[AlanHell]

Having the T1, running it on HDVD800 full balance mode, let me wounder:
If god creates HD800, why does he create T1?
 
You are forced to get both..........

 

[NZheadcase]

AlanHell, how are they different? And in your opinion, do the differences between them justufy having both?

Have not heard the HD800 so I'm a little curious.

 

[AlanHell]

AlanHell, how are they different? And in your opinion, do the differences between them justufy having both?

Have not heard the HD800 so I'm a little curious.

Well, the difference is person to person, amp to amp, DAC to DAC, CD to CD. So I cannot say for sure what contributes more to the sound. (Even with the exact same gear, someone may argue that they hear sonic difference due to different power filter and cabling.)
 
In general, I would just say that the following comment is only for me and my amp collections with my music only.
 
The treble of the T1 is a bit more emphasized compare to HD800. This results more harsh sibilance for some lower resolution recordings. It also gives the T1 a wider sound as if you are sitting farther away from the sound source. In a more linear amp like RPX-35, the treble energy is much higher for the T1 while on the HDVD800 with balance setup, it settles down a bit with more pouch on the bass. 
 
The mid is where I found the most differences. HD800 sounds more forward compare to T1. Like what I said before, HD800 makes you feel like you are sitting right in the middle of the theater, T1 is the guy sitting 3 rows behind it. As for the imaging ability, they have different approaches. HD800 present the sound in a more concrete manner while there are 2 or 3 clouds of sounds, and in each cloud you can tell what instruments are in by the layering of the sound. Each sound will be presented and overlay with each other. For T1, you will have more clouds of sounds. It like every instrument has its own sound space and they tend to stay that way. You can tell the difference of the instrument by the location of the sound and they tend not to come across each other.  So, to me HD800 is more engaging while T1 is more lay back. With different recordings, it will give you completely different feeling about the music. For instance, with a live rock recoding, HD800 gives you a feeling that you are the lead singer singing your favorite piece; while T1 makes you the super high hardcore fans cheering for your idols. Depends on the mood, I could take both~~~~
 
The low end is like the treble, very similar. I think because both of them are German, so they need more controls and speeds over quantities. I think HD800 slams deeper while T1 slams harder. So, there is more mid bass on T1 and more extension on the HD800. If you give them the proper power with balance connections, they can both rock your head hard. Both of them, to me, have excellent bass body and textures. You can feel the vibration of the drum surface while they are making those sounds. But, in a smaller space, I like the HD800 bass more since it is closer and more immediate. While for a rock show, T1 provides more rhythms without affecting the sound of bass guitar.  For the most of pop music, you will find them "bass light" . Since I rarely uses then for pop, I do not have that problem.
 
Hope this helps your curiosity~~~~~
One thing I learn from past years is that:
never get too curious, or your wallet will hurt, big time!
 
Cheers

 

[headwhacker]

It's more a matter of personal preference. I share the same impressions as AlanHell between Beyers and Senns cans. The treble of T1 has more more details compared to HD800 which could get harsh and sibilant sometimes. But this is my preference, I want to hear every detail in any music I play.

HD800 has heavier weight in bass compared to T1. However, the bass of T1 is no slouch and delivers enough bass weight when it's called for.

It's always better to demo both at the same time so you can decide for yourself which sound signature you like best. Having both of these cans is like getting the best of both worlds. If you get tired of one can you can use the other to keep you happy. I for one am planning to get one of the Sennheisers. I'm leaning more on getting the HD650 than HD800 though.

 

[pdrm360]

It's more a matter of personal preference. I share the same impressions as AlanHell between Beyers and Senns cans. The treble of T1 has more more details compared to HD800 which could get harsh and sibilant sometimes. But this is my preference, I want to hear every detail in any music I play.

HD800 has heavier weight in bass compared to T1. However, the bass of T1 is no slouch and delivers enough bass weight when it's called for.

