Beyerdynamic Xelento remote (2. Generation)

When the first generation of Xelento in-ears from Beyerdynamic (to the review) arrived with our editorial team for the first time just over five years ago and we subsequently put them into our ear canals, they immediately earned a recommendation from us. Now the German brand has brought out an update of their in-ear headphones, which they advertise as “sonic jewellery”. Again, there are two versions: The wired version “remote” with a remote control integrated into the cable and the wireless model “wireless”. And since the second generation is once again a hair’s breadth away from the 1,000 euro price point, I would say that they would not be out of place in a jeweller’s display, and not just because of the price. It also applies to their looks.

Appearance

The development team has obviously put a lot of effort into the Beyerdynamic Xelento remote (2nd generation), to give their in-ears an appearance appropriate to the price. The triangular, softly rounded metal housing, which consists of two halves plus a cover plate on the outside, has been retained from the previous model. A very thin logo print in 24-carat gold has been added. Personally, I found the old design with its round, black decorative plate and stamped serial number more attractive. It seemed more industrial – the new design, on the other hand, seems a bit lighter and more elegant.

The serial number, which uniquely identifies each Xelento throughout the manufacturing process, can now be found on the inside of each in-ear and on a separate certificate card.

The feed plug at the end of the connection cable has remained, and this conveniently detaches under extreme stress so that neither the cable nor the in-ear is damaged. And with the 2nd generation, you also put the cable over your ear. Speaking of cables, Beyerdynamic includes two in the package: one with a 3.5 mm mini-jack connector (including remote) and one with a balanced 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector (without remote). It remains unclear what may have prompted the German company to choose this plug, which is a good idea in principle but is not yet widely used. In any case, I don’t have a single 4.4-millimetre player in my – certainly not small – collection of equipment, but I do have a lot of 6.3-millimetre jack hardware, so I would have been much happier to find a standard jack cable in the package. However, the supplied assortment of ten ear moulds (7 x silicone, 3 x memory foam) in sizes XS to 3XL leaves nothing to be desired. In contrast to the silicone, the memory foam version offers significantly better external noise shielding.

Internal values

In technical terms, the second generation of the Beyerdynamic Xelento remote remains largely unchanged. And that’s a good thing because the first Xelento was – as mentioned at the beginning – already quite a hit. The sonic powerhouse remains a Tesla driver with an 11-millimetre diaphragm, which helps the Xelento achieve a frequency response of 10 Hz to 50,000 Hz and a maximum sound pressure of 114 dB. The new version’s sound has been optimised primarily in the filters, which are supposed to smooth and boost the frequency response in the treble range. In the bass, a special filter from hearing aid technology is supposed to provide even more accurate reproduction.

In practice

I already mentioned that I would have preferred an additional cable with a standard stereo jack instead of the exotic Pentaconn plug. Otherwise, there is nothing to criticise about the Beyerdynamic Xelento remote (2nd generation). On the contrary: everything about these headphones, which are handcrafted at the company’s headquarters in Heilbronn Germany, is pleasing. There should be a suitable variant for every ear shape to be found among the ear moulds. The remote unit with the functions “answer call”, “volume +/-” and “play/pause” can be operated without difficulty, and the integrated hands-free microphone provides the person on the other end of the call with very good voice quality. Thanks to IPX4 certification and the associated protection against splash water and dust, you can also take these in-ears with you when jogging in an autumn drizzle, which makes a healthy work-out that little bit more attractive because when it comes to sound, the sky is the limit here- regardless of the general weather situation. And just in case you need to stow the earphones away, a solid hard-shell case with magnetic closure is included.

Sound

After having tested the third generation of Beyerdynamic’s T-series some time ago (to the reviews overview), where I found it was rather “softly” balanced in the treble as a result of the update, I was a bit worried when putting on the new Beyerdynamic Xelento remote 2 that the almost surgically precise treble representation of the predecessor might also have been smoothed out. However, after the first few seconds of my listening test, this fear dissolved into complete bliss because the Xelentos 2 sounded – as expected – quite excellent. Especially in the highs.

Frankly, I have to admit that I am a Tesla driver fanboy because somehow this type of driver – whether in-ear like the Xelento or over-ear like the DT 1990 Pro – seems to correspond best to my ideal sound with ultra-precise highs. Namely, an ideal balance between making all the details audible without being in any way sharp or obtrusive – perfect!

In the mid and bass range, the Beyerdynamic Xelento remote 2 also match the verdict I already reached with its predecessor: it doesn’t simply reproduce the music. No, it “plays” it so that you literally look forward to the next track in the playlist, only to be surprised from track to track by the hitherto unheard details the Xelento brings out of the music. It can be taken for granted that the new in-ear from Beyerdynamic is Hi-Res Audio certified.