[buzzlulu]

Good to hear.
I hope to have my T2 next month

 

[number1sixerfan]

Good to hear.
I hope to have my T2 next month

Certainly looking forward to your impressions. And congrats!!

------------

Also have done some much needed comparisons between the Raal/TC/SGL over the past week. Another great 3hr session tonight, wrote up quite a bit. Will probably take the next week doing the same and will share an update then.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Welp. Ended up going the DIY T2 route via Kerry at Head-case. There were a few things that made it a pretty easy decision:

1. Had already made the decision to upgrade my amp towards the end of the year. He already had a build that's just been started and delivery timing is much shorter than I thought and aligns for me.
2. I've seen so much positive feedback on his amps and his service.. via searches on here and head-case, via pm recommendations from others. And he was super responsive, helpful and provided great service when I reached out.
3. I've always been curious about the size of jump in performance between it and the BHSE. And I've seen too many people's opinions over the years I generally trust that say it's a considerable upgrade, both people with differing and similar preferences in general, which to me a strong signal. Did a few days crash course research and it probably seems like the best bet out of what I was considering (Woo 3ES and Viva STX). I asked for Kerry's personal opinion of his favorite combos with the amp and what he loves most about it, and that actually really sold me. I know stats pretty well and know the 009/007 like the back of my hand and the way he described pairings and the strengths of his favorite really aligned with my preferences and experiences. I didn't tell him what I think the BHSE can improve on, but his response suggests that the T2 improves particularly in those exact areas.
4. Although I'm not technical whatsoever, the craftsmanship of his T2's looks to be incredible. Both internally and externally.

At one point I was really leaning towards the 3ES Elite, which I would still really like to try, but I'm really excited that I had the chance to pivot. Just sharing the above as DIY at this price point has always been daunting, but the process thus far was a breeze and the wait time far lower than I expected. Oh, and I will absolutely keep the BHSE and compare them for a few months.

 

[buzzlulu]

Congratulations and welcome to the T2 club!

I have owned a Birgir Carbon for the past 3 years and started getting curious this past spring. Justin sent a BHSE to demo with my 009S and, while it was great, there was not sufficient difference (or improvement) for me to consider changing. I contacted Kerry and he sent a new amp he has been working on which is a single box version of a mini T2. A great amp however once again more of a lateral side move rather than upgrade over a Carbon.

At the end of May I trekked into the city (only an hour away) and brought my 009S, Carbon, and Linn Klimax DS source to Kerry’s to demo a T2 he had just finished up for someone in the UK. My demo was brief - it was a rather quick and easy decision to pull the trigger. My T2 should hopefully be ready next month.

Kerry is an absolute gem of a person - a true gentleman. I run a fairly high end 2 channel Naim/Linn/dCS system and am used to finely built components. Kerry’s T2 is an absolute jewel - a true work of art.

 

[qboogie]

*Warning, really long post*

Finally getting around to sharing some initial impressions. Btw, I used the PL EVO 400 with the Susvara/TC/Sr1a mainly in this comparison. Using the BHSE for the Shangri-La Sr.

TL;DR: the Shangri-La Sr. to my ears represents a clear step above any of the headphones I own, inclusive of the 009/TC/Sr1a/Susvara. I anticipated that itmay be like a mashup of the 009 and Susvara, on steroids based on everything I read... and I wasn’t too far off with that at all. It takes some of the strengths of each, further refines them and does so without any weaknesses (fyi, tonality wise it leans more toward the Susvara, which I know people would want to know). However the jump and increase in performance over the other headphones is not insanely huge imho. One may even argue that they aren't huge in may aspects at all, although the overall presentation again is a pretty clear step above. That said, you have to pay a pretty high premium just to get that extra, let's say 15% performance gain. Still, its performance has led me to reach for the others barely, if at all. And that really has never happened before, not with any of the TOTL headphones I've purchased in the past year or so.

Additional points:

• The aspects that stand out the most for are the refinement/fidelity of sound, realism, and overall completeness.
  • Refinement and Realism: almost every aspect of the sound is improved slightly over the others, which when adding up really adds a refinement factor. There’s greater body and weight to the sound than all of the other headphones, which also really contributes to the realism aspect as well. Every piano key stroke and pluck of a guitar string sounds more realistic. Vocals also sound slightly more real and lush, just extremely euphoric. This in addition to the separation in the music and sountstaging (which I’ll get to), makes it sound more detailed than then others as well.
  • Completeness: without a question, this is the most complete headphone I have ever heard. I really hate to use the word perfect, but that’s pretty much what it is. The spaciousness, soundstaging and imaging is done perfectly. The lows, mids and highs are all excellent without a hint of deficiency (No brightness in the highs, recession in the mids, insufficient bass—none of these are issues whatsoever). The entire spectrum of the sound just comes together really well.

