[Peter Pinna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealDealz /img/forum/go_quote.gif bump for my above post and also another question. How would you guys compare the dt770 with the Ultrasone (I think the equivalent ones would be the HFI 580 or 780?) I'd love to hear some other opinions!

I've never heard the Ultrasone HFI 580 or 780. While I enjoy the sound of the DT 770 Pro, overall, I prefer the sound of the Ultrasone Pro 750.
Only you can decide what you like. Good luck to you in choosing your headphones.

 

[RealDealz]

Well, considering I have heard neither of them and have no place to hear the pro's - its kinda hard to make that decision without having someone who has heard them tell me what their like. (I am going to guitar center to hear the 770s if I can) Mostly, in terms of sound sig, I'm looking for a warm (not necessarily just bass, also not harsh or tiring mids/highs) sound. I'm a little worried about the dt770s having muddled / overpowering bass - I like bass but not when its constantly overpowering, which is why I wanted to hear about the ultra's.

 

[Tiemen]

The DT 770s have a overpowering bass, but not necessarily mudded.
The highs can be harsh too, I had sibilance problems with them.
To my ears, they didn't sound warm.
The Pro 80 ohm is the least harsh in my opinion.

 

[RealDealz]

Hrmm well I should be trying the dt 770s personally shortly - but if they are as you say - I prob will want something else. I'm looking for a warm, "in your face", strong bass, closed headphone. - Does such a headphone exist?

 

[Clok]

Would DT770's like LD III? I have zero dac already so I could use it as source then.

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealDealz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hrmm well I should be trying the dt 770s personally shortly - but if they are as you say - I prob will want something else. I'm looking for a warm, "in your face", strong bass, closed headphone. - Does such a headphone exist?

I doubt it, unless you're willing to pay a lot of money.
I tried a lot of closed headphones, but never was completley satisfied with them.
The Denons maybe comes close to your needs. But you can hardly call them closed, because they don't block external noise as should expected from sealed cans.
In the end I think I'll settle with a AKG K271, but they don't have a strong bass.

 

[Tiemen]

Maybe these threads can be of some help:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/15-...eviews-128983/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/rev...est-2-a-81069/

 

[RealDealz]

Ok, so I just went to Guitar center and tried out 3 different pairs. All of them were tried directly out of my IPod.

Firstly was the ones I have been thinking about, the DT 770s. The isolation was good, about what I expected. They were pretty comfy, although being closed their is obviously a bit of tightness. Now, the sound. The bass was not at all overpowering as some people describe, I was let down in this regard in terms of bass impact, although I suspect not having an amp is part of this. The DTs were detailed, although compared to my AD900s they sound a bit veiled. Lastly, and somewhat catastrophically, was the treble. As you said Tiemen, the sibilance was pretty bad. Any high pitched "S" sound from the vocals was making me uncomfortable/cringe. I really wanted to buy these, but I just can't justify buying a phone that gets tiring after a few songs.


Second, the salesman somewhat pushed the senn HD280s in my face. I didn't have much expectation from these since I knew they were a cheaper phone, although they have gotten some good reviews. Putting them on, I was shocked to find that people gave them such good reviews - these things were not only damn uncomfortable (especially with glasses on), but they sounded like tin cans. Anemic and harsh, I took them off pretty fast and asked for the last pair I wanted to try.

And that last pair was the Ultrasone HFI 450. The isolation was about 80% or so of that of the DT 770s, which was still acceptable but probably as low as I'd go isolation wise. The bass was about 75% of the DT 770s (in terms of brute force, id say they were similar in tone), which is decent but left me wanting more for heavy hitters such as Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy". They were still a bit veiled compared to my AD900s, similar to the dt 770s, but I suspect any closed phone will not sound as close as my opens do. The treble was not as harsh as the dt 770s. It was a similar overall tone, in that it did not sound terribly warm, but the sibilance was not nearly as pronounced. The real kicker was the price tag, 99$.

Overall, I don't know that I would buy any of these phones (unless I try the DTs with an amp and find the harshness to be reduced), but I must say, the Ultrasone's, for half the cost, were about 90% as good of a headphone; this got me thinking what Ultrasone's that sound 200$ could do - although I'd still be worried about a similarly cold sounding tone.

So, for now, the search continues for a warm sounding, good isolating, bass hitting, closed headphone. (Although, if someone with the DT770s can describe if they find the sibilance to be reduced with an amp id still be very interested)

 

[alwayshungry]

IMO, the issues you are facing with your latest trial of the DT770s, HD280 pros and HFI 450s is your source. I own the DT770s and HD280 pros (although the 280s are in a state of disrepair currently) and have have tried them with my iPod and although they are relatively low impedance (80 and 64 ohm respectively), they sound much much better even with my USB powered HotAudio Amp. If you are planning on using your next set of cans for portable use, you may want to buy a cmoy or mini3 and bring along with your to give these headphones a fair shake. You will not likely be able to get the kind of sound quality you are expecting without amplification. Personally, I like my DT770s and they have a lot of bass but I wish the mids were less recessed but they are good on isolation. I don't notice any sibilance out of them either. I do agree that they lack a degree of warmth though. I like my HD 280s as well and they seemed to benefit from amplification more then the 770s. Good luck with your search.

