[Arniesb]

Thanks for all the reponses! Is it fine to run them through a 3.5mm adaptor?

No problem. Thats why adapters exist!

 

[davidjo_]

No problem. Thats why adapters exist!

Thats what i thought! But ive been told adaptors can potentially add noise

 

[Arniesb]

Just think about it. Lot of Headphones have adapters included... unless adapter is of bad quality its all should be good. I think, dont worry.

 

[DavidA]

Thats what i thought! But ive been told adaptors can potentially add noise

There some noted headphones that have come with bad adapters (M1060 is one that comes to mind) but as a whole I haven't notice any complaints lately

 

[Me x3]

Thanks for all the reponses! Is it fine to run them through a 3.5mm adaptor?

Yes, sure.

The Sennheiser cable adapter is a convenient solution:

 

[headwhacker]

Thats what i thought! But ive been told adaptors can potentially add noise

Grado's Adaptor is solid and one of the best I've seen. Never had any issues due to bad connection

 

[gab840]

Anyone Tried T1 with Heron Airist 5

 

[hypnos1]

I had T1 over 23000. It had excellent full and alive mids with great transparancy, one of the best bass quality Bass "especially midbass was great!" in dynamic driver tech, one of the best soundstage. Only fault was sharp highs, but if u use tube amp as Feliks audio it would be no problem Earlier models said to be thinner ir every way.

Hi Arniesb. Your - and other recent comments - have prompted me to finally give my own experience with the T1 (Gen1).

From widely varying reports on these Beyers, it would appear to me that these particular headphones do (as with the HD800 it seems!) benefit greatly from being fortunate enough when matching to 'sympathetic' gear downstream. As for being "hard to drive" (not your statement lol!), I myself find that a bit hard to understand. I have plugged mine into various tube amps besides my LittleDot MKIV SE; Feliks-Audio Elise and Euforia... plus a few SS amps, an ibasso DX90 and my Hugo2 DAC/AMP...and all had no trouble whatsoever in driving them with ease.

As for the 'treble spike' issue, once again, I have never experienced it such as to be overly troublesome. There have been the odd occasions, however, when excessively bright recordings have indeed sounded a bit harsh, but one cannot really blame the T1s for not 'softening' them down enough lol!!

Equally, some SS amplification can also heighten any brightness in recordings of course. Which is why many folks do recommend tube amps for 'helping' these Beyers...although not all tubes (or the amps themselves!) can be relied upon to 'warm' things up - as I have found over years of rolling many different types of tubes in my three amps. Even with tube amps, the T1s often need other factors in place before they can perform to their absolute best. What I personally have found recently is that they respond well to good upgrades in any and all other elements of the system, from mains power conditioning/filtering, through better media source, to DAC...(my own being an AirlinkTransformers Balanced AC Mains/Advanced Filter ASF3000; Naim UnitiCore server/CD ripper/internal SSD + ext USB media player, and Hugo2...feeding my F-A Euforia). At each stage of upgrade, my T1s performed better across the board, with bass and treble benefiting especially.

What has in fact surprised me most, however (in conjunction with these other upgrades, no doubt!), is the leap in their performance from replacing my (pure silver) interconnects with Neotech single crystal UPOCC silver-wired cable that I terminated myself...and to which I added some UPOCC copper wire. My T1s have never sounded so smooth, but without any loss whatsoever of detail, clarity, or impact - the exact opposite, in fact. Soundstage also is more 3-dimensional still, with even better focus and imaging...approaching the famed HD 800.

As a final 'extreme' experiment - given these effects on T1 performance - I first changed the RCA plugs used on the interconnects to much better ones, with further noticeable improvement...in tonal range and clarity especially. Then I decided to go ultra extreme and follow the mantra : 'the best connector is no connector' and take the cable direct to the signal wires inside the amp, and direct to the DAC's socket via a modified plug such that the wires make direct contact...hence no plugs, and one set of sockets bypassed completely. All I can say (apart from "am I mad?!) is that I wasn't prepared for the resultant sound...my T1s literally sounded almost like different cans - to my ears, a hybrid T1/HD800, but with a fuller sound even than either on their own, and the sweetest, detailed treble imaginable...from Beyer T1s!! Not to mention phenomenal bass extension/detail/control/impact...and mids to die for...and even more holographic presentation...etc. etc.

Obviously, one cannot expect folks to perhaps go to such extremes, but hopefully this gives some idea of just what these headphones are truly capable of...and gives credence to the saying : "fortune favours the brave"!! And hopefully won't attract too much derision from those who have never even attempted to trial such things lol! ...

 

[Arniesb]

Hi Arniesb. Your - and other recent comments - have prompted me to finally give my own experience with the T1 (Gen1).