• Outside of the wow factors mentioned above, I was really impressed with the soundstaging and imaging, and didn’t expect to be to this degree. The soundstage is really expansive, both height and width wise. Not as drastically as the TC and Raal, but it sounds more organic/natural with how the entire sound comes together, especially with the superb imaging.

• 009/Susvara comparisons:
  • Tonality: pretty neutral, leans more towards the Susvara (which is a really good thing imo) than the 009, but just a tad bit more engaging than the slightly more polite sound of the Susvara. Totally avoids the issues in the highs that I and many others have with the 009.
  • Detail: as mentioned above, there’s a greater sense of detail than both due to the realism, sounstaging and imaging. However, overall the 009 isn’t far behind and the Susvara very, very close to the 009.
  • Soundstage and Imaging: height and width wise, the SGL Sr. is much more expansive than the Susvara, and a bit more than the 009. Imaging and separation in the music is where the gap is much larger. It takes this strength of the 009, which I have higher in this regard, and just takes it even further. It’s much more comparable to the TC or Raal in this regard. (and unfortunately, I need more time to confirm which is best in comparison to the TC/Raal). It is extremely easy to pick out where everything is in each song, no matter how complex. And it all feels perfectly done.
  • Highs: this is another area where it feels like I get a blend of the 009 and Susvara. The highs are more sparkly and vibrant than the Susvara, but I’m not having any issues with brightness like I do in long sessions with the 009. Probably need a bit more time to get more specific.
  • Mids: this is easily the best and most complete midrange I have ever heard. I have a really huge knack for a prominent midrange and particularly with vocals and the SGL Sr. really delivers here—worth noting, the vocals sound insanely real. That said, all three of these have really, really great mids.. so I’m not talking some huge difference here at all. I’ll say that due to the lighter weight to the sound and bit of brightness in the 009, when I swap back there’s an initial sense of clarity, but then I very quickly miss the spaciousness, slightly more lush vocals, and better balance of sound. There’s less of a perceived difference moving to the Susvara because they are closer in tonality—really it’s just the spaciousness, detail and imaging where the SGL outclasses the Susvara in the mid to upper frequencies.
  • Bass: I need more time here, but sounds very similar to the Susvara, which I have just slightly ahead of the 009 in terms of impact and quantity. All three seem very similar in terms of quality.. very tight, articulate and seemingly accurate bass. Also, I’ve said on this site several times that I wish the 009 had the Susvara’s bass and that’s essentially what the SGL seems to accomplish. That said, you aren’t going to get theTC’s, heart thumping bass. Just not going to happen lol. But I do need more time to try and assess accuracy against the TC.

• TC/Raal: My general early impression here is that the SGL all are very close technically from a detail, imaging, soundstaging etc perspective, but the SGL is just far more complete which gives it the clear edge. I can’t offer an extremely detailed comparison here, but that’s because the TC and Sr1a have more glaring weaknesses in their sound imho (more than the Susvara for sure and arguably the 009). This makes it really, really hard to go back to from the SGL Sr... now to be clear, both the TC and Raal are EXCELLENT. I am simply saying their weaknesses are more glaring than some others. The SGL Sr. has much more body than the Raal and far better bass. It also has more body than the TC and just a much better midrange given the TC’s recession issues. So even though the TC has more foot tapping bass and the Raal a more open sound due to it’s design, I don’t have the much motivation to reach for either lately.

• The one downside.... cost. In my true and honest opinion... these are overpriced. And this is not to offend any other SGL owners, but it’s to be transparent. I know that TOTL gear doesn’t scale linearly, but I don’t quite care lol, these are too expensive for what they are. The build quality *at this price* is pretty bad (although extremely comfortable and robust like the Susvara, just looks cheap). Also, the sound is not anywhere near $8-15k better than the others, again to be expected, but still a lot of money. I would think around a $8-10k list price would actually be appropriate, maybe slightly less. All of that said, the same can be said for just about everything else I own lol. If you’re looking for the “best”, this is absolutely a candidate and is absolutely the best I’ve ever heard and in that case the price may be worth it to you. Last thing I'll add here is that having just completed a speaker shootout with the HSA-1b/WA33/PL EVO 400/Marantz MM7055, I would absolutely skip all of that lol and just pick one dependable/capable amp and instead put that money towards the SGL. MUCH bigger differences and satisfaction at least for me. Just something to think about as we're all chasing various upgrades and ultimately spending enough money to cover one as we do so (especially for people that may think it's out of reach).

