[DarginMahkum]

Thank you for the feedback, @HarlanDraka81, @money4me247, @Edric Li and @csglinux. Hmmm... Really hard to decide. I sold my Noble Katana a while ago, and I must say although I very much liked its clarity, I was not very impressed while listening to bass (double or electric) instruments. The sound stage was above the average. I listen to my wife's HD800 from time to time (which she uses for mixing) but the highs are too sharp for me to listen to for long durations. I was also thinking about the LCDi4, but it is not suitable for office listening, as I understand, because of its semi-open nature.

I really need to find a way to listen to PP8 and KSE1500 before making a decision. I will start with the measurents, now.

Cheers

 

[Soulreaper]

Hello mate @Dobrescu George. After thinking and reading a lot of reviews I placed my bet on xelento. You were so right about my craving for treble. I got my xelento 7 days ago. I was stunned by their gloss. Comfort and seal are fabulous almost like nothing in my ears. Sound of xelento made me go wow. Resolution and details are at finest level. I can feel Bass presence and rumble. I never heard Bass this big. Brightness of treble is very good but not like my ie800. But over all a very well noticeable upgrade over ie800.

Today again I read your review for Ibasso dx200 for 3rd time indeed a very well written review. I was all prepared to purchase Ibasso dx200 and pair with xelento but bad luck not available in my country. I will have to wait more to get prepared for custom charges.
Any ways thanks a lot for your inputs mate.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hello mate @Dobrescu George. After thinking and reading a lot of reviews I placed my bet on xelento. You were so right about my craving for treble. I got my xelento 7 days ago. I was stunned by their gloss. Comfort and seal are fabulous almost like nothing in my ears. Sound of xelento made me go wow. Resolution and details are at finest level. I can feel Bass presence and rumble. I never heard Bass this big. Brightness of treble is very good but not like my ie800. But over all a very well noticeable upgrade over ie800.

Today again I read your review for Ibasso dx200 for 3rd time indeed a very well written review. I was all prepared to purchase Ibasso dx200 and pair with xelento but bad luck not available in my country. I will have to wait more to get prepared for custom charges.
Any ways thanks a lot for your inputs mate.

Woah, really glad to have helped!

Thank you for your kind words!

For DX200, please factor in an AMP5 module, it makes DX200 truly shine! I am yet to properly write about the amp modules, but will get to it soon!

Sorry to hear that it isn't available in your country, but I hope that Paul from iBasso can help you receive your order safely!

 

[Trager]

So I had a new experience with my Xelentos last night... the left side was noticeably quieter than the right, and then I started fiddling with it, and the sound died out almost entirely. I looked carefully at the headphone, and I did a bunch of playing with the cable, connector, etc. Nothing seemed to fix it. Tried cleaning the grate, and some material came off, but the sound wasn’t fixed. So I pulled out my Xelento box, and checked the manual and other contents. Hadn’t noticed the little bag of “replacement protective grids” before, but figured that I should try replacing the left grid before sending the headphones back to Beyerdynamic on an RMA.

Thus ensued one of the most frustrating 45 minute struggles of the past year. Good lord, putting a new grid in is a pain in the arse. As it turns out, that did fix the problem, but I ended up crushing one of the grids in the process, and the one that did go in took bloody forever and a lot of very fine (and very firm) manipulation to get it to go. There has got to be a better way.

Has anyone else had to do this yet? Also, is there a way to get replacement replacement grids?

 

[Dobrescu George]

So I had a new experience with my Xelentos last night... the left side was noticeably quieter than the right, and then I started fiddling with it, and the sound died out almost entirely. I looked carefully at the headphone, and I did a bunch of playing with the cable, connector, etc. Nothing seemed to fix it. Tried cleaning the grate, and some material came off, but the sound wasn’t fixed. So I pulled out my Xelento box, and checked the manual and other contents. Hadn’t noticed the little bag of “replacement protective grids” before, but figured that I should try replacing the left grid before sending the headphones back to Beyerdynamic on an RMA.

Thus ensued one of the most frustrating 45 minute struggles of the past year. Good lord, putting a new grid in is a pain in the arse. As it turns out, that did fix the problem, but I ended up crushing one of the grids in the process, and the one that did go in took bloody forever and a lot of very fine (and very firm) manipulation to get it to go. There has got to be a better way.

