[TheOneInYellow]

Regarding the Dalis, seems strange to have a "no app" approach, you'd think people would like to customize the headphones. Yet alone do firmware upgrades. Won't that be possible?

I guess this depends on what people want, alongside the current experience of general wireless headphones having apps as a standard.

When I bought the T+A Solitaire T in December 2022, there was no app.
The day after, an app was released.
Many owners and early reviews had no app to rely on for the Solitaire T, so it's entire feature set and prowess was based upon solely the headphones and engineering solutions. It wasn't perfect, there were some issues, but core features such as sound quality in passive and wireless, alongside ANC, worked.
T+A took a very long time to publish an app months after release, and over time since drip fed new updates and firmware.
For T+A, I'm assuming there no compromise approach is why they take far longer than other makers to update app and firmware, because they want the best for the Solitaire T.
As expensive as T+A wares are, the R&D will not match of the big consumer electronic brands such as Sony, Apple, Sennheiser, B&O, etc.

Perhaps Dali are taking a similar approach, and may release to market an app, but my point here is that, though not ideal, a well designed wireless headphone ought to be sufficient or better wholly based onto itself.
However, firmware updates are a must for a myriad of reasons and is a basic feature, so if Dali does not offer this via an eventual app, they should via a download to install.

 

[Frabera]

When you listen to the T it is so well balanced, you don't understand why so bulky heavy wood caps are needed to obtain a sound quality which is slightly lower...

 

[angelom]

T+A took a very long time to publish an app months after release...

Actually T+A releasing the app one month after release of the ST. The ST releasing on 14-15 November of last year and the app releasing on 15-20 December.

 

[TheOneInYellow]

Actually T+A releasing the app one month after release of the ST. The ST releasing on 14-15 November of last year and the app releasing on 15-20 December.

My bad, I should have been clearer; many months after the announcement of Solitaire T, and a month after official Solitaire T release.

(Feeling dumb inside )

 

[TheOneInYellow]

When you listen to the T it is so well balanced, you don't understand why so bulky heavy wood caps are needed to obtain a sound quality which is slightly lower...

Well, that's not true for all wood type earcups; take a look at Meze Audio 99 Classics and 109 Pro.

It really depends on the manufacturer and design principles.
Audeze and Audio-Technica do make heavy wooden enclosures, but latter brand uses wood predominantly for tuning, which can be interesting.
On the other hand, manufacturers like ZMF go balls-to-the-wall on wooden earcups tuned for extremely specific sound profiles that are competitive to some of the most expensive TOTL headphones on the market.

That said, I agree; it's not usual to have this type of refinement out of a lighter headphone that competes around the £2000 price range; T+A Solitaire T weighs 326g ()!
Meze 109 Pro is only a tad heavier at 375g, and closest in comparison to the Solitaire T in balanced tuning.
Focal Clear/Clear MG (including any versions) are around 450g. To me, the Clear MG specifically are the most similar sounding to the Solitaire T (technicalities), but weirdly not as balanced, or rather as natural, sounding.
Of course, there are big differences in cost to all mentioned headphones above, and also these are different types of headphones (open-back vs hybrid closed cans).

Perhaps T+A could do a roundtable on engineering headphones, as I'd love to watch how they came about designing there cans!

 

[Frabera]

I compared the T with the ZMF VC...

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I compared the T with the ZMF VC...

And as you said earlier, insane how T+A could engineer the Solitaire T with lighter materials and produce such balanced sound!

Hopefully other manufacturers who use wood can put as much engineering as T+A did.

 

[Benesyed]

I compared the T with the ZMF VC...

When you listen to the T it is so well balanced, you don't understand why so bulky heavy wood caps are needed to obtain a sound quality which is slightly lower...

I haven't heard the VC but the AC definitely impressed me much more than the SolT even though I really appreciated the latter as well (with EQ).

