Philips PH802 Headphones Review

Back in November of 2017, Beyerdynamic introduced their latest high-end, portable high-resolution audio headphones to the world–the Aventho Wireless. These headphones looked a lot different than what we’re used to from the folks at Beyerdynamic. For one thing, they’re of the on-ear variety, which you don’t see too often from the brand. They’re also designed for the mobile lifestyle. Want to know if this headset hit its intended mark? Without further delay, let’s take a closer look at this Beyerdynamic Aventho Wireless review.

Beyerdynamic Aventho Wireless Review

What You Need To Know About Operation

1. To pair the headphone to your mobile device, press and hold the somewhat stiff power button until you hear “Power On” as well as a battery charge percentage. You should hear something in about 5 seconds. Don’t worry about accidentally touching the power button as it doesn’t activate so easily. Then head to the Bluetooth Settings on your mobile device and pair to Aventho Wireless.
2. Volume is controlled by sliding a finger up and down the outer right headphone. It’ll take more than one stroke of a finger before the minimum, or maximum volume is reached. Adjusting the volume on your mobile device works independently. You can truly get the audio levels quite high using both methods so be mindful before you go damaging your ears.
3. Track selection, forwarding, and rewinding are done with a similar finger swipe action as in Step 2. This time, the finger moves either to the left or right. If you swipe and hold the finger, this will fast forward or rewind the song. Pause and Play are as simple as tapping the right headset twice.
4. The right headset also controls telephone operations such as answering, ending, rejecting, and switching calls. When accepting (or ending) a call, a quick tap is all it takes; a 2-second tap rejects it. To use Siri or Google Assistant, touch and hold the right headphone for two seconds.
5. Playtime lasts an extraordinary 30 hours. Charging the headphones takes approximately 2 hours. A blinking red light indicates when the battery is charging, while a solid red light indicates the charge is full.

Design and Features

As I stated above, the Aventho Wireless looks a lot different than the over-the-ear “DT” models we’re used to seeing from Beyerdynamic.

The outer headband surface, as well as the ear pads, are made from real or vegan leather. I couldn’t determine which, but I highly suspect it’s the latter just like on the Custom One Pro Plus. They’re soft and very comfortable, so much so that you’ll enjoy wearing this headset for hours. The quality of the workmanship is high as well.

Both the headband and ear pads contain some form of memory foam, so every time you remove the headset, they’ll return to their designed state.

Unlike some headsets, determining which side is left or right is not at all confusing. The “L” & “R” designations on the inside are quite legible and easy read. In addition to this, the left ear cup has the Beyerdynamic marker on the outer surface, with the right ear cup loaded with controls and ports. Cups can rotate 90° degrees in and out, which makes storage a breeze.

The headband can fit a wide range of head frames with its dozen or so adjustable positions. As a former design engineer, I can say that button, and port placement is handled well. All except for the mic are on the right headphones. I’ve seen similar touch control designs like on the Libratone Q Adapt, and I rather liked it. Overall, construction of the Aventho Wireless is well executed and assures high quality.

The headphones come with four Bluetooth Codecs: aptX™ HD, aptX™, AAC, SBC.

Included in the packaging is a canvas carrying bag which has a protective lining. There’s also a 1.2-meter audio cable with 3.5 mm ends and a 30″ USB-A to USB-C charging cable. Both cables could have have been of higher quality considering the price tag of the headset.

The Aventho wireless headphones are currently available in two colors: black and brown. Should an additional color be introduced, this post will be updated.

MIY App for Personalized Sound

The accompanying MIY App adds plenty of personalized sound to the Aventho Wireless. Our ability to hear is unique and differ from individual to individual. Because of this fact, we see some headphones allow for individualized sound.

When the Aventho Wireless was first introduced, the MIY App was available for iOS only, and it wasn’t ready for prime time. I’ll give you one guess as to which platform I use. You’re correct–Android. After a few months, the version I needed became available.

