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DT770 bass response

post #1 of 23
5/30/07 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Hey all,

I recently took my first steps into the world of quality headphones.

I've had a pair of Labtec ear cup headphones I've used happily for the last 6 years or so but recently the pads started to disintegrate and finally one of the cups snapped off. So it was time to upgrade.

I read a ton of reviews and narrowed my selection down to the Sennheiser HD280 Pros and the Beyer DT 770/80s. My selection criteria involved cost, the need for the cans to be closed (for listening at work), and relatively low impedance so my Dell laptop could drive them easily.

After listening to the Senns and the DT 770s on the kid at Guitar Center's Ipod I very obviously chose the Beyerdynamics.

Everyone talks about the overwhelming bass response of these headphones but I just don't hear it. I do consider myself sensitive to bass. Really, I can't stand overwhelming bass. But given the tame (yet punchy) nature of the bass out of my DT 770s I'm starting to wonder if something's wrong here.

Is there any chance I got a bad set of headphones? Is it more likely that I'm just not as sensitive to bass as I thought I was? Or is it possible that the crappy sound card in my Dell just isn't capable of bringing out this feature? Is there any definite way to tell?

I did order a basic CMOY (w/ burr brown amps and a rail splitter) amp for cheap (guess I could have gotten the high impedance DT 770s) that I'm hoping will make the answer I seek more obvious but in the mean time feedback is appreciated.
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post #2 of 23
5/30/07 at 4:45pm
Yeah, I don't know where people are coming from when they call the DT770 bass-heavy.

But generally they are regarded as having full and adequate, slightly warm bass.
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post #3 of 23
5/30/07 at 4:46pm
The bass of the dt770 is extreme. Quite mind blowing.

At the maritime meet I had some dt770's blasting Paula Coles -Tiger - which has bass that gets down to 20hz and probably below.

Everybody was shocked, including me, how deep they went and how extreme the bass was.
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post #4 of 23
5/30/07 at 4:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by adanac061 View Post
The bass of the dt770 is extreme. Quite mind blowing.
I've heard better.

I have probably more than 1500 hours of use on my DT770 Pro/80, and I've heard 'phones that had deeper, more accurate bass with more smack.

I'd rate the DT770 as "Real Good" but it's neither extreme nor world-class.

It's a little warm, smack is good but not visceral.
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post #5 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericj View Post
I've heard better.

I have probably more than 1500 hours of use on my DT770 Pro/80, and I've heard 'phones that had deeper, more accurate bass with more smack.

I'd rate the DT770 as "Real Good" but it's neither extreme nor world-class.

It's a little warm, smack is good but not visceral.
I should have mentioned that they were bluetak modded by the owner.
That may have been the reason for the shock and awe , also I had it running from my amp which is pretty powerfull.
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post #6 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:06pm
I have probably more than 1500 hours of use on my DT770 Pro/80, and I've heard 'phones that had deeper, more accurate bass with more smack.

Would you care to name some?
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post #7 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:09pm
This is a bit of a thread hijack, but would a CMoy be able to properly drive a 770/250? I'm considering getting a pair of my own and now this is a live-or-death situation!
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post #8 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by senny-ftw View Post
Would you care to name some?
Foster T50 for one, though i realize that's cheating since there are only two owners on head-fi.

The Equation RP21 has better smack and better resolution in the bass. It starts to roll off a little sooner than the DT770 but reputedly can reproduce 10hz without distorting.

Frankly the DT-990 600ohm 'really freakin old edition' has better bass than the DT-990 as well, but this raises a point worth discussing.

Quantity is not the same thing as quality. The 770 has *louder bass than the 990 for sure.

If you bring bass boost or EQ into the mix, the Fostex T40 is better as well, properly modded.

eq and bass boost get a bad rep around here, but there are some cans that are rolled off on one end or the other, and respond well to some eq. The Realistic Pro 30 is bassless when properly damped but will accept a metric buttload of bass boost - i've gone as high as 15db of bass boost and it takes it without distorting. My ER-6i on the other hand distorts like crazy with more than about 4.5db.
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post #9 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by adanac061 View Post
I should have mentioned that they were bluetak modded by the owner.
That may have been the reason for the shock and awe , also I had it running from my amp which is pretty powerfull.
bluetak would improve things. I spent the most time with my dt-770/80 on an A47 (Edit: with dual regulated 15-0-15 wall supply), but I've spent some time listening to them plugged into my M3 as well. Since you can use the M3 as a speaker amp, i don't think you could say it's lacking in power.
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post #10 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iPatcH View Post
This is a bit of a thread hijack, but would a CMoy be able to properly drive a 770/250? I'm considering getting a pair of my own and now this is a live-or-death situation!
In the past I had several Cmoy-type amps -- if you can swing the extra few bucks, get a HeadRoom Total Airhead amp (on sale now for only $99 -- a year ago, I paid $199 for mine, and STILL felt it was worth it).
Plenty of power to properly drive 770/250 cans (I did it).
The Cmoys are usually marginal in power. You might get one with enough power -- or you might not. Many variations in them.
The Total Airhead is a pretty sure thing -- with a 30-day return policy if it isn't suitable.
With a decent amp, your DT770 will show it's bass!
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post #11 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:53pm
Foster T50 for one (...) The Equation RP21

Both of these are cheap - might have to give them a try!

Are the T50, RP21 and DT990-600 as good as the DT770 for banging dance music overall?
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post #12 of 23
5/30/07 at 5:58pm
Hi CrookedChris,

I have listened to a few headphones in the Sennheiser line - 580, 570, 414 and some Grado's SR80 and 225. Amped and or not, thru a basic cmoy, a C&C Box, a Marantz amplifier and the LD2++. I can safely say switching from one headphone to the DT770 pro, the Beyer's have much more bass authority in all sense: quantity, deepness and punch. It is REALLY noticeable, to me at least.

I can also say that the CMOY I had was not fully capable of driving my DT770, switching from the C&C Box v2 was a huge gain in bass.

Charles
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post #13 of 23
5/30/07 at 6:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by senny-ftw View Post
Foster T50 for one (...) The Equation RP21

Both of these are cheap - might have to give them a try!
I'm referring to the 1978 T50, which is rarer than hens teeth with fillings in 'em. My pair are OEMed by some company called Maior Audio, which moves them right past 'rare' to 'obscure'. wualta has the only other pair i know of - his are branded Fostex. They were both made by Foster Japan.


The current T50RP is a bassless wonder, and cannot be helped by modding.

Quote:
Are the T50, RP21 and DT990-600 as good as the DT770 for banging dance music overall?
The RP21 and the DT990-600 for sure, though the DT990-600 needs an amp.

The RP22x is said to have more extension and a more colored sound. I haven't heard it myself, it costs about $20 more than the RP21. People who've heard both say that the RP21 is a solid recommendation for any genere but the RP22x may be liked by some and disliked by others.
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post #14 of 23
5/30/07 at 6:11pm
I'm referring to the 1978 T50... The current T50RP is a bassless wonder

!! Moving on...

Quote: Are the T50, RP21 and DT990-600 as good as the DT770 for banging dance music overall?

The RP21 and the DT990-600 for sure, though the DT990-600 needs an amp.

Looks like I'm ordering some RP21s - £60 at dolphinmusic.co.uk...
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post #15 of 23
5/30/07 at 6:21pm
Yeah, it's real damn hard to go wrong, at equation's prices.
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