Unlike most open-style models, the clip-on Beyerdynamic Verio 200 true wireless earphones manage to produce balanced, relatively robust audio in each ear. They are somewhat pricey at $219.99, and the controls could be more reliable, but their full-featured companion app, secure fit, and quality Bluetooth codec options ultimately outweigh those concerns. If you're looking for an open-ear design with a spacious audio presentation and a natural sense of transparency, the Verio 200 earphones are easy to recommend.

Design: A Comfortable, Transparent Fit

Available in Black (the version I tested), Cream (off-white), or Sport (black and orange), the Verio 200 earphones opt for a clip-on design that positions the drivers outside of your ear canal. The main benefits of this setup are that it allows you to stay aware of your environment and experience an expansive soundstage. They feel quite comfortable and fit naturally, despite my somewhat thick eyeglass frames. You will definitely notice you are wearing them, but they aren't heavy and don't apply much pressure. The earphones also remained in place quite well when I walked around with them on. If you want a more elegant, lightweight take on this concept, consider spending more for the $299.99 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds. Meanwhile, the $179 Apple AirPods go with a more traditional earbud design.

Internally, 16.22mm custom graphene dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The earbuds support Bluetooth 5.3, the AAC, AptX Adaptive, and SBC codecs, as well as multipoint pairing, but Google Fast Pair isn't an option.

The capacitive touch controls are slightly problematic—the process of removing the earphones from the case and placing them in your ears often results in misfires. At least the control layout is intuitive. Single taps on the circular outer panel control playback, double taps skip forward a track, and triple taps navigate to the previous track. A press-and-hold gesture summons your device’s voice assistant. Finally, tapping twice and then holding turns the earphones on and off manually. The companion app allows you to set the left and right earpiece controls to perform different functions and make other changes.

A modest IP54 rating means the earpieces are dust-resistant and can withstand splashes of water. You can wear the earphones during sweaty workouts and in light rain, but I don't recommend rinsing them off under a faucet. The rating doesn’t apply to the case. If you're looking for a more durable option for exercise, consider the IP68-rated Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 for around the same price.

The flat, matte silicone case is massive in order to accommodate the oversized earpieces. A Beyerdynamic logo accents the lid, a pairing button is on the inside, and a USB-C port on the back works with the included USB-A-to-USB-C cable.

Beyerdynamic estimates that the earphones can last roughly 8 hours per charge and that the case holds an additional 27 hours of battery life. Your real-world results will depend on your typical volume level and codec choice, but these numbers beat those of both the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (4.5 hours) and the Apple AirPods (6 hours). Beyerdynamic claims that 10 minutes of charging will get you an hour of playback and that it takes 1.5 hours to fully recharge.

App Experience: Revamped and Useful

The Beyerdynamic app (available for Android and iOS) has been refreshed for the Verio 200. It looks great and is easy to navigate. The main screen shows an image of the earphones, along with battery life readouts for each earpiece and the case.

Further down are four tiles and a playback section that displays a cool animated sound wave graphic when audio is playing. That same design style carries over into the EQ section, where you can start with a preset (Classical, Pop, Rock, or Jazz) or from scratch to build a sound signature with five bands between 64Hz and 8kHz.

Otherwise, you can adjust the Auto Power Off behavior, toggle voice assistant access, and adjust the default control layout. The app imposes some limits on what function you can assign to which gesture, with the option to control volume from the earpieces noticeably missing. The settings menu is pretty standard. Here, you can rename the earphones, adjust the language settings for voice prompts, perform a factory reset, peruse FAQs, or follow links to out-of-app shopping.

Sound Quality: Spacious, With Little Sub-Bass

I can confirm that the app’s EQ presets offer some compelling variations on the default audio signature. You can also use it to dial up the bass richness to a degree, though adding deep sub-bass is outside of its scope. For my evaluations below, I stuck with the default audio settings.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the drivers make a respectable attempt to convey the deep lows. I don't hear distortion at top volume levels, though the bass sounds somewhat thin. I don't expect any open-style earphones to reproduce deep low frequencies with a substantial thump, but a decent sense of bass depth is present above the sub-bass realm.

Unsurprisingly, the earphones can’t reproduce the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” Still, the drum loop gets some healthy thump in the lows, and the various vocals sound quite crisp.

On the bright side, the earphones deliver a wonderful sense of low and low-mid richness. Miles Davis' “Pharaoh's Dance” has a full-bodied bass presence, while The Smile’s “Under Our Pillows” benefits from a rich bass line and kick drum combo. 

The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass, don’t quite pack the full-bodied delivery you get with closed earbuds or headphones, but they don't sound thin. Callahan’s baritone vocals come across with low-mid richness and matching high-mid crispness, while the acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits are bright and detailed. Open-design earbuds tend to produce a more immersive stereo image and a greater sense of space than most in-ear alternatives, and the Verio 200 earphones are no exception. They sound wide-open with recordings that already have some room sound.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, allow the earphones to show their strengths. The stereo recording simply shines, creating an enveloping listening experience. The drivers also deliver the lower-register instrumentation with a lovely (if slightly boosted) low-frequency presence. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals sound especially airy.

The voice mic array works decently well. I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone, even though the signal level wasn't particularly strong or clear.

Verdict: Premium Open Earbuds With Few Flaws

The open-design Beyerdynamic Verio 200 earphones can't deliver powerful subwoofer-like rumble for your workouts, but they do provide an impressively consistent ear-to-ear balance and an appreciable amount of low-mid richness. Their spacious audio presentation, naturally transparent fit, and slick companion app are also points in their favor, placing them among our favorite premium open-ear models.