HD800 vs T1 vs RS1i vs D7000: Help! - Page 4

No I had if I could. 

I just compared the HD 800 with the T1 (will probably never get to hear the D7000) and I thought the HD 800 was better. The bass is much fuller (these do NOT lack bass, not even straight out of a laptop, but it's a little soft), the mids are a lot more natural and the sound is more relaxed in the HD 800 while the T1 was significantly tighter and lacking the wonderful mids in the HD 800. The HD 800 are also a bit more comfortable (IMO) since they totally surround your ear. I kinda feel sorry for the T1, where I tried them out the HD 800 was the best-selling headphone in the store but not one single T1 had been sold there. :P

if you were trying them both out if a laptop, i would not expect the T1 to sound very good. a laptop is going to have a very hard time with a 600 ohm headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab 

if you were trying them both out if a laptop, i would not expect the T1 to sound very good. a laptop is going to have a very hard time with a 600 ohm headphone.

Agreed!

While I love the HD800s, I still find the mids on the T1s are slightly more forward (when properly amped that is). The Headroom graphs also support this:

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2033&graphID[]=863

Having heard all four, it was the HD800 and RS1i that appealed to me enough to want to audition them again. Yes, the HD800, T1 and D7000 all measure well in the HeadRoom frequency response graphs but that is not a predictor for how a headphone listener will respond to their sound signatures.

Based on my own listening experiences, I will attach even less credence to frequency response graphs from now on than I did before. I'll continue to trust my own ears thank you very much.  

I have got HD800, T1 and D7000. And I also tried RS1i and owned MSpro before. I have to say if you only choose one of them. Just go for T1! Two, go for HD800 and T1. I am very happy about the HD800 and T1 combo right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab 

if you were trying them both out if a laptop, i would not expect the T1 to sound very good. a laptop is going to have a very hard time with a 600 ohm headphone.

Well the laptop (with amp/dac) was just to get a sense of how the HD 800 sound when not "properly" amped. For most of the time the system used to test these headphones was a Naim-rig including the Naim headline 2 (headphone amp) with the NAPSC (power supply) and then a CD5 XS Cd player. The difference when going from the laptop to that rig can best be described as the sound came alive through the rig while it sounded GOOD, but definitely not $1000 good on the laptop. You couldn't possibly say it sounds bad, but it's just so unfair against the headphones that I would never stand myself doing so at home. :D I totally loved the HD 800 with the Naim-rig, the pair I tested (and brought with me home) was brand new and not burned-in, so I can't really comment about brightness but the sound was just perfect for my taste. 

BTW my new HD 800 is running with my Yamaha stereo rig right now, the amplifier has more than enough power for them to go unpleasantly loud, but an headphone amp/dac will be arriving soon. :)

Out of those I've only heard the HD800 and T1.

I prefer the T1 since I steer closer towards metal/rock/electronic but still keep a thumb on lots of other genres including classical, as well as using for games and movies. To me, it's a perfect balance of Hi-Fi and "Fun-Fi", HD800 is more analytical which might be more of value to someone who listens to only classical music, it just doesn't have as much "kick" for the metal/rock/electronic music, a bit too bright for those.

T1 is a great all-rounder headphone as it has great speed and bass punch, with very high detail, separation and soundstage but is still fun to listen to. As for comfort, I wear mine probably 10 hours per day without any issue, the cups fully cover my ears.

IMO the HD 800 has good amount of bass punch, and I'm sure carefully selected source and amp can provide even more impact if desired (the SPL Phonitor has been said to provide surprisingly hard punch to the HD 800). Personally, I prefer the amount of impact coming from the HD 800. Kick drums may not be as punchy as in real life, but on the other hand I find it a little fatiguing with that kind of punch anyway. I don't think the sound would be as relaxing with more punch, but maybe after some time I too will desire some more of it, I dunno. 

When it comes to bass quantity, the only time I've felt myself wanting a little more was when watching "Transformers: revenge of the fallen", a movie with sick sound effects and with the bass always present and powerful. With the HD 800, the sound was a little fatiguing at high volumes (VERY high volumes) because all the detail wasn't smoothed over by the bass (as with my speaker setup), something that I don't blame the HD 800 for since they are meant for music, and not movies. With "Kung-fu panda", though, the bass was enough to create a full-bodied, smooth yet detailed experience.