[thatonenoob]

  I have the T-1 first and the T-5 second; now is it worth my money to buy the new T-1 second Gen.? Is there really that much difference between the T-1 first and the new?  I am not real impressed with the T-5 second. Any help will be appreciated.

Now this is just my opinion.  The T1.1 sounded better in my mind, especially since the unboosted bass gave me space to work with amp pairings etc. (also a bit cleaner).  Didn't like the pleather on the 1.2 

.  But that's just my two cents -if you love the T1 and feel the need to own the next iteration of it, then the T1.2 might do it.  However, it'd probably be a better investment to pick a complementary headphone.

 

[EvilKillaruna]

After all this time I came to the same conclusion: T1.1 was better. Simply. In some areas T1.2 sounded close in performance to AKG M220 PRO, no matter how good your gear was. After two weeks and few headaches caused by overdetailed highs, I gave up and sold them in order to stick with the HD800. 800 are simply better overall (the only loss was noted in bass department), and just the same way I see them against newer HD800S - still preferred oldie but a goodie silver Sennheisers. Until I sold everything and got two pairs of K1000. 

 

[louisxiawei]

Hey, I've heard lots of crazy hype postive comment for the focal new flagship Elear and Utopia, but no one compares either of  them to T1. Is the T1 really underrated these days? 
 
I've heard more than one ppl saying T1.2 somehow sounds better and more real than HD800S, but if its not a competition against Utopia, how's it against Elear?
 
If Utopia is that good? Then by how much better compared to T1? Really eager want to know. 
 
I enjoy my T1.2 very much at the moment, I'm using Uptone regen, ARCAM irDAC, Lehmann linear, Sbooster linear PSU, curious cable, and those things tune my T1.2 so nice and sound real. But really want to know what the feel is with more excellent headphones.
 
Any thoughts?

 

[thatonenoob]

Hey, I've heard lots of crazy hype postive comment for the focal new flagship Elear and Utopia, but no one compares either of  them to T1. Is the T1 really underrated these days? 

I've heard more than one ppl saying T1.2 somehow sounds better and more real than HD800S, but if its not a competition against Utopia, how's it against Elear?

If Utopia is that good? Then by how much better compared to T1? Really eager want to know. 

I enjoy my T1.2 very much at the moment, I'm using Uptone regen, ARCAM irDAC, Lehmann linear, Sbooster linear PSU, curious cable, and those things tune my T1.2 so nice and sound real. But really want to know what the feel is with more excellent headphones.

Any thoughts?

I think few of us have heard the Focals at this point. Needless to say i am rather curious myself. While I appreciate early impressions and reviews, I probably will not make a huge investment till I have heard it myself. I don't find myself being an early adopter most of the time.

The T1 is quite underrated. I can't help but to think that it is in part due to its pricing. The T1 is not particularly price-controlled as things go. It is one of the few flagships that hasn't gone stratospheric in its pricing, and while I do appreciate it I think some may perceive that as perhaps being negative. Also the traditional german school of tuning if you will is becoming less popular in general. Not to mention the T1 is a finnicky and hard to drive can.

The T1.2 is unfortunately not as good as the HD800s imo. It lost some of that original T1 magic whereas the hd800s did not.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Also the traditional german school of tuning if you will is becoming less popular ....

I have to admit to not being as fond of the Beyer sound as I once was, a little too analytical. That said, it has been a while since I tried the T1 or DT 880 (my previous fav).

 

[koven]

im not a big fan of the beyer signature either, hate the DT series sound but i stumbled into ownership of the t1.2 one day.. i reach for my hd600/k712 over the t1.2 quite often, but with woo WA2 the t1.2 has a really alluring sound, it is very holographic and almost warm with excellent resolution, OTL amp really tamed the sibilance and sharp treble too
 
i have custom litz type 6 copper cable incoming 

 

[Sonic Defender]

@koven, how do you like the HD 600 with an OTL? I have tubes coming so I can finally use my La Figaro 339 which arrived with a broken input tube so I haven't heard it yet!

 

[thatonenoob]

im not a big fan of the beyer signature either, hate the DT series sound but i stumbled into ownership of the t1.2 one day.. i reach for my hd600/k712 over the t1.2 quite often, but with woo WA2 the t1.2 has a really alluring sound, it is very holographic and almost warm with excellent resolution, OTL amp really tamed the sibilance and sharp treble too

i have custom litz type 6 copper cable incoming 

Totally! The T1 is very responsive to amping, and sometimes it takes that right synergy to bring out the best in the T1.

@sonic defender indeed. But after leaving the sound for a while I find myself returning to it. I guess I really enjoy the smooth detail on the T1. More so than the HD800, but the K812 is quite compelling...if not directly competitive.

 

[OmidelF]

Hello Guys
 
i was wondering is it possible to change the Ear Pads of T90 with T1's ?
 
i found T1 earpads softer and i was wondering is this possible ? will it fit ?

 

[Odin412]

  Hey, I've heard lots of crazy hype postive comment for the focal new flagship Elear and Utopia, but no one compares either of  them to T1. Is the T1 really underrated these days? 
 
I've heard more than one ppl saying T1.2 somehow sounds better and more real than HD800S, but if its not a competition against Utopia, how's it against Elear?
 
