I have been waiting to get my hands on the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC for a while now! And finally, this week I got a chance to try them out! I was curious about two thing about them: how strong is the new cancellation, and how do they sound, especially compared to the Sony WH-1000Xm3. Today, I’ll answer those questions. Let’s take a closer look with this Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC Review.

Power and Clarity – Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC Review

In the Box

-Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC

-USB-C charging cable

-Aux cable

-Zipping, protective carrying case

-Documentation

Design

Headband

The headband of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC feels strong and durable. Made of strong plastic and metal, it provides supportive weight to the heavier earcups. However, it is also flexible and comfortable on the head. Additionally, a strip of foam, which has a soft pleather coating, rests on the underside of the headband. It provides comfort, and lets the headband rest gently on the top of the head. And while the headphones feel secure, the clamping force is light and easy and doesn’t squeeze the head too hard. 

At the base of the headband is a hinge which lets the Lagoon ANC’s earcups turn inward. Additionally, its yolk attaches to either side of the earcups, which can then swivel a bit. 

Earcups

The earcups of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC have a feeling of solidity and a little bit of weight to them. They’re not heavy by any means, but they just feel strong and sturdy. They have a look and shape which reminds me of the ever-popular Sony WH-1000xM3. However, it is a little bit more square toward the top and bottom, with more obvious touch controls. Additionally, it has a sliding switch for changing the level of noise cancellation, which I prefer over a button.  

The earcups are large enough to completely fit over the ear, and as a result, are very sound isolating. Even with noise cancellation turned off, the headphones block out a considerable amount of noise. 

Lastly, the earcups have touch controls which can adjust the playback volume, skip tracks, answer calls, and play/pause music. 

Earpads

The earpads of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC consist of memory foam which is coated in the same soft pleather as the headband padding. It is a dense foam, which makes it super comfortable despite the fact that it is a little bit thin compared to other earpads. The hole in the middle of the band is large and will be comfortable for a wide variety of ear shapes and sizes. Lastly, in that hole is another piece of padding which protects the ear from hitting the earcups. It is a soft, breathable material which adds an extra level of comfort. 

Noise Cancellation

The noise cancellation of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC is strong and versatile. There are two levels: level one and level two. I was delighted because when I would switch between the levels, a voice in the headset alerted me of the level. 

Level one is great at blocking out low rumbles and static noises like those of trains, plans, fans, and crowds. More distinct voices sounded quieter than usual and far off, but I could still hear them a bit. Level two did a better job of blocking out voices. Additionally, any static noises seemed to vanish completely. 

Compared to the extremely strong noise cancellation of the Sony WH-1000xM3, the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC was slightly lighter. However, I was impressed at how well the Lagoon handled vocals, because with most noise cancellation, vocals are still quite audible. And like the WH-1000xM3, the Lagoon was able to dramatically tone down voices.

Wireless Connection

The wireless connection of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC was strong and easy to connect to my phone. Pushing the slider on the right earcup to the Bluetooth symbol puts the headphones in pairing mode. The headphones showed up in the Bluetooth devices on my phone right away. However, one of the most impressive things about the wireless connection is that the voice in the headphones will actually tell you the wireless codec via which the headphones have connected. The headphones can connect via aptX, aptX Low Latency, and AAC. Lastly, the headphones have a battery life of 45 hours without ANC and 24.5 with it.

Special Features

The Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC benefits from the compatibility with the Beyerdynamic app, MIY. MIY features a special technology developed my Mimi Defined called Mosayc. Mosayc uses a series of test tones to measure your hearing. Then, it adjusts the EQ balance to optimize the sound for your particular ears. 

Additionally, the MIY app can adjust the sensitivity of the earcup’s touch controls. If you find the touch controls aren’t responding well to your touch, try adjusting the sensitivity!

Lastly, the earcups feature a light which illuminates under the earpad. The light represents different statuses like battery life.

Sound

For the sound portion of the review, I disabled the sound personalization. Additionally, noise cancellation was on Level 2. 

Low Frequencies

The low frequencies of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC have lots of clean, punchy power! Boosts at what sound like 30 Hz and 60 Hz give it a feeling of deepness and extra pump. Additionally, it has a sense of roundness and warmth to it. However, this bump doesn’t make the lows cloudy. Rather, I was able to hear the lows clearly, with a good feeling of separation from the low-mids. 

