[GUIDE] Sonic Differences Between DT770-DT990 Models & More - Page 95

 

Hmm, I'd never say 990's have thin mids in my setup. In fact, in a direct A-B comparison between DT990Pro and AKG K701 which is known for its forward and full mids, plugged into the same headphone amplifier with two outputs, the vocals, especially male ones, actually sound fuller and more present on the DT990's, and instruments like pianos, guitars, especially saxophones, have just as much if not more of that sweet full mid end to it that I get with the K701. To me, DT990's sound TOTALLY different than they're described in most reviews, even in this sonic differences guide. To me they're not bass heavy, or very bright, and they definitely don't have recessed or thin mids. I find their bass perfect in amount, just slightly more than K701, to have a bit more punch, but too much, to make music boomy, its always tight as you say. And the boost in the high region is not in any way offensive to me, it just adds a bit more clarity to the sound, but highs are very smooth and not harsh at all in my setup.

I have the DT770 32ohm (2012 LE) and i'm just wondering if/how switching to velour pads will affect the sound signature. I already find these to be very bassy (can't imagine how bassy the 80ohm would be if it's much bassier) but the mids are a bit recessed and the treble a bit bright. Would switching to velours change this? I suppose i already knew it would have this kind of sound signature due to this resource but yeah... gotta try something out for yourself sometimes.
 

 

You do have to try it out for yourself, that's the only way to know for sure. It's interesting your impressions of the LE. I just bought a pair last week. I like bass but I've never thought of myself as a basshead. Maybe I am, because the 770LE was disappointingly bass-light to me. The mids and treble seemed fine to me, but the low-end was not present enough compared to what I heard it was going to be and is completely destroyed by the HE-400. Different strokes I guess.

Well I think they do have to much bass, as I LOVE my dt 880 250 ohms. They have PERFECT bass, for me the 990 isn't bright [I dig bright cans] but it does have to much bass and the mids aren't as full or warm as the the 880s and the Now owned Mad Dogs, but they are detailed.

 

Keep in mind to that the increased bass can lead to sounding "warm" but for me mid warmth and bass warmth are two different animals. but voice are more engaging on the 990, and I think it is due to the nice detail in the mids. There is also the tube your using. I pair my 990 with a clear top 12ua7 RCA, which SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHS everything out, the highs are not to much but they can be excessivly bright on the 990, the clear top gives them a little extension n fullness, in addition the clear top brings a little more mids in as well as keeps the bass on the 990s nice and TIGHT. That being said if ur using a THICK TUBE [like my rca 5963 (which I use with my dt 880 because it needs a thick tube] then yea the 990s I'm sure would sound very full!

 

But I like the 990 for mostly edm, vocal edm is MAGICAL on it! The bass is nice and TIGHT, the voices have good warmth the highs are detailed and airy! But for jazz, acapella or any other mid heavy genre the bass is to much for me on the 990, hence is why I own the 880s :D

 

here's an example, the song Outnumbered by London Elektricity, on the 990s the bass over powers the voices. It drowns them out not a TREMNDOUS amount but enough so that the warmth of the voices is lost a little. BUT the voices r still very forward and the detail is nice.

 

I consider London Elektricity to be more Nu Jazz than EDM, so the 880s pair better with it I think... where as Flux Pavillions Digital Freak, sounds better on the 990s, the voice is nice and warm and the bass KICKS, where as the dt 880 doesn't have enough UMPH in the bass for me.

 

But it's all prefrance. 

Edited by Mshenay - 3/7/13 at 4:03pm

 

 

Hmm, weird. I find the vocals on DT990 to be more forward and full than on the DT880 in ANY genre. There's more bass, or in other words, its more punchy, but somehow vocals still sound clearer and more separated from the rest of the sound than on the DT880. And I'm not using a tube, the best sound that I get with the DT990 is out of a SS Musical Fidelity V-can II amp.

 

To me, DT990 does not have recessed vocals at all. Even If I listen to track with just vocals, nothing else, but volume matched with K701, the vocals sound as full, detailed and forward as on the K701, which until now was the best can for vocals I've had. To me DT990 is basically like a HD650 with a bit more high frequencies and bit more open soundstage. 

