Anyone try using the Shure SRH840 pads on the T90? I have been running them like this for some time (ifi dsd nano bl via usb as source), and have been really enjoying them. Depending on recording/genre, when pushing them they have muddied a little...maybe due to the sealed nature of that pad? not sure.
Beyerdynamic T90 Discussion and Support Thread
terry parr
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Well, I have some very good news to report as far as I have "modded" my T-90's in a way that was going to hopefully make them sound better. And, I'm thrilled to report that my tweak to these headphones was an absolute success (and with no downsides). This adjustment is completely reversible, but before anyone else attempts this, let me first caution anyone to read a bit further to find out why I made this change in the first place (you may not share my preferences in how you would want the sound signature of the T90's to be changed, and you may completely disagree with me in the direction that I wanted to take in modifying the overall sound presentation of these headphones).
As I have reported here on this thread, I've always been a bit disappointed with the T-90's, (but primarily while listening to acoustic music) as I have decided that these headphones sound overly warm in the low-end (and therefore masking detail, and the T-90 reminds me of certain GRADO headphones that I have owned where it seems that when listening to an acoustic bass in a jazz piece, the actual note-for-note presentation seemed a bit murky and not as articulate and as clearly distinct as I would have liked. Again, remember. I'm coming from the point of view of preferring openness, resolution, and CLARITY in a headphone. I DO NOT like a "warm"-sounding headphone. I had come to the conclusion that the T-90 was perfectly suited to electronic music and could best be described as a "fun" headphone, but not a refined-sounding one as too many mid-range details simply went missing (when the same music was directly compared on my AKG K-701, for instance) and that bass impact in the T-90 was emphasized (at the expense of more tuneful bass detail).
The whole reason for buying the T-90 in the first place was to get a headphone that would hopefully improve on the bass presentation of the 701 and give me a bit more heft or body in the lower frequencies in an acoustic bass and a more fuller-sounding lower and mid-range in an acoustic grand piano in a jazz context while still maintaining the high-end extension of the 701's. As it turned out, the T-90's sounded to me as if they had slightly recessed mids (they do, compared to the K701) and while I got a fuller-sounding low-to-mid presentation with the T-90 (in stock form before any modding) it came at the expense of smoothing-over certain tuneful details and not sounding as distinct or "cutting" as I would like. The T-90 gave me more sub-bass and mid-bass impact, but at the same time leaving out a level of finer resolution and detail that that the 701's gave me. You got bass quantity at the expense of bass quality.
One of the things that has always impressed me about the T-90 is the absolute distortion-free and very clean and clear extension into the upper frequencies. My mod doesn't change this one bit, as no distortion is added either to the higher frequencies, or to the low frequencies. They still play clean and clear.
Thank goodness this foam insert is a separate piece, and is not part of the ear pad! I wonder if designing the ear pads this way was intentional, in order to allow for the option of removing this foam insert. If so, bravo to beyer!)
The main thing I was worried about before taking that "damper" foam ring out was whether I'd add any resonances or hear any ringing or any other funky-sounding and unwanted artifacts once it was out. Nope. With this foam piece out of there, I haven't noticed any unwanted changes to the sound along these lines.
With the ear pads off, and the retaining clip removed, the foam insert wasn't quite as thick as I thought it would be. But, the material is very dense. You almost have to hold it up to a window on a sunny day in order for any light to pass through it. It's black on one side, and grey on the other. It's about as thick as a dime. Not as thick as a penny. I was guessing before I removed it that it had to be at least as thick as a quarter. It's fairly "wafer-thin", which surprised me. But, the material is still dense. And, it's a synthetic and rough-textured type of material rather than a "foam" type.
I chose black, sheer hosiery for the replacement material. I wanted something very thin, but something that would prevent dust and hair from getting onto the membrane section that supports the driver mechanism. I took the opportunity to carefully remove this assembly to look into the ear cup housing to see if there was any damping material. Nope. None. The housing is completely empty back there. Only some slots where the harness assembly that holds the drivers slot back into. I replaced this, gently stretched the piece of hose over the ear cup, clicked the plastic retaining ring back into place and replaced the ear pads.