From widely varying reports on these Beyers, it would appear to me that these particular headphones do (as with the HD800 it seems!) benefit greatly from being fortunate enough when matching to 'sympathetic' gear downstream. As for being "hard to drive" (not your statement lol!), I myself find that a bit hard to understand. I have plugged mine into various tube amps besides my LittleDot MKIV SE; Feliks-Audio Elise and Euforia... plus a few SS amps, an ibasso DX90 and my Hugo2 DAC/AMP...and all had no trouble whatsoever in driving them with ease.

As for the 'treble spike' issue, once again, I have never experienced it such as to be overly troublesome. There have been the odd occasions, however, when excessively bright recordings have indeed sounded a bit harsh, but one cannot really blame the T1s for not 'softening' them down enough lol!!

Equally, some SS amplification can also heighten any brightness in recordings of course. Which is why many folks do recommend tube amps for 'helping' these Beyers...although not all tubes (or the amps themselves!) can be relied upon to 'warm' things up - as I have found over years of rolling many different types of tubes in my three amps. Even with tube amps, the T1s often need other factors in place before they can perform to their absolute best. What I personally have found recently is that they respond well to good upgrades in any and all other elements of the system, from mains power conditioning/filtering, through better media source, to DAC...(my own being an AirlinkTransformers Balanced AC Mains/Advanced Filter ASF3000; Naim UnitiCore server/CD ripper/internal SSD + ext USB media player, and Hugo2...feeding my F-A Euforia). At each stage of upgrade, my T1s performed better across the board, with bass and treble benefiting especially.

What has in fact surprised me most, however (in conjunction with these other upgrades, no doubt!), is the leap in their performance from replacing my (pure silver) interconnects with Neotech single crystal UPOCC silver-wired cable that I terminated myself...and to which I added some UPOCC copper wire. My T1s have never sounded so smooth, but without any loss whatsoever of detail, clarity, or impact - the exact opposite, in fact. Soundstage also is more 3-dimensional still, with even better focus and imaging...approaching the famed HD 800.

As a final 'extreme' experiment - given these effects on T1 performance - I first changed the RCA plugs used on the interconnects to much better ones, with further noticeable improvement...in tonal range and clarity especially. Then I decided to go ultra extreme and follow the mantra : 'the best connector is no connector' and take the cable direct to the signal wires inside the amp, and direct to the DAC's socket via a modified plug such that the wires make direct contact...hence no plugs, and one set of sockets bypassed completely. All I can say (apart from "am I mad?!) is that I wasn't prepared for the resultant sound...my T1s literally sounded almost like different cans - to my ears, a hybrid T1/HD800, but with a fuller sound even than either on their own, and the sweetest, detailed treble imaginable...from Beyer T1s!! Not to mention phenomenal bass extension/detail/control/impact...and mids to die for...and even more holographic presentation...etc. etc.

Obviously, one cannot expect folks to perhaps go to such extremes, but hopefully this gives some idea of just what these headphones are truly capable of...and gives credence to the saying : "fortune favours the brave"!! And hopefully won't attract too much derision from those who have never even attempted to trial such things lol! ...

Im glad youre enjoying them, its a heck of cans which get better and better with serious gear. I realy miss the T1.1 Only reason i sold T1 was because i didnt wanted to deal with Tubes, other than that it was great expierence
By the way wich was your favourite amp pairing with T1? O forgot to mention that desing of T1 is amazing!!! Like a most luxurious Watch you ever see.

 

[hypnos1]

Im glad youre enjoying them, its a heck of cans which get better and better with serious gear. I realy miss the T1.1 Only reason i sold T1 was because i didnt wanted to deal with Tubes, other than that it was great expierence
By the way wich was your favourite amp pairing with T1? O forgot to mention that desing of T1 is amazing!!! Like a most luxurious Watch you ever see.

Hi again Arnie...yes indeed - it's a shame not more folks are getting the best out of these headphones...I personally think these to be some of the (if not the) best value-for-money high grade cans out there. Especially if, like me, they can coax the Gen1 into fertile ground lol!!...the retuned gen2 would most probably not sound as good in my current setup! And, given the silly prices you can now get on good used/almost new examples of Gen1, I have treated myself to another set, which I shall butcher in the hope of successfully replacing the cable with one I shall make myself, using the amazing Neotech UPOCC wire once more (with several different gauges of silver and one copper). And as I've already voided my Euforia's warranty(!), I shall take these also inside the amp. I first tried this with my HD650s into my LittleDot tube amp, again with quite noticeable improvement!...(the so-called 'high quality' Neutrik HP socket not impressing me one little bit, having failed!!). I can only imagine what delights now lay in store...(hopefully!)....assuming I don't fry the delicate HP drivers, that is!!!

Favourite amp pairing? Although they sounded great with the Questyle CMA800 SS amp, I personally always preferred my F-A Euforia tube amp. The Senn HD800 sounded better in the Questyle...for obvious reasons lol!...and great in Euforia. But now, with the interconnects 'plugless', my T1s are simply loving Euforia - and vice versa! - and are delivering such a beautifully rich/all encompassing sound that I no longer have any desire whatsoever to lust after the Senns...or Utopias even!

ps. I too love the design of the T1...although the 800 is the most comfortable HP I've ever tried, I'm afraid I just can't love its design in the same way...

