Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro-80 Closed Studio Headphones

Boy, where to begin with these bad boys. I think I'll start with a strong statement: these might be a candidate for best headphone ever made. They have so much to offer it's pretty wild. Probably the best bass I've heard on any headphone. I don't doubt that there are thousand dollar flagships out there that do even better, but in an objective sense, I think any headphone would do incredibly well to get even close to the 770's in this regard. The bass thumps, it goes deep, it has good articulation, it's awesome. Plus it surprises you all the time, because it happens even in music that you didn't think needed bass so much. The thing is, whenever I pull out some other headphones, like the Senn HD58X and I listen to those for a few weeks, I enthusiastically feel like hey that's nice bass! I mean and it really is, the 58X has a very nice bass response. So why do I even bother with the DT770's if I can get bass like this from an open back..? But then you go back to the 770's after a while and the right tracks start coming on and it really hits you. There's just no denying the difference.

The other thing that makes me love this headphone is the almost cavernous feel to the music. It being a closed back, the deep bass, the somewhat withdrawn but highly detailed and smooth mids, the excellent soundstaging and imaging... I do think there is something special about these headphones in that way. All of its aspects come together to really give you a particular sound experience that other headphones categorically don't. Closed backs don't usually come with soundstage, and honestly you can't even keep most closed backs on your head for longer than half an hour, but the latest revision of the 770's is very comfortable indeed. And the sound is just so enjoyable. Vocals are excellent and very well separated, guitars are crisp, violins and flutes are to die for, drum snares are energetic but not too sharp, but mainly it's that you get a fair representation of the actual recording. If something sounds bad, it's usually because the recording has issues, not because there's something wrong with these headphones. There's no shoutiness in the mids, no bloat in the bass, no harshness or grain in the treble, no thinness, no muddiness, nothing. The sound is incredibly cohesive and tight, in a way that contrasts notably with for example the Fidelio X2. The only thing you might criticize is the amplitude of the treble, but it's very easy to remedy. It's so easy in fact that I'm kinda sad to see how maligned both the 770's and 990's are for it, while they're such incredibly good headphones otherwise. I guess that's what you get when you rely on amps rather than EQ to solve problems... Ahum, anyway!

And then you also look at the other aspects of this thing. The affordable price, the light weight, the replacable and washable pads, the reliable build... Every single aspect that could tank an otherwise good headphone is accounted for. No replaceable cable but who needs it? The cables on these old Beyer models have no history of failure.

All in all this is everything a headphone should be. By introducing no problems of its own it gets out of the music's way entirely and lets you simply hear what's there. They're plenty analytical, but they're also engaging and immersive. Pick your ohms version, put on your music and away you go. Recommended for bass lovers in particular, but really anyone who likes audio should probably give these a try.

I have owned two pairs of DT770 Pro’s in my life. The first pair was from when I was a teenager, and the second pair was from last year, in my 30’s.



I didn’t like my DT770’s as a teen. Perhaps I was feeding them the wrong kind of music back then- I was looking for the grandeur of Beethoven symphonies at that age, and those closed headphones certainly couldn’t compete with other headphones I had at the time, such as AKG K701, Stax SR-003, and eventually Sony SA-5000 in my 20’s. Afterwards I got into the planar thing and have owned a couple of Hifimans. You’d think they would totally spoil my ears, but no, I actually really like my second pair of DT770’s.



I noticed the material inside the earcups has changed from this annoying, itchy foam material to some nice fabric. My ears are quite large and do touch that material, so it was a relief to find that it does not irritate my earlobes. I didn’t open them up to inspect the internal mechanics; it’s been over a decade since I heard my last pair of DT770’s, therefore I can’t really comment on whether they sound the same. I also don’t really use them as a pair of headphones for listening to music, but rather a workhorse for on-location recordings.



On a remote location recording kind of scenario, all of the pros of the DT770 really shine through. They are built like a tank (there was a photo of the earcup under a car’s wheel floating around on the internet), and because of the mechanics of the headband, the earcups press against each other when not worn, and this gives me a lot of confidence to just throw them in my gear bag and not have to worry about drivers getting damaged. The comfort is great thanks to the valour earpads, and the clamping force strong enough to make me feel secure during a recording session. This is probably a very personal thing, because I know I like a good clamping force, but some people can’t take even a little force, so please take my words with a grain of salt. The isolation is okay, not as great as Sennheiser HD280 Pro’s, but those Senns don’t sound nearly as good or as neutral as these Beyers.



