[Carlos42]

I tried going back a few pages but I was unable to find the information Mr. TA mentioned.
If memory serves me correctly, the Nagra III recorder used banana jacks for the headphone feed.
So I would hazard a guess that these DT 48's had the banana jacks so they could interface with
the headphone outputs of the Nagra III.I don't recall if the next model Nagra, the Nagra IV had the
same arrangement for the headphone feed, if I get a chance will look in my "well organized " files
and see what I can find about all this.

 

[Carlos42]

I took a look in my archives and indeed the Nagra III  does have two banana jacks for the headphone feed.
The Nagra IV has a regular phone jack for the headphone connection.
 
And, Mr TA these Beyer DT 48's have "SNr 121" inscribed on each phone. I don't know if you remember,
but I have a pair of , I think, DT 48A's that have  "SNr. 120" marked on each phone. We both wondered if this was a serial number and I believe you said that you had only seen one other pair of DT 48's with these markings.
I bought these DT 48A's from Gothem Audio in New York city when I was a teenager around 1960 or thereabouts.
I seem to remember that they came in a red box exactly like the red box in the picture, And the headband was like the one in the picture.On mine, the back plate on one phone is red and the other phone's back plate is the standard
black.
 
So do you think "SNr." means serial number? I kind of think that maybe it is a "batch number" referring to specific
run ( group ) of DT 48's manufactured all at the same time. But that is only a guess on my part. Perhaps Beyer
for some reason, wanted to keep track of a batch of phones ? Somehow I find it hard to believe that both pairs
of these phones could have consecutive serial numbers (120 and 121) but stranger thing have happened.
 
So Mr. TA let me know what you think about all this,

 

[MrTechAgent]

  I took a look in my archives and indeed the Nagra III  does have two banana jacks for the headphone feed.
The Nagra IV has a regular phone jack for the headphone connection.
 
And, Mr TA these Beyer DT 48's have "SNr 121" inscribed on each phone. I don't know if you remember,
but I have a pair of , I think, DT 48A's that have  "SNr. 120" marked on each phone. We both wondered if this was a serial number and I believe you said that you had only seen one other pair of DT 48's with these markings.
I bought these DT 48A's from Gothem Audio in New York city when I was a teenager around 1960 or thereabouts.
I seem to remember that they came in a red box exactly like the red box in the picture, And the headband was like the one in the picture.On mine, the back plate on one phone is red and the other phone's back plate is the standard
black.
 
So do you think "SNr." means serial number? I kind of think that maybe it is a "batch number" referring to specific
run ( group ) of DT 48's manufactured all at the same time. But that is only a guess on my part. Perhaps Beyer
for some reason, wanted to keep track of a batch of phones ? Somehow I find it hard to believe that both pairs
of these phones could have consecutive serial numbers (120 and 121) but stranger thing have happened.
 
So Mr. TA let me know what you think about all this,

Yes, that thought did come to my mind but for some reason never paid close attention to it. 
It is very much possible that it's a batch number but, I'm certain this was only for the North American imports by Gotham. 
At the same time, you don't see multiples of the same Serials that often at all...so, it's a little hard to say for sure. 

 

[shamu144]

Still on the fence looking for a closed over ear headphone that could substitute favourably the DT48A... I had the Beyer DT150 which actually sounded very good, but were terribly loose on my head. The fit was very poor, so I went for the similar sounding Beyer DT250 which is ticking almost all my boxes: good and coherent sound, great tonal balance with good bass and very decent sub-bass extension, ultra comfortable, lightweight, good dynamic. Obviously, the DT250 is not as transparent and revealing as the DT48A, but makes for a very nice listening experience. This DT250 seems to me a seriously underrated headphone.
 
So I have been wondering if there woud be any reasonably priced dynamic headphone that could challenge the DT48A. The Focal spirit models were high on my wish list but I discarded them due to their apparently high clamping force. I also somehow feel that they would probably not be as revealing as the DT48A neither. And finally, after quite a bit of search, I have now a Sony MDR-7520 on its way. From what I have read so far, if there is one headphone similarly priced that can challenge the DT48A or be even more revealing while still offering a full and cohesive sound, with improved bass response, fantastic comfort and a larger soundstage, well, this could be it... I actually still have my Sony MDR-ZX700 and enjoy them as portable on the go headphones.
 
This should make for an interesting comparison. 

 

[shamu144]

I have received the MDR7520. I can see why those closed headphones are so looked after. They have a unique combination of comfort, style and sound.
 
