[Topazus]

So I live in the middle of nowhere and amazon takes forever to get anything to me and auditioning stuff isn't an option at this point. A local music store can get me HD 380, A900x and DT 770 32 ohm for relatively cheap but I am to choose between these two in advance. I mostly listen to classical music and my taste is toward neutral to the darker sound. My main open can is HD 600 and I like it. 
 
So, which one should I choose? I do not plan to ever use an amp with these, not even a portable amp. I just want the convenience of hooking them up to my laptop, phone, etc.
 
Comfort is very important and I read that the 770 is more comfortable than the rest. My main worry is that it's bright (that's what they say). They even say it's the brightest among the 32, 80, 250, and 600 ohm versions of 770. A900x is also bright according to some. That leaves me with HD 380 which many reviews say is a problematic headphone and perhaps inferior to the two others.
 
Some questions are specific:
 
1) How much brighter is the DT 770 32 over the A900x?
2) Does the A900x have bigger and deeper cups than the 770?
3) Is the HD 380 dark like the HD 650?
 
Thanks a lot in advance for any guidance.

 

[Me x3]

There's no DT660 where you live?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared#user_DT660

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So I live in the middle of nowhere and amazon takes forever to get anything to me and auditioning stuff isn't an option at this point. A local music store can get me HD 380, A900x and DT 770 32 ohm for relatively cheap but I am to choose between these two in advance. I mostly listen to classical music and my taste is toward neutral to the darker sound. My main open can is HD 600 and I like it. 
So, which one should I choose? I do not plan to ever use an amp with these, not even a portable amp. I just want the convenience of hooking them up to my laptop, phone, etc.
Comfort is very important and I read that the 770 is more comfortable than the rest. My main worry is that it's bright (that's what they say). They even say it's the brightest among the 32, 80, 250, and 600 ohm versions of 770. A900x is also bright according to some. That leaves me with HD 380 which many reviews say is a problematic headphone and perhaps inferior to the two others.
Some questions are specific:
1) How much brighter is the DT 770 32 over the A900x?
2) Does the A900x have bigger and deeper cups than the 770?
3) Is the HD 380 dark like the HD 650?

 
I would take the ATH-A900X over the other two headphones.
The A900X was my preferred headphone for a year or two, before buying the ATH-W1000X.
If you already have the HD600, why even buy another headphone?
What amp do you have to drive the HD600?

 

[cel4145]

DT770 has a good bit of bass emphasis, v-shaped. Doesn't seem to fit what you want sonically.

I don't know about the HD380s, but the A900X seems a much better choice for classical music than the DT770s.

 

[Youth]

Honestly I'd just invest in a better amp for your HD600 instead 

 If you're treble-sensitive you should stay away from Beyerdynamic unless you can afford the T1.

 

[Topazus]

The HD 600 is my open headphone. I now need a second set, a closed one so I could listen to music without being disturbed by the traffic noise coming from my balcony, and the occasional noise made by children inside.
 
Answers to these questions may make it easier for me to decide. 
 
1) How much brighter is the DT 770 32 over the A900x?
2) Does the A900x have bigger and deeper cups than the 770?
3) Is the HD 380 dark like the HD 650?

 

[Topazus]

 
What amp do you have to drive the HD600?

 
I plug my HD 600 into a receiver I have with a speaker set. Sounds great, but I am not going to amp the close headphone I am looking to buy at all. I want to use it with my laptop and phone, unamped. 

 

[Youth]

  The HD 600 is my open headphone. I now need a second set, a closed one so I could listen to music without being disturbed by the traffic noise coming from my balcony, and the occasional noise made by children inside.
 
Answers to these questions may make it easier for me to decide. 
 
1) How much brighter is the DT 770 32 over the A900x?
2) Does the A900x have bigger and deeper cups than the 770?
3) Is the HD 380 dark like the HD 650?

 
Oh, in that case I think I agree with Purple and Cel. A900X seems to be the best choice, although I haven't heard HD380.

 

[Me x3]

  The HD 600 is my open headphone. I now need a second set, a closed one so I could listen to music without being disturbed by the traffic noise coming from my balcony, and the occasional noise made by children inside.
 
Answers to these questions may make it easier for me to decide. 
 
1) How much brighter is the DT 770 32 over the A900x?
2) Does the A900x have bigger and deeper cups than the 770?
3) Is the HD 380 dark like the HD 650?

 
1) DT770 is brighter between 5 kHz and 7 kHz, this typically emphasize sibilance present on many recordings, on the other hand, AD900x is brighter over 8 kHz, this is not as bothersome most of the times, it normally gives kind of an edge to the sound that can be pleasing depending on the recording.
DT770 has much more bass and it's more extended as well (more v-shaped response after all)
 
3) Seems slightly darker, with more bass.

 

[Topazus]

Thank you all for the help. So, I finally went to that store and the A900x was already gone, and I was left with DT 770 32OHM, Custom One Pro, and HD 280 (HD380 was gone also). So I asked for some leave-me-alone time and sat in a quiet room auditioning all the headphones straight from a laptop they gave me. 
 
My impressions:
 
Custom One Pro
This headphone didn't impress me. It even looks like a manufacturing mistake. I just didn't care for the sound it made, even though it wasn't bad, really. Those nobs... Turning this gives you more bass, less bass... Bla-bla... This isn't the sort of thing I was looking for. So I put it away after a brief listen and never bothered with it. My guess is they'll discontinue that very soon.
 
Sennheiser HD 280
This was a nice headphone. From the pictures it doesn't look interesting, but it is a well built headphone with a flat response. There is no soundstage to speak of, but the sound is detailed and very polite. This is a monitoring headphone and probably not ideal for music enjoyment. 
 
Beyerdynamic DT 770 32OHM
There's something about the fullness of the sound coming out of these that appeals to you right away. It's definitely that bass which creates such a warm experience. But I think bass alone isn't behind it. I think the drivers of DT 770/880/990 are of really good quality and the sound they reproduce, whether it's in closed (770), semi-open (880) or open (990) design, gives you that this-is-the-right-headphone vibe. HD280, regardless of the frequency difference, seemed to be a half step, if not a whole step, behind the 770 as far as overall sound quality. 
 
I bought the 770 and brought it home for a longer audition and now I like it even more. It's really cool to know you have a DT990-quality headphone that you can plug into anything (laptop, phone, tablet) and enjoy hi-fi music which you thought was limited to a desktop set-up. At low volumes (you won't get extreme loud on portable devices anyway) the treble isn't really a problem. If certain recordings are mastered with extra, unpleasant treble, I found that eq on the 770 handles that very easily. Just bring the 8kh bar a few DBs down and it takes care of it. If the bass is too much on other tracks, eq makes these sound almost like an HD280 - flat and sterile. I've made a few eq presets and it's all good.
 
Now I will always have to live with the small worry that I might have liked a900x more than these, had they been there at the store. Oh, well...
 
P.S. 
Comfort was slightly better on the 280, for me, because the cups are oval. The 770 pads slightly press my ears at the top and at the bottom due to their round design. I hope I might be able to find thinner pads somewhere that gives more room for my ears.