Beyerdynamic sold to China’s Cosonic for $139m

[pavuol]

search didn't find "Cosonic" here so I don't know if this was mentioned..

link1 / Headphone maker Beyerdynamic sold to China’s Cosonic for $139m
link2 / Chinese Company Cosonic Acquires Beyer Dynamic

 

[respice finem]

For 100 years tradition, a bargain price IMHO. But such is the general state of affairs, so to speak.
I'm curious if we will see a BD without the (in)famous Beyer peak-

 

[solderdude]

For 100 years tradition, a bargain price IMHO. But such is the general state of affairs, so to speak.
I'm curious if we will see a BD without the (in)famous Beyer peak-

DT150, DT250, DT240PRO, Custom One Pro, DT1350, T51 all did not have the 'Mount Beyer' peaks.
The rest of them ... sure including the latetst DT770 PRO X and DT 990 PRO X

 

[respice finem]

I can't understand why they didn't eradicate such an obvious issue in many recent models.

 

[pablolie]

I can't understand why they didn't eradicate such an obvious issue in many recent models.

It is all a design compromise for certain preferences and use cases. A flaw to some is a boon for others.

Shame to see yet another company with a lot of tradition lose its identity and become a branding exercise.

 

[Gitfiddle]

I can't understand why they didn't eradicate such an obvious issue in many recent models.

I have a friend that enjoys them like that. They know it exists and refuse to EQ them. Not my cup of tea, but the market for that tuning seems to exist.

 

[dlaloum]

It is all a design compromise for certain preferences and use cases. A flaw to some is a boon for others.

Shame to see yet another company with a lot of tradition lose its identity and become a branding exercise.

Yet to be seen whether it becomes a branding exercise.... after all Quad has now been chinese owned for years, but the Huntingdon facility (HQ / Factory / Workshop) is still there...

And leveraging (contracting out) chinese manufacturing is something almost all manufacturers have been doing for decades now...

So I would wait and see...

For some companies (eg: Quad) - the changes of ownership have been .... graceful.... for others eg: Revox, Nakamichi, changes in ownership have been a gradual descent into oblivion

 

[respice finem]

I have a friend that enjoys them like that. They know it exists and refuse to EQ them. Not my cup of tea, but the market for that tuning seems to exist.

Actually, you will only hear it at the affected frequency, so it might not be apparent at all with some music.
But it's bad, there's no way to frame it harmless...

 

[respice finem]

It is all a design compromise for certain preferences and use cases. A flaw to some is a boon for others.

Shame to see yet another company with a lot of tradition lose its identity and become a branding exercise.

Well, yes, but, sometimes such sales can produce a good outcome, if the buyer is no "locust" kind of investor.
Thinking of the history of Klein und Hummel as an example - taken over by Sennheiser and "evolved" into today's Neumann.

Klein und Hummel – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

Sennheiser – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

BTW: Sennheiser is now Sonova. We wanted globalization, now we have it

 

[solderdude]

I can't understand why they didn't eradicate such an obvious issue in many recent models.

Acc. to Beyerdynamic it is intentional because it is for professional usage and the headphone serves as a magnifying glass for details.

In the DT 700 PRO X and DT 900 PRO X the treble peak is smaller.
The DT 150 and DT 250 are more 'professional' and don't have these peaks.
On top of that the Edition models were intended for home usage and also have the Mr Beyer peaks which makes the 'professional magnifying glass' bit a suspicious.

Acc. to Beyerdynamic many people buy the BD models just because of the treble peak.
I have to admit ... the first 'good' headphone I bought (in my younger years after a year of trying out all kind of headphones in shops) was the early (600ohm) DT990 and bought it because of its 'warmth' and 'hyper detail'.
It did not bother me at that time.
It was a decade later when one of the drivers started cutting out now and then that I bought my second headphone .... the (black screen) HD650.
Obviously my ears were trained a bit more by then...

 

[Palladium]

Just to have an idea how small the hi-fi market has become: Airpods sold $18 billion in last year alone.

 

[respice finem]

Acc. to Beyerdynamic it is intentional because it is for professional usage and the headphone serves as a magnifying glass for details.

