I bought the T5.3 and they are really good. Head and shoulders above my current Sony MDR-Z7M2. They sound more Sony that actual Sony do. Very much like them.
Beyers pick up more details, I hear things in songs that I have never heard before, and that I listened to 1000s times. For example, Morgan's mic distortion on the right channel @
1.57-2.0. I just can't hear that in Sony's - there is just a bunch of sound mess at that moment where you can't discern anything apart.
Beyers at the same time have significantly narrower sound stage, than Sony MDR-Z7M2. Like, 3x times narrower. (Maybe 2x times, ok?) But thanks to the increased level of details that you can now hear, and better overall sound quality, they are more immersive non the less. What's good in a wide sound stage if it sounds like crap? lol. I exaggerate, but still.
I played a lot of Far Cry New Dawn in T5.3, and despite the 3x times narrower sound stage, they provide 3x times more immersion into the game. Just can't stop playing, following that constant wave of sounds and music... Enjoying it.
The bass at first feels very annoying, and starts to settle down after approximately 3 hours of constant use. Then it becomes better and better with every listening hour, concentrating specifically where it is supposed to be, and not all over the place in every tone possible like when the headphones are new. When they headphones are brand new, the bass is everywhere - in mids, in mids highs, in mids lows, in mids mids, in lows, in highs... you name it. Then it settles down, and goes away from where it shouldn't be.
Now 1 seriously bad thing about the T5.3 - they are very uncomfortable. In terms of comfort - the Sony's are in a different dimension. Beyers pads feels like they are made of wood. No comfort at all. They are also small so you ears will inevitable touch the tough pads and the headphones will press you ears to your head, which feels unpleasant. The stock pads have to be changed for something like Dekoni custom pads. And that's the first thing to do after you buy the headphones.
The second thing - order the custom cable, because the stock 1.4m cable is too short and has way too much microphonics to it. Sony cable in comparison is a high quality top tear accessory.
(And one more thing I would like to note - the T5.3 really started to shine only after I switched the DAC from Low gain to High gain. Interestingly, Sony, that are rated at a higher impedance and having much higher Power Handling Capacity (2000mV Sony vs 300mV Beyer), show noticeable distortions in playback when switched to High gain. So I always run them on Low. Not the case with the T5.3s! So, Beyerdynamics are still Beyerdynamics, and despite being specced to 32ohm, they still appreciate the POWAH.
) <- not really, see edit.
The DAC is Sony TA-ZH1ES.
Cheers.
Edit: After more days of breaking-in, I switched the DAC back to Low gain. The sound is more neutral that way, in High gain the bass is getting emphasized too much. As well as some other tones.
The pads became much more bearable, but still far from the level of comfort of Sony MDR-Z7M2, and the headphones still clamp your head like no tomorrow.
Also the bass really gets in your way of listening more than you would like it to.
