[DarginMahkum]

whattf. they get better!!!

T+A recommends 100 hours run in for best performance.

 

[425455]

T+A recommends 100 hours run in for best performance.

yeay....

 

[teknorob23]

You also noticed the difference, I wasn't imagining things.

100%, the demo pair sounded much more fluid and open especially noticeable in the mids. The bass extended further and the decay was more natural. At the moment they sound a little clipped and a tiny bit congested... still very pleasing straight out the box..

Glass or red and some...

 

[musicman59]

Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread especially @DarginMahkum, all really useful, subject to spending a few days with both the P and P-SE. Something very weird happened, something that i cant remember happening to me before... i preferred and bought cheaper ones!!

Congrats on your new headphones!
Can you share the difference you hear between the two models and what made you decide for the SE?
I love the looks of the P but I have not had the opportunity to listen to either one. I own the Susvara, Utopia, SR09 and RAAL Requisite so I wonder if these could be a good addition to my collection.

I have bought others headphones blind just by recommendations from people I trust and reading opinions here but in this case I have had opinions and recommendations that significantly differ between each other.

Thanks

 

[teknorob23]

Congrats on your new headphones!
Can you share the difference you hear between the two models and what made you decide for the SE?
I love the looks of the P but I have not had the opportunity to listen to either one. I own the Susvara, Utopia, SR09 and RAAL Requisite so I wonder if these could be a good addition to my collection.

I have bought others headphones blind just by recommendations from people I trust and reading opinions here but in this case I have had opinions and recommendations that significantly differ between each other.

Thanks

To put my choice in context, my favourite hps are focal Stellia, followed by the utopias. I listen at fairly low volumes, my listening is 75% electronica Four Tet, Daniel Avery, autechre (any new IdM) and the rest is 90s indie noise like sonic youth, my bloody Valentine, pixies, pavement up to likes of the national, oh and I listen to at least one new order or joy division album most days. I’m not a bass head and I like my electronica as analogue sounding as I can get it.

Finally, my demo was with bricasti m5 streamer into chord Tt2 with and without m-scaler using an upocc silver hp cable that I use with all my hps. I also listened the Utopia and stellias during the demo.

Overall I found the PSE more balanced than the P. I liked the P’s a lot but the bass kind of ruined them for me. Now whether it’s the low-medium volume but it felt like the bass took up all the space tonally speaking leaving the rest of the FR feeling a little congested.

The PSE have a more neutral, cleaner presentation, with slightly wider if not as deep stage. Resolution-wise the P’s may have it but you have to listen hard to pick the details out whereas the separation is probably some of the best I’ve ever heard with the PSEs and this without ever losing focus. The stereo Image stay rock solid no matter how complicated the media it’s being fed. I absolutely love the bass, the layering and detail is extraordinary. And then there’s the speed and attack, they out focal the utopias on this front which is quite something, but they do this without slapping you around the face like the utopias can if you dare to feed them something less than great. There’s something of the original Clears, but with utopia levels of detail.

All of that said, on the right recording the Utopia is better, more depth slightly more open and articulate mid range/ sweeter treble, but then there’s the other 40% of the time when they lean towards exhausting.

The Utopias vs Ps for me is easy an choice. it’s the focals and they make the P look very expensive.

But as I say the PSE’s are the ones that I ended up getting my wallet out for, which was not the outcome I expected at the outset. I was pretty sure I was going to buy another pair of Utopia or the Ps.

The Pse aren’t perfect, they perhaps lean towards the dry side, the stage could be deeper and while being lighter they are bit more comfortable than the Ps, they’re not as comfortable as the stellias or utopias. They don’t feel as premium either, but these are minor quibbles because I’ve not heard anything that provides all the things I love in the focals, speed, detail, dynamics, the ability to turn on sixpence but with natural smoothness, texture of the best planers I’ve heard.

When you get to this level as far as I’ve heard there’s very few bad headphones, it seems to be all about finding the sound which is most closely tailored to deliver for your personal preferences and as a compliment to my beloved stellias the P’s do that for me.

Sorry that was more of dyslexic stream of consciousness than well organised comparison, but I hope it helps more than it hinders

Listening to this as type...

 

[ThanatosVI]

To put my choice in context, my favourite hps are focal Stellia, followed by the utopias. I listen at fairly low volumes, my listening is 75% electronica Four Tet, Daniel Avery, autechre (any new IdM) and the rest is 90s indie noise like sonic youth, my bloody Valentine, pixies, pavement up to likes of the national, oh and I listen to at least one new order or joy division album most days. I’m not a bass head and I like my electronica as analogue sounding as I can get it.

Finally, my demo was with bricasti m5 streamer into chord Tt2 with and without m-scaler using an upocc silver hp cable that I use with all my hps. I also listened the Utopia and stellias during the demo.

Overall I found the PSE more balanced than the P. I liked the P’s a lot but the bass kind of ruined them for me. Now whether it’s the low-medium volume but it felt like the bass took up all the space tonally speaking leaving the rest of the FR feeling a little congested.

