So, I've had these cans for about a year now, which I sought out through recommendations on this site. I'm not an expert, but I do understand the basics behind audio and stuff, so I figured I'd give back to the community by offering my thoughts. Hopefully it helps someone with a purchase decision.
I'll break this down into sections that were relevant for my selection of these cans, as well any additional thoughts that came up.
1. My usage and Music Preference
I'm a university student, and typically commute a good deal on a day to day basis. As such, I wanted a pair of cans that I could take with me everywhere, that I could just toss into a bag and head out without worrying too much about them breaking. I typically listen to bass-driven music, such as DnB, Dubstep (traditional, none of that skrillex brostep crap), Raggae, Downtempo, or just Electronic in general. I foray into metal on occasion. My source is an unamplified FiiO X1.
2. Durability
Pros: Given that I'm using them like I am, durability is important, and these things do not disappoint. While I'm not careless with my things, there are times when I need to get going in a hurry, so I've gotta unplug the cans and toss em in my bag. There have been times where a textbook was sitting on/slightly crushing parts of the headphones and I thought for sure they'd break. Never did. These things are built very solidly, and have been able to keep up with me handily. They have a strange flimsy feeling about them that betrays this, in that the headphones are really light and they're not very rigidly attached to the headband. Despite that, I can't say enough good about their tankiness.
Cons: If I had to nitpick, the exterior details (the text on the side that says DT770 Pro 32 Ohm) are meh. They were originally white when new, but they've since rubbed off to reveal the same black as the rest of the headphones. I personally don't give a rat's, but someone might.
3. Isolation/Noise Cancellation
Pros: This is an important one for me, as I need to be able to focus on what I'm doing in sometimes noisy environments, or I don't want to listen to all the noise on a public transit bus. These cans are supposed to have about ~20db of non-active noise cancellation if I recall. They work really, really well in this respect. If you have these bad boys on, even with people in the same room, you'll barely be able to hear them if you turn your source audio up to about 50-60%. They also leak very little noise from what I've observed. This has to do with the very large and cushy pads on them, as well as the reasonable clamping strength, which brings me to the next topic.
Cons: None. Works as well as I could ask for.
4. Comfort
Pros: These are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. They clamp just hard enough that they don't shift around, and cancel most sound from outside getting in, as well as your audio getting out. I've never had any problems with fatigue, even after wearing them for 4-5 hours on end. I wear glasses all the time, and they never hurt my temples or anything. They're also light as I mentioned, so they don't strain your neck when looking down or moving your head.
Cons: One downside is the pleather? pads. The standard ones do make your head quite warm, even in mild weather. I've heard some people prefer swapping them for velour ones, and that helps. I haven't done this because I'm lazy/busy, and also because I didn't find it that big of a problem; more of a mild annoyance.
5. Cord
Pros: These cans are meant to be both studio and travel friendly, and as a result, they have a thick cord, commonly found in studio cans. This makes it pretty durable, and won't get damaged if pinched. The cord is also really long for travel use, which I suppose is a plus, as it'd be far worse if it was too short. It's about twice as long as most non-audiophile headphone cords.
Cons: This cord is the one big downside of these cans, in general. This is because it's incredibly stiff at times and has a long memory. If it's not super warm out (ie: winter or fall), the cord very quickly becomes stiff. This is normal for all cords, but given this thing's thickness, it truly becomes a pain the ass. Even at room temperature, it has a tendency to stay in the shape it's most used to, and it is very hard to wipe its memory so to speak. This all becomes an issue when you travel with them like me, because you end up with an extra 2-3 feet of cable hanging out of your pocket, unless you wind/loop the cord so it fits. As a result, mine fights me a little bit every time I try to move the cord, taking on strange oblong shapes, instead of dangling toward the floor. On a case by case basis, it's not a big deal, but after a while, it will begin to annoy you. That said, it's not enough to negate the positives of these cans.
