Ordered HD330/440/660 to try out.
Purely stock, 440 maybe has the most pleasing balanced and open sound, but the headband (and cable) is crap. Tough to get the cups fitting properly.
660 is actually quite balanced and less bassy than 330. But it does sound more closed, atleast easily heard in width (L/R). It seems this 660 is broken or so, right channel bass (<100hz) is 5dB quieter no matter how I adjust the fit.
330 is quite bassy by default, the slope goes down far to 300-500hz which muddies things a bit. Little EQ like this improves the balance:
I don't find the stock pads super terrible, could use them for few hours with some sweat.
Here are stock measurements for all (and HD800 for reference..). Taken with my calibrated Smyth Realiser -mics
in ear.
No compensation in the graphs, includes some HRTF/pinna-effect. (as these are average of L/R, the bass on 660 could really be a few dB louder due to the imbalance)
THD etc looks very nice for HD-330. For around 90dB, ~2% <40hz, less than 1% >40hz, less than 0.2% >100hz. No ringing etc seen.
DT770V velour pads are certainly more comfortable. They slightly reduce bass but create a large hole for the 600-1500hz middle. Could be fixed with some EQ:
I'd recommend AKG K-240 pleather pads though, comparison of all HD-330 pads below:
- 240 pleathers: Slightly soft, bass drops a smidgen which is good. IMO best comfort/sound relationship, atleast when not EQ'd. Maybe even then.
- 240 velours: Really stiff, explains the stock bass level. Pleathers have bigger holes and more room for ears to breathe, so I'd choose them without hesitation.
- 770 velours: Deeper than others, which should explain loosing the mids. Very good comfort/sound relationship when EQ'd.
- 990 velours: Really soft, so bass leaks out. Not surprisingly sounded really airy.. but neutral bass would be somewhere between 90-95dB in the graph. I doubt anyone would care for these.
Measured depth and diameter of the hole, tried to get a decend average with slight pressure applied like they would normally have.
Stock D 20mm Ø 46mm
AKG240P D 19mm Ø 55mm
AKG240V D 20mm Ø 48mm
DT770V D 24mm Ø 57mm
DT990V D 21mm Ø 55mm
Measured isolation HD-330/440/660:
Just for fun some 30hz and 300hz square waves like Tyll does. For reference CAL and HD800 included..