AdamWill
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2004
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So my lovely shiny new Eggo D77s arrived in the mail today. They're used, so no need for burn-in, and I sat right down to compare them to my D66s.
Preliminary stuff: equipment - Chaintech AV710 (regular DAC, due to Linux driver issues) -> Twinstarr Black amp -> headphones. Source: CD playing via goobox. Test tracks: Rilo Kiley - Does He Love You?; Rilo Kiley - A Man / Me / Then Jim; The Decemberists - Eli The Barrow Boy; Interpol - Slow Hands; Interpol - Evil. Control headphones: Grado SR-80.
OK, so, the following conclusions were drawn.
1: There is not a huge difference between the D66s and D77s. They are clearly very comparable phones from the same range. They sound very similar overall. There is a much, much more obvious difference between each one and the Grados.
2: Both headphones are clearly inferior to the Grados in terms of clarity, detail and accuracy.
3: The D77s have a warmer, more natural tone than the D66s. They are very slightly more detailed, most obviously in the bass. This is apparent on the (very helpful for comparisons) intro to Evil, which consists of single, plucked bass notes. The SR-80 easily resolves each note and the detail of its playing, along with the background tape hiss. The D77s approach this ability. The D66s sound very slightly artificial and don't clearly distinguish the plucking noises from the tape hiss. The differences between the two hold true all the way through the range of sound and are confirmed by the other test tracks; in particular, the acoustic guitar introductions to Eli The Barrow Boy and A Man / Me / Then Jim sound more warm and natural on the D77s, with the D66s sounding very slightly cold and artificial in contrast. They don't quite sound like a guitar.
Overall, the legendary status of the D77s clearly has more to do with rarity value than quality. They're definitely not worth $220 (as someone on eBay paid last week) on audio quality alone, though as collector's items, they may be. The <$100 Grado SR-80s have very clearly better sound quality; Sennheiser or Grado phones in the $200 range would pulverize them. However, they *are* audibly, though subtly, better than the D66s, and worth picking up if Eggos are what you want and you can get them for under $100. No-one with the D66s should be losing any sleep, though, as the superiority of the D77s isn't massive by any means.
As for the earpads, the D77s are pleather and the D66s foam. FWIW, I prefer the D66s slightly, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that either. They're both extremely comfortable.
Hope this comparison was useful! Anyone else who's heard both, feel free to add your impressions
Preliminary stuff: equipment - Chaintech AV710 (regular DAC, due to Linux driver issues) -> Twinstarr Black amp -> headphones. Source: CD playing via goobox. Test tracks: Rilo Kiley - Does He Love You?; Rilo Kiley - A Man / Me / Then Jim; The Decemberists - Eli The Barrow Boy; Interpol - Slow Hands; Interpol - Evil. Control headphones: Grado SR-80.
OK, so, the following conclusions were drawn.
1: There is not a huge difference between the D66s and D77s. They are clearly very comparable phones from the same range. They sound very similar overall. There is a much, much more obvious difference between each one and the Grados.
2: Both headphones are clearly inferior to the Grados in terms of clarity, detail and accuracy.
3: The D77s have a warmer, more natural tone than the D66s. They are very slightly more detailed, most obviously in the bass. This is apparent on the (very helpful for comparisons) intro to Evil, which consists of single, plucked bass notes. The SR-80 easily resolves each note and the detail of its playing, along with the background tape hiss. The D77s approach this ability. The D66s sound very slightly artificial and don't clearly distinguish the plucking noises from the tape hiss. The differences between the two hold true all the way through the range of sound and are confirmed by the other test tracks; in particular, the acoustic guitar introductions to Eli The Barrow Boy and A Man / Me / Then Jim sound more warm and natural on the D77s, with the D66s sounding very slightly cold and artificial in contrast. They don't quite sound like a guitar.
Overall, the legendary status of the D77s clearly has more to do with rarity value than quality. They're definitely not worth $220 (as someone on eBay paid last week) on audio quality alone, though as collector's items, they may be. The <$100 Grado SR-80s have very clearly better sound quality; Sennheiser or Grado phones in the $200 range would pulverize them. However, they *are* audibly, though subtly, better than the D66s, and worth picking up if Eggos are what you want and you can get them for under $100. No-one with the D66s should be losing any sleep, though, as the superiority of the D77s isn't massive by any means.
As for the earpads, the D77s are pleather and the D66s foam. FWIW, I prefer the D66s slightly, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that either. They're both extremely comfortable.
Hope this comparison was useful! Anyone else who's heard both, feel free to add your impressions