Now this brings me to my final thoughts. Again, the most telling thing for me is the fact that I literally don’t have much motivation to reach for the other headphones, 009 or Susvara included. I mainly spent the time A/B’ing with the 009 and Susvara because of my initial hypothesis that the SGL Sr. would take strengths from each and amplify them, which it essentially does. This has really never happened... the TC didn’t make me abandon the Utopia/VC/HD800. The Susvara didn’t make me abandon the TC/Utopia/009, and so on, so forth. So although a lot of the differences are not huge in nature, the totality and sum of all of improvements in the various aspects of the sound really add up to what you could call considerable refinement and what is to me, a very clear step above the rest.

Congrats on your collection, bud. May you have no regrets ever. Hopefully you have someone in your life who can appreciate it as much as you.

I though I was done after getting the TC. Now the DCA Stealth is out and I'm saving up.

With raal's circumaural coming out and audeze CRBN out now, do you think you'll be curious enough to get them and keep making your comparisons? Or is the SGL the end of the shootouts for a "while?"

 

[Sajid Amit]

Congrats on your collection, bud. May you have no regrets ever. Hopefully you have someone in your life who can appreciate it as much as you.

I though I was done after getting the TC. Now the DCA Stealth is out and I'm saving up.

With raal's circumaural coming out and audeze CRBN out now, do you think you'll be curious enough to get them and keep making your comparisons? Or is the SGL the end of the shootouts for a "while?"

Stealth
CRBN
Abyss CB
Raal circumaural
Empyrean Elite

 

[number1sixerfan]

Congratulations and welcome to the T2 club!

I have owned a Birgir Carbon for the past 3 years and started getting curious this past spring. Justin sent a BHSE to demo with my 009S and, while it was great, there was not sufficient difference (or improvement) for me to consider changing. I contacted Kerry and he sent a new amp he has been working on which is a single box version of a mini T2. A great amp however once again more of a lateral side move rather than upgrade over a Carbon.

At the end of May I trekked into the city (only an hour away) and brought my 009S, Carbon, and Linn Klimax DS source to Kerry’s to demo a T2 he had just finished up for someone in the UK. My demo was rather brief - it was a rather quick and easy decision to pull the trigger. My T2 should hopefully be ready next month.

Kerry is an absolute gem of a person - a true gentleman. I run a fairly high end 2 channel Naim/Linn/dCS system and am used to finely built components. Kerry’s T2 is an absolute jewel - a true work of art.

That's really good to hear in terms of the comparison and how easy it was to decide. I've always considered the Carbon and BHSE to be right at the same level, just different flavors. That's a big reason I never got around to trying one; like you if I'm going to move away from the BHSE, I want a for sure upgrade.

Can't wait to see updates when you receive yours!

Congrats on your collection, bud. May you have no regrets ever. Hopefully you have someone in your life who can appreciate it as much as you.

I though I was done after getting the TC. Now the DCA Stealth is out and I'm saving up.

With raal's circumaural coming out and audeze CRBN out now, do you think you'll be curious enough to get them and keep making your comparisons? Or is the SGL the end of the shootouts for a "while?"

Lol, thank you! I have a girlfriend that I'm generally transparent about with the rig, but am assuming that if we tie the knot, I'll never be able to purchase anything again lol

But anyways, the only reason I have this much gear all at once is because of covid. I've had a ton of downtime since I've had to be really cautious because I also help take care of older, high risk family members. So I've been in the house religiously since the start.. this hobby is one of the only things keeping me sane. So until we see major progress in the US or until I have a monetary need to sell, I'll be keeping most of everything.

I'm a big believer in technology advancement, so there are definitely a few headphones I'll still always try out, but I'll be selective. Anything I think may* truly compete against the TC/Sus/009 I'll have interest in. I just know I won't be owning all of these long-term. I have a CRBN on order, wondering if it can be a great complement to the SGL. At the moment, the TC seems to be the best complementary headphone, but more thoughts on that later.

