everettjsj2
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2009
- Posts
- 22
- Likes
- 0
Introduction
Firstly, I must ask in advance, for lenience from you all as this is not only my first review but also one of my first posts as a head-fi member. I started off in audio when I spent part of a scholarship on some speakers that I thought looked nice (I knew nothing about Hi-Fi then). It turns out that my shot in the dark befell me with the B&W 602 S3s, which I now absolutely love. I am 22 years old and I grew up playing in a chamber orchestra as a first violinist; so naturally, I love classical music. I also enjoy, however, a dose of modernity and digitalism, rendered in many forms of dance, house, dub-step, hip-hop, etc. I am not a “basshead” per se, but I do appreciate it in said modern music where it deserves to be impactful, and well-represented. It is important to note that electronic/house/dance music also tends to have some of the absolute poorest quality bass. You have to be careful what you choose to listen to if you want smooth, tight, and impactful bass. I needed closed headphones that would offer me the best performance over the broadest spectrum of music while also not being overtly expensive. In this review, I will try to simultaneously comment on and compare the following headphones:
•Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm (150+ hours burned in)
•Denon AH-D2000 Headphones (300+ hours burned in)
•Sony MDR-XB700 headphones (20+ hours burned in)
I will be using a Pro-Ject USB Box (DAC) and Foobar as my source(s) going to a Little Dot MKIII tube amplifier; and I have tried my best to find high quality tracks in several different genres to compare. The songs will be:
•David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi - Memories 1086 kbps (House/Dance)
•Deadmau5 - Soma 426 kbps (House/Dance)
•Vibrasphere - Erosion 500kbps (Electronic)
•Calvin Harris – Flashback 440kbps (House)
•Diana Krall – The Look of Love 256 kbps (Jazz)
•Youn San Nah - Calypso Blues 256 kbps (Jazz)
•Ana Caram – Fly Me to the Moon 256 kbps (Jazz/Brazilian)
•Ralph Kirshbaum - Bach- Suite No.1 in G Major, II. Allemande 579 kbps (Classical-Solo)
•Mozart – Cassation K 99 – Allegro 1235 kbps (Classical-Orchestra)
•Govi –Language of the Heart 500 kbps (Classical guitar)
Notable Aspects
Youn Sun Nah - Calypso Blues : Absolutely stunning wispy and dream-like vocals, prominent acoustic upright bass.
Deadmau5 - Soma: Powerful, great-quality, synthesized low-frequencies. Not much mid or upper range. This song will be used to demonstrate bass response in the three phones.
Kirshbaum – Cello Suite: Solo cello, audiophile-recommended recording.
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 vs Denon D2000 vs Sony MDR-XB700
Let me just state that I do not actually believe that the Sonys can really be honestly compared with the Beyers or the Denons. I am partly doing this for “bassheads” purely as a comparison of low frequencies between the three. Both the Beyers and the Sonys have a strong reputation for monster bass, so I wanted to test it myself. As far as full spectrum frequency response and musical fidelity goes, it’s between the Beyers and the Denons.
Some Simple Specs:
DT 770
Price paid (C$): 199
Impedance (Ω): 80
Freq. Response: 5 - 35 kHz
Weight (g): 270
D2000
Price paid (C$): 350
Impedance (Ω): 25
Freq. Response: 5 - 45 kHz
Weight (g): 350
MDR-XB700
Price paid (C$): 130
Impedance (Ω): 24
Freq. Response: 3 - 28 kHz
Weight (g): 295
Some Photos:
For the headphone comparison I will be keeping the amp (Little Dot) and source (Pro-Ject USB Box DAC) consistent. The only thing I will be doing is flipping the Little Dot’s Gain switches back and forth between low-gain and higher-gain positions to accommodate the difference in impedance.
i) Synthesized Music Test (House, Electronic) (Deadmau5 , Vibrasphere, Calvin Harris, David Guetta)
MDR-XB700: The first part of Soma is mostly a synthesized steady bass beat with not much else to listen to. I pressed play, the beat kicked in and the XB700s hit me like a ton of low-fidelity bricks. The next songs--with full spectrum sound--were worse. The bass was thunderous and boomy, and everything else in the spectrum totally washed out and muffled. The soundstage was very narrow compared to the other phones. These headphones sound like the iPod/iTunes “bass booster” equalization setting
D2000: Competing with the reputed “bass monster” headphones from beyer and sony, the D2000 is no slouch in terms of bass representation. First of all, It was heavenly to put these on after the Sonys, and I felt myself thinking “There’s the rest of the music”. It almost sounded like a different song altogether. The D2000s redefined the low end and the multiple constituents of each bass note could be easily heard. Instrumentals and synth sounded fantastic but the intense sibilance was quick to fatigue me. The mids were slightly dampened compared to the DT770s.
