oldskoolboarder
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2008
- Posts
- 289
- Likes
- 11
A few weeks back, I posted that I had purchased some DT770-250's on a bored holiday break while surfing ebay. I tried it on my dedicated stereo setup but I wasn't really pleased with the sound. I tried to burn them a bit but still wasn't sold.
My setup started like this:
Ah! Njoe tube CD player with opamp and tube upgrades
Rotel 1070 stereo preamp (with headphone output)
Antique Sound Labs AV-25 monoblocks (for speakers)
Projekt Debut TT with OM5 cart
Von Schweikert VR1's
Sophia Baby Amp with modified speaker outputs
I like the neutral sound of this setup. I like the VR1's because they're similar to my Axiom M22's in my HT. Using the Rotel's output, the DT770's had solid bass but the mids/highs were missing. I modified my Sophia Baby amp to use a headphone jack with some 8 ohm 10W resistors and it was a little better but not great. Someone suggested I look at Grados because they maybe closer to the sound I like so I ordered some last week.
From the above setup, my preference was:
1) Rotel 1070 ouput
2) Ah! Njoe headphone out
3) Sophia
In the last week, I also was able to buy an LD I+ from a fellow head-fier. He also included some Sylvania Gold 408A's he'd purchased. The stock tubes were fine, not great but doable. I swapped out for the 408A's and notice a little more soundstage and clarity but only a subtle change. Then I upped the gain and that seemed to provide just enough power for the higher impedance DT770's. I've been reading on the amp section about using an LT1364. I'm an electrical engineer and I'm skeptical of these types of mods, as skeptical as I am of various cable changes. (Let's leave that debate for other threads please.) So I ordered an op amp from Digikey, I figured I could spend $10 to give it a try. I carefully swapped out the original ON Semi op amp, which is tricky because the DIP socket is sandwiched between 2 other components. (Take care not to bend the leads when you remove the original op amp, I did but it was fixable.) WOW, that was a big change. HUGE improvement in soundstage, bottom end, mids, highs, power, etc. all the way around. If you have this amp, DO THIS MOD. It's noticeable, even to a novice headphile.
I also received my Grado 325i's. And yes, they are silver. I would've preferred the old school gold but no biggie. I let them burn for a few hours. Compared to the DT770's, these are more my style. I listened to Afro Cuban Allstars, Jake Shimabukuro, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Norah Jones, Joss Stone, etc and ALL of them sound right on par with the sound I like. The mids and highs are right in front of me, detailed and presented in a wide soundstage. Bass is pronounced but not boomy.
I did the same listening comparison as I did w/ the DT770s and came up with a new preference list:
1) LD I+ with 408A's and LT1364 - far and above the best match
2) Sophia Baby - I was surprised to see this do so well
3) Rotel 1070 output
4) Ah! Njoe output
I'm loving the 325i's. I'm trying my best to hold off on getting some of those gorgeous woody mods. However I may try some pad mods, if these don't soften up. The stock bowls seem a little 'rough' on my ears, I can see these getting uncomfortable after a bit.
I even tried both cans on my iPod 5.5G and iPhone 3G. The Grados sound great on both, the DT770s were not good at all. I also found it interesting (after seeing a similar thread on another part of this forum) that the headphone output seemed much better on the iPhone 3g.
Suffice to say those DT770's are going up for sale...
My setup started like this:
Ah! Njoe tube CD player with opamp and tube upgrades
Rotel 1070 stereo preamp (with headphone output)
Antique Sound Labs AV-25 monoblocks (for speakers)
Projekt Debut TT with OM5 cart
Von Schweikert VR1's
Sophia Baby Amp with modified speaker outputs
I like the neutral sound of this setup. I like the VR1's because they're similar to my Axiom M22's in my HT. Using the Rotel's output, the DT770's had solid bass but the mids/highs were missing. I modified my Sophia Baby amp to use a headphone jack with some 8 ohm 10W resistors and it was a little better but not great. Someone suggested I look at Grados because they maybe closer to the sound I like so I ordered some last week.
From the above setup, my preference was:
1) Rotel 1070 ouput
2) Ah! Njoe headphone out
3) Sophia
In the last week, I also was able to buy an LD I+ from a fellow head-fier. He also included some Sylvania Gold 408A's he'd purchased. The stock tubes were fine, not great but doable. I swapped out for the 408A's and notice a little more soundstage and clarity but only a subtle change. Then I upped the gain and that seemed to provide just enough power for the higher impedance DT770's. I've been reading on the amp section about using an LT1364. I'm an electrical engineer and I'm skeptical of these types of mods, as skeptical as I am of various cable changes. (Let's leave that debate for other threads please.) So I ordered an op amp from Digikey, I figured I could spend $10 to give it a try. I carefully swapped out the original ON Semi op amp, which is tricky because the DIP socket is sandwiched between 2 other components. (Take care not to bend the leads when you remove the original op amp, I did but it was fixable.) WOW, that was a big change. HUGE improvement in soundstage, bottom end, mids, highs, power, etc. all the way around. If you have this amp, DO THIS MOD. It's noticeable, even to a novice headphile.
I also received my Grado 325i's. And yes, they are silver. I would've preferred the old school gold but no biggie. I let them burn for a few hours. Compared to the DT770's, these are more my style. I listened to Afro Cuban Allstars, Jake Shimabukuro, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Norah Jones, Joss Stone, etc and ALL of them sound right on par with the sound I like. The mids and highs are right in front of me, detailed and presented in a wide soundstage. Bass is pronounced but not boomy.
I did the same listening comparison as I did w/ the DT770s and came up with a new preference list:
1) LD I+ with 408A's and LT1364 - far and above the best match
2) Sophia Baby - I was surprised to see this do so well
3) Rotel 1070 output
4) Ah! Njoe output
I'm loving the 325i's. I'm trying my best to hold off on getting some of those gorgeous woody mods. However I may try some pad mods, if these don't soften up. The stock bowls seem a little 'rough' on my ears, I can see these getting uncomfortable after a bit.
I even tried both cans on my iPod 5.5G and iPhone 3G. The Grados sound great on both, the DT770s were not good at all. I also found it interesting (after seeing a similar thread on another part of this forum) that the headphone output seemed much better on the iPhone 3g.
Suffice to say those DT770's are going up for sale...
