[fishbone999]

I had Xelento wireless, but because of the mid, I sold it. I still miss its treble, it is gorgeous.

 

[powergeek]

The Xelento remote is actually available on Amazon for a very low price (400€). How to be sure it’s the real deal?

 

[Raketen]

The Xelento remote is actually available n Amazon for a very low price (400€). How to be sure it’s the real deal?

(idk if Portugal amazon is as bad as usa amazon- here, maybe ok if a reputable third party seller (i.e. not just an amazon storefront) that is an official beyer dealer and not shipped by amazon- anything of value sold directly or shipped by amazon I wouldn't order unless prepared to deal with potential refund process)

 

[csglinux]

It's been a while since I posted here. I'm still loving my Xelentos, but feeling slightly slutty as I have been spending some time with a couple of other IEMs recently. If you already have a Xelento and you've already made the port mod, I think you're good to go. I've not found anything that sounds meaningfully better to my ears over the last couple of years. However, the Xelentos are a tough recommendation these days because of the proliferation of fakes and because of the difficulty of doing the port mod (not difficult to do, but without a coupler it's difficult to know if you did it right).

There are a couple of newer headphones that fall in the category of tiny, single dynamic driver, and both have tunings that are similar enough to the Xelentos that Xelento fans (or rather somebody who might otherwise be considering the Xelentos) might enjoy them. Comparisons here for those that don't mind graphs:
https://www.hypethesonics.com/iemdbc/?0&Harman_2019&Xelento_PM&IE600&Advar_Cp100

If you don't like graphs, I also wrote a few words here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/meze-audio-advar.25835/review/29162/

 

[RIGATIO]

It's been a while since I posted here. I'm still loving my Xelentos, but feeling slightly slutty as I have been spending some time with a couple of other IEMs recently. If you already have a Xelento and you've already made the port mod, I think you're good to go. I've not found anything that sounds meaningfully better to my ears over the last couple of years. However, the Xelentos are a tough recommendation these days because of the proliferation of fakes and because of the difficulty of doing the port mod (not difficult to do, but without a coupler it's difficult to know if you did it right).

There are a couple of newer headphones that fall in the category of tiny, single dynamic driver, and both have tunings that are similar enough to the Xelentos that Xelento fans (or rather somebody who might otherwise be considering the Xelentos) might enjoy them. Comparisons here for those that don't mind graphs:
https://www.hypethesonics.com/iemdbc/?0&Harman_2019&Xelento_PM&IE600&Advar_Cp100

If you don't like graphs, I also wrote a few words here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/meze-audio-advar.25835/review/29162/

I still have my Xelentos, they are in a box most of the time but i really love them and would never sell them.
Something similar to them would be the IBasso IT07 which i have too. The Xelentos have more sparkle on top but their mids and vocals are bit thin and paper sounding in comparison to the IT07. Also the layering and holography are slightly better on IBasso but the Xelentos are still great after a couple years.
With my Shanling M8 the Xelentos have a great bass depth and dynamics. I actually prefer them to the Monarchs Mk2 when paired with the M8. They are just more engaging and fun sounding.
I think these are the best product Beyerdynamic has ever made. After trying a couple full sized models from this company, including T5.3 and some other lower models i prefer the Xelentos over them all. Would love to see the next generation.

 

[starfly]

I still have my Xelentos, they are in a box most of the time but i really love them and would never sell them.
Something similar to them would be the IBasso IT07 which i have too. The Xelentos have more sparkle on top but their mids and vocals are bit thin and paper sounding in comparison to the IT07. Also the layering and holography are slightly better on IBasso but the Xelentos are still great after a couple years.
With my Shanling M8 the Xelentos have a great bass depth and dynamics. I actually prefer them to the Monarchs Mk2 when paired with the M8. They are just more engaging and fun sounding.
I think these are the best product Beyerdynamic has ever made. After trying a couple full sized models from this company, including T5.3 and some other lower models i prefer the Xelentos over them all. Would love to see the next generation.

Would you say they're... eXcellento?

 

[RIGATIO]

Would you say they're... eXcellento?

YES! I think if something sounded great 4 years ago, will still sound great in 10 years from now.

 

[starfly]

YES! I think if something sounded great 4 years ago, will still sound great in 10 years from now.

Yeah, I still use them regularly. My favorite IEMs. Also very comfortable IEMs, as they don't have to go deep in your ears (at least with the stock tips, which I like a lot).

 

[csglinux]

YES! I think if something sounded great 4 years ago, will still sound great in 10 years from now.

Very true - but an under-appreciated point here on headfi.

 

[starfly]

Very true - but an under-appreciated point here on headfi.

Everyone always thinks newer is better, especially in this hobby. And manufacturers certainly want you to believe that

 

[RIGATIO]

Very true - but an under-appreciated point here on headfi.

Well, the Xelentos arent the best tuned iems. Just look at the frequency response. It doesnt say the whole truth about the iems/headphones but the people can really read the fr to imagine how the iems sound.
Still they are exceptional.

 

[starfly]

Well, the Xelentos arent the best tuned iems. Just look at the frequency response. It doesnt say the whole truth about the iems/headphones but the people can really read the fr to imagine how the iems sound.
Still they are exceptional.

They aren't the best tuned IEMs according to whatever target curve you're measuring them against.

But I love the tuning of these. It's unique and they're really fun. And I love bass anyway

 

[csglinux]

Well, the Xelentos arent the best tuned iems.

There could be an argument that if somebody prefers the sound of the Xelentos over anything else, then they are the best tuned IEMs - for that person.

For me, Harman has too much lower treble.

 

[RIGATIO]

There could be an argument that if somebody prefers the sound of the Xelentos over anything else, then they are the best tuned IEMs - for that person.

For me, Harman has too much lower treble.

I get you but the Xelentos are quite spicy there too.

 

[csglinux]

I get you but the Xelentos are quite spicy there too.

The ~5 kHz driver resonance is probably ubiquitous, but the 8-11 kHz canal resonance varies a lot with insertion depth, eartip and human (that peak measures quite differently on a B&K 5128 coupler). So it might be a bit spicy for some, but not for others. And even then it's only a narrow region of spiciness, not the broad 2-8kHz boost that you get with Harman.

I agree that the Xelento's tuning looks a bit bouncy on a graph, so probably some degree of smoothing could help. But I think we also have a tendency to put too much stock in a curve that was designed for short-scale listening tests at 80 phon. That's a higher volume than I (and many others) would listen at over longer periods. Equal loudness curves are fairly well established. If the Harman target is correct at 80 phon, then at lower SPLs we need a bit less of the 3 kHz peak and quite a bit more sub-bass, which is what you get with the Xelento.