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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

Betron YSM1000 Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Reviewed Dec 14, 2018 at 10:44 am
Latest change: Test bench update Nov 21, 2019 at 11:27 am
Betron YSM1000 Picture
6.5
Mixed Usage
6.2
Neutral Sound
6.8
Commute/Travel
7.0
Sports/Fitness
6.5
Office
4.9
Wireless Gaming
6.7
Wired Gaming
6.7
Phone Call

The Betron YSM1000 are average mixed usage in-ears headphones. They look good and are surprisingly well-built for budget headphones. They are breathable and stable for sports but aren’t the most comfortable in-ears we’ve tested so far. Unfortunately, they have a mediocre audio reproduction, but passively isolate a good amount of noise to be used in a daily commute. They are simple wired headphones which means you won’t have to worry about connection, battery or latency issues.

Our Verdict

6.5 Mixed Usage

Average mixed usage headphones. They won’t be the best critical listening headphones because of their muddy bass and treble lacking presence, but they isolate a good amount of ambient noise to be decent for commuting and at the office. They are very portable headphones and shouldn’t pop out of your ears during physical activity. Unfortunately, the in-ear fit might not be ideal for long TV sessions, and their short cable won’t be long enough for watching on your couch. The in-line microphone isn’t the best option for gaming, and they won’t be as customizable as other gaming headsets.

Pros
  • Good noise isolation and low leakage.
  • Decently durable design.
  • Simple and easy-to-use controls.
Cons
  • Boomy and slightly dark sound.
  • In-ear fit might not be for everyone.
6.2 Neutral Sound

Mediocre for neutral listening. Their sound quality isn’t great since they have overemphasized bass which sounds muddy and cluttered. The treble range also lacks detail and presence, and the overall sound might be dark for some. The in-ear fit might also not be the most comfortable for long listening sessions.

6.8 Commute/Travel

Decent for commuting. They passively block a good amount of ambient noise thanks to their in-ear design, and they barely leak, which means you can mask even more background noise by raising your listening volume, without disturbing people around you. The in-ear fit might not be ideal for long flights but should be fine for bus and subway rides.

7.0 Sports/Fitness

Above-average for sports. They are very portable headphones and can easily fit in your pockets or your gym bag. They are also fairly stable and shouldn’t fall out of your ears. The in-ear design isn’t too bulky which makes them a decent for sports since they won’t trap heat under ear cups. The overemphasized bass may also be useful to keep you going during your workouts.

6.5 Office

Average for office use. They barely leak so you shouldn’t bother your colleagues and their wired connection means you won’t have to worry about a battery life during your work shift. Unfortunately, the in-ear fit might not be comfortable enough for a whole work day.

4.9 Wireless Gaming

Average for gaming. While they don’t have any latency, which is good for gaming, their audio reproduction and microphone quality won’t be as great as gaming headsets we’ve reviewed so far. On the upside, the microphone works with console controllers and should be decent enough for gaming in a quiet environment.

6.7 Wired Gaming
  • 6.5 Mixed Usage
  • 6.2 Neutral Sound
  • 6.8 Commute/Travel
  • 7.0 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.5 Office
  • 4.9 Wireless Gaming
  • 6.7 Wired Gaming
  • 6.7 Phone Call
  1. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  2. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  3. Updated Dec 14, 2018: Review published.
  4. Updated Dec 12, 2018: Our testers have started testing this product.
  5. Updated Dec 12, 2018: Early access published.
  6. Updated Dec 10, 2018: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  7. Updated Dec 10, 2018: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Compared To Other Headphones

Comparison picture

The Betron YSM1000 are budget in-ear headphones that are fairly versatile for a variety of usages. They are surprisingly well-built for their low price point and have a decent performance-to-price ratio. The in-ear fit might not be for everyone, but they are very portable and decently stable for physical activity. They don’t have the best audio reproduction, but when compared to other models in the same price range, they are quite good and can be a decent pick. See our recommendations for the best cheap earbuds, the best wireless earbuds under $50, and the best earbuds for bass.

KZ ZSN

The KZ ZSN are better critical listening in-ear headphones, but the Betron YSM1000 are going to be a bit more versatile for everyday casual use. The KZ have a better audio reproduction and are noticeably better-built thanks to their detachable cable. On the other hand, the Betron have a microphone and their fit provides better isolation against ambient noise, which should be better for commuting.

1More Piston Classic

The Betron YSM1000 are better headphones than the 1More Piston Classic. The Betron might be a bit less comfortable because of their slightly bigger design, but they passively isolate more noise than the 1More and did not have mismatched drivers. On the other hand, the 1More come with a hard case, which is nice considering their very low price point.

