[angelom]

The "review" does not help a reader place the headphone. It is a collection of buzzwords to promote a review channel, which should be declared under head-fi terms of usage. For example writing the "bass feels empty" does not help a reader understand anything about the bass. Is that in reference to sub bass or mid bass and in what way.

My 'favourite' comment: "The resolution is good but not outstanding" --- Serious and impressive audiophile analysis.

 

[GlobalAudioSquad]

The "review" does not help a reader place the headphone. It is a collection of buzzwords to promote a review channel, which should be declared under head-fi terms of usage. For example writing the "bass feels empty" does not help a reader understand anything about the bass. Is that in reference to sub bass or mid bass and in what way. What is the comparator headphone bass. Spend time to introduce yourself to the head-fi community with background head-fi history, disclose a kit list, listening parameters and craft a helpful review writing style

I don't use this forum to promote my channel at all.

In fact, it is not even a review channel, I have a full time career completely unrelated.

This is a hobby, which I believe I'm allowed to have without your permission.

I'm actually surprised that my honest feedback as hit such a nerve.

Seems some Solitaire Ts fans are very delicate and have taken this personally, almost as if you've been paid by to promote these.

Look, I don't declare myself as a know it all and I was under the impression this is a information forum, where posts are intended for several reasons but also to learn and educate from various impressions and opinions.

Let me clarify, the sub bass didn't extend well in my opinion and the lack of deep bass inclined me to write and post my opinion.

The resolution on lossless tracks was also impressive, however again, in my opinion, not £1000+ worthy.

I'm stacking these up to the Focals Bathys and they're not even in the same league. The Bathys are better in every department and cost less.

So I was expecting a lot more for £1000+

It seems you've misread my signature and read partially what you wanted too, as the parts of my kit that I have declared, for some reason you missed.

It's clear to see you're a fan of these as many others are, however for me, they're a no.

But best of luck to you.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Comparing the ST to all my headphones, I don’t find them to feel mediocre build quality in any way. Their use of aluminum and the plastic keeps them light and comfortable. I personally have no interest for my portable, BT headphones to be flashy (I’m looking at you Mark Levinson with the red metallic paint and big logo).

What should the “build quality” of a $1600 headphone be? What should be the “build quality” of a $4000 headphone? I don’t understand this line of thinking. Would they be more “premium” if they were heavier? More bling? In my opinion, mediocre build quality means the headphones creak and are made of plastic.

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I don't use this forum to promote my channel at all.

In fact, it is not even a review channel, I have a full time career completely unrelated.

This is a hobby, which I believe I'm allowed to have without your permission.

I'm actually surprised that my honest feedback as hit such a nerve.

Seems some Solitaire Ts fans are very delicate and have taken this personally, almost as if you've been paid by to promote these.

Look, I don't declare myself as a know it all and I was under the impression this is a information forum, where posts are intended for several reasons but also to learn and educate from various impressions and opinions.

Let me clarify, the sub bass didn't extend well in my opinion and the lack of deep bass inclined me to write and post my opinion.

The resolution on lossless tracks was also impressive, however again, in my opinion, not £1000+ worthy.

I'm stacking these up to the Focals Bathys and they're not even in the same league. The Bathys are better in every department and cost less.

So I was expecting a lot more for £1000+

It seems you've misread my signature and read partially what you wanted too, as the parts of my kit that I have declared, for some reason you missed.

It's clear to see you're a fan of these as many others are, however for me, they're a no.

But best of luck to you.

Unlike others, I was not going to, nor will I now, analyse your subjective opinions and (short) experiences regarding the T+A Solitaire T headphones.
Before I go further, I must at least point out that I do strongly disagree with your comments on build quality, and that is the only area where I am completely opposed to you in full.

