Do any of you have experience running the T70 on a Valhalla? I have both coming my way very soon, I've already made the purchase... I'm optimistic, and not worried one bit that I won't like it, but I'd nonetheless love to hear other peoples' opinions on this pairing.
The T70 might even be called infamous for a bad bass response, but when you look at the graphs it all starts to make sense... it shows a very good, solid bass response in the frequency response chart, but despite being rated at 250 Ohms, the
impedance to frequency chart shows a massive, massive hump in the lows, bringing it well above 200, well above even 600, up into something like 750 Ohms of impedance in the bass segments. Considering the Tesla drivers are known for and sold as being especially efficient, it wouldn't surprise me if most of the hate comes from people who are using the T70 on a weaker, cheap amp-dac or smartphone, etc.
Due to the way the Teslas work, the frequencies that aren't humped over in the lows would come through loud and clear, but the massive bass impedance would mean no bass. They aren't intended to produce head pounding bass as is, and I've heard that even for people who find the bass "weak" it's still deep-reaching and detailed. I really, really liked everything else I saw and read about the T70 (I'd go T5 but I'm not that loaded), and I wanted everyone to just be introducing user error in some way to cause that bass complaint... and I believe I may have figured it out, now that I've seen the impedance curve. The T70 may be labelled as a 250 Ohm set, but it's secretly just a 600+ Ohm set that is unusually, highly efficient in the mids and highs.
My hope is that, once burned in (which is of course a big help to any good headphone's bass), paired with the impedance oomph of the Valhalla, I'll be getting exactly what I want out of it. It doesn't need to shatter my skull - I like my bass tight and detailed, but I do like some power and feeling behind it, since I listen to a lot of EDM, especially drum 'n' bass and the most polarizingly dirty kinds of dubstep... and it's not spoken of often enough, but jazz music with a well recorded double bass are absolutely amazing when the bass has some real power alongside the detail. I am asking a lot of my 'phones, especially having to go with a closed can (office use - or I'd be on 650s) since I not only listen to EDM, metal, and other noisy loud sound-messes, but to jazz, bluegrass, classical, solo piano and a range of other "quiet" types of recordings, where it's possible with the right gear to hear the artists breathing, to hear their hand come to rest on their guitar, to hear the texture of the metal strings on their bass, because it's crisp, clear and acoustic. Most of the time, it seems that one has to choose what the set is good at - either fun, slammin' music,
or "oh my god the detail" traditional stuff.
Here's hoping I'm right about the way the Valhalla handles high impedances, and the difference that will make between my experience with the T70, and that of people using it on little solid state amps and the like... because holy Schiit, it is a beautiful work of art and I want it on my desk with me every day delivering my listening pleasure, sound quality aside.
So beautiful.
This image says it all, re: my theory.
