Road testing the Beyerdynamic Xelentos

About a week ago, I got a message from Rapallo’s Ben: ‘We’ve got these earphones in. I have never felt so close to music before. Voices feel so real and intimate, like the singers are standing right in front of you or singing softly into your ear. It’s quite an emotional experience. I can only call it ‘silky smooth’. I ’m saving up for these.’

He was talking about the Beyerdynamic Xelentos. 

Now, it’s not unusual for one of the Rapallo guys to fall absolutely in love with one of our products. Usually, one of them goes head over heels and the other two nod in agreement, but the ‘I want it’ is usually reserved to just the one of them. Which is not that hard to understand considering their difference in age (young adult vs middle aged), passion (audiophile vs musician vs home theatre fanatic vs a combination of any of the previously mentioned) and personality (well… we won’t go there 🙂 ). But when it come to the love for this pair of in ears…

The Verge put it like this: There are three primary reasons why audiophile headphones remain a niche: they’re heavy, they look weird, and they cost a ton. Beyerdynamic isn’t exactly rectifying the expense issue with its Xelento in-ear earphones- cheap they are not- but it’s completely wiping out the other hurdles to widespread audiophilia.

What is quite revolutionary about the Xelentos is the fact that you no longer need to stay within your music room to enjoy an authentic and sublime musical experience. From now on, you can be an audiophile on the go.

The Xelentos come in two versions: the Xelento Remotes (which we have tested) and the Xelentos Wireless. The first offers an integrated remote control and handsfree microphone, the second adds a Bluetooth connection (we’re talking Qualcomm’s top-tier aptX HD Bluetooth transmission, for the record). As for the sound side of things, they are identical.

But let’s just talk about the oddity of audiophile in-ears-on-the-go, with the emphasis on ‘audiophile’.

Beyerdynamic has been developing and researching audio technology for a good while now, and they have managed to create a technology that relies on a patent named the “Tesla Driver”. In a few simple words, the Tesla technology employs sturdy drivers powered by extremely powerful magnets which help music come through with better detail and considerably lower harmonic distortion. This technology has been loved by many music enthusiasts from all around the world in the Beyerdynamic T5p Gen2 Closed-back and the T1 Gen2  Semi-Open headphones amongst other higher-end Beyerdynamic headphones. Generally speaking, Beyerdynamic’s headphones based on the Tesla technology are well-known for their natural and clear sound. The Xelento drivers are essentially miniaturized versions of the  other Tesla drivers. And like the bigger version, the Xelento Remotes are handmade in Germany. Word is that the Beyerdynamic Tesla drivers are still hand build by their own technicians because Beyerdynamic hasn’t been able to automate the process and maintain the quality they demand. Imagine being the technician that needs to wind the incredibly tiny voice coil…

Rapallo’s Deano for one is a long-term fan of the Beyerdynamic Tesla drivers:

‘I own and adore  a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 1770 headphones. To me they are one of the most truthful sounding headphones out there. With this in mind, they are what I compare most headphone/earphones to. I am pretty demanding and believe me many fall short, which probably isn’t that surprising considering I have the opportunity to hear many, many different headphones from a lot of manufacturers. Some sound harsh or are missing dynamics right through to headphones that for me are not revealing enough.

Enter the Beyerdynamic Xelento remote earphones. I asked Deano whether the Xelentos are any different? ‘HELL YES, they are!’ was his spontaneous  reply, when I questioning him on his opinion of the Xelentos at the time of writing this blog.

Bart sees it like this: ‘Apart from being a passionate home theatre kinda guy, I am also an avid musician (have been for years).  A few years ago, I invested in custom In Ear monitors (or IEMs). I spent quite a lot of money on going to the audiologist, getting ear moulds made past the second ear canal bend (I can tell you, that is very, very deep inside your ear!). The moulds were sent to the US, where a team of audio wizards put 8 drivers and crossovers in each ear (yep that is a lot of electronics in a very small enclosure). The sound is amazing, but the price tag not really for the faint hearted.

When it came to in-ears, I wasn’t even that interested in exploring much beyond what was required to do a proper job for Rapallo. I knew not may in-ears were going to compare to my IEMs. Until I was encouraged by the importers from Beyerdynamic to give the Xelentos a good shot. Well… these Beyerdynamic Xelentos are half the price of my IEMs and they come very, very close to the custom IEMs. The crossovers between bass – mid – and highs are not quite as defined as with the IEMs, but man they sound good! The bass is impressive, and I personally prefer the fit I am getting with the Xelento silicon earbuds ( a choice out of 10 ear-tips in total : seven sizes of super-soft silicone tips and three sizes of Comply tips. Beyerdynamic measured and analysed a large number of ears and auditory canals. Based on that data, they created ergonomically shaped, exceptionally flat casings that effortlessly conform to your ear.). They are very comfortable to wear, more comfortable than the IEMs over longer periods.’

This attention to fit, Beyerdynamic says, is not only essential for a maximum degree of comfort and ambient noise attenuation, but also for the sound to unfold in the best possible way.

The other thing that makes these in ears scream high-end is the finish. Beyerdynamic calls them pieces of jewellery and that’s exactly the word that comes to mind. It’s impressive. The Xelentos include two super-flexible 51-inch-long silver-plated cables, one with an iOS- and Android-compatible three-button remote, the other cable sans remote. You also get a beautifully finished hard carry case.

Bart and Deano did an unboxing video of the Xelentos that you can watch here.

But then there is the sound.

The Xelentos are truly what they claim to be: in-ears for the audiophile on the go. The fact that the Xelentos are an 16Ohm earphone, means that they are very easy to drive. What was rather interesting was that when we tried them just with our LG V20 Android phone, a Samsung S8 phone, the FiiO X5 gen3 Portable audio player on the go or straight into the Audioquest Dragonfly Black plugged into a laptop, they were clearly outstanding in what they were designed to do.

No matter which one of these options, they paired amazingly well. Using higher-quality music files sources like TIDAL, FLAC or DSD, the bass is fast and punchy; the treble is very well-controlled and the sub-bass is there when you need it. The boosts on the low and high frequencies are just enough to bring a richer sound while not ruining the clear sound we are looking for in high-end headphones. We really loved that the mids are clear, natural, and detailed. What was great as well was that when we tested them with different music genres, they did well with every single one of them.

So putting the price tag, the gorgeous look and solid build, the perfect fit and a well-balanced, rich, high-fidelity sound in the balance, they won’t be for everyone. I mean you have to be enough in the audiophile camp to justify the expense. But if you have half a passion about what you expose your ears to, you’re in for one hell of a treat. And what’s more, we found ourselves that considering the amount of use they get, they are actually a pretty good investment.