Beyerdynamic Xelento!

[WCDchee]

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.

Of course, when I listen to the xelento, I don't get the plasticky sound I often hear with many plastic IEMs. I Guess It's just a bit of a disappointment, with customs I get the use of plastic and acrylic, but with universals, most premium Flagship universals are metal, and I just would wish to see premium materials being used, that is all.

What I actually did was I compared the xelento and the vega with the same mmcx cable, and with that, I did not find the xelento to be more resolving whether on stock cable or with the same mmcx cable. The xelento did however have a signature that makes details more apparent, but in terms of actual resolving of details and texturing, I did not find the xelento to be better. What I did find was that it was noticeably less dynamic and impactful. As with anything audio, preferences are subjective, and as some have stated they prefer the sound of the xelento over the vega.

I'm any case. Do keep us updated on the shell issue

As for the issue about the shell being used to tune the earphone, one of the basic concepts of speaker design is that the chassis should contribute to the sound as little as possible. I've tinkered with many IEMs and I've found that with plastic IEM, adding chassis dampening almost always improves the sound while with metal IEMs the effect is often minimal. Thus it can be inferred that a plastic chassis generally has much more unwanted resonances than a metal one from my experience, and this is one of the main reasons I would prefer to see a metal chassis in my flagship earphones. Just something I like personally based on my own experiences.

 

[twister6]

 

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.

Of course, when I listen to the xelento, I don't get the plasticky sound I often hear with many plastic IEMs. I Guess It's just a bit of a disappointment, with customs I get the use of plastic and acrylic, but with universals, most premium Flagship universals are metal, and I just would wish to see premium materials being used, that is all.

What I actually did was I compared the xelento and the vega with the same mmcx cable, and with that, I did not find the xelento to be more resolving whether on stock cable or with the same mmcx cable. The xelento did however have a signature that makes details more apparent, but in terms of actual resolving of details and texturing, I did not find the xelento to be better. What I did find was that it was noticeably less dynamic and impactful. As with anything audio, preferences are subjective, and as some have stated they prefer the sound of the xelento over the vega.

I'm any case. Do keep us updated on the shell issue

As for the issue about the shell being used to tune the earphone, one of the basic concepts of speaker design is that the chassis should contribute to the sound as little as possible. I've tinkered with many IEMs and I've found that with plastic IEM, adding chassis dampening almost always improves the sound while with metal IEMs the effect is often minimal. Thus it can be inferred that a plastic chassis generally has much more unwanted resonances than a metal one from my experience, and this is one of the main reasons I would prefer to see a metal chassis in my flagship earphones. Just something I like personally based on my own experiences.

 
I hope you are joking about "plasticky" sound from plastic shell iems vs maybe "metallic" sound from Vega or Noble

 
I will share whatever I hear back from Beyer, but looking at the product description where no metal is listed under materials, I'm getting more convinced it's not a solid metal shell.  Now, why would you say "shell issue"?  Metal shell material is your personal preference, as you said what you would wish to see, but it's not an issue

 

[WCDchee]

I hope you are joking about "plasticky" sound from plastic shell iems vs maybe "metallic" sound from Vega or Noble

I will share whatever I hear back from Beyer, but looking at the product description where no metal is listed under materials, I'm getting more convinced it's not a solid metal shell.  Now, why would you say "shell issue"?  Metal shell material is your personal preference, as you said what you would wish to see, but it's not an issue

Issue as in, not so much a problem but rather, just the issue of the shell material

Regarding the sound, nope I'm not joking. It's a resonance issue I often hear with many plastic housing IEMs which go away with damping. The xelento doesn't have that. Similarly, the JVC woodies use wood for the Drivers and the enclosure because it brings about a certain sonic characteristic that is common across the line. Now you may not hear it, and that's fine we shall agree to disagree but I know many who share my opinion too

 

[twister6]

 

I hope you are joking about "plasticky" sound from plastic shell iems vs maybe "metallic" sound from Vega or Noble

