[Armaegis]

The DT990 has a more pronounced top end which *might* make it punchier, but it depends how you define/feel that punch. In reality, the on-ears like the HD25 will always produce a stronger punch due to smaller volume, usually better seal, and closer proximity to your ear.
 
Which pads do you have on the DT770? Switching to the leather/pleather pads might help, or the hard-to-find gel pads.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

The DT990 has a more pronounced top end which *might* make it punchier, but it depends how you define/feel that punch. In reality, the on-ears like the HD25 will always produce a stronger punch due to smaller volume, usually better seal, and closer proximity to your ear.

Which pads do you have on the DT770? Switching to the leather/pleather pads might help, or the hard-to-find gel pads.

The original velour pads. The 80ohm has bass, but i guess its more subbass and i wanted more mid bass. I like punchy and forward sounding stuff like the hd25 and m50x wich are pretty engaging, powerfull, and punchy sounding without beiing harsh to my ears. Headphones like the 250 ohm dt770 or the akg k550 already sound too trebly for my ears (just a lil insight on what i do and do not like).

 

[Sludge]

  The funny thing is that not only Ohm doesn't affect sound signature, it doesn't seem to affect how efficiently they are driven either. Straight into my phone, my 250ohm DT 990's get pretty much the same volume as my DT 770 32ohm headphones. 
 
What is this whole ohm business then? Why make a 32ohm version of a 250ohm headphone if they're exactly the same? Just to give it a straight cable?

 
Well, on some headphones it does matter.
Beyerdynamic headphones are pretty easily driven (in comparison to other high quality headphones), so it doesn't make a huge difference.
However, even though your phone can reach a suitable listening level, it might not drive them efficiently enough to not affect eg. the bass response a little bit.
I know my dt-880 250 ohms does not get enough volume from my phone. I live in Europe however, and we have some regulators or something in our telephones to lower the volume a bit to keep our poor, ignorant citizens from giving themselves hearing damage.
 
Another explanation is, that if you use really heavy equipment, a headphone with too low an ohm-rating will sound bad - just like when light equipment is used with a headphone with a too high ohm-rating. Professionals might just have a lot of equipment that does not go well with 32-ohm headphones, at least some of the older stuff. I'm guessing the new equipment can handle both low and high impedance.

 

[Sludge]

The original velour pads. The 80ohm has bass, but i guess its more subbass and i wanted more mid bass. I like punchy and forward sounding stuff like the hd25 and m50x wich are pretty engaging, powerfull, and punchy sounding without beiing harsh to my ears. Headphones like the 250 ohm dt770 or the akg k550 already sound too trebly for my ears (just a lil insight on what i do and do not like).

The dt-990 are harsh to your ears. I guess it's the price you pay for the V-shaped sound signature.
 
But if your like the m50x sound signature, why not just stick to that? The Beyerdynamic line all have a larger sound stage than the m50x, but I think the narrow sound stage on the m50x is actually contributing to the "punch" that you like.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

In need of some help with a comparison, guys.
 
How would you compare the Beyerdynamic Premium DT990 32Ohm against any of these: Phillips SHP9500, Grado Sr80e and Sennheiser 518.
 
What parts do they have in common? What's missing? Which set excels at what? etc...
 
Any opinions are welcomed. Thanks.
I've listened to the last 3 for quite awhile so that's why I'm asking.

 

[Armaegis]

Compared to the Grado, the DT990 will have a stronger bass response and your treble range will feel more "focused" as there there be one large peak instead of several smaller ones. I would give a slight staging nod to the Grado, but neither does this particularly well although the Grado will feel wider and a little more shimmer while the DT990 will sound more forceful.
 
Compared to the Senn 518, it is a very different headphone. The Senn has warm mids and smooth highs; gentle rolloff at both ends of the spectrum. The DT990 is quite the opposite of that.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

  Compared to the Grado, the DT990 will have a stronger bass response and your treble range will feel more "focused" as there there be one large peak instead of several smaller ones. I would give a slight staging nod to the Grado, but neither does this particularly well although the Grado will feel wider and a little more shimmer while the DT990 will sound more forceful.
 
Compared to the Senn 518, it is a very different headphone. The Senn has warm mids and smooth highs; gentle rolloff at both ends of the spectrum. The DT990 is quite the opposite of that.

 
Much appreciated.
 
If you've never heard the Phillips, it sounds like a budget Sennheiser HD600, with a lot of similar traits but with some (neglect-able actually) flaws. Definitely a vast improvement in the soundstage and separation department compared to the aforementioned.
the SHP9500 excels at well recorded/high quality mixes (I'm listening to John Martyn's Big Muff now and it sounds absolutely divine) whilst the Grado for example is champion when it comes to chunky guitar (rock/metal) and older recordings because of the balanced mids and natural bass.
 
The 518's sounds great with hip hop and electronica (of different flavors) no question about it. It's also the superior can when it comes to movie watching.
 
It seems to me that the Beyer doesn't really tick all the boxes that any one of the above does so it wouldn't be a bad decision to take it on. Different is good. What do you think?
 
For what genres would you take the Beyer over the other ones?

