I spent a great deal of time researching a good set of closed cans to compliment my DT770s and Stax electrostatics. I eventually decided on the DT250-250 earlier this year, based on its reputation for neutrality, naturalness and great detail. It's a wonderful sounding can from these perspectives, all these impressions are true. Far better in all these regards than my old Stax, or the Dt770s. It’s the best closed can I’ve heard for classical (I haven’t heard the Audio Technica’s). It also had better bass reach than my 770s, without the 200Hz suck-out they show. It was just a great sounding can, tonally and detail wise.
Unfortunately, there is a fly in the ointment that in the end had me send them back. Some have a manufacturing defect that causes one side to have a different frequency response than the other. Search the archives, I revived that discussion a month or so back.
The result is that the imaging is very vague, to the point of being extremely bothersome. For example, when an instrument changes tonal scale, its position sounds like it changes. Triangles, crash cymbals and the like wander all over. Once you pick up on it, it’s impossible to avoid.
This measurement tells the tale.
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...-dt-250-80.php
Shown is how poorly matched right and left earpieces are throughout the critical 200Hz band, where music carries so much of its power, and again through the 3 to 4 kHz band where the ear is nearly at its peak sensitivity. Given the problem resides where most music is so powerful and where the ear can most easily pick up on issues, it was no surprise that this evidenced itself on nearly every song. This doesn't sound so much like a tonal issue, as a definite and bothersome imaging issue.
For reference, the left-right matching of the DT770s is rock solid.
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...mic-dt-770.php
In my older Dt770s Pros, this comes across as imaging with great stability. This stability also allows you to better enjoy the detail it has, and makes them less fatiguing.
It’s too bad really. The DT250-250s are otherwise for me the perfect set of cans (despite the fact that they get a bit sweaty) and I’d keep them for years, if they didn’t have that issue.
I should also mention that my connector broke after only 4 weeks, and I’d read this has occurred for others.
The DT250s really charmed me and now I’m cautiously searching out a closed can replacement that has it’s strengths, without it’s Achilles heel. I’d be surprised if that closed can exists.
