Beyerdynamic T51P

I had heard a demo of these years ago and instantly liked their insightful sound signature, years later and heavily discounted I finally got around to purchasing, they are revealing without having hot highs, bass is quite good for their size and well controlled. Light weight but sturdily built, cable is truly portable length, superb comfort. Carry case is slim but of soft material. Would have given 5 stars if it wasn't for the cable being springy and not replaceable/longer.

I have been listening to this headphone for the last 2 years now.

I usually do not like bulk, so i carry a westone w30 for my commute.

However, whenever i can (i.e. small short trips), i take this on-ear headphone because as much as westone w30 is good for what it is, this on-ear is really quite a bit more better in terms of listening experience.

The sound is warm (not dark), well defined and dynamic. The earphones are somewhat (like all of these kinds) clamping - generating some heat in the ear in the long-run, but still light and very portable.

Over-ears are just a big no-no for me, and until i have a bit more space to afford for a W80, i plan to stick with these when i want a sound with more space than my w30

Background
Let me get out of the way up-front: I hate on-ear headphones. They're invariably a compromise - sacrificing either comfort, performance, or both(!) to achieve portability. I've tried, and wanted to enjoy many. I've had extensive testing time with the Audeze from Sine, for example. There was so much to love about them: the build, oh, the build; the practicality; and that planar speed and low-end in a package that can be used everyday. But god-dammit, I just can't get a good seal on these. Now I'm primarily an open-backed guy, but when I use closed-cans I want two things: some decent isolation (for both myself and the people around me), and comfort. Hence the reason why I own (and love) a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 870ohm, which I'll compare these to mostly, for obvious reasons. 
 
For transit/OTG, I use IEMS. I have a pair of Zero Audio's Carbo Tenores, which I use every day. I've never wanted to spend good money on portable on/over ears, as I've never found anything worth spending money on, and if I did, they invariably had one/two fatal flaws that I couldn't get past. So when my next-door neighbour at my office was looking to buy some new portable cans, I went with him to my local personal audio store to help him compare a few different cans:
 
1. Audeze Sine
2. Oppo PM-3
3. Meze 99 Classics
4. Beyerdynamic T51p
 
Spoiler-alert: (if you haven't guessed it from the title of this review) - he chose the Beyers. Audeze - bad seal. Oppo - supremely comfortable, but less portable and didn't had a huge advantage in perceived sound quality. Meze 99 Classics (which I also own): killer sound; but too bulky to be truly portable. So he bought the T51p's, and he's kindly let me spend a day or two with them to give them a road-test (in exchange for their DT770 stable-mates, of course). 
 

 
 
Build/Fit
Came in the usual mid-range Beyer cardboard box, but inside an awesome padded transit case - nice. The cans themselves are made of a nice high-quality brushed aluminium with soft-touch black-plastic around the drivers, and faux-leather memory foam pads/padding. Being someone else's brand-new cans I'm not even going to see if they're removable! The (non-removable!) cable is an appropriate length for portable cans, but feels a little cheap and toy-like for a $300+ (AU) pair of headphones, portable or no. It's terminated in a 90-degree 3.5mm jack that feels sturdy enough to inspire confidence for throwing what ever you plug it into into pockets, bags and the like. Overall a nice presentation, but more on the utilitarian side than out-and-out premium/luxury. 
 
Being smallish, they're obviously light-weight and barely noticeable in terms of heft when carried/stowed. Onto the make-or-break test - Putting them on, they're...well, comfy! Very comfy. Enough clamping force to stay on and roll your head around, and the padding under the skeletonised headband does what it's supposed to. And the earpads fit nicely on my (admittedly) small ears! The material is plush, creates VERY decent passive isolation. Having given it a 2+ hour wearing test, I'm pleased to say I didn't get any hot-spots or sore points like I get with every other on-ear. Overall - supremely comfortable. Big tick. 
 
Sound
So onto the business-end of the review - how does it sound? In a word - excellent. For the review, I used solely lossless (FLAC/ALAC) files from both a Samsung Galaxy S7 using USB Audio Player Pro, and a Macbook 15-inch Pro (yes the one with actual holes for connecting things like cards, cords, and USBs...but that's another story). Digital > Analogue conversion and amplification was handled off-board, in this case by an Audioquest Dragonfly Black. 
 
Test albums:
 
- Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
- Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream
- Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
- Elvis Costello & The Attractions, This Year's Model
- Tool, Undertow
- Hiatus Kaiyote, Choose Your Weapon
 
I literally A/B'd these at first with the DT770's, which immediately felt strange - I didn't like them at all for the first track or two. Things sounded congested, lacking in impact and separation. Ok, some mental burn-in is obviously required, like with any new equipment. It became clear this was more a symptom of the difference in format between the two Beyers. The DT770's literally surround your ears with big, boomy housings which give more of a 'cavernous' type sound/feel. Owners of these will remark, rightly, that they have decent sound-stage for closed cans. The (relatively) tiny earpads of the T51's feel...small. The sound is more focused into your ears, but after a short while you start to hear things - headstage; left/right separation; and imaging.
 
