Beyerdynamic Tesla DT 1350

I couldn't believe my ears the first time I heard the DT1350. It seriously blew me away. I was expecting it to sound pretty good, given all of the positive reception it has been receiving here and elsewhere, but Jesus. I wasn't expecting it to sound *this good. * In fact, I was so awestruck by it that I even thought it might be better than my full-sizes. (It's not, as I later confirmed--though it played a lot nicer with my jazz collection than my Denon AHD2000, to my ears. Mingus's The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady was simply beautiful on the DT1350.)

The Great:

-The sound. I've listened to the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II, which many people seem to agree is the best sounding on-ear sealed portable headphone in production. And they are certainly very good headphones, there's no denying that. I think these are significantly better, however. The bass is more finely controlled (but still deep and heady enough to feel positively seismic at times), the sound stage is wider, the instrument separation is clearer, and all the little hidden details from your favorite tracks are easier to pick out. Other people are far better at describing a headphone's sound signature than I am, so I'll leave the rest to them. Suffice to say, I'm very impressed with the way these headphones perform.

-The DT 1350 does respond very well to amping, I've found--but even plugged straight into my 4-year old iPod Touch they maintain a lot of their positive sonic character. (Update: that said, they do sound quite a bit better amped--I'm not sure that I'd recommend these headphones unless you have an amp to power them, but they'll still do the trick without one.)

-These are very portable. Whether folded flat around your neck or traveling with you in the supplied carrying case, the DT 1350 can pretty much go with you everywhere that you need to go.

-Speaking of the case, it's pretty nice. I use it to not only hold the headphones, but also various adapters, interconnects, and even a couple of hex wrenches. You know--stuff you need everyday. ^^

-They isolate extremely well. If you're like me and earbuds and IEMs cause you physical pain and discomfort, but wish there was a headphone out there that approached their ability to isolate, you're in luck.

The Good:

-Very attractive design. Probably not to everyone's taste, but I find them to be a real joy to hold and look at every time I take them out for use, aside from a few issues I raise below.

-The split headband is nice--I've never worn a headphone that was easier to keep in place than the DT1350.

The Nitpicks:

-So far as I can tell, the only things that are easily replaced by users are the ear pads. In this regard, I wish Beyerdynamic had paid more attention to the design of the HD 25-1 II.

-Kinda sorta pricey. Do your research first before taking the plunge on these.

-They're not the most comfortable cans in the world. Not that anyone in their right mind would expect them to be... But boy, if you get overzealous about listening to them, you're really gonna pay the price for it later when you have to pry these things off your aching skull. The clamping force on these is seriously pretty intense--which no doubt helps with the isolation and whatnot, but ouch. I recommend not wearing them for much longer than 2 hours--4 absolute max, unless you're made of far sterner stuff than I am. (Update: the comfort is considerably better after these break in--or after your head breaks in.)

-While I like the overall design and aesthetics of these headphones, I do have a few niggles with them:

      -If you're not careful when swiveling the ear pads flat, you can catch the cord right where it enters the cups between the metal bales (think that's the right term) and the metal band that holds the adjustment sliders. If you did this particularly forcefully and repeatedly over a period of time without realizing it, I imagine that this would not be a good thing.

     -The plastic sheaths on the split headband look and feel rather cheap.

     -The pleather padding on the underside of the headband is not convincing. Not only do the two strips of pleather seem to be off center on my pair, but they also seem to be unevenly and under-stuffed. The overall effect of the headband is a tad bit on the sloppy side. (Update: One of these crummy pads came nearly completely off on my pair after about 4 and a half months of semi-regular use--so not only are the pads themselves of poor quality, but it would seem that the adhesive that holds them onto the band is sub-par, as well. Obviously, it wasn't anything that a little bit of firm glue couldn't fix, but still, I was pretty annoyed.)

-Finding the sweet spot for these headphones can be a real challenge. Even if you have no troubles finding it once, you may be hard pressed to find it the next time you put them on. And even once you do have them on and have them sounding great, if you're at all like me, you're gonna be constantly readjusting and poking and proding them trying to see if you can make them sound even better. In my experience, the bass is the easiest to recognize aspect of the DT 1350's sound that is affected by how close you are to the sweetspot. Close but not quite and it sounds pretty flabby. Too far away and it's painfully anemic.

