The Beyerdynamic Tesla DT 1350 Fan Club - Page 6

Fanboy checking in...  absolutely love these cans - I don't use any of my iems anymore, and my previous portable cans - sony NCs and M50s (I know, sound signature is completely different) get no love now.

 

 

I have the same problem with the glasses.  It can be a bit uncomfortable, but just pop the rails on top of the ear pads and it's fine.
 

 

I had to glue a portion back on, too, to prevent it propogating further.

 

I think the problem is the case - the pads are too big for the small slot the head band fits in, and it pushes it off.
 

 

Ohhh... I have to report to this FAN Club too. I absolutely love my DT-1350. I had the T50p before but they broke apart (because I tried to change cable) but the DT-1350 offers so much listening pleasure. Powerful and lots of impact in the bass, detailed and crisp sound with high resolution. I love listening to these at home, at work, in the train - everywhere. 

 

Specially with the P-51 Mustang which has fantastic synergy with the DT-1350 (and T50p) and my iPhone as source I think I could not ask for more. Also it sounds absolutely great from the iQube. 

 

My serial number is: 12532 (just in case OP wants to start recording members to the club?)

Warning: might be TL;DR material - full review of Beyerdynamic DT1350 follows.

 

These headphones feature highly linear (to my ears) sound signature. When misplaced on head, these can sound slightly sibilant or anti-sibilant. Fortunately, the normal position is neither. These are about the pinnacle of neutrality to my ears. This might disappoint fans of Sennheiser (not warm), Grado or certain older Beyerdynamics (no high and mid-high boost) or general "consumer" sound signature (no bass boost).

Definitely not a single-genre headphone, despite being the DJ series.

 

Bass response is akin to very high quality (and expensive) subwoofer system. Perfectly tight, zero ringing. The amount is perfect, with no coloration. DT1350 seem to have some interesting decay properties, very natural, affecting mostly low frequencies, padded studio-like in presentation,

The decay kind of reminds me of the Brainwavz M2 (that are lying around, gathering dust, due to the requirement of *huge* eq I don't have in a portable enough package.) Very musical quality, can perhaps be distracting for mixing/mastering - due to too high music enjoyment not being that conducive to cold, analytical work. (as opposed to, say, GR07's, Sony EX1000, Ultrasone 650/900 dry or ethereal presentation.)

 

These are also the second pair of "phase-perfect" headphones I have - the other being GR07 after equalization, which actually corrects their phase response somewhat.

Texturing is what I'd compare to velour - dead between silky smooth and grainy - just about perfect. Highs can seem grainy on bad quality recordings, but they're actually just that precise. Heck, these bare the flaws of older 160kbps Ogg Vorbis in this regard, I bet in no small part due to huge bandwidth.

 

Soundstaging is also about perfect, with perhaps very tiny issues at highest end (placed nearer than lows); about room-sized with correct distance most of the time. The soundstage does not feel boundless, but it is definitely one of the best in closed designs.

Positioning precision is very high, perhaps even too high for some - I can detect instruments being placed even very slightly off-axis.

Comparing these with certain live recordings made by an acquaintance, the distances and width match nigh-perfectly after adding the customary crossfeed. And he has tuned that AB mike setup with very expensive studio monitors, not headphones...

 

All that without any equalization or weird positioning on head and with decent portability. Truly a magnificent headphone.

 

Material-wise, they seem pretty durable with the possible exception of narrow headband pads (replaceable) and perhaps the thin cables connecting the earpieces to the rest of the frame, which could get torn (not replaceable...).

Cord seems pretty light/thin and not especially kink-proof. It's suprisingly plain polyurethan, no fancy kevlar here like in certain other Beyerdynamic models. Recabling can't be done by hand from what I can see - supposedly requires removing the left driver.

The jack and headphone end are well relieved.

Headband is made of thick aluminum with some PET parts holding the cables connecting the driver.

Driver case seems to be part metal, part ABS, with metal in the central part behind the driver; possibly a magnetic shield.

Pleather pads are pretty standard, but seem durable and do breathe well.

 

Beyerdynamic DT1350 are a fully sealed design, giving high isolation. However, with excellent seal comes a nasty suprise - they slightly amplify low and very low frequency rumble.

I'd estimate isolation in general as about equivalent to less isolating dynamic IEMs, e.g. Sennheiser IE8; about -16 dB(A).

 

A very small semi-hard material bag (similar to laptop bags) is provided. Decently usable, but could've been nicer. Not too flashy and definitely not waterproof, but perhaps water-resistant. A screw-on RCA adapter is also included as well as dual-mono airline adapter.

 

The main issue with DT1350 is suprisingly portability, and that's only because I'm spoiled by IEMs. Apart from larger size (but still small), the huge straight 3,5" jack can be annoying - great though for studio or DJ purposes and feels very durable.

 

Fit can be fiddly for people with very large ears, while pressure might be too high for people with huge heads. Myself, despite having a large one, after some "excercising" of the headband the fit is very good, very secure, reproducible and decently comfortable.

The comfort doesn't compare to, say, DT880 or HD800 (both full-size) obviously - they are felt on ears and do press somewhat.

Split headband and mobile driver mounts (about 15 degrees vertical; full horizontal and third axis) help a lot with the fit, as does a decent number of headband length steps.

It's impossible to lose these off the head when worn properly, even if the mono function (swiveling earpiece) is used.

