
Sound:
Tonality:
Tonally, I would describe Beyerdynamic's headphones as "harmonious" and "balanced". The DT 1350 is definitely not completely neutral, but clearly flatter and less sounded than the Sennheiser HD 25/Amperior.
The bass range of the DT 1350 is evenly raised by around 4 dB and does not leave the fundamental and lower midrange untouched.
The increase of the boost of the lower frequencies takes place quite high up in the central midrange, but blends in evenly and harmoniously with it and does not make it appear thick or " muffled". The bass definitely does not obscure the midrange either.
The peak of the boost is around 100 Hz - the keynote range is not really less present, but around 200 Hz there is a mild, broadband dip, which makes the upper bass more prominent.
The level remains surprisingly constant towards the sub-bass and only drops slightly below 30 Hz. You definitely can't complain about a lack of bass extension.
The bass range could thus be characterized as "punchy", but without outshining the midrange (the blending is quite harmonic and even), and thus also as "even". A pure kickbass focus like that of the Sennheiser Amperior does not exist with the DT 1350.
The midrange tends towards the warmer direction, for which the just described bass raise is responsible. Fortunately, the headphones still don't sound too coloured or unnatural, but present only a mildly coloured, yet quite authentic midrange reproduction.
The mild warmth is accompanied by some darkness, which is caused by a recessionthat I can detect between 1 and 4 kHz. This ensures for good long-term listenability and at the same time a rather relaxed sound reproduction, but could leave lovers of clarity slightly lacking gloss and airiness in lighter vocals.
Above 4 kHz, the high frequency, to my ears, is even and surprisingly smooth, at a neutral level. Only at 11 kHz can I notice some slight sharpness by using sinus sweeps, but this is not really noticeable when listening to music (the decay/overtones of cymbals only have a trace more lingering/subtle "air" without appearing unnatural).
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To sum it up, the DT 1350 Facelift is a balanced-sounding headphone that doesn't sound completely neutral, but sounds uniform and unobtrusive in a positive sense, with a touch of warmth and relaxation.
Resolution:
The Beyerdynamic continues its mature sound character even in detail retrieval and presents a very clean, highly controlled, tight and fast bass response, to which attributes such as "muddiness" or "slowness" are completely alien.
Due to the tuning, brighter voices lack some brilliance, but this does not change the high intelligibility of speech and the good audibility and differentiation of the midrange, which provides the owner with a high abundance of fine details.
The separation of individual instruments and tonal elements in the high frequencies is also well achieved by the Beyerdynamic and here, too, it offers little cause for criticism and rarely lacks a little focus on cymbals in very fast recordings.
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You can still tell that it is a closed on-ear, but the DT 1350 does not sound "boxy".
I can't really say the exact reason why it still has the character of a closed on-ear, but I would tend towards the rather "closed" airy/stage presentation as a reason, which would already take us to the next category. Otherwise the headphones present a very detailed, coherent and grown-up sound image.
Soundstage:
The fact that the DT 1350 is a closed headphone is not hidden from view, so its stage presentation is definitely not as open and disconnected as with most open-back headphones.
The stage of the Beyerdynamic is quite small and rather wide than deep, making the overall presentation seem rather oval. Nevertheless, its stage doesn't seem as "punctually" small as the Sennheiser Amperior's, which has the more pronounced and precise staging capabilities - the DT 1350, on the other hand, only manages to reproduce two to a maximum of three rows in depth, while the Sennheiser succeeds in achieving a somewhat better differentiation.
The Beyerdynamic's stage, on the other hand, is convincing in terms of instrument separation and an approach of "empty space" between instruments can also be sensed.
With more complex and faster recordings, the Beyer's stage remains mostly controlled and in place, even though it does not retain the same control as many Multi-BA in-ears or orthodynamic headphones, and instruments are still separated quite neatly, but the "empty space" approach diminishes.
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Compared to my Sennheiser Amperior:
Apart from the height adjustment mechanism, I find the Amperior visually and haptically more appealing and of higher quality than the Beyerdynamic.
Another advantage of the Sennheiser is that its cable is interchangeable.
Tonally, the Sennheiser represents a contrast to the DT 1350 and sounds more "spectacular", with a more present kick bass and brighter treble.
In the fundamentals, the Sennheiser is leaner than the Beyerdynamic, which in contrast to the Sennheiser that has a kickbass hump, has the more even (and less pronounced) bass boost, which also remains more constant in the sub-bass - here the Sennheiser rolls off more strongly. As a result, the Beyerdynamic's bass sounds more even and offers the more linear extension.
In comparison, the vocal range of the Amperior is slightly more neutral and has the more present upper midrange/presence range.
At 5 kHz, on the other hand, the Sennheiser is somewhat more reserved, but around 10 kHz it is somewhat brighter and more "lively" than the Beyerdynamic.
If you take a closer look at both headphones in terms of detail, you won't notice a big difference in a direct comparison - but the DT 1350 is ultimately still the more differentiated sounding headphone, which I would classify about half a class above the Amperior that tonally appeals to a different target group.
In the midrange, the Beyerdynamic appears a bit more detailed and differentiated, which is especially noticeable in faster and more complex music material.
In terms of precision and tightness, both headphones are roughly comparable in the bass range (the DT 1350 appears slightly firmer and tighter, with identical control).
In treble, it is once again the Beyerdynamic that sounds better separated, more detailed and more natural.
Overall, the Beyer is the somewhat finer and more differentiated sounding headphone, but also "more boring" and "more relaxed" in comparison. The Sennheiser, on the other hand, sounds "rougher" in comparison and a bit like a raw diamond.
The Beyerdynamic has a slightly wider stage than the Sennheiser, whose spatial representation is quite small and punctual.
Surprisingly, the Amperior, on the other hand, has more spatial depth and a more precise layering than the DT 1350.
The Sennheiser is more accurate in locating instruments, while the Beyerdynamic offers a more precise and sharper separation of instruments.