The Sundara and Elex are reference class to me. But i heard a Joshua Valor review of the t60rp where he really didnt seem all that impressed with it. Not sure if the Argon mod would make it much better. but no one seems to have tried it or reviewed it. which tells you something lol. The DT1990 has the treble spike which most people dont like. Valor says he uses the analytical pads and some foam to bring down.
I feel i upgraded from the Sundara to the Elex. So i would vote Elex for you. Its really a marvel of a headphone that punches way above its price. The Aiva is on sale right now for 475$ at Drop. But i believe the Elex is the superior headphone.
I really didnt like the NDH20. sounded dark and woolly to me. and the Sennhieser HD660S i hear sounds very very similar to the 58x.
If closed is a bonus, you might be able to find a deal on the Elegia. It’s easy to drive and has a nice open v/w shape sound, similar to the Elex. I managed to find one new for $599 recently.
Hmm, to me personally the elegia is more neutral with less subbass and a flatter midrange, but they are surprisingly open sounding for a closed back, and retain many positive aspects of the focal sound
Well the T50RP wasn’t rated that highly until the mod as well. Which makes me think that the Argon mod is what makes them sound better. So if it works for the T50RP, it likely does for the T60RP as well since they use the same drivers. I guess it comes down whether it’s worth the price increase though.
The Elex definitely intrigues me, but the recent reviews complaining of build quality issues is a bit scary. Considering it’s a $600 headphone, build quality issues are big since it’s hard for me to pay for a replacement and i’m not sure how long until they stop sending me replacements.
I might go DT1990 just because it seems to be the best. Or maybe even the DT177X to get a closed back option and then get a Sundara later on for planar.
It might be. This last batch seems to be fairly bad according to the reviews. The thing I most worried about is the people who say it has been working for a month or so before it dies. I’ll definitely consider it seeing as how it’s such a highly regarded headphone soundwise. It’s only $600 right now so it might be a good time to jump on the pre-order. Seems I have some tough decisions to make.
Yeah, and considering this will be the next batch, I’d hope they pay attention a lot more to the build quality this time since the most recent batch was so bad. So if they do fix it, this batch would be the one to jump on since it will be the most scrutinized. I guess I’m split between this. I could get the DT 1990 Pros on sale for around $450 (according to camelcamelcamel), which I imagine might happen on Prime Day in the upcoming months. Take that extra $150 for an eventual Sundara purchase.
Or go for the $600 Focal Elex’s and sit happy for a long time. I’d probably get the Sundara’s at some point, but no where near as quickly as if I had the extra $150 to start with. Also because mentally I would have a tough time justifying a purchase for a while after a $600 headphone. At around the same price, I saw the Beyerdynamic T1 is $688, but runs around $800 normally. Not sure how if it is superior, but it does come semi-closed, which is nice contrast to my current open backs. I definitely would not buy a headphone for a while if I got those.
Yeah, stuck between $450 Beyerdynamics DT 1990s + $150 ahead for Sundaras or $600 Focal Elexes and enjoy it for a while. I have time until I need to buy. I have the money, but I am a cheap person at heart and only jump when there are deals. Mostly, I like to know what I am planning to buy ahead of time so know what to look out for.
Focus camera have the T1.2nd on sale. The silver edtition is 600$ and the ninja black 650$.
I have the ninja black, it is my current headphone. I like it because of the natural sounding and how with the angle driver add some depth to the music. I am running it balanced and I think this is end game material for me. But you know how is this hobby
I had the dt1990 and the Sundara I really like them.
The problem with the dt1990 for me was everyday use like multimedia, youtube, series, movies, it was too bright and unforgiving. For music and gaming was wonderful. Having said that i still want to buy it again lol. I want to try with the THX789. They do not fatigue me as other headphones.
The problem with the Sundara is that it fatigue me. They sound amazing! I still remember when i had them how music really shine. But after 30min i just want to take them off. For gaming they are not that good. There is something planar drivers lack for gaming. I want to give them a try now that the silent revision came out.
Right now i am trying not to rush it and buy headphones! i want to revisit the Sundara and the dt1990 now that my ears are more trained and i have the thx789.
Other headphones i want to try in the same price range:
Focal Elex (It is very popular around this community, and i trust M0N reccomendation)
DROP + DAN CLARK Aeon Open X
Dt1770 ( i had the dt770 80 and i currently have the dt770 250, I really like those when i need closed back and when i want the subbass rumble. The dt1770 are not very popular).
Sennheiser HD 660S ( I had the hd58x. It was amazing. But same as Sundara they fatigue me.)
Just wondering, have you considered upgrading your amp? You could squeeze more out of your t1 with an amp upgrade in the future (also they preform well on both a nice solid state and a nice tube)? Also a different amp can reduce the fatigue of the sundara or sennheisers if you did enjoy them in the end
Which amp do you recommend for the t1?
I will try different setup with the Sundara and Sennheiser never ending hobby.
I think I will jump the Elex drop when they become available and not pre order.
For the t1, you could go for a solid state like a rupert neve rnhp (which imo would improve natrualness, spatial recreation, and also presentation while still remaining fairly neutral and accurate), or a tube amp like the hagerman labs tuba or feliks echo or cayin ha-1a mk2 for more fun thick, spacious, relaxed sound (well the tuba isn’t as relaxed and thick as the feliks or cayin)
For the sundara it would work well on something like the rnhp but not a tube unfortunately (another good solid state amp would be the burson soloist mk2), but you could get a hybrid amp like the liquid platinum amp
The sennheiser would work well on either the solid state or tube
What dac are you using at the moment? Also of course there are higher end amps I would rec as well but I would assume you would want to stay under the 1k mark
Thanks M0N!
i currently own the Sdac-B i am looking at the smsl m300 mkii as an upgrade. I am just a college student so i will not upgrade in the near future (Money ).
The frequency. It was due to the mids. I am mid sensitive. I found that headphones like the hd6xx sometimes sound shouty. I am going to give the sundara a second try with my current setup.
No problem! Comfort was good, It did not bother me at all. But, keep in mind the Sundara cups don’t swivel. The hd6xx clamp force is strong at the beginning, after they loosen up they are ok. Nothing compares to Beyer pillows.
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