Beyerdynamic T5p vs Ultrasone Signature Pro?

[Alexthegreat]

I find the Signature Pro's to be ultra revealing. I havent tried any beyerdynamic models but i look forward too it.

 

[Theogenes]

Quote:

As a T5p owner, I'd like to offer my 2 cents.
 
1. First of all, the T5p does benefit from a few months of regular use to "burn-in" the drivers. Whether you believe in burning in electronics or not, burning in dynamic drivers, which are just cones moving air, will make them sound like what the original designers intended them to be.
 
2. The T5p although is "easy to drive", and not difficult to get good sound out of your iPhone, but to get really great sound, having a good source and good amplification will really do these top end headphones justice. Having a good amp is not really about getting the music to play "louder", but to give it the power to CONTROL the drivers.
 
3. Some people say the T5p is "bass light", "sounds thin" or "is overly analytical". While I agree to some degree in the overall sound signature of the T5p, but in my personal opinion, the bass is "right" rather than "light". It has quality rather than quantity.
 
4. If you wear the headphones as far forward as possible, like with the back of your ears almost touching the back of the cup, this will give the angled drivers more room between your ears. This will improve the bass response and soundstage. It is almost like a very subtle bass boost that is free.

 
Definitely agreed on points 2 & 4. (I purchased the phones used, so I can't vouch for #1). The longer I listen to these, the more I find that #4 is correct-- a little repositioning does have a noticeable impact on the sound. I'd say that the pads used are also highly determinant of the type of sound you get, and right now I am REALLY enjoying the clear gel pads Beyer used to make. 
 
Thanks for the feedback, man!!

 

[CDWMcInSpots]

The thread "Ultrasone Edition 8 vs. Beyerdynamic T5P, anybody?" may be of interest.

 

[CDWMcInSpots]

I received my beyerdynamic T 5 p in January 2013, and I've mostly been doing run in since then. I listened for a few hours the first evening, and later on a few occasions. Run in with music at a higher loudness level than I listen to, passed 500 hours yesterday, and I'll probably stop today or tomorrow.
 
I bought it mainly for home use as a full size, closed headphone to supplement my (more) open headphones when there's noise in or around the house. Normally it's rather quiet where I live though, but I listen at (very) low loudness levels, and hence is susceptible to outside noise. It seems to isolate well for my purpose, but I'm still waiting to try it when there's strong wind and heavy rain. Ditto for neighbours' outdoor activity.
 
beyerdynamic T 5 p is comfortable with sufficient and supple headband padding and ear pads.
 
I have so far used it with Grace Design m903 and Lynx Hilo, both acting as DAC + headphone amplifier and fed from a PC running foobar2000. The Hilo's still rater new to me since I received it in late November 2012, but I've had the m903 since the first batch arrived in Norway only a short time after the first US customers received it. You can read more about them in their respective threads.
 
These are early impressions, and I'll have to confirm them later on:
 
So far the few times I've listened, it seems like I have to home in on the sound. At first the bottom and top (at least with the m903, see below) seems less present than the mids. After listening for a while it evens out and top and bottom becomes more present. This phenomenon has repeated itself several times. Maybe this can be one key to the wildly differing opinions about this headphone?
 
My impression during the first to listening sessions with the m903 was that both top and bottom have a lower level/round off compared to the mids. I then decided to try the Hilo, because it seems to give at least some headphones (i.e. Sennheiser HD 650) more top. This seems to be true for the T 5 p as well. I'll probably check this more thoroughly later to be absolutely sure.
 
Regarding bottom/bass, the T 5 p isn't a Denon AH-D7000. There's bass there, but it depends quite a bit on the recordings' bass level and probably the main bass frequencies as well. T 5 p probably isn't the headphone that supply 1940's recordings with 2013 level bass. You definetely don't get the same (high) bass (level) on just about every recording. It will vary quiet a bit. I am not one of those that only like one type of headphone. I like my Denon AH-D7000 + Grace Design m903 very much. It's a very good combination as I've written several times before. beyerdynamic T 1 is another favourite. I believe I'll also like the T 5 p.
 
Edit: I forgot to mention punch/impact (or whatever it's called). Even though the T 5 p may have a lower bass level, it has punch/impact from (kick) drums etc. This may be a bit surprising, but may be a result of it being a closed headphone. I have read similar observations and comments from others.
 
From the start the T 5 p has had a prominent toe tapping factor with both m903 and Hilo, independent of homing in (see above), bass level, etc. It's also independent of which music (genre) I listen to as long as there's actually anything at all in the music that likely will encourage toe tapping. This is promising.
 
While using the Hilo and listening to tracks from "Sweet Soul Music 31 Scorching Classics 1961" from Bear Family I was surprised by an unexpected soundstage depth. This isn't necessarily something you'll expect in 1960's Soul Music. I'll have to investigate this further to find out if this mainly is a virtue of the Hilo or T 5 p.
 
