[Daniel Johnston]

This is a very interesting and, in several ways, strange review.

Of course everybody is have an opinion about design, but showing photos of a very old wired Bose headphone and saying is looking like the ST is a little strange. For me the Bose is looking very different, and knowing this model well I know the construction and design is very different too. I'm one of the persons that liking a lot the not "look at me" design of the ST, a design that is more conservative but that will ageing very well, a more classic design. My preference is that the T+A logo is more small in the metal arms and I prefer that is not showing at all in the headband, but this small preferences don't changing the general discrete design of the ST.

About the sound, the reviewer and I have VERY different opinions. I think that not only he's like the 5909 sound more, but is his primary headphone for a long time. In this case, the difference in sound is very obvious when changing to the ST, but I completely not agree about his description of the midrange and highs of both ST and 5909.

I describing the ST sometimes in this thread as 'boring', the 'boring' type of sound that is very exciting for me because is more transparent with very, very little colouration, a sound that is (very) far from many mainstream headphones, and a signature that is different from the Harman curve. For me the ST is more honest in the reproduction of music than the 5909 and many others headphones, not only ALL others ANC/BT headphones.

Is interesting that he never mentioning HQ mode vs normal BT mode. Only at end of the video he's very quickly saying something about listening to HD, maybe meaning HQ?

And then he's saying that the EQ presets really making the ST great sounding, more than in flat EQ setting....he don't even saying which presets specifically (they are very different!) he's preferring! BUT for me, and I think for the majority in this thread, NOT one single EQ preset is sounding better than in off/flat position.

I imagine that if I don't know this 2 headphones at all, and only trusting his opinion, I think I receiving a shock after 'testing' the two headphones and hearing for myself the real sound. And this isn't in relation to preferences but in more precise descriptions of sound differences and our reference/s for this descriptions.

Chalk it up to everyone has their opinion.

I agree with you on your points. However, I also keep in mind the high price of the ST and the value proposition for the performance. I don't think you can hand the ST to a normal BT ANC user and have them be instantly "blown away" They aren't that type of headphone. A wired HP user will be more impressed with the ST sound quality and comfort. But, there are many wonderful headphones in the $1500-$2000 range.


The 5909 have the "wow" factor with the looks to boot. The ST have actually fantastic sound that happen to have great ANC and BT performance as a bonus.

If you are looking for a tube dongle (or dongle period) that pairs well with the ST, try the new Woo Tube Mini. The synergy is amazing. Nice wide soundstage, great bass texture and presence, perfect mids, and treble that is just right to my ears.

 

[angelom]

Chalk it up to everyone has their opinion.

Yes, definitely. Opinions are never a problem for me, even when people preferring $150 headphones (or more cheap!) than 1000+ euros headphones. The only problem for me is that this type of 'reviews' (specially when is sooo long) is that many of this reviewers aren't saying that this is his/her opinion but, instead, are making the comments like "This is official, a fact", if not very directly, then VERY indirectly.

I agree with you on your points. However, I also keep in mind the high price of the ST and the value proposition for the performance. I don't think you can hand the ST to a normal BT ANC user and have them be instantly "blown away" They aren't that type of headphone.

Yes, for (specially) people looking only for a ANC/BT headphone and with not much experience, 1300 euros is absolutely crazy. For a headphone like the ST, maybe a good marketing slogan for people only looking for a ANC/BT headphone with excellent sound quality is "We guarantee you will not being blown away by the sound...initially"

A wired HP user will be more impressed with the ST sound quality and comfort. But, there are many wonderful headphones in the $1500-$2000 range.

Yes, specially when the person seeing that the wired performance isn't only very good for the price, but that you too have excellent BT and ANC alternatives from the wired connection in the same headphone.

The 5909 have the "wow" factor with the looks to boot. The ST have actually fantastic sound that happen to have great ANC and BT performance as a bonus.

The 5909 immediately is saying "I'm better than the rest" in the sound category. The ST don't have this immediate wow factor, but have the after taste a little more late saying that is a more mature and faithful sound, in my opinion.

If you are looking for a tube dongle (or dongle period) that pairs well with the ST, try the new Woo Tube Mini. The synergy is amazing. Nice wide soundstage, great bass texture and presence, perfect mids, and treble that is just right to my ears.

