I'd be interested in hearing a pair, just to see how far Beyer has gotten from 34 years ago when they made the ET1000. IMO AKG got it right 20 years ago with the K1k though, and it's Sennheiser and Beyer that have taken that long to catch up. To what extent I won't know until I hear a HD800 and T1.

All-in-all, the T1 is a world class headphone. Beyerdynamic has outdone themselves, and I’m completely blown away. It used to be that Beyer was the number three entry in a two horse race between AKG and Sennheiser. At this point, I think AKG has got some catching up to do, and I’m hoping Sony and a few others join the frey , ‘cuz this latest generation of highly engineered, technologically sophisticated headphones appearing of late is delivering seriously good listening.

Beyer was No. 3 in a two horse race between AKG and Sennheiser?!

I think Beyer was arguably more like No. 7 or 8.

And two horse race between AKG and Senn? Senn wasn't even in the race (for dynamics) before the HD800, and AKG only had the K1000 which was not exactly a "normal" headphone.

Apparently Sony, Audio-Technica, Grado, and Stax were not competitive?

I'd most certainly argue with that statement. The HD-650 was definitely a leading headphone before the HD-800 came along, as were the HD-580 and HD-600 before that. And AKG was definitely making top tier headphones with the K340, K501 and later K701. The K1000 was and continues to be ground breaking. Sony, Audio-Technica, Grado, and Stax probably sold less volume than Senn., AKG and Beyer.

The fact that you might not care for the above mentioned headphones does not make them any less of a marketable success.

P.S.

If I thought I could get away with it, I'd most definitely name my business 'Ebony Erections Audio'. Yes I just noticed that.

Edited February 12, 201016 yr by swt61

I thought it was Ebony Extensions...but since he does "put up" some nice headphone stands, 'Erections' may be more correct.

Oh, I agree that the HD600, HD650, K501, K701 are good headphones, especially for the price. But are they truly "top-tier" level? Enough to call it a 'two horse race'?

I would hardly call the time period before the HD800 was introduced and after the K1000 was discontinued, a 'two horse race between Senn and AKG, with Beyer No. 3.'

Now, it may arguably be a race between Senn (HD800) and Beyer (T1), with AKG reliving past glories with the K1000 and all three covering the lower price levels well with the HD6x0, K70x and DTxxx models. Even so, this is still being a bit too dismissive of AT, Stax, Denon, Grado, etc.

I think it's kind of a regional thing, with AT, Sony, Stax probably being more popular in Asia. No comment on Denon.

And yeah in my previous post I forgot about ye Senn 'stats. Gotta hear them again.

At least not that I found easily and intuitively by clicking Home or some such. There should be an obvious link at the top of the page in case anybody from HR is reading here.

Sigh.

Oh well ... I will work for this hobby again one day.

Nice job on the review/description Tyll, very well put. Definitely would look forward to hearing one myself.

Crap. Want.

I am out of dynamic headphones. I am out of dynamic headphones. Repeat to fade.

Dew eet.

You can get the HD300 sitting in the FS forum to pair it with the cans.

Get thee behind me, Sa(l)tan!

Crap. Want.

I am out of dynamic headphones. I am out of dynamic headphones. Repeat to fade.

There is no turning back once you're accepted into the mafia... turncoats are dealt with accordingly.

There is no turning back once you're accepted into the mafia... turncoats are dealt with accordingly.

I better watch out then.

There is no turning back once you're accepted into the mafia... turncoats are dealt with accordingly.

Okay, Mr. K1000-fan.

Glad someone got the humor.

Luckily I still have enough 'stats to keep the big dogs from getting on my ass... >_> Though I'm down to 7.

I better watch out then.

Nah it's cool, you provided a 'stat fan with his end-game headphone.

Nah it's cool, you provided a 'stat fan with his end-game headphone.

The T1 does not sound like other Beyers (at least not the ones I tried) which is a good thing It does Not suck.

I'm going to need one of these as a headphone stand. Todd came through and the T1 arrived today. The case is spectacular, and probably my favorite headphone case I own. The actual T1 headphones are much smaller than I expected, and I understand Todd's comment about people with big ears now. Comfortable on the head, and my ears do fit inside the cups, but I can feel them a bit. Might get used to it and not notice pretty quickly. Nice fit-n-finish, though, and an appealing design aesthetic. Sound pretty good out of the box, but pretty polite so far. Not much like other Beyers, which is a good thing as Padam says.

Here are some iPhone pics just to show the unveiling.

Sweeeeeet. They are certainly a lot prettier than the HD800 IMHO. Really keen to see what you think after an extended listen!

The stock cable looks nice... is that a neutrik plug?

These are cool looking, but I am in the minority that likes the HD800's looks.

The cable is hefty, split L/R all the way to the plug, which is a Neutrik. The cable reads:

Peacock MKII2x2x0, 22mm2 (AWG24) - audio [aes/ebu] - OFC by Sommer Cable - Germany

Seems odd about the aes/ebu reference on the cable, but what do I know. Definitely going to balance these into a 4-pin XLR.

damn that terminator picture scared the shit out of me, and worse yet the professor just looked at me too.

Very nice Al! By the way Al, how loose/tight do they fit (in comparison to other cans)? and of course, I am curious to hear your opinion after a long listening session.

Very nice Al! The cable kinda reminds me of what Audeze used on the LCD1, hope it is thinner and more flexible than that.

Damn that case is substantial. Hope you enjoy them Al, as well as give us some casual impressions along the way.