Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC

£199

Beyerdynamic is one of the oldest audio companies still operating, so the fact this pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones is reminiscent of the inside of a nightclub is something of a surprise.

The Lagoon ANC are Beyerdynamic’s most concerted effort yet to grab some of the premium wireless, noise-cancelling, over-ear action. On paper, they have everything they need to compete strongly in this competitive market. But on paper, of course, it’s impossible to see their unique selling point in all its questionable glory.

The Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC are an over-ear, closed-back design made almost entirely from high-quality plastic, aluminium and faux leather. They swivel and fold to be as portable as possible, and come with a hard-ish carrying case. Like many of their rivals, they double down on portability by weighing as little as possible – in this instance, just 283g.

As expected of a product at this sort of money, the Lagoon ANC feel sturdy and built to last. The parts that are meant to move do so smoothly and quietly, and the parts that aren’t feel solid and secure.

The plastics feel robust and are of superior quality, while the faux leather of the earcups and headband is both comfortable and slow to warm. There are two finishes available, ‘Traveller’ is an all-black finish, while ‘Explorer’ adds some brown pleather accents.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Lagoon ANC are a combination of the sublime and the not quite so sublime. They use Bluetooth 4.2, and also support aptx, aptx Low Latency and AAC. So, file streaming from the likes of Tidal Masters is on the menu, as is exemplary syncing between audio and video when streaming from Netflix, for example.

Combination of controls

The Lagoon ANC are operated using a combination of physical and touch controls on the right earcup. Wireless pairing is initiated by a switch that’s also used for powering on or off. There’s a switch for noise-cancellation, a 3.5mm analogue input and USB-C input. Touch controls are used for volume, play/pause, answering calls, and the voice assistant.

Battery life is a claimed 45 hours from a single charge (with noise-cancellation switched off) and 24 hours with it on. From flat, the Lagoon ANCS can be fully charged in three hours, and a five-minute burst should hold you for an hour.

Beyerdynamic offers some worthwhile customisation of your audio experience via its MIY app. It asks your age and then plays a series of tones, buried in pink or white noise, to each ear in turn. Having established the state of your hearing, it adjusts the Lagoon ANCS’ EQS to compensate. It’s a commendably thorough and effective process.

But there’s a big, multicoloured elephant in the room. The Lagoon ANCS are fitted with Beyerdynamic’s Light Guide System – illumination inside each earcup, which is visible only when you aren’t wearing the headphones. Pairing mode is betrayed by pulsing blue lights; a firmware update is pink; and music playback or call in progress is orange. However, it is almost entirely useless – voice prompts tell you what the headphones are doing anyway – and it lowers the tone of an otherwise classy product to that of a provincial nightclub.

We play a Tidal Masters file of Pixies’ In The Arms Of Mrs Mark Of Cain and put the headphones on so we don’t have to look at the lights any more. Tonally, the Lagoon ANC are winningly neutral, valuing even-handedness, and their lack of undue bass-end prominence allows them to sound quite fast and agile.

But while the low end is kept in check, there’s plenty of information regarding the texture of the bass guitar sound, and good attention paid to the start and stop of individual notes. The Lagoon ANC don’t hang around where the bottom end is concerned, and their promptness allows the bass to integrate smoothly with the midrange above it. As the midrange gives way to the top of the frequency range, there’s substance and brilliance to treble sounds - but they never threaten to become splashy.

Popping sensation

As far as the three-step noise-cancelling goes, position ‘1’ offers worthwhile isolation from the world outside without impacting too heavily on your music. Position ‘2’ pretty much banishes external sounds, but introduces noticeable hiss, as well as the dreaded ‘ears popping’ sensation of cabin pressure. There’s also a slight narrowing of the audio presentation.

The only areas in which the Beyerdynamics don’t give an assured account of themselves are excitement and dynamics. The Lagoon ANC try their hardest to sound ‘correct’ but can come across as just slightly analytical. A little more exuberance would carry them even further into contention.

A unique selling point is sometimes ‘unique’ for a reason – if you can look beyond the visual control system here, the Lagoon ANC have plenty to recommend them. They’re not the last word in excitement, but if you value a judicious and thoughtful presentation, they could be just the ticket.