focker said:

Xenophon: I don't know if this is helpful or not, but in terms of whether there are audible differences among gear, my opinion is that if there ARE differences, it's easier to discern them with headphones than it is a home speaker system. I found this out with DACs recently. I've typically always been in the camp that DACs don't really make any difference, but I've now revised that opinion based on recent experience. The room is a confounding variable in terms of evaluating gear with a speaker rig, so when you take that out of the equation IMO it's easier to really hear the impact your gear is having on the sound. In a medium sized room, I had to put up over 22 acoustic panels before I felt that I had sufficiently minimized the room's impact on the sound of my audio rig...no such barrier exists with headphones. If I were you, I'd try to spend time auditioning different levels of gear (in terms of price point) to see what sort of results you get since you seem to value the opinion of the amp designer you cited. Just my $.02

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xenophon said:

You're absolutely right that I should audition of course.  Trouble is, most of the time I'm working/living in New Delhi, India (expat) and trust me, finding a variety of gear let alone a place to audition it is REALLY not possible here.  On the occasions I'm in Europe I usually have very little time available so even though I have a house there I basically only use it to shower, crash and get up next morning at 5 .  But given that the amp and cans together are no pocket change I might indeed do best to dedicate a day to this and make an appointment in a specialist store where I can show up with my present cans as reference point and a USB with classical pieces I know well, then try the T1 and HD800 with various DAC/AMP combos. I value the opinion of the designer of the O2 because he's clear in his explanation and has a load of figures to back up what he says. And of course I'm ever the disbelieving Thomas who sees expensive snake oil everywhere and when confronted with a tall claim bout performance usually responds with 'Quit talking and show me the data'.

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wahlau88 said:

Hi all,
 
I'm a long time lurker on the forum.  I started out with a pair of Westone 3s, and now I own a pair of ToGo334.  I listen to pop, rock, classic rock, edm, RnB, Blues, jpop, kpop.  Pretty much everything except Country.  Most of my files are 320 kbps files, although I have some AIFF and flacs. Normally I listen directly from my macbook pro and ipod mini.  I've tried to avoid going down the portable amp/dac route as I value portability a lot (i don't want to carry a big brick).
 
I'm looking to make the jump into full size headphones.  I find IEMs uncomfortable after awhile.  Having said that, I'm considering the the T1s and the HD800s.  I know I need a amp and dac and am considering the Bakoon HPA-21 to go with it.  The other amps like the LL and BHSE are a little more than what i want to spend at the moment. I've not thought too much about a dac yet, although I will get the Meridian Explorer to start with.  Any recommendations for DACs will be great (3K budget). 
 
I guess my question is will the fact I'm mostly listening to 320 kbps files make purchasing the setup a waste of money?  I've listen to the T1 and HD800 briefly through a Imac running apple lossless and a iriver (i think) dac and preferred the sound of the T1 over the HD800.  It sounded more warm and musical to me.  The HD800 sounded muted, like it had a veil over it (compared to the same setup) but I know the HD800s are very picky about upstream components so that was probably it.
 
Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

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musicman59 said:

IMO if you are going to listen to Pop or Rock music I would probably select the T1 just because its bass is punchier but for other genders the HD800 is better. Now, punchier to me does not translate to lower bass frequencies. IMO the HD800 can go lower in frequency than the T1 and has a wider soundstage. I really think that from the dynamic headphones the HD800 are the ones that emulate the sound of a speaker system the best.
 
Making an analogy with speakers I have always thought that the HD800 are more in line with top of the line B&W speakers sound and the T1 more with Wilson Audio.
 
One thing that I don't like about the T1 is that they are very picky about the position in your head. If they are to much to the from of your head (the back of the cup touching the back of your ear) they get darker and as you push them to the back of your head they get brighter. Same thing with you slightly move the cups in opposite directions the soundstage moves. This is due to the angled driver position. the HD800 have a little bit of this too but not as much as the T1.
 
IMO the T1 are fun to listen and the HD800 are relaxing to listen.

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musicman59 said:

BTW, IMO both headphones benefit from a good OCC Copper cable. I personally found them a little bright with their stock cable. So, in that regard the HD800 have an advantage since you can easily replace the cable being not hardwired.

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upstateguy said:

 
IMO Difference between well made cables is a myth.  If there is data to support this often heard claim we'd all like to see it. But I still wouldn't be able to hear it. Welcoming all data points and appreciate our different experiences.
 
Subjectivity and objectivity are equally important.
 
Sorry.

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preproman said:

 
Hey musicman..  If the T1s are like the Wilson Alexandria XLF  

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eee pee said:

 
And we've hit the absurdity level.  We (as Head-Fi people) complain about ~$1500 headphones...
 
These Wilson MAXX's aren't good enough!  Let's drop another $135k and then everything will be fine.  For now.
 

 
I've heard the Wilson Maxx a long time ago.  I was... like, whoa.

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upstateguy said:

 
Difference between well made cables is a myth and shouldn't be perpetuated.  If there is data to support this often heard claim we'd all like to see it.
 
Sorry.

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upstateguy said:

Difference between well made cables is a myth and shouldn't be perpetuated.  If there is data to support this often heard claim we'd all like to see it.

Sorry.

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