[greggf]

If you wanted to optimize the DT770, what would you do?

I don't care if you don't have firsthand experience with the 770 - if you would like to, or if you have thought about it - what headphone amp would you pair it with? What source or sources?

What version of the DT770 would you get - Pro 80, 250 ohm, what? Would you Darth it or mod it? Have you considered Beyer Manufaktur, and getting 600 ohm or a custom design? Would you amp it with tubes or solid state?

And if you DO have firsthand experience with the DT770, how have you set yours up for maximum fun and pleasure?

If you have any pictures, post 'em!

I'm asking because I find the 770 to be an exceptionally "friendly" headphone - high-end enough, lots of bass, comfy, and, geez, solid build quality beyond belief.

Despite all the headphones that I've had, the DT770 Pro 80 is probably the one that I could live with the happiest, despite all its obvious shortcomings, and perhaps because of them!

I don't smoke, but I think of DT770s as smokers headphones because they have a slight tinge of disrepute, frowned upon by the audiophile snots who wear gray suits and who are always worrying about their retirement or about the high price of lawn fertilizer.

There will always be those who "want to do the right thing" in life, and those who just want to have fun . . . even in the world of headphones!

 

[Jaska]

I have owned the DT770/80 Pro twice, and used three different amps with them. Although this will probably come across the wrong way to many readers, I think this particular headphone mates very well with the Hornet M. Although I haven't heard other RSA amps, I suspect that any and all of them (at least the SS ones) would sound terrific with the DT770. There are some remarkable sonic differences using the three different gain settings on the Hornet M, and my own preference in the end was to use low gain. It seemed to bring about the best mix of clear mids and pleasantly sparkly highs, while not overdriving the bass.

If I were to get another pair of DT770s, I would definitely want to hear them with an XP-7 and try a couple of different opamps. But that's just me...

 

[Tiemen]

My amp is de X-can V3 with Electro Harmonix 6922 tubes.
I changed the stock earpads on my DT770/80 with the pleather K271 pads.
That helped to give a warmer, darker sound. Others would say muddy. The bass is 'rounder'. The coldness in the upper mids disappeared.The treble also softened. They've have now an even more toe tapping quality, which makes them a lot of fun to listen to. But the loss of treble and detail is a pity.

 

[greggf]

I'm liking the DT770 even more since getting a CIAudio VHP-2 amp. There is a special synergy between the two.

Perhaps the 770 works especially well with basic, simple (and relatively inexpensive?) solid state headphone amps.

 

[Benny99]

I can say firmly the Corda Areitta is a very nice combo with it however.

I have the DT770pro 80ohm and really the headphone is just a bass monster.

The bass is so overwhelming at times and the mids are reccesed. It really makes the sound muddy and not enjoyable.

But thats just my opinion.

In terms of driving the headphone well the Corda Areitta does it nicely.

 

[soloz2]

I found the stock 770 pro/80's to be muddy and honestly horrible for music. They were much better suited for movies/games.

However, not being happy with the stock performance I first recabled them with Cardas and that helped a lot. tamed the bass and opened up the mids a bit more. Made the cans much more neutral. They still had tons of bass, but the recable made me able to tolerate them for music as well as gaming and movies.
I then purchased a pair of leather pads and these further tamed the bass, brought it into focus.
Finally, I found I liked my 770's best with tube amps. At the time I had a PPX3 and a Millet Max. Both the millet and ppx3 made the recabled 770's sing. the millet (muse es caps) had more bass slam, where the ppx3 had less impact, but was a bit more detailed.

I think both recabling and the new pads helped, but I'd have to say for sheer price/performance ratio the leather pads were the greatest value.

 

[Punnisher]

I just finished modding mine, 770 80ohm, newest version.

I know the bass can be pretty echoey (my word) and boomy with some recordings. I used some blu-tack and placed some on the rear of the driver assembly.

I then put blu tack on the "spikes" of the cylindrical plastic piece surrounding the driver.

After that I used some pillow fiber and filled the area around the cylinder (very lightly, ala markl mod).

Finally I recabled them, as the original cable is utter garbage. There was a lousy 2 conductor cable going over the headband. I just used mini-starquad and used two separate runs per driver.

The result, is less boominess, and actually less volume overall. I have to turn up my volume a bit more than normal.

I recommend that you actually don't use fiber in these phones, as it won't help the bass, only hurt the openness and soundstage. Just try the tack, and it will help the bass quite a bit.

 

[Tiemen]

Regarding the earpads. I'm now using the EDT 330 S softskin earpads, instead of the stock pads and the vinyl AKG pads.
And boy, I'm having a blast. Great, full and very dynamic sound, without exaggerated sibilance.
The bass and mids are in the right proportion.
BeyerDynamic should've used these on their DT770, and not the velour pads.