[metal571]

Gonna agree with JamieMcC on not needing to spend $1000 on the chain. Mine is relatively cheap, <$400 (Mo2U + LD MKIII).

One thing I want to say is that, I didn't like the Modi 1 when I had it and I find it interesting that I also felt that the treble sounded metallic and harsh when feeding my DT880/T90s, even when paired with a OTL tube amp. The HD600 didn't have that issue and that pairing was "fine", too boring for my preference but it wasn't a negative pairing. Not sure what they did, if any, but I don't have that issue with the Mo2U and it sounds fantastic. Thought it was as-good-as/better-than a stock Bifrost.

Also had the Magni 2U for a month. It was pretty good overall, but it just did something to the treble that I didn't like.
Maybe I'm used to the slight roll off of tubeamps? Probably. But, it pushed the trebles forward and made them sound off.

If you still have a pair of DTXX0s, you can try taking the foam disc out from a pair and placing them under the T1s ear pads. It fixes the treble for some.

I guess your chain is just geared against the T1s. Altho, I suspect that the Beyer sound just isn't your cup of tea even if you had a perfect pairing. C'est la vie.

Nah I actually liked the DT880 quite a bit. Treble decay was much speedier and it didn't cause tinnitus, and I use the DT770 all day at work and it doesn't bother me. I'm selling the T1 in a couple weeks for certain. Not gonna mod something that is supposed to cost $1400, and lol at the people suggesting that burn-in is a thing that isn't just mental. Also, taming a treble decay that is this long of a tail just with amps/DACs is likely to be not enough taming for me either, so nope. I've never heard any coloration in my Schiit stack, and the only time I have issues with bright headphones is when they're actually bright, but especially this one since the CSD looks like a disaster in the treble and that's how it sounds. It's a real shame because the bass and mids are otherworldly as is the incredible imaging.

 

[NoPainNoGain]

My T1 pair were metallic sound about 300-400 first hours. After that everything ok!

Before that i had HD600.
I did not doubt for a second in the selection of these models.

 

[metal571]

Personally I think I'm going planar next. I can't stand these TOTL dynamic treble problems. Headphones that cost this much should have decay <1ms across the board.

 

[GSquaredFi]

Maybe I'm just used to the Beyer sound from my DT990s, but I don't hear the shrill treble that everyone says Beyers have. (Including in my T1s, granted I do not have the best source setup at the moment but we will see when my Lyr/Bifrost get here Friday.)

 

[milkyspray]

Got mine. Probably the most disappointing purchase ever. Almost flawless bass and liquid mids as well as incredible imaging, but absolutely awful treble. Very long decay in the mid treble causing a metallic hue and it exacerbates the tinnitus that I don't even have. Keeping these for review and possibly demo with some other amps from friends, then they're going to the sell pile. Terrible treble for the price. I refuse to burn another $1000 on an amp and DAC just to have these supposedly "at potential." My $270 HD 600s sound incredible off the Modi 1/Magni 2 that I have, and these don't.

Just got my T1 from ebay beach camera but any way i don't ear the treble problems you mentioned such as long delays. Can you provide some track names that display these treble flaws of the T1?

 

[Thenewguy007]

All this treble issues is scaring me off.
 
Can anyone point me in the direction of amps/dacs that fix this?
Someone in the HD800 vs T1 thread said the Beyerdynamic A1 amp is way better than other amps & specifically fixes the problems.
Problem is like $800, costs as much as the headphone itself.
 
I'm looking for stuff under $500.

 

[punit]

  All this treble issues is scaring me off.
 
Can anyone point me in the direction of amps/dacs that fix this?
Someone in the HD800 vs T1 thread said the Beyerdynamic A1 amp is way better than other amps & specifically fixes the problems.
Problem is like $800, costs as much as the headphone itself.
 
I'm looking for stuff under $500.

Bottlehead Crack, If you cannot build one then look in the F - S - T section for used ones.

 

[JamieMcC]

  All this treble issues is scaring me off.
 
Can anyone point me in the direction of amps/dacs that fix this?
Someone in the HD800 vs T1 thread said the Beyerdynamic A1 amp is way better than other amps & specifically fixes the problems.
Problem is like $800, costs as much as the headphone itself.
 
I'm looking for stuff under $500.

The treble issue reported in the T1's is for the most part due to the lower parts quality and associated performance restrictions of budget components they use and some bizarre expectation that a $99 of the shelf amp or dac has the capability to drive a $1000 totl high Z headphone
 
Bottlehead is currently running a anniversary  promotion on their Sex amp kit $431.20 which is a $147.80 off the normal price great with T1 or HD800 and its 2w output will also drive most Planars even the HE-6 sounds passable on it.  Its a great deal for a really nice sounding amp.
 
The Crack is good but the performance of the Sex is at a noticeably higher level partially in areas like resolution and sound staging.
 
Some excellent reviews of the Bottlehead amps here http://www.head-fi.org/t/683012/bottlehead-amplifier-discussion-comparison-thread-crack-sex-mainline
 
The new Dsavitsk/Beezar Torpedo III is due to be released soon the Torpedo II was highly regarded as is pretty much anything Dsavitsk designs expecting it to be under $500
 
Project ember/sunrise have good feedback  from T1 users

 

[technobear]

All this treble issues is scaring me off.

Can anyone point me in the direction of amps/dacs that fix this?
Someone in the HD800 vs T1 thread said the Beyerdynamic A1 amp is way better than other amps & specifically fixes the problems.
Problem is like $800, costs as much as the headphone itself.

I'm looking for stuff under $500.

I hope you mean you are scared off using a budget DAC and budget amp with a flagship headphone.

I have heard the Beyerdynamic A1 and it is not worth the money in my personal opinion. It sounds no better than the iFi Audio micro iCAN which costs a lot less and has a more useful feature set.