 

[Wilashort]

I have had both DT770pro/80 and HFI-780 (well i have it here, but driverless). The HFI-780 is much better overall. It has better bass that is tighter/faster and not bloated in comparison, and that doesn't intrude in the mids. It have much more present mids with more detail and resolution; the same with the highs; both have about the same image/separation; the soundstage in my setup is much deeper (even it was a little bit deeper than my DT990s), but are equally wide.
Both need a very good burn in time, for what the sibilance and harshness that have both, be reduced.
Ah, the HFI-780 doesn't need an amp (it sound excellent without one) and doesn't improve much with any. The DT770s improve with one very much (The Arietta is the perfect combo for it (it has crossfeed that reduce the harshness in the highs a bit)), especially the bass get tighter/stronger and less bloated and the highs gets more air (make the phones sound almost as an open headphone).
The HFI-780 sound as an open headphone (sound as open and spacious as my DT990, but less airy).
The isolation is greater in the HFI-780, but it leaks a lot more (it sound redundant in the DT770pros) sound than the DT770s, which doesn't leak almost nothing (i believe that it leak a 5% at worst) even in very loud volumes.
The beyers are also more comfortables, specially in the head. But the HFIs are more portables.
The build quality is worlds better in the DT770s. The HFI-780 feels cheaper in comparison. Even inside, The parts are of much better quality in the DT770pros.

 

[RealDealz]

So, is there any consensus view on what the warmest sounding closed headphone is?

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealDealz /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, is there any consensus view on what the warmest sounding closed headphone is?

I would like to know this as well.
Warm sound, and no sibilance.

 

[autosound]

The 770's will need a couple hundred hours of burn-in to loosen up. Try a well used pair and it should be a little better.

 

[Peter Pinna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealDealz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, so I just went to Guitar center and tried out 3 different pairs. All of them were tried directly out of my IPod. Firstly was the ones I have been thinking about, the DT 770s. The isolation was good, about what I expected. They were pretty comfy, although being closed their is obviously a bit of tightness. Now, the sound. The bass was not at all overpowering as some people describe, I was let down in this regard in terms of bass impact, although I suspect not having an amp is part of this. The DTs were detailed, although compared to my AD900s they sound a bit veiled. Lastly, and somewhat catastrophically, was the treble. As you said Tiemen, the sibilance was pretty bad. Any high pitched "S" sound from the vocals was making me uncomfortable/cringe. I really wanted to buy these, but I just can't justify buying a phone that gets tiring after a few songs. Second, the salesman somewhat pushed the senn HD280s in my face. I didn't have much expectation from these since I knew they were a cheaper phone, although they have gotten some good reviews. Putting them on, I was shocked to find that people gave them such good reviews - these things were not only damn uncomfortable (especially with glasses on), but they sounded like tin cans. Anemic and harsh, I took them off pretty fast and asked for the last pair I wanted to try. And that last pair was the Ultrasone HFI 450. The isolation was about 80% or so of that of the DT 770s, which was still acceptable but probably as low as I'd go isolation wise. The bass was about 75% of the DT 770s (in terms of brute force, id say they were similar in tone), which is decent but left me wanting more for heavy hitters such as Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy". They were still a bit veiled compared to my AD900s, similar to the dt 770s, but I suspect any closed phone will not sound as close as my opens do. The treble was not as harsh as the dt 770s. It was a similar overall tone, in that it did not sound terribly warm, but the sibilance was not nearly as pronounced. The real kicker was the price tag, 99$. Overall, I don't know that I would buy any of these phones (unless I try the DTs with an amp and find the harshness to be reduced), but I must say, the Ultrasone's, for half the cost, were about 90% as good of a headphone; this got me thinking what Ultrasone's that sound 200$ could do - although I'd still be worried about a similarly cold sounding tone. So, for now, the search continues for a warm sounding, good isolating, bass hitting, closed headphone. (Although, if someone with the DT770s can describe if they find the sibilance to be reduced with an amp id still be very interested)

Without reading any of the posts beyond this one, I am going to give you a simple reply: Burn-in is important. Source is important.
Regarding the DT 770 Pro's (are you sure you were listening to the DT 770 Pro?), IMO the slightly "bassy" sound gives them a nice mellow sound. I, speaking solely for myself, never said the bass or low frequencies are "over powering" on this headphone.
I haven't heard the HFI 780 but I have read some good opinions of it in these forums.
I have heard the Pro 650 and the Pro 750. While I like the sound of both of them, I much prefer the sound of the Pro 750. The price of the Pro 750 is outside of your budget, though.
Don't compromise and settle for something you may not like later on. Keep looking. Try to listen to (at least) somewhat burned-in headphones if possible.
I wish you continued success in your search.

 

[RealDealz]

Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how burned in the 770s I tried were but they were the store's demos - so I would think that they have at least some burn in done. In terms of the source - I dunno, I found that other phones from the same ipod were less harsh. So, unless the difference in how they react to amps makes a difference, it seems like the same source can at least show you which are more or less harsh than others. (Edit: not to mention that part of the reason I want a closed phone is for travel - in which case listening from a lesser-source like an ipod is going to be pretty important)

To be quite honest, considering I've now tried the beyers, AKGs, and ultrasones (the ultras being my favorite of the three), and none of them really comes close, for me, to the sound of open phones, I'm thinking that perhaps I'm better off getting a cheap pair of closed when I absolutely need the isolation, and investing in open's. Unless I can find a nice sounding pair of closed that is =) That'd be nice, since I really enjoy the "bye-bye world" experience of closed phones.