[DangerToast]

I couldn't find a discussion thread for these surprising little cans so I thought I'd make one. First, some photography:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Owners of the popular dt 1350 will notice a few key differences. Firstly, the headband has been completely redesigned - it's a little bit wider across and bulges near the top. The new headband reduces the clamping force that many found unbearable on the dt 1350. The new headband combined with the new ear pads (which are also available on later model dt 1350's) makes for an extremely comfortable headphone. It isolates and makes just as good a seal as the dt 1350 does, but has a wider "sweet spot" and remains comfortable even if you're wearing glasses. The T51p also has a y cable that terminates in a 90 degree 1/8" connector - perfect for on-the-go.
 
I'll write more about the sound when I've put more miles on them, but my first impressions are very positive. They somehow maintain the clarity and detail of the dt 1350 while adding a very impressive bass response. It reminds me of the bass on the dt 770 but more taut and well-defined. I will also say that the bass digs deeper than I expected, and the sub-bass can be palpable at times. All this low-end emphasis definitely gives this headphone a warmer feel than most Beyerdynamic headphones. It makes my Beyerdynamic T90 seem extremely bright. However, there is still enough sparkle and detail in the treble to remind you that you're listening to a pair of Beyers.
 
I hope there's at least a few of you out there who own and are enjoying these headphones! I'm surprised how little attention they're getting on head-fi.

 

[Mad Max]

Sweet photos, but this thread belongs in the Portable Headphones forum, not the Full-sized Headphones forum.
 
On topic, I was mildly interested in this headphone, but after reading impressions of its sound here on head-fi, I think I'll pass.  I would probably like my T50p better.
 
The headband may seem to you as "completely redesigned" versus DT1350, but it is just T50p' headband with the top part bent a bit differently.  I bent my headband a bit for a tighter fit and wee bit better isolation, so it looks like your T51p's now.
I definitely like the idea of pads with a wider "sweet spot", although I've long since passed the bit of a learning curve that the old pads had.

 

[Scorpion667]

I just snagged a pair a few days ago. Sitting at about 56 hours burn in.
 
I've demoed them a few times in store since Jan. Never thought I would settle for on-ears. I hate on-ears with a passion. 
 
But T51p was different. I forgot I was wearing them. Literally was CONVINCED I was wearing my IEM's so when someone went to talk to me I went to twist the cup as I do when removing my IEM. Was kind of funny to me 
 
Pros:
-Most comfortable on-ears I have ever encountered. Or should I say the ONLY comfortable on-ears I have ever encountered.
 
-Great bass, even for bassheads. It strikes a good balance where it's not TOO boomy in places it shouldn't be, but can really make genres like Trap, Dubstep and other bass heavy genres hit hard. These are very enjoyable cans for EDM. 
 
-Aesthetics are insane. I am a huge fan of industrial and steampunk design and this dominates that criteria for me. I get quite a few looks when I wear these on my 3 hour daily commute. 
 
-Quite light
 
-VERY comfortable around the neck. The only headphone that I found comfortable around the neck actually.
 
-They seal well with any shades on. Easily. Also with a baseball cap. Or both shades and a baseball cap.   
 
Cons:
-Cable sucks, kinks easily and does not inspire confidence. It's so light that it literally floats out all crooked when I have my X5 in pocket while standing up. I look forward to the cable breaking so that I can have an excuse to get one of the skilled individuals on head-fi to recable them with some silver plated OCC copper.
 
-Sound stage width and depth seems very dependent on source, unlike my Pro900's, something to take note of. Running them from the X5 the soundstage is good for the size of T51p but from iphone5/Moto X the sound stage tends to feel somewhat restricted? Again, that's not an issue with Pro900, maybe cause of that S-Logic bznz that Ultrasone uses to boost soundstage (AFAIK).
 
-Highs sound " hollow" (?) without EQ. I found raising 2k about 3-4db and dropping 125hz about 5-6db makes them more enjoyable in that regard. [edit] Forget the EQ, seems at 76 hours burn in the drivers came to life. I didn't even listen to them much during the burn in so it's hard to blame placebo in this scenario. I might have sped up the "burnin" process a bit by letting them play for 50 hours straight with very little breaks in between (I don't recommend this).
 
