[telecaster]

Radiohead is one of the greatest band of all time

 

[LIJOE848]

I am looking to add either HD800 or T1 to my setup. I mainly listen to Jazz, which one do you recommend? I am using the Benchmark DAC2 as HA/DAC. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I am looking to add either HD800 or T1 to my setup. I mainly listen to Jazz, which one do you recommend? I am using the Benchmark DAC2 as HA/DAC. 

HD800s. They're the better headphone IMO.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

For jazz at least....

 

[Apprentice]

Hello everyone,
 
I am a first-time poster but long-time lurker in need of advice. It's, once again, about the Sennheiser HD800 "vs" the Beyerdynamic T1.
I am not an audiophile but I am an avid melomaniac. I have an eclectic taste in music and, although it is not at all unusual to see me go from a Hüsker Dü album to a Mahler Symphony and back to De La Soul, the two genres I always end up coming back to are Classical (especially late 19th century/early 20th century orchestral/symphonic) and Jazz (especially Hard Bop and Avant-Garde). Classical is what eventually got me craving for better headphones and made me buy some T70s a few months ago. Now I am inevitably craving for more.
 
I purchased the HD800 last week and have been listening to them through an old Akai M939 Amp (because my Woo WA7 has been delayed...). It is probably not ideal in order to make a final judgement but I, unfortunately, am not as satisfied as I expected to be. It does indeed sound much better than my T70s, but it makes poorly produced rock music sound a bit too harsh and its large soundstage, although impressive, makes the jazz listening experience a bit less intimate. It does sound great with Classical, but as most of my recordings are older ones (mostly sixties for some reason... Bernstein, Klemperer, Barbirolli, etc), I am not sure the tradeoff is good enough to keep them. 
If I decide to return them, I will have to do so without trying them out with the WA7 I had planned to use them with as it will not get here on time, so I will never know how much the sound will change/improve with the tubes in relation to how I've been hearing them these past few days.
 
I am considering swapping them for some T1s, which from what I have heard are more polyvalent and might suit my needs better while sacrificing a bit in Classical (as I said, I am not an audiophile and would rather invest in music than in different headphones for different kinds of music), but on the other hand I have not heard them and have no idea what they sound like.
Sometimes I do feel I am not giving the HD800 the time and patience they need to learn to appreciate their sound, but time pressure, the excess of reviews I've read and the price I paid for them (the T1s are 300€ cheaper here) have clouded my judgement and put me in a difficult situation. I understand the right answer to this conundrum is "try them both out and decide for yourself" but I am also hoping for a little guidance from this community's oh-so-wiser-than-me members. I don't even trust my ears anymore.
 
I appreciate immensely all the help your posts and reviews have given me in the past and trust your advice in this matter. I hope you will forgive my inexperience but I am a newbie and, unfortunately, pretend to stay a newbie at least for the time being, as I already spend enough money on video gear (unfortunately for my wallet, I am a filmmaker). 
 
Best Regards,
 
 
 
 
Bruno
 
 
 
 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

^
 
IMO the HD800s are the better headphones. When I first started this thread my upstream rig wasn't up to snuff to get the most out of the HD800s, but get that right and they will reward you for the effort!

 

[Mambosenior]

Hello everyone,

I am a first-time poster but long-time lurker in need of advice. It's, once again, about the Sennheiser HD800 "vs" the Beyerdynamic T1.
I am not an audiophile but I am an avid melomaniac. I have an eclectic taste in music and, although it is not at all unusual to see me go from a Hüsker Dü album to a Mahler Symphony and back to De La Soul, the two genres I always end up coming back to are Classical (especially late 19th century/early 20th century orchestral/symphonic) and Jazz (especially Hard Bop and Avant-Garde). Classical is what eventually got me craving for better headphones and made me buy some T70s a few months ago. Now I am inevitably craving for more.

I purchased the HD800 last week and have been listening to them through an old Akai M939 Amp (because my Woo WA7 has been delayed...). It is probably not ideal in order to make a final judgement but I, unfortunately, am not as satisfied as I expected to be. It does indeed sound much better than my T70s, but it makes poorly produced rock music sound a bit too harsh and its large soundstage, although impressive, makes the jazz listening experience a bit less intimate. It does sound great with Classical, but as most of my recordings are older ones (mostly sixties for some reason... Bernstein, Klemperer, Barbirolli, etc), I am not sure the tradeoff is good enough to keep them. 
If I decide to return them, I will have to do so without trying them out with the WA7 I had planned to use them with as it will not get here on time, so I will never know how much the sound will change/improve with the tubes in relation to how I've been hearing them these past few days.

I am considering swapping them for some T1s, which from what I have heard are more polyvalent and might suit my needs better while sacrificing a bit in Classical (as I said, I am not an audiophile and would rather invest in music than in different headphones for different kinds of music), but on the other hand I have not heard them and have no idea what they sound like.
Sometimes I do feel I am not giving the HD800 the time and patience they need to learn to appreciate their sound, but time pressure, the excess of reviews I've read and the price I paid for them (the T1s are 300€ cheaper here) have clouded my judgement and put me in a difficult situation. I understand the right answer to this conundrum is "try them both out and decide for yourself" but I am also hoping for a little guidance from this community's oh-so-wiser-than-me members. I don't even trust my ears anymore.

