[leng jai]

Been debating whether to pick up a pair for the past few days. Alas the upgrade itch has got me once again and I'm looking to get my last pair of cans to complete my Head-fi journey (hopefully). I own three headphones at the moment: Denon D7000, Sennheiser HD650 and the AKG 702s all powered by a Burson HA-160. Each phone has aspects I love/dislike which I'll outline now:
 
Denon D7000s: Probably my favourite out of the three. Firstly, the comfort is great and the wooden cups simply gorgeous. This is actually pretty close to the sound signature I'm looking for though not quite there yet. Though the bass is clearly the feature of these cans, I feel like its too overbearing at times, and not tight enough. The soundstage is okay, but a lot of the time I'll be wishing it was larger (similar to that of the AKG 702s). The treble is pretty good, not much to complain about. Midrange is somewhat lacking for vocals - feels like a little something is missing. 
 
Sennhesier HD650: First and foremost I love these cans for female vocals - the midrange simply excels here. The bass is almost what I'm looking for but slightly lacking quantity. I guess I'm looking for something in between the HD650s and the D7000s. The soundstage is definitely not airy enough for me and I often feel like the sound is congested. Strangely I find the HD650s the most fatiguing headphones out of the three despite their rolled off treble.
 
AKG 702s: Pretty easy to sum up my thoughts on these - LOVE the airy sound and at the same LOATH the lack of bass quantity. Is it a limitation of headphones that you can't have both? These two aspects make the 702s my go to music for a very specific few genres. Piano sounds particularly good to me on these, as well as orchestral OSTs. However, anything requiring bass impact fails miserably.
 
So are the T1s what I need? Something with better bass control and depth to the D7000s while having similar or slightly less quantity? A soundstage comparable to the AKG 702? Midrange with the warmth (perhaps slightly less)  than the HD650s? I'm also hoping the detail retrieval is a step up from all three. For the record owning three cans is ridiculous to me so I'll be looking to get rid of all three after this purchase, or perhaps just keeping the D7000s.
 
Help.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
The T1 indeed may just fit the bill. Do you have the ability to test listen to a pair?
 
Very best,

 

[leng jai]

I'm in Melbourne so listening to a pair before purchase is going to be a stretch. Headphonic do offer a 20 day trial period though.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

I'm in Melbourne so listening to a pair before purchase is going to be a stretch. Headphonic do offer a 20 day trial period though.

Heya,
 
If you can do a trial period of some kind, just some way to trial a headphone that costs more than a grand, then go for it. I would pay $100 to borrow a T1 for three weeks just so I could know what it's all about. Because end of the day, I've listened to $800~$1500 headphones that didn't really make me want to spend that much money over a $300 headphone. And it's not about budget, I have several headphones and gear that goes over a $1200 headphone for example. For me it's about getting something in return for what I'm paying. So again, trying an expensive headphone before buying is pretty crucial. Granted, you can resell it if you cannot return/trial. But the market for expensive $1000 headphones is limited.
 
Very best,

 

[Psychochink]

Is taking a quick trip over to Perth (and incorporating a short holiday of course) out of the question?
 
Air fares are getting very cheap these days. Of course, the travel time/time difference is a drag.

 

[nanaholic]

Quote:

I'm in Melbourne so listening to a pair before purchase is going to be a stretch. Headphonic do offer a 20 day trial period though.

Be aware that Headphonic doesn't give you a money refund but only store credits.  
 
If you do go for it I'll be very interested to hear your impressions since it sounds awfully similar to what I have in mind about a possible next upgrade (for me it's T1 vs HD800 and I'm leaning towards the T1 due to more people vouch for it being a bit more musical than the HD800).  Plus for once the T1 price at Headphonic is actually a good price for a local dealer and not the ridiculous mark up we usually have to deal with here in Australia.  Very tempting for me too....
 

 

[leng jai]

The price is actually $1099 I think according to their forums, so really even better. I might just bite the bullet. I've derived a general idea of the sound for each headphone from reading Headfi and its been pretty accurate each time, though I'm slightly more reluctant this time due to the price tag. 

 

[Psychochink]

Frankly, the $1,099 Beyerdynamic relaunch special is the cheapest I can find the T1s anywhere (in Australia or otherwise), which is the reason I'm about to take the same leap of faith (I've just hit send on an email to Headphonic in another window doing exactly that right now, in fact).
 
I'm upgrading from the AD900s, so I'm expecting to be really blown away.
 
My main problem now is amplification, with the Corda Concerto discontinued. I'm inclined towards waiting for the Corda Classic in October, or possibly the Headzone H1 so I can make them my 'everything' headphones (but I'm waiting on more information there, to see if the H1 is effectively the A1 with added features).

 

[khatch]

Nope - I would recommend you pass on the T1's.  I've owned all of the cans you mentioned, and I certainly sympathize with your quest....but theT1 wasn't the answer, at least not for me.  I'd characterize the T1 as a very nice, but subtle, improvement on the HD650.  Much better soundstage and possibly better highs (though the "new" HD650's I just picked up are markedly improved in the highs from the old set I sold several years ago).  The T1's certainly have more ample lower-mid-bass, and it's fairly well textured- but it doesn't sound (to me at least) as nearly extended in the lower range as the HD800 or the D7000.  Given the improvements in the HD650, and it's cost, I'd hold on to it for now. 

 

[Psychochink]

 
Quote:

Denon D7000s: The soundstage is okay, but a lot of the time I'll be wishing it was larger. Midrange is somewhat lacking for vocals. 
 
Sennhesier HD650: The bass is almost what I'm looking for but slightly lacking quantity. The soundstage is definitely not airy enough for me.
 
AKG 702s: LOVE the airy sound and at the same LOATH the lack of bass quantity.

 
Quote:

Much better soundstage and possibly better highs...more ample lower-mid-bass, and it's fairly well textured 

Maybe I'm missing something, but haven't you just described the T1s as being better in the exact areas that he wants them to be better? Especially when he's already said that the D7000s have too much bass emphasis?
 

 

[leng jai]

As usual I just said **** it and pulled the trigger. The price of $1099AUD was too good to ignore combined with the fact that was from a local dealer. Will surely report back by the end of the week as to how they sound with the Burson.

 

[cippy]

Nice purchase there leng jai. They are some really killer cans and if I didn't have a pair already, I would've jumped at the current price Headphonic have it for!

 

[khatch]

lol....well, yes, I guess I see your point.  My point was actually that the improvement is so subtle that I hardly think it justifies buying a set of cans nearly three times the price of the ones he's already got.  I bought the T1's for the very same reasons - with no concerns about affordability in the slightest...but it just seemed like a waste of money for the incremental improvement.  That...and they were slightly less comfortable for me than the HD650.  But I can certainly relate to the futility of fighting upgraditis. 

 
Quote:

 
 


Maybe I'm missing something, but haven't you just described the T1s as being better in the exact areas that he wants them to be better? Especially when he's already said that the D7000s have too much bass emphasis?
 

 

 

[SleepyOne]

Sorry didn't see this post till today, there is one report (long while back) suggesting Burson may not be good match with T1. Fingers crossed that only applies to older version of Burson amp.

 

[Scytus]

Quote:

Sorry didn't see this post till today, there is one report (long while back) suggesting Burson may not be good match with T1. Fingers crossed that only applies to older version of Burson amp.

Yea I've read that as well