 

Also, I feel like DT990 have an especially nice timbre, or a nice natural tonality in the mids. I mean, vocals just sound more real, even when compared to K701, which in direct comparison can sound a bit hollow, like there's a tiny bit of echo, and DT880 can sound a bit overly smooth in the vocal region, a bit missing on the detail.

yea the detail is great it adds some nice realism, I don't feel the 880 misses out on the details... well it does a tinsy bit your right there. for me the mid, the warmth of some ones voice is better on the dt 880, but clarity detail and overal tone is still great on the dt 990 [which is why I use it for vocal edm] BUT again, In Outnumbered, the bass line takes away from the voices, now granted there is enough detail and tonal calrity to still be able to enjoy both, but I miss the smooth forward nature of voices on the 880. In addition tubes add a little mid warmth and detail. I don't like solid states at all really... BUT I agree voices are more enjoyable on the dt 990 BUT the excessive bass takes away from them. For example Linda Perhancs "Hey know Who Really Cares" is TERRIBLE on the dt 990s. Her Voice is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DEEEP and rich warm and smoooooth. The 880 has the detail of her voice, and keeps her voice in balance. The dt 990 has too much bass and losses the real sex appeal and warmth in her voice. Granted her singing is a little brighter, but Linda has such a warm rich voice.

 

But yea, the dt 880 can sound VERY hollow without tubes and for JUST vocal, acapella again, I like my tubed dt 880 over the 990, there's a little to much treble for me. An spoken word is better on the 990 BY FAR. Those ole Dub Step tunes that have movie quotes, have a awesome realism to them, but sung words a singers voice is better for me when it's a little smoother. Still though the 880 follows the detail of a voice really well, where as the 990 has more detail and less smooth warmth so the voice is sharper and a little airy [and personally I

m not a fan of women with Airy Bright voices, hence is why I like my smoother dt 880]

 

but it's all personal prefrance! In Out Numbered the sexy accent of the background femal singer is more present on the 990 than the 880, but the male and female singers voice really blend a little better for me on the 880. In addition the better clairty is from the bigger sound stage of the 990 in addition to it's increased treble and the punch of the lower mids. I Like the smoothness of airy treble and upper mids in a voice, and the dt 880 keeps the voices forward enough be enjoyed with everything around it. Listening to Jazztronic Inner Flight, there's a sick bass line behind the singers voice with the mad dogs, the solo is nice adn the voice full, with the 990s the voice is fuller [that's the amp though, my dt 880s are on a THICKER tube and my 990s are on a very light airy tube] but the voice has nice timbre good and crisp! The highs in the voice stand out enough to bring it over the thumping bass line, but again, I'd rather have a warmth in a voice with a few hints of crisp bright notes, as opposed to the 990s brighter crisper voices. 

 

Yea on the 5963 tubes, the voice is not as bright, there's still a crisp quality to it, good highs nice brightness but the warmth of her voice comes out more on the 880, where as the 990 has different timbre. Remember TImbre is the qualioty of overall COLOR of the music. A mans voice is  darker color usually a womens a lighter. So the Timbre can't be better on the 990 it's different. It's not more real it's different!

 

ethier way they are both great cans :D. Still I only like "990" quanity bass for Techno and some Nu Jazz. Again that's the Bass player in me, the bass is at the back of the sound behind the drums. It's there to keep the rythm and the flow of the music. It's like a good spaghetie sauce it should tie the music together, it's a supporting role. If you listen for it it's there but if you blown away by a nice voice, or a magical Trumpet solo the bass DOES not interfere or drown out.

 

Listen to some "Moder Jazz Quartet" Percy Heath is a MASTERFUL[double stand up]  bass player. His bass lines are INSANE, nice tight and SMOOTH BUT always at the back of the song! 

 

So again it's all prefrance, the bass is to forward for me with the 990 in alot of music. 

Edited by Mshenay - 3/7/13 at 5:26pm

Great writeup and feedback on the beyers... I am not an audiophile by any means but just now making the leap into good quality headphones with amplification etc. I ordered from Headroom a pair of DT990's with their Micro DAC/amp package. They insisted that amp could well drive the 600 ohm impedance we shall see. I was starting to get really concerned about the "thin" mids with these cans but just need to listen to them objectively. I think I should have gone ahead with the purchase of the T1's but there are many many great reviews of the DT990's so I thought that they would be a good set of cans to start with. I will report back on the amp/dac performance after some time to listen and reflect on everything. I will say that trying to decide on headphones without being able to listen to them is like trying to buy a high end airbrush or camera lens for my DSLR system... Have to expect the inevitable let-downs but hopefully these Beyerdynamic DT-990's will not disappoint. As well as the amp and dac... I suspect they will be just fine. I can see a T1 in my future however... Thanks so much for the detailed writeups and descriptions guys. Very much appreciated.