However, the main reason why others have, essentially, balked at your opinions (as I have done) is simply due to lack of context, detail, and, moreover, essential clarity to how you came to your conclusions, and specifically the sonic impressions you have presented.
I never noted your posts as a review style, but just posting an opinion without structure, or how we, the readers, are able to at least have the opportunity to interpret your points caused owners and general readers to, unfortunately, not take your opinions seriously.
To put simply, most of those who have read your posts cannot read them as constructive criticisms simply due to the fact that they were not written as such, but as criticisms without context, borderline threadbare.
Even as an owner of these headphones and having both personal negative criticism and positive experiences, expressing these is key if any person wanted to take my opinions even remotely seriously, whether in short posts or long prose. This is something I have strived to do, and I have noted this from the day I got may pair (16 December 2023) to now.

I do not believe that you are being insincere, yet, your posts were of such a negative nature and wildly different to what owners and those who have demoed have experienced (and the seldom number of reviews available) that, with little to no context or fair reasoning as to your, sadly, negative views, you received negative replies.
That lack of detail also potentially rubbed people up the wrong way as well, as your posts seemed to show lack of respect to those who have experienced these headphones, or to any reader who may wish to try and understand what your posts mean.

It is your choice, but I would welcome you to, if you so wish, to perhaps write a post detailing your points again but with some extra details as to what you were expecting, music you tested, what you heard, comparisons to other headphones that you have used or are familiar with (if you can), and a short mention of gear used (not in a review style per se, but this added yet crucial pieces of information was missing in your earlier posts, which is why some members may have been colder or dismissive to you).

Of course, you do not need to do anything I have suggested, but I hope this clarifies why some of us took such a negative reception to your posts. Further, I do not speak for this group, but wanted to try and see your point of view as well.

---

Finally, here is a long-form example of my opinion regarding the bass region of the Solitaire T, which I hope helps you see where I am coming from. As this is a longer part of my post you can skip this section, but I welcome you to read at least the final paragraph:

One key area is my change of opinion regarding the bass region, and in both my short and long posts I indicated gear used and headphones I often listened to prior to acquiring the Solitaire T.
One factor to why I now enjoy the bass region of the Solitaire T is due to how much I used two of my previous major headphones, Focal Elear and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 1, had influenced their sonic traits into my sonic profile. It took weeks of using the Solitaire T with, and later without, Bass Boost, to undo the previous headphones signatures, as the Solitaire T have a very neutral and natural sounding (but not flat frequency) sound profile.
Then I was able to realise how much of the sub-bass and bass detail, texture, and clarity I was missing with my aforementioned cans, but more importantly, how much of the mid-bass was revealed to me. I had not realised that my previous cans had smeared that region so much until I used the Solitaire T, and the clarity in this region further gave a positive impression of the bass to midrange transitions in whatever music I played (especially drums in rock music: Metallica, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone age, etc). For me, this was mind-blowing, as the difference to what I gained in this one region radically changed my experiences with music I enjoyed, be it The Chemical Brothers or Meute or Kelela or Joe Hisaishi pieces or Denzel Curry, and so on.
I still would like more bass simply because I love a bit more oomph, but I hardly ever crave this now because, in my opinion, the bass response of the Solitaire T is very truthful and realistic; whenever I do add some more bass presence, it always comes at the sacrifice of mid-bass changes (smearing). That change to mid-bass I actively dislike, because to me the mid-bass and midrange are almost perfect to me tonality and sonically. Thus, adding more bass presence takes me out of enjoying my music in the long-run, as I am keenly aware of what the Solitaire T are capable of.
On the other hand, because the Solitaire T are so natural sounding, EQ'ing them is easy. Had I more bass-boosted cans, they would be harder to EQ than the Solitaire T as the boosted region would influence the mid-range and thus the entire frequency, as bass-boosted headphones are tuned as a whole, including the structure of the headphones themselves. Simply cutting the bass via EQ would not, in turn, just lower the bass response of bass-heavy cans, but instead could cause other issues simply due to changes in resonances that a headphone outputs by design. Now, this can be true for the Solitaire T as well, but here because the headphones were tuned to be more balanced overall frequency wise, resonances would also be affected to reflect this but at a lesser degree. Small bass boost might change some resonance, such as the mid-bass range (which I do not like), but not so much the entire headphone bandwidth, because the Solitaire T are not bass-tuned; the overall resonances would follow close to the default stock design with small bass boosts.

