[r2muchstuff]

   
My comments had nothing whatsoever to do with "older recordings" not sounding good on the T90.  Some of the finest recordings ever made were in the 1950's and '60s.  I was referring only to listening to low-resolution digital files like a 44.1/128 MP3 or AAC files as compared to high sample rate/high bit rate lossless files (of the same song from the same recording).
 
Some headphones are more forgiving of low-res digital files because they do not convey quite as much information and detail, thus the harsh low-res files sound subjectively less harsh than on a ruthlessly accurate headphone like the T90.  Conversely, those more forgiving headphones do not have the ability to sound as crisp and detailed when listening to high-res digital files.  It's a trade-off every purchaser must decide about when choosing gear.  System synergy, listening preferences and content resolution all come into play.

JerseyD,
 
I am sorry, I did not intend to mis-represent your post.  It was just timely to my over thinking why people say, so in so equipment is not good with bad recordings, which comes across as limiting or dismissing a huge collection of music.  I find that better equipment works the same for most of the seemingly dismissed music as it does for the good stuff.
 
Again, I did not intend to imply anything about your post other than it was the latest post that I read that was sorta on this topic.  I should of just posted without the quote, I apologize.
 
r2

 

[JerseyD]

 
JerseyD,
 
I am sorry, I did not intend to mis-represent your post.  It was just timely to my over thinking why people say, so in so equipment is not good with bad recordings, which comes across as limiting or dismissing a huge collection of music.  I find that better equipment works the same for most of the seemingly dismissed music as it does for the good stuff.
 
Again, I did not intend to imply anything about your post other than it was the latest post that I read that was sorta on this topic.  I should of just posted without the quote, I apologize.
 
r2

r2,
No apology is needed. The issue of original recording quality is a completely different one (than lossy files vs high-res).  I do feel that some equipment handles low-resolution files (of even well-recorded music) better than others.  Music recorded poorly cannot be improved by any file format!
Cheers. 

 

[ColtMrFire]

I'd like to add a little something about the Utopia...
 
While indeed it was the best headphone I've ever heard, it made me realize just how full of schiit the audio business is and how much diminishing returns sets in once you get past the $500 mark.  The Utopia was not drastically better than the T90.  The sound was more refined, but not drastically so.  The differences were powerful and noticeable, but they were still subtle enough for people who own the T90 not to worry about missing much.  It just made me realize how amazing the T90 is, for a HP that is much cheaper than the summit-fi stuff.  It really does show how hype, expectations and diminishing returns are a real thing in this game.  That's not to say the Utopia doesn't deserve all the accolades, but it's a bit like comparing a Ferrari to a Porsche.  Both amazing sports cars, one just a little bit better than the other (mostly in name), but nobody is going to complain about owning a Porsche.
 
Especially now having the T90 using a balanced cable, the sound is fuller, more coherent, refined, with a better, larger and more dimensional soundstage.  It is a subtle difference, but noticeable and powerful...they sound even more enjoyable.  And the bass is improved.  I encourage anyone with a balanced amp output to get the T90 recabled to balanced.  It becomes a better headphone.

 

[biosailor]

  @Allanmarcus was gracious enough to loan me his Beyer T1 for a couple weeks.  I was considering buying it, but overall didn't like them.  They had a strangely recessed tone and were a bit boring.  They sounded a bit more refined than the T90, a bit better soundstage, but T90s have a fun factor that is extremely addicting, and the T1 seemed like more of a sidegrade than an upgrade. 
 
He also just stopped by and let me listen to a Focal Utopia he had with him (while picking up the T1).  I've never heard a $4,000 headphone until now.  It's very simple.  Best headphone I've ever heard by a fairly large margin.  It was definitely a revelation.  The more I listened, the better they sounded.  I didn't want to take them off.  The sense of coherency was incredible.  Every note was perfectly presented.  Bass was full and tight at the same time.  Midrange was silky smooth and highs were very extended without a hint of harshness.  But this does not really do them justice...words are not really enough to describe how well they presented the music.  Are they worth $4,000?  Absolutely not.  They were amazing, but they were not $2,500 better than the HD800.  But if one had $4,000 to blow, you'd owe it to yourself to own what has to be the Rolls Royce of headphones.

Good to know that the T1 didn't blow away the T90. I myself listened a couple of times to the T1 at a local dealer, but I was never truly convinced, certainly not in a way that I felt I had to have them. They are good, doubtless, but somewhat veiled.
4000 quids for any headphone is baloney. Unfortunately, the headphone market tends to produce ever more expensive ones. But I doubt if any one of them is worth that much, with the exception of perhaps the Sennheiser Orpheus. But for myself, there exists a barrier that stops at the price of an HD800. In that sense, Beyerdynamic's price policy for their T1 gen 2 is very reasonable!

 

[ColtMrFire]

"Veiled" isn't exactly what I'd use to describe the T1, but I know exactly what you're getting at.  It was as if something was missing.  They sounded recessed to me.

 

[Mad Max]

   
Please explain how i did it any different tham ColtMrFire did originally.... Oh, and that supposed "aluminum flavor" of the backwave, Well isn't that exactly what dynamat application is supposed to prevent in the first place?
 
I'm curious to see how you applied it within so it doesn't face the driver.

 
I already did in the post you quoted.
 
