Update
5) the same Marantz CDP (see 1) > SOHA II, stock tubes (I will specify exact model later)
Bass depth is same to #3, weight is just right.
Mids are somewhat recessed and non-linear, being thinner at some frequency ranges and thicker at others. Guitars do not sound right, do not involve.
Highs spike is modest with light sibilance.
Details are modest and do not stand out.
Speed and separation are 4 out 5.
6) the same Marantz CDP (see 1) > SOHA II, tubes are Philips JAN 6922 (taken from my WA3)
Bass depth is same to #3, weight is just right. Quality is nice and detailed, though attack is a bit soft, on a slow side.
Mids are warmer and less realistic than with WA3, close to #2 or #3; blurred, less detailed than with WA3.
Soundstage is narrower and less deep comparing to WA3, instrument localization is good.
T1 vs W5000
W5000 is more coherent and musical, fun and involving. Soundstage is slightly wider and deeper. Bass hits too hard for me. T1 is faster, more detailed, better separates instruments. Which is better to me depends on the gear used. T1 wins in #5 combo, W5000 is better with #6.
T1 vs HD650
HD650 is the most comfortable and has the smallest soundstage out of three. I like how it is detailed & relaxed, dark & fast at the same time. Mids and separation are close to T1, with some gear HD650 mids are better.
With all the gear used above, I prefer HD650 to T1 overall. Though I believe T1 may scale higher with better gear.
Comfort issues
T1 is incomfortable to me. My head is ^ shaped at top and T1 headband does not have corresponding notch here (HD650 has). So T1 lies heavy on this area with all its weight, causing the pain after some minutes. Earpads are OK, though HD650 pads are better too. Generally, HD650 was a real relief after I tried T1 for 30 minutes.
If I ever buy T1, I will easily mod the headband creating some pit on the headband.
T1 placement in my personal headphone ranking chart
I owned or listened to 90+ headphones and I ranked some of them in the chart, which you may find in my
Earbuds buyers guide. At the moment, I place T1 on the top of the chart for its SQ strictly. Music enjoyment is another story, it yet to beat HD650 (probably with higher source/amp than I was tried).
Conclusion
- This is a true high-end headphone overall, the best I heard to date.
- The only drawback is a highs spike (at 8-9 kHz accordingly to Headroom graph).
- T1 is the most transparent and revealing headphone I heard.
- It is lighting-fast, on par with electrostats.
- It is time to upgrade my DAC, good bye Pico.
T1 discovered to me the real transparency, sounding very different with various gear. Those cans I called "transparent" before are just half-transparent. They exhibits their own character with any gear and do not react to the gear changes like T1 does. The only thing T1 keeps with any gear is the highs spike and even this spike changes a lot depending on the source/amp/tubes etc.
Would I buy T1? Not now by two reasons:
- It requires high quality source/amp to sound nice. I am not willing to invest into the whole rig upgrade now. With my current rig, T1 does not provide great SQ jump comparing to HD650.
- It provides a sense of unfinished product with these highs spike and overall build quality/comfort. I will wait for other upcoming Tesla models and some mods. I am sure that modded T1 will be a gem, but I do not like the idea to invent these mods myself.
Currawongs index of T1 reviews, notes and other info.