Then, you realise that these have good detail. Like, really good. The busy cacophony of "Burn the Witch" on Radiohead's latest album is handled with aplomb, managing the transients and attack very deftly indeed. Not sure if this is an inherent feature of Tesla-drivers, but I like it. 
 
The overall colouration is ever so slightly dark, or warm, depending on how you like to describe it. It's absolutely non-fatiguing and inherently musical. It's what I'd describe as an enjoyable/'fun' voicing, that made me simply listen to albums start-to-finish. Which is a Good Thing. 
 
Bass/sub-bass/slam is remarkable and present, with surprising extension. Daft Punk's "Lose Yourself to Dance" has appropriate levels of "WHUMP", but not quite as deep or tight as the DT770s - which truly are bass-Kings as many rightly say. 
 
Mids are thick, detailed, but I'd have to say a little veiled to be honest. The aggressive guitar "crunch" in "Hummer" by Smashing Pumpkins isn't as forward or exciting as I'd like it to be, and I like it that way - owning two pairs of Grados, and being a guitarist I guess you could say I'm a bit of a Mid-junky. 
 
Vocals are sweet, detailed, but not overly intimate or transparent. Elvis Costello singing "Little Triggers", and "Fingerprints" by Hiatus Kaiyote (if you haven't heard them, do yourselves a favour) are enjoyable but don't have that "live"/immediate feel like they do in more transparent headphones. 
 
Treble is every so slightly veiled to my ears, moving back to the DT770's, the treble's noticeably "hotter". Listening the awesome drum-work of Danny Carey on Tool's "Ticks and Leeches", there's not quite as much sizzle in the high-hats, and equates to the T51's having a a little less drama, or "WOW" for me. But we're only talking degrees here for the sake of comparison.
 
 
In conclusion
These were a genuine surprise for me - I'd always balked at considering the T51p's because of a) the face that they're on-ear, and b) the price, or more accurately their price considering the fact that they're on-ear, and it looks like you're getting so much less headphone for the price compared to, say, the DT770s. 
 
The best thing I can so about them is that they truly aren't a compromise. They are, to my ears, a genuine audiophile experience, and one you can take with you/experience on-the-go. Hard for me to comment on the value-equation, as I'd rather spend that amount on a new pair of full-sized cans, but think that price/performance-wise they represent very good value compared to some of the company they're in, and that I tested them against. 
 
Oh, and my work-mate loves them. Then again, he did come from a pair of Boses...fair to say he's now caught the bug. 
 
Cheers, and thanks for reading.
 
Mightygrey. 

I would like to acknowledge that I'm actually reviewing T51i model of these headphones - identical to T51p with addition of in-line remote/mic.  I received these for review purpose from Beyerdynamic, and these should be available for sale any day now (considering this review was written on 4/21).
 
Though I enjoy a comfort of big over-ear headphones, those are not always practical on the go with your portable audio setup of either smartphone or DAP. As a compromise, using on-ear headphones (sitting on top of your ears, rather than around 'over' them) makes it more portable, but at an expense of worse sound isolation, poor fitment, and reduction in sound quality. Sounds like a challenge? Not for Beyerdynamic and their team of German engineers! Introduced originally under T50p, which derived from their flagship DT1350, T51p was an updated version followed by soon to be released T51i. Here is what I found.
 
On-ear or over-ear, I still consider these to be full size headphones with two earcups connected by a headband, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a slim compact box T51i arrived in. It also included a lot of detailed info and specifications to give you an idea about the product even before you take it out of the box. Inside of the box, there was a slim nylon protective case where T51i was stored flat thanks to it's swivel earcups. Out of the case, I found these headphones to be very lightweight at only 174g despite predominantly metal design. The brushed metal design, everything from the headband to adjustment pieces, y-fork, and back and edges of earcups, was definitely a sign of high quality with a modern retro look. With each earcup having individual cable connection, unfortunately non-removable, the headband design was very minimalistic including two split metal bands with slim memory foam strips on the inside. The headband adjustment had a nice click mechanism and the attached y-fork connected to earcup had a full 180-degree fluid rotation. In addition to rotation adjustment, earcups also have a decent angle of tilt to meet demanding needs for any shape of the head. The round soft memory earpads were just an icing on the cake and I found the fitment to be among some of the best I have tested with all on-/over-ear headphones I reviewed in the past. I know its a bold statement to make, but between a perfect clamping force and the comfort of how these earcups adjust to my ears - I was able to find a sweet spot instantaneously and as a bonus was rewarded with a fantastic passive noise isolation on a level of some of the over-ear headphones.
 
