[jdpark]

For me, I don't think you need a 'complementary' headphone per se, but rather a good set of open cans, and perhaps a good set of IEMs, and then you can chose which to listen to based on your background noise options. Outside, or with noise around, I tend to use my Sure 425s a lot, even though I'm tempted to go up to the 846, if/when I have the dough and a better portable source. DT150s are great with my particular amp at home, and at the office where I usually have the least amount of background noise, I can use the HD650 for pop/rock and the AKG K501s for classical and jazz. The DT150s are the best of all my cans for deep listening. Perhaps I'll go for the T1 at some point, but I may wait until they finish building behind my house, which basically means that I can only listen late at night. I'm not sure I want to bring in expensive cans to the office. They already think I'm crazy with my headphone amp. 
 
Bottom line, the DT150s are pretty much end game in terms of quality/money for closed headphones. You can go up to the Fostex 900, but I'm not convinced you'll be blown away. 

 

[cjs001]

Yep. Pretty hard to get "blown away" with the DT150 as a reference. Saved me plenty of money too.

 

[kman1211]

  For me, I don't think you need a 'complementary' headphone per se, but rather a good set of open cans, and perhaps a good set of IEMs, and then you can chose which to listen to based on your background noise options. Outside, or with noise around, I tend to use my Sure 425s a lot, even though I'm tempted to go up to the 846, if/when I have the dough and a better portable source. DT150s are great with my particular amp at home, and at the office where I usually have the least amount of background noise, I can use the HD650 for pop/rock and the AKG K501s for classical and jazz. The DT150s are the best of all my cans for deep listening. Perhaps I'll go for the T1 at some point, but I may wait until they finish building behind my house, which basically means that I can only listen late at night. I'm not sure I want to bring in expensive cans to the office. They already think I'm crazy with my headphone amp. 
 
Bottom line, the DT150s are pretty much end game in terms of quality/money for closed headphones. You can go up to the Fostex 900, but I'm not convinced you'll be blown away. 

You should try the DT 1770 sometime, this headphone has truly impressed me. Never heard anything quite like it and it sounds great with every genre of music.

 

[FastAndClean]

 

[psys]

where to buy ear pads made of velour or suede?

 

[kman1211]

What are your initial impressions? 

 

[FastAndClean]

Love from first note, i sold my Audioquest Nighthawk and i wanted something similar in tonality, i am amazed how good they sound without any burn in, and the dragonfly can drive them without any problem.
The sound is very natural, little warm but not overly so, soundstage is massive for closed cans and imaging is precise, they are a lot better than my AKG K550 which is big surprise for me.

 

[kman1211]

  Love from first note, i sold my Audioquest Nighthawk and i wanted something similar in tonality, i am amazed how good they sound without any burn in, and the dragonfly can drive them without any problem.
The sound is very natural, little warm but not overly so, soundstage is massive for closed cans and imaging is precise, they are a lot better than my AKG K550 which is big surprise for me.

The DT 150 honestly reminded me of the Nighthawks but a bit brighter and not as warm and slightly less refined to my ears. But it kept up very well with the Nighthawks. I sold my DT 150 because of the Nighthawks. How come you sold the Nighthawks? 

 

[FastAndClean]

Well my sound signature preference was shifting, which is very strange but it happened, i was starting to like very clean and analytical headphones ( K601 with removed foam discs), and the NH was to warm for me, that was the reason to buy k550 because they are flat not as clean as k601 but still very neutral.
I sold my NH and was looking into this thread, i love industrial design headphones, and i pull the trigger, the NH is better headphones, they are unique but not for me anymore.

 

[kman1211]

  Well my sound signature preference was shifting, which is very strange but it happened, i was starting to like very clean and analytical headphones ( K601 with removed foam discs), and the NH was to warm for me, that was the reason to buy k550 because they are flat not as clean as k601 but still very neutral.
I sold my NH and was looking into this thread, i love industrial design headphones, and i pull the trigger, the NH is better headphones, they are unique but not for me anymore.

Makes sense. Preferences do change over time. The Nighthawk isn't my favorite headphone currently, it's the DT 1770, so I understand. Don't think I am going to sell them though, but maybe I will eventually, depends on how much I use them in the future. I still need to sell my HD 650 and DT 990 LE though.

 

[FastAndClean]

  The Nighthawk isn't my favorite headphone currently, it's the DT 1770

i heard the dt 1770 in Oslo hi-fi Center, great headphones, and amazing build quality to.