I'm not using a wired connection very much today....but your post and the previous one are tempting me very much...but my maturity is better this days (about spending money in products I know I will not using very much).

 

[Frabera]

Chalk it up to everyone has their opinion.

I agree with you on your points. However, I also keep in mind the high price of the ST and the value proposition for the performance. I don't think you can hand the ST to a normal BT ANC user and have them be instantly "blown away" They aren't that type of headphone. A wired HP user will be more impressed with the ST sound quality and comfort. But, there are many wonderful headphones in the $1500-$2000 range.


The 5909 have the "wow" factor with the looks to boot. The ST have actually fantastic sound that happen to have great ANC and BT performance as a bonus.

If you are looking for a tube dongle (or dongle period) that pairs well with the ST, try the new Woo Tube Mini. The synergy is amazing. Nice wide soundstage, great bass texture and presence, perfect mids, and treble that is just right to my ears.

Regarding the woo tube mini, how didi you connect it ? (Android, iOS, PC)

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Regarding the woo tube mini, how didi you connect it ? (Android, iOS, PC)

Yes to all 3.

 

[vanez1985]

Well, the Solitaire T still sound awesome nonetheless ... But I am checking with T+A what now exactly is going on with two conflicting *official* statements from T+A ... (And pointed them to this thread)

BTW, any rumors about ST supporting AptX Adaptive as Qualcomm chip seems to support it?

Today I had a chance to demo both PX8 and Bathys, and while neither really satisfied me being too much V-shaped and bassy for my taste (Bathys was much more natural though as PX8 sounded like a sugar bomb with vocals coated with caramel), both sounded much better with AptX Adaptive from my phone than with AptX(HD) from my DX300.

Actually, I had to re-test both after discovering it and spent 3h instead of 1.5h making my wife very sad and tired (it was 2h trip from my location to the biggest local audio shop)...

 

[rammstoon]

BTW, any rumors about ST supporting AptX Adaptive as Qualcomm chip seems to support it?

Today I had a chance to demo both PX8 and Bathys, and while neither really satisfied me being too much V-shaped and bassy for my taste (Bathys was much more natural though as PX8 sounded like a sugar bomb with vocals coated with caramel), both sounded much better with AptX Adaptive from my phone than with AptX(HD) from my DX300.

Actually, I had to re-test both after discovering it and spent 3h instead of 1.5h making my wife very sad and tired (it was 2h trip from my location to the biggest local audio shop)...

Aptx-Adaptive support was confirmed to not be coming directly from T+A; however, T+A had also previously said multi-point was not going to be supported initially, but it made its way in a recent update.

I'd still wager Aptx-Adaptive is more challenging/costly to implement than multi-point.

 

[WDitters]

Aptx-Adaptive support was confirmed to not be coming directly from T+A; however, T+A had also previously said multi-point was not going to be supported initially, but it made its way in a recent update.

I'd still wager Aptx-Adaptive is more challenging/costly to implement than multi-point.

That probably is true. Multipoint is and has been part of the SIG Bluetooth specifications for decennia and has been universally available to all manufacturers.

AptX however, in all its iterations and flavors started as a private invention that ultimately was scooped up by Qualcomm. (Not sure how Qualcomm handles the licensing of it though)

 

[angelom]

New ST review:

 

[angelom]

We don't have many ST reviews in 10 months, specially in YouTube. Now, suddenly, in only 5 days we have 3! And all 3 reviewers paying for their pair with their own money (not free samples from T+A), and this is one reason why others (maybe not so real genuine) reviewers don't speaking about this excellent headphone.

I saying before in this thread that T+A must being very sure and/or brave about this product when they aren't giving free samples to more people in exchange for a 'review', when in this cases is usually a conflict of interest, meaning usually a not very objective review.

 

[dasadab]

Chalk it up to everyone has their opinion.

I agree with you on your points. However, I also keep in mind the high price of the ST and the value proposition for the performance. I don't think you can hand the ST to a normal BT ANC user and have them be instantly "blown away" They aren't that type of headphone. A wired HP user will be more impressed with the ST sound quality and comfort. But, there are many wonderful headphones in the $1500-$2000 range.


The 5909 have the "wow" factor with the looks to boot. The ST have actually fantastic sound that happen to have great ANC and BT performance as a bonus.