I will share whatever I hear back from Beyer, but looking at the product description where no metal is listed under materials, I'm getting more convinced it's not a solid metal shell.  Now, why would you say "shell issue"?  Metal shell material is your personal preference, as you said what you would wish to see, but it's not an issue

Issue as in, not so much a problem but rather, just the issue of the shell material

Regarding the sound, nope I'm not joking. It's a resonance issue I often hear with many plastic housing IEMs which go away with damping. The xelento doesn't have that. Similarly, the JVC woodies use wood for the Drivers and the enclosure because it brings about a certain sonic characteristic that is common across the line. Now you may not hear it, and that's fine we shall agree to disagree but I know many who share my opinion too

 
It's very common for manufacturers to use different shell material when designing dynamic driver IEMs to shape up the sound.  Like for example, oBravo offers 3 options of wood, aluminum, and ceramic with ERIB and EAMT hybrid iems and each variation will have its unique sound characteristics.  But it's done intentionally with manufacturer aiming for a specific sound sig.  That is my point when talking about Xelento and whatever material Beyer sound engineers decided to use.

 

[zeddun]

My Xelento arrived today!   Only had a chance to listen from my iPhone 6s with Tidal Lossless tracks so far.  Can't wait to try it with my Sony NW-ZX2 later tonight.  My initial impressions are very favorable.  The Xelento is very comfortable and lightweight and even more so than my Campfire Audio Lyra IIs and with the large number of eartips included it was easy at least for me to get a good comfortable fit (although other's mileage may vary).  As much as I like the Lyra IIs I can't get a good fit in my right ear.  No problem with the Xelento.  The Xelento using my iPhone  6s as a source with Tidal produced deep good bass (for example listened to Donald Fagen's track Morph the Cat and sound was very crisp dynamic with good deep bass).  The Xelento also sounds more balanced than my Lyra IIs but without sounding bright or harsh (so the sound is more relaxed not as much as a Lyra IIs).  So this will be a good IEM for longer listening sessions in my opinion.  Just my initial thoughts.

 

[Trager]

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.

 
Haven't heard the Dream, but I liked Xelento much better than the Vega in the few minutes I listened at CanJam. Xelento had a lively, detailed sound with good impact, but Vega was just a little too thick in the lows for my taste. I'd imagine that with some good tip and source selection, you could make either one work... but Xelento is a little less expensive and in a smaller package. 
 
I just found out that I'm getting a sizable tax refund, and I'm pretty sure that a chunk of it is going to Beyerdynamic. These babies really caught my ear somehow, even more than Lola or K10 Encore or 64 Audio's A18 (although being half the price of any of those might have something to do with it).

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I love the sound and comfort of the AK T8iE MK2 so I expect Beyerdynamic Xelento would be as good if not better. 

 

[kms108]

  I love the sound and comfort of the AK T8iE MK2 so I expect Beyerdynamic Xelento would be as good if not better. 

Just different sound stage, choose which best offer the sound that your ears like.

 

[Trager]

Ordered my Xelento today. Can't wait!!

 

[potatoe94]

i heard the previous Astell&Kern T8ie mmcx rejection issues . i am not very sure about that but i tried plugging in aftermarket EFFECT AUDIO's mmcx cable into the Xelento demo & it fits nicely with a click . i hope that is good news ?

 

[twister6]

Just got the official reply from Beyerdynamic: Xelento shell is build using high grade plastic coated using PVD (physical vapor deposition) process.

 

[Subhakar]

Where can one buy "Xelento wired" version, not the remote one?

 

[kms108]

Where can one buy "Xelento wired" version, not the remote one?

Doesn't really matters, you also get the non remote cable in the box.

 

[twister6]

 

Where can one buy "Xelento wired" version, not the remote one?

Doesn't really matters, you also get the non remote cable in the box.

 
Exactly, "remote" version gives you a bonus SPC cable with in-line remote in addition to audio only SPC cable.

 

[Shure or bust]

Think it can out do the akg k3003 ?