Beyerdynamic T1 'Tesla' Stereo Headphone review

[dalethorn]

The T1 is the best headphone listening experience I've had. I had the Sennheiser HD800 for 3 years, but rarely used it except as a reference. The T1 impresses me as sounding more like real music than the breathtaking but sonically-enhanced HD800.

 

Beyerdynamic T1 'Tesla' Stereo Headphone review

[Leroy Bad]

I've never tested the T1, but I am very impressed with the T-90 and T-70p.

[dalethorn]

I've never tested the T1, but I am very impressed with the T-90 and T-70p.

 

I got the T90 Jubilee recently, and while its treble is different from the T1, I can tweak it a little to get them very close, then the only real difference is the T1 has a little more depth, or a bigger image. But I could live with the T90 - it's a great headphone. I'd like to get a T5p and T70p, but first I'll have to find the cash.

[One and a half]

I bought a T1 a few weeks ago now. The sound, it grows on you. It's not a revolution in definition or reduction of colouration, just very pleasant to listen to. Not going to give the musical term, since the T1's are more accurate.

 

People make a storm in a tea cup with the spike in response at 7kHz, but hey, it's a spike and not a shelf, big difference. Bass is nice and taught, treble is very clean, mids are superb. I drive the T1 from either a Sony PHA-2 on the road or Phonitor 2 at home, obviously a big leap in the amplification quality, easily distinguished. Image size.... the Phonitor 2 creates the image to mimic speakers, the T1 can certainly follow that process, nice and solid too.

 

BTW looking for another head amp for the road, done with battery powered jobs and don't need them for portability as such, for listening after work at hotels, a Grace Design m920 might just fit the bill. I have the m903, it's a great HP amp, but could use the DSD functions of the m920. Back on topic.

 

The comfort level is a world apart in comparison to the head screw clamping of the Audeze LCD-3 (I also own for a year), which note for note has the edge on resolution to the T1. That edge is soon lost though by the comfort level and the physics of the LCD-3 which deserve the title of cans, cause that's their true shape.

Plus the T1's were marked down on Amazon by 20% something, so that was a sweetener for sure.

 

Out of the three headphones at home, Denon D-7000, Audeze LCD-3, Beyerdynamic T1, I would go for the T1, or something better from them in the future. Highly recommended.

[dalethorn]

I really like the looks of the Chord Hugo but the specs - 35 mw at 600 ohms - doesn't look promising. I like battery operation if I can get enough hours, since the AC line compromises things.

 

The T1 spike or whatever must be extremely narrow, since I don't pick up a significant bump around 7 khz on two different tone sweeps. I mention this because most of my headphones have strong output around 7 and 9 khz. Maybe they did some redesign?

[burnspbesq]

The T1 is the best headphone listening experience I've had. I had the Sennheiser HD800 for 3 years, but rarely used it except as a reference. The T1 impresses me as sounding more like real music than the breathtaking but sonically-enhanced HD800.

 

Beyerdynamic T1 'Tesla' Stereo Headphone review

 

We agree on a lot, but on this we're going to have to agree to disagree. Love the 800. T1? Unlistenable.

[dalethorn]

We agree on a lot, but on this we're going to have to agree to disagree. Love the 800. T1? Unlistenable.

 

I never agree to disagree, because it's a trap I won't fall into. There is no way to categorize the T1 as unlistenable except as a pure insult to Beyerdynamic. It doesn't help others who read these forums unless you provide specific examples of music tracks that sound terrible with the T1, so they can verify that themselves.

 

I consider every reader to be a customer, even though I'm not a pro reviewer and don't sell anything.

[burnspbesq]

I never agree to disagree, because it's a trap I won't fall into. There is no way to categorize the T1 as unlistenable except as a pure insult to Beyerdynamic. It doesn't help others who read these forums unless you provide specific examples of music tracks that sound terrible with the T1, so they can verify that themselves.

 

I consider every reader to be a customer, even though I'm not a pro reviewer and don't sell anything.

 

OK, I'll play. Here are two examples that come immediately to mind.

 

(1) The Baltimore Symphony/Alsop recording of the Dvorak "New World" Symphony. In the initial statement of the main theme of the second movement, you know what the two instruments are, correct? To me, the Beyer makes them sound like one strange hybrid single-reed woodwind not found in nature.

 

(2) Hank Jones and Roberta Gamberini, "You Are There." If you have enough experience in listening to piano played live, you know that Stenways and Bosendorfers don't sound anything alike, correct? With a decent recording and decent gear, you should be able to know without looking at liner notes. On the T1, you can't tell which it is.

 

Yes, I'm engaging in a high level of nit-picking. But when you're north of $1,000 those are the kind of differences that matter. And the T1 fails dismally.

[gcorley]

Kinda cool how unlistenable means different things to different folk...

[dalethorn]

Thanks for the suggestions - I'm digging into those now.

[dalethorn]

Kinda cool how unlistenable means different things to different folk...

