Beyerdynamic Xelento!

Aug 25, 2017 at 2:54 PM Post #466 of 3,049
I was doing the same when I was younger actually, but with Xelento, you should be able to use larger tips, they are made out of a really good silicone.



I like to think that it has more to do with the depth of insertion, shallow insertion IEMs tend to have larger soundstages, Xelento sounds better with a slightly shallower insertion rather than with small tips and deep insertion.

I also noticed that Xelento tends to isolate good with large tips as well, the oval shape and large margins of the tip really help with this.

With ie800, I can't use anything bigger than round medium, but with Xelento, the second largest work like a charm, this is why with Xelento I'd really recommend tip rolling.

I agree with you tho, it affects the overall balance of the FR, so that might also have an effect, in particular larger tips and shallower insertion might pull back some of the midrange, which in return gives a larger feeling to the sound.

Yeah, in general the distance between the eardrum and the drivers will have an effect on the soundstage, and I have verified that on various occasisions comparing custom vs universal of UERR, U12, and H8.2. What I meant here, in case of Xelento with universal only fit, a rather short nozzle, and small driver venting, I personally didn't find a noticeable soundstage expansion change when tip rolling. Everybody will have a different experience due to their inner ear anatomy, but due to a short nozzle, the battle here is to find the most comfortable fit without them falling out of your ears and with an appropriate seal to control bass impact.
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 4:17 PM Post #467 of 3,049
Yeah, in general the distance between the eardrum and the drivers will have an effect on the soundstage, and I have verified that on various occasisions comparing custom vs universal of UERR, U12, and H8.2. What I meant here, in case of Xelento with universal only fit, a rather short nozzle, and small driver venting, I personally didn't find a noticeable soundstage expansion change when tip rolling. Everybody will have a different experience due to their inner ear anatomy, but due to a short nozzle, the battle here is to find the most comfortable fit without them falling out of your ears and with an appropriate seal to control bass impact.

I see!

I would had imagined that if someone is using the absolute smallest tips, they'd be pushing the IEMs more than they should be pushed and this would constrict the soundstage.

Had this happen to me when I first bought ie800 a few years ago. I was pushing them as deep as possible, using the smallest tips, because it yielded more "wall of sound" with metal music. Only later I learned that this wasn't the best approach, when my tastes also changed and I began fully appreciating ie800 for what they truly are.
 
Aug 26, 2017 at 12:41 AM Post #468 of 3,049
Yeah, in general the distance between the eardrum and the drivers will have an effect on the soundstage, and I have verified that on various occasisions comparing custom vs universal of UERR, U12, and H8.2. What I meant here, in case of Xelento with universal only fit, a rather short nozzle, and small driver venting, I personally didn't find a noticeable soundstage expansion change when tip rolling. Everybody will have a different experience due to their inner ear anatomy, but due to a short nozzle, the battle here is to find the most comfortable fit without them falling out of your ears and with an appropriate seal to control bass impact.

i agree on the insignificance of tip rolling with these
...last night i experimented with 4 different tips (including spiral dots, foam complys, the stock tips)
and didn't find a major difference at all....thanks for explaining that, Twister...i wasn't sure why there was not a big difference...actually found i liked the stock tips best.

btw has anyone thought of trying snugs with these to make them into customs?
https://snugsearphones.co.uk/

i've also ordered the mandarins..so we'll see..
 
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Aug 29, 2017 at 5:13 PM Post #471 of 3,049
i agree on the insignificance of tip rolling with these
...last night i experimented with 4 different tips (including spiral dots, foam complys, the stock tips)
and didn't find a major difference at all....thanks for explaining that, Twister...i wasn't sure why there was not a big difference...actually found i liked the stock tips best.

btw has anyone thought of trying snugs with these to make them into customs?
https://snugsearphones.co.uk/

i've also ordered the mandarins..so we'll see..