The music that I chose as a basis to compare the before-and-after was the last thing that I listened to while the foam inserts were still in place, and the first thing I listened to once they were removed.
First up, now with the inserts removed (that was the very last music that was listened to while the inserts were in place) was Christina Friis and "Day After Day" from the album The Quiet of Knowing This tune starts out with acoustic piano, and the very first thing that I noticed now without the inserts was that the body of the piano was still retained, and I was worried that the piano here might sound a bit thinner, but I was pleasantly surprised that the fullness and weight of the sound of the piano was retained without the inserts (to the point when re-listening here, I thought "is an acoustic bass "helping" on a few of the lower notes?" Nope. It's just piano and voice). So, the "depth" of the lower notes on the piano have not been sacrificed, and no added distortion was introduced. When she begins to sing, her vocal now seems to sound like she's singing a bit closer to the microphone. There's more detail in her voice. Her voice sounds more intimate. Excellent!
Next, Rosie Vela and "Magic Smile" from the album ZAZU This one starts out with that "four on the floor" bass drum, keeping the beat and hitting every quarter-note like a metronome. The impact is still there. You can feel it! There's a lot of keyboard electronics going on with this tune, and that electronically generated syncopated effect happening in the left channel that serves to propel the rhythm along, giving it a "loping" feel, kinda giving it a shuffle-type groove. Almost like a texas shuffle. Electronic keyboard accents in the right channel, which aren't more prominent (which I expected, now with the foam inserts removed. It could be just the way this tune was mixed). Also appreciate the "walking" bass line in the chorus which comes out more in this song now that the inserts have been removed. The vocal comes out more and is brought more forward. Groovy!
And finally, Steely Dan and the tune "What a Shame About Me" from the album Two Against Nature The very first thing you'll notice when pressing "play" when this tune is cued-up is the high-hat lick that opens this tune. And, with the inserts now gone, you hear this much more clearly. Backing vocals are also more clear and distinct throughout this song. The backing brass/reed instruments (trumpet and sax) sound much better to my ears, as the tonality of the lower registers of that sax seems to be more easily heard with less "restriction." There are no negatives to report as nothing else is affected in a negative way by not having the pad insert in these headphones.
As I've researched this thread, going back to the early days, people were adding absorbent material into the ear cup housings of their T90's, and putting paper towels around the ear pads, etc. to further damp these headphones, which I can't understand. These headphones are "damped" as it is! To me, these headphones leave the factory with a sound signature that has been compromised, and yet posts here on this thread show examples of users who (to me) wanted to compromise the sound signature even further! Me? I wanted to take these headphones and go in the OPPOSITE direction with them, to "open them up" (not close them off and dampen them even more!)
But, that's me. I'm obviously in the minority, as far as that goes, as far as how I thought the overall sound signature of the T90's could be improved.
Related to what I've talked about so far (and before I took the inserts out of these headphones) I contacted beyerdynamic north america to inquire as to whether the 1990 analytical pads would fit on the T90's. I haven't heard back, yet. I thought that would be an improvement along the lines that I was seeking.
Thanks to Alex (a regular contributor here) for giving me the link to a YouTube video where a fellow demonstrates how he removes the pads to access the earcup housing in a pair of T-70's. (The process is the exact same for the T-90's).
Thanks to the OP of that video, (Austin Wunschel), for putting that video up. Very helpful!
As I have reported here on this thread, I've always been a bit disappointed with the T-90's, (but primarily while listening to acoustic music) as I have decided that these headphones sound overly warm in the low-end (and therefore masking detail, and the T-90 reminds me of certain GRADO headphones that I have owned where it seems that when listening to an acoustic bass in a jazz piece, the actual note-for-note presentation seemed a bit murky and not as articulate and as clearly distinct as I would have liked. Again, remember. I'm coming from the point of view of preferring openness, resolution, and CLARITY in a headphone. I DO NOT like a "warm"-sounding headphone. I had come to the conclusion that the T-90 was perfectly suited to electronic music and could best be described as a "fun" headphone, but not a refined-sounding one as too many mid-range details simply went missing (when the same music was directly compared on my AKG K-701, for instance) and that bass impact in the T-90 was emphasized (at the expense of more tuneful bass detail).