 

[kman1211]

  i heard the dt 1770 in Oslo hi-fi Center, great headphones, and amazing build quality to.

I find the headphone so musical and enjoyable, yet I personally think the Nighthawk is the technically better headphone, but honestly I don't really care, they sound so good. Yes it does, comfort could be a bit better though, not bad but not great either. May try to put a different headband pad on it as it's the headband that's slightly uncomfortable to me on the DT 1770, similar problem I had with the DT 150(which is fixed with the DT 100 headband). I think I am going to keep both the DT 1770 and Nighthawks though, different headphones for different moods. The DT 1770 puts you right in the middle of the recording so to speak yet without a hint of harshness, very unique sounding yet very balanced and a genre master, while the Nighthawks simulate more in a room with speakers. The DT 150 honestly takes an approach more akin to the Nighthawks, seem to take a more in the room with speaker effect like the Nighthawks but more energetic in the upper ranges and mids and less bottom end, yet comparing the two sounded oddly similar.
 
The DT 150 also carries the trait of having a driver not made of mylar or pet plastic and low distortion(lower than the HD 650 actually, particularly in the bass, which is interesting because the DT 150 is older than the whole HD 6xx series being from the 1980s originally), Beyers use a plant cellulose driver and honestly I think Beyers drivers are some of the best drivers for vocal and midrange reproduction out there, though some need to be corrected frequency wise and dampening wise to truly notice this, the DT 150 gives a good glimpse of this without any modding or correcting. AKGs are also amazing once corrected, driven right, etc. The DT 48 and 480 solid aluminum drivers are amazing once you get the resonances and glare under control(I actually rate my modded vintage DT 480 to have the most organic, effortless, and best vocals of all the headphones I owned but it's anemic in the bass). I would rank the Fostex bio-cellulose drivers(Nighthawks have a modded version of this) up there, but not quite as good at portraying a truly organic presence but offer very good performance from top to bottom. The holy grail of dynamic drivers to my ears will have to be the old Sony bio-cellulose drivers though, unbelievably organic sounding.

 

[FastAndClean]

   
The DT 150 also carries the trait of having a driver not made of mylar or pet plastic and low distortion(lower than the HD 650 actually, particularly in the bass, which is interesting because the DT 150 is older than the whole HD 6xx series being from the 1980s originally), Beyers use a plant cellulose driver and honestly I think Beyers drivers are some of the best drivers for vocal and midrange reproduction out there, though some need to be corrected frequency wise and dampening wise to truly notice this, the DT 150 gives a good glimpse of this without any modding or correcting. AKGs are also amazing once corrected, driven right, etc. The DT 48 and 480 solid aluminum drivers are amazing once you get the resonances and glare under control(I actually rate my modded vintage DT 480 to have the most organic, effortless, and best vocals of all the headphones I owned but it's anemic in the bass). I would rank the Fostex bio-cellulose drivers(Nighthawks have a modded version of this) up there, but not quite as good at portraying a truly organic presence but offer very good performance from top to bottom. The holy grail of dynamic drivers to my ears will have to be the old Sony bio-cellulose drivers though, unbelievably organic sounding.

Interesting stuff, thank you for this, i was curious about the drivers

 

[kman1211]

  Interesting stuff, thank you for this, i was curious about the drivers

No problem, never really talked much about, but the Beyer drivers definitely do look different. I often find the drivers and what they are made of more important than is let on. Wish I knew more about AKGs drivers, but sadly don't. I have found overtime I have been able to tell how good a driver is without really modding or eqing them. Sennheisers make me feel mixed, good and bad at the same time. Main problem I have with Senns is lack of connection with the music and vocals(a bit of a lack of soul is the best way to put it) and some subtle fine roughness to the sound. The subtle fine roughness was in the older pairs, but the vintage Senns have a lot more soul to their sound so to speak so it didn't really bother me too much on them. Tuning and excursion factor is great on the HD 6xx and up though, just a bit out of phase or something, it was worst with the HD 800 to my ears though, like the soul was sucked out of the music, wanted to like it but I couldn't, just sitting there with a bored look on my face trying hard to like it every time I listened to it, the tuning actually didn't really bother me, it was the soullessness regardless of system, it felt as if it was almost there on some systems but never quite.

 

[FastAndClean]

i think akg k601 drivers are very good, they are fast and detailed, the only problem is that they have low sensitivity