[MooGoesTheCow]

Been browsing through the Headroom website, and came across these ugly ducklings. But something caught my eye. They're $400!

So I immediately do a search, and very little turns up.

This quote is about the best I could find, from a seller:
"Sealed design Eng/film monitoring headphone w/coiled cable a 1/4" stereo phone plug. Flat frequency response excellent isolation from ambient noise 200ohm." (here)

Here's a pic:

Like I said, nothing to write home about in the looks department. However, being a studio monitor, and twice as expensive as any other studio monitor I'm aware of, it gets me wondering what's so darn special about it. Here's another place where they are mentioned, although you don't get much about em. Headroom sells em, although they haven't tested them out. And lastly, here's a .pdf of what beyer had to say about em.

Enlighten me folks....

 

[MacDEF]

Moo, I vote for UCLA

Especially since the Rose Bowl is the BCS this year!

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

MacDEF, you rule!

 

[huy_ha]

Moo, I found a pair of these in my office, abandoned by some sound guy. I'm not sure why they're so expensive, but their major strength is apparently superb isolation. I took them home and tried them with my Creek OBH-11 and they are not very musical headphones. Oddly enough, they sound fuller using MP3. Otherwise, they were anemic in the bass department while managing to be a bit tinny at the same time. I can see how they are good for monitoring a TV broadcast, though, especially voices. I use them in my office, where I listen mainly to MP3.

Forgot to add, they are heavy and metal with screws to adjust the headband. These things could survive a drop from several stories. The earpads, however, are the glue on kind and come off quite often. Very paradoxical headphones.

 

[dhwilkin]

It's no butter knife, that's for sure.

 

[Tomcat]

huy_ha,
you're the first here who has heard the DT-48s. Thanks for your opinion. Being a big fan of the professional Beyerdynamic line, I have always been curious about them, but I have been unable to find any store that carried it.

Here is a description from a Canadian company called Location Sound. They say almost exactly the same thing as you, huy_ha: great for monitoring voices, especially outdoors, but attenuated bass response.

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

Thanks for the info, huy_ha. It's a little disappointing, and doesn't make much sense why Beyer would market these at such a high price, but based on the info, it seems it's not so popular.

 

[geom_tol]

I think the reason for the high cost is the way it's built. The chambers are machined aluminum... And the rest is about a dozen pieces of sheetmetal. Very expensive.

 

[Gluegun]

*giggles*

bulletproof headphones....

*starts cackling maniacally*

 

[SoundOff]

With the DT 48 you're paying for two things: build quality and accuracy. The response is actually very flat, and if you swap from the 48s to, say, DT 990s the difference in bass is very obvious. However, it's the DT 48s that are correct! That said, I still like listening to DT 831s.

The DT 48s are not so much studio monitors but reference monitors, and the 5 ohm (!) version is for audiometry. The standard DT 48E is 25 ohm.

If anybody still wants some, does Aus$ 334.00 sound OK?

sales@ssd.com.au

Colin

 

[Gluegun]

What is the difference between the various types of monitors?

 

[SoundOff]

Studio monitoring headphones are not necessarily flat response and uncoloured, same as with studio speakers. Most near-field monitors are horrific in hi-fi terms, but can be very revealing of what's in the mix. References are more likely to be flat and neutral, but can seem a bit dead for listening to music.

Looking at the DT 48s, they are particularly recommended for monitoring voice recordings, where a coloured speaker or 'phone can make a big difference to the sound, so a neutral monitoring device will give the sound engineer a true picture of what's going on.

If you listen to a lot of 'spoken word' recordings the DT 48s would be less tiring on the ear than most cans, if a lot more tiring on the neck muscles!

Colin

 

[carloskleiber]

dt48 was designed in 1937, the first pair of headphones in human history
now you can buy dt48a, which is a revived version of the earlier model. they have tremendous amount of details...more than any other headphones should say.

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

Quote:

huy_ha,
you're the first here who has heard the DT-48s. Thanks for your opinion. Being a big fan of the professional Beyerdynamic line, I have always been curious about them, but I have been unable to find any store that carried it.

Here is a description from a Canadian company called Location Sound. They say almost exactly the same thing as you, huy_ha: great for monitoring voices, especially outdoors, but attenuated bass response.

Is the bass attenuated relatively speaking to other headphones (perhaps more particularly Beyerdynamic headphones) or is the bass attenuated relatively to a flat frequency response? The question may seem like it doesn't make sense but after some thought I think I am raising a very valid issue. Essentially, I am looking to acquire headphones that have a flat frequency response (or at least as close as possible to it) in order to achieve sonic fidelity. But, of course I don't want them if the bass is attenuated in relation to a flat frequency response (ie: the bass frequencies are NOT flat). 

 

[EYEdROP]

The DT 48 bass compared to other phones is light and unextended.  
 
But if you listen to the DT48 by itself the bass actually suits the headphone perfectly. You wont get any slam/impact or sub bass extension with the DT48.  
 
The thing is, many people naturally like a little extra bass and these headphones dont have that. There is no midbass hump typical to other headphones. Thats why they have so little impact. That and the fact they dont extend far.  
 
One thing about the bass I like, it is transparent. It will come out of its shell if the song has lots of slam or extension. But its not like other headphones that are constantly bassy no matter the song.