[Nickapalooza86]

How do we know for sure that some of these "bad" headphones don't just need one million hours of burn in?

 

[LitilSnild]

Beyer T1 gen 3. For how decent gen 2 and dt1990 was, this was really disappointing to me.

I remember asking a buddy of mine who worked there if a mid bass eq was applied to this. He looked at me, stared for a cool second, and slowly shook his head with a funny grin.

 

[TWerk]

And the original T1 was really great! I never tried the others but I can tell you that one was an excellent headphone.

It's just sad to hear they got worse over time, many people felt that way about the 3rd gen.

 

[AetherDrive]

I have the T1 gen 2 and with the oratory eq and a tube amp they are fantastic!

 

[LitilSnild]

I have the T1 gen 2 and with the oratory eq and a tube amp they are fantastic!

Yeah, gen 2 is amazing with a solid tube amp. Then they made gen 3 32ohms so tubes can't help...

 

[Strayngs]

For me the biggest disappointment didnt suck….it just wasnt special in any way. Focal Stellia. I sold it and replaced it with the Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM and thought the Gjallarhorn was the better headphone at less than half the cost. Not quite as resolving but beat it in every other way…..Gjallarhorn is a b*tch to get the fit and seal correct….but once you take the time required….it is rewarding.

 

[AetherDrive]

For me the biggest disappointment didnt suck….it just wasnt special in any way. Focal Stellia. I sold it and replaced it with the Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM and thought the Gjallarhorn was the better headphone at less than half the cost. Not quite as resolving but beat it in every other way…..Gjallarhorn is a b*tch to get the fit and seal correct….but once you take the time required….it is rewarding.

I was at the Florida Audio Expo 2023 and got to try them out at the Focal room. They were good, but like you, I didn't find them anything special that warranted the price tag.

 

[bagwell359]

Many nominees... but it's got to cost, it's got to have a big rep... or associated by manufacturer as the same or inspired by another earlier better can. To avoid hate posts, these are merely my opinions, no better or worse than yours.

Last Place: Fostex 900 mk2 - ridiculous bass cannons under 300 Hz, wonky mids, too much treble - lacking nuance.

2nd to last place: Meze Empyrean - polite Muzak with the nasty edges wiped off...

3rd to last place (tie): HE-5 SE, HE-5XX (pilloried both in their threads)

 

[TWerk]

@bagwell359

The TH900 is VERY V shaped in its sound signature and I can totally see that being divisive. Love or hate. There is a good amount of sub bass and a lot of treble info on top. Big mid "body" scoop. I can't push the volume up much because the treble becomes too much.

I actually find them quite detailed and nuanced/articulate myself (they highlight areas in music that I don't typically notice) but if you can't take to the signature, I can see where it's not going to be your headphone, at all.

Still I think it's very fair to not like them if the V sound profile isn't your thing. I have an Ibasso SR-2 which is also using bio-cellulose drivers and I hear similarities between them - however it is a far more balanced tuning on the Ibasso which I think you would maybe find much more to your taste.

 

[bagwell359]

@bagwell359

The TH900 is VERY V shaped in its sound signature and I can totally see that being divisive. Love or hate. There is a good amount of sub bass and a lot of treble info on top. Big mid "body" scoop.

I actually find them quite detailed and nuanced/articulate myself but if you can't take to the signature, I can see where it's not going to be your headphone.

I owned them a few times. I am enjoying them more than I recall this time around - but yes - they can be picky for sure and that aggressive and unique tuning is hit or miss. They do sound super fun to me on the right tracks and actually very beautiful on some music too. It's different than my other headphones - I find it is interesting to get such a highly resolving bright and bassy headphone with such a strong personality.

There is a lot of energy with them and yeah, it's just a unique tuning that gives a different take on music vs. my other headphones. I can't think of another high end headphone that has so much V shape to it as that is usually done on less expensive models and without so much resolution and technical performance. I really enjoy the presentation - soundstage and imaging is really good for me.

Still I think it's very fair to not like them if the V sound profile isn't your thing. I have an Ibasso SR-2 which is also using bio-cellulose drivers and I hear similarities between them - however it is a far more balanced tuning on the Ibasso which I think you would maybe find much more to your taste.

I appreciate you and your posts, so all I will say is that I have 0% humor when it comes to audio, so "fun" is not actionable or a goal. It either evokes the real thing, or it does not. If its close, I'll try mods/EQ. Otherwise it's gone.

On the 900 I couldn't get into the soundstage/imaging, because I couldn't get past the phony bass and treble (lacking nuance in the treble because you get hit over the head with excess, nuanace and subtle shadings don't stand up well to that) or the distant mids, and don't get me started on timbre.

I appreciate the attempt to get me to see the charms of the can, but, it's no fun for me I am afraid....

 

[TWerk]

Understood, yeah I get it given your tastes.

 

[csch92]

meze 109 pro! they are great but not 800 bucks great. i will be stuckt with the s2 forever

 

[KOM66]

Grado SR325x. Not fun to wear. The cable is a pain and to my ears only sounded good when listening to heavy metal. I returned them.

 

[TheDJHastings]

1. I heard the Yamaha 5000SE at CanJam NYC 2023, and it had nothing to do with it's hype and price tag. It wasn't just underwhelming, it was downright bad and sounded like muffled, horribly tuned, garbage.

2. Lol, ultrasone's

3. Grados?

 

[KaiFi]

DCA Aeon Noire

Piercingly bright, even with the dampening, and no dynamics to speak of whatsoever. I do not get the hype for these at all. But then I'm someone who really can't stand V-shaped sound. These were disappointing especially because of how comfortable and portable they were. But I've realized that I don't like the DCA "house sound".

Hifiman HE-R9

Bloated bass, physically ugly, and despite being closed-back, they basically let in as much outside noise as an open-back. Closed-backs that don't offer any sound isolation defeat the purpose of being closed-back.

These are both headphones I tried and immediately decided to return.