kettle boiling. My partner was watching Instagram Reels on her phone right next to me and I couldn’t hear them at all — or my coworkers speaking to each other in the office.

On the bus, the Aventho 100s proved their worth once again by blocking out teenagers hollering and the bus rattling. The Aventho 100s’ ANC is, in fact, so effective that I don’t recommend keeping it turned on outdoors, especially if you’re walking down a busy street. I couldn’t hear cars zooming past or the occasional honking of horns.

The transparency mode works very well when you want to be aware of your surroundings, letting in just enough sound that you know what’s happening around you but keeping some out so you can continue enjoying your music. The level of noise blocked will depend on the level of transparency, of course.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Call quality

The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s are great for taking calls too. I attended a few team meetings while wearing them as well as a product briefing, and the feedback from the people on the other end of the call was that I sounded loud and clear. My partner also noted that none of my words sounded muted or like I was mumbling.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Battery life

• Up to 60 hours of battery life
• 15-minute charging = 15 hours of juice

The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s boast great battery life for the money. Beyerdynamic claims that with ANC disabled, the headphones can last “more than” 60 hours. This drops to 40 hours with ANC enabled.

I’ve been using the Aventho 100s for more than a week now (at the time of writing), so I’ve had plenty of time to test these claims. In my testing, the headphones lasted just over 40 hours with ANC enabled and music playing at 50% volume, therefore confirming Beyerdynamic’s claim.

How do the Aventho 100s fare compared to rivals? Both the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100s and the Marshall Major Vs are better choices if you want longer battery life, as both sets of cans have 100-hour battery lives (ANC off). The Aventho 100s are much better than the pricier Apple AirPods Max ($549) though, as those are rated at just 20 hours.

If you’re on the move and the Aventho 100s have run out of juice, fret not. Charging them for 15 minutes yields 15 hours of playback time, as I found in my testing, which is fantastic.

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review: Verdict

If you took the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100s’ rich sound quality and stuffed it into a pair of over-ear headphones, they would replace my Marshall Monitor IIIs. While I’m not a big fan of the on-ear design as I don’t find it very comfortable, I can’t deny the fact that the Aventho 100s are fantastic headphones, and that’s thanks to just how great they sound.

Boasting full-bodied bass, refined mids, clear and crisp vocals, I believe these headphones could make you like even the artists you enjoy the least. They also feature highly effective ANC with three levels of noise reduction. While their battery life isn’t particularly class-leading, it’s rated at 60 hours, which is still excellent.

At the end of the day, if you don’t mind the on-ear design, I can’t recommend the Aventho 100s enough. They look great, sound even better, and they make you fall in love with music all over again.