The A1 also did not outplay the headphone output of an Audiolab 8200CDQ which I used to own and still highly recommend. The Audiolab MDAC is also recommended. No external headphone amp would be required for the T1.

In terms of DACs, you need to be thinking iFi Audio micro iDSD or better for the T1.

The Modi/Magni units are fine for a pair of M50's and will sound great. The T1 will show them up for what they are.

 

[DavidA]

  All this treble issues is scaring me off.
 
Can anyone point me in the direction of amps/dacs that fix this?
Someone in the HD800 vs T1 thread said the Beyerdynamic A1 amp is way better than other amps & specifically fixes the problems.
Problem is like $800, costs as much as the headphone itself.
 
I'm looking for stuff under $500.

I have a BH Crack which is a great pairing with the T-1, it does mellow out the highs but it will also depend on the tubes.  I think Bottlehead is running a sale so you should be able to get it for under $350 with shipping.  If you are unable to build it then you might be able to find one in the FS thread for a reasonable price., good luck.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Well my T1 arrived.
From my Sansa Clip+, my worst fears came true.
 
Very metallic sounding, the cymbals (metallic parts of the drum) were harsh & painful to listen to.
The sibilance was real & very apparent too, every time someone sang something that started with the letter 'S', they sound like a snake.
 
 
I'm now running the T1 through my PC & through a Headroom Desktop Amp (it can drive it through the medium gain setting easily), it sounds much better but the cymbals are not fully smoothened & the treble does seem harsh still, though no longer metallic sounding.
The Headroom amp has option for a Brightness filter 1 & 2, neither seem to fix the treble & makes it kinda worst
The Crossfeed option on the Headroom amp though definitely benefits the T1.
 
 
I'm now in the process of trying to get some Flac files to test out.
 
I'll also be testing my Schitt Asgard 2 amp with the T1 as well after I'm finished with the Headroom Amp.
 
 
I sadly have no DAC. I been undecided on which to get. Tube or solid state, this brand or that brand, colored or uncolored, what signature compliments the T1, which doesn't etc..

 

[Thenewguy007]

I hope you mean you are scared off using a budget DAC and budget amp with a flagship headphone.

I have heard the Beyerdynamic A1 and it is not worth the money in my personal opinion. It sounds no better than the iFi Audio micro iCAN which costs a lot less and has a more useful feature set.

The A1 also did not outplay the headphone output of an Audiolab 8200CDQ which I used to own and still highly recommend. The Audiolab MDAC is also recommended. No external headphone amp would be required for the T1.

In terms of DACs, you need to be thinking iFi Audio micro iDSD or better for the T1.

The Modi/Magni units are fine for a pair of M50's and will sound great. The T1 will show them up for what they are.

All those DACs cost as much as the headphones.
Is there no middle ground somewhere?

 

[Brooko]

For a desktop solution on a budget, I'd highly recommend the Audio-gd NFB-15. Good price, dual Wolfson WM8741 DAC chips may not be the ultimate in resolution - but the sound is full bodied with a tinge of underlying warmth. Amp is more than powerful enough for the T1. I used mine for a long time with the T1. Really nice pairing, and will do you for a long time - until you can afford something better.

One of the things I liked with it is that you can run it as a DAC into another amp - so you can add a tube set-up using the NFB15 DAC. I used a Little Dot MKIV - and that gave me a good taste of both SS and Tube on tap whenever I felt like switching. The T1 isn't picky - it just likes enough voltage. So you don't have to spend mega$$ to get decent sound

 

[ludvigrollover]

 
All those DACs cost as much as the headphones.
Is there no middle ground somewhere?

 
If you have to ask...
 
My T1 should arrive tomorrow and I'm going to use my Magni2ü/Modi2ü combo with them. Headfiers will sneer at me for not using some exotic amp with a forest of tubes handcrafted by elven virgins. The horrors of off the shelf! At least Schiit publishes output wattages rated at 600 ohms - not many companies seem to want to (including the above mentioned Ifi).
 
Maybe it's not the perfect system but I'm not going to obsess over listening to compromises made in the building of gear. I'm interested in using the gear to listen to music, not the other way around. My ears are almost 51 years old, non-upgradable and out of warranty, so I'm not too concerned about any treble peaks. I'm not afraid of EQ if it's needed either. If I do keep the phones, I'll probably build a Crack for fun (and girls go crazy 'bout them bottle amps - right. Right?). Modi will be good enough for me at least until Schiit tricles their advanced DAC stuff down to Bifrost level.
 
Keep your head and buy neutral good bang-for-buck gear, especially if you haven't developed advanced critical listening skills yet. I haven't and personally I'd rather learn more musical appreciation of different genres than training for listening to electronics.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Hmm so many choices. I think I'm good with the amps I have, Asgard 2 & Headroom Desktop amp. They drive the headphone fine & can go much louder than I can tolerate..
 
I'm not sure which DAC to get though & how much of an improvement it will give.
 
If I can say one thing so far, is that while the T1 is a great quality headphone, but it hasn't come close to wowing me.
I owned a Audio Technica AD700, & ATH-M50, Sennheiser HD600 & Philips Fildelio X1.
 
The T1 doesn't seem like a jump from them at all. Certainly not $600 more than them. Again, not sure if it is because I don't have  DAC or my amps are not high end enough.
Bass hit harder on the X1, soundstage was more expansive on the AD700, the HD600 might have been balanced better overall (didn't like the veiled sound though).
 
If I bought these for the full retail price of $1,200+ when they first came out, I would probably be very mad.
 
I'm kinda also disappointed in the soundstage, as people were always compared it favorable to the HD800. Like it was a close 2nd, but so far it doesn't really seem like it to me.