If Utopia is that good? Then by how much better compared to T1? Really eager want to know. 

 
I own and enjoy the T1.2 and I've heard all the headphones that you mention. However, I haven't had a chance to compare directly with the T1.2 so these impressions are from memory:

1. HD800S. I think this sounds very smooth and open and not at all harsh like the original HD800. I think the T1.2 sounds a bit more engaging and 'live', but it depends on the music.
2. Focal Elear. This sounds more like a HD650 than a T1.2 to my ears. The Focal is darker sounding than the T1.2 (in a very enjoyable way), but the T1.2 is more open and airy-sounding.
3. Focal Utopia. Now we're taking almost 4X the price of the T1.2. I think the Utopia sounds fabulous. Is it better than the T1.2? Very likely. Is it worth 4X as much? Not to my ears, but only you can answer that for yourself.

 

[louisxiawei]

   
I own and enjoy the T1.2 and I've heard all the headphones that you mention. However, I haven't had a chance to compare directly with the T1.2 so these impressions are from memory:

1. HD800S. I think this sounds very smooth and open and not at all harsh like the original HD800. I think the T1.2 sounds a bit more engaging and 'live', but it depends on the music.
2. Focal Elear. This sounds more like a HD650 than a T1.2 to my ears. The Focal is darker sounding than the T1.2 (in a very enjoyable way), but the T1.2 is more open and airy-sounding.
3. Focal Utopia. Now we're taking almost 4X the price of the T1.2. I think the Utopia sounds fabulous. Is it better than the T1.2? Very likely. Is it worth 4X as much? Not to my ears, but only you can answer that for yourself.

Thanks for the reply. The more I read about the Utopia thread, the more tempting I am. From Tyll Hertsens's review on Utopia, he expressed his feeling on one specific song Dianna Krall's Popsicle Toes. I'm also a big fan of Dianna. In my opinion, I don't hear anything like he described on my T1.2
 
For example, such as "she's dead center right behind my eyeballs", on my T1.2, I feel Dianna singing from the left centre instead, and "two chords are gently played on the piano", again, on my T1.2, i find those 2 chords are rather blur piano notes, don't even think it is so well recorded, also like "I can virtually see the drums and cymbals as the sticks are moved around the kit." On my T1.2, didn't feel the movement at all.
 
Is Utopia that good? or Is Tyll exaggerating?
 
I do can find those kind of feeling like Tyll described from other Diana's album on my T1.2, like her "Live in Paris", I can hear the piano pedal spring stretching, "the sticks are moved around the kit", I can hear when Diana tap the pedal, and no exaggeration, i can even hear the the piano key hammer knocking the string after each tapping the pedal, and the piano chord is more real from that album.
 
So Utopia can make a relatively bad record sounds more real and vivid like a live album? 

 

[wormcycle]

I have been using T5p 2 Gen for the last two months paired with Talisman T-3H, and T35H and I am so in love with those headphones that I am considering T1.2. Can anyone compare those two? I am listening to classical music. T1.2 seem to be the least reviewed headphones and I wonder if this is not because of their value. What would have happen to those $3k-$k flagship headphones if reviewers started saying that they do not sound much better if at all than to $1099 T1.2? . We cannot have! 

 

[The Walrus]

   
I own and enjoy the T1.2 and I've heard all the headphones that you mention. However, I haven't had a chance to compare directly with the T1.2 so these impressions are from memory:

1. HD800S. I think this sounds very smooth and open and not at all harsh like the original HD800. I think the T1.2 sounds a bit more engaging and 'live', but it depends on the music.
2. Focal Elear. This sounds more like a HD650 than a T1.2 to my ears. The Focal is darker sounding than the T1.2 (in a very enjoyable way), but the T1.2 is more open and airy-sounding.
3. Focal Utopia. Now we're taking almost 4X the price of the T1.2. I think the Utopia sounds fabulous. Is it better than the T1.2? Very likely. Is it worth 4X as much? Not to my ears, but only you can answer that for yourself.

 
I've pre-ordered Elear thinking that it would be an interesting refreshing experience after T1.2  Are you saying I wasted 1K on a dark sounding HD650? DAMN! 

 

[thatonenoob]

I've pre-ordered Elear thinking that it would be an interesting refreshing experience after T1.2  Are you saying I wasted 1K on a dark sounding HD650? DAMN! 

I'm sure it would be a solid complement. Though I took it a step further and went with the bass king th900. Which is a very nice can.

 

[Odin412]

   
I've pre-ordered Elear thinking that it would be an interesting refreshing experience after T1.2  Are you saying I wasted 1K on a dark sounding HD650? DAMN! 

 
I don't think it's that simple - if there's one thing that I've learned in this hobby it's that peoples perception of treble and headphone 'brightness' vary widely. I tend to be very sensitive to bright-sounding gear and tend to prefer a smoother, more relaxing sound. So it should be pretty obvious that I really headphones like the HD 650, the LCD-2 and the ZMF Omni. However, I also think the HD800S sound very nice - unlike the original HD 800, which I actively dislike. I wouldn't call the Elear dark-sounding per se, but I did find it non-fatiguing, smooth and relaxing to listen to. You'll have to listen for yourself when you get your new Elear - I hope that you'll like it. It certainly has a very nice feel and build quality.