[plakat]

Unfortunately no chance to compare with stationary equipment or other dap yet. I use a balanced connection with a sem 3 module

On that case it might be worthwhile to check with the original Beyerdynamic cable, just to be sure you’re having a problem of some kind with your DAP and not just with cabling, connection etc

 

[streets112]

Hello, please advise on a DAP for beyerdynamic T5 3 generation. For instrumental music classical, jazz, rock. Now I have astell kern se 180, as I think it does not have enough power, the sound is flat, it lacks body, not much bass and treble sharp. I'm looking at astell kern kann ultra or se300

T5.3 is very easy to drive. You can drive it from an unbalanced output directly out of a tablet. I used it in the past alongside D9200 and Radiance and they were all almost identical in terms of power requirements. I currently use it alongside Stellia which is a little more sensitive, but in real life with T5.3 I usually only need increase volume by 1 step to sound just as loud.

I have no experience with SE180, but in past I used T5.3 with DX240, which looks to have similar specs. I remember that with AMP8 card I was using medium gain and volume somewhere in the area of 42-46 (out of 100). I conclusion, I don't think you need more power.

 

[HiddenSquid]

T5.3 is very easy to drive. You can drive it from an unbalanced output directly out of a tablet. I used it in the past alongside D9200 and Radiance and they were all almost identical in terms of power requirements. I currently use it alongside Stellia which is a little more sensitive, but in real life with T5.3 I usually only need increase volume by 1 step to sound just as loud.

I have no experience with SE180, but in past I used T5.3 with DX240, which looks to have similar specs. I remember that with AMP8 card I was using medium gain and volume somewhere in the area of 42-46 (out of 100). I conclusion, I don't think you need more power.

Comparison between d9200 vs radiance?

 

[streets112]

Comparison between d9200 vs radiance?

I liked them both, but sound is a very subjective topic. I can give you a rough summary as it wasn't that long ago - I only used DAPs as sources with these headphones (M17 and DX240 w/AMP8):

Lows - I liked Radiance more, because midbass was elevated a bit, liked it had more weight behind it, however I think it did overshadow subbass which didn't happen on D9200; also as far as I remember, bass on D9200 was very high quality, textured and nicely layered all the way down
Mids - both of these headphones sounded reasonably natural to me, but I thought D9200 is a bit mid forward headphone (or maybe I'm just sensitive to these frequencies, I don't know) and could get sibilant with voices on couple of songs; despite that I liked it very much, more than Radiance - some songs were a hard listen on D9200, but others were truly magical; Radiance was very neutral sounding and to me and never got sibilant or shouty
Highs - treble on D9200 sounded more extended and it was very airy presentation - I think most people would prefer it over Radiance, although I personally didn't feel like I was missing too much with Radiance
Soundstage - D9200 was very wide (wider than many open-back headphones), but not very deep or tall; Radiance was not as wide, but sounded taller to me, also not very deep
Imaging - this was a strong point with D9200 and to my ears was clearly better; because of that I really liked listening to Hotel California on D9200

In the end I sold both of them - I have a big head and D9200 was not very comfortable, I could only listen to 30-40 min before my head started to hurt (headband is very hard and has some sort of a sharp edge right in the center) - I tried to fix it with extra padding as I liked this headphone, but because of my large head earcups no longer covered my ears anymore so I had to sell it. After that I've gotten Liric and Stellia, so I decided to get rid of one more closed-back. I AB'd T5.3 and Radiance a lot and came to conclusion that T5.3 is a better headphone - it has the same physical, hard-hitting midbass, is just as detailed, but on top of that it has bigger soundstage (both wide and tall) and is way more comfortable.

 

[HiddenSquid]

I liked them both, but sound is a very subjective topic. I can give you a rough summary as it wasn't that long ago - I only used DAPs as sources with these headphones (M17 and DX240 w/AMP8):

Lows - I liked Radiance more, because midbass was elevated a bit, liked it had more weight behind it, however I think it did overshadow subbass which didn't happen on D9200; also as far as I remember, bass on D9200 was very high quality, textured and nicely layered all the way down
Mids - both of these headphones sounded reasonably natural to me, but I thought D9200 is a bit mid forward headphone (or maybe I'm just sensitive to these frequencies, I don't know) and could get sibilant with voices on couple of songs; despite that I liked it very much, more than Radiance - some songs were a hard listen on D9200, but others were truly magical; Radiance was very neutral sounding and to me and never got sibilant or shouty
Highs - treble on D9200 sounded more extended and it was very airy presentation - I think most people would prefer it over Radiance, although I personally didn't feel like I was missing too much with Radiance
Soundstage - D9200 was very wide (wider than many open-back headphones), but not very deep or tall; Radiance was not as wide, but sounded taller to me, also not very deep
Imaging - this was a strong point with D9200 and to my ears was clearly better; because of that I really liked listening to Hotel California on D9200

In the end I sold both of them - I have a big head and D9200 was not very comfortable, I could only listen to 30-40 min before my head started to hurt (headband is very hard and has some sort of a sharp edge right in the center) - I tried to fix it with extra padding as I liked this headphone, but because of my large head earcups no longer covered my ears anymore so I had to sell it. After that I've gotten Liric and Stellia, so I decided to get rid of one more closed-back. I AB'd T5.3 and Radiance a lot and came to conclusion that T5.3 is a better headphone - it has the same physical, hard-hitting midbass, is just as detailed, but on top of that it has bigger soundstage (both wide and tall) and is way more comfortable.