DT 770: With the same two tracks, the DT 770s rendered the music to a dancehall-like experience. The lows were extended and the soundstage was expansive. I could really feel the force of inaudible lows and the high velocity air that the DT770s moved, which is the same reason that live dance/house concerts are so immersive. Synthesized instrumentals sounded liquid-like, rich, and warm. The Little Dot most likely assisted in bringing out this aspect of the DT770s.
ii) Acoustic Music Test. (Jazz, Classical) (Youn Sun Nah, Diana Krall, Ana Caram, Ralph Kirschbaum, Mozart, Govi)
MDR-XB700: Vocals were muffled, accoustic upright bass sounded like poor quality synthesized bass. Highs were gone. Classical music sounded as if you couldn’t afford tickets to the Carnegie Hall performance so you placed your ear against the building instead.
D2000: Again, it was a relief to put these cans on after the sonys, and I was thrilled by their performance except for in the midrange where they were recessed. Bass extension was good, guitar sounded great, vocals were a little bit too weightless and sibilant for this type of music and my tastes. Acoustic guitar was again, too piercing. We know guitar doesn’t pierce like this in real life. Soundstage was very expansive—especially in the classical music. I think that is the strong suit of these headphones. The classical songs were again, too sibilant. High notes on a violin should be musical, not ear piercing.
DT 770: The Beyers really shone in this music genre. Diana Krall’s voice regained the creamy richness that she is famous for; Youn Sun Nah’s airy voice was chilling—goosebump triggering—also without being sibilant and harsh, as was the case with the Denons. When you listen to Spanish or classical guitar live, you hear things like: the guitarists fingers sliding along the ridged steel strings, the woody resonance of a plucked and left open note, and the warm tones emanating from the guitar’s body. All of these aspects were rendered beautifully. All annoying sibilance was removed and the listening experience was relaxing and life-like. Classical was beautiful with a large soundstage. The rosined-bows gripping the strings was easily heard and the cellos wrought out warmth and richness and double basses rumbled viscously. Highs of the violins were sailing above the rest of the frequency range and were incredibly lively and engaging.
Conclusion:
MDR-XB 700:
I noticed once, that a head-fi member had in his signature, quoting somebody else obviously, “’I want a nightclub on my head’ –Basshead” Well if that is what you are looking for, the Sonys are for you provided that you do not care at all about sound quality. In my opinion, the MDR-XB700 are really a pretty awful pair of headphones. For $60 more, you could have yourself a lovely pair of Beyerdynamics that sound worlds better. The Sony MDR-XB700 would be best suited, I imagine, to a person that might also wish to install a cheap, obnoxious, after-market muffler into their Honda civic or Ford Taurus.
My most lasting impression sonically, is that listening to these cans is like listening to a loudspeaker through a pillow. Bass is boomy and distorted, mids and highs are nonexistent. I was able to improve the sound by setting my iTunes eq to “treble booster”. For people that are considering buying these headphones, please, for your own sake, buy something else. If you are looking for a cost-effective option, I have heard much cheaper headphones that sound much better. On a positive note, they look pretty nice and are very comfortable.
Pros: Comfort, aesthetics, low price
Cons: Sound quality. Super-short cord.
D2000: These headphones look fantastic, feel fantastic, and sound great. The drivers are close to the ear, which, in my opinion, offers a more intimate listening experience (depending on your preference, you may not want this). The D2000s feel great on the head, and are very low-profile compared to the other two phones (they don’t jut out from your skull as far) and just by looking at/handling them, you realize the superior build-quality and finer materials. On the downside, the Denons are highly sibilant and have a recessed midrange in comparison to the Beyers. One thing to note about these headphones is that they are made out of very high-quality materials and components. I think a lot of their retail cost goes to the “design” aspect of the headphones. The Beyers, on the other hand, give me the opposite sentiment—that being most of the retail cost is represented by the drivers and electrical components.