However, and much to my surprise, I still favor the DT250 (I now use the 80 ohms version) to the MDR7520. The Sony do have a slight advantage in resolution, and instrument separation. But the DT250 offers a very accurate, clear and vivid midrange, which reminds me the quality of the DT48A lifelike midrange in some ways. The Sony is more colored to my ears, with a sweeter/more mellow midrange, and slight emphasize in the upper mids/treble range.
 
For those who love the DT48, but wish it could have a very good bass response and supreme comfort, I would strongly recommend you try the DT250. No, the DT250 is not as revealing as the DT48, far from that, but somehow it makes for a wonderfully relaxed and coherent listening. A great companion (replacement ?) to the DT48 in my opinion. 

 

[aptr91]

I have received the MDR7520. I can see why those closed headphones are so looked after. They have a unique combination of comfort, style and sound.

However, and much to my surprise, I still favor the DT250 (I now use the 80 ohms version) to the MDR7520. The Sony do have a slight advantage in resolution, and instrument separation. But the DT250 offers a very accurate, clear and vivid midrange, which reminds me the quality of the DT48A lifelike midrange in some ways. The Sony is more colored to my ears, with a sweeter/more mellow midrange, and slight emphasize in the upper mids/treble range.

For those who love the DT48, but wish it could have a very good bass response and supreme comfort, I would strongly recommend you try the DT250. No, the DT250 is not as revealing as the DT48, far from that, but somehow it makes for a wonderfully relaxed and coherent listening. A great companion (replacement ?) to the DT48 in my opinion. 

I'm not a big fan of 250's. If you can't handle 48's, I recommend 480's.

 

[shamu144]

Thank you for sharing. Comfort wise, I would think the DT480 is close to the DT150 since it is based on the same design. I gave up quickly on the DT150 due to comfort issues, way too loose on my head.

 

[aptr91]

Thank you for sharing. Comfort wise, I would think the DT480 is close to the DT150 since it is based on the same design. I gave up quickly on the DT150 due to comfort issues, way too loose on my head.

Not by any means! The comfort difference is drastic for me.

 

[CJG888]

I am also a big DT48 fan, but I find the DT250 quite disappointing by comparison. I find them rather veiled in the treble (but this is just a personal opinion).

 

[shamu144]

I would agree with you when it comes to the softer treble of the DT250 but I think this is also partly due to the lesser instrument separation ability and overall resolution of the DT250.

The DT250 kind of packs all the music together in a nicely coherent way and pushes it foreward to the front (a natural crossfeed effect). On the other hand, you gain a very balanced bass response and good comfort.

In fact, I can relax into the music listening to the DT250. I can not do so with the DT48 on my head... They force you to listen actively and require you to be mentally alert at all times. At least that is how I experience them.

 

[MrTechAgent]

Been a while, the thread needs some DT48 eye candy.

 

[kman1211]

Which one sounds the best to you?

 

[MrTechAgent]

Which one sounds the best to you?

Definitely the SNr.40 DT48 which is the oldest in the bunch.
Due to the shift of Material Non-Linearities it exhibits the most vague tonality which is dark and very extended in the bass, a good contender for correction filters compared to the others.
The DT48S and Kudelski NAGRAs are close to the SNr.40 but I have kept them with the stock pads which limits what I can do with correction.
The DT48A and DT48E are technically the best but at the same time it's very hard to correct them with rudimentary Equalizers, they need proper inverse filtering to make them good for all types of music.

 

[kman1211]

Definitely the SNr.40 DT48 which is the oldest in the bunch.
Due to the shift on Material Non-Linearities it exhibits the most vague tonality which is dark and very extended in the bass, a good contender for correction filters compared to the others.
The DT48S and Kudelski NAGRAs are close to the SNr.40 but I have kept them with the stock pads which limits what I can do with correction.
The DT48A and DT48E are technically the best but at the same time it's very hard to correct them with rudimentary Equalizers, they need proper inverse filtering to make them good for all types of music.

Doesn't surprise me the oldest of the bunch sounds the best. That makes sense. I still haven't gotten to EQ'ing much, I do use EqualizerAPO but don't use it much despite having good results with the tinkering I have done. Have gotten my DT 480 to sound good on all genres with modding(ranging from classical, rock, EDM, sub-bass test tracks, etc.) and without doing that hideous double-pad stacking and using the stock pads, though I know it can be better. I'm probably going to be working on the thing for years to come, actually happy about the internal dampening so not going to bother opening it up anytime soon. The DT 48/480 drivers are seriously world class, so sad the headphones have become largely ignored now.

 

[Headzone]

I didn't look up all the photos yet. Anyone fitted DT1350 or similar earpads on these, I just find them a little large with the stock pads.