[chico playero]

Can anyone who listens primarily to classical music (Western, mostly orchestral), comment on Xelento V1 vs V2? I have both Xelento Wired V1 and the Sennheiser IE800S. I prefer the IE800S for classical, the soundstage is more open and detailed, but the Xelento V1 is considerably more comfortable and ergonomic. I would really like to get the Xelento V2 if it approaches or is better than the IE800S for classical. Also, would the IE900 be a consideration for this purpose, although it is far too expensive new for my budget.

Many thanks!

I now have the Xelento v2. They've not had the required burn in hours on them yet , but to my ears , they are a substantial improvement on the v1. I've listened to a lot of tracks I know well , from classical to modern jazz , etc..They sound a lot more detailed ,less coloured ,and overall more balanced than v1.
I had some reservations about ordering the same IEM , but an updated version. I no longer have reservations and am very happy with my purchase. I'm sure I will use them a great deal. If anyone is looking for an IEM that does everything well , I'd highly recommend the Xelento Remote v2

 

[SteveKiwi]

I now have the Xelento v2. They've not had the required burn in hours on them yet , but to my ears , they are a substantial improvement on the v1. I've listened to a lot of tracks I know well , from classical to modern jazz , etc..They sound a lot more detailed ,less coloured ,and overall more balanced than v1.
I had some reservations about ordering the same IEM , but an updated version. I no longer have reservations and am very happy with my purchase. I'm sure I will use them a great deal. If anyone is looking for an IEM that does everything well , I'd highly recommend the Xelento Remote v2

I had the same situation, I have no regrets whatsoever upgrading.

For once the v2 of an iem is a genuine upgrade not just a "car industry model year" ploy to get people to shell out for the latest version.

 

[rasmushorn]

Would you consider the Xelento 2 a dark or warm sounding IEM?

What full size beyerdynamic headphones do they sound the most like? The "original" beyerdynamic tuning of DT1770, T5.1 or T1.1/2 or the later and much darker sounding T5.3/T1.3?

 

[cfranchi]

Would you consider the Xelento 2 a dark or warm sounding IEM?

What full size beyerdynamic headphones do they sound the most like? The "original" beyerdynamic tuning of DT1770, T5.1 or T1.1/2 or the later and much darker sounding T5.3/T1.3?

I really don’t think xelento v2 sound like new v3 headphones (T1, T5).

Xelento v1 was already more natural sounding than T1 v3 (which is muffled, bass blend really too much into the mids)

Xelento v1 was also less dark than T1 v3.
Xelento v2 is supposed to be more balanced and open than v1.

I cannot compare xelento v1 to older beyer headphones but I never found xelento v1 a bright iem.

From my point of view xelento has its own sound compared to beyer headphones.

 

[newworld666]

I cannot compare xelento v1 to older beyer headphones but I never found xelento v1 a bright iem.

I agree, they are far from being bright, so when you apply some Parametric EQ for mids around 4500 hz with 6 to 7 db with a large bandwidth (Q=0.7), to my ears you even get a significant improvement in clarity/voices details... I would say sound is rather less muffle and still not on the bright side.

With some little PEQ (based a bit on AutoEQ from Crinacle or Oratory1990) the Xelento reaches some very high sound quality at least in the same league as my Sennheiser IE600, IE800 & IE900 ..
I still think there is a rather small place for real improvement with the Xelento 1 (after applying some little PEQ), I imagine that maybe Xelento 2 could probably improve a bit the mid-high between 4000 to 6000 hz, so I am not sure it's worth for me to switch from Xelento 1 to 2 though they must be some improvement in details.

 

[batracom]

I agree, they are far from being bright, so when you apply some Parametric EQ for mids around 4500 hz with 6 to 7 db with a large bandwidth (Q=0.7), to my ears you even get a significant improvement in clarity/voices details... I would say sound is rather less muffle and still not on the bright side.

With some little PEQ (based a bit on AutoEQ from Crinacle or Oratory1990) the Xelento reaches some very high sound quality at least in the same league as my Sennheiser IE600, IE800 & IE900 ..
I still think there is a rather small place for real improvement with the Xelento 1 (after applying some little PEQ), I imagine that maybe Xelento 2 could probably improve a bit the mid-high between 4000 to 6000 hz, so I am not sure it's worth for me to switch from Xelento 1 to 2 though they must be some improvement in details.

This is interesting and useful, thanks. Would you say that the Xelento v2 has a soundstage as spacious as the IE800/S? I found the Xelento V1 to be lacking there.

 

[newworld666]

This is interesting and useful, thanks. Would you say that the Xelento v2 has a soundstage as spacious as the IE800/S? I found the Xelento V1 to be lacking there.

Sorry, if I wasn't really clear .. I was just imagining what should be improved with Xelento 2 based on this thread.

I mainly use IE800 (V1) and Xelento 1 .. both with some PEQ applied ... I don't have any experience with IE800s and Xelento 2.

 

[chico playero]

Would you consider the Xelento 2 a dark or warm sounding IEM?

What full size beyerdynamic headphones do they sound the most like? The "original" beyerdynamic tuning of DT1770, T5.1 or T1.1/2 or the later and much darker sounding T5.3/T1.3?