Nice review
have you heard sony-mdr z1r?

 

[Mrlittlebit]

T5.3 is very easy to drive. You can drive it from an unbalanced output directly out of a tablet. I used it in the past alongside D9200 and Radiance and they were all almost identical in terms of power requirements. I currently use it alongside Stellia which is a little more sensitive, but in real life with T5.3 I usually only need increase volume by 1 step to sound just as loud.

I have no experience with SE180, but in past I used T5.3 with DX240, which looks to have similar specs. I remember that with AMP8 card I was using medium gain and volume somewhere in the area of 42-46 (out of 100). I conclusion, I don't think you need more power.

Thank you for your reply. I use a balanced connection on which 6 vrms are claimed, the volume level is 100 out of 150, though this is on classical music recordings with not very high recording levels. I have read that low impedance headphones are more demanding on current level than voltage, maybe that's the issue.

 

[streets112]

Thank you for your reply. I use a balanced connection on which 6 vrms are claimed, the volume level is 100 out of 150, though this is on classical music recordings with not very high recording levels. I have read that low impedance headphones are more demanding on current level than voltage, maybe that's the issue.

I think your volume level is fine, especially considering you're listening to classical music.

I'm not technically proficient, but from reading head-fi and watching youtube I gathered that planar drivers require more current and they are usually low impedance with flat curve. T5.3 has a dynamic driver, but is low impedance, so it shouldn't need a lot of current or voltage. That's why I don't think your DAP lacks the power to drive it. If you feel like it sounds flat, it's more likely to be your personal preference in sound or pairing.

I use it currently with DX320 and AMP12EXNS which hits really hard in the bass, too much for me with stock T5.3, but I compensated it with Dekoni Choice Suede pads - they take off a little bit of bass and treble and expand soundstage a bit. Also the comfort is incredible - easily the most comfortable closed-back headphone for me. On the other hand you can try Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads, they increase bass, cut down treble, also increase the soundstage and I think they are also very comfortable, but not as much as suede.

 

[streets112]

Nice review
have you heard sony-mdr z1r?

Thanks.

No I didn't try MDR-Z1R. I wanted to try, but from 2021 it stopped being sold in my country and for some reason it costs now a lot more than it used to. The only way I can get it is either used, or from abroad for almost the price of a brand new Stellia. At the moment it's unlikely I'll be getting my hands on one.

 

[Mrlittlebit]

I think your volume level is fine, especially considering you're listening to classical music.

I'm not technically proficient, but from reading head-fi and watching youtube I gathered that planar drivers require more current and they are usually low impedance with flat curve. T5.3 has a dynamic driver, but is low impedance, so it shouldn't need a lot of current or voltage. That's why I don't think your DAP lacks the power to drive it. If you feel like it sounds flat, it's more likely to be your personal preference in sound or pairing.

I use it currently with DX320 and AMP12EXNS which hits really hard in the bass, too much for me with stock T5.3, but I compensated it with Dekoni Choice Suede pads - they take off a little bit of bass and treble and expand soundstage a bit. Also the comfort is incredible - easily the most comfortable closed-back headphone for me. On the other hand you can try Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads, they increase bass, cut down treble, also increase the soundstage and I think they are also very comfortable, but not as much as suede.

I originally listened to these headphones with the Earmen Angel, it was more powerful, gave a wider stage, larger images, deeper bass, but I was not satisfied with the fact that it gave sibilants. From this we can conclude that these headphones sound better with a more powerful source.

 

[giuseppe75]

i have T1 3RD and use v226 ...very power and sounds very beaty

 

[Mrlittlebit]

i have T1 3RD and use v226 ...very power and sounds very beaty

I need a portable source

 

[giuseppe75]

I need a portable source

mojo2

 

[Mrlittlebit]

mojo2

I listened to hugo 2, I didn't like it.

 

[shaafmasood]

Today i heard t1 3rd generation and the performance was not good like the bass was bleeding into mids and treble was not balanced
The quality of bass wasn’t good either
Anyone compared t1 3rd vs t5 3rd?

 

[neobandog1]

T1 is more airy better soundstage and also more treble ...but T5 need some time burn in in than will be more balanced end very smooth sounding headphones i like it more than T1 finally...