Selection Guide

Beyerdynamic has completely outdone themselves with their top-of-the-line Tesla T1 reference audiophile headphones. The tonal balance is just simply spot-on, the finesse and articulation is delicate as black rose petal textures, and the deep-space imaging is second (maybe!) only to the pricier HD800. The T1's majestic presentation excels at delivering buttery smooth yet nuanced, subtle, accurately detailed musical reproduction. The low bass response can extend wonderfully deep without any bone-rattling looseness or bloat with seamlessly transparent vocal midranges as focused and grain-free as we've ever heard in any headphone. Upper highs sing and soar in perfect space just like the very best $10,000+ room speakers. This is a headphone lover's headphone without question.

At the heart of the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 is a newly designed driver assembly that achieves a record breaking '1.2 Tesla' of magnetic flux density at the voice coil, which allowed Beyerdynamic audio engineers to design an extremely light voice coil with very few windings. This uber-lightweight voice coil allowed for a similarly lightweight diaphragm, which means an audio driver that can accelerate and stop nearly-immeasurably fast and deliver extraordinary musical responsiveness and transparency. To further improve soundstage imaging ability, Beyerdynamic research brains placed the T1 drivers slightly forward of the ear and angled back in order to more precisely mimic the way sound naturally approaches the ears in real life. Hence, the T1 delivers masterful spatial imaging for headphones and, coupled with the incredible driver performance, reproduces orchestral, symphonic and classical music in as natural and organic way as we've ever heard. For LP vinyl fans and reference recording aficionados, this 100% engineered/manufactured in Germany audio component is a true 'must-hear'. Listeners should allow a minimum of 200hrs of 'burn-in' time before the full acoustic pleasures of this magnificent headphone are fully realized.

The Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 goodness doesn't just end with the sound quality either. New construction materials and advanced design accentuate the advancements of these cans while remaining true to Beyer's understatedly elegant Teutonic style. The T1 delivers unsurpassed listening comfort as a result of its featherweight aluminum components, woven aluminum mesh earcups, leather headband and avant-garde acoustic dampening materials. The round, reasonably spacious earcups encircle the ears which rest on comfortably plush velour earpad cushions. Durable extruded aluminum bails connect the earcups to the headband and securely adjust for fit; the extra-thick leather headband pad secures the headphones in correct listening azimuth. HeadRoom geeks are unanimous that this is easily Beyerdynamic's finest offering ever; we highly recommend these headphones for a spectacularly pleasurable listening experience for any music lover or audiophile. The free 2 year manufacturer's warranty remains in effect only with a verified / authorized Beyerdynamic dealer purchase receipt like the one you'll get from us here at HeadRoom!

THE BEYERDYNAMIC TESLA T1, IN-DEPTH!

A new era has dawned with the development of the Beyerdynamic Tesla 1 600-Ohm headphones. The brand-new 'Tesla' technology engineered by Beyerdynamic audio researchers gives the T1 a significant boost in overall efficiency. The new Beyer transducers achieve values of over "1 Tesla" for magnetic flux density, providing listeners with nearly double the volume potential as traditional high-impedance 600-Ohm headphones. The increased efficiency also leaves the T1 with greater power reserves for fully dynamic, completely undistorted sound and true 'lossless' conversion of electric signals into sound waves. The nearly weightless 600 Ohm voice coils inside the T1 provides timbral transparency like no other driver design along with near-perfect signal impulse fidelity. To compliment the T1's audio precision, an acoustic baffle is set at an angle within the interior of the housing that adjusts to the natural peculiarities of the human ear and helps the detail-rich sound stream effectively into the ear's interior -- which helps to better interpret the spatially accurate, natural musical presentation. The elegant look of the T1 compliments the technical achievements with even the smallest of parts hand-selected by top German technicians at the Beyerdynamic facility. This model reaffirms Beyerdynamic's real commitment to world-class "100% Made in Germany" quality. To get the most out of your headphones, pair the T1 together with a HeadRoom headphone amplifier as the 'dream team' for seriously demanding audiophiles wanting the best of the best.

As mentioned above, the Beyerdynamic T1 headphone is the first model to ever break through the "One Tesla" barrier of magnetic induction. (The unit for measuring magnetic flux density is named the Tesla, in honor of one of the world's greatest visionaries and inventors of late 19th/early 20th centuries. When Nicola Tesla, a contemporary of Eugene Beyer, died in New York in 1943 at age eighty-six, he had filed well over 100 electrical patents.) Measured in Tesla (T), magnetic induction plays a central role in the sound of headphones. It indicates the ability of a sound 'converter' [driver/transducer array] to transform an electrical audio signal into sound waves and thus convert electricity into pure sound. Featuring twice the sound pressure of standard headphones, the highly innovative T1 driver makes it possible to produce high- performance headphones using minimal moving mass in a 600 Ohm coil and generates currently unequaled impulse performance. A 'converter' behaves like a vehicle in this respect. The lower the weight and the higher the performance, the greater the acceleration. The Tesla T1 is the very top-performing model within this futuristic generation of Beyerdynamic audiophile reference headphones.

