Introduction
I was first introduced to the Beyerdyamic T51i’s when I entered the market for a Hi-Fi portable can I could listen to on my morning commute and at school. After searching through countless competitors including the B&W P5/7s, B&O H6s (which I owned for a short while) and countless other headphones, I decided to settle down on three main criteria that I was looking for to have in this headphone:

• Great Soundstage
• High Level of Portability
• Clarity

The above three requirements perfectly exemplify my beloved SoundMAGIC HP100s’ and although I knew going in I wasn’t going to get as good of sound out of a portable can as I would out of my full sized headphones,  a sound signature that is close would be a winner.  Before I purchased the T51i, I ended up buying the Koss SP330 on ear around a month ago and loved everything about it. Did they sound as good as my SoundMAGICs? No. Not even close. But for the price, they had everything that I wanted. The only issue I have with them was comfort. After about an hour, I have to take them off because of unbearable pressure on my jaw that cause my teeth to ache. Knowing that the T51i was another on ear headphone, I was initially cautious of buying it for fear of the same issue. However, I heard numerous reviews about them having exceptional sound quality and couldn’t resist their alluring design. I decided to pull the trigger and hopefully see what all the hype was about.
 
First Impressions/Opening
When the headphones arrived in the mail, I carefully unboxed them to see what was in store for me. After opening the carton, I saw that the headphones were recessed in a small black nylon carrying case with a Velcro strap. Included inside of the case was the manual, warranty card, a 3.5mm to ¼ inch headphone adapter, airplane adapter as well as a TRRS to TRS adapter for the headphones. The actual headphones themselves surprised me quite a bit. Unlike the photos which gave the appearance of a weak aluminum headband, the headphones felt quite sturdy with a solid brushed metal headband and earcups with soft black leather padding on the underside of the headband as well as the earpads. The cables from each earcup while thin, were connected to each cup by a strong, thickened rubber and each cable terminated to a single solid Y cable fashioned around the shape of a round, durable rubber cylinder eventually terminating into an L-plug.  Each earcup proudly displays the Beyerdynamic logo as the swiveling mechanisms allow for the folding of the headphones for ease of portability. I found the headband sliding mechanism to be quite stiff, not allowing for minute changes in the position of each cup. Whenever I wanted to adjust a cup, I often found myself taking of the headphone, and fiddling with the sliding mechanism, often times missing my intended notch.  Weighing in at 174g, they reside at a perfectly portable weight. However, as the headphones are made mostly of metal, the earcups are heavy, and it is definitely noticeable compared to my SP330, most especially when worn around my neck.  Also, the comfort issues that I dealt with in the SP330 are extant in the T51i’s. The clamping force out of the box is strong and the headband requires stretching in order to relax the tension on the head
 
Sound
                The most accurate description for the T51s would be a warm, detailed sound which provides rich, lush bass and clear highs with a forward sound signature overall. However, I did find the soundstage to be lacking for my tastes, especially considering the SP330 has a slightly larger soundstage and is a fraction of the price. I also found that vocals and guitar solos in songs lost their sparkle and instead sounded veiled and muffled. As in my previous review, I’m going to include a panel of 6 songs from different genres in order to evaluate my feeling s on how these headphones reproduced each song. As a point of reference, I’ve “burned in” the headphones for around 15 hours or so and all music is either being amped from my Sony STR-V220 A/V Receiver or my Fiio E17k.

1. Com Truise – Cathode Girls

 Com Truise’s 3^rd track of his debut album Galactic Melt is a quintessential example of modern electronic music and a perfect example of a genre where the Beyerdynamics excel. The T51’s lush bass and clear highs really make every element of this song stand out. Each synth drop resonates as you hear the drums in the background thunder and the cymbals clash.  

1.  Meiko – I’m not Sorry

Meiko’s beautiful, full voice in this lovesick ballad is unfortunately not done full justice by the Beyerdynamics. Her vocals are slightly muffled, devoid of the clarity that it deserves.  In the SP330 and moreso in the HP100s, Meiko’s voice is completely revived and sounds vivid and lively. However, the Beyers do good job of creating a warm instrumental to complement the lively tune of the song.

1. Snarky Puppy – Sleeper

I’ve recently gotten into Snarky Puppy, a New York based jazz band whose combination of keyboard, percussion, brass and guitar always keep me coming back for more. I can truly say that while a little veiled with the brass instruments, the t51i’s played this tune wonderfully. Perhaps it may not have sounded as expansive as my bigger headphones, but the warmth and intimate soundstage of this headphone made this song a wonderful treat to enjoy.

