A New Hope: beyerdynamic DT1350 announced

[EddieE]

I was personally a bit gutted by the t50p, I have long wanted a high quality portable set of phones I really felt satisfied with. I'd be happy to pay above the odds for something that gave me a sound as good as home-sitting-cans on the move.

It turned out the t50p, while not being bad per se, did not set anyone's world alight.

Now beyer have another shot at it with the DT1350, a new set of phones based around near identical frame, aimed more at studio use.

The marketing blurb:

The Beyerdynamic DT-1350 is a newest generation professional monitor headphone with Tesla technology that will convince you with its sound, design and functionality. Newly designed transducers guarantee the Beyerdynamic DT-1350's extreme effectiveness with a minimal distortion factor. That way, the Beyerdynamic DT-1350 offers an analytical and balanced sound even at very high volumes. Thanks to the maximum sound pressure level of 129 dB and the excellent exterior noise supression, the Beyerdynamic DT-1350 provides a powerful sound even in the noisiest situations. With its high-quality materials, the Beyerdynamic DT-1350 is very durable and thanks to the convenient and replaceable earpads and the swiveling earcups it is also comfortable and practical.



Superficial differences to the t50p are minimal, the single ended cable being the most obvious along with plastic sheaves for the headbands to cover the loose wire connecting the cups.

But the pads do look different, flatter and more even on the side facing the ear. Could this solve some of the odd acoustical issues with fit dfkt outlined in his t50p review? Or am I building myself up to be let down again...

http://www.musik-schmidt.de/gb-Beyer...c-DT-1350.html

[WalkGood]

Should be interesting to hear about, but it's a shame they didn't follow others lead and use a 3.5mm jack for a replaceable cable.

[dfkt]

Flatter pads sure make sense - the T50p sounded better when pressing them against my ears.

The plastic headband rails look really cheap and crappy, even in this (presumably) press shot, with their loose protruding edges.

[cn11]

It sure does look a bit cheap in those areas... let's hope it's more like a softer, tactile TPU material or something better than just plastic.

I would hesitate to try these even with the flatter pads though, considering the horrible fit woes I had with the T50p.

[EddieE]

Yeah I was just thinking the same thing - they really do not look good at all.

Like they just went for the first solution they could think of on Friday afternoon then went to the pub.

cn11 - when you say you had fit issues, do you mean the acoustics issue many have written about (how they only sound good in a very certain position) - or do you mean there were comfort issues as well?

Also while you're here can I suddenly divert my own thread by asking you about the Z1000 I see on your sig? How are you finding them?

EDIT - Actually don't. Just clicked to see your posts and seen you've written about them. Sorry, lazy, lazy, me.

[dfkt]

No need to derail your own thread. http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60497

[cn11]

Originally Posted by EddieE

Yeah I was just thinking the same thing - they really do not look good at all.

Like they just went for the first solution they could think of on Friday afternoon then went to the pub.

cn11 - when you say you had fit issues, do you mean the acoustics issue many have written about (how they only sound good in a very certain position) - or do you mean there were comfort issues as well?

Also while you're here can I suddenly divert my own thread by asking you about the Z1000 I see on your sig? How are you finding them?

EDIT - Actually don't. Just clicked to see your posts and seen you've written about them. Sorry, lazy, lazy, me.

Yeah, it was the fit issue which resulted in much diminished sonics... and when I got it just right and also pushed them onto my ears harder, the sound got substantially better. When I'd let go it would just go back to crappy sound. No amount of fiddling I tried would get that good sound to stay put unfortunately. There were no comfort issues, I just wish they would have stayed in that sweet spot.

[cn11]

Well after seeing positive impressions starting to rack up on HF, I decided to spring for a pair of the DT 1350's. At first I didn't like them very much, but I'm starting to appreciate them quite a bit. They're quite neutral, and if there's any focus it's in the mids. When I go back to listening to my Pro 900's, I can definitely hear that slight recession in the midrange which is talked about. Their treble is very very smooth yet detailed. Probably the most mellow while still being resolved that I've heard. They make the TMA-1's seem like they have almost no treble at all! And I mean they do this while having not a trace of harshness, even on some of my most biting and difficult music material (specifically Mogwai's Mr. Beast album). The soundstage is bigger than on the TMA-1's too. And their bass is close in terms of quantity and impact. It seems the flatter pads, somewhat tighter clamping force, and split headband all do their parts to improve fit over the T50p's.

One negative is that they're pretty hard to drive, especially for a portable. With my Sony X alone I can quickly get up to almost max, and it's still nowhere near too loud. Also, they are a touch flat and unexciting with just the Sony. But throw the Arrow into the mix, and then things are much much different. The Sony/Arrow/DT 1350 is a really wonderful sounding, highly portable setup.