The whole reason for buying the T-90 in the first place was to get a headphone that would hopefully improve on the bass presentation of the 701 and give me a bit more heft or body in the lower frequencies in an acoustic bass and a more fuller-sounding lower and mid-range in an acoustic grand piano in a jazz context while still maintaining the high-end extension of the 701's. As it turned out, the T-90's sounded to me as if they had slightly recessed mids (they do, compared to the K701) and while I got a fuller-sounding low-to-mid presentation with the T-90 (in stock form before any modding) it came at the expense of smoothing-over certain tuneful details and not sounding as distinct or "cutting" as I would like. The T-90 gave me more sub-bass and mid-bass impact, but at the same time leaving out a level of finer resolution and detail that that the 701's gave me. You got bass quantity at the expense of bass quality.
One of the things that has always impressed me about the T-90 is the absolute distortion-free and very clean and clear extension into the upper frequencies. My mod doesn't change this one bit, as no distortion is added either to the higher frequencies, or to the low frequencies. They still play clean and clear.
Thank goodness this foam insert is a separate piece, and is not part of the ear pad! I wonder if designing the ear pads this way was intentional, in order to allow for the option of removing this foam insert. If so, bravo to beyer!)
The main thing I was worried about before taking that "damper" foam ring out was whether I'd add any resonances or hear any ringing or any other funky-sounding and unwanted artifacts once it was out. Nope. With this foam piece out of there, I haven't noticed any unwanted changes to the sound along these lines.
With the ear pads off, and the retaining clip removed, the foam insert wasn't quite as thick as I thought it would be. But, the material is very dense. You almost have to hold it up to a window on a sunny day in order for any light to pass through it. It's black on one side, and grey on the other. It's about as thick as a dime. Not as thick as a penny. I was guessing before I removed it that it had to be at least as thick as a quarter. It's fairly "wafer-thin", which surprised me. But, the material is still dense. And, it's a synthetic and rough-textured type of material rather than a "foam" type.
I chose black, sheer hosiery for the replacement material. I wanted something very thin, but something that would prevent dust and hair from getting onto the membrane section that supports the driver mechanism. I took the opportunity to carefully remove this assembly to look into the ear cup housing to see if there was any damping material. Nope. None. The housing is completely empty back there. Only some slots where the harness assembly that holds the drivers slot back into. I replaced this, gently stretched the piece of hose over the ear cup, clicked the plastic retaining ring back into place and replaced the ear pads.
The music that I chose as a basis to compare the before-and-after was the last thing that I listened to while the foam inserts were still in place, and the first thing I listened to once they were removed.
First up, now with the inserts removed (that was the very last music that was listened to while the inserts were in place) was Christina Friis and "Day After Day" from the album The Quiet of Knowing This tune starts out with acoustic piano, and the very first thing that I noticed now without the inserts was that the body of the piano was still retained, and I was worried that the piano here might sound a bit thinner, but I was pleasantly surprised that the fullness and weight of the sound of the piano was retained without the inserts (to the point when re-listening here, I thought "is an acoustic bass "helping" on a few of the lower notes?" Nope. It's just piano and voice). So, the "depth" of the lower notes on the piano have not been sacrificed, and no added distortion was introduced. When she begins to sing, her vocal now seems to sound like she's singing a bit closer to the microphone. There's more detail in her voice. Her voice sounds more intimate. Excellent!