If you are looking for a tube dongle (or dongle period) that pairs well with the ST, try the new Woo Tube Mini. The synergy is amazing. Nice wide soundstage, great bass texture and presence, perfect mids, and treble that is just right to my ears.

Thanks for this recommendation. On a lark, I used my ST wired and plugged it in directly to my 2021 MacBook Pro M1 based on other comments that the DAC and Amp of this MacBook were excellent. The sound was indeed surprisingly excellent, but lacking a bit of depth and layering that a stand alone DAC/Amp can provide. I am tempted to try the Woo product as a super portable and convenient upgrade to my MacBook Pro.

 

[Ballszilla]

Pair arrived today, I was waiting for reviews of the Dali IO-12 but ran out of patience with no update from Dali on a release date. Running the ST wired to the Chord Mojo 2, having used Sennheiser Momentum 4s, and all I can say is wow! I was expecting an improvement on the sound quality but I'm really impressed with the improvement, everything sounds so smooth and natural, (Mojo 2 really shines compared to the Momentums as well) delighted I took the leap.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Pair arrived today, I was waiting for reviews of the Dali IO-12 but ran out of patience with no update from Dali on a release date. Running the ST wired to the Chord Mojo 2, having used Sennheiser Momentum 4s, and all I can say is wow! I was expecting an improvement on the sound quality but I'm really impressed with the improvement, everything sounds so smooth and natural, (Mojo 2 really shines compared to the Momentums as well) delighted I took the leap.

The ST are truly excellent wired DD headphone with pretty good ANC and great BT performance.

I can personally attest that the ANC is excellent for flights. This is compared to the Airpod Max and Sony WH-1000XM3.

 

[Benesyed]

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...

Even in tracks that are not bass heavy but it certainly has strong sub bass tuning. Technically the FRC of the
SolT also is bass boosted.

Yes, yesterday (and commented on Darkø's vid); this was the first time I considered going Patreon to watch the full version too, alongside his Sony WH-1000XM5 video that's exclusive to Patreon (never going on YouTube).

However, I've been obsessed playing Armored Core VI:Fires of Rubicon videogame of late too, and forgot to post here

In summary of Darkø's comparison between the Mark Levinson No. 5909 and T+A Solitaire T, and his opinions, usage, and feedback on the Solitaire T respectively, I nearly agree with almost all said.
He covers a vast amount of what makes the Solitaire T tick, addresses any shortcomings (no LDAC, transparency mode activation issues, cables are not of premium quality not aesthetics, etc), whilst championing it's strengths, including passive mode and general sonic quality, as well as lesser headphone aesthetic Cyberman effect!
He also briefly covers that the Solitaire T were initially designed passively before electronics were added later, but in the YouTube version of his video he did not mention how the wireless sonics are closely matched to the passive modes; perhaps that's in the Patreon version of the video?

I wholly agree on the included cables feeling lesser in quality than other headphones. That's not good, but he does mention both single-ended and balanced cables included.
I wish he covered this are a bit more, including sonic differences between passive mode options and against the No. 5909, as well as the uniqueness of the Solitaire T having internal balanced cabling. However, again, this may be explored in the longer Patreon version.

An area I disagreed with was aesthetic quality, in that Darkø found the Solitaire T not as premium looking or feeling over the No. 5909.
I think it's the other way around, but that is his opinion and I'm sure there will be a split on this in the wider community anyway.
At least an unintended advantage is that, even with the white/silver Solitaire T model or more subdued black/silver variant, neither have very blingy looks, nor have wider public recognisable brand naming, so less chance of theft (I hope...).

I'll rewatch the video later, but all in all, a solid review covering a lot of ground, and in favour towards, the T+A Solitaire T.
What Hi-Fi! and Darko Audio have done incredible jobs reviewing these headphones!

I think the design of the SolT looks more elegant in a minimalist way but I do agree the feel of the 5909 is very substantial. The 5909 have a very nice tactile feel.

 

[WDitters]

I was waiting for reviews of the Dali IO-12 but ran out of patience with no update from Dali on a release date.

Hifi Klubben has a release date of December 1st in their systems for the Dali IO-12

 

[GamePat]

Hifi Klubben has a release date of December 1st in their systems for the Dali IO-12

That is where I would like to buy them from but on the Swedish page I see nothing. Have you a link to it maybe?