No matter if you’re traveling or staying home, the choice of a quality pair of headphones is entirely subjective, as it depends on what you want and what your needs are. If you’re a studio musician, you will obviously want a studio pair, possibly reference quality. But if you’re a college student who simply wants to fade out to some tunes while walking around campus, your needs define what style, brand and quality you invest in. I’ve been in each of those situations and more, from traveling to school to the writing life, each requires a different set of features and each demand a certain quality and design to fit whichever lifestyle the headphones are to fit in best with.
For me, personally, my favorite use for headphones is when I write. I tend to maul over a problem or a subject idea for a few days then I setup a quiet, cool, comfortable place and I turn off all the lights so I cut down on distractions and I sit in front of my laptop and vibe with atmospheric, bass-heavy chillstep. There’s just something about that environment that helps me to get right into my flow state and write some of my best ideas, and quickly too. But to achieve this, I need very high sound quality, because if I’m constantly thinking about how the bass didn’t hit hard enough or that the mids and highs aren’t crystal clear enough, then I am distracted, which entirely defeats the purpose of this exercise.
So, consider your needs before buying your next headphones. For most people, who are going through the motions most days, the best option might be a balanced, yet smaller pair of high quality headphones. My friends over at Beyerdynamic sent me a pair of their T 51 i Portable Headphones so I could see how best they fit for people in the travel and creative professional lifestyles, and I have to say that they are an interesting pair for a reasonable price.
The T 51 i Portable Headphones have a nice, tight design with on-ear pads, fitted with a metal band that fits over head of the user. Beyerdynamic boasts that due to the T 51 i’s efficient Tesla technology, they have ‘excellent, balanced and powerful sound quality,’ and from my experience testing this model, I have to say that the sound quality is pretty dynamic for such a small, sleek pair. The bass is there in all of its oozing goodness, the highs are pretty solid, but I feel like the mids sort of take over the sound of certain genres. But that may very well be due to my keen ear, or more likely, it’s simply because of how used to my own headphones I am.
As far as features go, the T 51 i is equipped with a mic and remote, which allows you to control phone calls and audio playback for your Apple iPhone, iPod or iPad. The ear pads swivel 90-degrees, and are soft and real nice, which is so important in a good pair of headphones. The band is strong and comes padded at the top, which is nice, considering most comparable headphones with metal bands are a comfort problem. One of the best aspects about the T 51 i setup is that it comes with a padded case, which opens up the possibility of taking these abroad while you tour the world. Most soft cases aren’t worth using, acting more like a thin fabric bag, but Beyerdynamic did a solid here with this case, because it is indeed soft, but it is very well padded and is rigid enough on the inside to hold the headphones in tight, allowing for little movement or jarring impact.
Most thin metal headphones are, to be honest, not worth investing in, but Beyerdynamic holds their products to a higher standard, because the metal band connecting each ear pad is very strong and surprisingly comfortable. They don’t cut into the top of my head like other similar brands, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s a win right there. But all in all, I found the T 51 i’s to be a very solid pair of headphones; the pads are comfortable and cushioned, the sound is very nice for the price point, and the overall storage addition is lovely.
If you would like to find out more about Beyerdynamic, click here.
Article written by Brandon Scott / Eye & Pen – Photos © Beyerdynamic.
So, consider your needs before buying your next headphones. For most people, who are going through the motions most days, the best option might be a balanced, yet smaller pair of high quality headphones. My friends over at Beyerdynamic sent me a pair of their T 51 i Portable Headphones so I could see how best they fit for people in the travel and creative professional lifestyles, and I have to say that they are an interesting pair for a reasonable price.
The T 51 i Portable Headphones have a nice, tight design with on-ear pads, fitted with a metal band that fits over head of the user. Beyerdynamic boasts that due to the T 51 i’s efficient Tesla technology, they have ‘excellent, balanced and powerful sound quality,’ and from my experience testing this model, I have to say that the sound quality is pretty dynamic for such a small, sleek pair. The bass is there in all of its oozing goodness, the highs are pretty solid, but I feel like the mids sort of take over the sound of certain genres. But that may very well be due to my keen ear, or more likely, it’s simply because of how used to my own headphones I am.
As far as features go, the T 51 i is equipped with a mic and remote, which allows you to control phone calls and audio playback for your Apple iPhone, iPod or iPad. The ear pads swivel 90-degrees, and are soft and real nice, which is so important in a good pair of headphones. The band is strong and comes padded at the top, which is nice, considering most comparable headphones with metal bands are a comfort problem. One of the best aspects about the T 51 i setup is that it comes with a padded case, which opens up the possibility of taking these abroad while you tour the world. Most soft cases aren’t worth using, acting more like a thin fabric bag, but Beyerdynamic did a solid here with this case, because it is indeed soft, but it is very well padded and is rigid enough on the inside to hold the headphones in tight, allowing for little movement or jarring impact.
Most thin metal headphones are, to be honest, not worth investing in, but Beyerdynamic holds their products to a higher standard, because the metal band connecting each ear pad is very strong and surprisingly comfortable. They don’t cut into the top of my head like other similar brands, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s a win right there. But all in all, I found the T 51 i’s to be a very solid pair of headphones; the pads are comfortable and cushioned, the sound is very nice for the price point, and the overall storage addition is lovely.
If you would like to find out more about Beyerdynamic, click here.
Article written by Brandon Scott / Eye & Pen – Photos © Beyerdynamic.
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