[Jazz9]

Hello DT-150 owners,

I have HD555s (took the foams out so maybe it's closer to HD595s now) and I just don't find anything great about them, they sound...well...slow and dull.
I can hear that they're decent headphones but it's like they try to do nothing wrong and fail at really doing anything right...

I can put them on and listen to music while browsing the net on my computer and literally forget that I'm listening to music, they just don't draw me or get my foot tapping.

I got cheap ksc-75 that I krammer-modded (but without cutting the hole in the pad in fear of them becoming too bright and I was wise not to) to get a taste of a different sound sig and I like them, they have some punch, more sparkle but they can get tiring after a while so I wouldn't want something too harsh sounding.

I stumbled upon this thread and was wondering if the dt-150 could fill my needs.
How's the speed, PRaT? (wouldn't want another slow headphone)

Some of the things I listen to:
Keane, Bloc party, Tv on the radio, kings of leon, noisettes, the notwist, Belle & Sebastian, The Killers, The Servant, The Prodigy, Pendulum, Daft Punk (just got into electronica/drum&bass and must say I like it!) and some other things(acoustic music) but it's mainly indie and electronica/drum&bass.

They'd be used with a zero dac/amp (opa627/lt1364)

Thanks everyone!

(Bonus question: are they comfortable?)

 

[ast]

Jazz9,

DT-150 sounds better than most of the flagship headphones that are currently in production. HD595 and the like don't even come close to the league of DT-150. The speed and PRaT is flawless. Only I wish more is airyness, but hey you can't have everything for under $200 though.


A.

 

[Jazz9]

Sounds good!
So they would fare well with what i listen?

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello DT-150 owners, I have HD555s (took the foams out so maybe it's closer to HD595s now) and I just don't find anything great about them, they sound...well...slow and dull. I can hear that they're decent headphones but it's like they try to do nothing wrong and fail at really doing anything right... I can put them on and listen to music while browsing the net on my computer and literally forget that I'm listening to music, they just don't draw me or get my foot tapping. I got cheap ksc-75 that I krammer-modded (but without cutting the hole in the pad in fear of them becoming too bright and I was wise not to) to get a taste of a different sound sig and I like them, they have some punch, more sparkle but they can get tiring after a while so I wouldn't want something too harsh sounding. I stumbled upon this thread and was wondering if the dt-150 could fill my needs. How's the speed, PRaT? (wouldn't want another slow headphone) Some of the things I listen to: Keane, Bloc party, Tv on the radio, kings of leon, noisettes, the notwist, Belle & Sebastian, The Killers, The Servant, The Prodigy, Pendulum, Daft Punk (just got into electronica/drum&bass and must say I like it!) and some other things(acoustic music) but it's mainly indie and electronica/drum&bass. They'd be used with a zero dac/amp (opa627/lt1364) Thanks everyone! (Bonus question: are they comfortable?)

They have the pleasant ability of drawing you into the music.
And they are toe-tapping with certain types of music.
In my opinion they are not great for heavier rock. But with the music you mentioned, they could fare well. Except that they are mabye too slow/ warmish for electronica/drum&bass. But I never listen to that kind of music, so I can't commend on that first hand.

About the comfort, they are not comfortable. The earcups are gigantic, and they are covered with some kind of stiff pleather that get sticky. The discomfort was my only reason for selling them.

Here's a good review where they are compared to some Ultrasone's.

 

[Jazz9]

I'm not into classic rock, heavy metal or things like that so I won't have to worry about that.
But the comfort thing is bothering me a little bit...are there alternative pads that would be more comfortable?
And thank you to both of you (ast and Tiemen) for helping out, appreciate it!

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not into classic rock, heavy metal or things like that so I won't have to worry about that. But the comfort thing is bothering me a little bit...are there alternative pads that would be more comfortable? And thank you to both of you (ast and Tiemen) for helping out, appreciate it!

Believe me, I tried a lot, because I wanted them to be comfortable.
First I bought the DT100 velour earpads. Those are a lot smaller, so they fit barely and are rather stiff as well. The huge soundstage became less, so that wasn't really an option.

Then I glued velour on the DT150 earpads with textile glue. That helped a bit, but now they slided up and down my head. And the seal was less, hence the sound was altered too.

At last I glued real leather on the earpads. Didn't helped much.
It was so frustrating, because I loved their sound.

But there are owners who have no comfort issues with them at all.
Maybe I'm too picky. I sold a lot of headphones because they were discomfortable to me.

 

[Lad27]

I must agree with the thread title. These are brilliant sounding cans indeed. I've heard them at Sydney meet - to me it was the biggest surprise and I'd rank them better than markl modded, woodied, recabled D2k, ATH W5000 and host of other high end cans present at the meet.

Even though looks are not important, these for sure will not win any beauty contest. The comfort would be issue as far as I coud say from that brief listen - the pads (material) are just horrible.

But ever since I keep wondering if these excellent drivers could possibly be transplanted into some donor frames (DT770/880/990 perhaps, these are very, very comfortable) and then try out to make a custom wood cups a la Darth Beyers.

Some experimentation would be needed to match the DT150 cups air volume behind the driver to keep the sonic signature in check. I have means to do such a experiment, and so I have a question to those of you who had them opened, or be willing to do so:
Would it be possible to post a good pics of DT150 internals? Some basic measurements would be extremely helpful (diameter, height of driver etc.).

For what I read here and briefly experienced myself, the comfort is the killer for these cans which are otherwise so fine sounding. My jaws literally dropped to the floor when I plugged them to my rig and put some Dream Theater tracks on. Fantastic sounding cans, tons of potential.

