New Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd generation

[Traveller]

Looks like Brent Butterworth has some measurements posted. Can't be certain they are the gen 2 though, since he doesn't seem to explicitly mention that. Can anyone make sense of these?
 

 
(confirmed 2nd gen measurements)

 

 

[strangebru]

Also, speaking of freq meas. curves, I just saw that  Brent Butterworth T5p review and now it does state that it is 2nd gen T5p.   That curve shows, that compared to T5p1, the trough that was at 300hz has shifted to about 400hz (further away than the 200HZ target response dip).  The bass averages at about 11dB up from the dip compared to T5p1's 4.5-5.5dB rise fro the dip (which matches the target response).  Meaning T5p2 has much more, or maybe too much bass.  Also, because of T5p2's quick high rise from the dip to the peak (11dB) at 100hz, this would accent the lower mids more (i think that gives a muddier sound).  Both still have a 5dB dip in the bass at 70hz.  In the treble region, T5p1 rises to the 13dB target response peak from dip at 3kHz and T5p2 rises to a 11dB peak from dip.  So T5p2 misses the 13dB target response mark by 2 dB, (less treble).  Lastly, that 2nd (approx. 15db) peak at around 8khz is not present at all in T5p1.  The two most noticeable T5p2 things are maybe too much bass and that weird peak at 8khz (unless it was a measurement flaw).

 

[strangebru]

There's is a FR hart of the t5p.2 online somewhere.

Thanks,
 
http://www.soundstage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1613:beyerdynamic-t-5-p-headphones&catid=263&Itemid=203
 
 
just saw it and wrote a short comparison to T5p1.

 

[strangebru]

"There's is a FR hart of the t5p.2 online somewhere."
 
Thanks DoctaCosmos, just saw it and wrote a short comparison to T5p1.

 

[nigel801]

Any companrison with B&W P9 here cant decide between two I do like bit more bass but not at the expense of midrange and Treble detail.

 

[BillOhio]

I bought a set of the T5p.2's along with an Onkyo DP-X1 DAP last Friday. I'm working towards a career in commercial art and want something that I can listen to all day, if need be, in a Starbucks and eventually a studio environment (thus the closed phones). The T5P.2s certainly seem well made and musically these Beyer's do some things that the Denon's may not, but as a bit of a larger guy with, I guess, slightly larger ears I have to say that the Beyer's are just not comfortable enough for the kind of 'set and forget' listening that I was hoping for. I had my fingers crossed that the fit was something I'd adjust to or get used to but I'm starting to think that that won't happen.These may end up going to my wife while I look around for upper echelon cans with larger pads. 

 

[435279]

I agree they are not the end game as far as comfort for me either, but it means we can keep searching. Where to go from here though?
 
How to get this level of quality and sound but in a comfortable (closed back) package?
 
I'm currently alternating between these and the Oppo PM-3's also not the ultimate in comfort.

 

[stenog]

I agree they are not the end game as far as comfort for me either, but it means we can keep searching. Where to go from here though?

How to get this level of quality and sound but in a comfortable (closed back) package?

I'm currently alternating between these and the Oppo PM-3's also not the ultimate in comfort.

MDR-Z1R! Better quality better SQ and way better comfort than T5p 2 gen.

 

[435279]

MDR-Z1R! Better quality better SQ and way better comfort than T5p 2 gen.

I must try these, the problem is if I like them were do I get £1,400 from?

 

[stenog]

I must try these, the problem is if I like them were do I get £1,400 from?

Yes that is the problem . Don't try them you will 100 % like them.

I had the t5p before and I liked them but the Z1R is 2 leagues above! Impossible to go back.

 

[BillOhio]

Any thoughts on the T5p.2 vs the Ether C Flow? The shop where I bought the Beyer's also has the Ether C Flows and I'd anticipate being able to have a good demo of them as I've already made a significant purchase from the guy. Also, I spent about $825 USD on my T5p.2s which are only a week old, I wonder how much of that I might be able to expect to recoup if I were to put them up for sale?
 
