[ZK85]

So after doing my research for the past 6 months trying to figure out what to get I settled on 2 choices
 

• The Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro
• The Beyerdynamic DT  990 premium

 
 
but I am having conflicting information from reading many posts and reviews and I am not what is true and what is not, so I decided to ask everyone here on the forum in hopes to settle this once and for all, both for my self and anyone else in the future who will be in my shoes.
 
I have a few requests in order for this info to be as correct as possible, 
 

1. Please don't comment if you never owned/used any of the above mentioned headphones
2. Please don't recommend any other headphones as I have already done my research and settled on those two

 
 
The questions I would love to be answered are the following:
 

• What is better for gaming and movies the 770 or 990? (will be used 60% gaming, 40% movies...noise isolation is not a big deal)
• higher ohm=better quality, but some say a laptop can drive 250 ohm (some said 600) just fine with very little difference than 32 or 80 ohms, and some said that it cant and would sound very low/ tiny/ muffled... what is true? (I own an Asus G75 laptop if that helps)  
• I own an external sound card with 3D CMSS (similar to Dolby Headphones) called the "xi-fi go pro" 

         http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Soundblaster-Audio-System-SB1290/dp/B0044DEDC0/ref=sr_1_1?     s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345570760&sr=1-1&keywords=xi+fi+go+pro
         but I am unsure how much power it can drive into headphones, so I am thinking of getting the external Recon3d http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Recon3D-External-Enhancer/dp/B005FKT70O/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345570837&sr=1-3&keywords=recon3d   
        The problem is no where on either product is it mentioned on how much power it can drive, and contacting Creative support team lead                  to them saying they have no info on that and that they cant find it out for me -_-  and by searching online I couldn't find ANY info regarding that so I would be grateful for any help from people who own either or know of a better product (that has virtual surround as I love playing with it on) but please dont suggest and amp without the virtual surround sound (Dolby headphones or 3D CMSS) .
 
 
 
Thanks everyone

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
1. Both are excellent for gaming. Better sound stage, or better imaging, is going to be slightly better for gaming. The DT990 is fantastic for games and movies and music, if you want something bassy with bright treble. The DT770 is a little less "V" shaped, has isolation in case you live some where a little noisy, but has a little less sound stage presentation, but is also quite great for games and everything else too.
 
2. Higher impedance has nothing to do with sound quality. Going higher does not increase quality at all. The drivers on the Beyers are the same. And you'll find a ton of confusing information stating that any of these headphones sound better as impedance goes up. It has nothing to do with the headphone and a lot more to do with what kind of power those headphones are being fed via some amplifier. It's likely to be less confusing if someone would just say "it's easier to properly amplify the 250ohm and 600ohm Beyers than the 32ohm Beyers" than to simply say "the 600ohms sound best." They use the same housing and drivers. The impedance is there to allow you to match your headphone to an amplifier, because not all amplifiers have ideal power outputs for all impedance levels, some do best at low impedance and some do best at high impedance. Since you have a laptop and you didn't mention you have an amplifier or something equivalent, you should look at the 32ohm to 250ohm versions, and consider a USB DAC/AMP perhaps if you want to make it simple and ensure you're able to properly drive them, even low impedance headphones often need increase power in the forum of current to properly drive; in which case, the Fiio E10 is highly recommended here for up to 250ohm Beyers.
 
3. Though you want something with virtual surround, so you're not going to find anything except gimicky "gaming sound cards" with that built in unless you branch into AV receivers (like Yamaha with silent cinema for example). In that case, what you can do, is use whatever you're already using that has dolby headphone and output from it to a discreet amplifier (like a Fiio E9), and then output to your headphone from there to preserve your virtual surround sound while being able to properly amplify various headphones.
 