1. Dystopia – Acid Smile

Hungarian Rock band Dystopia’s first release in 7 years, Acid Smile is the first single off of their 2014 album Way to Unfold and the Beyers, save a few caveats perform this song well.  The Beyers have a trick relationship with Rock music; the bass guitar, drums and cymbals are usually emphasized while the vocals and guitar are left slightly veiled and less encompassing.  This leaves a very interesting mixture which, depending on the song can be enjoyable or overbearing.

1. Jamiroquai – Two Completely Different Things

My favorite track off of 2009’s Rock Dust Light Star, Jay Kay’s voice falls a bit short along with the saxophones and percussion. While the warmth of the T51i does create a lush atmosphere and the piano rings in clear, the bass somewhat clutters the rest of the elements of the song. In this instance, the intimate soundstage of the t51i is more of a hindrance than an aid.

1. Little Dragon – Cat Rider

Little Dragon’s singer Yukimo Nagano’s vocals ring in loud and clear in of the instances the Beyers can reproduce vocals flawlessly. Here, the beats reverberate, the cymbals sound and the warmth combined with Yukimo’s crystal clear vocals create a hot and cold combo that everyone must hear.
 
So for those who perhaps don’t exactly have my tastes in music, what does this all mean? Well, to be blunt, in most musical genres in which bass and treble are the emphasis of the music (electronic, rap/hip-hop, dubstep, R&B etc,) and mids are not much of a concern, the Beyers excel. However, in musical genres with a mix of frequencies across the spectrum or vocal talents are there as the main element rather than supplementing the music, the Beyers tend to not do as well. This is not to say that these genres sound bad on the Beyers; quite the opposite. Most of them still sound quite enjoyable. However, compared to headphones with more neutral sound signatures and better clarity, the t51s will simply not perform as well.
 
Final Thoughts/Conclusion
                While these headphones provided me with a very interesting listening experience to a sound signature I wasn’t previously introduced to, I think I will be returning them.  That being said, I should state that I am very partial to a neutral sound signature in which all frequencies in the spectrum are emphasized equally.  Also, I found that using equalization on my Fiio E17k provided a more pleasing sound signature with which to listen to. These are pretty nice sounding headphones for what they are; a warm, intimate sounding headphone with recessed and laid back mids and clear highs. However, I believe the price for these headphones is quite steep at an MSRP of $300. Even at the $275 that I paid, I cannot justify the purchase, considering most portable headphones in the $100-200 range provide competitive sound at a much cheaper price.  I think that if Beyerdynamic reduced the price to $199.99, they would have a real killer of a headphone that I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy having.
 
P.S.
Woot! Second review! Hopefully, I’m getting better at this….Well, to all who read this review, I give you massive thanks and feel free to leave feedback on how I should improve. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Introduction
After enjoying my re-branded Brainwavz HM5s for around 6 months, I decided that it was time to move onto the next best thing. Not that I got tired of my HM5s, but I just knew that there was something better out there. After looking around on Amazon, Head-Fi and a couple other websites and stumbled onto the Soundmagic HP100s. The looks really impressed me and although the headphones had very few reviews, every review that I read stated that they were one of the best headphones (if not, the best) within their price range. After doing a little bargain hunting for these headphones, I managed to find a deal on MP4Nation selling these headphones for $189 plus 2 day shipping. I'll post the link for the website right here --> http://www.mp4nation.net/soundmagic-hp100-closed-back-hifi-headphones-free-fedex-2-day-to-select-destination#review-form
 
First Impressions/Opening 
My first impressions of these headphones after opening them were that they looked incredible. The carrying case that the headphones themselves came in was very high quality and to me vaguely reminiscent of the case that V-Moda packages their headphones in. After opening the case, one would see the headphones, a cleaning cloth for the earcups, a warranty card, along with a little fishnet back strapped to the inside of the case by velcro that contains a 3.5 to 6.3 adapter, an airplane adapter as well as a carbiner for use with the carrying case. As for the actual headphones, the construction looked top-notch (quite a bit better than my HM5s) and the earcups with their mirror-like glossy plastic and their beige checkerboard-esque printed lines truly gave me a feast for my eyes. The company logo and the headphones model number are placed seamlessly at the center of the earcups. The earcups also rotate which means that they can be used as DJ headphones or in the instance that one would want to hear something that someone said, instead of taking the entire unit off, one could just swivel the cups. The headphones also come with a lock mechanism for the earcup plug to prevent removing of the plug in the instance of turbulence on the cable. One final remark I would like to mention about these headphones is that they come with a coiled cable. I know that some have problems with coiled cables because they add weight to the headphone and may hamper portability but to me, coiled cables are a Godsend as they save me the extra effort of having to switch between cables when I want to use my headphones with my PC or with my phone (something that I found myself doing quite often with my HM5s).
 
