[Il Mostro]

I just started listening using my iPod Classic 160GB-> Fostex HP P-1 -> DT1350's.  I am in effin' heaven.  Insanely good sound, and it is portable to boot.   Right now I am playing a mix of John Lee Hooker, Junior Kimbrough and Hound Dog Taylor.  Yeah, I gots the blues. Great top to bottom extension, details galore and an extremely real and natural sense of space, especially on live recordings -- there is a palpable feeling of "hearing the room".  Hell, I can almost smell cigarette smoke, stale beer and 7&7. No issues whatsoever in dialing in optimum fit and sound on my end. By the way, the Fostex drives HD600's with ease, even at the medium gain setting.   This is a legitimate game-changer for portable rigs.
 
One thing became very apparent to me, the 1350's need good amplification.  Listening directly from the iPod they sound thin -- anemic really.  Ditto with a couple of budget portable amp/dac combos.  Throw the HP P-1 or SR71-A into the mix and they sound right.  So, unless they are going to be paired with a quality amp, forget about it.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Anyone using these with a desktop amp?
 
I'm with the Glite and the sound is more coherent and kind of warm(?) no kidding. iBasso D3 as a DAC if anyones ask. volume at about 9 PM and its enough for my ears.
 
now the bad side, 25 minutes into the album and it hurts my ears already.

 

[rasmushorn]

One thing became very apparent to me, the 1350's need good amplification.  Listening directly from the iPod they sound thin -- anemic really.  Ditto with a couple of budget portable amp/dac combos.  Throw the HP P-1 or SR71-A into the mix and they sound right.  So, unless they are going to be paired with a quality amp, forget about it.

Agreed. The RSA P-51 Mustang is not a bad match either. It sounds very powerfull and the Sound is big. These headphones are true musicenjoyment.

 

[shipsupt]

I listened to them for quite a long time the other night from the G-Lite. It was the night I was discovering the proper position for the 1350, so I can't say I got a good listen.  I'll have to revisit it after reading your comment, because after two days from the portable I feel like they could use some coherence.
 
On the comfort side... I am still experimenting with fit and position, but I found that I can now get things sounding right when the headband shifted to the back of my head instead of near my forehead.  The upsides I've found to this are that I can get them quickly into the sweet spot, I look far less ridiculous when people come into my office, and they are much more comfortable for the long haul.  I spent several hours straight with them on my melon today and didn't feel any worse for wear.
 
I was really enjoying some dirty blues tracks (read Clutch).  The separation made the percussion very precise, punchy, and fun.  Neil Fallon's vocals were presented as good as I've heard them on any other headphone.  Oh yeah, the DT-1350 is capable of rocking out.
 
 

 
Quote:

Anyone using these with a desktop amp?
 
I'm with the Glite and the sound is more coherent and kind of warm(?) no kidding. iBasso D3 as a DAC if anyones ask. volume at about 9 PM and its enough for my ears.
 
now the bad side, 25 minutes into the album and it hurts my ears already.

 
 

 

[swbf2cheater]

Man, I am so glad I got the 1350.  I have no regrets at all which is immensely rare for me.  Color me impressed, Beyer did a great job.  Hard to believe such a small set can produce a stage like this, its not huge but its plenty of depth and layering abilities, stage forward actually exists and is completely absent on sets like the phiaton ms400, its just more full sounding in presentation than most other portables sub $500.
 
Excellent set in every way. 

 

[roma101]

Man, I am so glad I got the 1350.  I have no regrets at all which is immensely rare for me.  Color me impressed, Beyer did a great job.  Hard to believe such a small set can produce a stage like this, its not huge but its plenty of depth and layering abilities, stage forward actually exists and is completely absent on sets like the phiaton ms400, its just more full sounding in presentation than most other portables sub $500.
 
Excellent set in every way. 

Hey how would you say the timbre and tonality of instruments compared to the ms400? Do you find the dt1350s more natural sounding compared to other portables? I've always been a little interested in the ms400 but something has always held me back on purchasing a pair. I tend to like a more neutral sound anyway but I've heard the ms400s are very musical and enveloping.