Very best,

 

[ZK85]

Quote:

It's likely to be less confusing if someone would just say "it's easier to properly amplify the 250ohm and 600ohm Beyers than the 32ohm Beyers"
 

 Hehehe Sorry as a noob to the audio world that actually got me more confused 

 so it is easier to drive a higher ohm ones? I thought the less the ohms the easier it would be 

 
 
(also do you know anything about the new Beyerdynamic T90 headphones? I just saw them and was wondering if they would be more worth ordering, I  think they would be easier to drive being Tesla than the 250 ohm Dt 990 but I am not sure? so they would be a better sounding easier driven 990s, I have no way of testing any headphones were I live so I have to go based on what people say and so would rather spend my cash just once on one good order that I would never want to upgrade again 

) 
 
Thanks a lot for the info, 

 you have been really very helpful, I truly appreciate it 

 

[zazex]

Quote:

So after doing my research for the past 6 months trying to figure out what to get I settled on 2 choices
 

• The Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro
• The Beyerdynamic DT  990 premium

 
 
but I am having conflicting information from reading many posts and reviews and I am not what is true and what is not, so I decided to ask everyone here on the forum in hopes to settle this once and for all, both for my self and anyone else in the future who will be in my shoes.
 
I have a few requests in order for this info to be as correct as possible, 
 

1. Please don't comment if you never owned/used any of the above mentioned headphones
2. Please don't recommend any other headphones as I have already done my research and settled on those two

 

 
Quote:

 Hehehe Sorry as a noob to the audio world that actually got me more confused 

 so it is easier to drive a higher ohm ones? I thought the less the ohms the easier it would be 

 
 
(also do you know anything about the new Beyerdynamic T90 headphones?

 
done your research 'and settled on those two', eh?
 
See what happens?
 
 
(kidding, of course)
 
 
MalVeauX supplied plenty of good info in his post above;
I'll keep mine short and recommend the DT990's over the DT770's
for gaming and movies

 

[ZK85]

Hahahaha well I love the style and everything I have read so far about the DT 990/DT 770 .. so  if the T90 is sort off a DT 990 but are easier to drive then i didnt really go that far off  
 
I would pay the extra just to avoid having to buy a separate amp    I mean can you imagine how much of a mess it would be to connect to my laptop a creative usb card for the the virtual 3D and an amp and then headphones?
 
But what I dont get still is what MalVeauX said about the 600 and 250 ohms being easier to amp than 32 ohm...how can that be? shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

[zazex]

Quote:

Hahahaha well I love the style and everything I have read so far about the DT 990/DT 770 .. so  if the T90 is sort off a DT 990 but are easier to drive then i didnt really go that far off  
 
I would pay the extra just to avoid having to buy a separate amp    I mean can you imagine how much of a mess it would be to connect to my laptop a creative usb card for the the virtual 3D and an amp and then headphones?
 
But what I dont get still is what MalVeauX said about the 600 and 250 ohms being easier to amp than 32 ohm...how can that be? shouldn't it be the other way around?

 
Anyway, can't offer a recommendation one way or the other on the T90's as I haven't heard them (yet; anyway.)
 
 
 
Impedance concerns are more complex than they look at first glance
and often seemingly counterintuitive.  It's understandable that discussions about them
cause confusion; it takes some detailed reading of the issues to get a really good handle on them.
 
Low impedance transducers (speakers, headphones) draw more current from the amp.
Thus, they're considered harder to drive - especially as the impedance is generally not the same
throughout the frequency spectrum - i.e. at some points it may go significantly lower than the
'nominal' rating. 
 
There are amp stability issues with low impedance loads.
 
But any impedance rating is best taken in conjunction with sensitivity/efficiency of the transducers -
headphones in this case. 
 
Because if a set of headphones are very sensitive/efficient and have a low impedance, that
low impedance won't matter as much as it would if those headphones had low sensitivity/efficiency.
 
It's therefore important to match your equipment well,
i.e. matching your amplifier with your headphones (or speakers).
 
In reality, manufacturers are aware of these considerations and usually take them into
account when designing consumer audio gear.

 

[ZK85]

I seeeeeeeee 

 thanks a million bro that was really helpful, btw I think I will be sticking with the dt 990 ...heard the T 90 doesnt have as much bass and I like bass.