[Oscar-HiFi]

Weird, my serial is 311XX. Also, are the piercing highs normal with non-ideal amps? I know warm / high-impedance (output) amps can help, but I'm talking about 5-7 dB here. After EQ they still sound bright (the Amirons / LCD2s sound muffled in comparison), so it's not me wanting to turn these into dark cans. At the moment I'm using the iFi micro iDSD BL. Would buying the A20 make a difference? There's no proper way to buy a Bottlehead Crack here in Europe and HP8 / Elise is too expensive.

I have 14 days to return, but I'm in love with everything other than the highs, so it'd be great if that was solvable with a matching amp.

You could try the Feliks Audio Echo or Espressivo MKII

 

[Vergil]

Seeing how your other headphones are to the warmer / darker side of things. Maybe your brain is just in shock because of the polar opposite sound? That or you just simply don't like those kinda highs. Beyer is known for their highs, Amiron being the exception. I have always said that EQ is foolish, buy headphones that you like VS buy headphones and then beat them into a submission to like them... WHY?

As a side note I traded my DT 1990 for HD 660 For various reasons, but one of them was fatiguing highs on the DT 1990. So if you give up on the T1 try sennheiser? So far their headphones seem very similar sounding to beyer at least by the limited experience I have had with them.

Thank you for your long answer. I do not own the LCD2 and the reason I sold the Amirons is that they are dark as hell. The T1.2s are the real upgrade from the T90s, not the Amirons. The mids are hands down the best I have ever heard. The lows are a bit thin with the iFi iDSD BL but on a fiio A5 they are exceptional. The sound is thick and heavy. Not boomy or over the top like on other phones I tried. It just feels... right. On the fiio the highs are not necessarily piercing, they just sound off. The fiio A5 is known to have a random dip in the treble.

I use EQ right now not because I would like to but because not hearing the trash treble is still better than hearing the trash treble. With the iFi there's no detail in the treble, sound is very metallic and sharp.

Found a shop where I can listen to the A20. Will report back this weekend.

 

[gardibolt]

I had a problem initially with shrieking treble and booming bass and no mids. That went away after I cleaned out the adapter. Since then the highs have been very much tamed. It's really a quite dark headphone, unlike any Beyerdynamic I've ever tried. Maybe check your connections.

 

[Me x3]

Weird, my serial is 311XX. Also, are the piercing highs normal with non-ideal amps? I know warm / high-impedance (output) amps can help, but I'm talking about 5-7 dB here. After EQ they still sound bright (the Amirons / LCD2s sound muffled in comparison), so it's not me wanting to turn these into dark cans. At the moment I'm using the iFi micro iDSD BL. Would buying the A20 make a difference? There's no proper way to buy a Bottlehead Crack here in Europe and HP8 / Elise is too expensive.

I have 14 days to return, but I'm in love with everything other than the highs, so it'd be great if that was solvable with a matching amp.

My T1.1 has softer treble than my T1.2 (-3.5dB over 7kHz)
Add T1.2 pads to the T1.1 and that's pretty much the softer T1.2 you're looking for.

Check Violectric for warm SS in Europe.

 

[Vergil]

You could try the Feliks Audio Echo or Espressivo MKII

I had a problem initially with shrieking treble and booming bass and no mids. That went away after I cleaned out the adapter. Since then the highs have been very much tamed. It's really a quite dark headphone, unlike any Beyerdynamic I've ever tried. Maybe check your connections.

My T1.1 has softer treble than my T1.2 (-3.5dB over 7kHz)
Add T1.2 pads to the T1.1 and that's pretty much the softer T1.2 you're looking for.

Check Violectric for warm SS in Europe.

Thanks for all the info. I'll check out the A20 this Friday. People say OTL tubes are even better, so if amps seems to change the sound for the better, then I'll keep the T1.2s. Modi Multibit + Feliks Elise + T1.2 is the current dream setup.

 

[albertmuc]

I am happy with my combination of "T1.2" and "RME Adi-2 Dac" (as already recommended by member "Turrican2").

