[Cameron2310]

I've seen a lot of people singing their praises, a few people who aren't keen, but overall the 770's are said to be good for their price. I listened to some recordings of them and they fit my profile almost perfectly... but they shouldn't.

Their frequency responses seems all over the place, having the staple beyer rollercoaster treble and large inconsistencies in the core vocals of 100-300hz. Using Oratory1990's harmen adjusted response graph as an example, they appear to be all over the place, with swinging peaks and troughs throughout. Even if you search for other frequency response graphs from different sources, you'll find massive (upto -35dB) dips at 4k hz across multiple sources and the same issues in the 100-300hz range. Another issue not often mentioned is the pretty bad frequency response consistencies too.

Why is there such a seemingly large disparity between our quantitative results and the general experience with these cans? I can only find one quantitative resource that shows them being good, and that's rtings' review of them. Rtings places them as one of the best closed backs available, where rtings uses a complicated system to adjust frequency response graphs based on ear resonance, head acoustic field responses, harmen target and other stuff that's a bit over my head, as well as using decent testing equipment. (Head Acoustics HMS.3, little pinna or overall ear definition)

What are your thoughts on the matter- Are raw frequency responses useless? Is this mostly due to differences in testing equipment? Is this an issue with frequency curve compensations? Are the Dt 770's trash along with my hearing? Is there something being missed here? Most importantly, are my ATH-M50xs better than the HE1 Orpheus2?

 

[Sefelt103]

Frequency response curves can be misleading. There are other factors that affect the sound we hear, like the soundstage, attack decay etc. People have bought headphones based purely on some graph they think they'll like only to find the headphone has attributes they dislike. There are also other factors like amplifiers (and their output impedance), variations in quality control, burn-in and even the sort of recordings in someone's collection. The FR is a guide, looking at what I've seen about the DT 770 I wouldn't want one (especially with that large recession at 4 kHz).

 

[Cameron2310]

Frequency response curves can be misleading. There are other factors that affect the sound we hear, like the soundstage, attack decay etc. People have bought headphones based purely on some graph they think they'll like only to find the headphone has attributes they dislike. There are also other factors like amplifiers (and their output impedance), variations in quality control, burn-in and even the sort of recordings in someone's collection. The FR is a guide, looking at what I've seen about the DT 770 I wouldn't want one (especially with that large recession at 4 kHz).

Fair points about frequency responses. The soundstage on them is supposed to be pretty good for closedbacks, but at the end of the day they are still closedbacks, so nothing special, but the imaging is good. I think it's the bass extension that draws me in to be honest, that and the velour pads.

 

[descloud]

What are your thoughts on the matter- Are raw frequency responses useless?

I think the raw frequency response is a good baseline for what the audio output is if your ears were similar to a measuring device, but not the closest representation of what you'll actually hear given the different gain factors involved with the body structure.

Is this mostly due to differences in testing equipment? Is this an issue with frequency curve compensations?

Measuring equipment is one factor, but also the compensation used. These articles could give you more insight on how to interpret the different graphs available:

https://www.headphones.com/pages/measurements-and-frequency-response

https://crinacle.com/2020/04/08/graphs-101-how-to-read-headphone-measurements/

Are the Dt 770's trash along with my hearing? Is there something being missed here?

If you like how it sounds, it's not trash to you now is it?

Frequency graphs tell one part of the story, but it takes a certain level of experience to be able to interpret what the graphs tell you in relation to what you actually hear.