Marximus
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Posts
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In my quest to find a good-sounding headphone that was sibilance-free (or very nearly so), I decided to try the Beyerdynamic DT 150s (my Koss Pro35As are sibilance-free, but not exactly top-shelf quality). I got them on Tuesday, and have been comparing them with my D5000s. My initial impression was one of supreme discomfort and mediocre sound, not to mention no perceived decrease in sibilance. I had them on the FS forum for a night, and didn't get any bites, but then I decided to try them again. Since I understood them to be dull and muddy, I decided to equalize them a bit (Treble Booster in iTunes). Holy buckets. They woke up. I now think that they are possibly the best-sounding headphones I've ever heard. They became extremely clean and clear, with no loss in the magnificent bass impact they present. I've heard headphones before which have excellent impact, but which are either super-bright or super-warm (I'm looking at you, HFI-780s and D1100s). With the treble boost, they sound extremely well-balanced across the spectrum, while remaining terrifically punchy in the low end. I will say that they continue to be very uncomfortable, but some hours left stretched on a box has alleviated some of the pressure, I believe, and I will continue to stretch them. They're made for monitoring in loud environments, and they've definitely got the ambient noise attenuation aspect down pat. (Note: this discomfort is due to clamping force, not shallowness of earcups. The earcups are very deep.)
In comparing the DT 150s and the D5000s, and I've drawn kind of a beauty-and-the-beast distinction. The D5000s are the beauties, of course: the sexy mahogany and leather put the German industrial trash compactor look of the DT 150s to shame. And the Denons are no slouch in sound quality, either. They've got a lovely warm, bassy signature which doesn't really detract from the other components of the sound picture. Furthermore, they're far superior to the Beyers in terms of comfort and ergonomics. The Beyers just kind of give you the sound in a take-it-or-leave-it manner, not caring if they vise-grip your head in the process. But what a sound they give! In comparing the two, I came up with a weather analogy. The Denons are kind of like a thin layer of snow on the landscape: a bit of softening the harsh edges, which makes everything pretty and picturesque. It's a very satisfying tone, but not the most revealing thing out there. The Beyers are like a sheet of freezing rain. There is a layer of coloration, but you're still able to see everything that it has covered. Both of these layers most likely do not present the music extremely accurately; they are layers over the objects, after all. But the Beyers represent the music more sharply, with starker contrasts; the Denons make it slightly more appealing to the general public. I talk about sharp edges, and clear windows to the music, but again, this description should not be taken to mean that they're bright or cold. Certainly a bit "colder" than the Denons, but they still sound well-balanced, and probably even a bit warmer than neutral. It's perhaps not quite fair to do this sort of comparison with one pair of headphones being equalized and the other left alone, but unequalized, I was ready to sell the DT 150s (and with the Denons equalized, it sounded like they were neutered). Equalized, they are top-notch, and if the comfort were better, they might be my only set of cans. As it stands, I think I'll use the Beyers mostly for music listening, and the Denons for movies and the like, where I don't need to hear every subtle nuance, and comfort is a priority.
To sum up, if you can get past the comfort issue and don't mind doing a bit of equalization, the Beyers are a stupidly good deal, especially for the price (currently ~$200 at B&H). Highly recommended.
In comparing the DT 150s and the D5000s, and I've drawn kind of a beauty-and-the-beast distinction. The D5000s are the beauties, of course: the sexy mahogany and leather put the German industrial trash compactor look of the DT 150s to shame. And the Denons are no slouch in sound quality, either. They've got a lovely warm, bassy signature which doesn't really detract from the other components of the sound picture. Furthermore, they're far superior to the Beyers in terms of comfort and ergonomics. The Beyers just kind of give you the sound in a take-it-or-leave-it manner, not caring if they vise-grip your head in the process. But what a sound they give! In comparing the two, I came up with a weather analogy. The Denons are kind of like a thin layer of snow on the landscape: a bit of softening the harsh edges, which makes everything pretty and picturesque. It's a very satisfying tone, but not the most revealing thing out there. The Beyers are like a sheet of freezing rain. There is a layer of coloration, but you're still able to see everything that it has covered. Both of these layers most likely do not present the music extremely accurately; they are layers over the objects, after all. But the Beyers represent the music more sharply, with starker contrasts; the Denons make it slightly more appealing to the general public. I talk about sharp edges, and clear windows to the music, but again, this description should not be taken to mean that they're bright or cold. Certainly a bit "colder" than the Denons, but they still sound well-balanced, and probably even a bit warmer than neutral. It's perhaps not quite fair to do this sort of comparison with one pair of headphones being equalized and the other left alone, but unequalized, I was ready to sell the DT 150s (and with the Denons equalized, it sounded like they were neutered). Equalized, they are top-notch, and if the comfort were better, they might be my only set of cans. As it stands, I think I'll use the Beyers mostly for music listening, and the Denons for movies and the like, where I don't need to hear every subtle nuance, and comfort is a priority.
To sum up, if you can get past the comfort issue and don't mind doing a bit of equalization, the Beyers are a stupidly good deal, especially for the price (currently ~$200 at B&H). Highly recommended.