Lastly, it is so very common to purchase more (choose your preference) bassy/midrange focused/treble sparkly cans at any price range, but far, far harder to find a pair of hybrid wireless/wired headphones that are tuned balanced throughout the frequency spectrum.
The mainstream market is, mostly, predisposed to heavy bass-orientated or mid-range focused sound profiles, but as long as the headphones are clear, they can be amazing, such as Sony WH-1000XM5, Sennheiser Momentum 4, Focal Bathys, B&W PX8, etc. Yet headphones like Mark Levinson No. 5909 and T+A Solitaire T are much rarer as they provide natural or balanced sounding traits.
Some audiophiles who want overear headphones similar to their desktop headphones, and want overear balanced sounding sonic profile in wireless or hybrid wireless/wired format, have far less choices, and at present T+A Solitaire T, and just under the Mark Levinson No. 5909 (in my opinion), provide said choices. There is nothing else at time of this post (noting that the more expensive HED Unity was only recently announced and demoed at NAMM 2023, but not out in the wild, yet, so cannot be compared to currently).
To put into a lazy context, consider Focal Clear/Clear MG headphones in wireless format. There was almost nothing on the market until the release of the No. 5909, and then later Solitaire T, which is why some people have gravitated towards such headphones, They are not for everyone, but they have their place.

 

[angelom]

Seems some Solitaire Ts fans are very delicate and have taken this personally, almost as if you've been paid by to promote these.

How many ST fans exactly?? I'm "very delicate", and I take your comments very, very "personally", and T+A paying me a lot of money for promoting the ST, BUT unfortunately they don't paying me nothing the first few days that I owing the ST when I'm very critical of the ST. But now, thanks God, my bank account balance is very better.

I'm stacking these up to the Focals Bathys and they're not even in the same league. The Bathys are better in every department and cost less.

Yes, the Bathys in fully passive mode is sounding fantastic, except that you can't using the Bathys in passive mode (!!).

But, please, you must admitting at least that the ST packaging is very more nice than the Bathys packaging. I think this is excellent reason for paying very more money for the ST.

By the way, is battery life also better in the Bathys? I think not. But, yes, like you saying, the Bathys is "better in every department".

Thank you for your very useful comments!

 

[zolkis]

Let me clarify, the sub bass didn't extend well in my opinion and the lack of deep bass inclined me to write and post my opinion.

The resolution on lossless tracks was also impressive, however again, in my opinion, not £1000+ worthy.

I'm stacking these up to the Focals Bathys and they're not even in the same league. The Bathys are better in every department and cost less.

Thanks, and let's get the Bathys comparison further to establish more common ground. Do the Bathys have better timbre/harmonic balance/richness as well? Do you consider the Bathys having good sub-bass? Do you have a sound preference, like lean/pure or bass rich, and musical preference like instrumental or more like electronic?

Would you estimate that EQ'ing the ST (apparently boosting sub-bass and bass a little) would make it comparable with the Bathys, or is this beyond EQ headroom, like sound stage etc?

To me the Bathys had a slight hardness in the sound and were slightly dry and too much upper midbass-hitting in comparison to my other headphones, but I could easily live with them because of the sound stage and the good enough presentation. The 5909 would be better if the treble wasn't so sharp sometimes (and they have LDAC which I doubt the rest could add with a firmware update). The ST apparently needs some sub-bass boost in your opinion?

To me it seems that all BT headphones need some EQ to fix issues or preferences, the question is how good they can be at their best.

 

[ddlo]

So yesterday I was lucky enough to try Solitaire Ts.

I have to say I was expecting big things from them and and I was utterly disappointed.

The earcups are very small, the build quality is mediocre for that price range.

The bass response is no where near what I was expecting, they sounded empty.

The resolution is good but not outstanding.

The ear pads felt cheap and I instantly knew I wouldn't like them after a few hours of listening.

For me the Sol Ts are a no.

In that price range I would expect a lot better.

Although wired mode was ok, connection via Bluetooth was a faff and not worth the hassle.

