[Me x3]

If the headphone jack on the AVR has very high output impedance then it's a bad match for the T1 which has huge impedance variance across the spectrum. That colours the sound and make it less precise. My integrated speaker amp (470 Ohm output impedance) was a fine match for DT880 Pro but a very bad matcj for my T1.

Make sure the 6.3mm adapter is fully adjusted to the 3.5mm jack of the cable. Also unplug and plug the jacks on the headphone side just in case.

T1.2 should be like K712 but better, tighter bass, more microdetail, blacker background, more extended treble. Your impressions are intriguing.

 

[Vergil]

So, I had the T1, 2nd Generation for two weeks now.

What the hell?

I own a ten year old dt990 that sounds WAY better.. The T1 only sounds good and flagship-like on a very selected few kinds of music. Gospel sounds breathtakingly good. Very small jazz ensembles also sound fantasic. As soon as more instruments come into the scene things fall aparat very quickly. Most Beatles-Songs (and not just the bright early ones) are almost unbearable with the T1s. They sound boring, dull, and almost with every song extremely sibliant and overly bright, like a pair of very cheap plasticy cans. Every can I own sounds better, from the DT990ies to the Fidelio X2s to the Grado RS2e.

Yes I know that many of you might love the T1s, and please do not taqke this as an attack on your preferences, but this is my honest opinion. I am very grateful for amazon's policy of letting me return products easily. And I am not the kind of guy who takes advantage of this. I do not order stuff and more stuff just to send it back again. But these cans are so bad I have no choice.

I do not know what happend to german and austrian headphone manufacturers. Okay, Sennheiser is still going strong, allthough I personally never fell in love with their house sound. But Beyerdynamic and AKG really messed up. I also had a pair of AKG K712, and I LOVED how they sounded. Only thing: After two weeks (!) the mini-xlr-connector fell apart. Litereally.

And now this horrible experiance with the T1. Most of the music I listen to (Tidal master, flacs, LPs) is unbearable with these. Most music sounds harsh and distorted even. Only quiet songs with little instrumentation shine. This is not acceptable for a flagship.

And before you ask: No, I did not drive them through an A1 or some other high class DAC: I put them to use on the headphonje jack of my 2.000-Dollar-AVR. And yes, I think that a headphone MUST show it's good side on an expansive Receiver/Amplyfier.

Maybe I got a lemon? Maybe the price Amazon offered was too good to be true (it was 755 Euro). And yeah, maybe I am a baffoon who cannot tell good cans from bad ones. But in my opinion, these are the worst by far that beyerdynamic every made under the tag "flagship".

You have to use these babes with the right source. Just because it's expensive and sounds good with other phones does not mean it's the right source for the T1.2s. I had a similar experience as you did. Good sound with treble light tracks with few instruments, but when things get more complicated it just falls apart. Very harsh treble (not high resolution, just noisy and sharp). Bass is thin, mid is ok only as long as there's only one instrument in the foreground, otherwise sounds like the sounds are compressed onto each other and the whole thing becomes a thin, sharp mess.

Pro tip: Buy an A20 like I did.

 

[bertobo]

You have to use these babes with the right source. Just because it's expensive and sounds good with other phones does not mean it's the right source for the T1.2s. I had a similar experience as you did. Good sound with treble light tracks with few instruments, but when things get more complicated it just falls apart. Very harsh treble (not high resolution, just noisy and sharp). Bass is thin, mid is ok only as long as there's only one instrument in the foreground, otherwise sounds like the sounds are compressed onto each other and the whole thing becomes a thin, sharp mess.

Pro tip: Buy an A20 like I did.

I did not use it on a phone, but on the headphone jack of a solid state Amp. This should suffice for every headphone. Of course it can get better with dedicated headphone amps and tubes and all that, but if a can really sucks that hard at a solid state amp, I cannot imagine that it would suddenly turn into gold on an a20 or something.

 

[Vergil]

I did not use it on a phone, but on the headphone jack of a solid state Amp. This should suffice for every headphone. Of course it can get better with dedicated headphone amps and tubes and all that, but if a can really cucks that hard at a solid state amp, I cannot imagine that it would suddenly turn into gold on an a20 or something.

By phone I meant headphone, not smartphone. And yes the A20 and other matching amps can magically turn the T1.2s into high end cans.

 

[gardibolt]

It's interesting that people keep referring to the 1.2 as bright. I think they're incredibly dark headphones. Certainly nothing like the DT880, which are painfully bright.

Maybe there's a major QA issue at Beyer.

 

[bertobo]

By phone I meant headphone, not smartphone. And yes the A20 and other matching amps can magically turn the T1.2s into high end cans.

I believe you. I personally will go down another route though, looking for a less demanding upgrade from my midfi-cans.

 

[kman1211]

It's interesting that people keep referring to the 1.2 as bright. I think they're incredibly dark headphones. Certainly nothing like the DT880, which are painfully bright.

Maybe there's a major QA issue at Beyer.

