[Madmollusk]

Confession: Until the DT150, I’ve always preferred strictly neutral headphones or headphones that target the so-called “reference” junkies. Why? Well, until now, I probably couldn’t have articulated a coherent answer, but the DT150 has illuminated the issue for me.

 
Headphones that possess extra energy in the mid-bass frequently suffer from one or two problems that ruin even well-mastered recordings.
 
The number one problem: the mid-bass swells and envelops its embankment, inundating the mid-range with mud and water, so to speak. The best example: Beats headphones (What a dreadful flatulent-sounding headphone). The second problem—equally common and equally egregious—is this: the mid-bass stays where it belongs (mostly), but looms over the mid-range like some demented mountain-top, psychoacoustically repressing the presence of vocals and driving everything else I love about music into a midrange valley—think, the DT770.
 
Of course, headphones, like the wonderful HD650 (or even the NAD Viso hp50), unequivocally demonstrate that you can eat your cake and have it too, at least when it comes to a prominent bass response and a full-bodied midrange presentation. Happily, I can now say the same thing about the DT150.
 
I admit: I want to impose more acoustic control on the DT150’s mid-bass, mostly to unmask its sub-bass response and to quicken its tempo a tad. But when I think about everything the DT150 does right, I’m simply slack-jawed. They are incredibly good headphones, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better value (sonically speaking) at any price point.  
 
So, cheers to all my fellow DT150 owners. 

 

[Lorspeaker]

Madmollusk has spoken


Had a great time listening to Barbra Streisand on the dt150...this can gave her loads of air around her voice.



Do enjoy my dt770 too, with Alphapads....high gain on the amp,
The pads kinda disappear, the sound projects beyond the physical encapsulation ...strange.

 

[Madmollusk]

Madmollusk has spoken

Had a great time listening to Barbra Streisand on the dt150...this can gave her loads of air around her voice.



Do enjoy my dt770 too, with Alphapads....high gain on the amp,
The pads kinda disappear, the sound projects beyond the physical encapsulation ...strange.

Ha! Sometimes, I think I say way too much and edit far too little. But mostly, I think I spare the delete key on my keyboard the furious pounding it so often deserves. Anyway, the DT150 deserves a few ardent evangelists. I really think that these headphones may be the most underestimated headphones on head-fi. Such a shame. 

 

[Light - Man]

Guys, how does the 150 compare to the Yamaha HPH-MT-220 or even Bowers & Wilkins P7?

 

[cs098]

  Guys, how does the 150 compare to the Yamaha HPH-MT-220 or even Bowers & Wilkins P7?

against the 220, a bunch of people already talked about that in this thread.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/265251/beyerdynamic-dt-150-bloody-brilliant/1245

 

[Lorspeaker]

Guys, how does the 150 compare to the Yamaha HPH-MT-220 or even Bowers & Wilkins P7?

What is your setup like Light-Man..?
This dt150 prefers an amp, with a high gain mode if possible.
Mt220 sounds good off my iPad, but the dt150 is just passable..barely.

 

[Light - Man]

What is your setup like Light-Man..?
This dt150 prefers an amp, with a high gain mode if possible.
Mt220 sounds good off my iPad, but the dt150 is just passable..barely.

Lorspeaker, thanks for the info.
 
The fact that the 150 is power hungry puts me off a bit.
 
I have a Geek-out 450 USB-DAC and Hidizs AP100 DAP.

 

[cs098]

  Lorspeaker, thanks for the info.
 
The fact that the 150 is power hungry puts me off a bit.
 
I have a Geek-out 450 USB-DAC and Hidizs AP100 DAP.

Well if you have an amp, it should be fine, the 150 doesn't have bass nor soundstage out of a smartphone but sounded fine with my fiio e17k.
 
I wouldn't recommend it to be used portably out of a dap anyways, too big and cumbersome.

 

[cjs001]

  Well if you have an amp, it should be fine, the 150 doesn't have bass nor soundstage out of a smartphone but sounded fine with my fiio e17k.
 
I wouldn't recommend it to be used portably out of a dap anyways, too big and cumbersome.

It does have bass and soundstage off a smartphone, just a matter of how picky you are with the sound and the phone in question. But yeah you'd look like a fool wearing that as a portable gear unless you're facing a TV crew or something.