Were it not for bass amplification, these would be perfect for drummers.

 

To sum up, DT1350 handily beat much more expensive headphones (such as HD800, D7000, HE-5, LCD-2) to my ears; not to mention the swath of other headphones and IEMs I've tried. Value is enormous - they only cost ~$300.

 

Perhaps the closest competitor would be the half as expensive VSonic GR07, however the difference is far larger than the price suggests.

 

Oh, forgot to mention: they're pretty easy to drive, yet don't hiss due to medium impedance of 80 Ohm.

 

My serial number is: 12205.

Great review of the DT-1350. I agree to what you describe of how they sound. The emphasis of the bass when they seal very well is no problem I think it adds some weight to the sound. The bass is still solid and tight and does not become muddy at all.

Well done, thank you for taking your time in sharing this with us. The only thing that is wrong is that the headbands are stainless steel not aluminum. So no fear of bending them to get the right seal.

Edited by pietcux - 10/4/11 at 12:40pm

When you say they are easy to drive, does that mean an amp isn't really needed?

 

I disagree. I think they're quite hard to drive. While the B&W P5 don't improve much going from my iPhone 4 to my TTVJ Slim, the DT 1350 improves more than any other portable headphones I've ever tried. Not only does it makes it more fun and enjoyable, it also improves details and instrument separation, and not in a subtle way. Without an amp, I find them boring.

 

Also, let's be realistic : to most ears, these won't sound as good as an HD800, or any other good and similarly priced full size for that matter. They're very, very good, but only as far as portable audio goes.

By the way, how do you like your B&W P5s? I'm thinking of buying a pair

I think they work really well without an amp, so that's a plus, and in addition to that they're very well conceived for their purpose (portable headphones). Even the case was cleverly designed.

Now, the sound isn't technically good : Mainly, there is to me a lack of "agility" with the driver. It tends to get confused everytime they're a layered passage to reproduce. I also sense a lack of dynamism.

On the plus side, I think they have a great tonal balance up into the midrange. Trebles are definitely shelved down. To me, they have among the best timber I've heard in portable headphones, although in absolute terms it still isn't all that great.

I find them a little expensive for what they offer, but the build quality somehow justifies them being priced higher than what their sound may imply. I think something around 230 euros would have been better.

Thanks Maya

Just bought a pair, can't wait to try them out now :)

Quote:

Indeed. They can be driven by: 1) my lousy laptop 2) my cellphone with no appreciable loss of quality and at reasonable volume levels. However, certain devices trim the lowest end, reducing their subbass potential, which is huge. E.g. the cellphone makes them start rolling at 25 Hz, while laptop and FiiO E7 at 20 Hz. My Presonus FP10 did better, endless bass starting to roll at 18 Hz.

--

There's no appreciable bass emphasis actually with the correct seal. On the contrary, there's a small (2-3dB) hole in the bass in 80-120 Hz region. There's bass emphasis if I force them closer to the ear than they should be - they hold that position for quite a bit of time as the earpads compress. Instead, they should be put on gently.

Simple seal test is humming - fully sealed, they cause the sound to resonate like IEM seal. The volume should be equally loud from both sides, the hum sounding centered. Another test is to gently "knock" on the earpieces - this should sound pretty loud as the subbass is amplified in these by resonance...

You've got to be kidding about "agility". These don't have any typical artifacts such as compression and definitely outdo most everything I've tried in this regard.

About only orthodynamics, electrostatics and certain IEMs have similar level of detail. (and only orthodynamics are as general in detailing)

 

About darkness, yes, they do have a dip around 3-5kHz and one around 11.5kHz. They also could use more energy at the extreme high end > 16kHz - however few headphones are capable of that anyway.

Note that many speaker sets do have the 3.5kHz dip and quite a few tracks are mastered with this in mind.

 

To slake everyone's curiosity, here's the equalization for these and my ears:

 

(Perhaps even too much highest end, not entirely sure I like this extra fatiguing "stiletto-sharp" sound.

EDIT: Fixed, actually 0.5 dB here and there makes a huge difference in general presentation. No picture unless someone asks specifically. Not that it's any good for your ears.

EDIT2: The 3.5-6.5k range seems awfully close to the difference between tone equalization and noise equalization... I used sine tones.)

 

After equalization these get brutally analytic in all regards - of course beautiful with well-mastered tracks. Especially with regards to positioning, akin to anechoic chamber. The soundstage gets a foot nearer and wider in the middle; far more coherent.

Who needs subwoofers anyway when there are headphones like these? Perhaps for the tactile feel? These beat 1 foot subs I've heard recently handily, esp. precision.

Edited by AstralStorm - 10/7/11 at 2:26pm

This was about the P5 in response to another post, not the DT 1350 (for which my opinion differs a lot). You didn't read correctly the thread.

Also, although the DT 1350 currently are my favorite set of portable headphones, I don't think only electrostatic or orthodynamic headphones can surpass their level of detail. I'm pretty sure any mid-tiers full size headphones with a good amp behind would be at least equal if not superior, and others such as the HD800 substantially ahead. We've got to be realistic sometimes.

Finally I also don't think most mp3 players drive them well. I recommend a portable amp with those, at least more so than with any other portable headphones I've tried.

 

Edited by MayaTlab - 10/7/11 at 2:32pm