Maybe V2 could be better but for now I'll pass on these.

i'm not sure i am saying this fairly as i'm not a native english speaker. from what @GlobalAudioSquad said in his original post, it didn't seem really very negative nor he claimed this to be a formal review. he seems just sharing his personal view but without providing much explanation or justification. to be fair, that's not uncommon in some other threads. but as ST is a rather high-priced wireless headphone (sitting near the top of the market segment) which the targeted customer group is supposingly the more knowledgeable ones in portable audio, many here may have a higher expectation on the quality of discussion here.

i also could see that it would be a bit impolite to dishing out subjectively negative comments without much substantiation in a thread of avid Solitaire owners/users. i imagine folks claiming nikon camera to be much better than canon's latest competing model in a canon discussion thread could attract equally passionate responses.

having said that, it's not surprising that, even if all people have consistent assessment on different qualities (which seems not likely to me), people will still likely assign different priorities on different qualities of products and can come to a different conclusion than our own. maybe we all could cool off a bit and enjoy more this hobby which supposingly bringing us joy and happiness. i hope this made sense. just my 2 cents.

 

[Frabera]

Anyhow, almost twice the price of the Bathys cannot be justified in any case…

 

[ddlo]

And after I'm having difficulty now hearing a real (not imaginary) difference between aptX HD and AAC, I continue, more strongly than before even, thinking about the very, very frequent exaggerations I often reading ("night and day" / "big/massive difference") when some people speaking about sonic differences between codecs and bit rates, including hi-res. So very little objectivity in soooo many posts...

same here! i really can't distinguish LDAC from aptx on my samsung phones/tabs. i have similar difficulty in identifying 320k spotify lossy music vs loserless source in blind abx tests. knowing i've got such low capability in hearing fine differences, i have long trying to focus in enjoying music more and spend less time/$ in equipment which not necessarily (usually not) enhancing my music enjoyment (but still fall for temptations of buying new toys often).

AAC uses a more processor intensive algorithm. It’s designed to make compressed music sound better. That’s why implementation matters. I will take a certain genre of music to detect the extra compression. Try well recorded solo piano music or string sonatas. That’s where the compression artifacts are most obvious. However, this is listening to equipment and not music.

Or like Alan Parsons said: “Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.“

so true seems to me above certain threshold (which is pretty low for me), i'm just (trying to or having fun in trying to) listening to the equipment but not enjoying music.

 

[angelom]

...from what @GlobalAudioSquad said in his original post, it didn't seem really very negative nor he claimed this to be a formal review. he seems just sharing his personal view but without providing much explanation or justification.

His original post is very negative and, in my opinion, even arrogant, even when he using the typical formula of "this is my opinion". So, I really don't want doing this before, but now I will commenting about his initial comments:

"I have to say I was expecting big things from them and and I was utterly disappointed."
Ok, no problem here.

"The earcups are very small, the build quality is mediocre for that price range."
Earcups small is fair comment, some people saying this in this thread. Build quality mediocre for the price is ignorant comment. Build quality maybe not the best, but mediocre is a silly, unsubstantiated comment.

"The bass response is no where near what I was expecting, they sounded empty."
Ok, not what he thinking initially before trying theST, and this is ok, but saying "sounded empty" is saying really nothing useful, except maybe the person is very possibly a bass-head.

"The resolution is good but not outstanding."
Empty meaningless comment that is saying nothing, really. Audiophile words that in this case saying absolutely nothing, and only using for getting little credibility.

"The ear pads felt cheap and I instantly knew I wouldn't like them after a few hours of listening."
What are not-cheap earpads looking like in this type of BT/ANC headphone? I trying so many headphones in my life, and this comment is, honestly, very silly. And the second part is even more ridiculous (no need explaining why, really).

"For me the Sol Ts are a no."
Really? After the above comments is obvious.

"In that price range I would expect a lot better."
What exactly is better?? All the above comments saying nothing truly useful or giving proper context, really, except more small than average earcups from this particular user.

