[Gradoistcool]

i´ve never read anything extremely good or extremely bad about beyerdynamics headphones.... however the DT831´s and DT931´s interest me, can somebody that has either of these tell me if they are good or not? since i live in germany these are EASILY attainable, just so as sennheiser. thanks! oh and btw, i have the Grado HP and RA headphone amps, plus a Creek OBH-11 if that matters...

 

[meithkiller]

The Beyer DT831's are the best closed cans I've heard. I do have the new Sennheiser HD 280's on order, but I doubt they will be better than my 831's. They sound great and are comfortable, but compared to my Senn 580's, the 580 gets the slight edge in both comfort and sound. But then again the 580's are open and the 831's closed. There are probably more expensive closed cans out there that sound better, but if you can get the Beyers for a good price, go for it.

-Keith

 

[danieln]

Keith, how do you like the 831s vs. 501s and 580s (I know, the 831a are closed, last 2 open)? Even better, how about a mini review/comparison of the 3?

 

[gerG]

I really like my DT831s. They do have a brighter sound than my HD600s, but with more detail in the midrange and treble. They seem to have more substantial bass than the Sens, but I haven't figured out why. More testing required.

I have concluded that the 831s need exercise to keep them loosened up. If I don't play them for a while they get thin sounding. They loosen back up quickly.

More and more I find myself pushing aside the Sens in favor of the Beyers. They are slightly more comfortable me. Dropping the noise floor by 6 db or so is a huge plus. For instance, I can clearly hear the hard drive and fan on my laptop right now through the K501s. Switching to the 831s makes that problem go away.

It is funny, but when I first got the DT831s I thought that they looked and felt cheap. I guess relative to the HD600s many phones do. Now that I've had them for a while they are like a favorite pair of old bluejeans, and I find myself smiling when I pick them up and plug in. Of course, I am a pretty hopeless case...

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

They loosen back up quickly.

I think you mean "they tighten back up quickly"

 

[Tim D]

I feel the same way with the DT931's in terms of its comfort and construction. They just fit on my head so perfectly and snuggly. I also thought they looked kinda cheap...but really when I can now so easily compare it to the K501...it is just a no nonsense fully functional design. Also it NEVER creaks or clicks or anything with head movement...this is something you just can't say with something like Grados or even the AKG501. Just a very solid or more substantial feel. They make the AKG501 feel like a cheap plastic snap model kit.

I think the DT831/931 construction really has no real faults...its really more of a simplistic or uninspiring aescthetic design that doesn't impress with an out of box experience. But after putting them on and having them hug your head and never creaking...well I think calling them your favorite pair of jeans was quite an apt analogy.

As far as sound...you may very easily like the DT931 with proper output impedance since IMO, I can sometimes forget which I am wearing. However the DT931 have some of the best ultra low bass extension compared to the K501's shallow one...and hence there will be the added powerful bass presence in the occasional recordings that has sub 30hz material. On the otherhand when it comes to upper frequencies...it is the K501 which I consider much closer to reference or my ideal. Since high frequencies are so often EQ'd differently from material to material, the DT931 will easily work or not depending on the recording (i.e. a lot of mainstream recordings are already EQ'd to boost treble...this is an example of what probably wouldn't sound good with DT931). Cymbals for instance can sound more in perspective with K501...they sound much like my silk-dome tweeters in my speakers. The DT931 clearly puts emphasis on the cymbals...they probably sound more like the titanium tweeters. Than again, I'm not sure my 16 year old speakers with silk dome tweeters would be a great reference. Right now I consider the K501 to be slightly fuzzy and distant with cymbals, but DT931 slightly too forward. Haven't taken the effort to see how Ety's perform with cymbals, but I'd say it'd be right smack inbetween.

So the DT931 is better at the lows, but I would probably choose K501 highs. As far as midrange it is a toss-up for me...this is one area where they are a photo-finish difference. The DT931 probably delivers a slightly smoother midrange, which because of frequency extremes can be also come across as slightly recessed in comparison. AKG501 has a very spickly clean detailed and forward midrange in comparison. On midrange only songs they are very close, but it is clear that the DT931 midrange comes across very smooth, while the AKG501 presents an ultra-detailed midrange. In fact AKG501 does midrange much like the DT931 do highs...almost aggresive. Fortunately midrange is rarely an offensive region to listen to compared to extreme highs.

Oh and finally to put things in perspective I still think there is more similarities in sound between DT931 and K501 than Senn vs AKG, or Senn vs Grado, or Grado vs AKG, etc.

 

[Gradoistcool]

so, DT831 or DT931, i´m thinking 931 since they are in fact better headphones, according to beyer.... and it sounds like just what i want, AKG K501 smooth/dryness/3D soundstage with better bass punch, how well do the 931s or 831s work with the OBH-11??? thanks again guys!!

 

[Gradoistcool]

nobody has really answered me directly, just gave me opinions(thanks, though!!) but i am still confused whether to get 831, or 931, remember i have the OBH-11(and brightness does not bother me, i love SR325s, lol, but extreme thinness does)

 

[Snufkin]

Major difference is open vs closed, so if you want open - go the 931, you want closed go 831

 

[Tim D]

If you don't think the AKG501 are thin, I don't think there is any reason to consider the DT931's thin...in fact they have very good ultra low frequency extension to add bass presence and a more full-bodied sound that the K501 can't approach on some music.

On the otherhand the DT931 want higher output impedance which the OBH-11SE seems to provide, but unsure about the OBH-11. Jan's Corda also has it. Higher output impedance headphone jacks are prerequisite in providing a full-bodied sound out of Beyer DT931...you may also try any integrated amp jack which is bound to be higher output impedance.

Unless you need a closed pair of headphones, most people have prefered DT931. Jan says that unlike the DT831, they are also more reactive to output impedance changes. Also it seems that headroom graphs clearly show the DT931 to have much better low frequency extension (some of the best of any phone in fact). Like the AKG501 however the midbass will not have any bloat and may lack the boom or slam of some other headphones.