The Bad:

-This applies to folks with long, wavy/curly hair only. These will pull on your hair. They will pull your hair out. They will get stuck in your hair. If someone is trying to talk to you and you're trying to take the headphones off so that you can listen to them without seeming rude but you're doing it too fast, they will get caught in your hair and make you look like a complete doofus. You will seriously be standing there with these headphones tangled up and hanging in your glorious mane of hair with someone laughing at you and offering to fetch you a pair of scissors. The key? Remove them slowly, extending the headband as you go.

-The cable makes a lot of noise when it rubs against other objects. Pretty lame for a portable pair of headphones.

In Sum:

The DT 1350s are a pretty finicky and occasionally painful little pair of cans that sometimes make you want to hate them. But then they slip into their sweetspot and they're positively magical, and all is right with the world, for at least a little while. There may be other portable sealed headphones out there that will match your needs and price range better than these will--so, as always, do your homework first. And take into serious consideration the problems that people are bringing up with these headphones. I think they're worth it--you may not think the same.

(Update: Lowered the overall score a little bit and tweaked the other scores to make room for my frustration with the headband pads--read above.)

I already have a nice computer rig to listen to, but I will be transferring to school in another place, so not wanting to lug around my computer, etc I set out for a nice pair of portables.

Choices were quite easy for me - it was between the HD25-1 II and the Beyerdynamic DT1350 as I wanted the best pair I could get in terms of durability and SQ.

At this very moment I do own both pairs of headphones. I originally bought the HD25s first because it was the most recommended pair of portables I had read about. When I received them, I thought, "They really live up to the hype" After a day or two I read about the DT1350 completely beating out the DT1350, so I just had to order myself a pair to see what that was all about.

Fast forward a week and my DT1350s arrived. I took them out immediately and tried them out and my first impressions were that they were extremely neutral. If I had to compare them to any pair of IEM/HP I have, I would say they are like a better sounding Etymotic HF-5 or HD600.

Bass: It is very well extended and is moderately punchy if the song calls for it. It doesn't sound as punchy as the HD25 most likely due to the mid-bass hump on the HD25. This is probably the reason why I thought the 1350 sounded a bit thin at first compare to the HD25.

Mids: There is no competition here between the DT1350 and HD25. The DT1350 have beautiful mids and aren't recessed at all compared to the HD25. I thought the HD25's mids sounded fine and then I put on the 1350 and the mids were upfront with the rest of the FR. This, in my opinion, is what makes the 1350 better than the HD25.

Highs: Don't have much to say here. I think they both have great treble and I can't really tell that much of a difference with either. Neither is harsh or fatiguing to listen to.

My only gripes with these HPs are that: I really have to fiddle around with the fitment to get them to seal all the way. They can get a little hot when sitting on my ears. The cable is also moderately microphonic, but not enough to annoy the crap out of me.

Overall, these headphones really impress and I could not be happier with this purchase.

I bought these to use in the office at work as my other headphones are Grado SR325is which are open and therefore bleed too much noise.

I spent a lot of time reading reviews and trying to choose between these and the HD25-ii's. I'm very happy with this purchase - they don't sound *quite* as good as the Grado's I have, but they're excellent in every other respect.

The treble isn't quite as crisp on these as the SR325is's, you can't always pick out the detail in high-hats or cymbals as well as the Grados. but in every other respect they sound great, this really is nitpicking.

They're much lighter and easier to wear, the single (much thinner) cable and 3.5mm jack is perfect for use in the office. They stay comfortable for extended wear and fit my small head perfectly :)

The carry case provided is ideal for packing them into and taking them home each night (no way I'd leave these in the office overnight!).

I mostly drive these from an iPhone 4S so they're ideal having a 3.5mm jack and a nice thin cable. I don't really think they need an amp, comparing the sound straight from the iPhone 4S with them being driven by an Aune MKii, digitally fed over coax from a RealTek 888 and iTunes playing lossless audio - the difference is tiny, if any. Having said that, I have got a Fiio E17 on order so I'll do further testing then...

Highly recommended pair of closed cans, perfect for the office, seem to be easily driven and with enough quality to really let you get immersed in the music.

I love them - great sound, a detailed, slightly warm, non-fatiguing sound signature.  They are very portable, cool looking, well built.

I tolerate the lack of comfort and the fact that they are quite sensitive, and leave most amps with very little volume travel.