I appreciate immensely all the help your posts and reviews have given me in the past and trust your advice in this matter. I hope you will forgive my inexperience but I am a newbie and, unfortunately, pretend to stay a newbie at least for the time being, as I already spend enough money on video gear (unfortunately for my wallet, I am a filmmaker). 

Best Regards,

Bruno

You haven't "heard" the HD-800--yet. Wait until you have a decent amp and, then, make up your mind. Good luck.

 

[playitloud]

Quote:

Hello everyone,
 
I am a first-time poster but long-time lurker in need of advice. It's, once again, about the Sennheiser HD800 "vs" the Beyerdynamic T1.
I am not an audiophile but I am an avid melomaniac. I have an eclectic taste in music and, although it is not at all unusual to see me go from a Hüsker Dü album to a Mahler Symphony and back to De La Soul, the two genres I always end up coming back to are Classical (especially late 19th century/early 20th century orchestral/symphonic) and Jazz (especially Hard Bop and Avant-Garde). Classical is what eventually got me craving for better headphones and made me buy some T70s a few months ago. Now I am inevitably craving for more.
 
I purchased the HD800 last week and have been listening to them through an old Akai M939 Amp (because my Woo WA7 has been delayed...). It is probably not ideal in order to make a final judgement but I, unfortunately, am not as satisfied as I expected to be. It does indeed sound much better than my T70s, but it makes poorly produced rock music sound a bit too harsh and its large soundstage, although impressive, makes the jazz listening experience a bit less intimate. It does sound great with Classical, but as most of my recordings are older ones (mostly sixties for some reason... Bernstein, Klemperer, Barbirolli, etc), I am not sure the tradeoff is good enough to keep them. 
If I decide to return them, I will have to do so without trying them out with the WA7 I had planned to use them with as it will not get here on time, so I will never know how much the sound will change/improve with the tubes in relation to how I've been hearing them these past few days.
 
I am considering swapping them for some T1s, which from what I have heard are more polyvalent and might suit my needs better while sacrificing a bit in Classical (as I said, I am not an audiophile and would rather invest in music than in different headphones for different kinds of music), but on the other hand I have not heard them and have no idea what they sound like.
Sometimes I do feel I am not giving the HD800 the time and patience they need to learn to appreciate their sound, but time pressure, the excess of reviews I've read and the price I paid for them (the T1s are 300€ cheaper here) have clouded my judgement and put me in a difficult situation. I understand the right answer to this conundrum is "try them both out and decide for yourself" but I am also hoping for a little guidance from this community's oh-so-wiser-than-me members. I don't even trust my ears anymore.
 
I appreciate immensely all the help your posts and reviews have given me in the past and trust your advice in this matter. I hope you will forgive my inexperience but I am a newbie and, unfortunately, pretend to stay a newbie at least for the time being, as I already spend enough money on video gear (unfortunately for my wallet, I am a filmmaker). 
 
Best Regards,
 
Bruno

 
Until you have tried both, you will never know which one you prefer. There will always be a nagging voice in your head saying: how would the Beyerdynamic T1 sound with this recording. The point is, both are probably great all rounders. However, on some recordings you will prefer the Beyerdynamic, and on others the Sennheiser, and that is irrespective of genre and time of recording. I also own many (classical) recordings from the 60-ties and they all sound different. It is impossible to say that because you prefer classical recordings from the 60-ties that this will make a difference in which headphone you will prefer. Same applies to jazz recordings, and pop etc etc.And no matter what headphone you choose in the end, you will find out that in the beginning, without doing it on purpose, you will play more of the recordings that sound so good on your chosen headphone. In the beginning you will also find some recordings irritating to listen to, and they make you start doubting whether you have made the right choice. It is all normal and natural.
 
My advice to you, wait until you got your Woo WA7 dac/amp, maybe include some different tube options that allow you to cook the sound a little bit. (Ask Jack Wu, what ‘old’ NOS tubes can be used as well, for more tube options). Listen to both headphones and decide, which one does it for you…If you have made a clear choice between the two, you will not focus on the sound any more, but on the music. Your mind is clear and at rest because you have choosen ‘wisely’. You seem to be a person that invests in his hardware once, and then leave it as it is for years. Such decisions demand careful evaluation. There is no other way. No one in this forum will be able to convince you to choose one over the other because they are both great phones. Good luck..

 

[Apprentice]

Thank you so much for your comments. I will no doubt follow your advice and keep the HD 800s for now. If the quest is not over yet, I might as well enjoy what's left of it.
 
We are so used to people repeating things like "HD 800 for good recordings of Jazz/Classical and T1 for Rock/Pop" that it is very interesting to read that some Head-Fiers do not consider headphones to be genre-specific, or rather that genre has nothing to do with a headphone's performance. This makes me realise that not only have I "not heard the HD 800 yet", but that I have also taken a completely incorrect approach to listening to them.
 