Cheers.

 

[Lad27]

Oh, one more thing, not technical, more of a rant.
My whole experience withb 150's is so close to what I experienced just couple of days ago:

My co-worker who is regularly sending us the links to funny commercials, jokes and pranks on YouTube sent me a link to an episode on "UK Got Talent" TV show where this 48 old lady of unassuming apperance (and I'm being nice here

) got on the stage in front of three judges (and you can see them rolling their eyes and backstage guys making faces, grinning and smirking in anticipation of some very funny comedy act happening soon...)
Well, well, the best part was looking at their utter disbelief once that lady opened her mouth and started singing...Priceless! The wide opened eyes and mouths of the judges - it was hillarious to watch that stunnig 'I cannot believe what I hear' look on judges and some audience faces

.

Enter DT150 - very similiar thing happend to me...If I wasn't aware of this thread, I swear, I would not put these things on my head. They looked like somebody raided his grandpa's drawer or got it dirt cheap from pawn shop an brought it to this meet populated with serious gear... Sure, these plastic, 70's design-look, WW2 Tiger Panzer crew joke of the headset can be any good? Well, looks can be deceiptive as we know.

 

[Jazz9]

About the comfort issues, is the only culprit the pleather or are there more?
The sound of the DT150 has been described as warm but how warm are they really ? Along the lines of an HD650 (often said to be dark)? Less (that's what I hope)?
I wouldn't mind a slightly warm, euphonic tone but I wouldn't want it to be too dark.

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif About the comfort issues, is the only culprit the pleather or are there more? The sound of the DT150 has been described as warm but how warm are they really ? Along the lines of an HD650 (often said to be dark)? Less (that's what I hope)? I wouldn't mind a slightly warm, euphonic tone but I wouldn't want it to be too dark.

It's not only the pleather/ vinyl, but also the fact that they are large and not round.
Because they are so deep and wide, there's a lot of pleather on your head, which irritated me. They clamp also, but you can easily stretch the headband.
There are so many ways to have the earcups on your head, that I touched them every 5 minutes to move them on my head.

The sound is not that warm, it's a bit on the dark side of the sound spectrum, because the upper treble is slightly rolled off. And the mids are full bodied, powerful and weighty.
Some say there's a mid bass hump, causing the warm/ dark signature. Which never bothered me, but I don't like bright headphones.

Best way to describe them is IMO as a closed HD580.
I never heard the HD650.

 

[mr.khali]

I agree they are not as comfortable as the Beyer DT 770/880 which I think I could sleep with (that didn't sound right but you know what I mean) but I don't find them irritating either. I can feel them on my ears but it isn't painful or bothersome to me. I also never found the HD 25 painful either so maybe I just have a skinny head. I would also agree with Tiemen's comment on them being similar in sound signature to the HD580.

 

[Jazz9]

A closed HD580?
I'd have thought the DT150 to have have a more engaging, toe-tapping sound...(I'm unfortunately only going from what I read on this forum and the HD580/600/650 were not really described as engaging phones).

I'm not a fan of bright headphones (well it's more my ears that can't stand them) so I'm looking for headphones that could be engaging, with good enough instrument separation, details and clarity while having somewhat of a seductive tone without being bright or aggressive.

I was first thinking about going the HD600/650 route but all the comments about them being slow and veiled without great amps made me think twice.
And after my experience with my HD555s (wich are supposed to be the "fun" phones from Sennheiser...right...) I'm not sure I want to go with Senns again.
Even if I know the 600/650 are totally different beasts than 555s I think just want to try another brand, see what's up elsewhere.

I then looked at the Denon D2000, phones that seemed to be what I was looking for (and being closed was a plus for me, that way I could listen to music without bothering anyone in the room), but the quality issues (screws falling) and reports of sibilance made me once again look elsewhere...

After looking at all the different offerings from the different brands (AKG/Beyer/Denon/Ultrasone/Audio-Technica...) and the opinions on them on this forum, I felt like there was nothing that would fit my needs within my budget.
But then I saw this thread and thought that they might be it.
I'll look a little more to see if there could be other alternatives but they're the favorites for now.

And thanks again for all the info Tiemen & co.

 

[Cynips]

Agreed, after browsing around on these forums, taking price into consideration and all, I finally decided on these (rather than the DT880 2005). Hoping they'll arrive next week together with an ASUS Sonar Essence STX, after which I'll try to share my experience too.

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif A closed HD580? I'd have thought the DT150 to have have a more engaging, toe-tapping sound...(I'm unfortunately only going from what I read on this forum and the HD580/600/650 were not really described as engaging phones). I'm not a fan of bright headphones (well it's more my ears that can't stand them) so I'm looking for headphones that could be engaging, with good enough instrument separation, details and clarity while having somewhat of a seductive tone without being bright or aggressive. I was first thinking about going the HD600/650 route but all the comments about them being slow and veiled without great amps made me think twice. And after my experience with my HD555s (wich are supposed to be the "fun" phones from Sennheiser...right...) I'm not sure I want to go with Senns again. Even if I know the 600/650 are totally different beasts than 555s I think just want to try another brand, see what's up elsewhere.

Well, the DT150 is a sort of closed HD580 by comparison bright vs. dark.
They share some similarities, but they are not completely the same.
In my experience the DT150 is a little more toe tapping and engaging than the HD580, but not by a wide margin. They are not aggressive and in your face.
FWIW: I don't consider the HD580 as being dull either.

 

[Jazz9]

Tiemen I see in your profile that you had Denon D2000, how do they compare to the dt150?