[thelonious58]

The 660s get even better with continued use, even developing a decent tight bass. The level of detail is amazing, great soundstage for closed back cans, I would say they are a fun version of the AKG702 without the need for an expensive amp! Give them a couple of days for your ears to attune and you will find them superb for orchestral and all other classical music

 

[boochoo]

Hi Guys,
 
I'm new to the forum and I am currently looking to purchase my first set of good headphones. Would you say these 660s would be the best bet for me? My budget is around $500 and I'm a big fan of alternative, blues, etc. I'm a big fan of John Mayer sounds, to give some context. I have a big emphasis on vocals and realistic sounding instrumentals and less emphasis on bass.  Thanks for all of your help

 

[bcarr112281]

  Hi Guys,
 
I'm new to the forum and I am currently looking to purchase my first set of good headphones. Would you say these 660s would be the best bet for me? My budget is around $500 and I'm a big fan of alternative, blues, etc. I'm a big fan of John Mayer sounds, to give some context. I have a big emphasis on vocals and realistic sounding instrumentals and less emphasis on bass.  Thanks for all of your help

 
Hi, boochoo -
 
Welcome to Head-Fi!
 
I don't own the DT660, but my impression is that they're not the best with the genre of music you mention. 
 
My preferences are similar to yours: I like headphones that are neutral, accurate, and uncolored, yet with clarity and "fullness" of sound. My own headphone is the Shure SRH840 (~$200), a popular studio monitor 'phone that's easy to drive and sounds wonderful.
 
Kind regards,
Brian

 

[holden4th]

I've just found the best set of cans for classical music that I've heard. The Flare R2A iems do a brilliant job in all departments. What I really like about them is the way that they present soundstage. Even in big orchestral tracks you can easily pick out where the different sections of the orchestra are playing from and soloists come from a specific point on the stage. The sound stage is wide and deep. Chamber music is even better. Add to that the natural way that these iems reproduce timbre and tone and these make listening to classical music an enjoyable experience. The one caveat of course is how well the music was recorded and mastered in the first place.

 

[thelonious58]

Hi David
I bought the DT660 a year ago and am delighted with them in every way - after many hours of use they  have even developed a nice amount of tight bass!
How do the DT860 open-back compare with the DT660? I have read that they sound very similar to each other, but that the 860 has more bass
As I really value your opinion, I would appreciate an answer soon, as the last pairs are going at a good price on amazon.co.uk
Thanks

 

[thelonious58]

   
What is your budget?  The best headphone for classical is the HD800, and while I agree the DT660s are very good with classical, they aren't close to the HD800 (though probably the best option for closed headphones).  The HD600s are pretty good.  The K702 anniversaries would be solid.  The HE-500s are superb all arounders, but I still think they need more air to be considered great with classical.
 
Even though they are closed, I think the DT660s hold up well to my other recommendations.

 

[BiggerHead]

  Just thought I'd post an update to this thread. I have had these for a few months now. I love the sound, but they broke on me. I thought the build quality was good, but they broke through normal use. I don't think anything I've ever done with them that was beyond what they're designed for. (Picking them up, putting them down, putting them on my head.) The part that links the joint that holds the earcup to the headband broke off. I will contact amazon to see if I can get a replacement, as the warranty info says that the product is guaranteed for two years. If I get a replacement, which I probably will. Can anyone recommend good headphone habits to keep them in good shape? Maybe something I did with them put stress on the joints. Main question, how do you store them? I do not have one of those stands, since they do run for a pretty high price.

 
Mine broke in the exact same way.  They were in warranty at the time and Beyerdynamic did a great job fixing them.  I read a blog post somewhere where someone had theirs brake in this same way three times.  I really felt like I wasn't abusing mine, but I was travelling with them.  This surely puts a little more stress on them than setting them on a shelf.  I generally fold mine flat against a laptop, not tucked up into the headband, but basically i think the pivot post is just too thin.  Mine appeared to fail in twist shear.  Maybe tucked into the band is safer for this as it doesn't put the post at its pivot limit.  It's certainly a less convenient storage geometry though.
 
This doesn't negate the value of these headphones, but one of the great things about them is that they don't need an amp, making them portable.  This weakness puts a pretty big asterisk on that.   I wouldn't buy these if "rugged" is a word that seems to fit your usage needs. 

 

[thelonious58]

I think it was a few people (professional musicians) saying they didn't like the T1 for classical. Effectively they're saying don't like Beyers with T1 being the the flagship. 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/736880/best-headphones-for-classic-music

The engine will overpower your music for sure! I wear closed headphones on the bus w/decent isolation and the sound still gets a quite drowned out.

Forget the engine, the overwhelming bass on the 990s will drown everything out (except the midrange which is already recessed, and the massive treble spike!)