I do not want to miss out on the customization possibilities of the RME:
a touch of crossfeed, stereo width of 0.95, a bit of bass EQ for quiet listening and my perfect sound is ready

 

[GoSUV]

If you are getting "piercing highs" on the T1.2, make sure your source is not contributing noise into your amps, which will be perceived as brightness and harshness - the T1.2 is hardly harsh sounding, although the highs are prominent, with the right source and lack of electrical noise, the T1.2 sound wonderfully open and airy rather than bright and harsh. Try optical inputs if you have the right connections on your DAC to eliminate electrical noise as a factor, or if you must rely on USB, try some cheap ferrite cores on the cable to see if it makes any difference. If you have a laptop, try running it on battery power alone.

 

[sebna]

Thanks for all the info. I'll check out the A20 this Friday. People say OTL tubes are even better, so if amps seems to change the sound for the better, then I'll keep the T1.2s. Modi Multibit + Feliks Elise + T1.2 is the current dream setup.

Do not believe this none sense. T1.2 have harsh top end and you will not change it. You may try to mask it but it will creep out no matter what you do.

People who had it with Elise eventually sold it because of the top end.

Look at my gear. I have not one but two separate regenerated power loops to isolate noise from my digital and analogue gear and noise from the grid plus quality system to back it up. Guess what...

BTW my gustard is a better version of suggested here Violectric.

Yes T1.2 are warm, yes T1.2 have harsh top end... If it bothers you now it will never change. Save yourself disappointment.

I do own T1.2.

 

[Me x3]

(...)
T1.2 have harsh top end... If it bothers you now it will never change. Save yourself disappointment.
I do own T1.2.

According to Head-Fi's glossary of sound: link

"Harsh - Grating, abrasive. Too much upper midrange. Peaks in the frequency response between 2 and 6 kHz. Or, excessive phase shift in a digital recorder's low pass filter."

I don't see how the T1.2 fit that description.
If you don't like the relatively bright nature of the T1.2 over 7.5kHz that's fine, but that doesn't make it harsh.

In my experience, 8 times out of 10, people who complain a lot about the T1's treble listen to:
a) Poorly recorded/studio compressed recordings, and/or
b) Too loud (borderline unhealthy levels)

Tesla T1.2 is a very resolving headphone that's on the bright side over 7.5kHz, nothing more, nothing less. No one is forced to like it.
As always, recordings and listening levels take a good part of the whole picture.

 

[Vergil]

If you are getting "piercing highs" on the T1.2, make sure your source is not contributing noise into your amps, which will be perceived as brightness and harshness - the T1.2 is hardly harsh sounding, although the highs are prominent, with the right source and lack of electrical noise, the T1.2 sound wonderfully open and airy rather than bright and harsh. Try optical inputs if you have the right connections on your DAC to eliminate electrical noise as a factor, or if you must rely on USB, try some cheap ferrite cores on the cable to see if it makes any difference. If you have a laptop, try running it on battery power alone.

Do not believe this none sense. T1.2 have harsh top end and you will not change it. You may try to mask it but it will creep out no matter what you do.

People who had it with Elise eventually sold it because of the top end.

Look at my gear. I have not one but two separate regenerated power loops to isolate noise from my digital and analogue gear and noise from the grid plus quality system to back it up. Guess what...

BTW my gustard is a better version of suggested here Violectric.

Yes T1.2 are warm, yes T1.2 have harsh top end... If it bothers you now it will never change. Save yourself disappointment.

I do own T1.2.

Brought them to a local shop to try them out with the Beyer A20. The results were shocking. Thick, syrupy sound with thundering bass, the most realistic mids I ever heard and smooth, but very detailed treble. No way I'm sending the T1.2s back now lol. Yes, they are bright headphones but not harsh or thin sounding at all, it's just that they are very, very picky with the source. That includes not only the amp but the DAC and recording as well. When you get it all right, the Beyers simply wipe the floor with pretty much everything at this price range. Very happy with my purchase now.

Edit: No need for EQ, it sounds as described by default

 

[sebna]

According to Head-Fi's glossary of sound: link

"Harsh - Grating, abrasive. Too much upper midrange. Peaks in the frequency response between 2 and 6 kHz. Or, excessive phase shift in a digital recorder's low pass filter."

