gerG
Headphoneus Supremus
I really want to collect more data on this, but I thought that I would drop my notes from round one on you guys. Contestants were the Beyer DT770 pros (without many hours on them), Beyer DT250-250, and the Philips HP910. So far the DT250-250 are trouncing the competition with their balance between bass power and the rest of the spectrum (which cannot be forsaken, in my opinion). For full assault bass energy, however, the DT770s are the winner. My raw notes from this evening:
Flim & the BBs: Tricycle
T1
DT770: good piano depth. Decent dynamics, but tubby. Bass kicks have nice punch, but heavy mid bass and overhang. Nice soundstage. Very bass heavy and ponderous. Listening at low to moderate level. Band hits are blurry. Impact is amazing. Cymbals sound blurry, not clear or distinct. Impression of monobass. Kicks have impact, but hang around too long.
DT250: more depth to piano. Kicks are tighter, with no overhang. Treble is subdued. ****ing cord keeps snagging on my collar. Percussion is still a bit fuzzy, but better than 770. Cymbals sound like cymbals now, although level is low. Bass starts and stops better. Bass is well balanced.
HP910: very nice bass. Band hits are not distinct, but kicks are wonderful. Treble range is just goofy. There is a big hole up there that makes it sound like half of the trap cymbal has been sawn off. Kicks are slow to decay. Treble level is nice, but not very uniform at all. Pieces of treble missing. More comfortable after a couple of drinks. Tipping forward is a big help to treble, but still funky, and the headband is almost on my forehead.
T3
HP910: Nice uniformity in the bass. Fundamental at 1:25 (18 hz) is there, but dim. Kicks at 2:55 are thin/flat. Kind of a pop with the bass guitar in sync. Something is missing up in the mid/treble transition range. Deepnote @ 5:35 was there, but fading. These cans have amazing bass, wonderful efficiency, and a great fun factor for $50. I would not give a lot more than that for them. There is something very funky in the treble range. I do not consider these serious listening phones. I do consider them a lot of fun, especially with a portable source like the ipod.
DT250: more detail already. Holy****bass! These little bastards can generate pressure! 1:25 is a note! The rest of the music is important as well, and it is all there. Synth is very uniform, even at the very deep tones. Kick drum and bass guitar are very balanced. Very nice match between punch and musicality. Mid is a nice match to bass. Treble is recessed, but uniform and detailed. These cans do not get the recognition that they deserve. 5:35 just shook my shoes off (18 hz fundamental). ****ing coiled cord snags on everything. This must be corrected!
DT770: more treble in intro. Bass is ponderous and dominant. 1:25 was easy! These could go deeper. Bass goes deep. But overhang is obvious. Slightly nonuniform bass. Impact of kick is dimished, but tone remains. Bass guitar remains apparent. Mid and high are nice, with no obvious problems. Again, 5:35 sounds easy for these cans. Funny whistle at end. Very listenable, but sibilance and heavy bass make me want to turn the volume down. Good isolation.
Four Play
T1:
DT880 (just for variety): Delicate and powerful! Kicks are just wonderful tight, while cymbal shimmers. Very musical and detailed. I can hear flaws in my CDs with these cans like no others save the K1000s. Good tight bass, but the air is not shaking. Guitar has great attack and warm uniform sound. Not bass monsters, but a wonderful compromise. Kicking up the deep bass w/eq makes a big difference. Snare at end sounds like, well. a snare. I want to get up and dance with these phones.
HP910: Imbalanced and fuzzy. Serious bass, but I feel like I have water in my ears. Very dynamic and punchy. The air is starting to move. These would be amazing if I could fix that hole in the treble. I wish that I could graft this bass and upper treble onto the HD600s. Upper mid is honky and annoying. Turned volume down. Bass is still there, but mid/treb range still painful. At very low levels they get better (in a quiet area) but the treble hole is still there.
