[Focker]

Sounded "hollow"? Haven't heard that one before...
 

 

[roadcykler]

Quote:

 
good choice - PT rules!

 

 
 
Indeed. My favourite band in fact. I'll have to check out Voyage 34 via the new 1350's.

 

[lmswjm]

Quote:

Sounded "hollow"? Haven't heard that one before...
 

 
An excerpt from Tyll's review which incorporates a quote from Beagle:
 
As I listen to these cans for coloration, I sense them as quite neutral, though they don't sound nearly as open or deep imaging as better full-sized headphones. One comment I read on a Head-Fi thread that kept ringing in my ears was this one:
 

1. "With the 1350, it requires readjustment every time, even if it's the only headphone I've been using. I might think it's because it's hard to squeeze all the frequency ranges into a small on-the-ear headphone, so maybe there is a hole in the response that is jarring when the ear first hears it." --- Beagle

 
I think that dip at 7kHz may be somewhat responsible, and I do think that the bumps and wiggles below 3kHz may indeed show the remaining artifacts of "squeez[ing] all the frequency ranges" into the headphones after the engineers did their best tweaking them. One thing missing for me in these cans is "coherence," which is essentially the time or phase alignment of the various frequencies. When sound is coherent, it tends to sound deep and deliver the whole of the music intimately. It seems to me that the DT 1350 suffers from a lack of coherence somewhat, possibly due to the small size of the enclosure and all the correcting done to compensate for it. Again, in my experience, poor imaging and coherence are very common in small, sealed cans, and it may mean that you have to psycho-acoustically reacquire the aural image encoded in the somewhat unnatural signal every time you put them on.
 
Maybe that's what he's referring to. Otherwise the review is fairly gushing.
BTW, I'm expecting delivery of the 1350's today. Highly anticipated.

 

[Focker]

Yeah, Tyll's review was the main reason I even bought a pair....the other guy with the "hollow" comment I don't get, but to each their own. 
 
I think sometimes I'm just reminded of how important it is to listen for yourself whenever possible...it can really become almost nauseating for me to digest some of the minutiae that some of these reviewers (and some head-fi members, for that matter) put out there when evaluating a headphone. They deconstruct things to the degree that you forget if they're discussing headphones or DNA sequencing of some obscure life form. I prefer to keep is simple, myself...how comfortable is it, and how does it make my music sound. That's pretty much my evaluation process. 
 
Right now I am enjoying the Big Brother After Dark feed on Showtime 2...I have the Dish Network analog outs into this cheap little Xitel "surround effects" amplifer/processor thing....with a 15' cable extension and the 1350s. It's really cool to watch this with headphones, especially headphones as amazing as these, cause you can hear even this whispering perfecftly along with just about every other ounce of detail going on in the environment. 

 

[lmswjm]

Yeah I know what you mean. I usually know within a few minutes whether I like a headphone or not. I try not to let my OCD run wild. As far as hearing for yourself, that is so true. I would never have guessed that I would have liked the sound of the FR challenged P5 over the flatter M-80 based on the reviews, but like you say "to each their own." I can appreciate technical achievements in headphones, but in the end the sound has got to make me feel good.

 

[robm321]

Regarding the "hollow" comments - I don't think its bad news for the DT1350s, necessarily.
 
I didn't really notice it much until I compared the DT1350s to the Amperiors. Going from the DT1350s to the more aggressive sounding Amperiors and back, I found myself trying to reposition the cups on the 1350 even though I already had a seal because they sounded so thin and subdued. I noticed it mostly when A/Bing both phones one song at a time.
 
But when I played 3 songs with each headphone before switching, the DT1350s fared far better. There is definitely something missing either in the upper midrange or lower treble. However, I think after a short amount of time your brain fills in the missing information and adjusts to it. So, its really a non issue when just listening to the DT1350. In fact, the longer I listened to the DT1350, the more I just wanted to just keep them on and forget about comparing them.

 

[DigitalFreak]

I have the M-80 and the HD25 II Adidas and each can is different and has it's own strengths and weaknesses. none of them should be compared to find out which is the best in my opinion because they're all very good cans. HERE this is the best i can offer you as far as comparisons are concerned. The DT 1350 is used as a benchmark as well as the HD 25 when I wrote a review for the M-80. The M-100 I've pre ordered a set for myself hopefully I won't be disappointed.

 

[Lord Soth]

Quote:

Is the DT1350 suitable to for commuters that just listen to music on the go? Currently deciding between that and IE80s, though IE80s is my current preferred choice considering I don't have an amp.
 
Is the sound very analytical? 

 
I recently bought the DT1350 (US$270) and the Sansa Clip+ 4GB (US$35) as a combo from B&H.
My original idea was to get hold of some audiophile grade music whilst I'm stuck on a plane.
 
The DT1350 is foldable but still slightly bulky as compared to IEMs. If you don't mind lugging an Ipad sized object with you or wearing a small pair of "earmuffs", then it should be fine.
For ultra portable commuting e.g. riding a bike or jogging, the DT1350 might be too bulky. This boils down to personal preference.
 
I have only burnt in my DT1350 for a couple of hours using Hageman's Frybaby audio files but IMHO, this is really a "cheap and cheerful" winning combination for commuters.
I listen to jazz most of the time and this cheap combo has me tapping my toes most of the time. It has the elusive PRAT which all serious audiophiles are looking for.
 
