[dschen]

Hi- After reading everything I can find on Head-Fi, I'm also left trying to make the decision between the Sennheiser Amperior vs Beyerdynamic DT-1350. I wish it was easier to find these to try out locally!
 
I'm looking for audiophile sound quality while traveling on airplanes (I have an audiophile home speaker setup). Currently, I have my iPod hooked up to IEMs for travel, but would like to upgrade. Possibilities include either the Amperiors or DT-1350s hooked up to my iPod vs going with either headphones with a portable headphone amp or DAC/headphone amp. If I can get great sound out of just one of the mentioned headphones, I'd certainly prefer to not add the complexity of another powered device.
 
I enjoy a broad array of music, from Rock, Acoustic rock to modern folk music... with some electronic/dance/pop thrown in.
 
Any advice would be appreciated!
 
Thanks

Dan

 

[oblique63]

You know, It's kinda hard to say... I own both and even I'm torn between which I like better. I tend to like a flat sound signature, so I naturally gravitated towards the DT1350, and those are rather good at that, but the Amperiors are surprisingly more fun to listen to a lot of the time. Don't get me wrong though, the Amperiors are pretty balanced sounding as well.

The DT1350's have a bigger soundstage, better bass and treble extension, and slightly better isolation (though at the expense of comfort, as they do clamp down pretty hard). Meanwhile, the Amperiors are super punchy and lively, with slightly better instrument separation, and are much more comfortable but with really good isolation still. The Amperiors are also very mid-bass heavy without a whole lot of sub-bass (unlike the balanced bass in the DT1350), and the treble is very much 'in-your-face', as opposed to being 'airy'/'sparkly' like with the 1350's. Just depends what kind of sound you prefer really. They both perform pretty evenly across every genre I've thrown at them though.

 

[mastershake2393]

Judging by your wide range of genres that you listen to, I'd go with the DT 1350's due to their "flat" response.
 
That being said, I haven't heard the Amperiors (I honestly can't ******* believe that's what they named them), but have had extensive experience with the HD 25 1-II which are said to have a lot the same sound signature as the Amperior.
 
I much prefer the DT 1350 over the HD 25 1-II to say the least, but that doesn't meant the Amperiors aren't good.
 
Oh, and the DT 1350's are kind of uncomfortable, but less so than the HD 25 1-II from what I remember. I couldn't keep the HD 25 on my head for more than 30 min

 

[dschen]

Mastershake and Oblique- I really appreciate these first 2 responses. I do like that sparkle to treble- it's what drew me to Taylor Acoustic Guitars, which I love the sound of. 
 
Are you guys listening to the DT1350s straight out of an iPod/iphone, or are you amping them or using a portable DAC?
 
Cheers
 
Dan

 

[mastershake2393]

Right now I've listened to them only through my iPod, MBP and PC
 
They sound the best out of the MBP, but not by a large margin. The iPod did a pretty decent job powering them; my iPod volume is set to 42% roughly if that gives you a better idea.
 
That being said, I would really like to get a decent amp for them, as well as for some [future] Mad Dogs. The DT 1350's are suppose to respond favorably to amping.

 

[oblique63]

I use both straight out of my phone (Nexus 4), and while the 1350's do scale better with amping, it's not really a huge difference.

 

[dschen]

That's great, as I'd like to get cans that perform well without anything but an iPod. However, I am interested in how they might sound with an outboard DAC/amp. Have you guys tried this with these 2 phones?

 

[candc07]

i dont know where you could try out the dt1350, but my local apple store has the amperior on display to try.  may be you could check out your closest one.

 

[Jpfe8851]

Don't know if you've jumped in and bought yet, but I also have both phones and I listen mostly direct from an iBasso DX100 or iPhone 5. I have a Fiio E17 amp but rarely use it with the phone since getting the DX100. I somewhat think the key for you may be in the usage. When you say for travel does that include air travel? I know many seem to be happy with the isolation of the DT1350, but for me, I don't find it very good at all. In fact I'm disappointed with that aspect of them. On the other hand they are definitely closer to a flat tone signature too and the bass does go down deep but not in anyway overpowering either. But my poor isolation is related to the earpads fit. They are kind of light on for pad thickness and with my rather large ears and glasses I clearly don't get as good a seal with them. I have ordered a pair of the nubuck leather pads from Beyerdynamic that others in the forum recommend to help bring out the bass a little more.

On the other hand, I find the Amperiors far different sounding to the DT1350s. I find the mid bass hump often mentioned too much, to the point of being boomy to me. This may also explain why I find the mids more recessed than the DTs. In fact if I A/B them, I get dissatisfied with them both because the Amperiors just have too much bass for me and this makes the DT1350s sound anaemic in comparison straight after the Senns. I have to neutralise my ears by listening through my SRH840s for a while which are the flattest HPs I have with good bass and treble extension to help my ears get back to normal. But back to the Amperiors, if you like a bit more bass, and even with the foregoing it's not that they are bloated like some of the basshead phones that seem to be common and popular at the moment, this slightly elevated bass may be better for travel. In noisy environments and without a perfect seal, the DT1350s definitely lose bass and surrounding noise infiltrates my ears. I'm hoping the new pads when they come overcome this. I've often read that the louder bass phones are better in train and air travel as this helps overcome ambient noise. I've not tried either in a plane yet because I only have had them since Christmas and only resume my plane travel next week. But I didn't really buy either for that use as I already have good IEMs and a pair of QC15s which while often maligned are really excellent in a plane for almost perfect isolation and not that bad sounding. But not up to regular use though especially as they need to be powered all the time let alone the less than perfect sound signature.

Summary: I am going to return the Amperiors tomorrow before my return date expires because I find the bass too overwhelming for my tastes. After listening to them for any time, all my BA IEMs and the DTs sound too forward yet that is more how I like my music and have to spend time readjusting. I really only purchased them thinking they were more neutral than they seem to me and I couldn't audition them and although they have tire need up a little with some burn in I now realise how much more I like the signature of the DTs and found out about the replacement pads. I figure I can always repurchase or find something else again if the new pads don't fully isolate like I think I need to get a more perfect sound from the DT1350s, which by the way sound very nice right now as I listen to some nice smooth Jazz as I write this coming straight from my iPhone 5.

It will probably be too late but I will add my findings about the travel use and pads when I have them.