Hi Everyone
 
There are countless discussions on Beyer's, after reading them, and going through what's available in my country, I bought a DT770 Pro 80 Ohm, as it will be drivable by iPod/Macbook's too, and indeed it's barely drivable, yet the listening experience is sub-optimal, the basses aren't strong (the overall performance is weak too), it was pretty much not worth it, as apple headphones were better in performance, and as I already have a Logitech Z-906 system that I enjoy (I think my Z-906's are broken in pretty good, because they were initially shallow, yet now they are pretty hard to beat in terms of music experience, which is mostly along the lines of 80's/electronic etc. with an emphasis on basses). I also needed a headphone to occasionally use with my digital piano, so DT770 wasn't too bad a choice
 
I'm curious about a better headphone, so just for this reason I'm considering a DT990 Pro with 250 Ohm's
(Oh I also, absolutely hate the cord of the 80Ohm DT770, the cord is unbearable, I really want a braided cord)
 
I also considered a DT880 Pro with 250Ohm's - yet I think a fully open headphone might be what I'm looking for, which might beat my Z-906's 4+1 experience
 
I also recently bought a Fiio E12, and I was pretty satisfied with it, IMO, all full sized headphones need an amp or a strong supply, the gain of the Fiio E12 was the missing link to my DT770, however the music was still not as alive as my 4+1 setup, yet it was good
 
Should I just make due with my DT770 (It's not broken in by the way, I just used it for ~1-2 hours maybe) or should I just go-ahead and try the DT990 too?
 
I really hate over-buying and wasting products/space/money, yet I think a DT990 might be worth it just for the cord
(I'm also considering buying something like a Tesla T1 from abroad, these are possibilities too)

Yes just get the T1
 
Seriously, they're amazing with a huge range of genres - the best all rounder in my opinion.
 
Anyway the DT770 is available as 32ohm, this will be what you want if the 80 doesn't go loud enough. It'll be driven by the ipod etc but with a sensitivity of 96dB you might still want more with quieter tracks.
 
The DT990 is great too, and the open design (or semi open) will allow music to feel more natural. The mids are recessed like the DT770 so choose again if this is an issue. Go on, get a T1.

khaaannn said:

I also considered a DT880 Pro with 250Ohm's - yet I think a fully open headphone might be what I'm looking for, which might beat my Z-906's 4+1 experience

I also recently bought a Fiio E12, and I was pretty satisfied with it, IMO, all full sized headphones need an amp or a strong supply, the gain of the Fiio E12 was the missing link to my DT770, however the music was still not as alive as my 4+1 setup, yet it was good

Click to expand...

Music is 2 channel. If you are listening to music in 4.1 with your Logitech's, you are using virtual surround digital processing to artificially expand the soundstage to the rear speakers. Is that what you are after? Dolby headphone might help in addition to open headphones.

Otherwise, it's kind of hard to tell what you are looking for. Better/more bass, mids, treble? Better imaging, overall detail resolution? Can you be more descriptive of what you want to improve on with the DT770s beyond it is "not as alive as my 4+1 setup?"

It's 2+2 stereo + 1 sub-woofer
 
I guess what I'm looking for might be a better sound-stage, as the DT770 sounds a bit dead, the sounds are there yet I'm not feeling it
 
I considered DT990 as the open back's / air flow might improve things, basses specifically
 
I've checked tesla series too, T90's jubilee edition looks great, yet it costs 600$'s + 300$'s with customs - which is extreme, don't know why amazon calculated customs at ~50% instead of ~20%. - the DT990 is ~220$'s locally, so I'm a bit tempted to just try the DT990

khaaannn said:

It's 2+2 stereo + 1 sub-woofer

Click to expand...

Music is not recorded and mastered as 2 + 2 stereo, but 2 channels only (well, except for blu-ray high def 5.1 and some other formats, but I'm assuming that's not what you are using).

So what you are doing is creating an artificial surround environment that may (or may) not be replicated by a set of headphones in the same way, if that is what you are after.

khaaannn said:

I guess what I'm looking for might be a better sound-stage, as the DT770 sounds a bit dead, the sounds are there yet I'm not feeling it

Click to expand...

A "bit dead" is still a very vague description. Just pointing this out that, until you know and can clearly articulate exactly what you are looking to improve, it's a bit of a shot in the dark seeking advice via reading reviews and asking for recommendations. With that kind of vague description, listening and demoing other headphone models is undoubtedly the best way to find what you are looking for.

Yes, thanks, it seems that way, yet it's the way I use, testing things is never an option lately, hunting the product and testing it in real-life would cost much more than owning it, for me
 
What I mean by 4.1 / 2+2+1 is: It's stereo from the 5.1 setup of Z-906, It cancels out the middle speaker, and plays stereo through the left/right speakers, so basically the same channel from 2 left and 2 right speakers (it might also be dividing the sound between front and back and it's most probably combining the lower frequencies and playing them through the subwoofer, yet it's technically stereo) [EDIT]
 
A more specific question would be: "Would a DT990(250) emulate the soundstage of speakers better compared to DT770(80)?"