I so far believe Jude's(?) summary in "2012 Head-Fi Holiday Gift Guide (Summit-Fi)" is quiet good:
 
Quote:

beyerdynamic T 5 p (around $1300)
Closed, full-size, around-the-ear headphone
http://www.beyerdynamic.com

I occasionally get asked a question that goes something like this: If you could pick only one headphone to take with you to a deserted island, which one would you choose? Let's break down my current answer. It'd have to be closed, and with good isolation, as I'd prefer maintaining the option of having the sounds of island nature separated from my music. It'd have to be an over-ear headphone, and, specifically an around-the-ear type for maximum comfort. It'd have to be durably built. It would have to be relatively easy to drive, as I'm assuming this hypothetical deserted island might not necessarily come with a dream rig to go with the headphone. And, in the event that I was also able to take a good rig with me--or at least have the hope that someone might send me a good rig in a care package some day--it'd have to be a model with higher-end sound quality.  In other words, my current deserted island headphone choice would be the beyerdynamic T 5 p.

In the Head-Fi community, the T 5 p can be a bit polarizing; but those who love it tend to love it. Well, I'm one of the ones who loves it. Looking at the rather vast collection of headphones around me, I see no other full-size, closed, around-the-ear headphone that isolates well, and that can be driven by an iPhone, and yet scale to higher levels of performance in higher-end rigs. If you find yourself always choosing headphones with a warmer tonal balance, the T 5 p might not be your cup of tea. Is it bright? It can be; but, for me, it's never harsh (unless the recording is).

Every other headphone in this Summit-Fi section can reach higher heights than the T 5 p. But none of them can be all of the things that the T 5 p can.

Now for the next question: Ginger or Mary Ann?

“They are extremely detailed and transparent. They provide great sound stage with good positioning - especially for a closed headphone.”

Head-Fi member/reviewer Szadzik

 

[Theogenes]

Great review. I've looked into the Hilo as well, so I would definitely be interested in your thoughts as you get more time to acclimate to the sound. Thanks for sharing your experiences!! Hope you end up loving it as much as some of us have

 

[CDWMcInSpots]

^
Thanks. I don't think of it as a review though. It's only early impressions.

 

[designbykai]

Digging up an old thread because im quite interested in these 2... Portable and closed headphones are such a game of compromises and hard to choose.

I'm very happy with my fostex th600 and have decided to sell my he400 (fostex far superior) & dt1350 portables. I like the neutral dt1350s with their deep sub bass extension and they are great for edm with a little boost. But they just aren't comfortable and I can only wear them for an hour. Terrible for office use and I would ideally like a set of cans that can be used for both. Narrow soundstage too of course; I'm just sick of on-ears..

I had decided to get the vmoda m100 for a fun portable but I fear the comfort will get to me over time as well. I'd prefer something circumaural. It sounds like the t5p is the best bet here although big price difference and very different signature. They may compliment my th600 better and so I'll be able to use them at home for some genres though. I do love beyers..

I've heard good things about the SIG pro too though, and it surprised me that people say they are more coloured than t5p. I thought they were meant to be neutral monitoring cans. I like that they're foldable and unnassuming black in appearance, rather than flashy silver. Good isolation too I assume, better than t5p? (Soundstage being the tradeoff?)

Also it seems most people prefer t1 as home headphones, I guess they're more netral but I'm after something portable and fairly easy to drive..and do t5p have a little more low end than t1 given that they're closed? It concerns me that a lot of people who have raved about t5p have gone on to sell them (including people on this thread). Is that due to high cost/bad value or finding something better??

Anyway atm my thoughts/options are..
1. M-100 & Mad dogs (semi portable with a decent amp) giving me two contrasting sounding portables with the mad dogs being good for home/office comfy sealed cans. $600 total. Same price as just getting Alpha dogs but not good value I feel and not portable at all.
2. T5P
3. SIG pros

Decisions...

 

[drubrew]

I would go with the Signature DJ if you listen to EDM. They are better than the Sig Pro and better for EDM than the T5p. If EDM is not all you listen to then the T5p may be the better way to go. The T5p is the most comfortable of the 3. The Ultrasone has better isolation.

 

[designbykai]

  I would go with the Signature DJ if you listen to EDM. They are better than the Sig Pro and better for EDM than the T5p. If EDM is not all you listen to then the T5p may be the better way to go. The T5p is the most comfortable of the 3. The Ultrasone has better isolation.

They do sound pretty perfect for what I'm after (iso, good bass, soundstage, detail and not too recessed mids) but I just cant get past the ugly (IMO) looks of the Sig DJ...
If they were plain white without all the stupid logo/branding on the outer it'd be slightly better but I still couldn't do white for a portable...
Sig DJ sound in a Sig Pro body would be perfect.
 
Oh well, I think I might go with M-100 and/or T51p for now. M-100 for fun/bassheavy stuff and T51p for a nice balanced sound, they are getting awesome reviews so far.
They both look great design-wise too. T51p are still on-ear but apparently MUCH more comfortable than Dt1350 so as long as they're wearable for a few hours without pain they should be fine.