[holsen]

My friend had a listening session with the 2nd gen and he wasnt impressed. He said that you can get a similar performance with a chifi iems at 1/3 of the price.
I think he was bit too critical for them and it was in an audio shop so they probably werent burned in yet. He also prefers more neutral sound, more towards harman target.
Im also harman fan after having the Monarch Mk2 and decided to go with the Dunu SA6 Ultra.
I love full and realistic mids, expecially vocals and this wasnt great on the OG version for me. It improved quite significantly with spin fits 100+ but the lack of body is still there and i even prefer the Hook X or Kinera Nanna for vocal oriented music.
Would be great to see the graphs but i just couldnt find any.

Burn in has definitely helped these. When I go back and forth between the Xelento 2 (X2) and my EJ07Ms and my Fusions, on immediate listen the mids are a bit scooped out in comparison but my ears adjust very quickly to it. Diana Krall is a great artist to listen to the female vocals and I've been critically listening for the the last hour to "Black Crow" and "Temptation" and there is no question in my mind or to my ears that the vocals have come forward and treble has extended.

I'm now playing with Cables. I've got 4 EA cables in front of me and they do shift the sound but it's subtle. Right now I've got the new Cleopatra II attached. It's a $1000 pure silver litz cable which takes a touch of the weight out of the bass while keeping the layering and definition - this serves to elevate the mids in the overall soundscape and I hear a touch of more airiness in the treble, but honestly not $1000 bucks worth. I wouldn't even know how to quantify that. I've also played with the EA Cadmus, Ares S and Eros S The Xelento cable is very thin and I've been trying to prove to myself that it's a "choke point" yet I cannot prove that. Other cables do make a subtle shift based on their properties and I do prefer the sound of the X2 with the Cleo II cable but it's not a massive shift in sound and the ultra thin stock cable is really comfortable, portable and tangle free.

We all have to know what we want as a total package. Sound, ergonomics, aesthetics, etc. I've got a couple of CIEMs that are astoundingly good but they're large so I tend to only use them around the house and I've other universals that I consider sensational but the hole in my collection was a small, diminutive earphone I could travel and sleep with that doesn't compromise. For me Xelento has filled that gap.

Enjoy those SA6 Us!

 

[mainguy]

My friend had a listening session with the 2nd gen and he wasnt impressed. He said that you can get a similar performance with a chifi iems at 1/3 of the price.

I know people who pull this kind of thing too. Sadly whenever I try the supposedly 'incredible' budget chifi it has fatal flaws and never actually sounds that good, at least compared to the big boys, Andromeda, Xelento, etc.

At risk of sounding presumptuous, I think some people listen with their wallet. I wish I had this ability.

 

[RIGATIO]

I know people who pull this kind of thing too. Sadly whenever I try the supposedly 'incredible' budget chifi it has fatal flaws and never actually sounds that good, at least compared to the big boys, Andromeda, Xelento, etc.

At risk of sounding presumptuous, I think some people listen with their wallet. I wish I had this ability.

On the other hand, chifi from the same budget destroys Xelentos imho. Lets just take the Monarch Mk2. The difference is quite brutal.

 

[RIGATIO]

I know people who pull this kind of thing too. Sadly whenever I try the supposedly 'incredible' budget chifi it has fatal flaws and never actually sounds that good, at least compared to the big boys, Andromeda, Xelento, etc.

At risk of sounding presumptuous, I think some people listen with their wallet. I wish I had this ability.

Just compared OG Xelentos (999e) to the Hook X (240e) playing the same tracks. The Hook X beats the Xelentos with the tuning (by a big margin), soundstage width (quite significant margin). The Xelentos are more detailed up on top but is hard to say if they are more detailed or they just boost 8k region. The Hooks are smoother and more even there. The Hooks are closer to the Harman and for me they sound more emotional without being boosted in bass and upper mids (still the bass depth and amount of it is very similar). They sound very slightly drier but somehow they evoke more emotions for me. The vocals on the Hooks are fuller and more textured. On the Xelentos they are somehow empty inside but have a very precise edges.
Both are very engaging, the Xelentos having slightly upper hand here but overall tuning is definitely better on the Hooks. They sound more live-like and out of a head.
Both tested with the Shanling M8.

