plainsong
Headphoneus Supremus: Untie!
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2002
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I met luukas in the city earlier today, and I took the Beyer dt700s (non-pro) off his hands to start building a modest pc-setup for my husband. He included a Behringer mixer to power the headphones as a sort-of temporary fix, but I'm sure I'll be getting an amp for it soon, just as soon as I can figure out how to get a modest portable amp that can be powered in Europe, which seems to be an impossible feat.
Luukas is even letting me borrow some cables, and was patient with me when I forgot to pay him. :O What can I say, it's been a long day. I took the money out, and then put it back in my bag.
Anyway, on to my impressions:
With the 15gb euro-capped iPod.
The Cure - Pictures of You 224AAC
Oh, I think I found where the bass was hiding on the iPod.
My impressions here will echo the impressions of many, very low lows, but hearing some harshness, and sibilance is notably worse than the dt990s unamped from the ipod. Well, the 770s are closed, so that makes sense. And the sibilance is the inability of the ipod to really drive these dt770s. But even through all that, they grooved. You could feel the luuuuuv.
As a side-note, I prefer the ms-1s with the ipod. Easier to drive, so nicer to listen to.
With Nad 542C and Perreaux sxh-1, same song on cd:
Oh yes, source and amp matter.
Sibilance is gone, but that can be as much attributed to the fact that it isn't a lossy format as it can to the fact that this is a grown-up source. No harshness, that's for sure. Big huge spoonfulls of heaping warm bass. It's not as muddy as with the iPod, and not as muddy as my memory of the dt990s. The bass is there but is tighter than I expected. So these Beyers will really grow with you.
Isolation
These don't isolate so well, nor do they keep in sound so well when compared to Ultrasone HIFI650 Trackmasters. But they won't leak as much as a fully open headphone either. If I want that isolation, I'll use the ety 4s. Etys will also give you some truth, and truth has its place in audio.
General Observations
Now compared to listening to the same song with the Senn600s, I prefer the Senns. What you hear is much more natural. But are the dt770s inaccurate? I don't think so. To me, it sounds like they put the bass front and center, but the rest of the information is there. Unlike the Senns, which seem to try to even things out across the spectrum of sound for a more natural sound.
These sound closed, no getting around it. But this kind of echoey sound can create its own sort-of soundstage that can be fun with albums such as the 8-mile soundtrack. I'll never think that album was well-mixed, but this brings the best bits of it out and makes it groove as it seems to be intended to. I suspect it will do the same with other less-than-well-mixed rock/pop/hiphop recordings. To my ears, many such recordings are intended for sound systems which feature the bass line. But I'll say again that I'm getting the bass without the expense of the rest of range of sound. I can hear everything.
Final thoughts
I know from my dt990 days that these will be ideal computer cans if you can afford to add an amp. Sort-of high-end pc cans.
And for dvd's, well I'm on record as saying that most dvd's should come with a "Made for Beyers" logo on the jewel case.
But if you've grown away from computer audio, don't be so quick to chuck the Beyer dt770s. If Grado is too grating for you, and you need to rock occassionally, these will compliment your more serious Senns very nicely, and you won't be sacrificing sound quality. The one will make you appreciate the other, and you end up keeping both.
Now when I had the trackmasters, I was a big fan, and while wearing these, I'm a big fan of what they do. It's tough to make a call on it since I don't have the trackmasters here to compare. So I'd conclude from that, that if you need more ice cold accuracy along with the slam, then stick with the Ultrasones. If you already have all the accuracy you need already, or plan on building a multi-headphone system, or just need the Beyer Luuuuuv, then stick with these.
Anyway, on to my impressions:
With the 15gb euro-capped iPod.
The Cure - Pictures of You 224AAC
Oh, I think I found where the bass was hiding on the iPod.
As a side-note, I prefer the ms-1s with the ipod. Easier to drive, so nicer to listen to.
With Nad 542C and Perreaux sxh-1, same song on cd:
Oh yes, source and amp matter.
Isolation
These don't isolate so well, nor do they keep in sound so well when compared to Ultrasone HIFI650 Trackmasters. But they won't leak as much as a fully open headphone either. If I want that isolation, I'll use the ety 4s. Etys will also give you some truth, and truth has its place in audio.
General Observations
Now compared to listening to the same song with the Senn600s, I prefer the Senns. What you hear is much more natural. But are the dt770s inaccurate? I don't think so. To me, it sounds like they put the bass front and center, but the rest of the information is there. Unlike the Senns, which seem to try to even things out across the spectrum of sound for a more natural sound.
These sound closed, no getting around it. But this kind of echoey sound can create its own sort-of soundstage that can be fun with albums such as the 8-mile soundtrack. I'll never think that album was well-mixed, but this brings the best bits of it out and makes it groove as it seems to be intended to. I suspect it will do the same with other less-than-well-mixed rock/pop/hiphop recordings. To my ears, many such recordings are intended for sound systems which feature the bass line. But I'll say again that I'm getting the bass without the expense of the rest of range of sound. I can hear everything.
Final thoughts
I know from my dt990 days that these will be ideal computer cans if you can afford to add an amp. Sort-of high-end pc cans.
Now when I had the trackmasters, I was a big fan, and while wearing these, I'm a big fan of what they do. It's tough to make a call on it since I don't have the trackmasters here to compare. So I'd conclude from that, that if you need more ice cold accuracy along with the slam, then stick with the Ultrasones. If you already have all the accuracy you need already, or plan on building a multi-headphone system, or just need the Beyer Luuuuuv, then stick with these.
