Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 1 vs. Gen 2 Comparison

Compensated.

 

I'm pretty sure these were taken using a calibrated mic, with no ear simulator, and no compensation applied.
But I could be wrong.

 

I guess @Marvey will need to confirm. They look compensated.

 

He's using a flat coupler so it looks like a raw measurement to me.

 

Yes, no compensation:

From here: http://www.changstar.com/www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,2305.msg63368.html#msg63368

 

Interesting, I didn't realize the rubber ears had such an impact on headphones.

 

Sorry guys, I didn't even remember that these were actually V1 measurements. The V1 measurements were a little more complicated and as far as I remember those did use some sort of compensation, but I'm not sure.

 

What was your issue with them?

 

Issues. Tubby, overpowering low end, sucked out upper-mids, scritchy, nasty treble.

This was a headphone that I really wanted to like; aesthetically and ergonomically it was great, and the sound definitely had some good points - impact, soundstage - but ultimately I couldn't deal with the coloration and rough treble.

 

Hmm, I've never tried the T1.2, but I've listened to the DT880 which is also semi-open and roughly measured the same, and I never had the same issues with the DT880 as you described. Maybe the issue has something other than to do with the sound signature.

 

They don't measure the same, and don't sound the same.

 

Well, assuming that the T1.2 has more bass and less treble than the T1.1, it should resemble more similarly to the DT880 as shown in this graph:





I'm not saying that they are 100% the same, just that the T1.2 more closely resembles the DT880 than the T1.1.

 

Sorry, not following what you're saying. The T1.2 that I heard had more bass than the DT880, on the order of at least 5-6dB. And while the treble wasn't higher than the DT880 across the board, it definitely peaked higher and was generally less even. In terms of frequency response, the DT880 is far less colored.

 

Beyerdynamic DT880 is close to HD800 in terms of sound signature.
Late T1.1 is warmer, lusher, less steely and has more of an AKG voicing.

T1.2 is even warmer and less airy than T1.1, so it's even farther from DT880

 

Ok. I've heard DT880s several times and I thought the FR balance was quite agreeable. That brings the question: do HD800s have less bass / nastier highs than them? Those Senns could be had for relatively cheap in my parts.

 

6kHz peaks are definitely less tolerable than 8-9kHz peaks to me.

 

Spoiler: DT880 vs HD800 Spoiler

HD800 has less bass quantity, but it's also clearer, flatter and tighter.
FR balance is pretty much the same with some minor differences.
HD800 has just a tad more energy around the 5-6 kHz region and thus it tends to sound more steely and more clinical.
DT880 has just a tad more energy around the 8-9 kHz region, it appears as sharper sounding than the HD800.

Green Trace is DT880 Pro - Pink Trace is HD800

 

I have both and although they are similarly balanced the soundstage is completely different. The HD800 has a much wider but diffuse soundstage. In addition I kind of feel more sub-bass on the dt880. The details on the HDs are much better.
On the other hand I also have the T1.1, and although they are universally hated here, I just seem to find them more engaging. I do feel they are technically inferior by a good margin, and the highs can be troublesome, but I can lose myself better inside the music with them. In particular their soundstage, while smaller, it is very defined and almost feels real.
No other headphone makes this for me, I was hoping for the T1.2 to keep these elements while improving technically. But this don't seem to be the case.
Sometimes I think that maybe the high distortion level of the T1.1 may be responsible for this effect since spatial queues can also be obtained from distortion, but other times I think that maybe Beyer achieved it by blind luck.

 

Before I got my HD 800 S I had the chance to buy a T1 (2g) for so cheap that I had to try them out of curiosity. Had them for a few weeks before I traded them in to move back to the Sennheiser flagship. It´s the second Beyer I´ve ever owned, first being the DT 880. The DT 880 wasn´t my cup of tea, although they had some strengths like low volume listening and gaming. The original T1 on the other hand is something I´ve auditioned a few times and always found them just plain nasty. The treble spike simply ruined everything (worse than on HD 800). On HF I´ve been called a Beyer hater.

In other words I didn´t exactly have high expectations. To my surprise I was actually positively surprised. It wasn´t enough to make me keep them, but they were better than I expected:

+ Bass has more impact than HD 800 (S) and probably extends a bit further too
+ Treble spike no longer completely ruined the show, although these were still ultimately too hot for my taste
+ Surprisingly comfortable for a semi-heavy dynamic
+ More emotional connection to the music than on HD 800 (S)
+ Very lightweight and well made cable (please take not Focal!)
+- Intimate soundstage due to the semi-open design, works nicely with some music like acoustic Johnny Cash
- Midrange a bit too recessed; some albums worked good others not so much (slight V-curve tuning; I wish they were more flat)
- Detail retrieval not on HD 800 level across the board, around the same as HD 600/650 (or slightly better)
- Uneven treble; again depended a lot on album (some ok, others horrible)
- Slight metallic edge to the sound thanks to the treble, damages the cohesion

= There was much potential. It´s a shame these have always been priced so high. To me they are more like a premium DT 880 than a flagship competing on the same level as the HD 800 (S). At 600 euros or so they would be quite competitive in the market, but to go against the HD 800 was never a fair fight to begin with. If the treble had been smoother I would have kept them (and it wasn´t a huge change there that was needed). Maybe Beyerdynamic is finally on the right path now with the new Amiron? Based on this experience I´d definitely like to hear them.