Simply don't put it directly behind the driver in the depths of the cups, it is the back of the magnet that is fine location.  There it is facing the cups and not the drivers.  Too much Dynamat on the backs of the drivers can kill treble extension and sparkle, though.  I actually need to go back in and remove a little.
 
Dynamat is not for killing backwaves coming off of the cups, it is for vibration absorption in the surrounding plastic; for mitigating backwaves, you must use polyester fiberfill or acoustic foam.  The vibrations in the plastic feed back into the drivers, muddying and thinning the sound and soundstaging and can contribute to (and often does) treble harshness and peaks.

 

[samtheman]

   
I already did in the post you quoted.
 
Simply don't put it directly behind the driver in the depths of the cups, it is the back of the magnet that is fine location.  There it is facing the cups and not the drivers.  Too much Dynamat on the backs of the drivers can kill treble extension and sparkle, though.  I actually need to go back in and remove a little.
 
Dynamat is not for killing backwaves coming off of the cups, it is for vibration absorption in the surrounding plastic; for mitigating backwaves, you must use polyester fiberfill or acoustic foam.  The vibrations in the plastic feed back into the drivers, muddying and thinning the sound and soundstaging and can contribute to (and often does) treble harshness and peaks.

Thanks for the clarification. Is there any chance you could provide a photo or drawing? I'm having trouble visualising.
 
My dynamat arrived yesterday and I'm looking forwards to trying this with an open mind.
 
Many thanks.

 

[ColtMrFire]

After spending more time with the balanced cable on the T90, some other improvements have become obvious that previously weren't noticeable.  I can not only hear better instrument separation and space between things, but I can hear more going on at the same time... for instance, during complex classical music with a lot of instruments/voices happening at once (or even small jazz ensembles, and just complex music in general), I can identify each instrument/voice a lot better...instead of slightly straining to register the different instruments when a lot is happening, there is only relaxation, as the whole becomes a lot clearer and more delineated, if that makes sense.
 
Also, the melody of sounds is more pronounced, resulting in even more PRAT and toe tapping.  Some of this is hard to describe in words... because it is a very specific change...it just sounds "sweeter".  At this point I have no insterest in using single ended connections again...balanced is just too great of an improvement. 

 

[jeff7742]

  After spending more time with the balanced cable on the T90, some other improvements have become obvious that previously weren't noticeable.  I can not only hear better instrument separation and space between things, but I can hear more going on at the same time... for instance, during complex classical music with a lot of instruments/voices happening at once (or even small jazz ensembles, and just complex music in general), I can identify each instrument/voice a lot better...instead of slightly straining to register the different instruments when a lot is happening, there is only relaxation, as the whole becomes a lot clearer and more delineated, if that makes sense.
 
Also, the melody of sounds is more pronounced, resulting in even more PRAT and toe tapping.  Some of this is hard to describe in words... because it is a very specific change...it just sounds "sweeter".  At this point I have no insterest in using single ended connections again...balanced is just too great of an improvement. 

 
Just curious, what amp do you use for balanced listening with the T90?

 

[ColtMrFire]

Schiit Jotunheim.  A steal for $400.

 

[Wilashort]

I received yesterday my Beyerdynamic T90 Chromium. The sound for me is balanced and smooth, with very good clarity and airyness. Just as good as my Beyerdynamic DT990 modded. But neither of them have spiky trebles or harsh sound.

 

[Mad Max]

  Thanks for the clarification. Is there any chance you could provide a photo or drawing? I'm having trouble visualising.
 
My dynamat arrived yesterday and I'm looking forwards to trying this with an open mind.
 
Many thanks.

 
Like this:
 

 
Haha, an open mind is good, but it would be better if you knew the exact physics of how air and sound are bouncing about inside of the cups.  It's not simple or uniform.  That would save us time in the whole trial and error process.
 
Update: I am now able to use T90 without the black screens in front of each driver.  Those screens normally reduce overall sound quality a pinch while taming treble slightly.  Try it and see if the headphone is non-fatiguing, otherwise, you'll have to leave them in.

 

[jeff7742]

  I received yesterday my Beyerdynamic T90 Chromium. The sound for me is balanced and smooth, with very good clarity and airyness. Just as good as my Beyerdynamic DT990 modded. But neither of them have spiky trebles or harsh sound.

 
I have a T90 on order. Looking forward to it. I also have a DT990 and will recable it. What mods have you done to elevate the DT990 sound to T90 level? I would think that would be impossible without Tesla drivers.

 

[ColtMrFire]

Some more on the T90 balanced...
 
I don't know if it's just the fact that it's balanced now, or if it's a better quality cable or both, but I get feelings listening to the same music that I did not before.  There is so much more SPACE around everything... it sounds less like sounds coming at my ears and more like listening to a recorded event in an ACTUAL 3D SPACE that exists beyond the headphones.  I do not get chills listening to music... until now.  It is that subtle but powerful link where melody pushes certain emotional buttons in the brain and you get flashes of euphoria/certain memories maybe... it it just way more EMOTIONAL and it that difference for me is everything.
 
I cannot imagine how it would sound with a better DAC (I use a Mimby which is amazing, but I want a Gumby and eventually Yggy).

 

[samtheman]

   
Like this:
 

 
Haha, an open mind is good, but it would be better if you knew the exact physics of how air and sound are bouncing about inside of the cups.  It's not simple or uniform.  That would save us time in the whole trial and error process.

Brilliant! Thanks for posting the picture.