Difference between 32 / 250/ 600 ohms

A general opinion is that the 600 ohm DT880/990 sound smoother and better than their 250 ohm counter parts, especially when used with tube amps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denys 

Good day everyone,

 

What is the main difference between those three in terms of sound quality ? for example, you may buy a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 or DT 880 with any of these impedance.

 

I know that a 32ohms impedance could be used directly with an Ipod but you need an amp for the 250 and the 600 version. My question really is about the difference in sound quality.

 

Anyone could help me with that ?

 

Thanks for your time

 

Denys

For the 880s and 990s they are fairly similar but the 770s are quite different.  For the 880s and 990s, what impedance to buy depends on what sort of amp you'll be using it with.  For the 770s, you have to take the differing sound sigs into account as well.

Hi, the self proclaimed DT880/DT990/DT770 series guru chiming in!! Kidding of course, but I have heard every version of every phone int he current production line.

The DT990/600 and DT880/600 sound similar, the main difference is that the DT990/600 has more treble and bass with a bigger soundstage.

The DT770/600 is much smoother sounding than it's 250Ohm counterpart. For one it's much more balanced sounding as I found the 250Ohm one to have a very treble oriented sound with sucked out mids and shallow, but great bass. The 600Ohm version has exceptionally smooth treble that's different than the other variants. The midrange has the most improvement and is full and more fleshed out. The bass is also much better with more body and impact.

I would say the 600Ohm DT770 is perfect for monitoring with it's more neutral and balanced presentation over the DT880/DT990 (but the DT880 is still pretty neutral). The DT880 is like a DT770 but has more bass and more treble, but the treble is not harsh at all.

The 32Ohm versions of all of them sound more like their 600Ohm counterparts, don't misunderstand this as me saying they sound the same, but rather their sonic signature reminds me of them. I found the 32Ohm versions to have a slightly slower sound with more midrange and bass over the 250's, but they have a far less transparent sound and slightly smaller soundstage.

At least the DT770/600, and 32Ohm version impressions were from memory, but I have a 600Ohm DT880 and 600Ohm DT990 on hand so if you need more info on those let me know.

^^^

I absolutely agree with this!

This should really be a sticky...if buying a beyer and you can use a good tube amp, their best headphones use their very efficient 600 ohm drivers. There's a reason their flagship T1s have the 600 ohm driver too.

Everything else is not up to that standard.

^ Yeah, IMO, the 600 ohm DT770 is your best bet

Quote:

Originally Posted by pekingduck 

^ Yeah, IMO, the 600 ohm DT770 is your best bet

For balanced closed headphones...absolutely.

I agree that this should be stickied, though I should make a whole new topic about specific differences amongst Ohm designs for the current production run. I'm probably one of the only few people on this board who has heard the whole line.

And the 600Ohm DT770's are very balanced sounding. They don't quite have all the detail retrieval of the DT880, but they are still very good and can be had quite cheap!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombie_X 

And the 600Ohm DT770's are very balanced sounding. They don't quite have all the detail retrieval of the DT880, but they are still very good and can be had quite cheap!

And as an added bonus, they isolate better than any headphone I've heard.

Overall, I still prefer my D7000s by a good margin, but they cost quite a bit more.

Yes they isolate very well! Even better than my JVC HARX700 by quite a bit!!

Also I just bought one from Amazon, so now I can give more definitive answers!!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

And as an added bonus, they isolate better than any headphone I've heard.

Cool..I loved the sound signature and isolation so much I ordered a pair of Manufaktur DT770 a while ago..

I really hate this place..LOL
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombie_X 

Yes they isolate very well! Even better than my JVC HARX700 by quite a bit!!

 

Also I just bought one from Amazon, so now I can give more definitive answers!!
 

 

I'm thinking of giving the DT-880 another try. I had the DT-880 32 ohm version and hated it. I had a lot of sibilance in vocals and couldn't get it to stop. During most of my music I kept hearing "ssssss" and "sshhhhh" and it got on my nerves. I tried several amps and it wouldn't go away. I think I just had a bad pair maybe. The highs were very fatiguing too. I think i've heard that the 250ohm and 600ohm have "better" highs and are less harsh, but I don't know if this is true. If you compare the 3 version's frequency charts you can see a bit of a difference.

I'm still trying to decide between the DT-770, DT-880 and DT-990. I want the most neutral one with the best mids and without any harsh or fatiguing highs. DT-880 250 ohm sounds like it might work for me. I heard the midrange is a bit recessed on the DT-990 to some. I owned the DT-990 32ohm version years ago. I had to sell off some of my headphones for money, so it lost against the AKG 701. I now wish I had kept them.

I do know that the DT-880 did impress me with some aspects. Mostly the soundstage and instrument separation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdockweiler 

 DT-880 250 ohm sounds like it might work for me.

This is the one I decided on.  ZX and MH: would you say there's an "improvement" from 32 to 250 to 600?  Or that the 32 sounds more similar to the 600 ohm, but the 250 is more different?

I'd love to get the 600 ohm model, but I don't seem to be having much luck finding a cheap but good amp/DAC combo to drive them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Brown 

I'd love to get the 600 ohm model, but I don't seem to be having much luck finding a cheap but good amp/DAC combo to drive them.

How loud do you listen?  When I had a pair of 990/600s I thought they sounded quite good out of my bithead, but I listen kind of soft.  I've seen other people complain about a lack of volume with the same combo.  My 770/250s sound good out of my bithead as well and I get plenty of volume with the gain set to low, so if you're a loud listener you should have some headroom with the 250s and the bithead.

Also, how cheap are you looking for?