An open headphone will generally have a bigger soundstage than a closed headphone. Yes.

You might also like a soundcard with Dolby Headphone, which uses digital processing to expand the soundstage some.

cel4145 said:

An open headphone will generally have a bigger soundstage than a closed headphone. Yes.

You might also like a soundcard with Dolby Headphone, which uses digital processing to expand the soundstage some.

Click to expand...

That's good advice too, I had an external sound card in my Windows days, yet after switching to Mac OS, I defaulted to as-it-is sound, unless you are willing to risk the system integrity at Mac OS, the default setup seems to be the only option, in my opinion (mostly the drivers are missing, even if they aren't missing, it seems risky to introduce them, there are many modifier softwares too, which might modify the sound at the OS level, yet once again an unnecessary risk in my opinion)

What exactly are you looking for? The 990s in my opinion are best for vocals and soundstage. The bass is quality oriented, but does sacrifice quantity. From a personal experience, I prefer this open back experience as it really gives a lively sound to everything I lsiten to. However, the E12 harms this as it's too balanced to really pair well with them, I got rid of my E12 because of this. It really depends on how you classify your taste in sound signature. It fits the audiophile basshead label best. While they do not offer heavy bass, nor are bass oriented...they can provide a nice quality bass with good richness and deepensss as well as provide amazing forward vocals and a wide soundstage. It gives me the feeling like I am listening to it live. These will not satisfy those looking for neutrality or bassheads, but these may satisfy those looking for quality.

in regards to the Dolby/surround sound comments, I do have Dolby software with my laptop's soundcard which includes surround sound as well as an audio enhancer and it makes the sound more hallow and doesn't do a very good job at sourround sound. It could just be my card, but it lowered the audio quality significantly in my opinion. It will likely be different on a higher quality card, but for me it was just utterly unpleasant.

I've listened to the DT770 more to better understand my dis-satisfaction and decided it's the closed ears, after researching DT990 more, I see that many people bashed closed ear headphones after using the DT990 for some time (the dis-satisfaction was definitely not sound-quality related, it was more of an air/feeling issue)
 
I've ordered the DT990/250 to test, I've a feeling I will really like it
 
---
 
I've also compared the sound to the Z-906 that I enjoy, the DT770 was obviously superior in detail/quality, yet the delivery was lacking (by delivery, I'm guessing it's the pressure and non-spaciness of the closed ear's)
 
I also seem to expect too much from headphones, vibrations from actual speakers and even sub-par ones seems to beat it for me

khaaannn said:

I also seem to expect too much from headphones, vibrations from actual speakers and even sub-par ones seems to beat it for me

Click to expand...

Maybe not. Some people like headphones better; some speakers. Some like both for what they do differently

Congrats on ordering the DT990s. Be sure to come back and tell everyone how they worked out for you.

cel4145 said:

Maybe not. Some people like headphones better; some speakers. Some like both for what they do differently .

Click to expand...

Exactly.

I love my DT 990 Pro's. Love everything about their sound, their sound-stage, best sounding headphone I've ever heard.
Yet, after owning them for 3 weeks, the pads are utterly flat, the adjustment on the sides won't hold their position, no matter how I bend them into place, and they feel different every time I put them on...
I absolutely love their sound, but any ideas as to why mine are literally falling apart when I have only gently used them for 22 days...
I've had them loose too, to not put too much pressure on the velour pads, but they are still mashed into an odd angle, with the top being compressed down, and the left ear being really mushy and flat while the right is really flat on the top, and brand new on the bottom... $40 pads every 3 weeks of normal use? Not interested...
Not to mention my earphones literally slide down my head while I'm sitting with them still because the adjustment intervals don't hold...
How do you get these dang things to last?
Should I call amazon, see if i can get a replacement or something? I've treated these things like royalty but they feel like their constructed of feathers, glass, and paperclips that constantly bend themselves out of shape... Expected higher build quality and durability from $175 headphones. I am worried about their lifespan while I still am within my 30 day warranty... is this normal or...

I've canceled my order of DT990 for now, to not be excessive and condemn another headphone to rust (DT770 in this case)
Decided I was unnecessarily seeking perfection, yet one thing I learned is that I should most definitely buy an open headphone next time, I will let you guys know how DT990 turns out if I re-pull the plug
 
In the meantime I've listened to DT770 more, it was pretty good, some people complain the highs are too high, this was indeed the case, yet overall they're pretty good, they also perform well on mobile devices if the audio isn't too bad (sometimes the highest sound setting isn't enough if the track isn't mastered well, mostly old mp3's)
 
I've also listened to the closed-ear HD449 that I bought long ago and never used, compared to them the DT770 was extremely comfortable (obviously), spacey
 
jkteddy77, mine seems very solid, no signs of issues you mentioned, I balance mine by adjusting the angle of the headphone to my head, this way I can balance it on multiple lengths/settings
 
I didn't buy them from amazon, but If you're not satisfied, send them back to amazon like everyone does, it certainly doesn't sound right

If money is not a problem why not go for the T1's?