Wow, I couldn't disagree more. As much as I like the Xelento in general, I've found that for my ears, they really need the right tips to open up and sound natural and amazing across the board. I prefer the stock foamies (which is unusual for me), and once I wore those out, I've replaced them with a set of Rebound memory foam tips, which are almost as good. In general, I prefer tips that I don't have to compress and allow to expand, but I've tried Spinfit, Spiral Dots, Sony Triple Hybrids, RHA silicones, and the foam tips win out every time.
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 5:40 PM Post #472 of 3,049
Wow, I couldn't disagree more. As much as I like the Xelento in general, I've found that for my ears, they really need the right tips to open up and sound natural and amazing across the board. I prefer the stock foamies (which is unusual for me), and once I wore those out, I've replaced them with a set of Rebound memory foam tips, which are almost as good. In general, I prefer tips that I don't have to compress and allow to expand, but I've tried Spinfit, Spiral Dots, Sony Triple Hybrids, RHA silicones, and the foam tips win out every time.

in the end all our ears are different...
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 11:29 AM Post #474 of 3,049
Would you buy the xelento or the jh angie II?

I have been using Angie custom for nearly two years. I love how it sounds, but it is somewhat dark and recessed to my ears. I have been hearing good things about Xelento, so I pulled the trigger. I was really surprised at how the bass sounds. I never thought I would like Xelento over Angie this much. I did A/B testing many times to make sure I am hearing correctly.

Based on my personal preference, Xelento wins over Angie. It seems to be bright at first, but with correct fitted eartip, it is just right with nice and tight bass. The vocal may sound a bit recessed at first (this was how I felt), but I find it is well balanced as I keep using it. The overall balance is very nice. Xelento is not neutral earphones, but it is very musical and makes the music fun to listen to.


My question to Angie users is... Does your Angie sound dark? Mine does. It sounds muffled, and the sound is not really coming out directly. I don't know if there is something wrong with my unit. I did not notice much before, but comparing to Xelento, it is just way too dark to my taste.
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 11:35 AM Post #475 of 3,049
Does anybody have any details on the stock cable (what it's made of). It sounds pretty good. Will I get any improvement on cable replacement? Alo audio sells thin mmcx cable, and it looks good.

Has anyone tried it? Or any suggestion?

Thank you...
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 12:46 PM Post #476 of 3,049
Does anybody have any details on the stock cable (what it's made of). It sounds pretty good. Will I get any improvement on cable replacement? Alo audio sells thin mmcx cable, and it looks good.

Has anyone tried it? Or any suggestion?

Thank you...

It's silver plated copper, You might not agree, but many people agree the stock cables combination with the Xelento has one of the best match, there are exceptions, you just have to try different cables and see if the sound is what you want, I'm using the Final Audio Lab II stock cable, cost approximate USD 230.

IMG_20170809_194451.jpg
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 12:54 PM Post #477 of 3,049
It's silver plated copper, You might not agree, but many people agree the stock cables combination with the Xelento has one of the best match, there are exceptions, you just have to try different cables and see if the sound is what you want, I'm using the Final Audio Lab II stock cable, cost approximate USD 230.

Thank you very much for your help.

I do like the sound of the stock cable. It seems pretty decent.

That Lab cable looks very nice. I might try that one
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 12:59 PM Post #478 of 3,049
Thank you very much for your help.

I do like the sound of the stock cable. It seems pretty decent.

That Lab cable looks very nice. I might try that one

I like the final audio cable as the MMCX connections really tight, the stock one, although it holds it in, they will come off very easy, I also got a spare stock cable in case i need it in the near future.:ksc75smile:
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 1:05 PM Post #479 of 3,049
My question to Angie users is... Does your Angie sound dark? Mine does. It sounds muffled, and the sound is not really coming out directly. I don't know if there is something wrong with my unit. I did not notice much before, but comparing to Xelento, it is just way too dark to my taste.
I had universal Angies for a while, and the long, thin, oddly angled nozzles made them fit very deep. They sounded very clear, with big bass, and nice treble. Mids were not forward enough for my taste, but I wouldn't say they sounded dark.

I feel like something is wrong with how your Angies fit your ears, but this would be surprising with customs.
The only time I found IEMs muffled wad because the sound was coming out with a bad angle directly at a turn in my left ear canal, instead of going in the direction of the eardrum...
 
Aug 30, 2017 at 7:34 PM Post #480 of 3,049
Love my Xelentos and the stock cable sounds good enough to me although I may try the CA Silver Litz cable that came with my Lyra IIs to see how the Xelento sounds with that cable. To me the Xelento sounds somewhere in between the CA Lyra II and the CA Vega. Not as relaxed sounding as the Lyra II but still laid back enough for longer listening sessions but not as forward as the Vegas; while maintaing great bass and sub bass rumble.
 

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