[TokenGesture]

Quote:

 
One thing I don't like about the T1 is that they are very picky of their position in your head. If the cups move forward (toward your face) the sound gets darker, if they move back then they get sharper and if the move around a little bit the soundstage balance totally moves.
 
 

Wow - this is really true, I hadn't picked up on it before. Moved the T1 forward and they do sound darker! Thanks for the tip off

 

[Xennon]

Quote:

 
If the HD800 emulates the sound of speakers best, then why do they not suit the music i listen to as well as the T1? Are speakers not suited for modern music? I never really understood this. 

Imaging/ soundstage/ instrument placement is one thing, the sound signature is another. The HD800s emulates the sound of speakers best, but definitely it does not mean all speakers have the same signature which HD800 just copies. I have checked your list, HD800 indeed plays all of them well, but the priority of HD800 is neither RnB nor Pop. Both the T1 and HD800s are neutral headphones, but with different interpretations of neutrality, this is where the hobby begins - one cannot jump into conclusions so easily. Also, I personally have not seen many RnB people who sincerely appreciate neutrality or soundstage, the audiophile RnB listeners here may correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

[faverodefavero]

Thank god i found this thread. I'm looking to get a good pair of headphones and the T1s have been on my watchlist for some time now. Hopefully someone here could chime in on whether this headphone (or even the HD800) would suit my musical tastes.

What you need is a good pair of Orthodynamics if you mostly listen to electric R'n'B and House.
Do yourself a favor and buy a HiFiMan HE-500 (quite neutral but not as "picky" and micro-detail retrieving as the HD800, and the T1 -- not heard T1, so that'srom what I read here and mostly everywhere else), HE-5LE (more bass, slighlty "U curved-like" sound when compared against the HE-500) or an Audez'' LCD-2 (even more bass with less detail trough high-frequencies).

Planar-magnetic headphones fare better than "traditional dynamic" ones for fast consecutive bass slam, which's what you need for your electronic stuff!

Now, between the T1 and HD800 ONLY (for non-acoustic R'n'B, Drum'n'Bass and House music styles): the T1 (even though I never really heard it).

The HD800 has a thunderous extra-extended bass but lacks impact and slam, specially for consecutive bass "beats".

 

[musicman59]

Quote:

 
The soundstage is quite important to me. The HD800 is king there, but from what i've gathered in this thread the T1 has a wide soundstage too.
 
If the HD800 emulates the sound of speakers best, then why do they not suit the music i listen to as well as the T1? Are speakers not suited for modern music? I never really understood this. Headphones in general try to reproduce sound the way it is recorded, and if the HD800 is very accurate in this regard, then why would it not be suited for modern music? It's conveying the sound to us the way the artists intended right? 
 
Im not having a go at you, im just trying to better understand.

 
IMO the sound of the HD800 is more polite than the T1. The T1 bass has probably more impact but the HD800 goes deep. If you listen to orchestra music or Jazz where there are instrument that go low in frequency I would say the HD800 but the music you are listening IMO does not go down in deep tones but is more focus in mid bass with impact and that is why my opinion is the T1.
 
I mostly listen to Pop music and classic rock and I prefer the HD800 but again recabled with a good OCC copper cable. IMO it does make a difference in both headphones.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

solution.
 
buy all 3 (or 4 as i will soon be a HE-500 owner) 

 

[dallan]

Quote:

 
I mostly listen to Pop music and classic rock and I prefer the HD800 but again recabled with a good OCC copper cable. IMO it does make a difference in both headphones.

Important point, i can't even listen to the stock cables, i have gone back and tried them several times, too shrill for me.  You seem to lose a touch of transparency with the copper but it saves you from fatigue.

 

[majkel]

Silver plated copper is the most transparent variant of a wire from my experience with cables and internal wirings. Going pure copper is making the highs a bit subdued and midrange slightly emphasized in comparison. I have never obtained any shrill from the HD800 in my and others setups. The first step to enjoy them more is removing the black clothes from the ear cups. Sound gets faster and treble response more even. The soundstage improves as well. And such prepared HD800's are better headphones than the T1. Unmodded, they are comparable but different. The HD800 a bit weird and the T1 a bit boring. The same cloth removal helps the HD700 but these are inferior to the two IMHO.

 

[wilcaz]

Sorry to bump and old thread but I'm pretty interested in getting one of these headphones. I listen to a really wide range of music so I know there isn't just one headphone that would suit them all best, but if I were going to get one I'd want the ideal one for listening to something like Radiohead's Amnesiac record--enough punch in the bass for songs like "Packt Like Sardines" and "I Might Be Wrong", but enough clarity and separation to hear the beautiful strings and brass in "Pyramid Song" and "Life in a Glass House". Reading through this thread leads me to believe the HD800s are a better bet but I'm really not sure. Has anyone listened to Radiohead specifically with these?
 
Source and amp would be Modi DAC and WA6

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Sorry to bump and old thread but I'm pretty interested in getting one of these headphones. I listen to a really wide range of music so I know there isn't just one headphone that would suit them all best, but if I were going to get one I'd want the ideal one for listening to something like Radiohead's Amnesiac record--enough punch in the bass for songs like "Packt Like Sardines" and "I Might Be Wrong", but enough clarity and separation to hear the beautiful strings and brass in "Pyramid Song" and "Life in a Glass House". Reading through this thread leads me to believe the HD800s are a better bet but I'm really not sure. Has anyone listened to Radiohead specifically with these?
 
Source and amp would be Modi DAC and WA6

I prefer the HD800s with Radiohead (and most genres). Since I wrote the review a few years back, I've upgraded my amp/source several times and once I got to the LF or GS-X and my W4S DAC-2, I came to the conclusion that the HD-800s were the better headphones. I still hold the T1s in high regard, even though I no longer own them. 

 

[BournePerfect]

Nobody's heard Radiohead until they've heard them on a great HD 800 rig. Absolutely mesmerizing.

-Daniel

 

[TMRaven]

Bright recordings on bright headphones?  Better be some nicely warm amp/dac.

 

[muzic4life]

I am now on the fence too..between t1 and hd800...i will be using either one with the Burson Soloist amp. My plan is getting the t1 because i heard is better for all rounder and hopefully more bass. On the other threads..looks like they prefer hd800 to go with the soloist. I have a few days to decide and i don't want to make a wrong choice. And what sucks about it...is that i can not audition them from where i live.

 

[barid]

Quote:

I am now on the fence too..between t1 and hd800...i will be using either one with the Burson Soloist amp. My plan is getting the t1 because i heard is better for all rounder and hopefully more bass. On the other threads..looks like they prefer hd800 to go with the soloist. I have a few days to decide and i don't want to make a wrong choice. And what sucks about it...is that i can not audition them from where i live.

 
Haven't picked up an HD800 yet (next on my list, should be soon), but the T1 is my favorite phone compared to whatever else is in my sig.  I liked it out of the 160D, which many people on here did not, and I think it sounds even better on the Soloist.
 
So yeah I can't speak to the HD800, but I doubt you would be disappointed with the T1/Soloist combo if you went that route.

 

[muzic4life]

I just decided to stick with the T1 

. Now I am waiting this baby to be delivered to me once they arrived at Jaben Store and hopefully within next week. I hope the sound will satisfy me. Btw...i am going to use a Centrance DACmini LX as a DAC to my Soloist 

 

[Mambosenior]

Nobody's heard Radiohead until they've heard them on a great HD 800 rig. Absolutely mesmerizing.

-Daniel

I was a late arrival to Radiohead's music. "OK Computer" is absolutely masterful and, yes, hearing it through the HD-800 is a treat.