My pair arrived yesterday and wow was I stunned the moment it is out of the box
Unlike my DT770 pro , DT1770 sounds good straight out of the box, but it is only been 20 hours so I will do a follow up later.
First and foremost : DT1770 blow DT770 pro out of the water
The official website claims that DT1770 is a
Closed studio reference headphones for mixing, mastering, monitoring and recording
Does the claim stands true? ABSOLUTELY
When I first play Eric Clapton from my Audinst HUD-mx2 + Asgard combo
I never realize there were that many people attending the concert
And DT1770 continues to perform even when I drive it using MX2 alone
Next comes Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)
If the cast member moved around, you will know how many steps do they take
The last can (I had the chance to auditioned ) that squeeze so much detail out of a recording was LCD2
consider the price difference I am happy with the performance
Lastly I plug it into my iPhone 4S (you know you are an audiophile when you choose a can over a smartphone)
and play my usual collection: Back in Black, Appetite for Destruction, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin , you get the idea
and it sounds almost as good as plugging into my DAC
Half of the $600 probably goes into making DT1770 drivable: this can demands very little power to use, and a little push goes a long way
Yes such performance comes with trade-offs
This can is punishing: any imperfection on the high frequency will sound harsh
(around 10kHz, don't expect measurements from freewares to be precise)
It is not to the ground neutral either: although the bass is punchy and beefy (compare to HD600),
the emphasis is clearly on the mid to high (or maybe I am just too used to HD600)
Lastly is the presentation of the vocal: details without flavor
DT1770 is no Denon, no Grado, no Ultrasone, and it's vocal will never be as good as other brands
DT1770 sound dry even compare against its own family:
The vocal of DT1770 is neither warm and sweet, unlike that of the T1, rather a focus on the techniques of the singer
Just imagine kale versus wave potato chips: both have texture, but almost everyone can agree on which one people will rather binge on
I did compare DT1770 with few other "studio headphones" , such as Shure 440 , Sony MDR 7506 , Audio-Technica M50 , AKG 240 MKII
and something interesting comes up.
Not a single can is neutral: each and every can is well prices for what it is intended to "monitor".
However after a few rounds of comparison DT1770 easily came out on top
Quick conclusion:
is DT1770 better than DT770 pro?
YES
is every last drop of detail squeezed out of the music?
ALMOST
is this headphone the best when it comes to value?
NO
is this headphone worth the $600 price tag?
YES, if you find using
ANY headphone amp annoying
NO , if you owned a MJOLNIR 2 or any powerful headphone amp
IS THIS THE NEW STANDARD FOR STUDIO HEADPHONE?
YES
Some headphone porn below:
I hope they understand what too much of the same color does to your eyes
I love the color black, but this is too much for me
FYI my desk is not white, those are printing papers
Finally Beyerdynamic is being generous about accessories
This is what I dreamed for: earpad slider
just put the earpad in , spin it a few times, and the whole thing will fit in place
Next : the most "dollar-for-dollar" headphone versus the new studio reference