[tapeholder]

Driven by a headphone amplifier with an output impedance lower than 1 ohm (Cute Beyond in my case), which of the DT 770 Pro versions has better bass extension, the 80 ohm version, or the 250 ohm version? (By bass extension I mean which outputs lower frequencies.) I have read that the 80 ohm version should have more bass than 250, but it's unclear to me that does it mean only the amplitude, or does the bass extend lower too? Is the difference big?

I'm planning to buy DT 770 Pro because it's closed and I know it's comfortable (I have tested it before, but with a crappy source), and it should have convincing sub-bass for movies, games and bassy electronic music.

I want the one that gives out more convincing low sub-bass frequencies, and by low I mean below 40 Hz. That is, unless the 250 ohm one sounds otherwise considerably better than the 80 ohm one, in which case I would just go with the 250.

 

[stv014]

I do not have the 80 Ω version, but I would guess (from various frequency response graphs of the DTxx0 series) that the bass extension (i.e. the frequency where the bass starts to roll off) is probably similar. The bass on the 250 Ω version that I do have extends fairly low, with a good seal, at 20 Hz it still has at least as high output as at 1 kHz. The 250 Ω drivers do seem to have slightly more extended treble, though, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your preferences.

 

[tapeholder]

Alright, so if the bass extension is similarly good on both 80 and 250 ohm versions of DT 770 Pro, that in fact makes the decision more difficult for me. I think I could live with either the 80 or 250 ohm version, but I want to make a choice I won't regret later on. Buying them both would be nice of course, but I can afford to buy only one of them, and I'm not eager to have too much redundancy in my headphone "collection" anyway.

Then there's something that's making me quite confused. Most comments about the DT 770 Pro 80 that I have seen have made a strong point of their strong bass, and they seem to be considered as a good choice for bass-heads. Also, the graphs seen on HeadRoom indicate that the DT 770's (presumably the non-Pro version) bass extends far further down at louder levels than that of the 880 or even 990. However, according to the thread named "[GUIDE] Sonic Differences Between DT770-DT990 Models & More" here on Head-Fi, DT 770 series has the weakest bass of the whole DT 770 - 990 series. Conflicting information.

That seems too big of a conflict to be caused only by people's differences in hearing and preferences, so the only logical explanation seems to be either that the amplifier driving the headphones can cause such a drastic difference in the bass response, or the DT 770 series have went through a change in their design or the drivers themselves.

So is the DT 770 series more bassy than 880 and 990, or not? Is it only the Pro 80 from the DT 770 series that's considered a bass monster - which wouldn't make sense considering HeadRoom's measured response graphs, unless of course the measurements/graphs are wrong, or if their testing equipment affected the frequency responses so much.

It's good that Beyerdynamic has options... but it can make deciding which one to buy a pain. What makes it even worse/better, is that DT 990 Pro (250 ohm) costs the same as DT 770 Pro (80 and 250 ohm) in the place I would probably buy them from. So if I want rumbling low frequency goodness in bassy electronic music, games and movies, without sounding like crap, which one is the best option, DT 770 Pro 80, 250, or DT 990 Pro (250)?
 
I would prefer a closed can (DT 770 series), but if the DT 990 sounds much better, while still having good sub-bass extension, I might take the 990.

 

[PurpleAngel]

As the owner of the
DT770 Pro 80-Ohm
DT770 Pro 250-Ohm
DT880 Pro 250-Ohm
DT990 Pro 250-Ohm
 
I like the DT770 Pro 250-Ohm a little better then the Pro 80-Ohm.
But give me a day, I'll update my opinion after a little retesting.

 

[tapeholder]

From what I have gathered after reading a lot of opinions on the DT 770 Pro 80 and 250 headphones, it seems quite clear that the 250 ohm version of DT 770 Pro is brighter and/or has more treble extension, just like stv014 mentioned. And the treble extension can be a good or bad thing, depending on personal preferences and hearing.
 
As for the bass response... I guess it's safe to assume they both have similar bass extension. The general direction of opinions seems to point that the 80 ohm one has MORE bass, but exactly which frequencies it outputs more? Mid-bass, sub-bass, all-bass?
 
 
Ok, let's make the question more simple: I want to be able to hear convincing 20-30 Hz frequencies, those lowest tones heard in rap and dubstep for example. I WANT PHAT SUPER-LOW FREQUENCY BASS. Preferably so that the headphone still doesn't sound like crap. So do I choose DT 770 Pro 80 ohm, or should I consider something different altogether?
 
