The 700 and 900 pro sound quite different than the Tesla variants, at least the 2nd and 3rd gen variants I have (T1.2, 5.2p, 1770/1990/Amiron, T1.3, 5.3). I would say the variation from the 'Beyer sound' is less however. The Tesla generation tended to have pretty warm lower mids boosted up from the bass, certainly exemplified by the T1.3. The proX don't have this at all, their mids are flat, even the 700 pushes its V boost entirely to the bass side of its 250 Hz null. In this respect they sound much more like the Rapid Reflex gen, (770,880,990). Across the board there's a reduction in treble that makes the pro X sound more intimate and upfront detail but also smaller. I could certainly imagine that the driver could be tuned for more treble in other future home variants, but for their application the current tuning makes a lot sense.
What makes them sound Beyer to me is their lightning fast transients, flat phase response and deep extended bass. The latter is likely due to the common design priority of high magnetic flex density (like the 'Teslas' the Stellar are packing 1+ Tesla magnetic field strength).
It's not just the sound... every strand of these headphones' DNA announces it as a Beyer Pro headphone. Despite the entirely new pad design, if you showed me the 900's grey round velour pads on their own there would simply be no other possibility than that they are Beyerbuilt. Hel, just give me the headband strap and I would feel a strange evocation of the classic Beyer Rapid Reflex units... Beyer are masters of design and they are true to themselves here as always.
Don't get me wrong, I love the T5.3 too... they're sitting right next to the 700, 900 and T1.3 on my desk right now. They are just different beasts, perhaps best enjoyed as a stable.
That is true about the Tesla headphones having warm lower mids, but that's what I love about the T1.3. Oh okay so they're more akin to the rapid reflex line but less trebly. I'll probably like them quite a bit as my main problem with the rapid reflex drivers was related to the treble.
Oh okay good to hear they keep the Beyer traits, that's what I was hoping for, I'll have to listen to a pair sometime. I'll eventually get one of those headphones but I may wait for a future release. I currently just own two Beyers, the T1.3 and a modified DT 480.
Do hope to try out the T5.3 more in the future and hope to get some time with one of the new Stellar.45 driver headphones to see how I feel about them. Not very familiar with Tesla Gen 1 or the DT 100, etc. drivers. I believe there are different variations on the rapid reflex driver as some older Beyers had different magnet/airflow designs to them.
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