I don't see how the T1.2 fit that description.
If you don't like the relatively bright nature of the T1.2 over 7.5kHz that's fine, but that doesn't make it harsh.

In my experience, 8 times out of 10, people who complain a lot about the T1's treble listen to:
a) Poorly recorded/studio compressed recordings, and/or
b) Too loud (borderline unhealthy levels)

Tesla T1.2 is a very resolving headphone that's on the bright side over 7.5kHz, nothing more, nothing less. No one is forced to like it.
As always, recordings and listening levels take a good part of the whole picture.

They are harsh or maybe better world would be shrill. Those are not bright. Those are on darker side with extended highs.

They are quite unique as the top end is really well controlled and seems smooth but at the same time peaks even tough not too apparent during listening causing very fast fatigue and actual pain of ears / eardrums etc in about 5-10 minutes and it goes only worse from there (at least in my case).

So no particular high notes sounding bad but the highs are hot in general.

I am afraid I do not fall into any of your categories. I listen mostly to well to extremely well recorded acoustic (Jazz, Blues, Classical etc.) or well recorded electronic music and I listen on moderate levels.

T1.2 would be amazing if not fatigue which is caused by hot top end.

Cheers

 

[sebna]

They are harsh or maybe better world would be shrill. Those are not bright. Those are on darker side with extended highs.

They are quite unique as the top end is really well controlled and seems smooth but at the same time peaks even tough not too apparent during listening causing very fast fatigue and actual pain of ears / eardrums etc in about 5-10 minutes and it goes only worse from there (at least in my case).

So no particular high notes sounding bad but the highs are hot in general.

I am afraid I do not fall into any of your categories. I listen mostly to well to extremely well recorded acoustic (Jazz, Blues, Classical etc.) or well recorded electronic music and I listen on moderate levels.

T1.2 would be amazing if not fatigue which is caused by hot top end.

Cheers

Brought them to a local shop to try them out with the Beyer A20. The results were shocking. Thick, syrupy sound with thundering bass, the most realistic mids I ever heard and smooth, but very detailed treble. No way I'm sending the T1.2s back now lol. Yes, they are bright headphones but not harsh or thin sounding at all, it's just that they are very, very picky with the source. That includes not only the amp but the DAC and recording as well. When you get it all right, the Beyers simply wipe the floor with pretty much everything at this price range. Very happy with my purchase now.

Edit: No need for EQ, it sounds as described by default

This is how they sound on my system plus specious presentation mimicking speakers quite well but at the same time hot top end (eventough not represented on any particular notes) will cause very fast fatigue and actual pain (in my case). I hope you listened long enough as few minutes will give you only the impressions of its many very positive traits but those come at the very high price in the end.

I will PM you in 6 months , lets see what your view will be then

 

[kelly200269]

The T1.2 are not harsh at the top-end. Yes, there is a slight 'spike' up there somewhere, but I wouldn't call it harsh, more like 'pronounced'.
I think the quality of material, and the quality of amplification is crucial to make the T1.2 sing. If the T1.2 sounds harsh, it is more likely-than-not choice of amplification.

 

[Vergil]

This is how they sound on my system plus specious presentation mimicking speakers quite well but at the same time hot top end (eventough not represented on any particular notes) will cause very fast fatigue and actual pain (in my case). I hope you listened long enough as few minutes will give you only the impressions of its many very positive traits but those come at the very high price in the end.

I will PM you in 6 months , lets see what your view will be then

About 1 hour long. Thanks for the warning but actual pain is never caused by the sound signature of your phones. It's either the strong clamping force or too loud volume. The latter will cause permanent neural damage if prolonged. If you have no problems listening to other phones the explanation might be as simple as you not liking bright headphones. Eg. you want more bass, so you turn up the volume to match bassy phones, but by doing so you also make the treble significantly louder than what it would be on the bassy headphones with same bass level. High frequencies are the most destructive to your hearing. As protection your body is also more intolerant against loud high frequencies. This can manifest as a headache.

No offence but no sound can cause you physical pain unless it's too loud.

 

[sebna]

No offence but no sound can cause you physical pain unless it's too loud.

Yep, as I said those have hot treble....