First I'd like to talk about the ergonomics of this phone. As such things can also be just as important as the actual sound quality. There is nothing worse than an uncomfortable pair of headphones sitting on your head for hours at a time. I can sometimes easily put 8 hours on a pair of phones during the day. I spend a great deal of time in front of a computer and the music makes the day so much more enjoyable. I cannot say enough about how much I love to listen to music. I could not imagine a life without it.
That being said, the T5p is extremely comfortable on my nub. The leather ear pads are probably the softest I have come across yet in the headphone market. They are obviously not the normal stock leather headbands that can be purchased as an option for any of your other Beyerdynamic phones. They look to be a new version. I cannot wait to get a pair for my DT880s. It might be my imagination but the leather headband also seems to be as soft and fuller than my T1 headband. My guess is that it is and the reasoning was that these were to be used for portable use where comfort is very important. Where the T1 uses a gold/titanium colored look on the cups, grill and yokes, the T5p features black cups, a dark silver grill and dark gray/black yoke. Other than that the 2 phones are very similar looking. Both are very well built and show no signs of cheap construction. They are very durable and tough. If you have young curious children, like I, that sneak into your man cave then durable and tough are an important thing.
BeyerT5pReview7small.jpgMy main focus of comparison was between the Denon AH-D7000 and the T5p. These 2 phones had a much larger difference in sound characteristic than between the T5p and the T1. The Denon is a warmer, more colorful, sometimes a thicker sounding phone. The Denon has been my favorite closed current production can for some time now. This phone does require some effort or experimentation in finding the right amp to acquire the proper synergy. Some amps can really make this phone sound bloated. Case in point, the Antique Sound Labs MG Head 32. This amp seems to sound better with open back phones and really shines with the AKG K1000. The Luna headphone is a much better match due to it's neutrality. It does a better job of tightening and controlling the low end. I found that on half of the test tracks the Denon's bass response to be a little thick sounding as I mentioned before. Usually this was with songs that contained a lot of bass information. For example "Money" by Pink Floyd. But on songs like "Looking for a Home" by Keith Greeninger & Dayan Kai, it clearly brought out low frequency information that the T5p produced at a much softer level but was much more controlled and articulated. The Denon does a great job with subsonic low frequencies. The Denon did a better job with music that had good instrument separation and susic styles that were more simple in nature. Any songs with lots of recording overlap tended to be thick and congested but I can see why folks that are into a lot of low frequency bass enjoy these phones so much. They really can rock the bells....When listening to Electronica, it felt like I was in a club.
The T5p provided a much better sound representation across all the test tracks. Nothing was over emphasized. Instrument separation was tight and controlled, there was more sense of air and depth than with the Denon. I can't say that the T5p had the depth of soundstage and 3D presentation the T1 has but for a closed phone, it was pretty impressive. Most closed phones have an "In Your Head" sound. The T5p reached out a little further from the head but I will give the T1 the higher praise for sound staging which can be attributed to the open back design and 600 ohm drivers. The 600 ohm driver option in the DT770/880/990 always did a better job with depth of field whether the phone was sealed or open back.
Obviously, because of the easier 32ohm load of the T5p, I could tell the Luna amp was barely flinching and the control on the drivers was stellar. With
Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club, the Latin snap was just exhilarating. I actually got goose bumps a few times. That's when I can tell I am really enjoying a listening session when the music sucks me in to the point where emotion takes over. These are fun headphones my friends. This is the same feeling I got last CES when I heard the T1 for the first time.