They are just very system sensitive. My experience with the T1.2 varies wildly depending on the system, I'll probably revisit the headphone in the future, I found it too bright on my system and went with the Amiron Home instead which I found easier to please system wise. I found Beyers in general quite system sensitive. For example on my DT 990 - 600 Ohm they sound darker than my HD 650 on the same system, but on certain systems the DT 990 - 600 Ohm is very bright.

 

[adydula]

Wow!!

That is pretty harsh...Sorry for your disappointing experience!!

Its funny, I have a dozen sets of headphones and lately I was listening to some Senn 600's and fell in love with their presentaion for several weeks..the first part of this week I tried my T1's and WOW to me it was gosh these are REALLY good. Even with the Beatles!!! Abbey Road
drums are to die for....Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul all so well sounding IMO...

I have been thru many cans but the T1 to me is really a keeper and when paired with a good dac and amp is good as it gets for me..

(Schitt Bifrost and Bottlehead Mainline).
Alex

 

[bertobo]

Wow!!

That is pretty harsh...Sorry for your disappointing experience!!

Its funny, I have a dozen sets of headphones and lately I was listening to some Senn 600's and fell in love with their presentaion for several weeks..the first part of this week I tried my T1's and WOW to me it was gosh these are REALLY good. Even with the Beatles!!! Abbey Road
drums are to die for....Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul all so well sounding IMO...

I have been thru many cans but the T1 to me is really a keeper and when paired with a good dac and amp is good as it gets for me..

(Schitt Bifrost and Bottlehead Mainline).
Alex

I absolutely believe that the T1s shine with the right amp, but for me, it is a big no go when cans fail to sound at least bearable from the jack of a good AVR. That headphone jack SHOULD provide enough power, even by beyerdynamics own standards, to provide a pleasent listening experance. It did not do so for me. Most people seem fine with the beyers though, as my model had a serial number way above 40.000, so looks like people buy them and keep them. Maybe mine really was a lemon.

 

[Vergil]

I absolutely believe that the T1s shine with the right amp, but for me, it is a big no go when cans fail to sound at least bearable from the jack of a good AVR. That headphone jack SHOULD provide enough power, even by beyerdynamics own standards, to provide a pleasent listening experance. It did not do so for me. Most people seem fine with the beyers though, as my model had a serial number way above 40.000, so looks like people buy them and keep them. Maybe mine really was a lemon.

It's really weird to be honest. You pair normal headphones with sources you like. What the T1.2s need is a source they like. I'm a very skeptical person. I laugh when people say cables can sound different or when people buy non-oversampling DACs because upsampling is all evil, but in this case you have to be deaf to deny that the beyers can sound vastly different on different equipment. You can't go wrong with the A20 but I'm sure there are other, maybe even better amps, out there for the T1.2s.

I once tried them out with the Luxman DA-150 and A20. Very thick sounding. If that's still thin and overly bright for someone then that person needs a freackin subwoofer glued to his/her/hen* ears.

* Just kidding

 

[Me x3]

Maybe there's a major QA issue at Beyer.

Based on all I've read and my own experience with these headphones I suspect there's important variance between different units in the treble region. My T1.1 for instance is less bright (softer treble) than my T1.2.

My T1.2 is similar to my DT880/600 Ohm in terms of treble presence, but considerably warmer.

 

[Jay Smith]

I have T1.2, T90 and T51i, amplifier are A2, Icon Audio HP8 Mk2, Audeze Deckard and Chord Mojo, Dac is Matrix Audio X-Sabre. They are all working fine, T1.2 is very full sounding, musical and details indeed, no harsh treble at all. If you just need a simple system to enjoy music, I would suggest trying T51i, just plug it into your iphone and you will enjoy it.

 

[kelly200269]

I’ve always said that the T1.2 is like Marmite - you’ll either love it, or you’ll hate it.
When it’s ‘good’, it’s very good. With good source material, and driven properly, it can sound sublime.
But with sub-par source material, and poor amplification, it can sound a mess.
It’s far from the perfect set of cans. In fact I’ve said many a time before, that from the Beyer range the DT1990’s are a far better buy. But the T1.2 can do things that no other set of headphones can do. My head says ‘Get rid - too genre-specific, etc.’ But my heart wins every time. And that’s why they’re still in my line-up.

 

[kelly200269]

Wow!!

That is pretty harsh...Sorry for your disappointing experience!!

Its funny, I have a dozen sets of headphones and lately I was listening to some Senn 600's and fell in love with their presentaion for several weeks..the first part of this week I tried my T1's and WOW to me it was gosh these are REALLY good. Even with the Beatles!!! Abbey Road
drums are to die for....Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul all so well sounding IMO...

I have been thru many cans but the T1 to me is really a keeper and when paired with a good dac and amp is good as it gets for me..

(Schitt Bifrost and Bottlehead Mainline).
Alex

The T1.2’s are like the ‘Ex’ that you can’t get shot-of, no matter how hard you try! You know you should, but you just can’t...

 

[kelly200269]

I believe you. I personally will go down another route though, looking for a less demanding upgrade from my midfi-cans.

I can heartily recommend the DT1990’s. They make far more sense than the T1.2’s.