 

[kiler]

Forget the engine, the overwhelming bass on the 990s will drown everything out (except the midrange which is already recessed, and the massive treble spike!)

I have DT990 and I plainly agree, these do not work at all for classical. They are one of the best for "modern music" as EDM and such.

 

[thelonious58]

I have DT990 and I plainly agree, these do not work at all for classical. They are one of the best for "modern music" as EDM and such.

Yes, thanks for that. They are really fun headphones and very powerful, nice soundstage, just a pity for classical music that their bass swamps much of the already recessed midrange. I much prefer the DT660 and DT150 for classical and jazz.

 

[BiggerHead]

 

Well I'm limited in what I can say about FiiO, because they are one of my company's competitors in certain products and I'm not allowed to give subjective impressions of their products, but I don't imagine Currawong will decapitate me if I estimated the E18 as a suitable solution. I'd also look into the HRT Microstreamer and, if you have a little more to spend, the iFi iDSD Micro.

 
 
This seems too bad.  I would expect some of the most informed opinions to come from people in industry, and especially about the kinds of things they work closest with.   People who take a genuine passion in things will be able to honestly recognize the qualities of the works of others and have some useful insight into the differences.  It seems to me that there should be no harm done if opinions of much more detail than this are allowed without decapitation so long as the poster does clearly state their disclosures as Gilly87 did. Once that disclosure is made, the readers can then judge for themselves, and the poster then has a motive to remain professional in his critiques, for the image of his brand.  But hey it's a sponsored site, so it's not like the companies have no say in the rules I guess. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Gilly87]

   
 
This seems too bad.  I would expect some of the most informed opinions to come from people in industry, and especially about the kinds of things they work closest with.   People who take a genuine passion in things will be able to honestly recognize the qualities of the works of others and have some useful insight into the differences.  It seems to me that there should be no harm done if opinions of much more detail than this are allowed without decapitation so long as the poster does clearly state their disclosures as Gilly87 did. Once that disclosure is made, the readers can then judge for themselves, and the poster then has a motive to remain professional in his critiques, for the image of his brand.  But hey it's a sponsored site, so it's not like the companies have no say in the rules I guess. Just my 2 cents.

 
 
I would say it's a good rule, honestly. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people would be influenced by a "member of the trade" moreso than an average Head-Fi poster, so even with disclosure, it would be bad for Head-Fi's collective objectivity. It also stops companies from starting wars on Head-Fi, because we know we have to toe the line! And as much as I love getting my Game of Thrones on, I don't think more drama would be good for Head-Fi. This place is what it is because people can come and read trustworthy, objective reviews of different products, and have fun discussions about gear and music that just wouldn't happen if this wasn't a well-regulated forum.

 

[BiggerHead]

Of course people would still respect opinions of members of the trade.  Especially ones who did hold up the fire they'd surely be put under and proved to be honest.  I would respect the opinion of a member of the trade much more than some random loudmouth like myself.  Of course I'd filter it with the possiblity that it might be biased, but a random loudmouth has at least as a high a probability of being full of it, and clueless as a member of the trade has of spinning lies.  I'd guess between the two there's a bigger probability for the MOT to actually possibly be right.  In either case one kind of needs to prove to me that their words make sense... repeatedly helps, and of course I'll look for verification.  Not everyone goes through all that, but those people can't be helped in either case.  Again at least the MOT has a reputation that matters on the line, and you can be sure it will be receive trial by fire.  Anyway, I get your point too.

 

[Gilly87]

  Of course people would still respect opinions of members of the trade.  Especially ones who did hold up the fire they'd surely be put under and proved to be honest.  I would respect the opinion of a member of the trade much more than some random loudmouth like myself.  Of course I'd filter it with the possiblity that it might be biased, but a random loudmouth has at least as a high a probability of being full of it, and clueless as a member of the trade has of spinning lies.  I'd guess between the two there's a bigger probability for the MOT to actually possibly be right.  In either case one kind of needs to prove to me that their words make sense... repeatedly helps, and of course I'll look for verification.  Not everyone goes through all that, but those people can't be helped in either case.  Again at least the MOT has a reputation that matters on the line, and you can be sure it will be receive trial by fire.  Anyway, I get your point too.

I see your point too; people with the title will be held to a higher standard and scrutinized more thoroughly. On a forum as rigorous as Head-Fi, there's probably merit to that, but I think the way it is now has worked really well for the community.
 
Although, we could have a subforum where MoTs are allowed to give subjective views...we could call it the Arena!୧༼ಠ益ಠ༽୨

 

[MorrisL]

I am about to buy this, but reading up the comments again, I am getting the impression that the DT 660's build quality is so flimsy it is sure to break sometime soon. Can someone comment on that? Is it a far cry from its older brothers DT 770, 880, 990 in terms of build quality?