In terms of sound, there isn’t much to write about. They are neutral enough for location use, sound unoffensive under any situation, has enough resolution for me to make decisions on-location, and generally are a pleasure to work with. I have sampled the contenders at this price range (Senn HD280 Pro, Audio Technica M50x, Beyer DT770) and these are clearly the keeper for me. Large-scale classical music can sound congested on these, but anything from solo to chamber music sound lovely.



I don’t usually listen to music with them (except for commuting, occasionally). Sometimes if I wanted to watch a movie at home, they provide just enough isolation from my cats to provide a good, immersive experience.



About the cable design- I don’t have any issues with this single-entry, non-detachable design. I do have six cats, and I do see some teeth marks on the cable. So far I haven’t had any sonic issues, but perhaps a detachable design (like on the M50x) can be a nice addition, just in case something happens. If I didn't have those naughty companions, I can't imagine anything would really happen to the cable.



I do have other, more expensive closed-back headphones at home, and have tried bringing them to location recordings. However I reach for the DT770’s most often because they are hassle-free, and at this kind of price point, I don’t feel bad to abuse them a bit. 9/10 very satisfied.

                      Beyer dynamic DT770 pro Review
                                                           
The Beyer dynamic DT770 pro-80 ohm headphones is one out of the three DT770 model’s with a low ohm..  A simple sound card like an Asus Xonar DG/X or a sound blaster Z with their headphone amp IC’s will work. The DT770 pro-80 still benefit from a standalone headphone amp.
The DT770 pro-80 is made out of hard plastic’s which in my hands feels like it can take a beating. The Headband pad on the top might work for some people. But might not for others, the weight of the headphone was very light on the top of my head which is a plus. Since my primary Headphone the HE-500 is heavy. One issue I have with the DT770 pro-80 is the ear pads, they are not deep enough for my ears. So my ears touches the driver’s which over time is uncomfortable for me, Also my tip of my ears touch the ear pad top and my earlobe touches the ear pad too. People with smaller ears won’t have an issue with the ear pads.
The wire is very long which is good for when your moving around the room doing other things, when you are listening to music, Or when you are sitting back far from your computer or home audio receiver watching a movie or playing a game.  The wire looks like it’s very durable
 
The Specs
 
 
The Setup
The gear that I will be using for this review will be the Gustard X12 Dac connected to a Burson Audio Lycan thru RCA, which will have the LME49990MA’s op-amp installed, in a two single op-amp setup. The Gustard X12’s USB input will be used. The Lycan is a transparent amp and will let you hear the sound of the op-amp. The reason why I going with the LME49990MA is it is a neutral and transparent op-amp. Which I find so far work well with the DT770 pro-80 letting it shine thru.
 

 

 
 
The Sound
Eddie Bitar – Kaboom (Original Mix)
The song starts off with a lot of bass before strings and then the rest of the beat. In this song the bass is impactful while being controlled, the bass is not one note as there is other tones of bass in the song that is heard, and another part of the song has bass that’s accurate and not impactful.
 The bass doesn’t out do the rest of the freqs and the other parts of the song is detailed and clean. When there’s more instruments they can be heard from each other. The drum kit can be easily heard that starts in another part of the song and the snare is detailed and echo’s away from the center. The sound imaging is good.
 
Kong Speaks – Tooth & Claw
The song starts out with the bass hitting deep with the drum kit being clearly heard alongside with the detailed snares. The bass really sound good in this song. This song is also clear you can hear everything besides the deep bass.  The separation is really good in this song like the first song.
 
Speo – Penguin
The drums and the snares are very clear and detailed at the start of the song. The drums hit hard in the next part of the song. While there is bass it also hits hard and deep, the simple voice note is heard. When the bass stops. The drum kit and the snares are clearly heard and the instrument that playing afterwards sounds really good. Over all I like the way this song sounds with the DT770 pro-80s thru the lycan. Sound really nice. Everything clear.
 
Said the Sky – Clouds
The bass in the first part of the song is kind of impactful but clearly heard and the piano sounds like it spreading thru out the sound stage while having some weight behind the notes which makes it sound good. The electronica note that is playing along the piano sound really good, just like the piano playing by itself is very good.
 
Another part the bass is deep and hits hard and the strings.  Over all I like this song as well being played thru the DT770 pro-80s. There are voices in this song that keeps making me turn around to my door thinking someone said something, or the sound in the first part of the song which sounds exactly like a fire alarm, that reappears thru out the song. Get me really good too.
 
I didn’t think I would get such a bargain with the price I paid for these as I got these cheap. I didn’t know what to expect. I been using them for a week and a half. Originally these was going to be my laptop/tablet headphones. Now I will use the DT770 pro alongside my HE-500s since these isolate really well.