"Although wired mode was ok, connection via Bluetooth was a faff and not worth the hassle."
This is similar like "is only my opinion", meaning this comment is completely useless and typical of people that saying that wired is better than BT. In the particular case of the ST, this comment is, I'm sorry saying, laughable.

"Maybe V2 could be better but for now I'll pass on these"
One more typical empty meaningless comment.

to be fair, that's not uncommon in some other threads. but as ST is a rather high-priced wireless headphone (sitting near the top of the market segment) which the targeted customer group is supposingly the more knowledgeable ones in portable audio, many here may have a higher expectation on the quality of discussion here.

Very true. Hundreds and hundreds (thousands, really) of so completely useless and meaningless posts in HF. But, like you saying, in threads like this people posting in different ways, and when you seeing rubbish posts, maybe isn't a bad idea (even if uncomfortable for me in this case) saying the post/s are (almost) complete rubbish/BS.

having said that, it's not surprising that, even if all people have consistent assessment on different qualities (which seems not likely to me), people will still likely assign different priorities on different qualities of products and can come to a different conclusion than our own. maybe we all could cool off a bit and enjoy more this hobby which supposingly bringing us joy and happiness. i hope this made sense. just my 2 cents.

This is very valid, like some of your posts. I hope this isn't becoming the "HUGE Solitaire T Fanboys Thread", like often the PX8 thread is. Genuine opinions, with some context at least, and fair criticism is very welcome AND even necessary, at least for me.

Anyhow, almost twice the price of the Bathys cannot be justified in any case…

Apparently several of us thinking the price is justified, and this owners will having different reasons for accepting paying the price. But, yes, the ST is definitely NOT a cheap product.

 

[pwaustin]

As a first conclusion, a major recommendation for the Forza Audioworks Claire Hybrid HPC custom for Solitaire T!!

I've been looking for a better/shorter cable for the ST and this one looks interesting. But on the Forza website I'm not seeing the ST as an headphone option, am I missing something?

 

[WDitters]

I've been looking for a better/shorter cable for the ST and this one looks interesting. But on the Forza website I'm not seeing the ST as an headphone option, am I missing something?

Correct, it's custom built. Just drop Matt a mail and tell him I referred you. I gave him the correct wiring scheme (which can also be found earlier in this thread)

 

[1ceb0x]

So let me just start by introducing myself.

Fairly new to the "audiophile stage" although I have listened to music via headphones since forever, I tend to think my demands have raised as time passed and I grew older. My ears prefer a more natural, as intended by the engineers kind of sound, and I hate headphones that are coloured (looking at you, Sony). Don't get me started on the bass. I absolutely hate bass heavy headphones (looking at you again, Sony). When I was on the market for a pair of headphones some 2 years ago, I sampled everything that the market had to offer at that point via Richer Sounds in London. Out of all the offerings, (B&W, Sony, Sennheiser, Bose etc), I settled on Dali IO-6 (that was the headphone I originally intended to buy). Let me just say that Dali for me when compared to all the others had the best and most neutral sound. Bass was there but was definitely feeling soulless when compared to the others (a good thing in my ears). But I hated how the bass on the others was covering almost everything for me while on Dali I could hear stuff that I could not on the others.

Fast forward to today and aside from Dali IO-6 (which I still love and use daily), I now also own a pair of Austrian Audio HI-X60 which are totally different than Dali and even though I bought them some months ago, I still haven't managed to get used to them yet, as they deliver more bass than Dali (but still better than Sony IMO).

Funny story though - A few days ago I bought a Fiio BTR7 to replace my aging Earstudio ES100. The FIIO has a 4.4 balanced output and I was researching how can I connect the HI-X60 to that. While researching for 4.4 balanced outputs on this forum, I stumbled upon T+A Solitaire T thread (at that point I had no idea these exist). When I saw they offer 4.4 balanced cable in their stock offering, I was immediately interested.

I then started to read this thread, page by page, trying to ensure I analyze every bit of feedback, because Richer Sound sadly don't carry them and shops that do are quite far from me and I probably won't be able to demo. It took me 2 full days to read 80 pages (I have to say, some of the posting was so offtopic, it was starting to do my head in). Some very great feedback here, thanks to all that contributed.

