Beyerdynamic Xelento 2 Wireless Review: Fidelity AND Convenience In One Package!

We have the Beyerdynamic Xelento 2 Wireless with us today, and if you’re on the lookout for a new pair of flagship IEMs, this might honestly just be it.

Design

So, let’s talk design. The moment you take the sleeve off the box, you immediately know it’s different. The box opens differently, and the presentation is just awesome. It’s premium, it’s luxurious, it says “an audible piece of jewellery” on the top flap and yeah, it really is. You get the two earphones nestled in a layer of foam, with all the other accessories below. But before we go any further, let’s talk about something. There are actually two different SKUs for the Xelento 2, the wireless and the remote. The wireless is the one that comes with the wireless neckband which allows for the earbuds to be used wirelessly. The remote SKU comes with two cables, one is a 3.5mm single ended while the other is a balanced 4.4 Pentaconn termination.

And that’s about it, everything else is mostly the same. The earbuds are the same, the driver is the same, so yeah.

Okay, back to design. The shells for the Xelento 2 are gorgeous. Gold plated connectors, silver plated cables and the Beyerdynamic logo is reportedly 24 karat gold. It definitely lives up to the price, which we’ll talk about later. The faceplate is glossy and is somewhat of a fingerprint magnet, although the rest of the shell is a matte metal. There’s also a vent on the faceplate, right under the Xelento wording, which I’m not the biggest fan of, but alright.

In the box for the Wireless model, you get two options. One is the standard silver plated 3.5mm cable, which allows you to use the earphones wired as per normal, and the other is a neckband, which allows for wireless use like I mentioned. Both cables are relatively similar, there’s a microphone and controls on the right side, although the neckband has a power/pairing button on the left side along with a USB-C charging port on the bottom of the right arm. The play/pause button on remote control module controls media too. One press is for play/pause, two presses is for next track and three presses is for previous track. There’s even supposed to be fast forward and rewind if you press once and long press the button or press twice then long press the button, but I couldn’t seem to get it to work with Apple Music or with YouTube.

The MMCX connectors are snug and clip in very securely. I do have to say, the embossed L and R on the cable isn’t very obvious, but a clear way to figure out which side is which is by looking at the microphone and remote control module. This module is always on the right side. Easy.

Aside from that, you get a whole bunch of Beyerdynamic’s olive tips from XS all the way to 3XL, and Comply foam tips from S to L. If none of these tips fit you, well, you might have to look into getting custom IEMs done up. There’s also a nice protective case inside, although it’s definitely too big for a pocket, and a USB-C cable that not only charges, but allows for wired playback with the wireless neckband. Lastly, there’s a box with a couple of cable clips and a cleaning cloth.

Inside the earphones, the Xelento 2 is using Beyerdynamic’s Tesla.11 drivers, which is a single 11mm dynamic driver so yes, continuing on with the single driver setup. Personally, I don’t see a big problem with this. If you can get excellent performance and the right tuning out of a single driver, why not. Performance isn’t dictated by the number of drivers anyway.

The earphones are IPX4 certified, so no problems when it comes to sweat or an accidental splash. Also a good point to note, both the earphones and the wireless neckband are IPX4, so yes, everything’s protected.

Connectivity

The neckband is running on Bluetooth 5.2 and actually supports SBC, AAC, LHDC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive. There’s also multipoint support here, which is very nice.

App

So while these aren’t true wireless earbuds and there’s not much functionality in terms of ANC or touch controls, there is a companion app that you’ll want to download and it’s the MIY app. You can get some simple sound customisation there with EQ presets, although it’s a little limited. For this review though, I didn’t change the EQ at all. There’s also a hearing test that you can take that will help “personalise” the sound as well, and it was a pretty interesting one where you’re holding down the button when you can hear the beeps as they fade in and out.

Sound Quality

Now, on to sound. Out of the box, these sounded mostly spectacular. The bass is tight and punchy with a good amount of rumble and detail. The mids are also very detailed and lush here, with a tinge of warmth and a good amount of transparency. I will note that the mids are a little scooped here though, although it’s nowhere near a V-shaped tuning.

The treble is pretty natural, but this is the one area I personally am not as fond of as I prefer quite a bit of energy and sparkle and air in the highs. For most people though, I’d say this is fine, and it’s really quite good treble performance out of a dynamic driver.

After a bit of burn in with the earphones though, the sound opened up and the soundstage became ever so slightly wider. Instrument imaging is very accurate with layering much improved and that’s one thing I’m quite blown away by with these earphones.

And that’s with using the neckband in wireless mode. These open up even more with a DAC/amp to my phone and it just sounds gorgeous.

I reckon a lot of people will go for the Remote model for that 4.4mm balanced pentaconn cable, but if you want the convenience of “wireless” in the sense that you still have cables running to a neckband, then this is a good compromise. You still get a DAC/amp in the neckband and all, but you don’t have to worry too much about your cable snagging on things since it’s a short length near your face. Personally, it’s convenient for me and I don’t have to bring a separate DAC/amp out, but I still prefer the sound of these wired. To each their own though.

One thing I absolutely have to note is that the original Xelentos had an issue with driver flex, and it’s still present here when you wear the earbuds and press it into your ears, you’ll hear that same crinkling sound from the driver, so yes, just something to take note of.

Price & Conclusion

At S$1,499 for the Remote version and S$1,699 for the Wireless version, this is almost in the same price range as the Sennheiser IE900 at S$1,999. But truthfully, I rather have the Xelento 2.