DT770: treble detail obvious in intro. Bass line comes in with a vengeance. My head hurts. Kick drum and bg are entirely separate. Bass has enormous impact, but decay is slow. Uniform bass. Mid to treble balance is nice, but bass is over the top. Treble has hiss/sibilance which is initially masked by ponderous bass.
Sen HD600: I can’t even make out the faint background in the intro (sounds like a distant trap set on some other cans). Bass is tight, but lacks depth. Midrange has beautiful clarity. Cymbal is in the background. Where’s the bass?
DT250: similar detail in intro to Sens (good, but missing things). Bass is back again. Very nice! Kicks are tight and deep. Bass drum and bg are distinct. Very nice mids and highs. A bit of ring on the guitar. Dynamic and nicely balanced. Threshold audiophile grade, and killer bang for the buck.
Paula Cole: This Fire
T1
DT250: Nice presence and air. Then the air moves. I can feel the bass out of these cans! Voice, synth, percussion are all clear and distinctly localized. Voice seems biased to upper-mid. Damn, I just want to kick back and listen to music with these, however…
Sony V6 (just because they fell off the shelf and volunteered): my poor old friends. They do not belong in this comparison, and I will not embarrass them with comments. They served me well for many years, but my ears have learned much since those days.
DT770 (hold me, I am frightened of this combination): prevalent overtone on intro vocal. Is it supposed to be there? Sibilance right through the brain. Retained bladder control when the bass hit the fan, but oh just barely. Sibilant and unbalanced treble. Mids are quite pleasant, but are lost in the battle between the hiss and boom. Lets turn these waaaay down. There we go, 3 notches off zero (out of 23, with gain switch on high) on the volume control seems about right, and quite pleasant.
HP910 (oh man, do I have to?): nice intro. Bit of sib. Bass has a looseness (boom), and the treble hole becomes immediately apparent. Mids are still nice. Great cans for portable, but outclassed at home. Shut the track off early.
DT931: bright and edgy, but treble is not uniform. Some sib. Great bass, but hissy treble.
Track 2: “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone”:
DT250-250: Organic. No sibilance, great bass. Small, but very very position stable.
Btw, the comparison testing has ended. I grabbed the most pleasant phones of the bass monsters, and am just goofing off now!
Round 1 goes to the DT250-250.
gerG
Flim & the BBs: Tricycle
T1
DT770: good piano depth. Decent dynamics, but tubby. Bass kicks have nice punch, but heavy mid bass and overhang. Nice soundstage. Very bass heavy and ponderous. Listening at low to moderate level. Band hits are blurry. Impact is amazing. Cymbals sound blurry, not clear or distinct. Impression of monobass. Kicks have impact, but hang around too long.
DT250: more depth to piano. Kicks are tighter, with no overhang. Treble is subdued. ****ing cord keeps snagging on my collar. Percussion is still a bit fuzzy, but better than 770. Cymbals sound like cymbals now, although level is low. Bass starts and stops better. Bass is well balanced.
HP910: very nice bass. Band hits are not distinct, but kicks are wonderful. Treble range is just goofy. There is a big hole up there that makes it sound like half of the trap cymbal has been sawn off. Kicks are slow to decay. Treble level is nice, but not very uniform at all. Pieces of treble missing. More comfortable after a couple of drinks. Tipping forward is a big help to treble, but still funky, and the headband is almost on my forehead.
T3
HP910: Nice uniformity in the bass. Fundamental at 1:25 (18 hz) is there, but dim. Kicks at 2:55 are thin/flat. Kind of a pop with the bass guitar in sync. Something is missing up in the mid/treble transition range. Deepnote @ 5:35 was there, but fading. These cans have amazing bass, wonderful efficiency, and a great fun factor for $50. I would not give a lot more than that for them. There is something very funky in the treble range. I do not consider these serious listening phones. I do consider them a lot of fun, especially with a portable source like the ipod.