As you can see, I don't tend to pay a lot of money on sound, although my demands have gone up. I don't have the headphones yet, but upon investigating Solitaire Ts in detail, I am super excited to be part of T+A family and these are the main reasons (for me) as of why I would part with 1k tonight (I know it's not recommended to part with that kind of money without being able to demo but I am willing to take the risk):

1. THAT PASSIVE MODE! Seriously - this is exactly what I was looking for, all this time. As most BT headphones are basically built to sound good on BT but the moment the battery dies, you are left with a pair of empty snail shells. Not these headphones. And this is why I am willing to pay the premium price. This is where the extra price lies in. In the hardware, in the design. And according to this review (@Piotr Michalak - perfect review, helped me a lot, thank you so much), the sound signature is almost the same (if not identical) when they are wired (turned off) or wireless (turned on). After owning and using several BT headphones (Sony MX3 and MX4 have really pushed me away from ANC), I can say that I don't really care about ANC anymore, if the passive isolation is as good as the DALI (which I drive passively in flights and had no issues with hearing anything around me) and I start to not see the point in BT either (as I mostly have the BTR7) - but they are great features to have just in case. Imagine listening to 35 hours of BT HQ mode and then be forced to use wired because you have no way to recharge your headphones - Oh how sweet it must be to have exactly the same sound on wired as on BT. This is truly what I was waiting for, for a long time.
2. Ability to turn off ANC and BT independently (if I understood correctly) - This is genius. I don't think I ever saw a pair that offers this. Usually ANC is turned on only when BT is on (entire circuitry is on).
3. Connectivity. 3.5, 4.4 and usb c? Hell yes!
4. Sound - I left this the last because I don't know how they sound to me - so it might be that I won't like them, but knowing my preference and hearing how everyone in this forum has reached the same conclusion (that they sound amazing and neutral), I believe they will very much fit me.

There are maybe other things which I'm forgetting and might be worth mentioning so apologies for the short list.

I won't post any impressions on the forum when I do get them. I'm not very technical in the audio field and I don't want to post something that will definitely pester some power users here, as I saw in some earlier pages But if anyone is interested to find out my non professional audiophile feedback, I can update the thread.

I would also like to thank @WDitters for his dedication and cable hunting (I might buy that Forza Audioworks cable when I do get the cans) and would like to ask what's the status/update (if any) with the deformation in the pads you have observed? Last time I read you were sending your pads to T+A for investigations. Thank you.

And thanks again to everyone posting their feedback on the forum. It really helps paint a good picture for those of us who can't demo a unit.

 

[angelom]

I won't post any impressions on the forum when I do get them. I'm not very technical in the audio field and I don't want to post something that will definitely pester some power users here, as I saw in some earlier pages But if anyone is interested to find out my non professional audiophile feedback, I can update the thread.

Please post your honest impressions, isn't matter how good or bad. Isn't necessary using technical / audiophile vocabulary at all, either. Simple context (like mentioning / comparing some aspects of your Dali headphones or memories from others headphones) is sufficient. All impressions are valid (good, bad or so so), specially from owners of the ST who spending more time with this headphone than having only a quick audition in audio shop (not always in ideal circumstances).

 

[tret]

I just received my Solitaire T this afternoon and my initial take was, "Wow, these are complete garbage!" I honestly couldn't believe anyone liked these. Absolutely no bass, everything sounded far away and thin, left/right balance was wonky. After putting them down for an hour or two I gave it another go. Yep, total trash. Hate them!

Then as I was getting ready to put them back in the box I noticed something I hadn't during my initial setup. I could see red-tinted light in the gap between the housing and pad on the left earcup. Sure enough, the pad was not fully seated, there was a 1/2 inch gap. I pressed the pad down and it snapped fully into place. Note: These were brand new and factory sealed, so they shipped this way.

After fixing the pad gap, "Now we're talking!" Now I can give them a proper listen, but just wanted to post here in case anyone else is shocked at how bad yours sound out of the box. Double check to make sure the pads are fully seated.