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Anyone own both the Beyer T1s and the DT-880s ?
Jun 9, 2010 at 1:43 AM Post #32 of 95

 
Quote:
pataburd said:
The T1 have landed.  
 
Initially, they sound overly bright (and my tastes run on the bright side to begin with).  Cymbals are very well-rendered, though.
 
Mids are still on the fit-and-trim side, but are significantly detailed and nuanced.
 
Bass lines are well-articulated and easy to follow, but still a little bulgy and unfocused.
 
What will break-in bring?
 
UPDATE:
The morning hours arose on my first audition of the T1.  : )
 
After less than two hours, the T1 were less strident and much more listenable in the treble registers.  The intricacy of cymbal work, especially, is quite detailed and remarkable.  
 
Bass goes deep and is also very detailed.  
 
The mids are clean, clear and open, evoking an airy intimacy with vocals.  The finely resolved tonal hues and dynamic textures really draw the listener in, contributing so much more to the listening experience.  
 
After a while, I found myself getting lost in the music and becoming less and less deliberate in the way I was listening.  It's like the T1 just take over, and transport you. 
 
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Hi Pataburd

I've had mine for a few days now.   A switch to tubes smoothed out the treble and increased the bass.  They're heavier, clamp harder, not nearly as comfortable as my old '03 880s, and share a similar sound signature......
 
The biggest difference between the two is the soundstaging. 
 
What's your T-1 set up like?
 
USG
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 8:22 AM Post #33 of 95
USG,
Agreed: the T1 are heavier, clamp harder and are not nearly as comfortable as the DT880/2003.  
 
Mine are driven by the Fitz-Max Bada PH-12 (see signature), and are opening up nicely.  The detail retrieval is pretty remarkable.  My DT880/600 actually sound smoother than the T1 right now, though, no doubt due to comparative differences in break-in times.  The T1's mids are exceptionally clean and detailed, yet still a bit lean and incohesive (less cohesive than the DT880/600 at this time, and still not up to the standard of the UP-OCC K501) and bass is still developing, but goes deep and is nicely detailed.
 
The DT880/600 sound like the T1, but in the raw and confined by comparison.  Wish I still had the DT880/2003 on hand, but I still seem to recall more "airiness" in the latter's treble, but still less detailed compared to the T1, if that makes sense.
 
pab
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 11:39 AM Post #34 of 95
I gave the T1s a listen at canjam and I wasn't overly impressed, for the price anyway.  They were obviously better than the 880s I tried, but not $1K better.  I agree that the T1s are very smooth.  Almost too smooth, but not quite.  I couldn't spot any technical flaws, but neither did anything jump out and grab me.  To me, they just didn't feel like they were worth $1300.  Putting them on and listening to a favorite track, just didn't give the same 'wow' that the HD800s or the LCD-2s did.
 
You mileage will almost certainly vary...
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 1:23 PM Post #35 of 95


Quote:
pataburd said:
USG,
Agreed: the T1 are heavier, clamp harder and are not nearly as comfortable as the DT880/2003.  
 
Mine are driven by the Fitz-Max Bada PH-12 (see signature), and are opening up nicely.  The detail retrieval is pretty remarkable.  My DT880/600 actually sound smoother than the T1 right now, though, no doubt due to comparative differences in break-in times.  The T1's mids are exceptionally clean and detailed, yet still a bit lean and incohesive (less cohesive than the DT880/600 at this time, and still not up to the standard of the UP-OCC K501) and bass is still developing, but goes deep and is nicely detailed.
 
The DT880/600 sound like the T1, but in the raw and confined by comparison.  Wish I still had the DT880/2003 on hand, but I still seem to recall more "airiness" in the latter's treble, but still less detailed compared to the T1, if that makes sense.
 
pab
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I agree with everything you said. 
dt880smile.png
  
 
The Bada is a very nice amp and should do a great job with the T-1s .  What are you using for a DAC and transport?  Are you USB ?
 
Keep me posted on how they develop.
 
How's the comfort compared to your 600ohm 880s?
 
USG
 
Quote:
maverickronin said:


I gave the T1s a listen at canjam and I wasn't overly impressed, for the price anyway.  They were obviously better than the 880s I tried, but not $1K better.  I agree that the T1s are very smooth.  Almost too smooth, but not quite.  I couldn't spot any technical flaws, but neither did anything jump out and grab me.  To me, they just didn't feel like they were worth $1300.  Putting them on and listening to a favorite track, just didn't give the same 'wow' that the HD800s or the LCD-2s did.
 
You mileage will almost certainly vary...
Click to expand...

 
I agree.  But they do offer a different experience from regular headphones.
 
USG
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 3:39 PM Post #36 of 95
USG,
I am using a Ric Schultz modded Oppo 970-HD universal player for source.
 
I'd say that the DT880/600 get you about 80 or even 85% "there" compared to the T1, and that ounce for ounce, dollar for dollar, the DT880/600 are a better buy.  But what you gain with the extra 15-20% is really exceptional with the T1.  
 
Echoing maverickronin, though, I think that $895 is more equitable a price tag than $1295.
 