I've read very good things about Audiotechnica ATH-M50(s), but it seems it wouldn't be comfortable enough for my large-ish ears, or is it much different compared to DT 770 in terms of comfortability? Does the M50 deliver the super low frequency candies as well as DT-770 Pro 80 ohm for example?
 
I will be using the headphones with a Firestone Audio Cute Beyond, which shouldn't have troubles driving most 32-600 ohm headphones, and it has an output impedance of less than 1 ohm, so damping factor should remain good even for lower impedance headphones. Mobile device use is not a priority now.

 

[tapeholder]

Well I ended up ordering DT 770 Pro 80 ohm.
 
After reading (too many) opinions and reviews, I concluded that the 80 ohm version should be a good choice for me. It should have more bass than the 250 (even though the bass extension can be similar), and according to Beyerdynamic's website, the 80 ohm version's drivers should be "stronger and more powerful", which sounds like a good thing for producing rumbling bass frequencies.
 
The 250 should sound brighter and perhaps more accurate for trebles, but I got the impression that when it comes down to rumbling bass - or in other words, if deciding which one is more fitting for a basshead, the 80 ohm version is the way to go.
 
The only obvious downside of the 80 (compared to the 250) seems to be that it's more picky about the amp's output impedance, because if the output impedance is too high (too low damping factor), its bass could easily sound too floppy and/or bloated or simply just bad. That can happen with many headphones, but I got the impression that the DT 770 Pro series is quite sensitive for this. That's not a problem for me though because my amp has a low output impedance, and I imagine I will stick with low output impedance amps in the future too.
 
Besides, the less bright, softer sound might be a good thing for extended listening and when listening a bit louder. Looking forward to getting the headphones.

 

[tapeholder]

Got the DT 770 Pro 80 ohm. Damn it's good. Cute Beyond seems to be able to drive it fine, although I don't have any other amp for comparison.
 
Quick first impressions:
- Very comfortable, although it does make your ears warm, but that's to be expected from closed cans.
- Enough of sub-bass.
- Enough of bass in general = I don't feel any need to EQ the bass up.
- Bass emphasis seems to be on low to mid bass.
- Did I mention the bass?
- There's enough of treble, but I wouldn't call the sound "bright". At least it's not fatiguing.
- Mids are indeed a bit laid back, but they are there, sound nice and have good detail.
- Seems quite detailed in general, except the bass is rather of a big and a little slow "subwoofer-y" type, which I actually like.
- Pleasant sound, which should be good for longer listening.
 
It's not the most sophisticated and neutral listening experience available, but it sounds pleasant and fun to me, with plenty of sub-bass, which is what I was looking for, and as a bonus they seem to be more detailed than I expected. I can imagine the sound signature isn't to every bass-head's liking though.

 

[Strida16]

Quote:

Got the DT 770 Pro 80 ohm. Damn it's good. Cute Beyond seems to be able to drive it fine, although I don't have any other amp for comparison.
 
Quick first impressions:
- Very comfortable, although it does make your ears warm, but that's to be expected from closed cans.
- Enough of sub-bass.
- Enough of bass in general = I don't feel any need to EQ the bass up.
- Bass emphasis seems to be on low to mid bass.
- Did I mention the bass?
- There's enough of treble, but I wouldn't call the sound "bright". At least it's not fatiguing.
- Mids are indeed a bit laid back, but they are there, sound nice and have good detail.
- Seems quite detailed in general, except the bass is rather of a big and a little slow "subwoofer-y" type, which I actually like.
- Pleasant sound, which should be good for longer listening.
 
It's not the most sophisticated and neutral listening experience available, but it sounds pleasant and fun to me, with plenty of sub-bass, which is what I was looking for, and as a bonus they seem to be more detailed than I expected. I can imagine the sound signature isn't to every bass-head's liking though.

I just got my own pair of the DT770's Pro 80 OHM and I truly love them to death haha I don't have my amp here just yet coming in the mail in about 4ish more days and I am excited. Happy to listen to them a bit without since I playing it through my computers decent sound card sooooo..... once I get my amp and my L9 FiiO cable for my iPod I will even be more excited haha
 
I would have to agree with your analysis of the sound overall and I have read after a long break in period they sound even better... so I can look forward to that as well. They are good for reggae type music some of it not all of it of course. (my type of reggae is more of a dubstep type so ya) anyway just wanted to piggyback on your liking of the headphones haha. They might not be to other people's standards of what they want but I enjoy them to death.
 
Good Luck on your future purchases!