I was pleasantly surprised when my Beyerdynamic DT831's arrived today. I was not expecting them till tomorrow. This is my first "serious" pair of headphones I have owned. I would first like to thank you guys for helping me decide on these headphones. This place is a great resource. Beyond even asking questions, I found many of my answers simply by searching your extensive archive.

Anyways, on to the important stuff...

[Build Quality]
When I opened the box the first thing I noticed as build quality. I can't say these look too tough, sporting some seemingly flimsy plastics. I read that while many headphones look poorly built, the plastics used are actually tougher then they look. Is this true? Also, I read that some disliked the cord. I in fact like coil cords, so I'm happy they used one.


[Comfort]
For their size, these are very comfortible. I came from Sony V600s and these are far more comfortible then they were. I especially like the ample padding.

[Sound]
My JMT Meta42 home amplifier is in the mail, so I don't have a good headphone amp to plug into. So, for the time being, I plugged it into my computer (Yahama SCSI CD-ROMs, Slackware Linux, XMMS CD/MP3 player, Sound Blaster Live sound card) and right away I could tell the difference between my Sony V600s and these. Keep in mind, all this is pre-breakin and I have only been listening for a few hours. Also keep in mind that these results have to do with the source, amplification and cabling I'm using.

The perspective of the headphones is forward, but not nearly as forward as other headphones I have heard... and far less forward then I expected. I have to say, I'm impressed! The treble is the first thing that struck me in these headphones as very good. I can actually hear symbols without cringing (I avoided anything with symbols when listening on my Sony MDR-V600s because the treble was terrible, especially cerca the 6kHz-10kHz range or upper treble)....and remember, this is my computer playing this! The treble so far is very rich and hardly bleached or white.

The midrange is good as well. I was expecting it to be thick due to the closed back design of these headphones, but I was prooved wrong. Very smooth and lush midrange.

The bass is lighter then I thought. However, in my experiance, better bass reproduction is the first to come out of break in. The bass it does reproduce, it does so very well. Perhaps (probably?) its my source and amp, but I was expecting heavier bass. I was actually expecting too heavy of bass. So, this is a bit of a reflief. We'll see after break in and a proper souce and amp how it will sound in that regard. The bass articulation and pitch definition, however, is excellent...and I would much rather have that attribute then more volume!

The soundstage is not nearly as wide as my home speakers... it's pretty narrow as to be expected with headphones. However, instrument placement is easy, even with the gear I'm playing the music through, which is a good sign!


I would get into more detail, but I would rather go listen now. I'll report back once the Meta42 comes and I get everything setup right. So, take it easy and as always...

...Happy listening,
-Chad

Nice set of first impressions. Glad to hear that Head-Fi is helping to lighten your wallet too, er, I mean, helping to guide you as you search for that elusive perfect headphone sound.

You don't find yourself cringing at cymbols? Man, those sony cans must have really been awful

The 831's do have some nice features, but i've always found them to be a bit sharp and piercing

Noesis,

Welcome to Team Beyer.

The DT831 is one of my favourite headphones. I like to think of it as being silky smooth. One thing that you may notice after break-in is that you must warm them up for about 1/2 hour before doing any critical listening. And you can not leave them unplayed for more than a day or two. They tend to un-break-in if left alone for a week. They detest bright sources. And just a little addition of bass adds warmth to their overall sound. (If you have a receiver). One interesting fact is that they are the easiest headphones to compare others to. They are great to listen to DVDs to, as most DVDs tend to be on the dark side (if not have bloated mids).

Just don't be surprised if this isn't your last set of Beyers, though. I have the DT831, DT931 and DT880s. And I've always wanted a pair of DT531s. I wasn't impressed with the DT770. Some say that the DT990 is an awesome headphone, so who's to say that a pair won't be in my collection someday?

dougli,
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Nah, this stuff is cheap compared to automotive products.


Ebonyks,
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Haha. Well, cymbols are really a good way to tell how a speaker reproduces the upper treble. When a cymbol is hit, there should be a definitive hit and then a decay. Many speakers have a hard time with cymbols, and in the end it ends up being just white noise they reproduce. Even mid-fi speakers and relatively expensive headphones (those Sony's were probably 90 bucks or so) can have a hard time with this.

wallijonn,
Thanks for the tips...and the welcome!


-Chad

Excellent choice, Chad.

Don't worry, the bass will show up later. Walijonn is right about them tightening up when left alone for too long, but the bass always comes back.

Have fun

gerG