 

[sjcal]

Just compared OG Xelentos (999e) to the Hook X (240e) playing the same tracks. The Hook X beats the Xelentos with the tuning (by a big margin), soundstage width (quite significant margin). The Xelentos are more detailed up on top but is hard to say if they are more detailed or they just boost 8k region. The Hooks are smoother and more even there. The Hooks are closer to the Harman and for me they sound more emotional without being boosted in bass and upper mids (still the bass depth and amount of it is very similar). They sound very slightly drier but somehow they evoke more emotions for me. The vocals on the Hooks are fuller and more textured. On the Xelentos they are somehow empty inside but have a very precise edges.
Both are very engaging, the Xelentos having slightly upper hand here but overall tuning is definitely better on the Hooks. They sound more live-like and out of a head.
Both tested with the Shanling M8.

Hm.. what iem outperforms on xelento on overall bass (full sounding, impactful, emotional) though?

 

[newworld666]

I don't know, but as far as I make some A/B comparison with my Truthear X Zero Crinacle, and my nice planar Ze Tian Wu .. the Xelento Gen 1, for me, still have a margin in bass texture and high frequencies details, including comfort (Xelento are the only one allowing sleeping with the head on the side). With Xelento tips the Gen 1 have a nice open stage too comparable to the Ze Tian Wu.
I really would like to see some frequency response chart between Gen 1 and Gen 2 .. Because, just for the comfort in the ears of the Xelento, I should probably pull the trigger one more time at this 1K€ target, assuming that Harman Target is closely reached in frequency response (as I have like 65 to 70% listener's taste in favour of this target). The Gen 1 needs some (Poweramp) PEQ to reach such target, but they do the job and I use them every night.

 

[RIGATIO]

Hm.. what iem outperforms on xelento on overall bass (full sounding, impactful, emotional) though?

I also have the IBasso it07 and they have similar bass impact and depth. But its slightly more controlled and tighter. But overall the subbass on the Xelento is nearly perfect for me, one of the best ive heard on any iem. The problem starts with the midbass which overshadows lower mids. Then mids are pulled back too much. Higher mids are sibilant. Trebles are good.
In general the Xelentos are a very very good iems but the competition makes them questionable when it comes to the pricing. Ive heard the Moondrop Variations and they were better for half of the price. The Monarch Mk2 are priced similarly but they are on a completely different level. The Xelentos should cost around 500-600 bucks max.
I love mines but objectively they are beaten by most of my iems, even the Hook X in overall performance and especially tuning, which is the most important factor for me.

 

[sjcal]

If anyone has a xelento that they no longer use and would like to sell it, let me know!

 

[Hestia]

Ha valakinek van xelentója, amit már nem használ és eladná, szóljon!

Privát üzenet

 

[Bret Halford]

Didn't catch that Brent Butterworth at Soundstage had published a frequency response of the Xelento 2 on his GRAS rig (generally quite comparable to Oratory and Crinacle). Looks largely similar to the T9 as expected:

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...n-earphones-measurements&catid=263&Itemid=203

Very impressive isolation and low distortion. I'd need to demo them first before I bought though with that reduced ear gain...

 

[newworld666]

With this chart it seems the frequency measurements of the Xelento gen2 is almost identical of the Gen 1 ... I am not sure it will be worth to switch to the gen 2 coing from gen 1

 

[Bret Halford]

With this chart it seems the frequency measurements of the Xelento gen2 is almost identical of the Gen 1 ... I am not sure it will be worth to switch to the gen 2 coing from gen 1

To clarify, the second chart is the Astell & Kern T9iE. The AK T8 was similarly the Xelento 1's older brother, but in that case it appears Beyer did more to tweak the Xelento 1 vs. T8.

Below is T9 (aka Xelento 2 if it tracks as well as Soundstage measurement) vs. Xelento 1:

It looks a lot less V shaped, and I like that lower mids are now flat, but that ear gain looks a bit idiosyncratic I'd want to demo them before a buy myself.

The distortion measurements on Soundstage are incredible, got to love single driver dynamic!

 

[kairoo]

Couldn't it rather be the A&K T8iE Mk1? 8K is below the 5K peak. Or rig difference?

 

[kairoo]

Or a hybrid of the two.

 

[kairoo]

And another from Passion for Audio