It's always better to demo both at the same time so you can decide for yourself which sound signature you like best. Having both of these cans is like getting the best of both worlds. If you get tired of one can you can use the other to keep you happy. I for one am planning to get one of the Sennheisers. I'm leaning more on getting the HD650 than HD800 though.

 
The HD800 doesn't have heavier weight in bass, IMO.  
 
I think the HD800 and the T1 are fantastic pairs, go for the HD800. 

 

[DoctaCosmos]

hey guys!  very much considering getting a t1.  I'm a hardcore image /focus guy and that's the main reason i have been drawn to it.  However i am worried a little because my previous headphone the he-400 has been making my ears BLEED. .. well at least making them ring at night. The high's are very forward and the planar drivers are so big and so close to your ears that there's not enough room for the dynamics to breath and my brain gets slammed with large bodied transients that i simply can't stand.  I honestly hate this headphone. 
I'm hoping the t-1 isn't that bad as i've read some people say it is sibilant prone and v-shaped.  both attributes of the 400.
I've also read that the violectric v200 is an amp in particular that calms down the highs on the t-1 but i've always been a believer that amplifiers only amplify the sound and nothing else..  However, i am interested in hearing whether someone has actually paired these two and can clarify as i've never been able to test this theory.  I've only been banged on in the speaker forums for suggesting other wise.
Would a tube amp like the wa2 or -22  or even wa6 be a better option?

 

[zackzack]

Any news on Beyerdynamic A1 Amplifier update?

 

[rnadell]

  hey guys!  very much considering getting a t1.  I'm a hardcore image /focus guy and that's the main reason i have been drawn to it.  However i am worried a little because my previous headphone the he-400 has been making my ears BLEED. .. well at least making them ring at night. The high's are very forward and the planar drivers are so big and so close to your ears that there's not enough room for the dynamics to breath and my brain gets slammed with large bodied transients that i simply can't stand.  I honestly hate this headphone. 
I'm hoping the t-1 isn't that bad as i've read some people say it is sibilant prone and v-shaped.  both attributes of the 400.
I've also read that the violectric v200 is an amp in particular that calms down the highs on the t-1 but i've always been a believer that amplifiers only amplify the sound and nothing else..  However, i am interested in hearing whether someone has actually paired these two and can clarify as i've never been able to test this theory.  I've only been banged on in the speaker forums for suggesting other wise.
Would a tube amp like the wa2 or -22  or even wa6 be a better option?

I listened to that combo at rmaf2013 and I thought it was a great combo. Keep in mind that the Dac you use will make a difference. I currently have the T-1 with a CSP-2+ amp and have no experience of ear bleed. They are great headphones paired with a tube amp. Good Luck

 

[bowtung]

   
 
The mid is where I found the most differences. HD800 sounds more forward compare to T1. Like what I said before, HD800 makes you feel like you are sitting right in the middle of the theater, T1 is the guy sitting 3 rows behind it. As for the imaging ability, they have different approaches. HD800 present the sound in a more concrete manner while there are 2 or 3 clouds of sounds, and in each cloud you can tell what instruments are in by the layering of the sound. Each sound will be presented and overlay with each other. For T1, you will have more clouds of sounds. It like every instrument has its own sound space and they tend to stay that way. You can tell the difference of the instrument by the location of the sound and they tend not to come across each other.  So, to me HD800 is more engaging while T1 is more lay back. With different recordings, it will give you completely different feeling about the music. For instance, with a live rock recoding, HD800 gives you a feeling that you are the lead singer singing your favorite piece; while T1 makes you the super high hardcore fans cheering for your idols. Depends on the mood, I could take both~~~~
 
 

THIS!!! I've the exact impression

 

[BobJS]

It's more a matter of personal preference. I share the same impressions as AlanHell between Beyers and Senns cans. The treble of T1 has more more details compared to HD800 which could get harsh and sibilant sometimes. But this is my preference, I want to hear every detail in any music I play.