1More Piston Fit

The Betron YSM1000 are better headphones than the 1More Piston Fit. They are better-built, have a more balanced audio reproduction, isolate more ambient noise, and are overall more versatile headphones. Our 1More unit had mismatched drivers and high distortion, and these headphones don’t have volume controls, which is disappointing, but they do have angled earbuds that are more comfortable.

Symphonized NRG 3.0

The Betron YSM1000 and Symphonized NRG 3.0 are very similar headphones and perform quite similarly. They have a similar in-ear fit, but the Symphonized have more tip options. They also have better isolation performance and practically don’t leak at all. On the other hand, the Betron have a better in-line remote that feels more responsive, have a better microphone, and they have slightly less overemphasized bass.

MEE audio M9B Wireless

The Betron YSM1000 and MEE Audio M9B Wireless are similar headphones, but the MEE are wireless Bluetooth headphones. They perform quite similarly with bass-heavy audio reproduction, but the MEE have a more sibilant treble range and worse isolation performance. However, their wireless design is convenient, especially for sports. Unfortunately, they don’t have a very long battery life, so the wired Betron might be a better option if you often listen to audio content in a day.

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Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless No
Transducer Dynamic

The Betron YSM1000 have a premium look thanks to the silver buds and gold accents. They have a simple in-ear design that isn’t bulky and doesn’t stand out much; they look like bigger earplugs. They also have a transparent rubberized coating on the cables, which lets you see the wires inside and gives it a nice look. Unfortunately, they do not come in other color schemes to suit your preferred style.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.04 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

They aren’t the most comfortable in-ears we’ve tested so far, and the fit will depend on if you can find the right tip size for you. In-ears enter the ear canal and might not be as comfortable for everyone. On the upside, they come with foam tips that some may find better to achieve a better air-tight and comfortable fit.

7.5
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
iOS
Ease Of Use Good
Feedback Good
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
N/A
Noise Cancelling Control N/A
Talk-Through
N/A
Additional Buttons No

The control scheme of the YSM1000 is good and offers common functionalities like music/call control and volume control and track skipping (no rewind function on Android devices). The button layout is simple and easy to use, while buttons are very clicky and offer good feedback. However, the volume up button on our unit was a bit mushy, but we don’t know if this is common on these headphones or if our unit had a small defect. On the upside, you can trigger your device's voice assistant by a long press of the middle button.

9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C

Like most in-ears, the YSM1000 are very breathable headphones thanks to their design. They don’t trap heat under ear cups and won’t make you sweat more than usual if you use them during physical activity.

9.0
Design
Portability
L 2"
W 2"
H 1"
Volume 4 in³
Transmitter Required N/A

Like most in-ears, these headphones are very portable and fit in most pockets. It is very easy to keep them on you at all times. You can also store them in the included soft pouch that doesn’t add too much bulk and will still be easy to have on you.

6.0
Design
Case
Type Pouch
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A

The Betron YSM1000 come with a small squeeze-to-open soft pouch that will protect the headphones against light scratches and minor water exposure. It does not add too much bulk, which is easy to fit in most pockets.

7.0
Design
Build Quality

For budget headphones, the Betron YSM1000 are surprisingly well-built headphones. The in-line remote is made out of metal, like the 1More Piston Classic, and the earbuds are fairly dense and shouldn’t suffer too much damage if dropped accidentally. The cables aren’t too thin and are also rubberized.

7.0
Design
Stability

These in-ear headphones are fairly stable. They don’t easily pop out of your ears, like the 1More Piston Fit do. They should be suitable for running and light physical activity. However, since they are wired, be careful not to get the cable hooked or stuck on something as it will yank the headphones out of your ears. This shouldn’t be an issue for casual listening sessions.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Betron YSM1000 headphones
  • 3x tip options
  • 1x foam tip option
  • Carrying pouch
  • Shirt clip
  • Manuals

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
2.63 dB
Treble Amount
-5.15 dB
8.9
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.22 dB

The frequency response consistency is excellent. If the user can achieve a proper seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, then they should be able to get the same bass and treble delivery each time they use the headphones.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
6.9
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.38 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
Low-Bass
1.96 dB
Mid-Bass
3.76 dB
High-Bass
6.97 dB

The Betron YSM1000 have a decent bass performance. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 10Hz, which is excellent. Low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy music is over our neutral target by 2dB, which fans of bass may like. However, mid-bass, responsible for punch, and high-bass, responsible for warmth, are overemphasized by about 4dB and 7dB respectively. This makes the overall bass of these headphones deep and heavy, but also noticeably boomy and muddy.

