[Necrolic]

Going to be selling my D5000s to fund a headphone upgrade, and torn as to what I'll be getting. I listen to pretty much only any and all (and I do mean all) types of rock/metal, electronic, and some hip-hop music, as well as some acoustic and vocals. I value an engaging, fun sound, but detail is important as well.

I'm assuming the LA7000s would drive better out of my amp, but from what I understand the T1s would drive pretty well themselves.

The LA7000s would cost ~$1100 right now, whereas the T1s are obviously $1000, however, I could keep my LA cups if I went with the 7000s and take that price down to ~$900.

What would you guys recommend?

 

[dBel84]

I got to hear both at a recent meet. To me the LA7000 is voiced with too much top end energy, it is very sparkly and in that somewhat reminiscent of the R10's but it doesn't have the flat midrange of the R10 and didn't have the bass - it was pretty anemic in the nether regions. That said the T1 presented itself very well, good bass extention, top end had the right amount of energy ( and I am a planar guy so I like a good top end ) while mids were pretty much spot on. Not the same as planar but very nice overall.

All this with a pinch of salt of course as I own neither and based these impressions listening off gear that I am not familiar with which itself adds kudos to the T1 for comming off so well.

..dB

 

[musicman59]

IMO for that kind of music and specially if you like impact in your bass I would go with the Denon. If you are looking for a balanced and neutral sound then I would go with the T1.

 

[Seamaster]

I feel like copper balanced recabled T1 will blow LA70000 away.

 

[monsieurguzel]

I recently acquired a pair of Beyer T1s that I have only listened to for a couple hours so far (still burning in) and I used to own a pair of Markl-D5000 a little while back. While I can't compare them side to side, here are my impressions of them:

Markl-D5000 - I really enjoyed these phones since they were quite energetic but didn't have the greatest synergy with my WA6SE. Between my recabled HD650s and the D5000s i decided to keep the HD650s at the end just because they were such smooth and easy to listen to headphones. The D5000s seemed a little too aggressive (after the mod) but the bass was quite tight and controlled (but not as much as before modding them). Overall I liked them but not enough to justify keeping them.

T1 - (Take this with a grain of salt since I don't have the HD650s or D5000s anymore). When first buying them I was worried they would be too redundant since I have a pair of HD800s also. But when first listening to them I noticed the sound is very different than HD800s....the T1s are a lot more immediate and extremely involving pair of cans. I found myself tapping my foot immediately to the music because the bass, while not over the top, was extremely satisfying and was perfect for all the rock music I was playing on it. The mids are really wonderful and smooth and I feel that the transition between the bass and mids is really what makes them seem so good to listen to. Anyways, after listening to them a few hours I definitely see them having a permanent spot in my collection since they are so different at what they do compared to HD800s.

In retrospect, I find both these cans in a different league than the HD650, which to me sounded better than markl-D5000s. To me, the D5000s didn't really have much of the warmth or lush sound which I was to expect with wooden headphones...

 

[Necrolic]

^

It seems like you prefer a very laid back sound, something the stock Denons provide, not the modded ones. Also, keep in mind we are speaking about D7000s in this comparison, not D5000s, which while still not as good as T1/HD800, is far closer than D5000s.

 

[MomijiTMO]

You could have just said thanks and disregarded their post in your decision making process... O__o

 

[Necrolic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif You could have just said thanks and disregarded their post in your decision making process... O__o

It wasn't intended to come off rude, I apologize if it did. I was just pointing out that he may have preferred HD650s due to that, and that I was considering a higher end headphone than the D5000s if that altered anything.

 

[monsieurguzel]

No offense taken

Obviously everybody's headphone voyage is very different and everybody has very different taste and reasons for keeping / exchanging headphones. As for the Denons, yes I'm guessing that the sound of the modded phones fixed some of the stock problems but also added some characters that I personally did not like that much. As for the D5000/D7000 comparison, my guess is that they are very similar from what I read....D7000 is a very slight refinement over D5000. After all they have the exact same housing/cabling/etc other than the slightly stronger magnet in the drivers. So if you really like your D5000s but want a little bit better version of it then go for D7000 by all means.

For me the T1 is quite a different sound altogether, one that I personally find easier to listen to and with just the right balance of bass, mids, and highs. The sound stage is quite a bit enhanced over the D5000s from my recollection, which should be no surprised since they are semi-open vs. closed. In my opinion, if you can afford it, you should keep the D5000s and buy the T1s from a place you can return w/in 30 days. Try them both out at the same time. If you like the D5000 sound more then I would return the T1s, sell the D5000s, and buy the LA7000 instead. At the end you will be the best judge of the sound you are looking for.

 

[KingStyles]

Quote:

I feel like copper balanced recabled T1 will blow LA70000 away.

We can have that shootout at the next meet when there both balanced.
I know the la7000 do good in all those genre. There a great all around can. The beyer T1 i only had a short time with them and they were really balenced in sound but not above average in any one aspect. I not sure if they have the fun factor to be the best in those particuler geners, but they also seen like they would be a great all around can if you need only one.

 

[MacedonianHero]

FWIW...I have not listened to the LA7000 for more than 5 minutes, but I did own the D7000. I would go with the T1s.

 

[Seamaster]

To be honest LA7000 was fun, and T1 is more balanced as stock. To me I would invest more money toward T1 to make it perfect. This is very personal.

 

[musicman59]

Seamaster,
You read my mind. have been thinking in a DHC copper "Clone" cable for my T1.