I feel the mids are Not thin, but rather colder than warm. There's not as much body as I'd like but there's more detail and energy... so it's dwn to prefrance! xD Glad we could help

Could the mids be EQ'd very slightly for some coloration? Or is this practice frowned upon as an assist to that which may be perceptibly in need of some TLC?

psh music is a personal thing. I NEVER eq cans that I want to b neutral. The only think I eq is EDM n techno, since we all know bass heads only care about more bass lol

 

For coloration get a warm DAC or a good tube! 

One of the best reviews :D Thanks for sharing, truly appreciate it.

Good advice there... I fully intend to start listening tomorrow when gear arrives and see how it goes. I typically have not used any equalization on any of my loud speaker systems in the past and most likely will maintain neutrality here as we'll. I am intrigued with tubes though... May have to give that a go.

 

That's a little disappointing to hear. Like the other person who asked recently, I'm deciding between these two exact models (and maybe the Ultrasone HFI-580, but I suppose that has no place in this thread). They're both the same price locally, but I'm leaning toward the 770/80 because they're closed. I play a certain genre of games that requires me to use a loud controller, and I'd be unhappy if I got the 990/250 and ended up being able to hear the noise. If anyone here is familiar with using arcade-style joysticks with the 990 (or other open models like the 880), feel free to chime in about the results.

 

Another question I have is whether or not there are any sonic differences between the older (?) version of the 770, which had "beyerdynamic DT 770" on the earcups and "professional left/right" on the ends of the headband, and the newer version currently on Beyer's website with "DT 770 PRO # ohm" on the earcups and "beyerdynamic L/R" on the ends of the headband. I don't want to place an order and get the older version if something about the newer one is improved. I've read the entire thread and didn't see this addressed anywhere.

 

Thanks.

as far as the newer or older models, I think they are talking about the 600ohm version of the 770 pre 600ohm, so if you want the Pro 770 80 ohm I Don't think there will b any worries about newer or older models. In addition if your buying locally, like from a retail store... ask to try them in store. N bring ur own music. Worse comes to worse yotu buy u hate u return and u get the other lol. Still though Open or closed is a matter of prefrance. I don't like bass in Closed Cans, it's  not tight enough for me... even my Mad Dogs are slighty above sufficent in the tightness [that's because they are CLOSED]

 

So if your voulme is up I doubt you'll b able to hear it, ofc even with the pro 770 80 ohm you will still here a little bit of sound. I can hear my self typing on my ultra smooth cherry mx browns and I can hear my fan running, both are about a foot away from me. Neither is tremoudsly loud, and my Mad Dogs have a perfect seal and they are a rather good ioslating pair of cans

 

my point nothing will block ALL outside noise [maybe those active noise cancelling cans...] but the 990 will leak alot of sound in and out. So you cant use the 990 or any open/ semi-open can where there is alot of noise [busses, school cafiterias, resutrants ect...] because that excessive noise will make your music sound pertty bad

 

again though, I wont hear the pro 80 770 till April so till then all I cam say is if u can try b4 u buy DO IT, and best of luck to you [and grats on reading the WHOLE freaking thread e.e] 

 

I'm not sure how far back you're referring to, but I do indeed have an older pair of DT770s (the ones that say "professional" on the headband sides). It's from the mid-90s I suspect. In fact, just this week I heard back from Beyerdynamic about the history of the pair I have. Apparently the 770 line began in the 80s simply as a 600Ω headphone. This continued until the late 90s when the driver was replaced with a 250Ω version. I believe it was later on that this headphone was split into Pro and Premium varieties.

 

As for comparison, I can only comment on what I do/have own/owned: DT770 600Ω (circa 1995), DT770 600Ω, and DT770 Pro LE. Neither of the new ones sound as good as the old pair. I was disappointed in both, to be honest, because I was hoping they would replace this old pair. But, no go. Not good enough. Really, even out of my iPhone these old 600Ω cans have fuller bass than the 32Ω Pro LEs. Go figure.

Edited by teofilrocks - 3/8/13 at 4:53pm