Sound
Now the part that is most important, the sonic capabilities of  these headphones. To be honest, I am not much of an audiophile so I cannot explain in detail every achievement or shortcomings regarding how these headphones sound, especially when the only other real headphones I've used were my HM5s and the V-Moda M80s which I've since sold. And while I cannot compare them to other headphones within their price range, what I've decided to do was to pick a total of 6 songs from different genres and state what my feelings where on how the headphones reproduced the sound. In addition, at the end of that segment, I will compare both the HP100 and my HM5s and they to elaborate more on the differences between the two headphones. As a point of reference, I have had my HP100s for around 2 months and any burn-in that will have been required to get the best sound out of these headphones has been completed. In addition, all audio for this test has not been amped and is coming straight from my PC.
 

1. Tremonti - Proof

Track 8 off of Mark Tremonti's debut album captures the essence of sorrow and the hope to rebuild and I'm happy to say that the HP100s capture this feeling wonderfully. Everything from the bass guitar to the crystal clear hit of the cymbals in the background and Tremonti's amazing 20 second solo were reproduced beautifully without fail.  Each hit on the bass drum was felt on my eardrums and never at any point cluttered the rest of the song. The amazing soundstage really helped to put together everything in this song as well.
 

1. Johnny Hammond - Lost on 23rd Street

Off of Johnny Hammond's 1975 album Gears, this song has instruments from all over the sonic spectrum to truly put to the test the HP100s claim to being a neutral can. While listening to this track, every single instrument that I heard came in and clearly played their part without stealing another another one's show or being themselves overshadowed. Bells, the saxophone, the keyboard, the bass guitar; you name it. Each was portrayed in their full integrity and the fact that these headphones were able to perform such an act to me is astounding.
 

1. Origa - Inner Universe

With a mix of opera elegance and modern electronic elements, Russian singer Origa's voice is brought to life by the HP100s. Each drop by the synthesizer is felt as the vivid bass is portrayed so naturally. Origa's voice, sounding so fully bodied and clear echoes and creates the illusion that you are listening inside of a concert hall, thanks to the amazing soundstage. This song is truly a treat to be listened to on these headphones.
 

1. John Horner -  A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics

This beautifully composed piece off of the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed movie "A Beautiful Mind" is reproduced wonderfully by the HP100s. Flutes sparkled, drums resonated, vocals mystified and string instruments danced elegantly as each instrument culminated to produce an overall wonderful listening experience. I realize that some say that closed back headphones don't have the soundstage to do classical music justice but to those I say this: Even if classical music can be reproduced better on open backs, these headphones do one hell of a job still giving you an experience that feels as though you are at an orchestra.
 

1. Dj Nat -  Theory of Everything 2

A nice dubstep song with a fair amount of drum and bass as well as some electronica thrown in for good measure to test the HP100s' bass response and its clarity as a result of its bass. I can honestly say that anyone looking for a decent amount of dubstep in their musical diet will not be disappointed. The bass response, while strong, does not drown out any other part of the music. Each drop was full,  presented wonderfully and eloquently followed by the electronic piano in the background. In my opinion, this headphone would be enough for any basshead (this also being confirmed by a couple of my friends who are bassheads who tried my HP100s and feel in love with them).
 

1. Nas - You Wouldn't Understand

As I end my song review, I thought I'd conclude with my favorite rapper Nas and one of my favorite tracks off of his latest album, Life is Good. All the wonderful things that I stated about the bass on these headphones on the dubstep song carries over to this song. Although there are many more elements in this song especially in the vocals, the bass is still wonderfully portrayed. Percussion elements and vocals come in loud and clear and as the vocals fade out at the end of the song, I get the feeling of wanting 4 more minutes to give the song a listen again. 
 