As for the T1's midrange rendering of vocals, you get more lip and nose--peripheral detail--but less lung compared to the K501; more egg shell and egg white than yolk; warmth but not much depth.  I think the Beyers will never be up to the task like the K501, but that's what makes them what they are.  I'm sure that once the T1 finally settle down they will be even further into a class of their own.
 
pab
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 3:50 PM Post #37 of 95


Quote:
maverickronin said:
I gave the T1s a listen at canjam and I wasn't overly impressed, for the price anyway.  They were obviously better than the 880s I tried, but not $1K better.  I agree that the T1s are very smooth.  Almost too smooth, but not quite.  I couldn't spot any technical flaws, but neither did anything jump out and grab me.  To me, they just didn't feel like they were worth $1300.  Putting them on and listening to a favorite track, just didn't give the same 'wow' that the HD800s or the LCD-2s did.
 
You mileage will almost certainly vary...
Click to expand...

mav,
Initially I wasn't overly impressed either, nor am I particularly overly impressed now.  
 
But increasingly, during extended late-night sessions with the T1, I find myself getting more and more enamored of their sound.  The amount of available tonal and dynamic detail is pretty amazing, bringing out more lilting and wavering and expressiveness in vocals that I had never heard before.  
 
pab
 
Jun 9, 2010 at 9:28 PM Post #38 of 95
Just swapped out the Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB for an RCA 6SN7GT, and it has made a positively noticeable improvement to upper registers of the T1: no more piercing quality, but still extended and more transparent.
 
Jun 10, 2010 at 2:01 AM Post #39 of 95


Quote:
pataburd said:
USG,
I am using a Ric Schultz modded Oppo 970-HD universal player for source.
 
I'd say that the DT880/600 get you about 80 or even 85% "there" compared to the T1, and that ounce for ounce, dollar for dollar, the DT880/600 are a better buy.  But what you gain with the extra 15-20% is really exceptional with the T1.  
 
Echoing maverickronin, though, I think that $895 is more equitable a price tag than $1295.
 
As for the T1's midrange rendering of vocals, you get more lip and nose--peripheral detail--but less lung compared to the K501; more egg shell and egg white than yolk; warmth but not much depth.  I think the Beyers will never be up to the task like the K501, but that's what makes them what they are.  I'm sure that once the T1 finally settle down they will be even further into a class of their own.
 
pab
Click to expand...



Pataburd... How does the T1 midrange compare with that of the K701?
 
Any of that upper midrange peak/discontinuity that makes everything sound distant and smaller than life... and missing some of the vital harmonics that makes music beautiful?
 
Do you need to crank the T1 up loud before the midrange blossoms? Like I have to do with the K701/2... but if the track contains both mids, upper mids and treble, then playing them loud does not solve the problem fully as the lower treble and upper mids run all over the mids.
 
Jun 10, 2010 at 5:53 AM Post #41 of 95



 
Quote:
pataburd said:
USG,
I am using a Ric Schultz modded Oppo 970-HD universal player for source.
 
I'd say that the DT880/600 get you about 80 or even 85% "there" compared to the T1, and that ounce for ounce, dollar for dollar, the DT880/600 are a better buy.  But what you gain with the extra 15-20% is really exceptional with the T1.  
 
Echoing maverickronin, though, I think that $895 is more equitable a price tag than $1295.
 
 
pab
Click to expand...


I agree with you again.   880s will get you practically everything but the sound stage and detail.
 
I have never spent any time with 501s so I can't respond to that.
 
If 880s are around $250 on ebay, these should go for around $500.
 
USG
 
Jun 10, 2010 at 5:18 PM Post #42 of 95
Page 3 of this thread has started me wondering if I wouldn't be almost as happy with the 880 600ohm, and come out better financially ... The T1s just blew me flat out away, but they were hooked to a HP-4 amplifier, and and Ayer DAC ... I mean a KILLER sounding, and very expensive system !!  I made a huge mistake by not hooking the DT880s to that same system for a comparison.
 
I do remember being very impressed with the DT880 600s , and wonder if I wouldn't be just as satisfied, considering the rather large price difference.
 
Jun 10, 2010 at 5:51 PM Post #43 of 95
The 'phones will make a lot more difference than the amp.  I got to try some HD800s on my $200 Maverick Amp/DAC and it sounded great.  It was better on nikongod's Silver Ghost, but there's only one of those in the whole world.  More than the detail and soundstage, I liked the overall tone of the T1s much better than the DT880s
 
You might be perfectly happy with the DT880s, but if you decide you want some T1s, just go ahead and get the T1s.  Worry about the amping latter.  Try it on what you've got or at what you can find at local hifi stores or regional meets.  Then you can buy an amp if you think its worth it.
 
Jun 10, 2010 at 6:12 PM Post #45 of 95

 
Quote:
maverickronin said:
The 'phones will make a lot more difference than the amp.  I got to try some HD800s on my $200 Maverick Amp/DAC and it sounded great.  It was better on nikongod's Silver Ghost, but there's only one of those in the whole world.  More than the detail and soundstage, I liked the overall tone of the T1s much better than the DT880s
 
You might be perfectly happy with the DT880s, but if you decide you want some T1s, just go ahead and get the T1s.  Worry about the amping latter.  Try it on what you've got or at what you can find at local hifi stores or regional meets.  Then you can buy an amp if you think its worth it.
Click to expand...

 
Thanks for the advice. I already have the amp to do either pair of cans justice .... I just hate the thought of spending so much money, IF I would be just as happy with the 880s.
 

 
 
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