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post #256 of 262
7/15/10 at 4:19am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan View Post

I am beginning to appreciate my T1 more. They just do not synergize with my Burson amp. I prefer the Ultra Micro with them. They still do not have the taught and textured bass of the K-702, but they bring things to the table, which the AKGs do not.

 

First of all, there is none of that weird upper midrange tinge to the presentation that the AKG has. This is a welcome relief. The T1 is very easy to listen to for long hours… warm and more involving in the midrange. The drivers are breaking in and there is some more resolution on offer.

 

And I daresay, they are beginning to show some imaging prowess at last… the sound is a bit more ‘out of the head’ now and depth has improved. They still sound a tad slower than the K-702 and the bass could improve.

 

But, the cable is very heavy and putting a lot of strain on the 3.5mm jack of the Headroom amp. I will order a Cardas wired ‘3.5 to 6.3’ adaptor tonight. Once that arrives, I shall do some serious listening.

 

They do not outclass the K-702, across the board, strength for strength, but they provide a very valid and nice alternative presentation! Neither headphone is the Holy Grail… but they complement each other. Now, is everyone happy?


I think your starting to see some burn in. As I stated they take a while to realize what they could do. When I bought mine it took me about a week of serious listening and then I decided they were very nice. Its also nice to have more than one phone on hand as you get to appreciate each headphone for what it can do. Too bad the Burson does  not appear to be a good fit. Tube amps work well as does my solid state Matrix. Give those drivers more hours and I believe you will appreciate them more.

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post #257 of 262
7/15/10 at 8:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan View Post

First of all, there is none of that weird upper midrange tinge to the presentation that the AKG has. This is a welcome relief. The T1 is very easy to listen to for long hours… warm and more involving in the midrange. The drivers are breaking in and there is some more resolution on offer.

 

And I daresay, they are beginning to show some imaging prowess at last… the sound is a bit more ‘out of the head’ now and depth has improved. They still sound a tad slower than the K-702 and the bass could improve.

 

But, the cable is very heavy and putting a lot of strain on the 3.5mm jack of the Headroom amp. I will order a Cardas wired ‘3.5 to 6.3’ adaptor tonight. Once that arrives, I shall do some serious listening.

 

They do not outclass the K-702, across the board, strength for strength, but they provide a very valid and nice alternative presentation! Neither headphone is the Holy Grail… but they complement each other.

 

 

 

Compared with my experiences, I think this is a pretty fair assessment.  Point by point:

 

  1. The T1s are very easy to listen to, not fatiguing at all.  They don't have that "weird upper midrange tinge", and they sound very natural throughout the spectrum.  To me, the K701s have that odd quality which makes them sound less than optimal with certain types of music.  This limits the versatility of the K701s, as well as making it more difficult to match them with source / amplification equipment.
  2. I own the T1s and K701s, as well as the HD800s, and I must say that I think the imaging of the T1s is a step above the other two.  I would describe the K701s as having a very wide soundstage that lacks depth.  The HD800s have a large soundstage in both width and depth.  The T1s have a moderately-sized soundstage that has equal width and depth.  But in terms of placing instruments within that soundstage, the T1s seem to offer more precision than the other two.
  3. The cable is indeed very heavy and relatively inflexible -- this is one of the things that bothered me most about the T1s.  On the other end of the spectrum, the cable on the K701s seems to me to be pretty thin and insubstantial, and it doesn't give the impression of durability.  I think the stock cable of the HD800s offers an excellent compromise between substantiality, weight, and flexibility.
  4. I'd agree -- the T1s don't outclass the K701s across the board, though I would say that the T1s win out overall.  For the K701s, they sound more open and airy, and I actually tend to prefer them for a lot of acoustic music.  However, the smoothness, neutral tonality, outstanding imaging, and easy-to-listen-to-ness of the T1s makes them, in my opinion, a more versatile headphone, one that can handle just about anything you throw at it.

 

Oh, and in terms of comfort:  I don't find either to be exceedingly comfortable (for me, both fall short of the HD800s considerably).  I'd probably have to give the edge to the K701s because they are lighter and I can wear them for longer than the T1s before they start to bother the top of my head.

