I've made a recent discovery that may be good news for DT931 owners and/or those considering the 931s.
I've been using the 931s for a couple of years now. I chose them for what they do well - nice clear sound - top to bottom. I had tried the Senheiser HD580 and Grado 325, and I preferred the Beyer sound.
But after living with them a while, I started to encounter some of the same complaints heard here on Headfi and Headwize. That they can be at times bright and can be a thin on the bass. The 931s don't seem to get much respect around here as a result. I think this is actually a great headphone, but it needs some work ....
Last year, I picked up a Wheatfield HA-2 from Kshaft. This was a synergistic match, but I felt there was still room for improvement. After some tube rolling experiments, I found that my favourite output tube for the Wheatfield was the Tung Sol 5998. I checked with Pete Millett who designed the HA-2, and he guessed that the 5998 would provide a 70 Ohm output impedance.
As many of you know, the Beyers were designed for 120 Ohms. So on Jan Meiers advice, I added a 50-Ohm resistor in the signal path. That helped. But then I tried a 120 Ohm resistor. That helped even more. Bass was now much more solid, maybe a little too much bass. I finally scaled back to a 100 Ohm resistor.
So now, no one could say the Beyers lacked bass. There was oodles of it. But after a lot of careful listening, something was still not "perfect" in the bass. For example, on bass guitar, you could hear the strumming clearly and powerfully, but there was a little bit of a "hollowness" to the notes. It should have been fuller, more weight.
Enter the Stefan AudioArt Equinox, which I ordered in a custom length so I could hook up to the Beyers. With the Equinox, at first, there was way, way too much bass. It was kind of muddy.
Did not like it. So I went back to a 50-ohm resistor in the path.
The bass is now amazing. Bass is nice and solid. My wife - who is not into headphones one bit - listened to a couple of her CD's through my setup and said: Wow, really great bass!
So what is the lesson here?
Jan Meier has been right all along. Beyers need 120 Ohms.
But if you want a warmer sound, with bass that has weight, the Equinox makes a very big difference. According to reviews here, the Equinox has a forgiving sound, so it removes some of the edge of the 931 too.
The stock Beryer cable is not all that bad. But if you like the Beyer clarity and openness, with a bit more warmth and bass presence, feed it through a 120 Ohm output and an Equinox cable. It really brings the Beyer's to another level. Unfortunately, don't have Senn 600s to compare to, this would be an interesting comparison.
Caveats - I can see some people who had gotten very used to the 931s in stock form, and may find the Equinox makes the sound too smooth and warm for some peoples tastes. Personnally, I find it strikes just the right balance.
I've been using the 931s for a couple of years now. I chose them for what they do well - nice clear sound - top to bottom. I had tried the Senheiser HD580 and Grado 325, and I preferred the Beyer sound.
But after living with them a while, I started to encounter some of the same complaints heard here on Headfi and Headwize. That they can be at times bright and can be a thin on the bass. The 931s don't seem to get much respect around here as a result. I think this is actually a great headphone, but it needs some work ....
Last year, I picked up a Wheatfield HA-2 from Kshaft. This was a synergistic match, but I felt there was still room for improvement. After some tube rolling experiments, I found that my favourite output tube for the Wheatfield was the Tung Sol 5998. I checked with Pete Millett who designed the HA-2, and he guessed that the 5998 would provide a 70 Ohm output impedance.
As many of you know, the Beyers were designed for 120 Ohms. So on Jan Meiers advice, I added a 50-Ohm resistor in the signal path. That helped. But then I tried a 120 Ohm resistor. That helped even more. Bass was now much more solid, maybe a little too much bass. I finally scaled back to a 100 Ohm resistor.
So now, no one could say the Beyers lacked bass. There was oodles of it. But after a lot of careful listening, something was still not "perfect" in the bass. For example, on bass guitar, you could hear the strumming clearly and powerfully, but there was a little bit of a "hollowness" to the notes. It should have been fuller, more weight.
Enter the Stefan AudioArt Equinox, which I ordered in a custom length so I could hook up to the Beyers. With the Equinox, at first, there was way, way too much bass. It was kind of muddy.
Did not like it. So I went back to a 50-ohm resistor in the path.
The bass is now amazing. Bass is nice and solid. My wife - who is not into headphones one bit - listened to a couple of her CD's through my setup and said: Wow, really great bass!
So what is the lesson here?
Jan Meier has been right all along. Beyers need 120 Ohms.
But if you want a warmer sound, with bass that has weight, the Equinox makes a very big difference. According to reviews here, the Equinox has a forgiving sound, so it removes some of the edge of the 931 too.
The stock Beryer cable is not all that bad. But if you like the Beyer clarity and openness, with a bit more warmth and bass presence, feed it through a 120 Ohm output and an Equinox cable. It really brings the Beyer's to another level. Unfortunately, don't have Senn 600s to compare to, this would be an interesting comparison.
Caveats - I can see some people who had gotten very used to the 931s in stock form, and may find the Equinox makes the sound too smooth and warm for some peoples tastes. Personnally, I find it strikes just the right balance.
