beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO Studio Headphones

About the Company

Beyerdynamic (stylized "beyerdynamic") GmbH & Co. KG is a German audio equipment manufacturer, which produces microphones, headphones, and wireless audio systems and conference systems. Beyerdynamic has been family owned since its founding in 1924. Beyerdynamic is the oldest audio company that remains active, though its earliest competitors such as Shure and RG Jones Sound Engineering were founded in the years that followed. Most of beyerdynamic's products are made in Germany. At the end of the 1930s Beyer developed the first pair of dynamic headphones.

Technical Specs

Transducer type Dynamic

Operating principle Closed

Frequency response 5 – 40,000 Hz

Nominal impedance 250 Ω

Nominal SPL 102 dB SPL (1 mW / 500 Hz)

Max. SPL 125 dB SPL (200 mW / 500 Hz)

T.H.D. < 0.05% (1 mW / 500 Hz)

Nominal power handling capacity 200 mW

Sound coupling to the ear Circumaural

Ambient noise attenuation Velours: approx. 18 dBA Leatherette: approx. 21 dBA

Nominal headband pressure Approx. 7.2 N

Weight (without cable) 388 g

Length and type of cable 3 m / straight cable or 5 m / coiled cable (stretched), each detachable with 3-pin mini XLR cable connector, single-sided

Connection Gold-plated mini stereo jack (3.5 mm) & 1/4″ adapter (6.35 mm)


Foreword

This unit is a personal purchase. I am not in any way connected to Beyerdynamic. I receive no incentive or whatsoever in writing this review. This is purely my contribution to the hobby.


Packaging

Included here are two sets of swappable ear pads, velour and leather. Beyerdynamic has also included two options for cables, either your standard 3M cord or the coiled wire. They also included a big, black, carrying case.





Build Quality

We’ve come to recognize the term “German-Engineering” as synonymous with exemplary craftsmanship. The DT1770 is no exception. Materials are top-notch, no corners were definitely cut, equating to a build quality that will surely last for years.







Fit and Comfort

The headphones are quite hefty, weighing at 388 g. But this is contrasted with the well-padded headband that balances the weight evenly. The leatherette and the velour pads are very comfortable and could be wore for more than an hour without much discomfort.


Sound

The DT1770 pro is equipped with Beyerdynamic’s Tesla technology, which is also utilized in their flagships. According to Beyerdynamic, “Tesla 2.0 systems offer maximum efficiency and ensure precise, completely distortion-free sound quality with the finest resolution and impressive spatial properties even at very powerful output levels.”


Beyerdynamic has also included two sets of earpads: leatherette and velour, which completely alters the sound. In a nutshell, the leatherette provides more bass, it gives a warmer tonality, and isolates better. While the velour presents a colder and more analytical signature that is typical of studio monitors. I mainly use the leatherette pads for this review.


Bass

Bass is full bodied and very punchy, it is well extended and very satisfying. Decay is neither too fast nor sluggish. Presenting just the right amount to give it a very musical character. However, a note to be taken here is that the mid bass has a slight tendency to blend into the midrange. Personally it isn’t a problem as I found that it gives the vocals and stringed instruments a nice weight and timbre, thought others may perceive this differently.

Midrange

The midrange has a nice texture to it. I find it to be very well balanced, it doesn’t sound too thick, nor too thin, too forward nor too laidback. It sounds pristine and clear, rendering vocals and a whole variety of instruments with finesse.

Treble

This are known to be one of the mildest sounding beyerdynamic in respect to treble. However, I would still describe it as a touch bright, but it never goes to the point of sibilance. Details are rendered impressively. Keep in mind that these are marketed as studio monitors for “musicians, sound engineers, and producers”. This trait can be a double-edged sword as it can be unforgiving to poorly recorded material.


Soundstage and Imaging

Soundstage sounds quite “open” for a close designed headphone. But open-back headphones will always sound a bit wider (obviously). The height of its staging gives a good dimension, and to top it off, the imaging, which is my favorite aspect of this headphone is exceptional. Every instrument is simply well defined.


Conclusion

The Beyerdynamic DT1770’s sound is a perfect contrast between being musical and analytical. It is engaging and fun, yet it doesn’t spare any details. Crafted from top-notch materials, it is well-built and highly comfortable. It really sets itself apart in the sea of closed headphones


Sources

Fiio X7
Ibasso DX120
Chord Mojo
Modded Jazz Amplifier


Recordings Used

The Beatles “Love”
Nobuo Uematsu “Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy - Returning Home”
Weezer “Teal Album”
Simon and Garfunkel “The Best of Simon & Garfunkel”

I do like this headphone quite a bit although I'll be the first to say that I have a soft spot for Beyer phones being my first taste of the audiophile world.
 
This is a review of a self-purchased unit; they've gone on sale here and there but like any European made phone, it seems to sustain it's MSRP longer. Of course there are an incredible amount of accessories inclded such as a hard case, extra ear pads, and extra cable which is over $100 easily when purchasing individually.

My Head-fi graph ratings goes:
Value 7/10 (at $600 as a headphone - not counting extras incld)
Audio Quality 8/10
Design 10/10
Comfort 10/10
35 out of 40 or 8.75/10 rating
 
Unboxing: Box looks great on the shelf, straight forward no frills box and inside is the hard case that comes with with headphone/accessories. How was the unboxing experience? It was good, I nothing to complain about and straight forward stuff as it should be.
 