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post #258 of 262
7/15/10 at 9:18am
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sophonax View Post

 

Compared with my experiences, I think this is a pretty fair assessment.  Point by point:

 

  1. The T1s are very easy to listen to, not fatiguing at all.  They don't have that "weird upper midrange tinge", and they sound very natural throughout the spectrum.  To me, the K701s have that odd quality which makes them sound less than optimal with certain types of music.  This limits the versatility of the K701s, as well as making it more difficult to match them with source / amplification equipment.
  2. I own the T1s and K701s, as well as the HD800s, and I must say that I think the imaging of the T1s is a step above the other two.  I would describe the K701s as having a very wide soundstage that lacks depth.  The HD800s have a large soundstage in both width and depth.  The T1s have a moderately-sized soundstage that has equal width and depth.  But in terms of placing instruments within that soundstage, the T1s seem to offer more precision than the other two.
  3. The cable is indeed very heavy and relatively inflexible -- this is one of the things that bothered me most about the T1s.  On the other end of the spectrum, the cable on the K701s seems to me to be pretty thin and insubstantial, and it doesn't give the impression of durability.  I think the stock cable of the HD800s offers an excellent compromise between substantiality, weight, and flexibility.
  4. I'd agree -- the T1s don't outclass the K701s across the board, though I would say that the T1s win out overall.  For the K701s, they sound more open and airy, and I actually tend to prefer them for a lot of acoustic music.  However, the smoothness, neutral tonality, outstanding imaging, and easy-to-listen-to-ness of the T1s makes them, in my opinion, a more versatile headphone, one that can handle just about anything you throw at it.

 

Oh, and in terms of comfort:  I don't find either to be exceedingly comfortable (for me, both fall short of the HD800s considerably).  I'd probably have to give the edge to the K701s because they are lighter and I can wear them for longer than the T1s before they start to bother the top of my head.


I had a sample of the T1s alongside the 702s at my local store today to have a better grasp of the sound. I was blown away the first time I heard it last week, well, not blown away, but I kept thinking about it. The moment I got it alongside, I'm starting to ask myself how much difference there is and whether it really warrants that much of a price differential.

 

But based on my listening today, I definitely agree with point 2 wholeheartedly. I don't know if it was the setup today, but it was out of a CD Player, didn't take notice, hooked up to a Meier Symphony. With the 702s, I really really struggled to place instruments. I mean, it's got soundstage, but everything just seemed so so far away. Whereas with the T1s, I could shoot off immediately that the particular instrument was at a certain distance away. I know I'm getting a tad elaborate, so bear the exaggeration in mind please. This was the one thing that struck me after my listen in today of about 10 - 20 minutes.

 

Again, point 4, the 702s, and also in addition to what has been said above, the 702s just sound so much more open and airier. And I'm not sure if I was digging it. I have to admit that back home with my own setup, which isn't much, the 702s don't seem to have that problem.

 

Comfort wise, I haven't worn the T1s for extended periods. 702s, with more hair, they aren't too bad, but if I cut my hair, which will be soon, they really start to weigh on my head real quick so I might need to look for a fix on this soon.

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post #259 of 262
7/15/10 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 

Just ordered this one...

 

http://www.headphone.com/accessories/cardas-14-to-18-adaptor.php

 

Should do the job and save the fragile headphone socket of cute little Ultra Micro..

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post #260 of 262
7/15/10 at 2:13pm



 

Quote:
Originally Posted by achristilaw View Post

Music is in the ear of the beholder....I can get good sounds from the Superlux HD681 (a $29.00 phone) out of the Leben or Dynahi. Price has nothing to do with potential or personal expectations.



...or happiness.

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post #261 of 262
7/18/10 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhanja_trinanjan View Post

I am beginning to appreciate my T1 more. They just do not synergize with my Burson amp. I prefer the Ultra Micro with them. They still do not have the taught and textured bass of the K-702, but they bring things to the table, which the AKGs do not.

 

First of all, there is none of that weird upper midrange tinge to the presentation that the AKG has. This is a welcome relief. The T1 is very easy to listen to for long hours… warm and more involving in the midrange. The drivers are breaking in and there is some more resolution on offer.

 

And I daresay, they are beginning to show some imaging prowess at last… the sound is a bit more ‘out of the head’ now and depth has improved. They still sound a tad slower than the K-702 and the bass could improve.

 

But, the cable is very heavy and putting a lot of strain on the 3.5mm jack of the Headroom amp. I will order a Cardas wired ‘3.5 to 6.3’ adaptor tonight. Once that arrives, I shall do some serious listening.

 

They do not outclass the K-702, across the board, strength for strength, but they provide a very valid and nice alternative presentation! Neither headphone is the Holy Grail… but they complement each other. Now, is everyone happy?


how's the T1 journey coming along?

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post #262 of 262
7/19/10 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beagle View Post

...or happiness.


Are you suggesting that headphones can't buy me happiness?  Or love for that matter?  Blasphemy!  How dare you question the great promises my headphones have been whispering in my ears!

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