Beyerdynamic, a Germany-based audio equipment brand, has announced the second generation of the Blue BYRD 2 wireless headphones. Their enticing price of $149 is aimed squarely at disrupting the best budget wireless earbuds category. For the Blue BYRD 2, Beyerdynamic went with a neckband design to encase the battery, Bluetooth, and other electronics for these headphones. By doing this, the earbud portion of the headphones is much lighter and smaller than on other wireless earbuds.

The Blue BYRD 2 are packed with helpful features to ensure that not only does the music you listen to sound great, but that the connection to your audio source is solid. Beyerdynamic is utilizing Bluetooth 5.2, which allows for fantastic connection stability and for the earbuds to be connected to two devices simultaneously. Though you won’t find active noise canceling in these earbuds like you would in something like the Jabra Elite 85t, the silicone eartips can provide a good seal for some passive noise cancelation. 

Beyerdynamic added support for multiple codecs, such as aptX, aptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC, to give the headphones extra flexibility for audio sources. When using the Blue BYRD 2 for phone calls or video chats, the inclusion of Qualcomm cVc technology works to allow the multidirectional microphone to focus on your voice and reduce the disturbance of background noise. This way, you’ll be heard clearly even when you are in less than ideal call environments.

The Blue BYRD 2 headphones are also compatible with the MIY app to allow for updates to the earbuds over the air and access to sound personalization. Thanks to the “MOSAYC – Attention to Detail with Mimi Sound Personalization” feature, the Blue BYRD 2 will be able to have its sound stage completely customized to the way you like to hear your audio — something that is typically reserved for high-end headphones.

To reduce the friction that can come from the process of pairing headphones to a smartphone, the earbuds are equipped with Google Fast Pair to make connecting a breeze. As an Amazon-certified product, the Blue BYRD 2 headphones will have full access to Alexa, along with Google Assistant and Siri. Being able to go hands-free can be helpful when working out, and thanks to IPX4 water resistance, the headphones can handle a little sweat. The headphones also have a three-button remote for manual controls.

The Blue BYRD 2 is rated for up to 14 hours of listening time. When it’s time to recharge the headphones, it is done via USB-C with a full charge possible in just over 90 minutes. When time is short, the Blue BYRD 2 can get up to two hours of listening time with only 10 minutes of charging. The headphones come with a zippered case, five silicone eartips, and a USB cable for $149.