Beyerdynamic Xelento!

[twister6]

always easy to test, if it feels cold in your ears - it's metal

 

[WCDchee]

always easy to test, if it feels cold in your ears - it's metal

Not entirely, a metallic coating would give that feel too

Since you're doing a review on them, it would be nice if you could ask better directly!

 

[gerbi]

I have received my Xelentos, and am still burning them in, but they are starting to sounding truly exceptional with the DX200. The first IEMs I have used that sound like full size headphones, and I have IE800 and K3003. Far more coherent than the latter, far more balanced than former, and in my view, much more comfortable than either, although am yet to find the right tip for my right ear. Supplied cable (non mic) never cuts off or disconnects sound. Beyer have a winner!

Can you please tell me if they are as bright as the IE800? Thank you.

 

[batracom]

The body feels like metal to me. But its light too, which is a plus,

Regarding comparison to IE800 - I never got fully past fitting issues on the IE800, due to tips and cable. The Xelento is on a wholly different ballgame, I feel I can assess the sound past fitting and cable issues better. I wouldn't say its as bright, and it has far more power on bass, without being bass heavy. It approaches a late generation T1 sound signature, without stepping fully into T1.2 territory. In its way, rather unique.

 

[gerbi]

Thank you very much, I might to add them to the audition list.

 

[SpringBiscuit]

Just ordered Xelento remote after my audition with the reseller, i like the whole experience and presentation from Beyerdynamic Xelento, the design, feel and packaging feel so premium.

I like how beyerdynamic diverts the Tesla driver sound into different zone, it is more like Amiron home side, let go of bright, treble focus such as their T90, DT series but focusing on balance, enhanced on mid and low bass frequency, the punch is amazing, just nice touch enough for all kinds of music.

So far I'm extremely satisfied of the sound presentation, maybe i'm sick of BA clinical detail and sound presentation, it is just me.

 

[batracom]

I agree, I just went back to the K3003 and it really sounds cold and clinical by comparison. Xelento has far more "soul" to it. Isolation can be very good if you insert the tips deeper into the canal. What is interesting is that you can get away with a shallower insertion without compromising sound too much too.

Just ordered Xelento remote after my audition with the reseller, i like the whole experience and presentation from Beyerdynamic Xelento, the design, feel and packaging feel so premium.


I like how beyerdynamic diverts the Tesla driver sound into different zone, it is more like Amiron home side, let go of bright, treble focus such as their T90, DT series but focusing on balance, enhanced on mid and low bass frequency, the punch is amazing, just nice touch enough for all kinds of music.


So far I'm extremely satisfied of the sound presentation, maybe i'm sick of BA clinical detail and sound presentation, it is just me.

 

[potatoe94]

It hits glass with a metalic "ting" , but the demo unit feels like plastic in my hands . Im not quite sure on the housing , im hoping its metal , considering the price i paid for it .

 

[csglinux]

I have to give a shout out to Beyerdynamic. I just returned from the 2017 SoCal Canjam where Xelento impressed me more than any other IEM. The FR is about perfect to my ears (far ahead of the Vega). The clarity is oustanding. Maybe if I'd brought them home and had a chance to do a more careful A/B against my KSE1500s, I could be more critical, but in that (slightly noisy) Canjam setting, I just couldn't fault the sound of these headphones. (I've not heard the previous A&K incarnations, so can't comment on those). The only thing that stopped me from buying them on the spot was I struggled to keep a consistent seal in my right ear. So, just a heads-up - the otherwise-perfect ergonomics are slightly spoiled by nozzles which are a little short.

In terms of SQ, I'd put Xelento up there with Jerry Harvey's new Lolas (which, to my ears - and Jerry told me his too - sound better than Laylas). Lolas also sound fantastic, but have the opposite problem - really long nozzles that leave the IEM hanging outside the conchal bowl. (This may be a deliberate incentive for customers to purchase the CIEM version?!) As a universal, Xelento has better ergonomics. I should give a notable mention to the Noble Kaiser Encore - impressive midrange and treble extension, but the bass didn't sound quite right to me - it lacked a bit of authority down there. My ears have also never got on with the ergonomics of any of the Noble products. They may sound ok, but small, comfortable, ear-shaped IEMs seem to be consistently low on the design-priority list for Noble. The 64 Audio Tia Forte won the prize for the most overpriced IEM ever made (but I'm afraid that's the only box it ticked for me).

I hope I can revisit the Xelento at some point and persevere with a more extensive selection of eartips. It's a beautifully-designed, magical-sounding earphone.