For example, when I was listening to the song Bigger Paper Bag by Father John Misty, the low frequencies of the kick drum, toms, and bass sounded full, and warm. And while they sounded big, they also maintained separation from each other. They all sounded a bit louder in the mix than usual, but didn’t overwhelm the rest of the mix.

Compared to the low frequencies of the Sony WH-1000xM3, the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC felt equally punchy, but clearer and less cloudy.

Middle Frequencies

The midrange of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC has a little bit of a smiley face shape. Emphasis in the low-mids gives strength and solidity to bass guitars, synths, cellos, and keys. A light cut at what sounded like 600 Hz provides separation between thick low-mid rich instruments, and those with more high-mid energy. However, this cut didn’t make mixes sound hollow at all. Rather, the low-mid fullness is wide and rounds out what might have otherwise felt empty in the mids. Lastly, a boost at the top of the high-mids around what sounded like 4-5 kHz provided presence and clarity to vocals, crunchy synths, strings, acoustic guitars, and horns.

For example, when I was listening to the song Sweet Spot by Kim Petras, the dark, phasing, pumping synths in the verses sounded full and thick. Then, when the chorus comes in, the bass synth felt elevated in the mix, giving an extra feeling of groove. Additionally, the higher, slow arpeggiating synths in the chorus feel present and wide. On top off all the synth laters, Kim’s voice is clean, present, and clear. 

Compared to the Sony WH-1000xM3, the middle frequencies of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC had more separation, but sounded slightly less thick.

High Frequencies

The high frequencies of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC has emphasis across the entire treble, but with particular emphasis in the lower treble. As a result, high frequency rich instruments have a sense of articulation, chunkiness, and attack. Additionally, another particular boost at the base of the upper octave, around what sounded like 11-12 kHz, provided a sense of lift to the mix as a whole. I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as extension or air, but it actually feels more like extension and air when noise cancellation is deactivated. Lastly, a cut at the top of the upper treble around what sounded like 10 kHz provided separation, but also gave cymbals, percussion, and vocals slightly less texture (and a sense of sustain?) than usual.  

For example, when I was listening to the song Stuff by Miles Davis, the open-closed high-hat pattern sounded chunky and articulate. I could clearly hear the attack on the various cymbals as the drummer moved to different cymbals. However, while the cymbals came through clearly, they also had a feeling of dryness to them, like the sustain was slightly choked. However, each cymbal had character, which gave them a good sense of separation from each other and from the trumpet.  

Compared to the high frequencies of the Sony WH-1000xM3, the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC had more nuance, clarity, and emphasis in general.

Soundstage

The soundstage of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC was quite remarkable for a set of noise cancelling headphones. I was most impressed with its sense of depth and width. The high-mid boost gave intimacy to vocals which contrasted remarkably with instruments further off in space. Additionally, the feeling of thickness in the midrange contributed to the presentation of reverbs and room mics. Likewise, the feeling of width had great separation and contrast. The solidity of the phantom center and low-mid energy provided strength so the wide-panned instruments could move without throwing the mix off. Finally, the feeling of height had good detail and nuance, although I noticed a big difference between the vertical sound when noise cancellation was inactive versus when it was in effect.

For example, when I was listening to the song Good Life by Sammy Rae, the far-off, roomy horns and rhodes contrasted wonderfully from the intimate electric guitars and lead vocals. In between those two extremes, the drums sat with punch and energy. Similarly, the wide-panned electric guitars contrasted in width from the strength of the bass, kick, and lead vocal. In between those two extremes, the horns filled in the rest of the space. Finally, the highs of the cymbals contrasted well from the lows of the kick drum. However, the highs and lows both sounded more extended when noise cancellation was turned off. But, in between those two extremes, the vocals, horns, and electric guitars remained in their own space. 

Compared to the Sony WH-1000xM3, the soundstage of the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC felt more lively and realistic.

Overview

Overall, the Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC is one of the clearest sounding noise cancelling headphones I’ve ever heard. It will be for those of you audiophiles who want a headphone that is super portable, has noise cancellation, but still has clarity. The sound compliments a wide variety of genres, but I like them best for rock, acoustic/singer-songwriter, pop and hip-hop because they have a nice low end, with a present, clear vocal. Lastly, noise cancelation is strong and versatile, and has two different levels depending on the strength you prefer. Compared to the Sony WH-1000xM3, the sound was clearer, but the noise cancellation was slightly weaker. 

The Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC is available for the best price here:

Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC at Audio46

or

Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC on Amazon

About Author