 

[swbf2cheater]

1350
 
-forgiving, smooth and a bit distant sounding in presentation
-a more complete stage experience than all the other on ears I have used
-bass light
-good balance of quality and quantity from lows to mids to highs
-Closer to a natural/neutral sound type
-A bit clampish, earpads are not soft enough to justify the clamp, velours are definitely needed for this IMO
-tinnish highs, very good vocals, best vocals in a portable I have heard so far
-Huge adapter plug, way too big and should have been a small L style
 
ms400
 
-very warm and forward
-lacking soundstage, noticeably taller than the beyer, but is missing pretty much everything in front of you
-Bass Moderate
-Smooth highs, never harsh or as tinnish as the beyer, inferior vocal experience ( mid range is better on the DT1350 )
-One of the most comfortable portables ever made, headband can be slightly bent without a problem and allows for immense comfort
-Earpads are among the best and most comfortable pads I have ever used on any set of headphones, even the $1000+ tier 
( sorry, phiaton wins the game for overall comfort on all their sets by far )
 
My problem is that it is hard to justify any portables anymore after experiencing the hi fi sets like the LCD2.  Where the 1350 sounds clear and great compared to other portables in its class, it sounds pretty terrible compared to the LCD2 so its hard for me to say anything about tonality or how well it handles instruments.  I think for its price range at $300 the ATH-ESW9 is a more musical sounding set and provides a much nicer experience and comfort for everything but vocals.  Vocals on the beyer are excellent in my opinion.  Everything else to me is just good and not the best in any one area, however its good in every area.  I guess thats what makes it so special, nothing really sounds BAD on it, but it also doesn't do any one thing exceptionally well except for vocals.
 
hope that helps
-mike

 

[Twinster]

The ATH-ESW9 lack the detail that the DT1350 resolve. IMO. Much more balanced.

 

[roma101]

Definitely does help thanks for that great write up Mike. I can see that about esw9s I'm sure they sound as beautiful as they look. I have the es7s which I love but they don't isolate all that well for portable use. I just recently purchased the panasonic hje900 iems and I'm loving their smooth natural sound sig that I've even tossed my hd 25s aside for the last week. And I was never an iem person. Anyway it helped me realize that more than anything I love hearing the authenticity of instruments and I appreciate nice imaging. I've read the dt1350s suffer a bit on the imaging front though. Nice to hear there are great vocals though since I find vocals on both the hd25 and the hje900s to be a bit distant and hollow sounding.

I bet nothing can compare to those lcd2s though that's definitely setting the bar.

 

[swbf2cheater]

The audio technicas are way more fun to listen to but thats just my opinion.  I found them more to my liking for enjoying rock and anything with bass, as they just have more of it than the beyer but not by that much.  I liked the slightly more punchy sound and the esw9 headband is just like the phiatons, you can easily bend it to your liking and get insane comfort out of it, with almost no clamp at all.   Another thing I should mention is that at high volume, the beyer distorts a lot, where as none of the other portables distorted that much to my ears.  
 
This is definitely more of a "hifi" set than a fun musical set like most of the other portables are.  The last words that come to mind in regards to the DT1350 would be fun and musical.  And yes, about the lcd2 vs the dt 1350 ( lol, insanely unfair comparison ) but coming away from listening to the LCD2 and putting the 1350 on my head, I instantly feel sad.  The beyer sounds like someone drew a picture of a band playing music on a piece of paper and im holding it out in front of me, vs the lcd2 that sounds like i could be in the room where said band actually recorded it.
 
totally unfair to compare, the beyer is very good, but once your ears get used to the supreme quality of the really high end sets, going back to use any of the top portables is just not at all a nice experience.  
 

 

[roma101]

Quote:

The audio technicas are way more fun to listen to but thats just my opinion.  I found them more to my liking for enjoying rock and anything with bass, as they just have more of it than the beyer but not by that much.  I liked the slightly more punchy sound and the esw9 headband is just like the phiatons, you can easily bend it to your liking and get insane comfort out of it, with almost no clamp at all.   Another thing I should mention is that at high volume, the beyer distorts a lot, where as none of the other portables distorted that much to my ears.  
 
This is definitely more of a "hifi" set than a fun musical set like most of the other portables are.  The last words that come to mind in regards to the DT1350 would be fun and musical.  And yes, about the lcd2 vs the dt 1350 ( lol, insanely unfair comparison ) but coming away from listening to the LCD2 and putting the 1350 on my head, I instantly feel sad.  The beyer sounds like someone drew a picture of a band playing music on a piece of paper and im holding it out in front of me, vs the lcd2 that sounds like i could be in the room where said band actually recorded it.
 
totally unfair to compare, the beyer is very good, but once your ears get used to the supreme quality of the really high end sets, going back to use any of the top portables is just not at all a nice experience.  
 

I get where you're coming from and those are very credible assessments to make. I appreciate that and wish more reviewers would state something some honest (and seemingly obvious) when comparing to their higher-end setups. Even though they're used for completely different things (home and portable) it would still give more clarification on how much they differ soundwise. 
 
Just out of curiosity, which portable (if any) would you say comes closest to something as authentic-sounding as the lcd2? Or as 'hifi'? lol That may not be a fair question. 
 
By the way, if anyone wants to chime in about their impressions regarding timbre and the 1350's naturalness, please don't hesitate. I've heard that it sounds very dry and crisp - not exactly lush. Would anyone say that aspect basically takes away from whatever natural sound it has?
 