I will continue working on finding the sound that suits me better and will definitely come back once I find it to post my experience in hopes that it might help another newbie like me in the future.
 
Thanks a lot!
 
 

 

[playitloud]

You are welcome, I know this process of deciding and reading reviews and comments of others all too well… Don’t let these fool you, We all hear differently and prefer different things. What has worked for me in the past ( about 15 years ago)  is that I bought two completely different headphones: the Sennheiser HD-600 and the AKG K-501. The AKG is spacious, bass light and airy. The Sennheiser  warm, less airy, less spacious and more bass-full (for lack of a better word). I appreciated both phones, but found out that I kept picking the AKG over the Sennheiser, not only for classical but for all types of music. I just preferred the spacious sound of the AKG over the more intimate dense sound of the Sennheiser. Hence, although I liked what the Sennheiser HD600 did with some music, and I clearly saw the shortcomings of the AKG K-501, I preferred the AKG despite its shortcomings. From that moment on, I knew what to look for and I tried to maximize my set-up for the qualities I prefer….
 
A few years back, I had a similar experience when I tried out different 300B tubes.  Now, if you read the reviews and comments many will argue that the WE300B is bass light, has rolled-of treble etc etc etc., but I prefer this tube above all 300B tubes I have tried and still have. It is the most spacious and natural sounding 300B tube in  my opinion. And its lack of bass is for me not a deficit, but helps them to bring out their best: the wonderful spacious midrange. Hence, I am not a bass-head,  I am a –midrange- kind of guy. Once you know what you prefer it becomes relatively easy to buy the things you need. I have settled for the AKG K-1000 headphone for many years, and just recently decided to buy the Sennheiser HD800 as well for obvious reasons. I will not sell my AKG K-1000 though, and I do not often change gear. Of course, you can buy multiple headphones and multiple amps to drive them, but then audio equipment becomes more of a hobby (an end in itself), and less of a device ( or means) to listen to music. And I agree with you, given my limited means, I rather buy more music than more equipment. The best of luck to you.  

 

[musicman59]

Quote:

^
 
IMO the HD800s are the better headphones. When I first started this thread my upstream rig wasn't up to snuff to get the most out of the HD800s, but get that right and they will reward you for the effort!

I own both and totally agree with Peter. If you want a pair of T1 recabled with a Zeus balanced shutgon cable send me a PM.

 

[preproman]

I really enjoy both headphones.  Yes I also agree the HD800 are the better headphone.  IMO the T1s are miles ahead of the T70s - the T70s to me was a bright, lifeless piece of mess.  That's just me..
 
For Classical HD800s all the way.  For Jazz, I'll go for the T1s.  Now, just like the HD800s the T1s are the same in your upstream gear needs to match the transducer.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

 
Until you have tried both, you will never know which one you prefer. There will always be a nagging voice in your head saying: how would the Beyerdynamic T1 sound with this recording. The point is, both are probably great all rounders. However, on some recordings you will prefer the Beyerdynamic, and on others the Sennheiser, and that is irrespective of genre and time of recording.
 

 
 
+1
 
so true!
 
thats why if possible, its good to have both 

 

[wahlau88]

Hi all,
 
I'm a long time lurker on the forum.  I started out with a pair of Westone 3s, and now I own a pair of ToGo334.  I listen to pop, rock, classic rock, edm, RnB, Blues, jpop, kpop.  Pretty much everything except Country.  Most of my files are 320 kbps files, although I have some AIFF and flacs. Normally I listen directly from my macbook pro and ipod mini.  I've tried to avoid going down the portable amp/dac route as I value portability a lot (i don't want to carry a big brick).
 
I'm looking to make the jump into full size headphones.  I find IEMs uncomfortable after awhile.  Having said that, I'm considering the the T1s and the HD800s.  I know I need a amp and dac and am considering the Bakoon HPA-21 to go with it.  The other amps like the LL and BHSE are a little more than what i want to spend at the moment. I've not thought too much about a dac yet, although I will get the Meridian Explorer to start with.  Any recommendations for DACs will be great (3K budget). 
 
I guess my question is will the fact I'm mostly listening to 320 kbps files make purchasing the setup a waste of money?  I've listen to the T1 and HD800 briefly through a Imac running apple lossless and a iriver (i think) dac and preferred the sound of the T1 over the HD800.  It sounded more warm and musical to me.  The HD800 sounded muted, like it had a veil over it (compared to the same setup) but I know the HD800s are very picky about upstream components so that was probably it.
 
Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

 

[Focker]

I FINALLY got to hear a pair of HD800s, and they definitely live up to the hype. I only got to spend about a half hour with them, but as good as they sounded, I didn't hear anything that would make me want to ditch my T1s in favor of them. If I didn't already own the T1s and I was choosing between them, I'd probably feel that it would be hard to go wrong with either phone, IMO. If I had done this demo two weeks ago, I may have given the nod to the Senns, but now that my T1s are really humming along with some new Meier toys to play with, it's more of a dead heat. Two fantastic headphones for sure.