Following a short strain relief on each earcup, the right side of the cable (cables are thin rubberized, yet durable) had a built in-line remote/mic surrounded by the same metal material as the rest of the design. I do have to note that all 3 buttons were cramped together, multi-function button in the middle with volume up/down around it, but the recessed opening of the remote actually guided in placement of your thumb right in the middle to hit the center button. Although volume up/down were designated for Apple devices, the multifunction button worked flawlessly with single click for Play/Pause/Call, double/triple click for Skip next/prev, and long press for Google NOW. Call quality was decent, and thanks to a close proximity of remote/mic to your face, it picked up voice crystal clear. Following the cable after remote, the y-splitter had a small rounded design with strain relief on all 3 ends, and the cable was terminated with gold plated right angle 3.5mm connector. As part of the accessory package, included were 1/4" jack adapter, airline flight adapter, and as I mentioned before - a premium nylon flat case with a few storage pockets and form fitting foam partitioning to secure headphones and cable inside.
 
As impressive as it looks, the next step was to examine it's sound quality to see what these TESLA drivers can deliver. Advertised with having a strong magnet, these dynamic drivers supposed to have highest efficiency and minimal distortion. I did start with about 8 hours of burn in to make sure these T51 would "warm up" for the job! I found the sound quality to be top notch with a warm sound extended down to a textured sub-bass level and fast punch of mid-bass to detailed rich mids and extended clear highs. Without getting into a typical deeply v-shaped sound, Beyerdynamic engineers were able to bring out a perfect balance of a powerful and clear bass without making it too bloated. Looking at some of the frequency response data measured on T51p, you can clearly see a mid-bass hump around 100Hz which is going to satisfy anybody's low-end craving, even for those who consider themselves bassheads (though I would not categorize these headphones of having a basshead sound signature). And if other-than-neutral bass is not your cup of tea, this can always be tamed by an EQ adjustment. The mids sound warm and intimate, especially when it comes to vocals though their presentation felt a little bit pushed back, probably due to extra bass quantity. Highs were extended enough to provide clear details, but not too bright and were easy on your ears for extended listening. Soundstage/imaging is probably average, which I consider to be pretty good for closed design. Also, there was absolutely no microphonics effect coming from the cables.
 
My sound testing was done driving T51i directly from X5 and Note 2 which wasn't a problem thanks to their 32ohm mobile-friendly impedance. I also used Beyerdynamic A200p usb DAC/amp in my testing. I know it's probably sounds cliche, but I honestly think that pair up took T51i sound to the next level. It opened up details and made sound more dynamic, including a tighter bass and adding more clarity and sparkle to upper mids and treble. Whats great about A200p is that if you are using T51p without in-line remote, that little usb DAC actually adds a transport control to play/pause and skip tracks. Obviously, with T51i while connected through A200p you will not be able to use headphone's in-line remote/mic. Another thing I wanted to mention, I couldn't help but to be curios how T51i will compare to my recently reviewed pair of on-ear V-Moda XS. Though XS has an advantage of a removable cable and super compact cliqfold storage, in terms of the wear comfort, sound isolation, and sound quality - I found T51i to be superior. As a matter of fact, I took it even one step further comparing to M-100 (and it's popular bass response), and found T51i to dominate in that comparison with a similar bass quantity and a higher quality.
 
Overall, this was another very pleasant surprise where I didn't expect performance of on-ear headphones to reach such a high level! For my taste these headphones are almost perfect, with an exception of non-removable cable and slightly recessed mids where the vocals sounded a bit withdrawn to my taste. But this sound signature is easily fixable with EQ, and considering fantastic "made in Germany" design, rich full body sound, super comfortable fitment, and the bass to make everybody happy - these deserve a very serious consideration for anybody in a market for on-ear or over-ear headphones.
 
Here are the pictures.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi. I've been looking everywhere for reviews for the new T51p and couldn't find much out there. So got them anyway and thought I'd share my thoughts. I have with me the T51p, B&W P3, Momentum on ear and Momentum over ear. First, I am going to discount the P3. It just didn't compete with the others with what I perceived to be veiled vocals and poor separation. I also didn't like the Momentum on ear's too much and didn't find them too comfortable. Sound stage wasn't as good as the over ear's and they were a little too bassey.

The Momentum Over Ear's and T51p's I thought were both very very good and also very similar. Both had in my opinion a very balanced sound. I did however think the T51p's had very slightly better Base and PRAT and very slightly recessed vocals but I mean very slightly compared to the Momentum's. Putting the volume up a little seemed to solve my perception of this. I also found the soundstage on the T51p's very good but not quite as good as the Momentum's. Perhaps I have bigger ears than average but the positioning of the Momentum's really affected the Base. I had to have them sitting on the edges of the back of my ears for them to sound good otherwise the base impact was lost. The T51p's were in my opinion not fussy with placement and were really comfortable too. They didn't hurt my ears and didn't clamp too hard at all. If anything maybe not enough but it didn't cause me concern because I wouldn't be running in them!

The inline controls are useful on the Momentum's and the cable coming out from one side meant that the cable stayed tidy. I found the T51p cable a little annoying. It seemed to tangle itself up a little and twist easily when wearing them.

At this point I'm not sure if I'm keeping the Momentum's or T51p's. I would say that if the Momentum's fit you will and the base impact is good for you, they are the better buy and look better too. For me though, the fitting issue is cause for concern and I really like the rhythmic qualities of the T51p's. Will see.

Sorry for the long review. First review I've ever written on anything! Hope it's helpful though.