T1
Posted by x on 2013-05-11

Recommend Product: Yes

*****

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Worth every penny
Posted by Shameless Gear Head from Unity, ME on 2011-02-04

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: clarity; balance; bass is solid but not overpowering or muddy
Cons: None that I can hear, feel or see

This is an astounding product. It has taken some years for me to get to the point where I feel that I can appreciate headphones of this caliber. The experience is almost overwhelming. The soundstage is expansive and the precision of the sound is unlike any other high end headphone that I have experienced. The experience is unmatched by any of my other none-too-shabby cans. Even poor recording sources sound better with these phones. Pricey but worth it if good sound matters to you. I can't imagine how break-in could improve these phones but I will certainly test the proposition. It is hard to put these down.

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Tesla T1, The (not so) New Kid On The Block
Posted by Zombie_X from Milwaukee, WI on 2010-12-18

Recommend Product: Yes

NOTE: This is copied from my Head-Fi.org profile, Zombie_X.

I won't get too technical or get too in depth int his review. I will just state what I believe these headphones do and how they sound, just very straight to the point.

The T1 is beyerdynamics' latest entry into full size open dynamic headphones. This model can achieve one Tesla with it's new driver and magnet system. This allows the T1 to be far more efficient and easier to amp than the DT880/600Ohm by quite a bit. This also means your amp won't strain to power them like some amps do with the DT880/600 (and this is from my experience).

IMO the Tesla 1 is at about the same level of the HD800, but I vastly prefer the T1 as it sounds more natural and dare I say less synthetic than the HD800. The HD800 has a leaner sound with more prominent treble and less bass, though the bass on the HD800 is slightly more accurate.

Well onto the sound. I will be comparing to the HD800 in this review as I find them to be in the same league. I will go in sections: DETAIL, TRANSPARENCY, TREBLE, MIDRANGE, BASS, SOUNDSTAGE, CONCLUSION.

DETAIL:
With this headphone you can hear a lot of things you may have never heard before, such as footsteps, raindrops, and even whispering. The detail retrieval is very close to that of the HD800, but rather more subtle sounding. The HD800 seems to revel in it's ability to bring out the smallest details. The T1 still has nearly the same amount of detail as the HD800, but it's just not so painfully obvious. The HD800 makes you want to focus on the details while the T1 is more of actually listening to the music, but that's my view on it.

TRANSPARENCY:
Man oh man these cans can reach deep into the music. They are so transparent that you can hear nearly everything that's there. I don't have the HD800 on hand but I would say the T1's are slightly more transparent. The transparency really shines in the midrange where the guitars and vocals are. The guitars are so crisp and clear and you can hear fingers sliding up the fret board and can hear little nuances in the voices of singers.

TREBLE:
The treble on the T1 is really great for many reasons. It extends just as high as the HD800, but unlike that headphone it is not as in your face. To me the T1's treble is very smooth without a hint of stridence or harshness. It also sound more natural to me. The treble is also very airy, not as airy as the HD800's, but very close. I also found the treble to be very detailed.

MIDRANGE:
The T1 has the best midrange I have ever heard. It has exceptional resolving capabilities as well as being more transparent than the HD800 in my mind. I also found the midrange to be more fleshed out than the HD800's, and though the T1 has neutral mids they are very slightly warmer. This warmness makes music sound more natural and lifelike. To me the HD800's mids were really good, but a little thin and could be somewhat lifeless on certain recordings.

BASS:
The T1 definitely has more bass then the HD800 and this means more body and impact. I also found that the T1's lower most regions are a little rolled off, but not by that much. In fact I think the rolled off bass can make music sound more natural. The T1's bass still extends nearly as deep as the HD800's, but has more body and impact without sacrificing control or tightness. The bass of the T1 is more impactful than the DT770/DT880 but less than that of the DT990. The bass to me is perfect in it tonality and texturing capabilities which are really exceptional.

SOUNDSTAGE:
The soundstage is clearly much bigger than any of the DT770-DT990 variants and is also airy. I found it to be almost as big as the K702's soundstage, but has more depth and height to it. It's a really big stage that is nearly as big as the HD800's, but to me the HD800's is a little too big. The T1's is very spacious and provides great reproductions of spatial nuances and separation of instruments as well as providing a more accurate stereo image. Speaking of imaging, it's nothing short of incredible. You can place musicians on the stage really well and little nuances can be picked out really easily.

CONCLUSION:
I find the T1 to be a very good headphone and also the best reference all rounds out there. It has a very liquid and natural tonality that is heard to beat at any price. It's easily my no.1 recommendation for those who do not have a budget.

One thing to note is that these headphone will require a powerful desktop headphone amp for reaching their maximum potential. I suggest a good OTL headphone amp or powerful solid state amp. the Woo Audio WA2 and WA3+ amps are OTL and can drive this headphone no problem. A good solid state amp would be the Audio-GD ROC/PHOENIX as well as a Beta 22.

Also the T1's are very unforgiving of low quality audio and if fed crap, they will spit it back at you. As for me I don't really care as I will use them anyways ;)

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