 

[Tarttett]

Congratulations and welcome to the T2 club!

I have owned a Birgir Carbon for the past 3 years and started getting curious this past spring. Justin sent a BHSE to demo with my 009S and, while it was great, there was not sufficient difference (or improvement) for me to consider changing. I contacted Kerry and he sent a new amp he has been working on which is a single box version of a mini T2. A great amp however once again more of a lateral side move rather than upgrade over a Carbon.

At the end of May I trekked into the city (only an hour away) and brought my 009S, Carbon, and Linn Klimax DS source to Kerry’s to demo a T2 he had just finished up for someone in the UK. My demo was rather brief - it was a rather quick and easy decision to pull the trigger. My T2 should hopefully be ready next month.

Kerry is an absolute gem of a person - a true gentleman. I run a fairly high end 2 channel Naim/Linn/dCS system and am used to finely built components. Kerry’s T2 is an absolute jewel - a true work of art.

Would you possibly be able to provide your impression, for that sound performance, for that Mini T2 amplifier, in comparison for those different amplifiers that you previously had experienced?

 

[paradoxper]

Welp. Ended up going the DIY T2 route via Kerry at Head-case. There were a few things that made it a pretty easy decision:

1. Had already made the decision to upgrade my amp towards the end of the year. He already had a build that's just been started and delivery timing is much shorter than I thought and aligns for me.
2. I've seen so much positive feedback on his amps and his service.. via searches on here and head-case, via pm recommendations from others. And he was super responsive, helpful and provided great service when I reached out.
3. I've always been curious about the size of jump in performance between it and the BHSE. And I've seen too many people's opinions over the years I generally trust that say it's a considerable upgrade, both people with differing and similar preferences in general, which to me a strong signal. Did a few days crash course research and it probably seems like the best bet out of what I was considering (Woo 3ES and Viva STX). I asked for Kerry's personal opinion of his favorite combos with the amp and what he loves most about it, and that actually really sold me. I know stats pretty well and know the 009/007 like the back of my hand and the way he described pairings and the strengths of his favorite really aligned with my preferences and experiences. I didn't tell him what I think the BHSE can improve on, but his response suggests that the T2 improves particularly in those exact areas.
4. Although I'm not technical whatsoever, the craftsmanship of his T2's looks to be incredible. Both internally and externally.

At one point I was really leaning towards the 3ES Elite, which I would still really like to try, but I'm really excited that I had the chance to pivot. Just sharing the above as DIY at this price point has always been daunting, but the process thus far was a breeze and the wait time far lower than I expected. Oh, and I will absolutely keep the BHSE and compare them for a few months.

Good man. Good move.

Kerry is quite simply the very best the DIY (which puts to shame commercial offerings) community has to offer. Both in craftsmanship and personal character.

Fun times ahead.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Good man. Good move.

Kerry is quite simply the very best the DIY (which puts to shame commercial offerings) community has to offer. Both in craftsmanship and personal character.

Fun times ahead.

That's literally all I keep coming across regarding him. Definitely puts my mind at ease with the entire process.

Also, thank you for bullying me into this decision LOL

 

[paradoxper]

DP.

 

[paradoxper]

That's literally all I keep coming across regarding him. Definitely puts my mind at ease with the entire process.

Also, thank you for bullying me into this decision LOL

We are all only so strong.

 

[mammal]

Soooo, going to listen to Shangri-la Sr in a couple of weeks, curious if I will end up like @number1sixerfan and order it with T2

 

[432789]

Properly EQ‘d Sennheiser HE60 powered with SRD7-Topping amp combo is the closest thing to total transparency I have ever heard in a headphone.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Soooo, going to listen to Shangri-la Sr in a couple of weeks, curious if I will end up like @number1sixerfan and order it with T2

I'm glad you're finally getting to try them. I also saw that you just tried the 009S and Sr1a as well? How was that? I might be able to tell you if you'll end up losing your wallet based on how that went lol

Properly EQ‘d Sennheiser HE60 powered with SRD7-Topping amp combo is the closest thing to total transparency I have ever heard in a headphone.

The HE60 is indeed one of the most transparent headphones I've ever heard. The tone is extremely natural, it actually could be the best in that regard period. But you have to give up so much bottom end and body of the music for it as a tradeoff. That said, I'm never selling my current HE60. Too unique in what it does and it was the first stat I ever heard. I've had 4 pairs in total, so that should say how much I love them.