[god-bluff]

The Dt150 certainly does fast and agile and complex. Music doesn't get much more frenzied and complex than Gates of Delirium by Yes, the 150 laughs at the challenge of taming this music which most headphones could not begin to make sense of. (heard if it matters through MF V Can II from CD)


Another hugely multi layered complex piece by Public Service Broadcasting their album Inform Educate Entertain is rendered so clearly every sound as clear as a bell and separated in its own place within a vast space. This sounds so good I find it hard and don't need to imagine it sounding better.

If the Dt150 sounds slow,and only excels at vocals and acoustic or even shows any real weaknesses then I can only conclude either

The headphones are defective

They have unsuitable pads

They are a DT100 in disguise

The listeners ultra expensive amp isn't as good as they think it is

Or .. you've chosen the wrong headphones

Just my opinion; these are the best all-rounder I've had the pleasure of hearing

 

[Arttt]

lol

 

[cs098]

I think it depends on your frame of reference. If you only heard/have mid range and low end stuff, the dt 150's bass speed will sound pretty fast. But compared to the hd 800, he 560s, and stax stuff it's going to be slow comparatively.
 
I agree with kman, the dt 150's speed is good at it's price (and maybe a bit above, depending on how much you bought it for) range.

 

[Baycode]

I have removed my Brainwavz pleather memoryfoam HM5 earpads and put the Brainwavz velour angled memoryfoam HM5 earpads on the DT150 and fired my Darkvoice 336SE... and wow, more neutral sound (but slight mid forward), slightly better clarity, sounding slightly brighter, better layering and sense of larger soundstage, bass is slightly less compared to pleather (non-angled) earpads. I prefer this angled velour version to the non-angled velour one for DT150. I am pretty sure that the pleather angled will sound slightly more bassy but with great soundstage. I will try the Hybrid HM5 earpads next but want to give this version more time... Its great to have alternatives for modfying the sound. DT150 sound changes drastically with different earpads. Once I have tried a cheap velour earpads from ebay, I couldn't believe my ears, because this beast sounded like a 10USD crappy headphone!

 

[Madmollusk]

  That's just a generalization of tubes vs ss amps. Many tube amps are tuned in a way to sound like that. The clearest and tightest amps I've ever heard were tube amps. 
 
The HD 800 is actually a bit colored, mainly it's treble, it has a bit too much energy, thus where the anax mod comes in. I've listened to the HD 800 extensively numerous times. If you ever find an Sennheiser HE-60 at a good price, grab a pair, it's a league above the HD 800 but doesn't have the HE-90s crazy price tag. Never like the HD 800 much, it's main issue for me is that it just fails to engage me musically even when I know it should on the particular piece I'm listening to. Anyways you are not going to get truly neutral and flat unless you go with speakers. The M50 kinda sucks, never liked the headphone, no clue why he thought it was so good.
 
I know what fast and agile bass is, the DT 150's speed is good for it's price range and comparable or better than others in it's league, I've listened to a lot of headphones extensively, including many electrostats and orthos.

Sennheiser HE-60!?! I never knew these headphones existed. And you say they are a league above the HD800!  You've piqued my interest! 
 
Regarding the DT150 sounding slow: I agree with you. They don’t sound any slower than any other closed-back headphones with a strong mid-bass presence. About the same as The Denon D2000 or Bower and Wilkins P7. Compared to the HD800, yeah, I admit, they sound a tad slow. But let me do some basic math here: I paid a paltry $150 bucks for the DT150, and I paid—ahem—an unmentionable, wallet-smashing sum for the HD800.  

 The HD800 better sound faster. 

 

[Madmollusk]

I have removed my Brainwavz pleather memoryfoam HM5 earpads and put the Brainwavz velour angled memoryfoam HM5 earpads on the DT150 and fired my Darkvoice 336SE... and wow, more neutral sound (but slight mid forward), slightly better clarity, sounding slightly brighter, better layering and sense of larger soundstage, bass is slightly less compared to pleather (non-angled) earpads. I prefer this angled velour version to the non-angled velour one for DT150. I am pretty sure that the pleather angled will sound slightly more bassy but with great soundstage. I will try the Hybrid HM5 earpads next but want to give this version more time... Its great to have alternatives for modfying the sound. DT150 sound changes drastically with different earpads. Once I have tried a cheap velour earpads from ebay, I couldn't believe my ears, because this beast sounded like a 10USD crappy headphone!

I just read, then reread your post a dozen additional times (the part in bold in particular), and with every read, I felt more excited. Amazon is selling these pads for cheap, so I said, “What the hell” and I pulled the trigger. Thanks for the post Santa Clause—err—I mean Baycode.  

 

[cjs001]

I dunno, I'd say the Audeze EL8 open-back trumps the DT150 in terms of vocals. Initmate, superb mids, crisp and clear sound and overall agility but they're a bit more genre specific when compared to the DT150. The price and surprisingly smaller soundstage (despite being open-back) relative to the DT150 are the only things making me think twice about getting them.
 
DT150 to me is more of a Jack of all Genre headphones. It is relatively forgiving of amp and source type and does everything just about well enough but if you want more of anything in particular, you'll have to reach for something else. The EL8 may be great, but I find them less enjoyable on certain genres.