So all the details "live" in that narrow peak, yeah
Any excuse is better than none. I know similar excuses from some shooters, esp. hunters. No way in hell they missed. It was the gun, the ammo, the wind, solar flares, an unregistered earthquake...

I like my BDs mainly for the comfort, including the T1 Mk2 "flattenened" by Amir, but I EQ them, which I kind of don't need with my el cheapo AKG K371 or the Truthear Zeros.

 

[bachatero]

Just to have an idea how small the hi-fi market has become: Airpods sold $18 billion in last year alone.

I dont think this means much. Before 2016 "everybody" was using the freebie dirtybuds included with iPods and Airpods are simply the updated version of those, but expensive enough to technically qualify as a major market force.

 

[respice finem]

This segment will remain rather big, as long as the devices die with their non-replaceable batteries.

 

[solderdude]

So all the details "live" in that narrow peak, yeah
Any excuse is better than none. I know similar excuses from some shooters, esp. hunters. No way in hell they missed. It was the gun, the ammo, the wind, solar flares, an unregistered earthquake...

I like my BDs mainly for the comfort, including the T1 Mk2 "flattenened" by Amir, but I EQ them, which I kind of don't need with my el cheapo AKG K371 or the Truthear Zeros.

T1 mk2 has a wide and substantial treble peak from 7 to 15kHz (+7dB) so not narrow and exactly in the 'enhanced detail range' (6kHz to 12kHz)

It only appears to be narrow on specific test fixtures (that should not be judged > 8kHz)

But with EQ they are indeed enjoyable and very comfortable with a lot of room for the ears (non pro have lower clamping force)
When using an EQ set to a narrow 8kHz peak you thus still have a lot of 'extra energy' in the 10-15kHz region (the frequency band where 'airiness' resides.

 

[thewas]

BTW: Sennheiser is now Sonova. We wanted globalization, now we have it

But not their pro section which is still Sennheiser.

Sennheiser

www.sonova.com

 

[solderdude]

and AKG is in the hands of Samsung (Harman).

 

[respice finem]

T1 mk2 has a wide and substantial treble peak from 7 to 15kHz (+7dB) so not narrow and exactly in the 'enhanced detail range' (6kHz to 12kHz)

View attachment 467373

It only appears to be narrow on specific test fixtures (that should not be judged > 8kHz)

But with EQ they are indeed enjoyable and very comfortable with a lot of room for the ears (non pro have lower clamping force)
When using an EQ set to a narrow 8kHz peak you thus still have a lot of 'extra energy' in the 10-15kHz region (the frequency band where 'airiness' resides.

But, if I should follow the excuses, I would have to ask, is this really Hi-Fi? And such "tuning" included their "flagship" T1...

'Beyerdynamic T1 Review (V2 headphone)'

Feb 8, 2021

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Beyerdynamic T1 Version 2 "semi-open" headphone. It is on kind loan from a member. This is discontinued but I think the cost was $1049 when available.

This is the flagship model from Beyerdynamic but to me, it doesn't look it:

The T1 feels light and is generally comfortable. It does pinch the bottom of my ear though so pay attention to these measurements to make sure it won't yours:

The included split, dual 3.5mm stereo jacks seems sturdy and long enough for mountain climbing! It tangled everywhere...

• amirm
• Replies: 289
• Forum: Headphone & IEM Reviews & Discussions

• 

Still, since I can switch EQ on or off at any time, it doesn't bother me much.
Or, if the tonal balance is off despite EQ (with some recordings), there is also B/T control on the remote.
To cite Pink Floyd: I have become comfortably numb.

 

[solderdude]

Well there are plenty of owners using it 'as is' and are perfectly happy with it (as well as with many other BD headphones)

Technically it doesn't even remotely follow any known preference curve and has rather high distortion at higher SPL but still it does have some enjoyable properties.
Warm, laid-back sound with tons of 'detail' and 'airy' sound.

I don't think the new 'bank' Beyerdynamic found is going to change the product line nor manufacturing nor the 'house sound' though.

 

[respice finem]

I guess, manufacturing will be in Asia, maybe except for the top of their range.
We will see...