 

Yes, and given these music examples, hopefully we'll learn something here.

[dalethorn]

(1) The Baltimore Symphony/Alsop recording of the Dvorak "New World" Symphony. In the initial statement of the main theme of the second movement, you know what the two instruments are, correct? To me, the Beyer makes them sound like one strange hybrid single-reed woodwind not found in nature.

 

The tracks I have are 11:46, 11:57, 7:05, and 10:55. If those correspond more or less to what you show, can you tell me the min:sec offset to listen for this?

 

(2) Hank Jones and Roberta Gamberini, "You Are There." If you have enough experience in listening to piano played live, you know that Steinways and Bosendorfers don't sound anything alike, correct? With a decent recording and decent gear, you should be able to know without looking at liner notes. On the T1, you can't tell which it is.

 

I'm not the Bosendorfer expert, but it would be nice to have one. I'll take your word for this tentatively since the piano is the backdrop, and I've heard better recordings. Actually the recording sounds very 'nice', but isn't a reference recording. I do like it. BTW, there are a few very short segments (1-2 seconds) that have enough harmonic detail to tell the difference, so all I need are similar clips from known recordings of each piano to compare...

 

Yes, I'm engaging in a high level of nit-picking. But when you're north of $1,000 those are the kind of differences that matter. And the T1 fails dismally.

 

I've already employed a bit of EQ, shown pictorally in the review link, and I presume you haven't. Those bits of EQ (except for the bass) are critical in many cases since there are sudden volume changes (undamped resonances? - don't know) between frequencies with most headphones, depending on the test tones I'm using to get me to the places where I need to listen closer. Those volume shifts create 'colorations' which can and do alter instrument tone, so once I know where the critical woodwind segment is, I intend to find out whether my present EQ (or subsequent modification) changes things.

 

I mention this because even though I had the HD800 for 3 years and am aware of its superior harmonic resolution, I'm not convinced it's the best thing for music. But then, there are many source players, amps, and other factors...

[burnspbesq]

The tracks I have are 11:46, 11:57, 7:05, and 10:55. If those correspond more or less to what you show, can you tell me the min:sec offset to listen for this?

 

 

 

I'm not the Bosendorfer expert, but it would be nice to have one. I'll take your word for this tentatively since the piano is the backdrop, and I've heard better recordings. Actually the recording sounds very 'nice', but isn't a reference recording. I do like it. BTW, there are a few very short segments (1-2 seconds) that have enough harmonic detail to tell the difference, so all I need are similar clips from known recordings of each piano to compare...

 

 

 

I've already employed a bit of EQ, shown pictorally in the review link, and I presume you haven't. Those bits of EQ (except for the bass) are critical in many cases since there are sudden volume changes (undamped resonances? - don't know) between frequencies with most headphones, depending on the test tones I'm using to get me to the places where I need to listen closer. Those volume shifts create 'colorations' which can and do alter instrument tone, so once I know where the critical woodwind segment is, I intend to find out whether my present EQ (or subsequent modification) changes things.

 

I mention this because even though I had the HD800 for 3 years and am aware of its superior harmonic resolution, I'm not convinced it's the best thing for music. But then, there are many source players, amps, and other factors...

 

The second movement is the one that is 11:57; in the tags on the CD, it's called "Largo." Instrument A begins the initial statement of the main theme at 0:42, and instrument B comes in at 1:10.

[dalethorn]

The second movement is the one that is 11:57; in the tags on the CD, it's called "Largo." Instrument A begins the initial statement of the main theme at 0:42, and instrument B comes in at 1:10.

 

Thanks. I might not have mentioned, that I'm not particularly liked at Beyerdynamic, since I was rather blunt about the extreme colorations with their mini-Teslas (T51p and DT1350), not to mention the bizarre-sounding $700 T90 Jubilee. So I didn't expect them to welcome my T1 review with open arms, but I do still hear a much, much better sound with the T1 than anything else they've produced. And that includes the cavernous-sounding DT770-32.

 

So I'm working on these music tracks (and the Dvorak seems like a quality recording) and will see what I can find about the Gambarini/Jones piano sound. May take a couple of days.

[dalethorn]

Oopsie - I think I should have spent more time on that EQ. The T1 has fairly major peaks at 2 and 4 khz amongst other uneven response, so I changed my EQ from:

 

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Audioforge/Beyer_T1a.jpg

 

TO:

 

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Audioforge/Beyer_T1.jpg

 

The green lines are the correction curves. That's not as far as I wanted to go for a better sound, and the highs are still a little crispy, but at least it takes some of the steely/metallic edge off of those clarinets and flutes (assuming that's what they are). As bad as this seems, I still hear a better unprocessed sound from the T1 than from their other Tesla headphones, not that it's great news for a $1400** headphone, or that it will make me more popular at Beyerdynamic.

 

**I paid $766 at Amazon just 2 weeks ago, and I still see prices in the low $800's. I'm guessing they may be bringing out something new.