Pros: Comfort, aesthetics, construction, soundstage
Cons: Higher price, recessed midrange, sibilance.
DT 770: One word, all-round. Okay, maybe that was two words, but I really believe that the DT 770s perform well across the board. If you are like me, and listen to a crazy spectrum of music genres, these are the phones for you. The bass extension and mid representation are phenomenal, and the large distance between the drivers and the ears makes for a lifelike listening experience (It reminds me most of listening to loudspeakers in a rectangular room). The Beyers will strike you as hideously unattractive if you are into chic designs, or…..Bose. I personally like them because they look like (and actually are when customized with a microphone) an aviation headset—militaristic quality, kind of. I also like the velour material on the ear pads. It doesn’t feel as hot and heavy as the leather on the Denons. Much better for a warm/humid climate or summer listening. My one qualm with the Beyers is the crappy adjustment of the headband. It is finicky and doesnt adjust smoothly. Beyer owners will know what I mean by that.
Pros: Bass Extension, Bass Impact, Midrange warmth, Performance/Cost, distance between drivers and ears
Cons: Not good for travel (impedence and bulk), aesthetics(?), annoying to adjust headband
Categorical Breakdown
Bass Presence: MDR-XB700
Bass Impact: DT 770
Bass Quality: DT 770
Best Soundstage: D2000
Best for Electronic/House/Dance/Hip-Hop: DT 770
Best for Jazz: DT770
Best for Classical: DT770
Best Aesthetics: D2000. I personally like the DT 770s because they look retro and aviator-like.
Best for Travel: D2000 – Low impedence (better out of mp3 player), more durable, low-profile
Best Sound Isolation: DT770
Best Highs: D2000
Best Mids: DT770
Best Build-Quality: D2000
Best Stock Cable: D2000
Most Comfortable: D200
Firstly, I must ask in advance, for lenience from you all as this is not only my first review but also one of my first posts as a head-fi member. I started off in audio when I spent part of a scholarship on some speakers that I thought looked nice (I knew nothing about Hi-Fi then). It turns out that my shot in the dark befell me with the B&W 602 S3s, which I now absolutely love. I am 22 years old and I grew up playing in a chamber orchestra as a first violinist; so naturally, I love classical music. I also enjoy, however, a dose of modernity and digitalism, rendered in many forms of dance, house, dub-step, hip-hop, etc. I am not a “basshead” per se, but I do appreciate it in said modern music where it deserves to be impactful, and well-represented. It is important to note that electronic/house/dance music also tends to have some of the absolute poorest quality bass. You have to be careful what you choose to listen to if you want smooth, tight, and impactful bass. I needed closed headphones that would offer me the best performance over the broadest spectrum of music while also not being overtly expensive. In this review, I will try to simultaneously comment on and compare the following headphones:
•Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm (150+ hours burned in)
•Denon AH-D2000 Headphones (300+ hours burned in)
•Sony MDR-XB700 headphones (20+ hours burned in)
I will be using a Pro-Ject USB Box (DAC) and Foobar as my source(s) going to a Little Dot MKIII tube amplifier; and I have tried my best to find high quality tracks in several different genres to compare. The songs will be:
•David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi - Memories 1086 kbps (House/Dance)
•Deadmau5 - Soma 426 kbps (House/Dance)
•Vibrasphere - Erosion 500kbps (Electronic)
•Calvin Harris – Flashback 440kbps (House)
•Diana Krall – The Look of Love 256 kbps (Jazz)
•Youn San Nah - Calypso Blues 256 kbps (Jazz)
•Ana Caram – Fly Me to the Moon 256 kbps (Jazz/Brazilian)
•Ralph Kirshbaum - Bach- Suite No.1 in G Major, II. Allemande 579 kbps (Classical-Solo)
•Mozart – Cassation K 99 – Allegro 1235 kbps (Classical-Orchestra)
•Govi –Language of the Heart 500 kbps (Classical guitar)
Notable Aspects
Youn Sun Nah - Calypso Blues : Absolutely stunning wispy and dream-like vocals, prominent acoustic upright bass.
