[c12mech]

I guess I will keep mine after all.
 
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to replace the inner ear pad that seems to be glued to the area around the driver.  Both sides on mine really need o be replaced.  I know I can get new outer pads but I'm sure that the inner pads have an effect on the sound as well with these.

 

[lejaz]

I had a very hard time getting the inner pads off of mine, so I had to resort to cutting a circle in the center of some thick plastic foam and sticking it inside the outer pads. If you buy a new set of pads they come with both the outer and inner pads I think, but I couldn't get the old inner pads off.

 

[lejaz]

I'm looking for a used set at the moment. If someone has an extra set for sale, shoot me a PM. Looking for the 80's 'E' if I can find one. 

 

[jamescodway]

I bought my pair from a retiring professional sound engineer. The pads were rotting. I cut off the old inner pads with a Stanley knife. All sounded better afterwards .

Best
James

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

I bought my pair from a retiring professional sound engineer. The pads were rotting. I cut off the old inner pads with a Stanley knife. All sounded better afterwards

.
Best
James

Ah, yes, that makes sense. I'll have to get a sharp knife or razor blade to cut the inner pads off. One of our members likes them with the Beats solo pads stuffed inside the outer pads, essentially making them supra-aural. Definitely the only way to get any bass out of them is to get a tight seal with the inner pad firmly touching your outer ear. At least that's been my experience with them. Before I got a good seal I thought one of the drivers was blown.

 

[c12mech]

That's all good to know.  Thanks for the information.  I'll play with them some when I get my new pads. 

 

[lejaz]

Just a note on the bass, since I've gotten a decent seal out of the plastic foam I placed over the inner pad: the quality of the bass is definitely better than I originally thought. I was listening to some old Miles Davis and Coltrane tracks from the early '60's, and it's a very tight and realistic sounding acoustic bass I'm hearing with the dt48. Far from the hd580 in quantity, but it's tighter and very realistic sounding. Can't say they'd be ideal for hip hop or Electronica bass though, since they DO roll off pretty steeply below 60hz FWIR

 

[lejaz]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120972901800?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
 
A forum member tipped me off about these. Anyone know what kind of plug is on the end of the cable? I just won them yesterday. I was the only bidder. If they work it's gotta be one of the deals of the century. The seller claims they sat in the original box in a closet for over 50 years, which would make them c. 1960 vintage dt48A's. The original tag is still tied to the cable, so it's possible they were never used. I can't figure out that plug....maybe for plugging into some kind of audiometric hearing testing equipment? I won't know whether they work or not until I get a new plug soldered on. Hopefully my friend will do it, since I've never soldered in my life. I may have to finally learn, if I can't get someone to do it for me.

 

[lejaz]

http://soundlandscapes.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/07.jpg
 
Look at the monitoring output on the far right of this shot of an old Kudelski Nagra recorder. Could this be the answer to the question about the plug on the c. 1960 dt48A I linked to in the above post? Don't know the year that the recorder was made, but it's got to be a fairly early one...probably 50's or early 60's.

 

[The Neverhood]

I quote a message from Beyerdynamic. 
 
"You should not forget that the driver of the DT 48 E is still pretty much the same as the first driver from 1937 and since the material used for the diaphragm is aluminum, this also affects the FR graph. The DT 880 PRO has been redeveloped in 2005 and is therefore pretty up to date. The DT 48 E was developed for monitoring applications of ENG (Electronic News Gathering) teams, not for music or such, while the DT 880 PRO was especially designed for mixing and mastering work."

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Neverhood /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I quote a message from Beyerdynamic. 
 
"You should not forget that the driver of the DT 48 E is still pretty much the same as the first driver from 1937 and since the material used for the diaphragm is aluminum, this also affects the FR graph. The DT 880 PRO has been redeveloped in 2005 and is therefore pretty up to date. The DT 48 E was developed for monitoring applications of ENG (Electronic News Gathering) teams, not for music or such, while the DT 880 PRO was especially designed for mixing and mastering work."

Does the 'A' have the exact same driver as the 'E'? Those were designed for audiometric testing, as well as use with the Nagra tape recorders. The 'A' version was definitely made for monitoring speech, not music. It rolls off the bass severely with the stock pads,  FWIR. A three time Oscar winning location sound engineer used the dt48E exclusively. Don't know if the 'E' version was widely used in recording studios or not. 

 

[The Neverhood]

Quote:

Does the 'A' have the exact same driver as the 'E'? Those were designed for audiometric testing, as well as use with the Nagra tape recorders. The 'A' version was definitely made for monitoring speech, not music. It rolls off the bass severely with the stock pads,  FWIR. A three time Oscar winning location sound engineer used the dt48E exclusively. Don't know if the 'E' version was widely used in recording studios or not. 

 
I'm not entirely sure.
 
The DT48, irrespective of edition, don't seem to be very accurate for the monitoring or reproduction of music. They may have an accurate mid-range because of the intended objective, but using them for the reproduction of music would have some coloration. From what Beyerdynamic have told me regarding the DT48. The DT48 are VERY accurate for the intended purpose, and that intended purpose being the monitoring of speech. The DT48 are only partially accurate on the reproduction of music, the DT48 have no extension on the low-range according to many of you, and would not be surprised should the high-range have no extension, given the intended purpose. 
 
I'm not bashing anyone who gives the DT48 high praise, but the DT48 are not accurate headphones for the purpose of music reproduction. 

 

[lejaz]

 

They arrived this morning....over 50 years old, but they look almost like new. I opened up the dual pronged plug and there's four wires inside. I'm going to try putting on a 1/8 plug from an old broken set of phones by cutting and stripping the wires and then twisting them together. I'm very curious how these will sound compared to the dt48E. I'll have to buy a replacement ear pad since they only came with one. These 'Kudelski' Beyer's were obviously made to plug into the Nagra recorders, so I guess I got a Nagra dt48? The ones I've seen previously were dt48E Nagra's. Will report back once I get them working with a new plug.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

 

They arrived this morning....over 50 years old, but they look almost like new. I opened up the dual pronged plug and there's four wires inside. I'm going to try putting on a 1/8 plug from an old broken set of phones by cutting and stripping the wires and then twisting them together. I'm very curious how these will sound compared to the dt48E. I'll have to buy a replacement ear pad since they only came with one. These 'Kudelski' Beyer's were obviously made to plug into the Nagra recorders, so I guess I got a Nagra dt48? The ones I've seen previously were dt48E Nagra's. Will report back once I get them working with a new plug.

 
 
Looks interesting, the pads looks like they come from the 5 ohm hearing test model, and the headband like is from the 30's model. Also the cable looks mono, but you can make it back to stereo.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

 
 
Looks interesting, the pads looks like they come from the 5 ohm hearing test model, and the headband like is from the 30's model. Also the cable looks mono, but you can make it back to stereo.

These are the 'A''s, which were designed for audiometric testing, I think, and also for use with the Nagra tape recorders. this one has a plug that looks like it would fit right into the jack of the old Nagra recorder I uploaded above. What makes you say that a two pronged plug would be mono? The seller told me they are over 50 years old which would make them like 1960 vintage. I'm going to try to pick up another 'A' pad and then I can stick the 'E' pads on top of that.....or even a fostex t20 pad perhaps. It should be interesting to hear them anyhow. I think the driver is the same as the 'E' driver.