 

[Lorspeaker]

it boils...
it boils down to u...
it boils down to your gears...
it boils down to your music.....
 
As long as u have a pair of dt150 to boil with,u r a winner
 
Listening to Yanni ..Live at the Acropolis....
that swirling, grand music amidst the rocks,
beautiful,     beautiful.
 
 
====
 
Gave reputations to everyone..
ran out of medals when i reached BAYCODE,
so a special medal for him.
 
**yicks...HM5 on the dt150...it is like undersized socksss  
 
 
====

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
As for ELs...heard both the open n closed..
best to wait for v.2  before u jump on it. 
 

 

[Arttt]

hmm i often see you people say " for the price" dt150 is good. 
well, to my ears dt150 is one of the best closed back headphones no matter price.  But it has its weaknesses.. just as any other headphone...
I stand by what i say about dt150,when i criticized this headphone but by all means, what i point out about dt150 in my critics shouldn't be a reason not to get this awesome headphone.
 
as for electrostats being superior to hd800, well...
electrostatic hp are known for its speed and transperancy but hd800 has a tighter, better controlled and stronger low end, comparing to electrostatic headphones, it has more bite, more punch to it, it simply stronger at lower frequency.
 
hd800 image sound like no other, in terms of speed and trancperancy, hd800 doesn't fall far behind, comparing to electrostats, while still remaining superior dynamics and stronger low end with more punch to it.
 
I doubt i would enjoy sennheiser he60 with electronic music...  while hd800 go so low in bass and never lose its grip, always controlled , doing it effortless ... 
 
if i have a chance i give he60 audition, seems interesting.

 

[Baycode]

Nice medal, thanks Lors

  A pitcure is worth a thousand words @Lorspeaker

 
The new HM5 angled earpad design has slightly better, stretchy lips.
 
But anyone who wants to jump one of theseearpads may need this tool as well

  :

Fitting was slightly easier for me compared to the previous versions.
This bike tire lever (plastic) tool makes things easier. Check this link for more.
 
 
 
 
IMO, they fit perfectly:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
BTW: Lors, I LOVE Yanni, I have all his albums! And his El Morro / Puerto Rico concert (On Blue Ray DVD: video + DTS sound) is one of the best DTS recording I have ever heard to date! But I prefer to listen/watch that video on my 7+2 Pioneer (LG TV) home theater setup. Mind blowing!

 

[privilege15]

 
Listening to Yanni ..Live at the Acropolis....
that swirling, grand music amidst the rocks,
beautiful,     beautiful.

 
Downloading... Thanks)

 

[Baycode]

  I just read, then reread your post a dozen additional times (the part in bold in particular), and with every read, I felt more excited. Amazon is selling these pads for cheap, so I said, “What the hell” and I pulled the trigger. Thanks for the post Santa Clause—err—I mean Baycode.  

You're welcome @Madmollusk , I hope you like them.
 
Playing with different earpads is like swapping tubes on the tube-amp. Always exciting, full of discoveries and surprises...
 
IMO, sound differences are much bigger (incomparably bigger) while swapping different earpads compared to swapping tubes on a tube-amp.
 
So anyone who likes DT150 can experiment different earpads and shape the sound to their liking.
 
Please take my words and information share as a grain of salt because: always in head-fi,  YMMW !

 

[kman1211]

hmm i often see you people say " for the price" dt150 is good. 
well, to my ears dt150 is one of the best closed back headphones no matter price.  But it has its weaknesses.. just as any other headphone...
I stand by what i say about dt150,when i criticized this headphone but by all means, what i point out about dt150 in my critics shouldn't be a reason not to get this awesome headphone.

as for electrostats being superior to hd800, well...
electrostatic hp are known for its speed and transperancy but hd800 has a tighter, better controlled and stronger low end, comparing to electrostatic headphones, it has more bite, more punch to it, it simply stronger at lower frequency.

hd800 image sound like no other, in terms of speed and trancperancy, hd800 doesn't fall far behind, comparing to electrostats, while still remaining superior dynamics and stronger low end with more punch to it.

I doubt i would enjoy sennheiser he60 with electronic music...  while hd800 go so low in bass and never lose its grip, always controlled , doing it effortless ... 

if i have a chance i give he60 audition, seems interesting.

Every headphone does have its flaws. I just don't find the DT 150 that slow, at least compared to other mid-tiers, everything else it pretty much shoots above its price range. I understand them being a bit slow compared to the HD 800, electrostats, and other flagships.

The HD 800 is very tight and fast without a doubt, I just wish it was musical to my ears. I would probably end up with the T1 or K812 as I preferred their sound overall. I'm planning on grabbing a flagship soon personally.

The HE-60 was one of a very few headphones that simply stunned me by how good it sounded.

 

[cjs001]

Every headphone does have its flaws. I just don't find the DT 150 that slow, at least compared to other mid-tiers, everything else it pretty much shoots above its price range. I understand them being a bit slow compared to the HD 800, electrostats, and other flagships.

Indeed. The DT 150 are only slow relative to flagships. Not to mention many other flagships are also very picky of their sources relative to the DT 150, requiring fairly good amp/dac pairings. Which makes affordability an issue for most people.

 

[MrTechAgent]

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