[JFJohnny5]

I'm definitely not a huge audiophile, but I definitely appreciate quality. I mostly use my headphones for gaming. Secondary to that is music on my phone (Galaxy S3) or movies on my tablet (ASUS TF700-T) - both of which are usually on airplanes when traveling, etc. I also do a decent amount of streaming and voiceover recording for gaming-related Youtube content. I use a Blue Yeti USB Condenser mic for recording and streaming - monitoring with headphones.
 
I'm looking for a solid upgrade from the Sennheiser HD201 I have now. I'm pretty much sold on the Beyerdynamic DT-770 PRO. But I'm not sure if the 32 or 80 ohm will be a better fit for me. In order to listen to my mic in realtime (the USB interface adds a delay as it routes through the PC) I use the built-in headphone jack on the Blue Yeti - which has an output impedance of 16 ohms. That makes it seem like the 32 ohm headphones might not be the best fit there, though I'm not 100% sure why - I'm just going off what I've read in my research so far about headphone impedance. But my concern with the 80 ohm phones is being able to drive them from my mobile devices - especially if I tend to use them on noisy airplanes. At this point I'm not looking at getting a portable amp. I guess I might in the future, but I'd like to see what my non-amped solutions look like first.
 
Any advice on which might be the better fit for me?

 

[SteveHiFi]

The 32ohm 770 will be the one - laptop and phone will be OK with this. 80ohms will not get up to a decent volume with the 96dB sensitivity (how loud they get with a given signal). The HD201 has a 108dB sensitivity, for the record.
 
Ideally output impedance should be 8 times (or more) smaller than the impedance of the headphones, so for the best sound from your microphone you'll need to look at 150 ohm headphones.. or you can just get used to the idea that the output will be just fine anyway! Impedance ratings don't generally need to match, it's guidance for an ideal world.. The HD201 is 32ohm so you might try that if you haven't already, it's not a problem.

 

[JFJohnny5]

  The 32ohm 770 will be the one - laptop and phone will be OK with this. 80ohms will not get up to a decent volume with the 96dB sensitivity (how loud they get with a given signal). The HD201 has a 108dB sensitivity, for the record.
 
Ideally output impedance should be 8 times (or more) smaller than the impedance of the headphones, so for the best sound from your microphone you'll need to look at 150 ohm headphones.. or you can just get used to the idea that the output will be just fine anyway! Impedance ratings don't generally need to match, it's guidance for an ideal world.. The HD201 is 32ohm so you might try that if you haven't already, it's not a problem.

Thanks for the info! I'm definitely leaning toward the 32 ohm version.

 

[385740]

The Beyers are a good choice; allot of content creators use Audio Technical ATH-M50s.They may be a good addition to your shortlist.

Hope this helps.

 

[JFJohnny5]

The Beyers are a good choice; allot of content creators use Audio Technical ATH-M50s.They may be a good addition to your shortlist.

Hope this helps.

Haha, they're definitely "on the list." I was literally just researching "Audio Technica ATH-M50 vs. Beyerdynamic DT-770 PRO 32" on Google.

 

[385740]

The important thing to consider is that they are closed. It  may seem obvious but high sensitivity Mics will pick up sound from open back headphones.

 

[SteveHiFi]

Just to add, the impedance mismatch doesn't matter so much as you're only monitoring your mic's input - if you wanted to listen to music as HQ as possible then impedance might be worth taking more notice of.
 
Also did your HD201 make you sweat, or get hot at all? The M50 might be the same - the 770 is the comfier one of the two.

 

[jazzwave]

Just to add, the impedance mismatch doesn't matter so much as you're only monitoring your mic's input - if you wanted to listen to music as HQ as possible then impedance might be worth taking more notice of.


 


Also did your HD201 make you sweat, or get hot at all? The M50 might be the same - the 770 is the comfier one of the two.

 


Agree. DT770 is very comfortable headphone with good velour pad, you can use for long time.
I have DT770 250ohm, very enjoyable sound. I have chance to try M50x (the new one), dynamic but little bit harsh, DT770 has smoother sound than M50.
The 250 ohm more flat sound (monitor), 32 and 80 more V shape (add low and hi)


Fyi, my DELL laptop can drive DT770 250 ohm nicely, so 32 or 80 it should be more easier to drive.
You can't go wrong with DT770 or DT880 series


~ron~

 

[Kylv]

I have the DT770's in the 80 ohm flavor.  They get plenty loud from my laptop, phone, and Sansa Clip Zip.  BUT I can max out the volume on all of the devices without reaching the point of the music being painful, it is extremely loud, but I could tolerate louder before my head exploded.
 
 For the record, I don't usually listen to it that loud, just sometimes when a song comes on that I want to max out, I do.  If I have my E11 connected, it would easily reach ear shattering volumes.