strange night, last night. was listening to my beyer t1.2 on my lyr 3. sounded nice, nothing surprising there. looked over to the 58x, which i've been ignoring the last few days, and thought ok fine, lets give you a listen again. instantly thought wow so plasticky sounding! dont ask me to explain that, i just immediately thought "plasticky" as i listened, and struggle to put "plasticky" into words. after a few minutes of brain adjustment to the 58x, i thought to myself "i think i like this better than the t1.2...". so back to the t1.2...yep, liking the 58x more! this began a long and sleepless ordeal of me going from track to track, and headphone to headphone in search of why. nothing about the 58x from a technical perspective is better than the t1.2. but when i just sit back and listen, the 58x resonates in ways the t1.2 doesnt. and i'll start with this, i have zero issues with the t1.2's treble. i dont find it siblant at all. extended to all hell (like the hd800!)? yes! but still not sibilant. it's not harsh/grainy/glaring. it's just extended, which doesnt = sibilant. that out of the way, the more i listened, the more i realized that i prefer the 58x's tonal balance to the t1.2's technical prowess. the 58x is a well tuned headphone, with very neutral overall tone. bass to mids to treble is very smooth and well transitioned. they coexist in harmony. not so much on the t1.2. the bass and treble vie for attention, while the mids hang out at the back of the room. on the t1.2 the transition from bass to mids is abrupt. then again from mids to treble. it's not nearly as smooth and harmonious. funny how tuning can trump technical ability...
ps - this wasnt meant as a bash on the t1.2, i still like it a lot.