 

[god-bluff]

It does have bass and soundstage off a smartphone, just a matter of how picky you are with the sound and the phone in question. But yeah you'd look like a fool wearing that as a portable gear unless you're facing a TV crew or something.

But he has the apparently brilliant AP100 (has some fantastic reviews) which should be much more capable than any phone. Might work but don't know ?

 

[Lorspeaker]

LOOKS: Should be fine if he is dressed like a TV crew


Soundwise dun bet on a phone.

 

[god-bluff]

LOOKS: Should be fine if he is dressed like a TV crew


Soundwise dun bet on a phone.

The AP100 is definitely NOT a phone though!

 

[jdpark]

In the end this like all other questions at a certain point becomes relatively subjective. I've got them hooked up to about $2500+ worth of equipment in a desktop setup, and there is an incredible improvement over my iphone 4. Still, can I enjoy them from an iphone? Yeah, of course.
 
Personally, these cans have offered me noticeable improvements with cable upgrades, power chords, dacs, amps, etc. Some cans reach an upper limit pretty quick, but these don't. I'm sure one can hook them up to a $10,000 system and see amazing improvements over one that costs a fourth of that. Diminishing returns, of course, but still, there are returns as you go up the chain. If you can live with a system that's somewhere between a phone and a full desktop system, then great. 
 
I think an earlier post noted that with one of the iBasso products you can redo the cable to make it balanced and get quite a lot from the DT150s as a portable system. The A100 might be good too, as it sounds like it's got a good dac. The source is very important with these cans, though some of the subtlety of a great source can be lost in mobility.
 
For me it's less about looks, and more about heat and cumbersomeness. I wouldn't want to be going around town in the summer with these, no matter what system they were hooked up to. It's just not enjoyable. For that, my Shure 425s and iphone are my own personal preference at this point. If you plan to sit around at a cafe or library, but want to be mobile, then maybe, yeah, these cans will be fine, since they isolate some noise and don't leak very much.

 

[privilege15]

 
I think an earlier post noted that with one of the iBasso products you can redo the cable to make it balanced and get quite a lot from the DT150s as a portable system. The A100 might be good too, as it sounds like it's got a good dac. The source is very important with these cans, though some of the subtlety of a great source can be lost in mobility.

 
Oh yeah, you do, you can really do it! Just a little soldering and you have your balanced cable. I will also strongly recommend to change opamps and buffers inside iBasso PB2 from the stock ones. And DON'T use internal battery for DT150 with iBasso PB2. Supply it with 16V for ultimate power. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Enjoy perfect sound!

 

[Madmollusk]

Day two with the Brainwavz angled pads: What a difference a pair of velour pads can make! I’m not sure they really work for me, but I can’t deny the truth: they have radically changed the Dt150’s sound-signature. In fact, these pads have fixed the DT150’s two most salient problems:  its wooly bass and dark sound-signature. That’s right, if you want tighter, punchier bass with the Dt150—if you want to hear more of its sub-bass response—then the Brainwavz pads will do the trick; they will also increase the upper midrange and lower treble response, all but vanquishing the DT150’s dark character. 
 
In fact, these headphones sound significantly more neutral now—almost AKG Q701 neutral. Unfortunately, this newly imposed frequency response has a few downsides: these pads, for example, have awakened that notorious 6 kHz region, so now the treble sounds significantly brighter, to the point of sibilance. Can someone say, “Hearing fatigue?” But the biggest trade-off (and a real bummer for me) is this: the Brainwavz pads have stolen the DT150’s thick, lush, romantic mid-range focus, and male voices, as a consequence, now fall perfectly in line with the rest of the frequency response, which is great, if you want a more neutral response. But I don’t: not with these headphones at least.
 
The DT150 is now a warship without an awe-inspiring male commander, and its crew has forced Leonard Cohen to walk the plank, while lavishing Thom Yorke and P.J. Harvey with more accolades than they actually deserve.
 
Don’t get me wrong: the Brainwavz are really nice, quality pads, and some folks will absolutely love them, sonically speaking, but I’m a Nick Cave kind of guy, so I think, I’ll stick with the stock pads for now.