Deadmau5 - Soma: Powerful, great-quality, synthesized low-frequencies. Not much mid or upper range. This song will be used to demonstrate bass response in the three phones.
Kirshbaum – Cello Suite: Solo cello, audiophile-recommended recording.
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 vs Denon D2000 vs Sony MDR-XB700
Let me just state that I do not actually believe that the Sonys can really be honestly compared with the Beyers or the Denons. I am partly doing this for “bassheads” purely as a comparison of low frequencies between the three. Both the Beyers and the Sonys have a strong reputation for monster bass, so I wanted to test it myself. As far as full spectrum frequency response and musical fidelity goes, it’s between the Beyers and the Denons.
Some Simple Specs:
DT 770
Price paid (C$): 199
Impedance (Ω): 80
Freq. Response: 5 - 35 kHz
Weight (g): 270
D2000
Price paid (C$): 350
Impedance (Ω): 25
Freq. Response: 5 - 45 kHz
Weight (g): 350
MDR-XB700
Price paid (C$): 130
Impedance (Ω): 24
Freq. Response: 3 - 28 kHz
Weight (g): 295
Some Photos:
For the headphone comparison I will be keeping the amp (Little Dot) and source (Pro-Ject USB Box DAC) consistent. The only thing I will be doing is flipping the Little Dot’s Gain switches back and forth between low-gain and higher-gain positions to accommodate the difference in impedance.
i) Synthesized Music Test (House, Electronic) (Deadmau5 , Vibrasphere, Calvin Harris, David Guetta)
MDR-XB700: The first part of Soma is mostly a synthesized steady bass beat with not much else to listen to. I pressed play, the beat kicked in and the XB700s hit me like a ton of low-fidelity bricks. The next songs--with full spectrum sound--were worse. The bass was thunderous and boomy, and everything else in the spectrum totally washed out and muffled. The soundstage was very narrow compared to the other phones. These headphones sound like the iPod/iTunes “bass booster” equalization setting
D2000: Competing with the reputed “bass monster” headphones from beyer and sony, the D2000 is no slouch in terms of bass representation. First of all, It was heavenly to put these on after the Sonys, and I felt myself thinking “There’s the rest of the music”. It almost sounded like a different song altogether. The D2000s redefined the low end and the multiple constituents of each bass note could be easily heard. Instrumentals and synth sounded fantastic but the intense sibilance was quick to fatigue me. The mids were slightly dampened compared to the DT770s.
DT 770: With the same two tracks, the DT 770s rendered the music to a dancehall-like experience. The lows were extended and the soundstage was expansive. I could really feel the force of inaudible lows and the high velocity air that the DT770s moved, which is the same reason that live dance/house concerts are so immersive. Synthesized instrumentals sounded liquid-like, rich, and warm. The Little Dot most likely assisted in bringing out this aspect of the DT770s.
ii) Acoustic Music Test. (Jazz, Classical) (Youn Sun Nah, Diana Krall, Ana Caram, Ralph Kirschbaum, Mozart, Govi)
MDR-XB700: Vocals were muffled, accoustic upright bass sounded like poor quality synthesized bass. Highs were gone. Classical music sounded as if you couldn’t afford tickets to the Carnegie Hall performance so you placed your ear against the building instead.
D2000: Again, it was a relief to put these cans on after the sonys, and I was thrilled by their performance except for in the midrange where they were recessed. Bass extension was good, guitar sounded great, vocals were a little bit too weightless and sibilant for this type of music and my tastes. Acoustic guitar was again, too piercing. We know guitar doesn’t pierce like this in real life. Soundstage was very expansive—especially in the classical music. I think that is the strong suit of these headphones. The classical songs were again, too sibilant. High notes on a violin should be musical, not ear piercing.