 

[echineko]

I have to give a shout out to Beyerdynamic. I just returned from the 2017 SoCal Canjam where Xelento impressed me more than any other IEM. The FR is about perfect to my ears (far ahead of the Vega). The clarity is oustanding. Maybe if I'd brought them home and had a chance to do a more careful A/B against my KSE1500s, I could be more critical, but in that (slightly noisy) Canjam setting, I just couldn't fault the sound of these headphones. (I've not heard the previous A&K incarnations, so can't comment on those). The only thing that stopped me from buying them on the spot was I struggled to keep a consistent seal in my right ear. So, just a heads-up - the otherwise-perfect ergonomics are slightly spoiled by nozzles which are a little short.

If you have a look at the included eartips, there actually is a pretty extensive variety of eartips included with the Xelento, I'm sure you'd have found one that works for you, eventually

 

[twister6]

Regarding eartips and the seal, the included silicone tips (with an oval stem/bore opening to match the nozzle shape) are very unique and might not work with every ear, but you can use any standard silicone eartip with a round stem, and maybe look for some with a longer stem if you find nozzle to be too short.  Just be aware, with seal being too tight, you can get a little bit of driver flex.
 
Regarding mmcx connectors, even so the shell socket is designed for a universal mmcx type, it requires a slightly longer connector part.  Not every mmcx cable will work, not because something is wrong with Xelento, but due to a selection of the connector variation.  I will take more close up pictures once burn in is done (have probably only 75hrs so far, aiming for at least 150hrs).

 

[WCDchee]

Had a listen to the xelento in a shop today. It's pretty nice, overall balanced sound and pretty accurate sounding.

However, a light gentle knocking of the Two pieces together revealed a very plastic sound. On closer inspection. On one of the corners a little but of the metallic coating seems to have Worn off revealing the plastic material underneath. While i cannot deny that it sounds nice, it is rather disappointing to see that a flagship universal IEM has a plastic chassis

I think the dream and the vega are ahead of it sonically to my ears, but the xelento is no slouch and I would be very happy with the sound if it was my only earphone. Not sure about the matching with aftermarket cables but the stock cable is extremely firmly held in the socket so props to beyer for that.

 

[Kunlun]

I think the dream and the vega are ahead of it sonically to my ears, but the xelento is no slouch

How so? Please be specific, thanks.

 

[WCDchee]

The Xelento has a very easy signature, it is thicker than the Dream to my ears, but not as thick as the vega. It has a nice tonal balance and is flagship material, good stage size, detailed, good bass, etc, but nothing truly stood out to me. With the Vega, I felt that they were at the very least equally resolving on the same cable, but with much more powerful dynamics and much more realistic, physical imaging, The dream was just on a whole other level to me in terms of scale, authority, and resolution.
 
Bear in mind though that this is a quick 10 minute audition, and not a detailed AB comparison, so make of that what you will. These are however, my impressions, Make no mistake though, I like the xelento quite a bit, my irritation at the plastic chassis though might have biased me a little

 

[twister6]

  The Xelento has a very easy signature, it is thicker than the Dream to my ears, but not as thick as the vega. It has a nice tonal balance and is flagship material, good stage size, detailed, good bass, etc, but nothing truly stood out to me. With the Vega, I felt that they were at the very least equally resolving on the same cable, but with much more powerful dynamics and much more realistic, physical imaging, The dream was just on a whole other level to me in terms of scale, authority, and resolution.
 
Bear in mind though that this is a quick 10 minute audition, and not a detailed AB comparison, so make of that what you will. These are however, my impressions, Make no mistake though, I like the xelento quite a bit, my irritation at the plastic chassis though might have biased me a little

 
Didn't hear Dream, but I thought it was neutral, I guess read it somewhere?  I only have The Answer, rewired with modular TWau, so I assume it's far away from The Dream.  Once I get time for a more critical listening, will compare Xelento and VEGA closely (from the first impression, Xelento has less bass impact and more resolving analytical brighter upper mids in comparison to Vega which has deeper low end and more organic upper mids).
 
Regarding shell material, I asked my Beyer contact, but didn't hear back yet.  I can tell you these are super lightweight so I wouldn't be surprised if they are coated.  But keep in mind, the shell material is part of a sound tuning, not just a requirement for TOTL

  Also, Xelento uses Tesla transducer where who knows if it's an issue to have an enclosed metal capsule-shell around it.  I'm just speculating, but I'm sure Beyer engineers looked at every alternative and if some of their budget iems (like DX160) can utilize a metal shell, I'm sure there is a good reason they went with something else in Xelento, but I don't know for sure about the shell material.