[thatonenoob]

  Thanks for the reply. I've had my eye on the T5P for a while as I want a good set of closed headphones to compliment the T1s. I just orders a pair or AK T5Ps, so I'll be interested to see how they sound.
 
For the T1s I want to stick with SS amps. I've thought about getting a Beyerdynamic A1 or A20 and driving them with the Mojo. I've also been curious about the Grace m9xx - It should be  a bit more powerful than the mojo, but I wondered if it would be a meaningful upgrade.
 
-Mark.

I use the liquid carbon -excellent pairing with T1 (be sure to use balanced).  Feliks espressivo (and am reviewing Elise)...both excellent tube options.  m9xx is pretty good too, but not the only option out there.  Overall current mode has been a mixed bag with the T1.  I found CMA600i to be quite poor with the T1, but the 800i was great and the m9xx was good.  Teac UD503 also stands out as an option should you want a warmer, rounded sound.  iFi is good, but the sound can be a bit bright and for some, "analytical". Hope this sort of helps!  

 

[SRKRAM]

  I use the liquid carbon -excellent pairing with T1 (be sure to use balanced).  Feliks espressivo (and am reviewing Elise)...both excellent tube options.  m9xx is pretty good too, but not the only option out there.  Overall current mode has been a mixed bag with the T1.  I found CMA600i to be quite poor with the T1, but the 800i was great and the m9xx was good.  Teac UD503 also stands out as an option should you want a warmer, rounded sound.  iFi is good, but the sound can be a bit bright and for some, "analytical". Hope this sort of helps!  

Thanks, That is a help. Interesting that you should mention the Teac UD503 as I was considering the UD301 which some people have said that it sounds very similar, but is much cheaper. Do you have any experience with the 301? Do you thing the m9xx would be better than the mojo with the T1?

 

[3nity]

  Overall current mode has been a mixed bag with the T1.  I found CMA600i to be quite poor with the T1, but the 800i was great and the m9xx was good.    

Could you elaborate a bit?

 

[thatonenoob]

  Thanks, That is a help. Interesting that you should mention the Teac UD503 as I was considering the UD301 which some people have said that it sounds very similar, but is much cheaper. Do you have any experience with the 301? Do you thing the m9xx would be better than the mojo with the T1?

I've only heard the UD503 and UD 501, unfortunately.  For me, the balanced option (albeit in a rare connection standard), ironed out firmware, and general sound of the 503 make it the better amp.  let's not also forget the flexibility of AK4490 32 bit decoding and native DSD and such.  Teac's close work with AKM gave me confidence that the chip was well implemented.  It is slightly lacking in detail retrieval and soundstage, but nonetheless was an excellent all-in-one solution.
 

  Could you elaborate a bit?

 
Sure!  I tried the M9XX and felt that it was good.  The thing I noticed was that the bass was speedier, but the highs did get a touch hot at times.  Nonetheless, the trade off in dynamics was definitely worth it.  The CMA600i demonstrated a lack of bass, harsher highs (also hot), and overall grainy sound.  It didn't come thru right for me.  It seems that some 600i's have DAC issues too.  CMA800i was smoother with great dynamics and punch.  However, that too can be achieved via the much cheaper Feliks Audio amps.  Just my 2c. 

 

[dede4metal]

Balanced cables between your chain and the headphones cannot make a sonic improvement.

 

[Arniesb]

the soundstage on the t1 is very good.
If the 800s is a 10 the t1g2 is a solid 8.8-9. The imaging I feel is the t1's strong point. It provides a very good depth perception but is not as wide as the 800/800s. The 800/800s is bit better at soundstage width but not by a huge margin.

In my opinion HD800 series soundstage is on another level. I can pick any music what represents good soundstage, live music, gaming movies. Anything with good soundstage HD800S destroys my T1. No question... Never thought the difference whould be so big. Its like comparin closed back against T1. Thats my opinion.

 

[Ani1000]

Makes sense because T1 is actually only semi open, in my opinion

 

[SRKRAM]

Makes sense because T1 is actually only semi open, in my opinion

Also in Beyerdynamic's opinion. They describe it as semi-open.

 

[thatonenoob]

In my opinion HD800 series soundstage is on another level. I can pick any music what represents good soundstage, live music, gaming movies. Anything with good soundstage HD800S destroys my T1. No question... Never thought the difference whould be so big. Its like comparin closed back against T1. Thats my opinion.

For me, the HD800/S soundstage comes at the expense of imaging and midrange.  To provide the sense of soundstage, it employs emphasized highs and such.  In this sense it is not as versatile as a headphone.  However, I respect it as a headphone, and if soundstage is a must, take the HD800S. 

 

[Kramer01]

  Thanks, That is a help. Interesting that you should mention the Teac UD503 as I was considering the UD301 which some people have said that it sounds very similar, but is much cheaper. Do you have any experience with the 301?

