Beyerdynamic Xelento Wireless In-Ear Headphones Review

I'm not going to lie. I’m a huge Beyerdynamic fan. I initially bought the DT 1770 Pro for studio use. But it sounded so damn good, that I now use it just as much for listening enjoyment as I do for recording. And when the Aventho Wireless came out, I thought it blew every other Bluetooth headphone in that price range out of the water. So, I was very curious to see how far they could go with the Xelento. And I’m in love once again. Let’s explore what makes these buds so outstanding in this Beyerdynamic Xelento Wireless In-Ear Headphones Review.

Beyerdynamic Xelento Wireless In-Ear Headphones Review

IN the BOX

FIT

Perfect in this department. These light buds seal well to the contours of the ears without protruding out at all. They wires are designed to be worn around the ear. But Beyerdynamic avoids using memory wire. Rather, they angle the connectors to lean the wire in a curved direction. So, I find them much easier to put on than a Shure IEM, for example. That being said, sound isolation may not be as effective as a Shure earphones. But once you hear this buds, you won’t care.

DESIGN

The Xelento uses a single dynamic Tesla driver, which the same driver as in the Xelento wired model. The sturdy (and very pretty) silver-plated cable is the same as well. The cable has detachable MMCX connectors, so you can swap it out if you want to go wired, using the cable included in the box.

The Xelento Wireless employs aptX HD, which will gives you 24 bit Bluetooth transmission that approaches CD-like quality. (i.e. Not quite CD, but close). Of course, if you want to fully optimize your high resolution files, you’ll need to use the wired connection.

For you crazy folks who have problems getting sufficient volume from other wireless buds you’ve tries, rest assured that you’ll get the loudness you need from these babies. But be very careful kids. Audio46 wants your hearing to last long enough to buy the next pair.

Speaking of hearing loss, Beyerdynamic offer an app, MIY, that tests out your hearing and customizes the sound profile to compensate for any deficiencies you may have in certain frequencies.

Battery life is around 8 hours, which isn’t incredibly long by today’s standards. But as Lao Tzu said, the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

SOUND

Overall Impressions: Fast, great separation and perfectly balanced. 

Lows

Unsurprisingly, you’ll hear the same bass presence in Xelento Wireless as you will from the wired model. That is, it has a satiating oomph, but maintains the skillful balance that Beyerdynamic is so famous for. Listening to pop, there was enough punch to do justice to the genre. And it’s one of the fastest wireless headphones I’ve ever heard. Kick drums, for example, were super tight and had tons of impact. Transparency is impressive as well, with cellos and acoustic bass instruments conveying plenty of texture and resolve. And playing a few rock tracks, the low end was well separated from the higher frequencies.

Mids

Again, in true Beyerdynamic fashion, you have a beautifully balanced and present midrange. Rock and pop-rock reveals the entire spectrum of sound in this range, giving the tracks a full-bodied feel. Listening to acoustic guitars, the separation was primo in the lower mids, where it can often get muddy, even in high performance wired headphones. In fact, like every Beyerdynamic model, separation might be one of its biggest strengths. And that speedy transient response is ever apparent in this range as well. Listening to John Lennon’s Watching The Wheels, the snare drum is extremely solid and disciplined. Moving on to classical, strings had ample detail for a wireless headphone. But of course, comparing it to the wired Xelento, it couldn't match it in terms of transparency. Rather, it presented a slightly smoother profile, which was still very pleasing to the ear.

Highs

You’ll hear impressive detail listening to strings in this range. But being such a neutral sound signature, you won’t get a tremendous amount of sparkle when listening to percussion instruments in this range. But I like that it doesn’t get too bright. That being said, it’s not rounded, and you’ll still hear that invigorating crispness you get from a tight sounding headphone.

Soundstage

A spacious soundstage with a sense of height and width that almost matches the wired Xelento model. The feeling of spaciousness is also just as good. Perhaps it has slightly less precision than the wired model. But the sense of dimension is still incredibly impressive, and it’s the best soundstage I’ve ever heard on a wireless headphone.

SUMMARY

These wireless IEMs are certainly the best I’ve ever tested with respect speed, detail, separation, balance and soundstage. The neutral sound signature also makes it thoroughly versatile in terms of genre. And it’s certainly the closest you can get to a critical listening experience for a Bluetooth headphone. If you have to go wire free, but you’re an uncompromising audiophile, I don’t think you can do better than the Xelento Wireless. Order a pair today at Audio46 if you would like.