Exactly how much power is needed to drive beyer DT770s?
Nov 9, 2008 at 8:43 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16

thoughtcriminal

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I'm looking at a pair of DT770 250ohm headphones.
The consensus about these parts seems to be that these are a very difficult headphone to drive. But how difficult?
I don't want my ears to bleed, but I like a good amount of volume to my music. How powerful of an amp am I going to need to drive them? Hard numbers are most ideal, but even the names of amps that do drive them will work, as I can get the data from there.

Thanks in advance
 
Nov 9, 2008 at 6:51 PM Post #3 of 16
moderately difficult. i don't have any numbers for you, but they're not easy to drive like ultrasones, but not really difficult to drive like the hd650's (to their max potential). an amp like the LD MKV would power the dt770s more than adequately. i've tried them with the headfive/arietta too and they sounded great. the only time i felt they were underpowered was when i drove them straight out of soundcards, daps, and even portable amps. headphone outputs from good receivers seem to work well for the dt770s, but not as well as a dedicated home amp.
 
Nov 9, 2008 at 7:04 PM Post #5 of 16
I can't give any recs on amps that sound great with them, but I can say that any mp3 player will give you plenty of volume with them.

The real aim at amping is improved quality, not quantity.
 
Nov 9, 2008 at 7:34 PM Post #6 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I can't give any recs on amps that sound great with them, but I can say that any mp3 player will give you plenty of volume with them.

The real aim at amping is improved quality, not quantity.



OP was asking about 250Ohm version, and it's a tough cookie to drive, harder than K271S, I'd say same as K702.
 
Nov 9, 2008 at 7:36 PM Post #7 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif
but I can say that any mp3 player will give you plenty of volume with them.


Can anyone confirm this?

I'll be getting an amp, but it will just be a while until I can justify one. I might pick up a fiio in a month or so to tide me over.

I know sans amp they won't reach anywhere near their full potential SQwise. But until I can get one, I still need them to work.
 
Nov 9, 2008 at 7:41 PM Post #8 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Can anyone confirm this?

I'll be getting an amp, but it will just be a while until I can justify one. I might pick up a fiio in a month or so to tide me over.

I know sans amp they won't reach anywhere near their full potential SQwise. But until I can get one, I still need them to work.



I can confirm that for 2005 Consumer version this is definitely not the case.
 
Nov 12, 2008 at 5:43 PM Post #9 of 16
Why not just get the easier to drive 80 ohm version instead? But even these are more difficult than most to drive.

I have the 80 ohm version and a fiio amp and they do not work well enough together for it to be an option. Way too much bass. I like bass but this is un listenable flabby uber bass.
 
Nov 12, 2008 at 5:46 PM Post #10 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by Broosta /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Why not just get the easier to drive 80 ohm version instead? But even these are more difficult than most to drive.

I have the 80 ohm version and a fiio amp and they do not work well enough together for it to be an option. Way too much bass. I like bass but this is un listenable flabby uber bass.



Because 2005 consumer version has completely different sound signature. Some find it more acceptable than older Pro bass monster.
 
Nov 12, 2008 at 5:55 PM Post #11 of 16
I drive my 770 out of my DV332, which just transforms these into supercans, smooth like chocolate, great basd but no bomb or sleazy bass. I am also happy with the sq out of my ibasso d3, not the same as the DV but still great.
 
Nov 12, 2008 at 6:42 PM Post #12 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Because 2005 consumer version has completely different sound signature. Some find it more acceptable than older Pro bass monster.


I don't think the bass from the DT770 Pro's is that bad if amped. It really tightens the bass up and makes them less tiring to the ears.
 
Nov 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM Post #13 of 16
Quote:

Originally Posted by jsplice /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't think the bass from the DT770 Pro's is that bad if amped. It really tightens the bass up and makes them less tiring to the ears.


Kind of odd that Beyerdynamic itself still considers new model bass heavy.
Premiumline[showUid][showUID]=173&tx_sbproductdatabase_pi1[showUid][backPID]=105&cHash=0d32461009
Quote:

As any other model of the Premium series, the DT 770 is a perfect combination of design and function made in Germany. This headphone features a true sound definition with phenomenal bass response and the closed design ensures excellent ambient noise attenuation to enjoy music without any disturbances.


Must me copy paste from the older model, I guess.
 
Nov 22, 2008 at 11:55 AM Post #14 of 16
I'm testing my DT770 Edition 2005 right now from the headphone output of my Power Mac G4 (FW800) just for the heck of it. With the system volume set to 50%, I'm finding that they sound perfectly acceptable. This computer has a very, very good headphone output, so this by no means would suggest that other computers would power them as well (I'm pretty sure they wouldn't).

Listening this way, I do notice a very slight loss in detail compared with listening via my Apogee Duet. The bass response is basically the same, and the headphones lose a bit of the brightness I have heard with the Duet (a somewhat bright source in my opinion).

If these were my only headphones, I would be pretty satisfied without any of the other gear I've got in my desktop setup.
 

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