The Sansa Clip+(*) is highly recommended if you are still on the lookout for a really good portable player + amp +DAC all rolled into one.
 
Listening to various FLAC music files on my Tube Amp (at home) and the Clip+ (on the move), the DT1350's sound is clear sonically and not overly analytical.
Again IMHO and YMMV.
 
(*) Not the newer Fuze and Clip Zip etc .... which have received many consumer complaints about instability.

 

[Focker]

Quote:

Yeah I know what you mean. I usually know within a few minutes whether I like a headphone or not. I try not to let my OCD run wild. As far as hearing for yourself, that is so true. I would never have guessed that I would have liked the sound of the FR challenged P5 over the flatter M-80 based on the reviews, but like you say "to each their own." I can appreciate technical achievements in headphones, but in the end the sound has got to make me feel good.

Amen. I've come close to tumbling down this same road with the speaker side of things....it's easy to read certain takes from other people and all of a sudden find yourself consumed with details that you ordinarily wouldn't really care about at all. For me, the art comes first, whether it's movies or music....and then the gear. It's hard to listen to music with a microscope. 

 

[Focker]

Quote:

Regarding the "hollow" comments - I don't think its bad news for the DT1350s, necessarily.
 
I didn't really notice it much until I compared the DT1350s to the Amperiors. Going from the DT1350s to the more aggressive sounding Amperiors and back, I found myself trying to reposition the cups on the 1350 even though I already had a seal because they sounded so thin and subdued. I noticed it mostly when A/Bing both phones one song at a time.
 
But when I played 3 songs with each headphone before switching, the DT1350s fared far better. There is definitely something missing either in the upper midrange or lower treble. However, I think after a short amount of time your brain fills in the missing information and adjusts to it. So, its really a non issue when just listening to the DT1350. In fact, the longer I listened to the DT1350, the more I just wanted to just keep them on and forget about comparing them.

 
 
I rotate my phones all the time, and that's just not a word I would use at all...I think reading some of that review it cause a bit of cynicism to creep in

 

[skyline315]

Quote:

I have the M-80 and the HD25 II Adidas and each can is different and has it's own strengths and weaknesses. none of them should be compared to find out which is the best in my opinion because they're all very good cans. HERE this is the best i can offer you as far as comparisons are concerned. The DT 1350 is used as a benchmark as well as the HD 25 when I wrote a review for the M-80. The M-100 I've pre ordered a set for myself hopefully I won't be disappointed.

 
Nice update.
 
I would disagree slightly on one point.  The edginess that's missing on the M-80s isn't only a problem with genres like hard rock and metal.  In fact, I was about to buy the M-80s until I listened to them with acoustic guitar music.  Steel strings need to have a certain bite to them that the M-80 just didn't deliver.
 
That's what led me to try to HD25, which I felt suffered from almost the opposite problem.  I listened to a couple of tracks form an acoustic set by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds and found it to be somewhat grating.  
 
Then, I found the 1350s.  As far as treble is concerned they seemed to find a happy balance right in the middle of the other two.  

 

[roma101]

I agree skyline. I find the HD25s a bit edgier and sometime almost metallic up top. The M-80s are spacious, slightly subdued up top but the M-80 responds very well to EQ to add more sparkle (I do agree with Dale there). I can see why someone used the word 'hollow' when it comes to the DT1350 - I guess that's how he perceived its sonic tonality and presentation. I wouldn't call them hollow - I would call them lean, impactful but reserved/subdued. When I think hollow, I think of the cavern-like presentation of a D1100.

And DF I do agree with that fact that all of these headphones provide something special and are great cans. They're a great trio to have. The ES10s are another can that's out of this world. Polar opposite to the little Beyer, but in a good way.

 

[Focker]

I notice a lot of you guys refer to EQ'ing your headphones, particularly portables...that probably accounts for some of the variations in the impressions people have of these (and other) phones. EQ, to me, is a bad word. I just have no desire to use it.  Seems like quite a few of you guys are really happy with the results you can get from it, though. 

 

[Twinster]

Nice update.

I would disagree slightly on one point.  The edginess that's missing on the M-80s isn't only a problem with genres like hard rock and metal.  In fact, I was about to buy the M-80s until I listened to them with acoustic guitar music.  Steel strings need to have a certain bite to them that the M-80 just didn't deliver.

That's what led me to try to HD25, which I felt suffered from almost the opposite problem.  I listened to a couple of tracks form an acoustic set by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds and found it to be somewhat grating.  

Then, I found the 1350s.  As far as treble is concerned they seemed to find a happy balance right in the middle of the other two.  

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live recordings have been my reference for acoustic while testing new headphone/amp/dac and is also part of my playlist. Can't wait for the new album "Away from the world" coming out soon.

 

[Twinster]

I notice a lot of you guys refer to EQ'ing your headphones, particularly portables...that probably accounts for some of the variations in the impressions people have of these (and other) phones. EQ, to me, is a bad word. I just have no desire to use it.  Seems like quite a few of you guys are really happy with the results you can get from it, though. 

I'm with you regarding EQ. I've tried EQ'ing but never got a result that I like. Specialy the EQ on the iPhone just $#%}. I also tried on my Clip+ and same unsatisfying result. My best result was with Foobar 2k but again it most be me but I always compare back to no EQ and seems to always prefer the later.