Has anyone else had to do this yet? Also, is there a way to get replacement replacement grids?

I\'m fairly sure you can get replacement grids from Beyerdynamic directly.

As for your issue, the basic explanation is that the grid filled with debris and wax, so it couldn't let sound pass through anymore.

I had this happen only once, with Sennheiser ie80, after around 4 years of usage. When I called the Sennheiser Service Romania they adviced me to use a toothbrush and that fixed the issue.

So, you could also brush the metal grill and you should fix them.

 

[kms108]

I've had my Xelento for over a year, it's the first generation one, the first one I received had a defective MMCX socket, and after a few months, they replaced it with a new pair, nothing has been wrong with the second pair, just that the MMCX connector (cable side) is the main problem with all Xelento, they tend to be rather loose, I use a third party MMCX cable, a good tight fit, but nothing like the problem as you both has mentioned.

All parts can be purchased direct from BD or a authorised agent in your country if there is one, it requires you to send a email to BD, they will either deal with you directly, or direct you to local agent if one is available. Price is rather expensive.

Just to give you an idea, the stock 3.5mm cables is sold USD99-USD125, although I paid USD 48 as BD's agent in my country got the price wrong.

 

[Trager]

I\'m fairly sure you can get replacement grids from Beyerdynamic directly.

As for your issue, the basic explanation is that the grid filled with debris and wax, so it couldn't let sound pass through anymore.

I had this happen only once, with Sennheiser ie80, after around 4 years of usage. When I called the Sennheiser Service Romania they adviced me to use a toothbrush and that fixed the issue.

So, you could also brush the metal grill and you should fix them.

I did try brushing it, but that didn’t fix the problem. Either I have stubborn ear detritus or the mesh is too fine for my brush to affect.

 

[JohannLiebert]

I hear people saying the soundstage of the xelento is noticeably larger than the akt8ie. I have an Andromeda and owned an AKT8ie. I found their soundstages to be worlds apart.
Did Xelento improve that much to be comparable to andromeda in this regard?

 

[GitBash]

I hear people saying the soundstage of the xelento is noticeably larger than the akt8ie. I have an Andromeda and owned an AKT8ie. I found their soundstages to be worlds apart.
Did Xelento improve that much to be comparable to andromeda in this regard?

Do you prefer Xelento or Andromeda? im between these two.

 

[JohannLiebert]

I've never heard Xelento. If you mean T8ie, I prefer Andromeda by a small margin( huge plus for soundstage and treble presence without sibilance presence). Both have the charms.

 

[Edric Li]

If added treble means larger soundstage (which makes a lot of sense for a wide range of genres) to you, then yes, Xelento has more treble than t8ie, thus larger soundstage. However you may be better off with something even more treble heavy if you are going down this path, for example the Ocharaku Flat-4 KAEDE, the Hidition NT-6 pro, or the UM Mentor. Heck, even the K3003 meets your need better than Andromeda.

 

[JohannLiebert]

Andromedas treble is almost borderline too much, but is still kinda smooth with everything I throw at it. I've heard james444 saying that too in his review about the Xelento.
Would you say the xelento is as bright or brighter than Andromeda?
I think Xelentos soundstage should satisfy me if it's even bigger than Laylas.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Andromedas treble is almost borderline too much. Would you say the xelento is as bright or brighter than Andromeda?

Isn;t Andromeda like on the smoother side?

 

[JohannLiebert]

It is very emphasized, but still very smooth.
For example the Shure SE846 with white filters has far less extension in the treble, but is sibilant as hell. The Andromeda manages to have an airy sound with lots of treble without sounding harsh or any sibilance. It is pure magic and I've heard a lot of treble inears. Would you say the xelento manages to do the same?

 

[Dobrescu George]

It is very emphasized, but still very smooth.
For example the Shure SE846 with white filters has far less extension in the treble, but is sibilant as hell. The Andromeda manages to have an airy sound with lots of treble without sounding harsh or any sibilance. It is pure magic and I've heard a lot of treble inears. Would you say the xelento manages to do the same?

I think that Beyer Xelento sounds quite airy, but stays quite smooth as well

Since I don't have Andromeda or SE846, I cannot relate it to either...