Next, Rosie Vela and "Magic Smile" from the album ZAZU This one starts out with that "four on the floor" bass drum, keeping the beat and hitting every quarter-note like a metronome. The impact is still there. You can feel it! There's a lot of keyboard electronics going on with this tune, and that electronically generated syncopated effect happening in the left channel that serves to propel the rhythm along, giving it a "loping" feel, kinda giving it a shuffle-type groove. Almost like a texas shuffle. Electronic keyboard accents in the right channel, which aren't more prominent (which I expected, now with the foam inserts removed. It could be just the way this tune was mixed). Also appreciate the "walking" bass line in the chorus which comes out more in this song now that the inserts have been removed. The vocal comes out more and is brought more forward. Groovy!
And finally, Steely Dan and the tune "What a Shame About Me" from the album Two Against Nature The very first thing you'll notice when pressing "play" when this tune is cued-up is the high-hat lick that opens this tune. And, with the inserts now gone, you hear this much more clearly. Backing vocals are also more clear and distinct throughout this song. The backing brass/reed instruments (trumpet and sax) sound much better to my ears, as the tonality of the lower registers of that sax seems to be more easily heard with less "restriction." There are no negatives to report as nothing else is affected in a negative way by not having the pad insert in these headphones.
As I've researched this thread, going back to the early days, people were adding absorbent material into the ear cup housings of their T90's, and putting paper towels around the ear pads, etc. to further damp these headphones, which I can't understand. These headphones are "damped" as it is! To me, these headphones leave the factory with a sound signature that has been compromised, and yet posts here on this thread show examples of users who (to me) wanted to compromise the sound signature even further! Me? I wanted to take these headphones and go in the OPPOSITE direction with them, to "open them up" (not close them off and dampen them even more!)
But, that's me. I'm obviously in the minority, as far as that goes, as far as how I thought the overall sound signature of the T90's could be improved.
Related to what I've talked about so far (and before I took the inserts out of these headphones) I contacted beyerdynamic north america to inquire as to whether the 1990 analytical pads would fit on the T90's. I haven't heard back, yet. I thought that would be an improvement along the lines that I was seeking.
Thanks to Alex (a regular contributor here) for giving me the link to a YouTube video where a fellow demonstrates how he removes the pads to access the earcup housing in a pair of T-70's. (The process is the exact same for the T-90's).
Thanks to the OP of that video, (Austin Wunschel), for putting that video up. Very helpful!
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AzraelDarkangel
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Wait, what? Overly warm in stock form? My whole issue with the T90 in stock is the rising response all through the upper range and overly forward upper mids through treble. Its harsh and in your face to an almost painful level and I used to own lower end Grado. I loved the detail on the T90's but that in your face sound was a bit too much. I nodded mine by removing the foam pad you mentioned and putting it in the back of the ear cups for sound deadning and changing the ear pad's for much deeper Audeze micro suede. Moving the ears away from the driver has solved most of the problems. It now sounds pretty good. Still not 100% satisfied because the timbre balance is not as linear and smooth as the DT880 pro I used to have, but I like the T90's better than the Audio-Technica AD1000 which I do find a bit overly warm and rolled off in the treble.
adydula
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Hey Terry!!
Great news on your experimentation of your T90's and glad your liking the results!!
I like it when people do these things....I might just try it out as well....what kind of sheer hose did you use? Brand etc?
Thanks for sharing!!
Alex
Great news on your experimentation of your T90's and glad your liking the results!!
I like it when people do these things....I might just try it out as well....what kind of sheer hose did you use? Brand etc?
Thanks for sharing!!
Alex
adydula
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FYI...
I am listening to the T90's with new pads from Beyer, the stock pads and they have made a very nice difference between the old ones that were "well" worn, and full if who knows what
wierd skin stuff!! lol...
They were very difficult to get on and the pads came with new inner foam pieces to cover the driver...
I also finished a new tube amp DIY from Bottlehead, their top of the line amp called the Mainline...
I have been just using my T1's with it for a few weeks so after reading Terry's experiment I thought I would listen to the T90s on the new amp for a few days before playing withe the inner
pieces of foam...seeing how these are new and "clean"...
So far its really close to perfect for my ears....