 

 

[Anathallo]

I actually find the 1350s on the darker and warmer side of neutral.  The highs, while they can be dry, are pretty tame.  Lush wouldn't be a word I would ever use to describe a can that is detailed and revealing, but maybe we have different definitions/ideas about what that word should mean.
 
I just find the sound that comes out of the ear pieces is clear, far extending and separated with a nice warmth to it that doesn't take away from it's neutrality as a portable phone.

 

[swbf2cheater]

Quote:

Just out of curiosity, which portable (if any) would you say comes closest to something as authentic-sounding as the lcd2? Or as 'hifi'? lol That may not be a fair question. 
 
 

Glad someone finally asked this question.  The Edition 8 is the LCD2s little brother.  Both sets are on par in clarity and set up nearly identically the same, both have the natural uncolored flavor with a bass moderate experience, immensely fantastic mids and smooth highs.  In fact, the Edition 8 has better highs and in my unpublished mini review ( since nobody subscribes to me I no longer want to review anything ) I found the edition 8 to be superior in regards to the highs.  They are smoother, more sparkled and less sibilant than the LCD2.  Yes, I called the LCd2 sibilant.  The same track played out of the same source proved the Edition 8 to be noticeably smoother, there is a slight hiss in the LCD2 not present in the Edition 8.  The LCD2 soundstage larger by about 10% in every direction and much more aired out and with vastly superior separation.  However, overall clarity remained the same, I would call them equals.
 
The Edition 8 is a mini lcd2 in closed back form.  I'm going to get hanged for saying that out loud, but its about time someone did.  
 
Edit:  In regards to where I would place the DT 1350 vs any other portable:  I would says its the best portable out there besides the ESW10 and the Edition 8, both of which are significantly better and make all the lower portables sound like junk ( even though they are not junk, they are very good, but compared to the top 2 portables which are the Ed8 and the ESW10 in my opinion, nothing even comes remotely close)  The DT1350 isn't without its faults.  It has the best vocals but with tinnish highs and a seriously lacking low end, poor comfort, but with a unique ability for a portable set in that it sounds good on most genres of music as it offers a very smooth forgiving type of sound.
 
I am not sure if this is the type of sound I want in my portable, I prefer to stick to this type of sound for my hifi listening, not my portables which should be fun and highly engaging...which the dt 1350 is not to my ears
 
Quote:

I actually find the 1350s on the darker and warmer side of neutral.  The highs, while they can be dry, are pretty tame.  Lush wouldn't be a word I would ever use to describe a can that is detailed and revealing, but maybe we have different definitions/ideas about what that word should mean.
 
I just find the sound that comes out of the ear pieces is clear, far extending and separated with a nice warmth to it that doesn't take away from it's neutrality as a portable phone.

Not a chance the 1350 is warm.  Its far from it.  Its colder and closer to neutral.  I am not saying you are wrong because everybody hears differently, but I would like to know what other sets that are known to be warm that you have experience with.  The phiaton MS400 is known for being warm and its velvet like compared to the beyer.  The Bowers P5, Ms400, ESW9 and a few other top portables are all very warm and fuzzy sounding, only hte DT 1350 and HD25-i-ii are colder and closer to neutral.  

 

[MayaTlab]

Quote:

Not a chance the 1350 is warm.  Its far from it.  Its colder and closer to neutral.  I am not saying you are wrong because everybody hears differently, but I would like to know what other sets that are known to be warm that you have experience with.  The phiaton MS400 is known for being warm and its velvet like compared to the beyer.  The Bowers P5, Ms400, ESW9 and a few other top portables are all very warm and fuzzy sounding, only hte DT 1350 and HD25-i-ii are colder and closer to neutral.  

Going by its measured frequency response by Tyll Hertsen, the DT 1350 is actually warmer than the P5, HD-25, ESW9, and maybe others too. But I think they can appear as bright in the sense that IMHO they do not sound very substantial. I find that their sound is surprisingly close to electrostatic headphones in the sense that whatever their frequency response is, they'll always sound quite airy and light-footed. I think though that this characteristic disappear at the lowest frequencies - the DT 1350 has one of the most focused and impactful infrabass I've ever come acrosse in a portable headphone.
Maybe their very small driver (less than 30mm) is at play here.
 
As an illustration, I now have at my disposal the Z1000 and the DT 1350 (amped via a TTVJ). The DT 1350 has a measured FR that is warmer than the Z1000. Yet as it doesn't sound as full bodied, it may appear at first as brighter than the Sony.
 

 

[swbf2cheater]

Actually, I am not sure what you mean by the FR implying a set can or does sound a certain way.  I thought the FR only shows responsiveness, not quantity or coloration.