My audio set up & connective trail:
16 & 24-Bit WAV lossless files,
Foobar2000 with WASAPI event output,
Digital optical toslink cable,
Benchmark DAC1 with AMR gold-plated internal fuses connected to a custom high end power cable/Chord Qute Ex connected to a linear power supply,
custom Mundorf pure solid silver & gold RCA cable,
Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear Diamond Edition with PSU1.
My 80 Ohm cans have been burned in for at least 100 hours and are fitted with custom protein leather memory foam circumaural ear pads (mainly for comfort and isolation purposes).
Just so you know I had the 250 Ohm version but it had a channel imbalance sadly so I got rid of them, maybe one day I’ll get a good pair (mainly out of curiosity, I have read many good things about them after all).
Negatives.
I do not like the coiled cable, it’s too heavy.
The plastic used in this cans construction feels pretty cheap and not of great quality to be honest. Have I had any issues with this headphones build quality? No and that’s the most important thing to remember.
The stupid proprietary connecter is annoying, trying to find alternative cables is difficult to say the least.
As you can guess, I didn’t really like the stock ear pads. They are too small to be circumaural and they do not seal as well as my custom pads.
Positives (spoiler, there are many).
I will say this straight away, THESE ARE EXCEPTIONAL CLOSED BACK HEADPHONES! AT ANY PRICE!! Even more so considering it’s RRP.
They are light and comfortable, they do not clamp too much for me. Long listening sessions have given me no wearing fatigue, be it heat or pressure related (heat is something to remember with closed back cans, open back cans naturally have superior air circulation and allow your ears to “breathe” better).
They are made in Germany. The headband has good cushioning and I like the fact that the ear pads click in the ear cups (Focal and Oppo cans adopt that style too).
The sound quality from these unassuming and inconspicuous cans are very high.
Excellent detail and clarity, very good definition and resolution.
Very good imaging and a pretty wide sound stage. Good height too, they do not sound closed in which I really like.
Very nice mids, good weight and heft.
Very good bass, with depth and impact. Full and smooth sounding.
Very nice vocals, clear and defined. Not too forward in presentation.
Very engaging and involving, I don't know how else to say it.
No matter what genre of music I play, it does something that other great cans do. It let’s you get sucked in and just enjoy the music.
Very, very impressive. A great achievement really. Very difficult to fault sonically, anywhere.
They also scale up very well too, give that a go if possible. You’ll hear what I mean : )
During my time with them, I’ve had quite a few other closed back cans which were many times it’s price. But I kept coming back to these, time and time again. And for good reason.
These are easily one of my favourite closed back cans.
A hidden gem that does not seem to get enough praise, recognition or attention.
I know my closed back headphone experience is not as vast as my open back experience but I do know great headphones when I hear them. And I will say this now, these are great closed back cans.
I believe they are a true bargain in the headphone world and Beyerdynamic deserve serious respect for their work on these special cans.
These cans are so good that quite a few audiophiles have ended their search and settled with these cans, I can fully understand why. Check out some of the forums.
If Beyer released a “consumer” version of these exact same cans that had the following improvements, I would happily pay double for them:
larger and real circumaural protein/synthetic leather ear pads,
2x 3.5mm female ports on the ear cups,
a 1.5/2metre long straight cable.
In case it wasn’t obvious, very highly recommended from me. Seriously good and superb value closed cans.
Happy listening all : )