 

[Armaegis]

I honestly don't feel the Grado excels at anything. The SR80 was my very first "audiophile" headphone and it wowed me at first, but after a while those points of "clarity" became glare. Wearing a grado is a bit like the old fashioned "loudness" knobs on vintage amps, except more localized.
 
If you feel like adding the Beyer for the sake of variety, hey there's no problem with that. Personally, the only Beyer DT that I'd spend money on is the DT880 as it is the most "balanced" of the family. Get the highest ohm version that your amp can produce comfortable volume at.
 
I have issues with the Beyer treble spike (the 880 being the least offensive of the bunch to my ears), so personally I wouldn't take the Beyer for any particular genres except maybe movies. At a lower price point, there's one in the 600 family (660 or 680? I don't remember which is the open backed one) that produces similar sonics for much less money.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

  I honestly don't feel the Grado excels at anything. The SR80 was my very first "audiophile" headphone and it wowed me at first, but after a while those points of "clarity" became glare. Wearing a grado is a bit like the old fashioned "loudness" knobs on vintage amps, except more localized.
 
If you feel like adding the Beyer for the sake of variety, hey there's no problem with that. Personally, the only Beyer DT that I'd spend money on is the DT880 as it is the most "balanced" of the family. Get the highest ohm version that your amp can produce comfortable volume at.
 
I have issues with the Beyer treble spike (the 880 being the least offensive of the bunch to my ears), so personally I wouldn't take the Beyer for any particular genres except maybe movies. At a lower price point, there's one in the 600 family (660 or 680? I don't remember which is the open backed one) that produces similar sonics for much less money.

 
Aggressive treble is to me one of the downfalls of a lot of cans (Grado included). But the problem is, you need good treble for higher quality music so it's a trade off a lot of times.
 
I disagree with you a bit, the Grado's do sound great with 80's, 90's well recorded metal music for example. There's also some acoustic 'rock' tracks that to me sound better on the Grado's than anywhere else.
If I've ever learned anything from trying different cans is that the good ones all have a sweet spot. It's all a matter of what trade offs are you willing to make.
 
I don't frequent headfi that much. What's the most popular Beyer's version amongst fans?

 

[Armaegis]

The Grado peaks tend to sit well with the guitars and cymbals and create that shimmery top end that makes them feel more alive.
 
I used to be in the same place as you, having multiple different cans for different purposes. I had a lot of fun just trading and rotating through the huge stack of different headphones, as my profile will attest. Nowadays I'm sitting with an HE-6 which handles most of my needs. I have an HD650, HD25 and modded T50rp as reference points, and a Pioneer HDJ-2000 as my beater portable and DJ usage.
 
I would still say the Beyer DT880 is the most popular. Years ago there were the "old school" trio which were considered the peak of the headphone world: AKG K701 (the 600 before that), Beyer DT880, and Senn HD600/650
 
Nowadays AKG has new flagships, but honestly I feel the K612pro is the best of the bunch. Senn has the HD800 but I feel the 600/650 are still tops for their sound signature. Beyer released the Tesla series but those really haven't been a huge step up and their driver matching is worse than the DT series so I would really still say the 880 is the best.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

Yeah, I'm gonna settle for the HD600 at some point I think. (had it borrowed to me for a bit and I was impressed). But until then I wanna have some fun.
 
Another quick q: Is 100$ for a used (but in very good condition) DT990 Premium 32ohm a good deal or nah?

 

[Armaegis]

That's a fantastic price actually.

 

[wordfool]

I haven't gone through all 115 pages of this thread so might have missed the answer... but if I wanted to mimic the sound of DT990 (250 ohm Premium version) as closely as possible, would I be better opting for the 250 ohm or 80 ohm DT700 Pro? I read constant rave reviews of the 80 ohm elsewhere, but the OP makes them sound less than stellar (relatively speaking). I generally listen to rock and electronic (not EDM... think Massive Attack, Burial etc.) and usually listen through a Meridian Explorer DAC. I generally love the DT990s, though do occasionally wish for "slightly" more pronounced lower-mids and *slightly* less brittle highs. 
 
Also, do all the Pro versions of the DT770 have a coiled cable, or just the 250-ohm version?

 

[Lucones]

Hey guys,
 
I'm searching for a Headphone for both gaming and listening to music,
 
After some searching, I've seen that the dt770 is perfect for the type of music I hear (Stoner/Doom), and the dt880 is very good for gaming.
 
I'm pretty hyped for the dt770's bass since I love Doom Metal, but my main concern is the dt770 being closed, so I fear that it may tire me in long music and gaming session (3 to 6 hours), is it true? (I already have a Sennheiser MM 500-X and it does tire me).
 
Should I go for the dt880 for that matter? Or is the 770 comfy enough?
Will a semi-open Headphone provide more comfort in long sessions?

 

[Armaegis]

You'll need to tell us more specifically about how you "tire" of the MM500's. Is it the clamping  pressure? Do you feel like the high frequencies are pressing in on your head? Or perhaps it's the lower frequencies that are feeling overpowered? does it make you feel claustrophobic or pressured? is it heat/sweat?