-no removable cable, no Android remote (only iPhone remote is available).
 
Overall, very happy with my purchase, especially after some burn in!

 

[Greyman666]

I just purchased these today and when doing an A B with my hd25 I noticed that, when the T51p is worn with the side marked L on my left ear, it actually plays the right channel. Nasty. Is this simply cosmetic? IE they're symmetrical by design and I just need to reverse them on my head? Or do I need to return them? Never have I seen anything like this...unless this L has another meaning.
Chris
Oh yeah, they sound pretty good. More to come on the comparison after break in, that is unless they're not symmetrical and I introduce them to the nearest wall.

Edit: They fit equally well either way so I'll just roll my eyes a bit and chalk it up to a manufacturing slip. No need for OCD (here).

 

[Scorpion667]

I just purchased these today and when doing an A B with my hd25 I noticed that, when the T51p is worn with the side marked L on my left ear, it actually plays the right channel. Nasty. Is this simply cosmetic? IE they're symmetrical by design and I just need to reverse them on my head? Or do I need to return them? Never have I seen anything like this...unless this L has another meaning.
Chris
Oh yeah, they sound pretty good. More to come on the comparison after break in, that is unless they're not symmetrical and I introduce them to the nearest wall.

Edit: They fit equally well either way so I'll just roll my eyes a bit and chalk it up to a manufacturing slip. No need for OCD (here).

Manufacturing slip up. 
I just confirmed 100% my T51p has the markings correctly as per channel.
 
Using this simple stereo test the T51p correctly played left as left and right as right. Plugged my Ultrasone Pro 900 to the exact same source and same thing. 
 
If it bugs you just take it back. I'm on the fence whether my OCD would bug me as they are indeed symetrical. 
Wait you can fix this easily! Take out the caps from both arms (at the top of the extension arm each there's a black plastic stopper, take both out) and simply swap left arm to right side of band and vice versa =) 
 
I looked and it's nearly impossible to break anything doing this. If you REALLY want to be careful ask Beyerdynamic's permission to do it, should be okay. It looks pretty simple to take out it's just two tabs on each side that you have to pull back. just use a wooden/plastic toothpick maybe. Might leave a small mark that's why I said ask Beyer's permission first, that way if you need a warranty swap later and they call "user damage" because of THAT, you have written proof from them that they gave the OK =)
 
Mine started to shine after 75-80 hours of breakin, in which I didn't listen to them at all. When I took them out of the box I was on the fence about the sound but after breakin I was absolutely hooked!

 

[Greyman666]

Beyer was quite willing to replace them, even for something cosmetic - good to know.
However, I ended up exchanging them where I bought them, but not because of the reverse labeling. The sliding adjustment for one of the drivers was also loose.
So, back to listening to them, rather than fiddling with a short straw. These are great headphones!
More to come on the sound...

 

[TokenGesture]

Hey - just got these, literally out of the box.  The bass! Wow, when they said they had improved the bass response, they weren't kidding!

 

[headwhacker]

I demoed DT1350, T50P and T51P. I walked out the headphone shop wearing T51P. For me this is the best sounding phone I heard out of the box. Even better than my T1 out of the box for as long as I remembered. It sound absolutely better than my DT-250 and close to sound quality to my T1.
 
DT1350 sound very thin, I guess it was tuned to be neutral. T50P sounds like a joke, very hollow sounding and sounds like a tin can. I rank the 3 phones in this order:
 
T51P > DT1350 > T50P.
 
This is a very good mobile headphone which complements for my T1.

 

[MacedonianHero]

In case anyone is interested in my in depth review of these most excellent on-ears:
 
http://headphone.guru/beyerdynamic-t51pa200p-a-brilliant-portable-team/

 

[Jeb Listens]

Excellent review, MacedonianHero.
 
On the back of this review, I went and demoed some t51ps this afternoon.  I thought they were absolutely terrific and engaging in a way I wasn't expecting!  They were superb right out of the iPod but - as you have suggested - also responded superbly to amplification (with a portable fostex DAC/Amp).
 