I've been looking through the Z1R thread lately also. They seem... 'interesting'... (and by interesting I mean great but expensive) Also, I wonder if a DAP is enough to drive 64 Ω at 1 kHz?

 

[435279]

  Any thoughts on the T5p.2 vs the Ether C Flow? The shop where I bought the Beyer's also has the Ether C Flows and I'd anticipate being able to have a good demo of them as I've already made a significant purchase from the guy. Also, I spent about $825 USD on my T5p.2s which are only a week old, I wonder how much of that I might be able to expect to recoup if I were to put them up for sale?
 
I've been looking through the Z1R thread lately also. They seem... 'interesting'... (and by interesting I mean great but expensive) Also, I wonder if a DAP is enough to drive 64 Ω at 1 kHz?

These three are often linked together on this site lately with them all being closed back and potentially "portable" and great headphones
 
In my opinion (and this is my opinion only ) Only the T5p V2 are the only viable option of these three if portability is the main concern. I not sure I could wear £1,500+ headphones outside without constantly worrying about them which would spoil my enjoyment of the music.
 
If I then factor in the less than ideal listening environment present in most outdoor locations then for me at least the T5p v2 is the best option.

For this reason I wouldn't worry too much if the Z1R is difficult to drive from a DAP because I would be using it with another source indoors, or I could use my Mojo if my DAP/Phone wasn't powerful enough.

 

[BillOhio]

This afternoon I went back to the shop where I bought the T5p.2's and explained to the shop owner that these phones really aren't comfortable for me. I asked about the Ether C Flows which he did bring out and let me try on, and the lambskin and rectangular cavity of the pad had a Really nice feel. Beyond that though the shop owner seemed genuinely surprised that I was having a fit issue and was able to show me side by side that the Beyers and Ethers were pretty much the same size pad (although the cavity of the pads are different). 
 
As a random bit of luck there was one gentleman in the shop, doing some auditioning of his own, who really seemed to be an enthusiast and as a very random bit of luck, happened to have his own pair of T5p.2s on hand. This guy was was Not surprised at what I was saying about the pads and let me try on his pair with which he had substituted the stock pads for a pair from Brainwavz and these oval pads were immediately and very noticeably a better fit. I did a quick google search for Brainwavz and T5P.2s and the top results was actually this thread. http://www.head-fi.org/t/791328/new-beyerdynamic-t5p-2nd-generation/780
 
The gentleman at the shop said if anything, regarding SQ, the aftermarket pads he was using shifted the sound to something very slightly less bright/more bassy, which I wouldn't mind. His pads weren't sheepskin but as I had just tried on the Ether C Flows which are sheepskin, and really liked them, I ordered https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01J53KM32/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and will report in next week. 
 
Getting the right pad on these phones may end up making the difference for me between loving and using these phones constantly vs. really regretting my ~$1000 purchase. Fingers crossed.
 
edit: It looks like Mr. Speakers Ether C pads can also fit the Beyer's. I tried on a pair of Ether C Flows this afternoon and found the pads to be a Very big step up in terms of comfort. http://www.head-fi.org/t/791328/new-beyerdynamic-t5p-2nd-generation/495
 
Cheers,
-Bill

 

[svemo]

  This afternoon I went back to the shop where I bought the T5p.2's and explained to the shop owner that these phones really aren't comfortable for me. I asked about the Ether C Flows which he did bring out and let me try on, and the lambskin and rectangular cavity of the pad had a Really nice feel. Beyond that though the shop owner seemed genuinely surprised that I was having a fit issue and was able to show me side by side that the Beyers and Ethers were pretty much the same size pad (although the cavity of the pads are different). 
 
As a random bit of luck there was one gentleman in the shop, doing some auditioning of his own, who really seemed to be an enthusiast and as a very random bit of luck, happened to have his own pair of T5p.2s on hand. This guy was was Not surprised at what I was saying about the pads and let me try on his pair with which he had substituted the stock pads for a pair from Brainwavz and these oval pads were immediately and very noticeably a better fit. I did a quick google search for Brainwavz and T5P.2s and the top results was actually this thread. http://www.head-fi.org/t/791328/new-beyerdynamic-t5p-2nd-generation/780
 
The gentleman at the shop said if anything, regarding SQ, the aftermarket pads he was using shifted the sound to something very slightly less bright/more bassy, which I wouldn't mind. His pads weren't sheepskin but as I had just tried on the Ether C Flows which are sheepskin, and really liked them, I ordered https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01J53KM32/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and will report in next week. 
 