6. Audio Quality
Pros: This is the most important factor for me, and these cans do it well. While I'm not a hardcore audiophile willing to spend $600 on a single pair of headphones, I have learned to appreciate fidelity and quality audio. I was coming from just using a pair of Steelseries gaming headphones on a mediocre Sony mp3 player, and stepped up to these and a FiiO X1. The change was pretty phenomenal. If that's what you're coming from, you will notice entire layers of audio in your music that you didn't even know was there before. Even if your audio collection isn't of the highest quality (ie: 128kpbs), you'll still notice a big difference.
The bass is the most important factor for me, as almost all my music is comprised primarily of <100Hz sound. These cans are pretty good in this respect. On my unamped FiiO, with the EQ set, most tracks will be quite the temple massage. On an amped source of some sort, or something with more power (like my PC), these things are bass cannons for sure. That said, the quality of the bass is what these things have going for them. On my other headphones, the bass can come out as muddy sounding, and eat up a lot of the mids, especially when EQ'd too high. On the DT770s though, the bass is punchy, crystal clear, and separated from the mids quite nicely. It's tough to explain, but it just feels like the bass has more impact. It has a really nice sense of space, where the bass is surrounding you, as if you were listening to a large stereo system. The subbass is quite low and rumbly, but can be a bit on the weaker side on certain tracks. All in all, I'm satisfied with it.
The rest of the audio spectrum is here, and well represented as far as my noob ears go. Like I said, there are entire layers of instruments and sounds I never even knew were there before on certain songs. It's quite the experience.
These are also pretty easy to drive, being the 32Ohm version. On my FiiO X1 (which has a small internal amp), they can get loud enough to drown out all but the loudest background noise. I suspect the 80Ohm version has better fidelity, but they do basically require an amped source as I understand it.
Cons: These are pretty sparkly headphones. The highs, even when EQ'd down as low as they can be, can be literally painful to the ears. It's not a problem in most tracks, and in fact I think it's probably more poor mastering on the tracks than the headphones. For me this is a con, as I really don't like highs when they hurt. However, if you're listening to tracks with lots of percussion, or you like highs, then this is probably a pro for you.
7. Overall
These are damn good headphones for what you pay for them, at least for my purposes. I wholeheartedly recommend them to someone who enjoys both their quality bass, and a bit of fidelity. I'm glad I grabbed them.
Hope this helps someone. If you have any questions, Email me and I'll try to answer.
I'll break this down into sections that were relevant for my selection of these cans, as well any additional thoughts that came up.
1. My usage and Music Preference
I'm a university student, and typically commute a good deal on a day to day basis. As such, I wanted a pair of cans that I could take with me everywhere, that I could just toss into a bag and head out without worrying too much about them breaking. I typically listen to bass-driven music, such as DnB, Dubstep (traditional, none of that skrillex brostep crap), Raggae, Downtempo, or just Electronic in general. I foray into metal on occasion. My source is an unamplified FiiO X1.
2. Durability
Pros: Given that I'm using them like I am, durability is important, and these things do not disappoint. While I'm not careless with my things, there are times when I need to get going in a hurry, so I've gotta unplug the cans and toss em in my bag. There have been times where a textbook was sitting on/slightly crushing parts of the headphones and I thought for sure they'd break. Never did. These things are built very solidly, and have been able to keep up with me handily. They have a strange flimsy feeling about them that betrays this, in that the headphones are really light and they're not very rigidly attached to the headband. Despite that, I can't say enough good about their tankiness.
Cons: If I had to nitpick, the exterior details (the text on the side that says DT770 Pro 32 Ohm) are meh. They were originally white when new, but they've since rubbed off to reveal the same black as the rest of the headphones. I personally don't give a rat's, but someone might.
3. Isolation/Noise Cancellation
Pros: This is an important one for me, as I need to be able to focus on what I'm doing in sometimes noisy environments, or I don't want to listen to all the noise on a public transit bus. These cans are supposed to have about ~20db of non-active noise cancellation if I recall. They work really, really well in this respect. If you have these bad boys on, even with people in the same room, you'll barely be able to hear them if you turn your source audio up to about 50-60%. They also leak very little noise from what I've observed. This has to do with the very large and cushy pads on them, as well as the reasonable clamping strength, which brings me to the next topic.
Cons: None. Works as well as I could ask for.