The PSE have a more neutral, cleaner presentation, with slightly wider if not as deep stage. Resolution-wise the P’s may have it but you have to listen hard to pick the details out whereas the separation is probably some of the best I’ve ever heard with the PSEs and this without ever losing focus. The stereo Image stay rock solid no matter how complicated the media it’s being fed. I absolutely love the bass, the layering and detail is extraordinary. And then there’s the speed and attack, they out focal the utopias on this front which is quite something, but they do this without slapping you around the face like the utopias can if you dare to feed them something less than great. There’s something of the original Clears, but with utopia levels of detail.

All of that said, on the right recording the Utopia is better, more depth slightly more open and articulate mid range/ sweeter treble, but then there’s the other 40% of the time when they lean towards exhausting.

The Utopias vs Ps for me is easy an choice. it’s the focals and they make the P look very expensive.

But as I say the PSE’s are the ones that I ended up getting my wallet out for, which was not the outcome I expected at the outset. I was pretty sure I was going to buy another pair of Utopia or the Ps.

The Pse aren’t perfect, they perhaps lean towards the dry side, the stage could be deeper and while being lighter they are bit more comfortable than the Ps, they’re not as comfortable as the stellias or utopias. They don’t feel as premium either, but these are minor quibbles because I’ve not heard anything that provides all the things I love in the focals, speed, detail, dynamics, the ability to turn on sixpence but with natural smoothness, texture of the best planers I’ve heard.

When you get to this level as far as I’ve heard there’s very few bad headphones, it seems to be all about finding the sound which is most closely tailored to deliver for your personal preferences and as a compliment to my beloved stellias the P’s do that for me.

Sorry that was more of dyslexic stream of consciousness than well organised comparison, but I hope it helps more than it hinders

Listening to this as type...

Thx for sharing your impressions

 

[musicman59]

@teknorob23, thanks for your impressions.

 

[nwavesailor]

Thanks to @DarginMahkum for suggesting this Furetech ADL cable 1.3 meter cable. It is nicely made and sounds good. The 3 meter T+A OEM cables are way too long for my listening setup.

I used some heat shrink tubing with glue that are fairly stiff and marked the 'key' to allow easy lineup when inserting.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Thanks to @DarginMahkum for suggesting this Furetech ADL cable 1.3 meter cable. It is nicely made and sounds good. The 3 meter T+A OEM cables are way too long for my listening setup.

I used some heat shrink tubing with glue that are fairly stiff and marked the 'key' to allow easy lineup when inserting.

Looks really great! Compared to these my tweaks look like they were done by someone from stone age.

 

[DarginMahkum]

My Solitaire P music of the day...

 

[Benny-x]

To put my choice in context [...]

[/...] Sorry that was more of dyslexic stream of consciousness than well organised comparison, but I hope it helps more than it hinders

That was one of the best pieces of feedback and insights on the P vs. P-SE that I've read so far. It definitely helped a ton, thanks a lot.

 

[Newsee]

My Solitaire P music of the day...

Hmmm... something unusual - as usual. The fun starts at 00:49

 

[teknorob23]

That was one of the best pieces of feedback and insights on the P vs. P-SE that I've read so far. It definitely helped a ton, thanks a lot.

I’m glad it helped a bit. With about 80hrs, my P-SE have become noticeably better extended at the low end and decay has become more natural/ever so slightly longer. The whole range has become more coherent especially noticeable where the Mids and treble meet. The overal presentation has gained a little more warmth but otherwise it’s powers of resolution are impressing me more and more. I’ve been working on a new usb cable and I have two I’m comparing with slightly different construction around the powerline and with the p-se i can far more quickly pick out the nuanced differences with the Pse than with the stellias, They’re nearly on a par with out reference 2-channel test rig. But what’s almost more impressive is the fact I can listen critically like this but then in the evening I can just sit back and let music completely absorb me without distraction. All very good so far

 

[ddtomas]

I’m glad it helped a bit. With about 80hrs, my P-SE have become noticeably better extended at the low end and decay has become more natural/ever so slightly longer. The whole range has become more coherent especially noticeable where the Mids and treble meet. The overal presentation has gained a little more warmth but otherwise it’s powers of resolution are impressing me more and more. I’ve been working on a new usb cable and I have two I’m comparing with slightly different construction around the powerline and with the p-se i can far more quickly pick out the nuanced differences with the Pse than with the stellias, They’re nearly on a par with out reference 2-channel test rig. But what’s almost more impressive is the fact I can listen critically like this but then in the evening I can just sit back and let music completely absorb me without distraction. All very good so far

Thanks for your impressions, mine arrived yesterday currently around 20h burn-in.
Do your stellia cables fit to the P-Se? The long barrel build of the P-Se seems like it could be an issue, so just wanted to check as I think they both share 3.5mm connectors.

 

[DarginMahkum]

But what’s almost more impressive is the fact I can listen critically like this but then in the evening I can just sit back and let music completely absorb me without distraction.

I think if T+A wanted to create a HP with a different signature, they would be able to achieve it with such a capable driver, but they went with this as they chose to make a long period listening HP that is easy on the ears.