[kman1211]

despite people calling it bright, my first impression of my T1 is that it's, for the most part actually quite balanced sounding, I even hesitate to call them bright these days, it just have some peaks that emphasize on some bright sounding instrument.
Its nowhere dark tho, at least they never are being driven out my DX7s, SE or Balanced.

They are balanced, but I call them dark because they're dark compared to most headphones I've owned. They do have an upper treble emphasis which I find doesn't add as much to the overall brightness as say lower treble does. They do vary a lot depending on the system as they are revealing headphones.

 

[Leonarfd]

T1.2 is maybe the least bright Beyerdynamic, first gen was much brighter. This is why I sold my first gen and kept the second version.

Still its a tad too bright and forward with some music for my taste, prefer classical and jazz with my T1.2. Bad recordings is also a no no, more with this compared to a LCD 2, HD650 or a ZMF.

 

[kman1211]

T1.2 is maybe the least bright Beyerdynamic, first gen was much brighter. This is why I sold my first gen and kept the second version.

Still its a tad too bright and forward with some music for my taste, prefer classical and jazz with my T1.2. Bad recordings is also a no no, more with this compared to a LCD 2, HD650 or a ZMF.

Least bright is the gen 3, have both and the gen 3 is definitely darker and more forgiving of brighter recordings than the gen 2.

 

[Leonarfd]

Read that from others when it came out, sounds interesting. Only thing that kept me away from buying the gen 3 is the low impedance, prefer gear that can pair well with OTL amps.

 

[John Buchanan]

despite people calling it bright, my first impression of my T1 is that it's, for the most part actually quite balanced sounding, I even hesitate to call them bright these days, it just have some peaks that emphasize on some bright sounding instrument.
Its nowhere dark tho, at least they never are being driven out my DX7s, SE or Balanced.

Agreed with my experience with the Beyerdynamic T1.2. It sounds great from any of the reasonably high power headphone amps I have.

 

[MrManson85]

Had another go with calm yesterday night.
There is some magic in them

 

[Chodi]

I love the T1 1.2 it is my go to headphones for classical music. I tried the 1.3 and returned them quickly. Of course there is no way to know but I suspect that Beyer committed suicide with the 1.3 and if the numbers were known their sales are down as a result. I use my 1.2's with a tube amp and it is glorious sound.

 

[fordski]

I love the T1 1.2 it is my go to headphones for classical music. I tried the 1.3 and returned them quickly. Of course there is no way to know but I suspect that Beyer committed suicide with the 1.3 and if the numbers were known their sales are down as a result. I use my 1.2's with a tube amp and it is glorious sound.

I think you may be right. I have the T1 1.2 and, like many others, have built a system that can work effectively with a high impedance headphone. I would have considered the T1 1.3 but was concerned about synergy with my system given the much lower impedance levels on the 1.3. As a trial I tried my T5P V.2 (yes I'm a Beyerdynamic fan) with my system. and I could barely move the volume control. So I've been hesitant to try the T1 1.3 as a result. I feel the target for the T1 1.3 is a very different set of users (or at least a different use case) than those who use the T1 1.2.

 

[kman1211]

I think you may be right. I have the T1 1.2 and, like many others, have built a system that can work effectively with a high impedance headphone. I would have considered the T1 1.3 but was concerned about synergy with my system given the much lower impedance levels on the 1.3. As a trial I tried my T5P V.2 (yes I'm a Beyerdynamic fan) with my system. and I could barely move the volume control. So I've been hesitant to try the T1 1.3 as a result. I feel the target for the T1 1.3 is a very different set of users (or at least a different use case) than those who use the T1 1.2.

The T1.3 is the easiest to drive open back I've owned, it gets loud really quick, it will probably get too loud too fast on your system. You need different systems to bring out it's best than the gen 2. If you built a system around the gen 2 I don't suggest the gen 3 as you need to build a different system around the gen 3.

 

[fordski]

The T1.3 is the easiest to drive open back I've owned, it gets loud really quick, it will probably get too loud too fast on your system. You need different systems to bring out it's best than the gen 2. If you built a system around the gen 2 I don't suggest the gen 3 as you need to build a different system around the gen 3.

Totally agree, it appears Beyerdynamic has targeted the phone/portable market with an easier to drive offering which I totally understand given the growth in that segment. I would have liked to see what they would come up with as a direct replacement/upgrade in a higher impedance headphone.

 

[kman1211]

Totally agree, it appears Beyerdynamic has targeted the phone/portable market with an easier to drive offering which I totally understand given the growth in that segment. I would have liked to see what they would come up with as a direct replacement/upgrade in a higher impedance headphone.

Yeah to a degree, the thing is the T1.3 is more resolving and I find it more revealing of the system than the T1.2. Technically the gen 3 is an upgrade but the very different impedance and the different tuning does alienate many previous T1 owners. I feel going for a 250 Ohm impedance would be better than 32 Ohms, I felt that would've been a good middle grind in terms of efficiency and appealing to those who want to use OTL amps. I say 250 Ohm due to my experience with the Amiron Home and DT 1990.

 

[Victory112]

I love the T1 1.2 it is my go to headphones for classical music. I tried the 1.3 and returned them quickly. Of course there is no way to know but I suspect that Beyer committed suicide with the 1.3 and if the numbers were known their sales are down as a result. I use my 1.2's with a tube amp and it is glorious sound.

With the depth of the cups, angled drivers, and frequency response, I think the T1.2's are my most transparent-sounding over-ear headphone, especially for classical music or symphony arrangements. It's like they're not even there.

 

[Victory112]

Yeah to a degree, the thing is the T1.3 is more resolving and I find more it revealing of the system than the T1.2. Technically the gen 3 is an upgrade but the very different impedance and the different tuning does alienate many previous T1 owners. I feel going for a 250 Ohm impedance would be better than 32 Ohms, I felt that would've been a good middle grind in terms of efficiency and appealing to those who want to use OTL amps. I say 250 Ohm due to my experience with the Amiron Home and DT 1990.

I feel like the T1.3 would have had better reception if it was called the "T3" or something else to indicate that it's really veered away from the T1.1 and T1.2 sound signature and impedance rating. Arguably the T1.2 could have been called the "T2", for similar reasons (e.g. deviation from T1.1 sound signature).

 

[kman1211]

I feel like the T1.3 would have had better reception if it was called the "T3" or something else to indicate that it's really veered away from the T1.1 and T1.2 sound signature and impedance rating. Arguably the T1.2 could have been called the "T2", as well.

True and if they kept the T1.2 around and not discontinued it, I think the reception would be a bit better too.

 

[Victory112]

True and if they kept the T1.2 around and not discontinued it, I think the reception would be a bit better too.

Relatedly, is the T1.1 no longer in production?