DT250: more detail already. Holy****bass! These little bastards can generate pressure! 1:25 is a note! The rest of the music is important as well, and it is all there. Synth is very uniform, even at the very deep tones. Kick drum and bass guitar are very balanced. Very nice match between punch and musicality. Mid is a nice match to bass. Treble is recessed, but uniform and detailed. These cans do not get the recognition that they deserve. 5:35 just shook my shoes off (18 hz fundamental). ****ing coiled cord snags on everything. This must be corrected!
DT770: more treble in intro. Bass is ponderous and dominant. 1:25 was easy! These could go deeper. Bass goes deep. But overhang is obvious. Slightly nonuniform bass. Impact of kick is dimished, but tone remains. Bass guitar remains apparent. Mid and high are nice, with no obvious problems. Again, 5:35 sounds easy for these cans. Funny whistle at end. Very listenable, but sibilance and heavy bass make me want to turn the volume down. Good isolation.
Four Play
T1:
DT880 (just for variety): Delicate and powerful! Kicks are just wonderful tight, while cymbal shimmers. Very musical and detailed. I can hear flaws in my CDs with these cans like no others save the K1000s. Good tight bass, but the air is not shaking. Guitar has great attack and warm uniform sound. Not bass monsters, but a wonderful compromise. Kicking up the deep bass w/eq makes a big difference. Snare at end sounds like, well. a snare. I want to get up and dance with these phones.
HP910: Imbalanced and fuzzy. Serious bass, but I feel like I have water in my ears. Very dynamic and punchy. The air is starting to move. These would be amazing if I could fix that hole in the treble. I wish that I could graft this bass and upper treble onto the HD600s. Upper mid is honky and annoying. Turned volume down. Bass is still there, but mid/treb range still painful. At very low levels they get better (in a quiet area) but the treble hole is still there.
DT770: treble detail obvious in intro. Bass line comes in with a vengeance. My head hurts. Kick drum and bg are entirely separate. Bass has enormous impact, but decay is slow. Uniform bass. Mid to treble balance is nice, but bass is over the top. Treble has hiss/sibilance which is initially masked by ponderous bass.
Sen HD600: I can’t even make out the faint background in the intro (sounds like a distant trap set on some other cans). Bass is tight, but lacks depth. Midrange has beautiful clarity. Cymbal is in the background. Where’s the bass?
DT250: similar detail in intro to Sens (good, but missing things). Bass is back again. Very nice! Kicks are tight and deep. Bass drum and bg are distinct. Very nice mids and highs. A bit of ring on the guitar. Dynamic and nicely balanced. Threshold audiophile grade, and killer bang for the buck.
Paula Cole: This Fire
T1
DT250: Nice presence and air. Then the air moves. I can feel the bass out of these cans! Voice, synth, percussion are all clear and distinctly localized. Voice seems biased to upper-mid. Damn, I just want to kick back and listen to music with these, however…
Sony V6 (just because they fell off the shelf and volunteered): my poor old friends. They do not belong in this comparison, and I will not embarrass them with comments. They served me well for many years, but my ears have learned much since those days.
DT770 (hold me, I am frightened of this combination): prevalent overtone on intro vocal. Is it supposed to be there? Sibilance right through the brain. Retained bladder control when the bass hit the fan, but oh just barely. Sibilant and unbalanced treble. Mids are quite pleasant, but are lost in the battle between the hiss and boom. Lets turn these waaaay down. There we go, 3 notches off zero (out of 23, with gain switch on high) on the volume control seems about right, and quite pleasant.
HP910 (oh man, do I have to?): nice intro. Bit of sib. Bass has a looseness (boom), and the treble hole becomes immediately apparent. Mids are still nice. Great cans for portable, but outclassed at home. Shut the track off early.
DT931: bright and edgy, but treble is not uniform. Some sib. Great bass, but hissy treble.
Track 2: “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone”:
DT250-250: Organic. No sibilance, great bass. Small, but very very position stable.
Btw, the comparison testing has ended. I grabbed the most pleasant phones of the bass monsters, and am just goofing off now!
Round 1 goes to the DT250-250.
gerG