If I was to have one criticism it would be with its slightly narrow soundstage.  I don't have huge experience with on-ear headphones so I wonder if this is par for the course for this type of headphone.  Using the Fostex certainly helped since this particular DAC/amp really does have a tremendously open and 3d soundstage which can help with headphones that are a little congested.
 
I'm sure many reviewers have already compared these with the DT1350, which I am yet to hear (and can't find locally).  If the 1350s bettered the t51s in soundstage and top end detail - without totally sacrificing the warm and engaging sound that the 51s have... then I could be swayed towards them.  
 
The salesman told me that this particular line of headphones was being discontinued, which surprised me as I believed they were relatively new.  Perhaps he just meant that that particular shop would no longer be stocking them.
 
These are definitely on my list.  
 
Regards
 
Jeb

 

[Scorpion667]

  Excellent review, MacedonianHero.
 
On the back of this review, I went and demoed some t51ps this afternoon.  I thought they were absolutely terrific and engaging in a way I wasn't expecting!  They were superb right out of the iPod but - as you have suggested - also responded superbly to amplification (with a portable fostex DAC/Amp).
 
If I was to have one criticism it would be with its slightly narrow soundstage.  I don't have huge experience with on-ear headphones so I wonder if this is par for the course for this type of headphone.  Using the Fostex certainly helped since this particular DAC/amp really does have a tremendously open and 3d soundstage which can help with headphones that are a little congested.
 
I'm sure many reviewers have already compared these with the DT1350, which I am yet to hear (and can't find locally).  If the 1350s bettered the t51s in soundstage and top end detail - without totally sacrificing the warm and engaging sound that the 51s have... then I could be swayed towards them.  
 
The salesman told me that this particular line of headphones was being discontinued, which surprised me as I believed they were relatively new.  Perhaps he just meant that that particular shop would no longer be stocking them.
 
These are definitely on my list.  
 
Regards
 
Jeb

It's being discontinued and replaced with T51i, which was shown at CANJAM
 
Innerfidelity has a video at the Beyerdynamic booth explaining what it sounds like, google it. But yeah sound stage is pretty bad on T51p. 

 

[Jeb Listens]

Thanks a lot Scorpion.
 
I watched the video.  
 
I'm still somewhat confused about the relationship to the T51p.  Obviously it has the addition of the inline controls, but apart from that it is billed as being identical to the T51p.  The T51p (I believe) had an impedance of 60Ohms, whereas the 51i is 32Ohms,  so it sounds like more has changed than just the inline controls with some adjustments having been made to make it more portable-friendly and easier to drive. 
 
Regards
 
Jeb.

 

[Scorpion667]

  Thanks a lot Scorpion.
 
I watched the video.  
 
I'm still somewhat confused about the relationship to the T51p.  Obviously it has the addition of the inline controls, but apart from that it is billed as being identical to the T51p.  The T51p (I believe) had an impedance of 60Ohms, whereas the 51i is 32Ohms,  so it sounds like more has changed than just the inline controls with some adjustments having been made to make it more portable-friendly and easier to drive. 
 
Regards
 
Jeb.

Only time will tell. For example, the Beyerdynamic DT770 32ohm is a different beast than 80+ohm when when the 80ohm is powered properly. We shall see. 
Mt T51p cable is finally almost straight, after several months of owning them. Those kinks that came out of the box were impossible to take out, even with counter bending under heat. Looks okay now

 

[Jeb Listens]

Yes we'll see indeed.  I think i'll try and snap up one of the 51ps while there are still a few around since  (at least in terms of impedance) it'll be a better match for my amp and the inline controls will be of no use.
 
Thanks for your thoughts, Scorpion.   

 

[Jeb Listens]

Just as a final note and for the records
 
(and in an effort to gain enough posts so I can change my avatar)
 
 
The T51p is also listed in many places (including their own website) as 32 Ohms the same as the T51i.  Elsewhere in other official blurb it is listed at 60 Ohms.   Either there is a discrepancy in the listings OR there are multiple/rebooted versions with this lower impedance,  OR  they have always been 32 Ohms.
 
In any case, at some point you have to just say screw it,  and get one.   So that's what i'll do.   
 
 
Regards,
 
Jeb.