Beyerdynamic T5 (3rd Generation)

[Shane D]

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if they lack detail, and the strong point is only bass, what makes these a 1000 dollar headphones. I can get that from most any relatively inexpensive headphone.
I've also been trying to get a handle on just how dark these actually are. I prefer a slight, mild dark signature, but I worry these will be too dark for my liking. Being that these pop up from time to time for 600 or less, I'm very tempted. Though I worry it will be hard to sell them should they not agree with me.

To me, they are not worth the the retail of, I think $1,199.00, plus tax. I traded for them and ended up paying $600-$700 in Canadian bucks. I am sure that I could sell them for $550 to $595.00. To me that is a decent rental for a few months of use. MUCH better than the beating I just took on the WP900's.

I find them very dark, but for many people that is just fine. Keep in mind that my favourite headphones are Grado GH2's, Focal Elex's, LSA HP-2's and HE6se V2's.

 

[feverfive]

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if they lack detail, and the strong point is only bass, what makes these a 1000 dollar headphones. I can get that from most any relatively inexpensive headphone.
I've also been trying to get a handle on just how dark these actually are. I prefer a slight, mild dark signature, but I worry these will be too dark for my liking. Being that these pop up from time to time for 600 or less, I'm very tempted. Though I worry it will be hard to sell them should they not agree with me.

I hesitate to post this because I feel like a bit of a tease.... You ask very good, yet focused/pointed questions that tend to be beyond my ability to articulate a meaningful response. I say this as someone who has crossed paths with you across a couple different threads (and I'm like you a former WP900 owner; have never heard the T5 of any iteration). I'm also pretty certain our musical tastes do not intersect, so another reason for me to be reluctant; I listen to 40% jazz (pretty much entirely instrumental from bop to contemporary), 40% electronic (ambient / house / techno / some trance; again, vast majority of the non-vocal variety); remaining 20% spread across prog rock / modern classical / some r & b, very little pop.

All I can say is, based on my recollection of past discussions, the Kennerton Gjallarhorn **GH40** (the new portable'ish cans) I currently have on my head might be up your alley. These have an audible, and (to me) slight sub bass roll-off; more of a dark'ish tonality, very nice mid-bass warmth with plenty of slam; well controlled upper mids/lower treble; no problematic treble spikes thus far in my listening.

 

[Mhog55]

They definitely don't. My only two worries were a vieled presentation and lack of detail. Neither T1 nor T5 has it.

How is the imaging and resolution? I wish someone who owns the NightOwl could do a comparison, especially regarding the warmth and darkness. Do they respond to EQ very well?

 

[Mhog55]

To me, they are not worth the the retail of, I think $1,199.00, plus tax. I traded for them and ended up paying $600-$700 in Canadian bucks. I am sure that I could sell them for $550 to $595.00. To me that is a decent rental for a few months of use. MUCH better than the beating I just took on the WP900's.

I find them very dark, but for many people that is just fine. Keep in mind that my favourite headphones are Grado GH2's, Focal Elex's, LSA HP-2's and HE6se V2's.

Yep. And very dark compared to those other headphones could mean anything lol.

 

[Mhog55]

I hesitate to post this because I feel like a bit of a tease.... You ask very good, yet focused/pointed questions that tend to be beyond my ability to articulate a meaningful response. I say this as someone who has crossed paths with you across a couple different threads (and I'm like you a former WP900 owner; have never heard the T5 of any iteration). I'm also pretty certain our musical tastes do not intersect, so another reason for me to be reluctant; I listen to 40% jazz (pretty much entirely instrumental from bop to contemporary), 40% electronic (ambient / house / techno / some trance; again, vast majority of the non-vocal variety); remaining 20% spread across prog rock / modern classical / some r & b, very little pop.

All I can say is, based on my recollection of past discussions, the Kennerton Gjallarhorn **GH40** (the new portable'ish cans) I currently have on my head might be up your alley. These have an audible, and (to me) slight sub bass roll-off; more of a dark'ish tonality, very nice mid-bass warmth with plenty of slam; well controlled upper mids/lower treble; no problematic treble spikes thus far in my listening.