If you are looking for a sub 600$ dac for desktop use take a look at the Bifrost Multibit. To my ears Bimby is one of the best sounding sub 800$ desktop dacs. Mojo is just as good as Bimby but with a few crucial differences bimby has greater tonal mass compared to Mojo plus bimby has RCA out and its upgradeable(when schiit comes out with new boards for it) and bimby can't decode DSD and many higher sample rates natively.
 
Quote:

  For the T1s I want to stick with SS amps. I've thought about getting a Beyerdynamic A1 or A20 and driving them with the Mojo. I've also been curious about the Grace m9xx - It should be  a bit more powerful than the mojo, but I wondered if it would be a meaningful upgrade.
 
-Mark.

 
 

   Do you thing the m9xx would be better than the mojo with the T1?

 
I've been in the head-fi scene since 2009 and one thing I have found is that there is no replacement for proper amplification. The BIGGEST performance boost you can give to your headphones is with some good amplification. With DAC's after a certain point its hard to pick out differences unless its a really exceptional DAC but the benefits of a good amp are immediately apparent. Back in the early days I used a Fiio and I thought that thing was exceptional until I listened to my 650 on a proper amp.
 
Schiit JOTUNHEIM is something you should look at seriously. T1 requires some juice which stuff like mojo and m9xx can't provide.
OR
as @thatonenoob said look at feliks audio if you want to go down the tube route, but both the elise and espressivo have been updated for 2017 and have received a price hike making them pricier than the jotunheim.

 

[Arniesb]

For me, the HD800/S soundstage comes at the expense of imaging and midrange.  To provide the sense of soundstage, it employs emphasized highs and such.  In this sense it is not as versatile as a headphone.  However, I respect it as a headphone, and if soundstage is a must, take the HD800S. 

What are you talking about? Only few headphones poses slightly better imaging than HD800Series. Few eletrostats, T1 and Utopia i guess... Everybody knows from a long time that T1 and HD800 have one of the best imaging abilities and soundstage abilities, but a thing is that HD800 have as excellent imaging as T1, but with a much larger soundstage. Midrange is debatable. I personally take HD800S midrange over HD650 and lCD midrange any day of the week. Didnt like midrange that have no energy.

 

[thatonenoob]

What are you talking about? Only few headphones poses slightly better imaging than HD800Series. Few eletrostats, T1 and Utopia i guess... Everybody knows from a long time that T1 and HD800 have one of the best imaging abilities and soundstage abilities, but a thing is that HD800 have as excellent imaging as T1, but with a much larger soundstage. Midrange is debatable. I personally take HD800S midrange over HD650 and lCD midrange any day of the week. Didnt like midrange that have no energy.

You misunderstand me.  We're agreeing on the mostly the same things - context different.  Compared to T1, HD800/S gives up some of its imaging for the soundstage.  It is not that easy to have both.  From my experience - the HD800/S can render intimate tracks in odd ways. A little detached, too separated.  So it's greatest strength can also be a weakness - it is hard to have it all. Also, the midrange of the HD800 is not as good as the T1.  I find the T1 to have more energy, clearer, and generally more articulate.  Granted, HD800/S is not too far behind in this regard, but such is my preference.  
 
Which is why I mention, if having grand staging is a must, the HD800 will most certainly beat the T1.  However, I find the latter to be more versatile.  

 

[thatonenoob]

   
 
 
I've been in the head-fi scene since 2009 and one thing I have found is that there is no replacement for proper amplification. The BIGGEST performance boost you can give to your headphones is with some good amplification. With DAC's after a certain point its hard to pick out differences unless its a really exceptional DAC but the benefits of a good amp are immediately apparent. Back in the early days I used a Fiio and I thought that thing was exceptional until I listened to my 650 on a proper amp.
 
Schiit JOTUNHEIM is something you should look at seriously. T1 requires some juice which stuff like mojo and m9xx can't provide.
OR
as @thatonenoob said look at feliks audio if you want to go down the tube route, but both the elise and espressivo have been updated for 2017 and have received a price hike making them pricier than the jotunheim.

Yup!  How's the Jot combo.  I've read some mixed things -some say its brilliant others say its harsh....quite confused actually haha.

 

[whill]

I can only comment about T1 being driven by Auralic. It is fast, tight but can be a bit sharp if not properly matched and/or having bad recordings. It is detailed (just in the borderline of being lifeless/too analytical), you can hear the trail of each pronounciation of the singer, imaging is good but for the soundstage it is just fine and not overly compressed/wide.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[s82223]

Can anyone compare T1 2Gen and ether flow?
 
I've seen lots of reviews of ether flow very positive, just wondering how it perform against t1 2gen.