HD800 has heavier weight in bass compared to T1. However, the bass of T1 is no slouch and delivers enough bass weight when it's called for.

It's always better to demo both at the same time so you can decide for yourself which sound signature you like best. Having both of these cans is like getting the best of both worlds. If you get tired of one can you can use the other to keep you happy. I for one am planning to get one of the Sennheisers. I'm leaning more on getting the HD650 than HD800 though.

 
Funny, it goes to show how everyone hears differently.  I own both T1 and HD800 (agree, these are both great phones to own), but I could've written the exact same post ..... just swap T1 with HD800 in your post!
 
And your last sentence .... HD650 simply does not have enough high frequency energy for me .... I've owned it and the HD600, but got rid of the HD650.  For less than stellar recordings (where great detail retrieval is not necessarily a good thing) I find the HE-500 perfect.

 

[AlanHell]

  hey guys!  very much considering getting a t1.  I'm a hardcore image /focus guy and that's the main reason i have been drawn to it.  However i am worried a little because my previous headphone the he-400 has been making my ears BLEED. .. well at least making them ring at night. The high's are very forward and the planar drivers are so big and so close to your ears that there's not enough room for the dynamics to breath and my brain gets slammed with large bodied transients that i simply can't stand.  I honestly hate this headphone. 
I'm hoping the t-1 isn't that bad as i've read some people say it is sibilant prone and v-shaped.  both attributes of the 400.
I've also read that the violectric v200 is an amp in particular that calms down the highs on the t-1 but i've always been a believer that amplifiers only amplify the sound and nothing else..  However, i am interested in hearing whether someone has actually paired these two and can clarify as i've never been able to test this theory.  I've only been banged on in the speaker forums for suggesting other wise.
Would a tube amp like the wa2 or -22  or even wa6 be a better option?

No matter how much the amp can roll off the sibilance, killing off those "Harsh" sound will effect your phone's imaging abilities. It is better to fix the issue on two ends other than the middle. You can either get higher quality recordings, or switch to a phone that has less harsh sounds~~~
 
Pop and studio synthesized music will tend to have lots of problems for hifi phones because the sound source is too close to the mic. In nature, high frequency sound lost its energy much faster than the low frequency sound with respect to distance. So, if you are 1 meter away from the sound, the highs will automatically got tamed a lot in nature so you will not hear as much sibilance. For  live classical and jazz recordings, the mics are far away from the source which results a much less sibilance issue while the high pitch of your phone can pick up lots of space  and reverberation information though higher order harmonics of the sound.
 
You you want a warmer phone for all kinds of pop and rock songs, LCD-2 or even HD650 is a better choice. However, you cannot achieve the same imaging ability compare to T1 and HD800. My advice is to keep your DAC and AMP as flat as possible. Find some recording you have already listens for 100 of times, then pick the phone you like the most on that recording. Do not let cheaper options slip away cause they might be the right choice in the end. 

 

[DoctaCosmos]

I use a Peachtree Audio DAC*IT and a Schiit Asgard.  The Asgard is 1ohm output so it's out of the question if i decide to go T-1, 800.  That's why i am considering an amp that has different impedance options such as the vio or the burson. I listen to everything and have high bit rate recordings.  Thanks for the input about how the amp won't change the headphone. 
You say that i can get higher quality recordings and i won't be subjected to the the harshness does that mean that the T-1 is harsh and fatiguing if i don't play better recorded music?
I suppose i wouldn't mind getting a 650 for pop and genres like that as those genres are only sometimes fun to me and vocal, acoustic, live and orchestra are the music that melts me enough to engage in this high dollar hobby.

 

[rubick]

 
 
Finally joined the club =)

 

[pdrm360]

 
 
Finally joined the club =)

 
Welcome aboard!   What are you going to do with the T90? 

 

[rubick]

Welcome aboard!   What are you going to do with the T90? 

Actually just got the t90 one week before the t1. Gonna keep both since both have different presentation of music