[Brandon7s]

I recently ordered an ATH-AD700 and ATH-A900. I like the AD700, once I washed the earpads and they stopped being itchy, but they don't do much justice to rock/pop. I'm using them for gaming mostly anyways. I bought the A900 in the hopes of finding something that is good for gaming and listening to more variety of music, and while they sound better with rock/pop than the AD700, I feel that they lack detail, ESPECIALLY in the lower registers. The lows and low minds feel recessed and undefined. I'd rather have spent that money on something that "wows" me a little more, if that makes any sense. The A900s sounded too much like the AD700s, just with more lower frequency power. So, I'm going to send the A900s back, since I actually like listening to my Bose (dirty word, I know) Companion computer speakers more, heh. So, I'm looking for something with impact, and WELL DEFINED bass. I came across the DT770/80 Pro which seems to have huge and defined bass. So, the question now is: Beyer's DT770, DT990, or DT880 (all 250ohm)?

My music contains plenty of vocals; here's some of my favorite artist:
Jimmy Eat World, Nickel Creek, Copeland, Dredg, Sigur Ros, Immanu El, Sufjan Stevens, Kings of Convenience, The Magnetic Fields, Damien Rice, Ween, Longwave, Feist.
Also, I listen to a lot of post-rock. Stuff like Explosions in the Sky, God is an Astronaut, This Will Destroy You, The Album Leaf, Caspian, Mono, etc.

No jazz, no blues, no hip-rop/rap, no country (except for Allison Krauss, if you consider her country), and hardly ever classical.

Right now I'd be running them out of my Astro Mixamp on PS3 and my EMU1820 on PC. I know that's not going to be that great for driving these things, but I'm going to get a dedicated headphone amp soon anyways, so I figure I'd get a 250ohms set, since I do love detail. I like open headphones, but I'd rather have clear and defined bass than to compromise.

By the way, is there a difference from the DT770/880/990 Pro and Premium versions?

 

[scutzi128]

Interested to hear peoples opinion on this as I am looking to get some dt880s as well as some ad700s.

 

[Brandon7s]

Oh, I forgot to add the Denon D2000 into the mix here. I'm able to order that for about 215USD, which is pretty dang good from what I've seen. I guess I could stretch to a Denon D5000 too, if people thought it'd really be worth it. Anyone have some experience comparing the D2000 or D5000 to any of the Beyerdynamic DT880/990/770 headphones?

 

[joelpearce]

We have reasonably similar music tastes.

I have the Beyer 990 pros. How different that is from the non-pros is often debated, some say it makes a significant difference, but the sound signature should be similar. The Beyers are definitely the cans I reach for the most often.

For female vocal tracks, the 990s are definitely a bit more recessed than my other cans. That said, the 990s are reasonably forgiving, which is going to be important for some of the more indie stuff that you listen to. The Magnetic Fields, for instance, are unlistenable on my Grados, but only sound a bit harsh on the 990s. I'm guessing that the 770s and 990s are going to be a bit more forgiving than the 880s, which would probably sound fantastic for Damien Rice, but really bad with some of the others. Still, the Beyer sound has pretty hot treble, so your enjoyment of your music will depend on how much you can handle the highs. They will give you some nice punchy bass, though.

It really is true also that the 250 ohm Beyers want lots of power. The 990s sound completely different from different sources that feed them different amounts of power. They will probably sound okay with the mixamp, but will benefit once you add a dedicated amp with the computer source.

 

[Brandon7s]

Yeah, that's part of the reason I put the Denon D2000/D5000 out there as well, since from what I understand they are quite easy to drive - similar to my A900.

From what you said, I'm leaning towards the 990s, but then there's the fact that I would really like a set of cans with some good solid bass. How do you think the 990s perform in the low frequency spectrum?

Nevermind that last question, you sorta already answered that. I think I'm gonna shoot for the 990s. I figure if I like the AD700's highs, then the 990 shouldn't be a problem, and will most likely be an improvement. I definitely want something with some versatility, and it sounds like the 990's have the most versatility of all the Beyerdynamic cans. The Denon D2000 is apparently pretty similar to the A900 in sound signature, so I'm ruling those out unless someone tells me otherwise. I just hope that what I have now has enough juice to sound somewhat decent, at least until I can put up the cash for an amp.

Also, it sounds like the 990's will be a fine pair of headphones for "growing" my sound, with an amp and DAC. I do want something that will scale well, and that fits the bill.

*EDIT* Alright, just ordered DT990 Pro (even though I hate coiled cables

). Should be in on Wednesday. I anticipate needing an amp for it somewhat shortly, so if anyone has some recommendations for amps under 200USD, I'm up for suggestions.

- course, if I end up disliking them strongly, who knows what'll happen.

 

[Deathwish238]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon7s /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, that's part of the reason I put the Denon D2000/D5000 out there as well, since from what I understand they are quite easy to drive - similar to my A900. From what you said, I'm leaning towards the 990s, but then there's the fact that I would really like a set of cans with some good solid bass. How do you think the 990s perform in the low frequency spectrum? Nevermind that last question, you sorta already answered that. I think I'm gonna shoot for the 990s. I figure if I like the AD700's highs, then the 990 shouldn't be a problem, and will most likely be an improvement. I definitely want something with some versatility, and it sounds like the 990's have the most versatility of all the Beyerdynamic cans. The Denon D2000 is apparently pretty similar to the A900 in sound signature, so I'm ruling those out unless someone tells me otherwise. I just hope that what I have now has enough juice to sound somewhat decent, at least until I can put up the cash for an amp. Also, it sounds like the 990's will be a fine pair of headphones for "growing" my sound, with an amp and DAC. I do want something that will scale well, and that fits the bill. *EDIT* Alright, just ordered DT990 Pro (even though I hate coiled cables ). Should be in on Wednesday. I anticipate needing an amp for it somewhat shortly, so if anyone has some recommendations for amps under 200USD, I'm up for suggestions. - course, if I end up disliking them strongly, who knows what'll happen.

Glad you got the DT990 Pro. They're absolutely phenomenal for rock/metal which is primarily what I listen to.

Everytime I'm listening to metal on something else, I miss my DT990s. They're so amazingly clear and their frequency response extends very high before dropping off letting you hear things you may have never noticed in your highs before. They also have great bass to round it out.

They however need a good clean source or you may have sibilance problems. I had sibilance issues with my Audigy 2 ZS but it simply vanished when I upgrade to an E-MU 0404 USB. Breaking in also helped with sibilance before i upgraded my source. These headphones definitely sound better after at least 100 hours of use. The bass deepening and tightening up a bit is nice after breaking in is nice too.

For power, I'm using a RockHopper Mini^3 and it's great. But since your budget allows for better, consider the X-Head.

 

[Stitch]

Congratulations on the DT990, you'll love them i think.
My game is 90% metal and even with their not so strong mids the DT880 sound great.
Though the DT990 werent my first choice when auditioning i do love the beyer sound signature. And they are sooooo comfy

Word of advise, keep an eye on the earpads. The velour cushions have a tendency to wear out after about 3/4 of a year.

For the juice I use a LD MKIII tube amp, lovely sound. About $190 ex shipping.

 

[Brandon7s]

Hm.. if I like the 990Pro, I think I'll go with either the LD MKII or MKIII. The MKIII is stretching the budget a little after shipping, but it seems worth it to me - if I got the MKII, I'd always be wondering how good the MKIII is in comparison.

 

[Stitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon7s /img/forum/go_quote.gif if I got the MKII, I'd always be wondering how good the MKIII is in comparison.

Not sure about the MKII, but i did hear the MKIV SE at the dutch meet and it wasnt much better.