 
Finally, compared to my HM5, the Soundmagics blow them out of the water. Practically anything pro you can think of in the HM5s is multiplied by 10 in the Soundmagics without any of the cons. The very first things that I noticed were much better in the Soundmagics than in my HM5s were the soundstage and the bass response. The soundstage in the HM5s to me was like listening to a 2.1 speaker system compared to the Soundmagics which were like listening to a 5.1 speaker system with a subwoofer. In addition, with my HM5s, I could at times enjoy rap and dubstep but always felt that there was something missing as the left earcup on those headphones is almost entirely devoted to treble and is almost completely devoid of bass. This was one thing that I enjoyed about my M80s when I had them; I very easily enjoyed the above two genres because they gave me the bass that I needed. The Soundmagics take it a whole step further and in addition to better bass, adds an amazing soundstage to complement the bass. 
 
Final Thoughts/Conclusion
 
Overall, I am very pleased with these headphones and their functionality. In every single genre that I have thrown at it, these headphones have managed to reproduce the sound effortlessly and mystify me into listening to more and more genres to see how these headphones will rise to the challenge. If this review is any indication of how these headphones will handle other genres, then I am sure to enjoy these headphones for many years to come. At an MSRP price of $199, you are getting one hell of a deal that you will not be disappointed in. My only regret is not getting an amp to pair with these headphones as I can only imagine how much more impressed I will be when I find a great DAC and amp.
 
P.S. 
 
For those reading, this was my very first review of a pair of headphones and I welcome any criticism to this review. If I left anything out of this review that you would have liked me to answer, a comment helping me to improve on ways to become a better reviewer would be amazing. Thanks in advance!
 
 
UPDATE - 12/04/2016
 
             Over 3 years later, I can truly say that my Soundmagics have served me well. Every single headphone I've purchased in the last 3 years have been compared to the HP100s and each time, my Soundmagics still seems to give me the best sound and bang for my buck. Unfortunately, damage to the hinges of the earcups on both sides have rendered my current pair nigh unusable. I'm firmly convinced that this is due to the tension on the earcups caused by the straight cable replacement that I received around 6 months earlier. The coiled cable that I so loved with these headphones saw a slow but steady decay over the period of the first 2.5 years I owed my Soundmagics. By the time I finally convinced myself to pay up for another cable, I was very disappointed to learn that SoundMAGIC was no longer making the coiled cable for their headphones. I contacted SoundMAGIC and they promptly had one of their distributors in Minnesota send me a replacement cable with the extension, free of charge (Mad Props to SoundMAGIC!). I like to move around when I listen to my music but because the straight cable had no flexibility to move with me like the coiled cable did, the straight cable would often pull on things around my desk and would pull HARD on my headband in extreme cases. Finally, about three months ago, when I was putting on my pair to listen to some tunes, I noticed that the left earcup was sitting slightly lower on my head then the right earcup. Upon investigation, I found a significant fracture on the earcup holder right below the hinge; a similar but less severe crack was found in the same place on the right earcup holder. Prior to this, I had absolutely NO problems with the build construction and after 2.5 years at the time, they were still running strong with no visible damage. The final straw came a couple weeks back when I accidentally stepped on the extension cable while I was walking and the earcup holder on the left headband snapped clean off. I tried supergluing the broken part back to its original position to no avail.
 
So after 3 years of wonderful listening experiences, I was torn; do I move onto another headphone that could offer me better or worse performance to what I had been used to for so long or do I purchase another pair of Soundmagics but stay closed off to opportunities that could be better than what I've heard? As tortured as I was to move on from what had given me so much joy for such a significant period of my young audiophile life, lack of American distributors and a refusal to tolerate the straight cable that cause the downfall of my beloved HP100's from the HP150 forced me to look elsewhere for a period of time. After on and off searching for headphones, I happened upon the British SoundMAGIC division and saw that they had the HP100s, new in box and at a fraction of the price I originally paid for my pair. I ordered them about a week ago after an anxious, week long wait, got them in the mail yesterday. Now, honestly speaking, listening to the new pair and my old pair I can truly say they sounded pretty much identical, which is a VERY good thing. I've never really been one to believe in burn-in so YMMV but I'm happy I have another chance to listen and cherish one of the most important things that I've been able to experience in my entire life.  
 
For anyone wanting to find the link for the deal I got, here's two links that I found. They are named differently, but they are both the same distributor: --> http://soundmagicheadphones.com/collections/pro-headphones/products/soundmagic-hp100-closed-back-headphones-with-replaceable-cable
--> http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/soundmagic-hp100-foldable-closed-back-dj-monitoring-headphones-with-replaceable-coiled-cable.html