I would say that Xelento v2 is a warm sounding IEM. It has a very pleasant musical delivery with plenty of detail,but in no way cold or sterile , and every genre of music sounds great. I have three IEMs , all DD drivers. Sony Z1r & CA Atlas. The Xelento v2 slots in nicely with the other two. Z1r is excellent , but needs plenty of juice to make it shine.Paired with the Ta zh1es amp/dac , it's sublime. The Atlas is bonkers with plenty of bass and very full sounding. Great for Led Zep and any kind of rock. Easily driven by a DAP.
I couldn't be happier , I'm now covered on all fronts . Plus I have confidence in companies like Beyerdynamic , Sennheiser , etc.. They have years of experience as well as excellent R&D facilities. The IEM landscape is extremely exotic today compared to when I first got into personal audio 15 years ago.Plenty of exotic prices too!
Xelento v2 is highly recommended , buy with confidence.

 

[Scubadevils]

I would say that Xelento v2 is a warm sounding IEM. It has a very pleasant musical delivery with plenty of detail,but in no way cold or sterile , and every genre of music sounds great. I have three IEMs , all DD drivers. Sony Z1r & CA Atlas. The Xelento v2 slots in nicely with the other two. Z1r is excellent , but needs plenty of juice to make it shine.Paired with the Ta zh1es amp/dac , it's sublime. The Atlas is bonkers with plenty of bass and very full sounding. Great for Led Zep and any kind of rock. Easily driven by a DAP.
I couldn't be happier , I'm now covered on all fronts . Plus I have confidence in companies like Beyerdynamic , Sennheiser , etc.. They have years of experience as well as excellent R&D facilities. The IEM landscape is extremely exotic today compared to when I first got into personal audio 15 years ago.Plenty of exotic prices too!
Xelento v2 is highly recommended , buy with confidence.

100% agree, I find Xelento 2 the best all-rounder of any DD I’ve heard - there are definitely DDs that do specific genres better, but X2 is a set I know I can enjoy any ‘shelf’ of my library, on any source and in absolutely any listening scenario… it ticks all the boxes for me as the perfect everyday driver.

 

[cfranchi]

This is interesting and useful, thanks. Would you say that the Xelento v2 has a soundstage as spacious as the IE800/S? I found the Xelento V1 to be lacking there.

Which tips are you using ?
With the beyer olive tips (the bigger ones) the xelento v1 sounded really out of the head, a really headphone like experience

 

[PureViewer4t1]

I agree, they are far from being bright, so when you apply some Parametric EQ for mids around 4500 hz with 6 to 7 db with a large bandwidth (Q=0.7), to my ears you even get a significant improvement in clarity/voices details... I would say sound is rather less muffle and still not on the bright side.

With some little PEQ (based a bit on AutoEQ from Crinacle or Oratory1990) the Xelento reaches some very high sound quality at least in the same league as my Sennheiser IE600, IE800 & IE900 ..
I still think there is a rather small place for real improvement with the Xelento 1 (after applying some little PEQ), I imagine that maybe Xelento 2 could probably improve a bit the mid-high between 4000 to 6000 hz, so I am not sure it's worth for me to switch from Xelento 1 to 2 though they must be some improvement in details.

+6dB @ 4500Hz with Xelento will fry my auditory nerves. Even reading that makes my ears hurt. Of course mastering quality plays a huge part in that. Unfortunately most of my music consists of "hot" metal and rock so I prefer Xelento as it is. It wraps those nasty peaks in some kind of warmness so I can increase the volume without suffering much.

 

[newworld666]

+6dB @ 4500Hz with Xelento will fry my auditory nerves. Even reading that makes my ears hurt. Of course mastering quality plays a huge part in that. Unfortunately most of my music consists of "hot" metal and rock so I prefer Xelento as it is. It wraps those nasty peaks in some kind of warmness so I can increase the volume without suffering much.

It's just compensating a "hole" in the frequency response of the Xelento that both of Crinacle and Oratory1990 measured from Hong Kong or Austria ... it's not increased to a higher level than other frequencies (still less after EQ).
It's worth to give a try with Poweramp EQ (android 10+) and, for sure, your ears won't be bleeding at all. It's basically just bringing, to some high mids, some more details (cymbals will be airier, less muffled and almost nothing else really noticeable)

 

[batracom]

100% agree, I find Xelento 2 the best all-rounder of any DD I’ve heard - there are definitely DDs that do specific genres better, but X2 is a set I know I can enjoy any ‘shelf’ of my library, on any source and in absolutely any listening scenario… it ticks all the boxes for me as the perfect everyday driver.

Would you place Xelento 2 at the top of the pile for classical (especially Orchestral), or would you rate it above the IE900? Thanks

 

[Scubadevils]

Would you place Xelento 2 at the top of the pile for classical (especially Orchestral), or would you rate it above the IE900? Thanks

I’ve mostly listened to modern classical music up to recently, but the JVC / Victor FW10K has me now exploring a lot more classical music, it’s a more specialist DD but absolutely stunning with classical, jazz, acoustic etc - the best I’ve heard.

I’ll have to listen to both IE900 and Xelento 2 again with classical to hear which I prefer, but given you mentioned classical, I had to flag the FW10K!

 

[batracom]

I’ve mostly listened to modern classical music up to recently, but the JVC / Victor FW10K has me now exploring a lot more classical music, it’s a more specialist DD but absolutely stunning with classical, jazz, acoustic etc - the best I’ve heard.

I’ll have to listen to both IE900 and Xelento 2 again with classical to hear which I prefer, but given you mentioned classical, I had to flag the FW10K!

Thanks, I am sure you are right but alas this is somewhat outside my league financially. It would be great and very helpful if you could give us your view on IE900 vs Xelento 2 for classical.