Beyerdynamic DT100 - Which Ohms?

[Delmeister]

Alright head junkies, time to step up to the plate. In my home recording studio setup (guitar/vox/drums) I use a set of AKG K271s - very nice phones that work nicely with Cubase/Alesis iO/26.

Occasionally I also use my Etymotic ER-4Ps

as a second reference point, and of course my active studio monitors as well.

I need a second pair of phones (looking at closed back again, unless you can convince me otherwise) and want something other than AKG so I can get a different prespective but still have good studio use out of them. I've more or less settled on the Beyerdynamic DT100 - and now I need to decide what Ohms to get. Someone has said it should be the 400 Ohm one, another bloke reckons rather get the 80 Ohm model.

Which one should I get, and what's the difference? Thanks so much heaphone geniuses, I really appreciate your input

 

[intoart]

The Beyers are an excellent choice. I would strongly recommend DT150s over DT100s, though. The DT100s only extend to 30Hz, while the DT150s extend to 5Hz. A big difference!

Overall, the DT150s are the best phones I have heard (regardless of price or open/closed.)

 

[maanster]

Worth noting though, is that the DT100's supposedly have a more linear frequency curve than the DT150, which may sound "better" but may be more suited for general listening/music enjoyment rather than mixing. Your AKG271's are already considered to be one of the best studio cans for recording and mixing, maybe you should ask yourself wheter you need another neutral/linear can or simply one to listen to your final downmixes. In the latter case, maybe the DT150 might be a better choice due to being more "musical". Or maybe you should even go for an open or semi-open headphone like a grado or beyerdynamic(DT880 comes to mind)?

 

[John Willett]

High impedance loads the circuit less than low impedance - so if you are driving them from a mains powered system, personally, I would go for the 400-Ohms version.

Have you definitely decided on the DT 100? - the general opinion in studio forums is that they are great for tracking, but not so good for quality monitoring.

I'm not trying to make you change brands, but Beyer do actually make much better headphones than the DT 100.

 

[Delmeister]

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated. Right, so I pulled the trigger on a pair of DT150s...arrived just now

I am going to do a short burn in using white/pink noise files and then give them a whirl. The reason for a second set is to use whilst recording takes (guitar/vox/drums)...had a set of Technics previously but they broke, so figured I'd try something different. The DT150s aren't the greatest looking phones, but I'm hoping they sound great. Also, the padding isn't as soft as the AKG, but I don't expect it will be a showstopper. I will update once I've given them a whirl. Thanks again for responding, it is appreciated.