Very crisp with all kind of music....details here are not lost at all to me....bass is so wonderfully accurate. Brian Bromberg
has a cd called "Wood"...its my standard for bass tonality..etc...its about at good as it gets here to me.
Listening to Dave Samuels playing the pan flute, and marimbas, xylophone etc....on hos "Watercolors" cd is very alive and realistic. accurate, details come thru shimmering etc...
Compared to the T1's and I have said this before these are very accurate IMO and revealing....crap sounds like crap great stuff sounds great...I like the alive sound and I had some mid level Grado 325is for awhile and prefer the Beyer sound here better.
The T1's sound more warm amd muscial and the tonality is different but in a good way..
I do find myself picking out music that to me sounds better on one or the other...
I am now using a fairly new dac as well...a Schitt Bimby R2R MB, USB Gen 5 version and its doing a wonderful job as well.
With this amp, and the T90's and T1's its as about as good as it gets here....so far!!
Alex
:>)
I am listening to the T90's with new pads from Beyer, the stock pads and they have made a very nice difference between the old ones that were "well" worn, and full if who knows what
wierd skin stuff!! lol...
They were very difficult to get on and the pads came with new inner foam pieces to cover the driver...
I also finished a new tube amp DIY from Bottlehead, their top of the line amp called the Mainline...
I have been just using my T1's with it for a few weeks so after reading Terry's experiment I thought I would listen to the T90s on the new amp for a few days before playing withe the inner
pieces of foam...seeing how these are new and "clean"...
So far its really close to perfect for my ears....
Very crisp with all kind of music....details here are not lost at all to me....bass is so wonderfully accurate. Brian Bromberg
has a cd called "Wood"...its my standard for bass tonality..etc...its about at good as it gets here to me.
Listening to Dave Samuels playing the pan flute, and marimbas, xylophone etc....on hos "Watercolors" cd is very alive and realistic. accurate, details come thru shimmering etc...
Compared to the T1's and I have said this before these are very accurate IMO and revealing....crap sounds like crap great stuff sounds great...I like the alive sound and I had some mid level Grado 325is for awhile and prefer the Beyer sound here better.
The T1's sound more warm amd muscial and the tonality is different but in a good way..
I do find myself picking out music that to me sounds better on one or the other...
I am now using a fairly new dac as well...a Schitt Bimby R2R MB, USB Gen 5 version and its doing a wonderful job as well.
With this amp, and the T90's and T1's its as about as good as it gets here....so far!!
Alex
:>)
terry parr
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My "overly warm" comment had to do mainly with the mid-bass region on down to the sub-bass. Throughout this frequency region there IS an "enveloping fog" that shrouds fine detail in the bass region and hides characteristics in an acoustic bass such as harmonics and overtones and sometimes even lessening the clarity of the fundamental bass note in favor of delivering the initial impact of the pluck of the string. A fine example of this is what I was just listening to, tonight. It's a recording featuring David Hazeltine on piano, George Mraz on bass and Billy Drummond on drums called MANHATTAN.
This was recorded in a church in New York with a single microphone. Ordinarily, the stand-up bass played by George Mraz can be a bit difficult to hear in this recording as his bass is only heard in the right channel and it can sound fairly recessed and subdued (which it did on the T90's with the stock foam pads). Tonight, I'm getting much more fine detail in that bass coming through as I can follow Mraz's playing note-for-note. I also heard more subtlety in the drum playing of Drummond (as far as hearing his brushes on the drumheads and when he would be using sticks, I could more easily tell when he would switch from playing on one cymbal and then switch to another). In order to bring out this level of detail in recordings such as this, where certain details are simply harder to hear, you don't need anything in your headphones impeding the sound, and I think this recording is a fine example of how the stock T90's would do exactly that!
Sometimes, it seemed like they had the bass situated just a bit too far away from the mic, but at least I feel the T90 is now giving me everything I can possibly hear in this recording and it makes the bass as easy to hear as possible without introducing any added sound obstruction of its' own (whereas previously, before removing the foam pad, I feel it did).
