After listening to many different headphones over the last few months, I finally bought a pair of these Beoplays (second hand on Amazon… spotless, and at a 40% discount!). A few things I really like about them:
- The sound is really open, balanced and smooth. I was surprised that a closed headphone would sound so light and open. Feels like the best of both worlds: the isolation of a closed over-the-ear headset, but with the airiness of an open headset.
- I read reviews about them being a bit shy on the bass. The bass is plenty for me, and they really open up when hooked up to the Meridian Explorer DAC (see below)
- Ok, they look awesome
- Very light – makes it comfortable to wear for hours at a time
- The lamb skin leather ear cups are buttery smooth. Reminds me of the B&W P5.
- I actually like the fact that it is not black
- Good cable. No cable noise. Has a microphone in-line…
I spent all day on conference calls with this headset and everyone said it sounded fine. But more importantly, it made me feel like I was much more immersed in the conversation.
Meridian Explorer
When at my desk, I hook it up to the Meridian Explorer, and as I mentioned, it is a stunning combination. The soundstage opens up and really pulls you into the recording. Love this setup.
Didn’t you use the FiiO E-7 or E-17 for portable D-to-A?
Ken, you remember well! I returned the FiiO and got the Meridian. Love it. One of the cool features is that the gain is controlled through the normal volume control of the Mac. So you don’t have to worry about 2 volume controls and the Meridian just sits inline and does its magic.
The size seems like a really nice selling point too. I have the FiiO at home (E-17 in E-09K base) but haven’t found myself travelling with it. Based on your enthusiastic review I scraped some coins together and ordered the AudioQuest DragonFly … not quite as cool as yours but I’m poor these days. BTW, I just bought the V-MODA Crossfade M-100’s. Absolutely love them. Didn’t compare them to the B&O’s but they absolutely blew away the Sennheisers, Beats, and AKG’s that were in the studio.
Yeah heard good things about the M-100. I bought the dragonfly and the Meridian and kept the Meridian. They were very close though. You will love he dragonfly.
Can’t wait. 🙂