DT 770: The Beyers really shone in this music genre. Diana Krall’s voice regained the creamy richness that she is famous for; Youn Sun Nah’s airy voice was chilling—goosebump triggering—also without being sibilant and harsh, as was the case with the Denons. When you listen to Spanish or classical guitar live, you hear things like: the guitarists fingers sliding along the ridged steel strings, the woody resonance of a plucked and left open note, and the warm tones emanating from the guitar’s body. All of these aspects were rendered beautifully. All annoying sibilance was removed and the listening experience was relaxing and life-like. Classical was beautiful with a large soundstage. The rosined-bows gripping the strings was easily heard and the cellos wrought out warmth and richness and double basses rumbled viscously. Highs of the violins were sailing above the rest of the frequency range and were incredibly lively and engaging.
Conclusion:
MDR-XB 700:
I noticed once, that a head-fi member had in his signature, quoting somebody else obviously, “’I want a nightclub on my head’ –Basshead” Well if that is what you are looking for, the Sonys are for you provided that you do not care at all about sound quality. In my opinion, the MDR-XB700 are really a pretty awful pair of headphones. For $60 more, you could have yourself a lovely pair of Beyerdynamics that sound worlds better. The Sony MDR-XB700 would be best suited, I imagine, to a person that might also wish to install a cheap, obnoxious, after-market muffler into their Honda civic or Ford Taurus.
My most lasting impression sonically, is that listening to these cans is like listening to a loudspeaker through a pillow. Bass is boomy and distorted, mids and highs are nonexistent. I was able to improve the sound by setting my iTunes eq to “treble booster”. For people that are considering buying these headphones, please, for your own sake, buy something else. If you are looking for a cost-effective option, I have heard much cheaper headphones that sound much better. On a positive note, they look pretty nice and are very comfortable.
Pros: Comfort, aesthetics, low price
Cons: Sound quality. Super-short cord.
D2000: These headphones look fantastic, feel fantastic, and sound great. The drivers are close to the ear, which, in my opinion, offers a more intimate listening experience (depending on your preference, you may not want this). The D2000s feel great on the head, and are very low-profile compared to the other two phones (they don’t jut out from your skull as far) and just by looking at/handling them, you realize the superior build-quality and finer materials. On the downside, the Denons are highly sibilant and have a recessed midrange in comparison to the Beyers. One thing to note about these headphones is that they are made out of very high-quality materials and components. I think a lot of their retail cost goes to the “design” aspect of the headphones. The Beyers, on the other hand, give me the opposite sentiment—that being most of the retail cost is represented by the drivers and electrical components.
Pros: Comfort, aesthetics, construction, soundstage
Cons: Higher price, recessed midrange, sibilance.
DT 770: One word, all-round. Okay, maybe that was two words, but I really believe that the DT 770s perform well across the board. If you are like me, and listen to a crazy spectrum of music genres, these are the phones for you. The bass extension and mid representation are phenomenal, and the large distance between the drivers and the ears makes for a lifelike listening experience (It reminds me most of listening to loudspeakers in a rectangular room). The Beyers will strike you as hideously unattractive if you are into chic designs, or…..Bose. I personally like them because they look like (and actually are when customized with a microphone) an aviation headset—militaristic quality, kind of. I also like the velour material on the ear pads. It doesn’t feel as hot and heavy as the leather on the Denons. Much better for a warm/humid climate or summer listening. My one qualm with the Beyers is the crappy adjustment of the headband. It is finicky and doesnt adjust smoothly. Beyer owners will know what I mean by that.
Pros: Bass Extension, Bass Impact, Midrange warmth, Performance/Cost, distance between drivers and ears
Cons: Not good for travel (impedence and bulk), aesthetics(?), annoying to adjust headband
Categorical Breakdown
Bass Presence: MDR-XB700
Bass Impact: DT 770
Bass Quality: DT 770
Best Soundstage: D2000
Best for Electronic/House/Dance/Hip-Hop: DT 770
Best for Jazz: DT770
Best for Classical: DT770
Best Aesthetics: D2000. I personally like the DT 770s because they look retro and aviator-like.
Best for Travel: D2000 – Low impedence (better out of mp3 player), more durable, low-profile
Best Sound Isolation: DT770
Best Highs: D2000
Best Mids: DT770
Best Build-Quality: D2000
Best Stock Cable: D2000
Most Comfortable: D200