It also makes me appreciate an attribute of the T90 (as opposed to the K701). A smaller soundstage, which better suits a trio recording such as this, rather than hearing this performance through the K701, with its' sometimes TOO expansive soundstage.
I still say that with the factory foam pads installed, that the T90 does have that warmish overlying hue in the lower half of the sound frequencies which to me reminds me of the bass qualities of a GRADO. I don't want to go so far as calling the bass frequencies "murky" in the GRADO h/p's that I've owned or in the T90 with the foam pads. It's not that bad. But, it was still as if a piece of cloth were covering the drivers (but this only affected the lower-end and extending into the mids). This effect of having the h/p sound as if a cotton cloth were draped over the drivers didn't apply to how the T90 reproduced the highs, even with the stock foam pads. I was speaking in terms of the quality of the bass presentation.
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terry parr
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How are you, Alex? Glad you saw this and popped-in! I'm about to go off-line as I need to get ready for work. I'm working tonight and tomorrow night, so give me until sometime later this weekend to respond to your post specifically.
One quick note about Bromberg. I enjoyed the distinctive bass sound that he got on the album by Erin Boheme called What Love Is. The song "Make You Happy" is a stand-out to me from this recording. So is "Give Me One Reason." Although, on this second tune, I have heard the T-90 distort the bass line in this tune if I don't have the bass control dialed-back a bit.
Anyway, Alex I'll talk to you later on in the weekend, probably Sunday. Cheers!
DjBobby
1000+ Head-Fier
According to the measurements on RAA website, T90 shows strong difference on the frequency response curve depending on the source output impedance. Just check the graph and click in the "Range, dB" on 12: http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/beyerdynamic-t90.php#rw6
Also if you check the impedance graph, it shows very flexible impedance curve ranging between 250 and 790 Ohm. For 790 Ohm, quite a lot voltage is needed. If the amp is not able to deliver it, the sound can get unbalanced. http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/beyerdynamic-t90.php#rw3
This might explain very objective different perceptions of warmth and sibilance with the T90, depending on the source. I am using the T90 with an OTL tube amp with a highish output impedance and high voltage swing. It sounds warm and has enough sub-bass. Connected to any other SS amp with near zero output impedance, the sound changes completely to penetrating bright, sitting in the dentist chair coming first to my mind.
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terry parr
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Yeah, Alex. When I went to put the pads back on after removing the foam pieces, I started at the point on the ear cup where the headband mechanism attaches. That's the tightest spot to get into. Just be careful and take your time with it. You'll need either longer fingernails (which I don't have. I used the corner of a credit card, but anything fairly thin and blunt that won't cut that flexible material should work). It's a good design, they way they have the pads made that allow you to take them off and then put them back on without damage. But, I still wouldn't want to do that too many times.
If you're up for doing the same experiment that I did, I'd be interested in your impressions. (Remember, though. Personally, I prefer that open, airy and clean sound that I feel that the AKG K701 headphones give me. That's the headphone that I have listened to everyday for a few years, now. And, it's a sound signature that I like). As I said in my original post when talking about taking this foam piece out, everybody might not like the difference that it makes with the T-90 (and I'm sure there will be those that won't like the change). You might not like how the sound is changed in the T-90's with the foam insert removed. That's fine. If all of us liked
a very similar sound in a headphone, then this music appreciation hobby through headphones would be a lot less interesting. I can enjoy reading a review, or reading somebody else's impressions of a headphone from another headphone enthusiast who doesn't exactly share my preferences. Of course.
So, you've gone and built yourself another amp, huh? I think you could probably start a small business by now!
We've got to make plans sometime soon on one of these Saturday afternoons for you to pack up a couple of tube amps, and make the drive over here to Clayton and we could spend the afternoon doing some comparative listening. I'll order some pizza or Chinese take-out and I'll have some "Black & Tan" porters or amber ales on hand and I'll let you hear what the AKG 7-Series sound like when they're properly amped! And I'd like to hear how a couple of your tube amps would sound with my AKG 701's, 702's and the T-90's.