7.2
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
3.76 dB
Low-Mid
5.08 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.95 dB
High-Mid
-2.94 dB

Above-average mid-range performance. Low-mid is overemphasized by about 5dB, which will make vocals thick and cluttered. Mid-mid is within 1dB of our target curve, which is good. However, high-mid is under our target by 3dB which will have a small negative effect on the intensity and projection of instruments in the mix.

5.3
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.62 dB
Low-Treble
-2.15 dB
Mid-Treble
-3.86 dB
High-Treble
-8.64 dB

The YSM1000 treble range is sub-par. The response is rather uneven and mostly under our target curve. This will result in lack of detail and brightness on vocals and instruments, and could also negatively affect sibilances (S and T sounds) on cymbals.

6.7
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.09 dB
Dips
2.1 dB
9.3
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.11
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.5
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.04
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.5

The imaging performance is excellent. Their weighted group delay is 0.11, which is very low. The GD graph also shows that the entire group delay never crosses the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were exceptionally well-matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (instruments, voice, footsteps), in the stereo image.

0.8
Sound
Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
2.9
Acoustic Space Excitation
0.9

The soundstage is poor. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds is in such a way that fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it. Also, because these headphones have a closed-back enclosure, their soundstage won't be perceived to be as open as that of open-back earbuds like the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless or the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless.

8.1
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.260
WHD @ 100
0.084
Isolation
7.1
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-21.02 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-6.54 dB
Mid
-14.77 dB
Treble
-42.27 dB

The Betron YSM1000 have good isolation performance. Despite lacking active noise cancelation, they isolate a good amount of ambient noise. They achieve more than 6dB of isolation in the bass range which is about average, and good for passive in-ears. In the mid and treble ranges, they reduce the outside noise by 15dB and 42dB respectively, both values being very good.

9.3
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
25.47 dB

The leakage performance is excellent. These in-ears practically do not leak, so you don't need to worry about disturbing people around you unless you are blasting your music in a very quiet room. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages 25dB SPL and peaks at 43dB SPL, which is quieter than the noise floor of an average office.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
In-line
Yes
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
Mic Yes

The in-line mic is decent. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with this microphone will sound relatively thin, but fairly easy to understand. It may lack a bit of detail and brightness though. In noisy environments, the mic will do a good job separating speech from ambient noise in moderately loud places, like a busy street, but it will struggle in much noisier conditions like a subway station.

7.0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
269.09 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
1.93 dB
HFE
2,673.34 Hz
Weighted THD
0.106
Gain
20.9 dB

The in-line mic has an decent recording quality. The LFE of 269Hz results in a recorded or transmitted speech that is relatively thin. The HFE of 2.7KHz suggests a speech that lacks detail and presence. This microphone could also be prone to lower frequencies noise and pops. However, the intelligibility of speech on this microphone will be decent in quiet environments.

6.6
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
17.62 dB

The in-line microphone of the YSM100 is average at noise handling. In our SpNR test, they achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of about 18dB, indicating they are best suited for quiet and moderate environments. However, they will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in loud situations.

Active Features
not tested
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
N/A
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
Power Saving Feature
N/A
Audio While Charging
N/A
Passive Playback
N/A
Charging Port N/A

These are passive headphones that do not require a battery.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name N/A
iOS N/A
Android N/A
macOS N/A
Windows N/A
Equalizer
N/A
ANC Control
N/A
Mic Control N/A
Room effects
N/A
Playback Control
N/A
Button Mapping N/A
Surround Sound N/A

There is no companion app to enhance your listening experience.

Connectivity
0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
N/A
Multi-Device Pairing
N/A
NFC Pairing
N/A
Line of Sight Range
N/A
Default Latency
N/A
aptX Latency
N/A
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A

These headphones are not Bluetooth compatible.

These headphones have a wired connection so don’t have any latency issues, which is suitable for watching video content and gaming.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
9.0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
No
Detachable No
Length 3.8 ft
Connection 1/8" TRRS
Wired Latency
0 ms

These headphones have a 1/8” TRRS connection that has mic support on consoles and PCs. Also, the box of our unit says they are iOS specific, but they still work with Android devices. They simply don't allow backwards track skipping, which they do on iOS. This is the only difference between the two operating system we've found.

Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
PC / PS4 Wired USB
No
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
N/A
USB Input
N/A
Line In
N/A
Line Out
N/A
Optical Input
N/A
RCA Input
N/A
Dock Charging
N/A
Power Supply
N/A

The YSM1000 do not have a base/dock. If you want a versatile headset with a base that you can also use wired, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7.