I’ve been looking for another closed wired headphone - love the sound of the AKG K371 and haven’t had any issues with its build (bought that because of @Chrono review), my only niggle is the microphonic cable which is almost impossible to avoid because of its exit angle.
DMS’s recent review of the FT1 has got me enthusiastic about that, probably the alternative at a slightly higher price point is the HD569 which I appreciated @listen_r thoughts on. I’m interested in help in the following:
I can’t find published 5128 measurements of the FT1, has headphones.com measured it yet? Would love to see a comparison with the K371 and HD569 if possible.
For those who have compared any of these what are your thoughts? I really enjoy the K371 sound signature. I wear (thin) glasses so am probably getting slightly less bass than Harman and am happy with it, sometimes the treble is a tiny bit edgy, never annoying but probably could manage with slightly less around 5-7k. I wouldn’t complain about slightly more sub bass (i.e. <50hz).
Glad for any thoughts and especially pointers to measurement comparisons, especially 5128 if possible.
Thanks for the reviews and love watching the live streams (after the event!).
I was considering the Moondrops for the FT1. How is the bass with the Moondrops? Every dongle DAC I have tried so far has been neutral and very treble leaning.
I had the K371s for a hot second and I like the FT1s way more. To be fair, I like bass and the bass is cleaner to me on the FT1s. The FT1s are more comfortable for me too, in comparison to the K371s.
Popped into Singapore this afternoon, no FT1’s to be found but had a listen to the Meze 99 Classic and Neo. Neo didn’t have enough sub bass for me but the Classic seemed good, actually better than I had expected based on reviews/measurements (in fact I hadn’t really been considering them at all). Will have to do more investigation.
Tried the HD620S, sounds good, comfortable and pretty solid, a tad deep bass light for me, but I think it just lacked a little sparkle up top. I did prefer the Azurys although they’re more sensitive so may have just been the higher volumes I was getting (did try to compensate for this). For me the Focals just look too ‘flashy’ and attention drawing
I’m very tempted to just order the FT1.
Unfortunately also decided to check out “The Hangout”, took the chance to try the Dusk 2 and was so blown away I had to buy them on the spot.
The 99’s were a ‘display/test’ set in the store and didn’t look new, so possibly were an older build. I’m not sure what the distinguishing features are of old/new sorry. I listened to them an hour or so apart so would be cautious about comparisons but thought they both reproduced the frequency range from sub-bass up in an apparently balanced way with no egregious issues. The Focal’s seemed quite efficient and produced higher volume levels off a dongle than the HD620S which I listened to at the same time.
Haven’t had a chance to try or listen to the FT1 yet. But in case anyone missed it, DMS did a review and measurements (no raw in the video, just compensated ) on his HBK 4128 rig, including comparisons to a couple other closed headphones, like the AKG K371 and Focal Azurys.
The FT1 also got some love in the staff’s picks for best new headphones of 2024.