So…what does MIY App do? In short, it profiles you by asking your age, your weight, your income, your political beliefs, and much more. I’m kidding with everything beyond one’s age. It tests each ear with a variety of high-to-low frequency sounds. You press and hold the button when you hear something. The trick in getting this right is that you need to be in a quiet space.

Unfortunately, MIY App doesn’t work on all smartphones. I had to switch my LG G6 for the LG V30 to get it to work. Many of you will notice similar issues. I do hope Beyerdynamic puts out a list of functioning mobile devices.

Specifications

What’s In The Box?

Music Playlist

Audio Performance

I repeat this time after time when conducting headphone reviews; the most critical factor is the quality of sound. These on-ear headphones were tested across a broad range of music using no less than the playlist listed above. In this case, the sound was compared to my current favorite headset, the Audio-Technica ATH-DSR7BT.

When you’re testing headphones with aptX™ HD or a frequency response of 5 Hz – 40 kHz, you expect high-quality sound. It’s a good thing that for the most part, the headphones delivered.The high-majority of my test listening was done via Bluetooth.

The quality of vocals and most instrumental reproduction (keyboards, horns, etc.) was impressive and didn’t falter even up to the highest volume setting. I expected the bass to sound very good because of the lowest frequency value, but there were moments where it could have been better. The overall audio was high-quality and free of distortion. I know this because I conducted something called ‘The Electronic Music Test.’ I take an album from electronic artists like Zedd or The Prodigy and put the headphones through its paces. (Feel free to insert your choice of artist or group who happens to play instrument-rich music.)

When you take a listen to Zedd’s Lost At Sea or Codec, you can distinctly hear layered bass sounds one on top of another. I’ve only heard bass like this from two other set of headphones, albeit both less expensive than the Aventho Wireless. And it wasn’t just bass that sounded terrific with this album.

After having played albums from the rock acts such as 30 Seconds to Mars, Rush, and Shinedown, I can report that this headset has wholeheartedly exceeded my expectations when it comes to these bands. There was very little that disappointed throughout the volume range. These headphones were built for well-recorded rock music. On the flip side, sound from poorly recorded albums from The Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against The Machine weren’t to my liking.

Vocals come out smooth and full of life. The vocal reproduction of all the female artists was amazingly vivid. Some instrumental and guitar sounds could have been better balanced though.

Conclusion

From a physical design perspective, the Aventho Wireless headphones are about as good as it gets. They’re incredibly comfortable from the moment you place them onto your ears and continue to be so after hours of continuous use. And without any doubt, they’re the most comfortable on-ear headphones we’ve tested to date. It applies the right amount of pressure on the head, which is a rare event. All the necessary features minus one, wear detection, are present in this headset. This missing feature should have been included.

Regarding sound, with some music, the Aventho Wireless hit it out of the park. The highly detailed audio quality was impressive and a pleasure to listen to. With others, it hit a double or triple. When it came short, sometimes it was the fault of the headphones; other times it was the fault of the artist’s recording.

Noise isolation from your surroundings is excellent even though the headphones aren’t advertised as such. I couldn’t hear the television in an adjacent room.

The MIY App is continually improving and now available for use on both Android and iOS platforms. We look forward to seeing further refinements.

Although these headphones tested well, we take issue with the price. At $449, they’re expensive in our opinion. We feel that the Aventho Wireless would be better priced in the $329-349 range, maybe even as low as $299. This last price is where Audio-Technica’s ATH-DSR7BT resides.

If you’re in a setting where you can sample sound from the Aventho Wireless, we highly recommend you do so. These are one pair of headphones we wish we didn’t have to send back to Beyerdynamic.

What do you think of this Beyerdynamic Aventho wireless review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

Don’t hesitate to head over to the Beyerdynamic’s News Page to see their latest announcements. The Aventho wireless headphones come with a two-year limited warranty.

FTC Disclosure: Beyerdynamic temporarily provided Beantown with one (1) Aventho wireless headphones sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2018.