As for bulk, do you mean large size of ear cups or weight or both? For the former, I have big ears so I appreciate big cups. The SolT is a little too small on my ears and head (though it would be fine for mobile use and travel). if you mean weight, just need to do more shrugs and neck exercises and trust me you'll never notice the bulk again! At 200lbs and 18% body fat, the AC in binblebox burl is light light weight

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I may come back to this, but a few days after watching Oppenheimer in IMAX 15/70mm format at the BFI IMAX cinema in London, which is an almost indescribable and transformative experience that has deeply affected me, I wanted to settle down my thoughts before listening to the soundtrack tonight (listening in full balanced mode with the T+A Solitaire T and FiiO M17 DAP with battery powered DC input).

Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed and scored by Ludwig Göransson (2023, Back Lot Music, 24 bit/48 kHz).

I don't think I have ever been so moved to intense tears to any piece of music than tonight, with powerful feelings of existentialism and dread and awe.

If you have watched the film, in my opinion nothing short of the world's best home cinema AV system can replicate the physicality of the soundtrack, which is a major character of watching the film; feeling the full IMAX 6-track audio energise the large screening room is the greatest experience I have had in watching any film, so a well-crafted AV system will need to be worthwhile for gaining a fraction of that experience.
However, with a great headphone system, the emotive power is just as awe-inspiring and terrifying, disconcerting and beautiful, thought-provoking and eerily peaceful/tranquil.
I cannot recommend enough for those who have seen the film to listen to the soundtrack as soon as possible with the Solitaire T just for that, as these headphones are capable of rendering the emotional weight of the soundtrack wonderfully.

 

[dasadab]

I may come back to this, but a few days after watching Oppenheimer in IMAX 15/70mm format at the BFI IMAX cinema in London, which is an almost indescribable and transformative experience that has deeply affected me, I wanted to settle down my thoughts before listening to the soundtrack tonight (listening in full balanced mode with the T+A Solitaire T and FiiO M17 DAP with battery powered DC input).

Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed and scored by Ludwig Göransson (2023, Back Lot Music, 24 bit/48 kHz).

I don't think I have ever been so moved to intense tears to any piece of music than tonight, with powerful feelings of existentialism and dread and awe.

If you have watched the film, in my opinion nothing short of the world's best home cinema AV system can replicate the physicality of the soundtrack, which is a major character of watching the film; feeling the full IMAX 6-track audio energise the large screening room is the greatest experience I have had in watching any film, so a well-crafted AV system will need to be worthwhile for gaining a fraction of that experience.
However, with a great headphone system, the emotive power is just as awe-inspiring and terrifying, disconcerting and beautiful, thought-provoking and eerily peaceful/tranquil.
I cannot recommend enough for those who have seen the film to listen to the soundtrack as soon as possible with the Solitaire T just for that, as these headphones are capable of rendering the emotional weight of the soundtrack wonderfully.

Thanks for the recommendation. I have not seen the movie yet. But the soundtrack is marvelous.

 

[TheOneInYellow]

Thanks for the recommendation. I have not seen the movie yet. But the soundtrack is marvelous.

No worries, and that soundtrack is the truest backbone for the film, relying the truth of each character's thoughts and emotions, even if try to hide it with their facial expressions or actions

 

[ekjellgren]

Congrats on the EISA award!

 

[WDitters]

No comment needed...

 

[Frabera]

The market of Premium wireless HP will grow quickly, Bose will release soon a premium one soon and for sure Sony will follow up as well, 2023 will be a reach year regarding this segment.

 

[Frabera]

I haven't heard the VC but the AC definitely impressed me much more than the SolT even though I really appreciated the latter as well (with EQ).

As for bulk, do you mean large size of ear cups or weight or both? For the former, I have big ears so I appreciate big cups. The SolT is a little too small on my ears and head (though it would be fine for mobile use and travel). if you mean weight, just need to do more shrugs and neck exercises and trust me you'll never notice the bulk again! At 200lbs and 18% body fat, the AC in binblebox burl is light light weight

The AC cannot be compared with the VC neither the T, it is not neutral at all and has been produced mainly for bass head, many reviewer confirmed after listening to the AC it seems that other HP lost their Bass, a totally different sound philosophy, but it does not mean it is not a great HP with much fun...