4. Comfort
Pros: These are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. They clamp just hard enough that they don't shift around, and cancel most sound from outside getting in, as well as your audio getting out. I've never had any problems with fatigue, even after wearing them for 4-5 hours on end. I wear glasses all the time, and they never hurt my temples or anything. They're also light as I mentioned, so they don't strain your neck when looking down or moving your head.
Cons: One downside is the pleather? pads. The standard ones do make your head quite warm, even in mild weather. I've heard some people prefer swapping them for velour ones, and that helps. I haven't done this because I'm lazy/busy, and also because I didn't find it that big of a problem; more of a mild annoyance.
5. Cord
Pros: These cans are meant to be both studio and travel friendly, and as a result, they have a thick cord, commonly found in studio cans. This makes it pretty durable, and won't get damaged if pinched. The cord is also really long for travel use, which I suppose is a plus, as it'd be far worse if it was too short. It's about twice as long as most non-audiophile headphone cords.
Cons: This cord is the one big downside of these cans, in general. This is because it's incredibly stiff at times and has a long memory. If it's not super warm out (ie: winter or fall), the cord very quickly becomes stiff. This is normal for all cords, but given this thing's thickness, it truly becomes a pain the ass. Even at room temperature, it has a tendency to stay in the shape it's most used to, and it is very hard to wipe its memory so to speak. This all becomes an issue when you travel with them like me, because you end up with an extra 2-3 feet of cable hanging out of your pocket, unless you wind/loop the cord so it fits. As a result, mine fights me a little bit every time I try to move the cord, taking on strange oblong shapes, instead of dangling toward the floor. On a case by case basis, it's not a big deal, but after a while, it will begin to annoy you. That said, it's not enough to negate the positives of these cans.
6. Audio Quality
Pros: This is the most important factor for me, and these cans do it well. While I'm not a hardcore audiophile willing to spend $600 on a single pair of headphones, I have learned to appreciate fidelity and quality audio. I was coming from just using a pair of Steelseries gaming headphones on a mediocre Sony mp3 player, and stepped up to these and a FiiO X1. The change was pretty phenomenal. If that's what you're coming from, you will notice entire layers of audio in your music that you didn't even know was there before. Even if your audio collection isn't of the highest quality (ie: 128kpbs), you'll still notice a big difference.
The bass is the most important factor for me, as almost all my music is comprised primarily of <100Hz sound. These cans are pretty good in this respect. On my unamped FiiO, with the EQ set, most tracks will be quite the temple massage. On an amped source of some sort, or something with more power (like my PC), these things are bass cannons for sure. That said, the quality of the bass is what these things have going for them. On my other headphones, the bass can come out as muddy sounding, and eat up a lot of the mids, especially when EQ'd too high. On the DT770s though, the bass is punchy, crystal clear, and separated from the mids quite nicely. It's tough to explain, but it just feels like the bass has more impact. It has a really nice sense of space, where the bass is surrounding you, as if you were listening to a large stereo system. The subbass is quite low and rumbly, but can be a bit on the weaker side on certain tracks. All in all, I'm satisfied with it.
The rest of the audio spectrum is here, and well represented as far as my noob ears go. Like I said, there are entire layers of instruments and sounds I never even knew were there before on certain songs. It's quite the experience.
These are also pretty easy to drive, being the 32Ohm version. On my FiiO X1 (which has a small internal amp), they can get loud enough to drown out all but the loudest background noise. I suspect the 80Ohm version has better fidelity, but they do basically require an amped source as I understand it.
Cons: These are pretty sparkly headphones. The highs, even when EQ'd down as low as they can be, can be literally painful to the ears. It's not a problem in most tracks, and in fact I think it's probably more poor mastering on the tracks than the headphones. For me this is a con, as I really don't like highs when they hurt. However, if you're listening to tracks with lots of percussion, or you like highs, then this is probably a pro for you.
7. Overall
These are damn good headphones for what you pay for them, at least for my purposes. I wholeheartedly recommend them to someone who enjoys both their quality bass, and a bit of fidelity. I'm glad I grabbed them.
Hope this helps someone. If you have any questions, Email me and I'll try to answer.