It's definitely on my radar. I owned the Magni, and that one was a little too bright, forward, and slightly fatiguing for me. If I could find a similar set of cans with a little less zing and vibrancy in the upper mids, I think I would set.

 

[kman1211]

How is the imaging and resolution? I wish someone who owns the NightOwl could do a comparison, especially regarding the warmth and darkness. Do they respond to EQ very well?

I owned the Nighthawk never owned the Nightowl so sadly can't make any comparisons and not sure how different the Hawk and Owls are from each other. I don't own the T5.3 but a good friend of mine does and is the pair I heard in the past. I can only make comparisons of the Nighthawk which may not be that helpful, but it is comparing similar drivers. And what I heard there was distinctly better resolution, control, and imaging on the Beyers. The friend of mine who has both the Z1R and the T5.3 finds them roughly on par with the Beyer more relaxed and less fatiguing and the Z1R a bit brighter and more aggressive.

 

[Giru]

How is the imaging and resolution? I wish someone who owns the NightOwl could do a comparison, especially regarding the warmth and darkness. Do they respond to EQ very well?

Imaging and resolution are slightly better on the T1 which throws a wider soundstage. The T5 is more intimate in comparison. Both headphones resolve a generous amount of detail (same, if not better than the LCD-X/XC or Clear/Radiance).
Again, let me re-emphasize: these cans might have a different tuning but they're still beyers. Both have the resolution and detail that we associate with the T series from Beyer. Infact the more I listen to the T1, the more I'm convinced that it's closer to the T1.2 (albeit with a bass boost).

I'll be giving these a detailed listen over the week and compare them to my current DD inventory (800S, Z1R, R70X, HD650, NDH20). I'll also try to compare the T1 to my friend's focal clear. Till then I'll reserve my views on how they sound.

 

[Malevolent]

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if they lack detail, and the strong point is only bass, what makes these a 1000 dollar headphones. I can get that from most any relatively inexpensive headphone.
I've also been trying to get a handle on just how dark these actually are. I prefer a slight, mild dark signature, but I worry these will be too dark for my liking. Being that these pop up from time to time for 600 or less, I'm very tempted. Though I worry it will be hard to sell them should they not agree with me.

If we take the AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon as a benchmark, the T5 (3rd Generation) has more prominence, energy, sparkle and air in the higher registers. It isn't a night-and-day difference, though. The NightOwl has a reduced treble response that results in an overtly smooth, liquid presentation that is wholly devoid of peaks and sibilance. Without mincing words, the NightOwl Carbon is dark, as its name suggests. In comparison, the new T5 has highs that sizzle a tad greater, with better engagement and presence.

Thus, if you enjoy the NightOwl, but you'd like to eke out a little more treble energy, the revised T5 might be right up your alley. It's still darker than most of its high-end contemporaries, but it isn't an egregious example of this sonic category.

With that being said, there are certain aspects of its signature that might pose an issue or 2. Take its bass response, for example - the Beyerdynamic has a heavier, weightier mid-bass punch that is equal parts impactful and bloated. In contrast, I think the NightOwl handles the low-end region better; there's less bloom and bleed into the lower-mids.

 

[Shane D]

Yep. And very dark compared to those other headphones could mean anything lol.

Fair enough. I use the word dark to mean little to no treble or upper mids. All the sound, to me, is down low. I think that you need the higher registers to bring out all the detail.

Of course we all hear differently.

 

[Mhog55]

Imaging and resolution are slightly better on the T1 which throws a wider soundstage. The T5 is more intimate in comparison. Both headphones resolve a generous amount of detail (same, if not better than the LCD-X/XC or Clear/Radiance).
Again, let me re-emphasize: these cans might have a different tuning but they're still beyers. Both have the resolution and detail that we associate with the T series from Beyer. Infact the more I listen to the T1, the more I'm convinced that it's closer to the T1.2 (albeit with a bass boost).