[burnspbesq]

those clarinets and flutes (assuming that's what they are).

 

Almost half right. It's scored for oboe and standard b-flat clarinet, but the BSO's practice under Alsop (including on the recording), is to play it on English horn and bass clarinet. There's a YouTube video of the BSO's principal oboist practicing the solo line on English horn.

 

Not everybody has the listening experience that enables them to pick out those kinds of relatively minor differences in instrumental timbres. But gear that aspires to be reference-quality (as the T1 does) ought to make those differences easy to hear. It might be borderline OK if it's hard to tell the difference between oboe and English horn, or between a Les Paul with humbuckers and a Les Paul with P-90s. But an English horn shouldn't sound like a flute, and a Les Paul shouldn't sound like a Telecaster.

[dalethorn]

Almost half right. It's scored for oboe and standard b-flat clarinet, but the BSO's practice under Alsop (including on the recording), is to play it on English horn and bass clarinet. There's a YouTube video of the BSO's principal oboist practicing the solo line on English horn. Not everybody has the listening experience that enables them to pick out those kinds of relatively minor differences in instrumental timbres. But gear that aspires to be reference-quality (as the T1 does) ought to make those differences easy to hear. It might be borderline OK if it's hard to tell the difference between oboe and English horn, or between a Les Paul with humbuckers and a Les Paul with P-90s. But an English horn shouldn't sound like a flute, and a Les Paul shouldn't sound like a Telecaster.

 

I wonder how many $1400 headphones get it right all the time, besides the HD800? The AKG K812? LCD2 or LCD3 or LCD-XC? HiFiMan models (HE6 etc)?

[burnspbesq]

I wonder how many $1400 headphones get it right all the time, besides the HD800? The AKG K812? LCD2 or LCD3 or LCD-XC? HiFiMan models (HE6 etc)?

 

At $1K plus audiologist's fee for the impressions, I would vote for the UERM. They aren't the equal of the HD 800, but they aren't far behind.

 

I owned a pair of LCD-3s for a few months. I had other issues with them, but they're good on instrumental timbre. Haven't spent very much time with any of the other Audez'es.

 

I was very impressed with the HE-560 in a brief listening session.

 

Abyss and SR-009 are a whole other ballgame in terms of cost.

[dalethorn]

At $1K plus audiologist's fee for the impressions, I would vote for the UERM. They aren't the equal of the HD 800, but they aren't far behind. I owned a pair of LCD-3s for a few months. I had other issues with them, but they're good on instrumental timbre. Haven't spent very much time with any of the other Audez'es. I was very impressed with the HE-560 in a brief listening session. Abyss and SR-009 are a whole other ballgame in terms of cost.

 

I haven't heard anything specific about the Abyss that made me want it. The SR009 is a definite want, but where I feel comfortable moving my seating position here and there with the dynamics, the electrostatic is going to be inconvenient (basing that on owning the SRX MK3). The Alpha Dog I had was very disappointing - accurate in some respects, but a tofu taste - not for me. Custom IEMs are a great way to get a good fit, but there really needs to be a DIY kit, and someone should be able to develop one that covers at least 80 percent of the people who try it. If there is such a thing now, it needs more work. The HE's and LCD's worry me with all the changes, varying test results, and in the hifiman cases some product reliability issues. Well, I figure there has to be a reason why the big companies aren't doing planars or electrostatics. Then again, I look at my own 'test' curve of the T1 and I wonder why....

[Blake]

After buying/trying a number of different headphones, I settled on the T1's and TH900's. I think the T1's are outstanding all 'rounders and work with any music genre. The T1's are magic when combined with the BH Crack and the right tubes.

[dalethorn]

(1) The Baltimore Symphony/Alsop recording of the Dvorak "New World" Symphony. In the initial statement of the main theme of the second movement, you know what the two instruments are, correct? To me, the Beyer makes them sound like one strange hybrid single-reed woodwind not found in nature.

 

(2) Hank Jones and Roberta Gamberini, "You Are There." If you have enough experience in listening to piano played live, you know that Stenways and Bosendorfers don't sound anything alike, correct? With a decent recording and decent gear, you should be able to know without looking at liner notes. On the T1, you can't tell which it is.

 

This is from the Beyer T1 review a few months ago. In the meantime I've been listening to the Dvorak at length, and the tonality difference in the first example is obvious in the first instrument, when it breaks from a 'pure' tone as anyone can easily hear. I still don't know for certain which instrument is which, and I'm doubting that most serious classical music listeners could tell the difference if the "dirty" part of each tone were chopped off.

 

I listened to a Steinway versus Bosendorfer comparison on Youtube, and the Bosendorfer (using the same pianist and microphone) sounds like the Steinway with the bass increased quite significantly and the treble very rolled off. Indeed they don't sound anything alike, but I can hear that difference clearly on everything from Apple earbuds to Beats Solo2's, let alone the Beyer T1.