I've thought for years that whenever someone mentioned tube amps, that this automatically meant recessed signature, smoothing-out of the details and lacking impact. But, tube amps (as I've been reading) don't deserve to be lumped together like that. It depends on the design, whether it's an OTL design, the type of output tubes used, etc. My knowledge of tube amplification for headphones is next to nil (and sounds like a very deep rabbit hole with all of the possible variations). I don't mean that in a negative way, as the experimentation sounds like it could be fun, if you know where to start. I've just thought for years that tube amps meant an overly warm (to me) sound presentation. And, I've mentioned before how I didn't care for the LCD-3's that I had. Ugh. Terrible. (Except for their bass presentation). Sold those things to someone who appreciates them (but I haven't missed 'em one bit).
This just goes to show you how different people can be from one another in this hobby as far as their preferences and how different people can simply have different tastes.
Well, I'm back in from work and have some yard work to do, but I'm looking forward to settling down later on and getting under my "new" T-90's and putting some trio jazz under the microscope. I haven't quite decided if the T-90's without the foam pads has just as much detail, across the board, as the 701's. If so, then combined with the T-90's extra heft in the bass dept., I may have a new "daily driver" and "go to" headphone.
A bit more listening needs to be done before I decide that, however...
terry parr
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You bring up a very good point as far as the importance of what type of amp someone is using to power their headphone, and how that very important variable might influence how any particular h/p might sound to someone giving their impressions / reviews of headphones.
I'm currently using a 70's-era SONY STR-6055 receiver as a headphone amp. This became available on my local CL, and after doing a bit of research on it, I snapped it up. It's has a great sounding headphone out for both my AKG K701's, and it also powers the T-90's more than satisfactorily, although the T-90's with this amp are a bit prone to distortion at certain times, but when this happens, it's usually heard only in the lower regions. But, since this SONY unit has tone controls, I can just dial back the bass control to eliminate that problem. With the 701's, this amp sounds as if it is tailor-made for it. It's an excellent pairing that allows the 701's to "bloom" and allows for more low-end impact and generally a more fully fleshed-out presentation than you see most people report when discussing these headphones. And also, all of the frequencies, from bottom-to-top are well-controlled without a hint of distortion, while at the same time being fully extended. I can't explain, technically, why this h/p and amp is a good match. And the reason for it may not be able to be found in either the published specs of that amp or the h/p (but, there's a reason for it that electrical / audio engineering could explain, I'm sure).
As far as hearing the sometimes "over emphasized" treble, or "beyer treble" that gets mentioned sometimes when talking about the T-90's, I've heard this same quality myself, at times. But, again, I have tone controls, (where both the bass and treble controls are dialed-back a bit, where they stay that way).
Another variable to consider when two of us here on this board might seem to disagree in reporting what we're hearing with the same headphone is the sound signature that we're accustomed to. Myself and Darkangel obviously disagree in how the T-90 renders the upper midrange on upwards. But, my daily headphone is the 701, which I would describe as more neutral-sounding than the T-90. So, after having the sound of the 701 as "my reference", then when switching to a different h/p, if the different one has any hint of a warm coloration, then I'll be able to pick up on that much easier than someone who's used to using a headphone everyday which may be considered warmer than the 701. (And, finding a h/p that's warmer than the 701 isn't very hard to do!) I would say most of the currently most popular (or even most headphones being produced right now) have an overall warmer sound sig. than the 701.
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adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
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Terry, sent you a PM about meeting etc..
Alex
Alex
terry parr
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Got it, Alex. Thanks!
Who has heard the T90 and Amiron (Supposedly the replacement/upgrade to T90?
How do they compare and which did you think is better?
I would assume Amiron is better since it is the upgraded model.
How do they compare and which did you think is better?
I would assume Amiron is better since it is the upgraded model.
Tracktionmonkey
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One question... Did you mean keep the mesh on the HM5? I couldn’t understand ‘keep the mesh not he HM5 pads’.
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