My first review on head-fi. I have only had the T90s for a few weeks, and have maybe 30 hours of listening time so far. I have mainly been listening to ripped CDs (44.1khz/16) and some HD 96Khz/24 recordings. I've also listened to some 320kbs streaming audio. My audio path is a Macbook pro to an O2/ODAC via USB. I also have a DacMagicXS that I use at work.
I came to the T90s from a set of ATH-M50 cans. Putting on the T90s was a revelation. I never realized how much more music there was to the recordings, in almost all cases.
One of my personal peeves regarding playback systems in general, is a tendency for many to emphasize one aspect of the sound, heavy bass for example. The T90 is well balanced at all frequencies, with the possible exception of an occasional over-emphasis of treble. Even so, I am not in the least bit bothered by this as it seems to be somewhat recording dependent and is easily dealt with. For me, the bass response is just right. Ever present, but not overbearing and with a pure sound. The mids shine and really highlight how much better these are than the ATH-M50s I have been using.
I'm not going to talk about soundstage or other somewhat abstract audio concepts, except to say that when I listen to music through these headphones, I feel very close to the music. Not in the middle, but close enough. I don't feel as if I am in a large concert hall, but more a smaller venue, maybe a night club. This may be more to the type of music I listen to, primarilly acoustic jazz, folk, with some classical mixed in.
The sound of the individual instruments always comes through well with the T90s. Ensembles sound right, with my only criticism being that some string ensemble tracks can sound a bit muddy. I think this is one of the most difficult types of music to get right for any playback system. Voices are magnificent on these headphones. Especially female vocals.
To conclude, the T90s have been a significant upgrade to my listening experience.
I came to the T90s from a set of ATH-M50 cans. Putting on the T90s was a revelation. I never realized how much more music there was to the recordings, in almost all cases.
One of my personal peeves regarding playback systems in general, is a tendency for many to emphasize one aspect of the sound, heavy bass for example. The T90 is well balanced at all frequencies, with the possible exception of an occasional over-emphasis of treble. Even so, I am not in the least bit bothered by this as it seems to be somewhat recording dependent and is easily dealt with. For me, the bass response is just right. Ever present, but not overbearing and with a pure sound. The mids shine and really highlight how much better these are than the ATH-M50s I have been using.
I'm not going to talk about soundstage or other somewhat abstract audio concepts, except to say that when I listen to music through these headphones, I feel very close to the music. Not in the middle, but close enough. I don't feel as if I am in a large concert hall, but more a smaller venue, maybe a night club. This may be more to the type of music I listen to, primarilly acoustic jazz, folk, with some classical mixed in.
The sound of the individual instruments always comes through well with the T90s. Ensembles sound right, with my only criticism being that some string ensemble tracks can sound a bit muddy. I think this is one of the most difficult types of music to get right for any playback system. Voices are magnificent on these headphones. Especially female vocals.
To conclude, the T90s have been a significant upgrade to my listening experience.
