HD598 / ATH M50 / DT770
Nov 11, 2012 at 8:33 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 25
Nodiac

Nodiac

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Looking for an allround headphone for around 200. Looked around a bit and come up with HD598, ATH M50 and DT770. Which one do you guys think i should get?
 
Nov 11, 2012 at 9:35 PM Post #3 of 25
What music do you listen to and what will you be using these for?
 
The DT770 is closed and isolates well. It has a lot of bass and a lot of treble with weak mids. Very comfortable too. Soundstage is decent for a closed phone.
 
The HD598 is open and does not isolate. Compared to the DT770 it is bass shy but it's not lacking. It has much better mids and smoother treble. It's also very comfortable. Soundstage is much bigger then the DT770.
 
 
So really it comes down to what you will be using them for and what you want. 
 
 
I don't recommend the M50 over these two.
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 3:28 AM Post #5 of 25
I own all 3 and the dt-770 hands down has the best sound IMHO. It's closed and isolates well. Very comfortable. Also comes in 80 and 250 ohm versions. The 80 won't need amping. The 250 will sound better with amping.
 
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 10:43 AM Post #6 of 25
I've owned both the M50 and DT770 Pro 80 Ohm and would give the 770 a slight edge.
 
Advantages over the M50
More Bass - if it's too much you can always lower it with an EQ but it's better to have too much bass than too little, as boosting frequencies to compensate for a deficiency will result in distortion.
Wider Soundstage - With it's shallow earpads and tight clamping force, the M50 can feel closed-in and sometimes claustrophobic. The DT770 has excellent soundstage width for a closed headphone, which is a big benefit for music and gaming alike.
Comfort - This is the biggest advantage that the DT770 has over the M50. The M50 is an over-the-ear headphone but it is a very tight fit inside the earpads and they may squish your ears a bit if they are large like mine are. The DT770 earpads are larger and deeper, allowing my entire ear to fit inside with room to spare. The earpads are a soft velour which absorbs sweat, as opposed to the M50's pleather pads which allow sweat to collect on them. The DT770's clamping force is moderate, definitely not as tight as the M50's.
 
Disadvantages
Peaky Highs - The DT770 has a noticeable treble peak in the 8-10 kHz range, which results in sibilance that can get pretty annoying. This is easily fixed with an EQ. Even lowering the treble on my TV works well as most simple treble controls are centered at 10kHz. The M50 has this problem too, although it is not as pronounced.
Boomy Midbass - This is a very slight problem. There is a ~2 dB midbass hump around 125 Hz that can muddy up the bass in rock music. Too much midbass can make the bass guitar and the low end of the guitar blend together and become indistinguishable. Again, easily fixed with either an EQ or a simple bass control.
Efficiency - The DT770 Pro 80 Ohm's relatively high impedance compared to the 38-ohm M50 means that the M50 will get significantly louder. Their sensitivity ratings are similar. If you like to listen to music loud, the DT770s will require an amp to get the job done. The FiiO E11 is a great portable headphone amplifier. I'm not familiar with any full-size or desktop amps. For reference, when I am playing NBA 2K13, my TV volume is around 20 with the M50s and 40-45 with the DT770s.
Low Bass Distortion - At near maximum volume on my E11, the DT770s will distort the low end of the bass spectrum. This is a problem only with some hip-hop and dubstep songs that have an emphasized low end. I listen to a lot of rock and some metal and have found this issue to be non-existent with those songs.
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:46 AM Post #7 of 25
Reading the answers here make it seems like HD 598 is the headphone for me. Comfort is kinda high on the list and it seems to have that, im not really a bass head so that doesn't matter so much either. i rather have more detailed sound, and i don't listen on especially high volumes.
 
Nov 13, 2012 at 3:53 AM Post #9 of 25
Quote:
kcxsmacker said:
+1 for the dt770s. I love my hd598s but the 770s are just easier to listen with. 
Click to expand...

Yeah. The DT770 would be best for mainly music with some gaming. Cause' they are just nice to listen to in general. Where the 598 is kind of anaytical and though is good for listening to music its more for mainly gaming with some music.
 
Nov 15, 2012 at 11:57 AM Post #10 of 25
Still haven't decided, i have the AKG k 242 right now and i like the detail and the mids/highs but i think the bass could be a bit stronger. Feels like DT 770 or ATH M50 isn't really the right cans for me as they both have bad mids, i think a bit more balanced headphone would be better for me.
 
Nov 15, 2012 at 2:29 PM Post #14 of 25
detail wise i think they are quite similar. the DT770 has a little harder hitting bass than the HD598 as the HD598 has neutral levels of bass (may be too little for bassy music that requires thump but then again is fixable with amping/eq). soundstage wise the HD598 is a lot better, good for gaming as it is very wide and precise with positioning. vocals are excellent, foward ,neutral and lively. 

but however with rock and metal... i do have concerns if this pair would be too mellow sounding for rock and especially metal since treble is quite tame and bass isn't THAT powerful. the mids will be very smooth and lively i will say
 
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