 

[Arniesb]

Agree, its a shame that people write off T1.1 and HD800 not "S" most of the time, because they dont want to understand that these cans need most carefull Amp and dac selection.
Lot of my friends just use demanding headphones with low end equipment and just bash these "Dynamic Duo" lol
I also got to say You got rly nice collection Hypnos im so jealous of Utopia. For me as Dynamic cans lover Utopia is a must have along with HD800S and Th900 Mk2 I hate this Hobby
Its a lot of time have passed since T1 and HD800 was announced. They are working for something special i bet.

 

[Cobold]

..., using the amazing Neotech UPOCC wire once more (with several different gauges of silver and one copper).

Would you please give some details about what kind of Neotech you are usinig.
Is it the Headphone or RCA cable?

 

[hypnos1]

Would you please give some details about what kind of Neotech you are usinig.
Is it the Headphone or RCA cable?

Hi Cobold.

Would have loved to use the XLR interconnect version I adapted for RCA - MUCH more silver for the same money!! - but would still have had to add extra for the 4th channel, and would already have been far too heavy/stiff anyway!

So I've gone for 8 metres each of the teflon coated solid UPOCC wire : silver - AWG 24 (0.52mm) and AWG 26 (0.45); copper - AWG 24 (0.55mm), giving a 12-wire, 2m cable that I will lightly braid and cover in their black expandable sleeving. Not cheap, but far cheaper than anything comparable on the commercial market lol!!...especially IF one could even find such a UPOCC-clad animal with that amount of solid silver AND copper, which I personally much prefer to silver-plated copper! Gonna be a bit on the heavy side, no doubt, but most of it can sit on the chair beside me anyway!! "Lightweight" and/or stranded wire is more flexible to be sure, but I'm a diehard fan of a good dose of solid stuff myself...

 

[Lorspeaker]

the Audeze 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor sounded more mellow..( n smoother?) than the Grado adaptor...to my ears.

No Squalene oil for Hypnos1 ?

 

[hypnos1]

the Audeze 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor sounded more mellow..( n smoother?) than the Grado adaptor...to my ears.

No Squalene oil for Hypnos1 ?

Hi L...long time no speak - hope you're doin' OK......

No...no Sqaulene for me lol! - just remove any and all adapter/connections possible(!), and treat oneself to UPOCC silver and copper-wired cable.... my surprise at its credentials in interconnects has now been compounded by the results of my finished HP cable using same. At first I didn't think the improvement to match that of taking the UPOCC interconnects directly to my amp's signal wires, even though quite substantial. However, after 24hrs' continuous burn-in, my T1s (via Euforia tube amp) have taken yet another big leap in performance, and confirm just what these cans are capable of given the right feeds downstream lol! That this wire can easily outperform 'ordinary' pure silver and good quality copper, and have these Beyers deliver such a clear, detailed, tonally rich...and yes, smooth etc. sound, has taken me aback big time. I now much prefer what my system is giving to what I heard at CanJam London recently from the Utopias out of Feliks-Audio's Euforia there. I can only surmise that one's money is MUCH better spent on upgrading power conditioning/source/DAC and amp...not forgetting UPOCC cables, of course!! ...and staying with the T1s (gen1). The 'experimental' second pair I got off ebay (in extremely good condition) cost me just £350, and the 24m of Neotech UPOCC silver and copper wires (solid) just over £300...together, not too big an expense for such wonderful sound lol! But you'll need average soldering skills...or a very good friend who does!

Given the generally accepted high quality (and performance) of the stock cable, I was somewhat surprised (nay, dismayed!) at what I found on dissection...ie. the bulk of the cable is in fact shielding...which some have advocated disconnecting from the return anyway!! The signal wires can't be any more than (stranded) 0.5mm copper each, which is tiny in my book. And so it's no wonder that any good quality solid wire - silver or copper - should be able to outperform it! My own choice - based on that used by hyper-expensive cable makers - was a total of 12 wires, with the equivalent of 0.97mm silver + 0.55mm copper each per signal and return...with the superior material, of course!

A couple of photos to give some idea of what I'm talking about......with stock for comparison...



Luckily, the cable ended up much less bulky and lighter than anticipated, given all these wires lol!! And side by side...no contest in the content stakes...just as in the final performance stakes!...and that's with the jack plug attached - can't imagine what's in store when I take this cable direct to the amp's internals lol!... ...(which will, actually, be easier than attaching all those wires to the darned plug!! ...).

And so, the final outcome of all this?...I now have no desire whatsoever to oust my (2!) sets of T1 (gen1)...their true potential is WAY above what is, unfortunately, too often attained, and has me wondering why oh why did Beyer not put a much better cable on them in the first place - not to mention swappable? The cynic in me says...so you will want/need to spend a good bit more in the near future on yet another (improved) version, as per usual commercial tactics...(??!!)...hmmm....CHEERS!...