I'll be giving these a detailed listen over the week and compare them to my current DD inventory (800S, Z1R, R70X, HD650, NDH20). I'll also try to compare the T1 to my friend's focal clear. Till then I'll reserve my views on how they sound.

I look forward to your impressions and comparisons between the two Beyers.

 

[Mhog55]

If we take the AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon as a benchmark, the T5 (3rd Generation) has more prominence, energy, sparkle and air in the higher registers. It isn't a night-and-day difference, though. The NightOwl has a reduced treble response that results in an overtly smooth, liquid presentation that is wholly devoid of peaks and sibilance. Without mincing words, the NightOwl Carbon is dark, as its name suggests. In comparison, the new T5 has highs that sizzle a tad greater, with better engagement and presence.

Thus, if you enjoy the NightOwl, but you'd like to eke out a little more treble energy, the revised T5 might be right up your alley. It's still darker than most of its high-end contemporaries, but it isn't an egregious example of this sonic category.

With that being said, there are certain aspects of its signature that might pose an issue or 2. Take its bass response, for example - the Beyerdynamic has a heavier, weightier mid-bass punch that is equal parts impactful and bloated. In contrast, I think the NightOwl handles the low-end region better; there's less bloom and bleed into the lower-mids.

Always coming through in the clutch. These are starting to sound rather promising. Much appreciated

 

[P007]

I should point out that the T5 3rd gen tolerates EQ very well, so if it is a bit dark you can lift the veil, but they are definitely very capable when it comes to detail and are very spacious in their imaging.

OR, you can physically remove the foam baffle that they added (not present in the T5g.2) and it is almost the same headphone as the 2nd gen (there is an additional rubber mount in the headphone housing if I am not mistaken).

I found that the baffle out was a bit fatiguing, and chose to leave the baffle in and EQ with slightly altered EQ settings from Oratory.

In comparison to the Aeon 2 Noire's, these are very similar in the level of detail overall, but of course slightly less resolving than the planar DCA pair. They make up in some way with a bit more impactful bass, which many appreciate.

Its also noteworthy that you can power the T5's from about anything....whether thats a phone or better. Although bulky for truly portable use, you dont need to carry around any equipment other than a dongle in case you want better DAC performance from your devices. I agree with others here on the price...but still appreciate that the price has remained stable at $999 for many years, despite inflation. The used value is very good.

 

[Mhog55]

One last question before I make a decision. Can anyone talk about how these sound in comparison to the Denon ah-d7200, a headphone I'm quite familiar with?

 

[j3n5]

After listening to my DT177X with a glass of wine last night i found a pair of T5s at the right price and pushed ”buy”. My preference has moved toward closed cans lately and in the past i´ve owned first gen T5ps & first gen LCD-XC. Never got to be friend with T5p being a little bit to bright and peaky for my taste. Liked the LCD-XC only with some amps. My closed cans right now is DT177X & Dan Clark Aeon 2 closed. I like them both but DT177X can be a bit ”muffled” in the mids & A2C got detail, speed, separation & a bit of warmth but it is a kind of clinical warmth & not ”liquid”. I really hope the T5s suits me. Been looking at LCD-XC 2021 & Eikons but after reading this useful thread i went for the T5s. I will be pairing them with NuPrime Dac-10 with plenty of timbre, space, speed & neutral sound & a Burson Soloist 3XP for that dynamic punch.

I will of course test them with the Dekoni sheepskins i have for my DT177Xs but i am also considering Dekoni Elite Hybrids & ZMF Beyer+ Zubs, any opinions on that?

 

[j3n5]

T5.3 arrived. Nice cans. Large, punchy & detailed! Very easy to drive but also very easy to color with eq. These are quality cans no matter what the T5.1/T5.2-crew says. Im i,pressed! Edit: Think T5.3 is a keeper. I like them with Dekonis sheepskins & have ordered hybrids to test. Now im looking for a after market cable with 4.4mm pentaconn. Beyers 3.5mm conectors are a little picky!