Getting the right pad on these phones may end up making the difference for me between loving and using these phones constantly vs. really regretting my ~$1000 purchase. Fingers crossed.
 
edit: It looks like Mr. Speakers Ether C pads can also fit the Beyer's. I tried on a pair of Ether C Flows this afternoon and found the pads to be a Very big step up in terms of comfort. http://www.head-fi.org/t/791328/new-beyerdynamic-t5p-2nd-generation/495
 
Cheers,
-Bill

Hey Bill, 
thanks for sharing the experience! I've been listening to the T5p Gen 2 with the Brainwavz angled pleather pads for a about a week now and can definitely confirm your findings!
Unfortunately it is quite difficult to do an A/B comparison between the stock earpads and the Brainwavz pads since changing them is quite time consuming (especially putting the original
pads back on!). However, I tried to compare both versions for some time and these are my findings. As I couldn't directly compare a modded with an unmodded headphone, please take everything with a grain of salt.
+ Isolation increases, especially when you're on the go. The sounds of the subway or cars while walking past a street were less noticeably then before
+ Bass: I really like the slight increase in bass quality and quantity. In my opinion, the bass hits harder, I guess it has a little harder impact due to the increased isolation.
   Other bass frequencies also profit from a slight increase (i guess between 2-4db), fortunately without any detrimental effect to the mids.
   As I have written a few times, I wished for some bass increase for a few of my favorite artists. It turns out that by changing the stock pads and getting a better seal
   with the Brainwavz, the bass now sounds much better to me. I don't feel the need to EQ up the bass anymore, which I did for some artists of my music collection       (although the stock sound also sounds excellent on some genres)
+ Mids: As I've already mentioned, I don't hear any noticeable effect on the quality of the mids except a slight change in the distance of vocals, see at soundstage. 
+ Highs: The highs get a little bit of filtering. The difference is very subtle but I think they are slightly softened. I can listen to my T5ps for a little longer now, because they
   became less fatigueing. 
+ affordable mod, earpads have very comfortable pleather, reminding me of some Sony headphones I've tried. I'm curious on how the Lambskin version changes the
   sound, since I've that read that it causes the most neutral sound signature (for example, it is used on the Ether I think)
.  Soundstage: Since the padding on the Brainwavz is thicker and I also chose the angled version (due to better isolation through pressure) the drivers are farther away from
   my ears. I think that voices sound a little more distant than with the stock pads. You can "emulate" the regular distance by pressing the pads nearer to your ears and
   it does sound more like the original positional cues with regular pads. Therefore, I would also be interested what people who modded with the flat Brainwavz pads get in their
   soundstage presentation
-  Looks with the angled pads become more dorky, as the cups get more distance from you ears and makes the headphone look kind of huge
 
Summary: I strongly recommend trying out this simple mod. In my perception, it has increased the overall sound quality, making the T5p an even greater headphone which
                 is extremely detailed and has a very natural sound signature with a little warmer bass. 
PS: I'm curious what would happen if you cut out the mesh on the earpads since the original pads don't cover the drivers. Maybe it could result in getting back 100% of the original treble.
 
Hope this helps everyone who was also curious about this simple mod

 

[BillOhio]

svemo,
 
That's great to hear about your experience with the pads. Do you find the pads to be more comfortable and were they difficult to install on your Beyers? 
 
The first album I bought after purchasing the T5p.2s was 'Under The Table and Dreaming' by the Dave Mathews Band. "Ants Marching' is the signature song from that album which starts with a few hard taps of a snare drum which so far I find to be pretty harsh on the T5p.2s. If the high treble is a bit tamed along with the addition of some bass in addition to better comfort then that sounds like a win to me.