Build, Misc, Notings:
These are one of the best looking full sized closed backs I've set my eyes on. The cups have a leather like detail (although is hard plastic), the stitching on the headband reminds me of the same stitching as some of my heavy leather watch bands, the paint scheme with the reflective lettering is super classy, and the velour pads are downright comfy. It's the quintessential Beyerdynamic build with added class. It comes with a hard case that'll hold the extra set of pads as well as extra cable. The two cables are decent, one coiled for shorter use or desktop/table use and the other is a 9' cable for home theater listening, both cables are your typical Beyer cable no frills quality with a rubber outer - very flexible.
 
Despite being a 250ohm phone these are actually easy to drive. A cell phone that puts out decent power can get these to 80-85% of it's capability. Something like the ALO INTL+ portable dac/amp can drive these 90% of their potential. I've yet to try them with a tube amp but I believe pairing them with a tube amp or hybrid amp would get these to side more into the fun side of the sound and would make an excellent pleasure-listener choice.

An added note, just for fun I allowed the lady next to me on the train to Portland weeks ago to try these for several songs. I was using my ALO Intl+ to my Lenovo Android tablet and feeding it some London Grammar. I just wanted to get an impression from an average consumer and she said it was a great sounding headphone unlike she's heard before. When asked if she'd pay $500 for it, she said no way. She also owns a set of noise canceling Bose for travel to put into perspective how much she's willing to spend on phones. Those are $250-$300 right?
 
The bad:
I understand that this is sold a studio headphone but with the styling done on it, I'm sure Beyer are also selling these to audiophiles looking for an excellent closed back. With the studio headphone I suppose there's no use for a balanced cable, hence going with a 3-pin mini XLR input -- but for people like myself who utilize the 4-pin balanced cable for my amp and other testing purposes, this is a bit of a bummer. No fear, with some modifications you can either directly wire 4 wires into the one side or modify the connector to a 4-pin mini xlr input. Not bad but for those looking to go balanced will be disappointed here as is.

Another gripe of mine is the large cup design, again I realize this as a studio headphone but the sound signature is so good and the fact that it's a closed back, I kinda wish they went with a Sennheiser/Shure shape in a closed back format for a more subtle look in public. Anything for sound quality? Yea if you don't mind wearing a full sized headphone in public.

The sound: (all sound impressions are with velour pads)
Ok so onto the goods immediately. First let's address the soundstage and imaging; with the closed back you're not going to get a speaker imaging/soundstage like sound although for a closed back the DT1770 is above average in the category (moreso on the soundstage than imaging/depth). With the said the instrument separation, placement is fantastic, the level of clarity allows you to pinpoint and monitor one particular instrument at a time (if that's your thing) and stick with it for the entirety of the track. Full symphony tracks are presented very well with placement of instruments where they should be; a front row listener but listening to wide stage where the instruments don't sound like one is on top of another. Imaging and depth is above average at best but considering these are closed back, I'm not complaining one bit -- it doesn't take away from the experience and is easily overlooked with the positives of the phone.

BASS:
The bass is tilted to control and tightness but when the track has bass boost, these actually give excellent impact and are capable of great sub-bass extension and even theater-like rumble. One of the highlights for me is it tip-toes the fine line of controlled and enough fun to satisfy an audiophile - there is a slight boost in the bass so these aren't perfectly flat here. Bass-heads look elsewhere, this does not hit as hard or as loose as say the THX00 and has more control than say the Oppo PM3 by a good margin. Overall the bass is stays true to form of a controlled Beyer low frequency but they also allowed a little more to come through than previous models. 0 encroachment of the low-mids and mids with these phones unless the recording has super bass boost.

To put into listening context, these headphones would shine in a test with say tracks from Overwerk. Excellent recording and production but plenty of bass fun -- a must try!

MIDS:
The mids are your typical dry-tilt Beyer but they're neither pushed back nor forward. They're relatively linear to the bass and the highs -- more so on the highs as the bass has an ever slight boost. Vocals both male and female, instruments, background noise, they're all there in full reproduction. No grain, but far from liquid - it is a Beyer after all. Some tubes can remedy this dryness, better to be able to add as subtracting isn't as easy. There is a bit of an odd dip in the mids that may be related to the phone being a closed back but this dip somewhere in the mids does not take away from the sound, still sounding linear throughout.
 
Highs:
The highs are well done in this phone as it provides decent extension and air for a studio phone, as well as clarity yet it keeps the peaks at bay even on lesser recordings. They've managed to balance this region out to not sound too forward where it's driving treble detail into your brain (*cough T70) yet still provide details and clarity that people expect from a reference sound. If the tracks suffer from poor production along with heavy compression, the headphone will definitely put it through and there's no forgiveness where there not deserving - save those tracks for warm phones. But for tracks that are borderline bad sounding because of production in other reference phones, the DT1770 seem to have enough forgiveness to allow you to enjoy the listen. Since it rides a fine line, I would presume that with a bright dac and amp this can sound sibilant. With a neutral/bright or neutral setup, these phones hits it on the money which is why I enjoy their tuning.

When the entire sound comes together, you have a close back phone that is capable of producing a balanced sound which resembles your reference/audiophile tuned headphones. There always seem to be some trade-off with closed backs and in this case it seems to be some reverb/cavern effect along with a sharp dip in the mids but this is easily overlooked when you consider the level of tuning and sound that is offered in a closed phone. I can easily enjoy symphonies to pop to rock to jazz on the DT1770 and allow me to listen like I would with my open backs but with isolation. For this I'm willing to overlook some of the shortcomings and say outright that Beyer has made a fantastic offering - not perfect - but enough to put a smile on my face as I shut the noise out and get lost in the music.