Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 32 ohm Limited Edition headphone review

[dalethorn]

Here's a long video and text look at the Anniversary Edition DT770. Summary: Better than excellent. http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/forum/headphone-reviews/3286-beyerdynamic-dt770-pro-32-ohm-limited-edition-stereo-headphone-review-dale.html

 

[Anonymous]

Excellent review as always. I considered these and now feel I should have tested them. Are they your current beau Dale?

Perhaps you want to send to me for a 'test' in the UK?

 

[dalethorn]

Excellent review as always. I considered these and now feel I should have tested them. Are they your current beau Dale? Perhaps you want to send to me for a 'test' in the UK?

Ha! That's good to see the interest. There are certain patterns I see in the Beyer product line, and I'm always impressed that they get the midrange right, right down to the £80 level or whatever their little DTX501p sells for. This DT770 LE isn't my ideal kind of headphone, which I prefer to be usable as a portable, meaning passable sound quality with iphone plus the physical things. This DT770 is strictly desktop stuff at the moment, but the sound seems to me to be closer to hi-fi than the Senn Momentum or (gasp!) v-moda M100 I've been enjoying for a few weeks. So I'm rediscovering some classics that I didn't get to with the other headphones. Who knows how long this will last?

 

[eggontoast]

How can you have any consistency in your reviews when you add EQ ?

 

[dalethorn]

How can you have any consistency in your reviews when you add EQ ?

It's a fair question. There are several ways to define consistency here. One is to play consistently without EQ, so that the sound is all over the place, little or none of which is pleasant to me, and (because of my descriptions and ratings) little or none of which would be interesting to my readers.

With judicious use of EQ (after describing the un-EQ'd sound of course), I can then report the underlying capability of the headphone with the biggest coloration suppressed, which is now interesting to me, and judging by the comments I get on some sites (especially youtube), also of interest to my readers. In fact, I've gotten a number of compliments on my consistency at youtube.

I don't know what the best answer is to post here - it's a complicated issue - but I know what I see and what I like, and I'm communicating that honestly to readers, which a lot of reviewers are not doing. If you want a classic example of twisting words until they have no meaning, read the B&W P3 review at headfonia.

 

[quadpatch]

Hey you managed to get your hands on these! It seems like you enjoyed them

Great review btw, although I haven't managed to see the video yet. Your comment about being careful if you are sensitive to high frequencies or sibilance I would have thought myself too, but my wife is extremely falls into that category and she liked this beyerdynamic. She usually complains about headphone sibilance when I am quite OK with it, but she liked the DT770 LE so much that she has stolen them and claimed them as her own.

I also found that the DT770 LE pairs very well with the Arcam rPAC and Audiolab M-DAC.

I will be writing a full review of these headphones pretty soon as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Dael, I did test the DT770 80 Ohm version, loved the sound but there wasa distinct lack of volume. Has this been addressed with the 32 Ohm version?

Thank you.

 

[dalethorn]

I dialed that 6 db EQ at 7 khz back to 4 db, and 2 db at 5 and 10 khz to go with it (no adjustments besides those 3). But there are many graphs in the field that show a whopping peak for the 770 (including the LE 32), at Golden Ears for exanple. It's that very thing that kept me away from the T90, T70 etc.

 

[dalethorn]

Dael, I did test the DT770 80 Ohm version, loved the sound but there wasa distinct lack of volume. Has this been addressed with the 32 Ohm version?

Thank you.

The 32 does play with decent volume on an ipod oddly enough, and most tracks play with good volume on my Dragonfly and Audioengine D1, but some of the lower volume tracks I have (96k FLAC and WAV) are just not quite there on those mini-DACs. So it's about 5 db less efficient than a Senn Momentum, for instance. In Foobar I can set the volume up on some tracks, not others. It's a puzzle to me.

 

[dalethorn]

....I haven't managed to see the video yet. Your comment about being careful if you are sensitive to high frequencies or sibilance I would have thought myself too, but my wife is extremely falls into that category and she liked this beyerdynamic. She usually complains about headphone sibilance when I am quite OK with it, but she liked the DT770 LE so much that she has stolen them and claimed them as her own.

So many thoughts on this .... this DT770LE is much better than you-know-what. In fact, this is the first bass-heavy headphone I've heard that didn't need any bass treatment when played on my little DACs. I noted a change to my extreme treble reduction: -4 db did the job better with most tracks, although many of my symphonic recordings sound better with no EQ at all. It's probably one of the better deals out there. I'm also surprised that Beyer managed to get such detail into a non-Tesla headphone.

 

[Anonymous]

Dael, I did test the DT770 80 Ohm version, loved the sound but there was a distinct lack of volume. Has this been addressed with the 32 Ohm version?

Thank you.

The 32 does play with decent volume on an ipod oddly enough, and most tracks play with good volume on my Dragonfly and Audioengine D1, but some of the lower volume tracks I have (96k FLAC and WAV) are just not quite there on those mini-DACs. So it's about 5 db less efficient than a Senn Momentum, for instance. In Foobar I can set the volume up on some tracks, not others. It's a puzzle to me.

As I would be using indoors on a PC based system, via an Arcam rPac, would this present a problem? Thanks Dale.

 

[dalethorn]

As I would be using indoors on a PC based system, via an Arcam rPac, would this present a problem? Thanks Dale.

It has 138 mw output at what ohms I don't know, but it's a good bet being USB-powered it would play as loud as the D1 or Dragonfly, and I got excellent volume with full bass support on my mini-DACs (excepting a couple of very low volume tracks).

 

[quadpatch]

As I would be using indoors on a PC based system, via an Arcam rPac, would this present a problem? Thanks Dale.

It has 138 mw output at what ohms I don't know, but it's a good bet being USB-powered it would play as loud as the D1 or Dragonfly, and I got excellent volume with full bass support on my mini-DACs (excepting a couple of very low volume tracks).

I can't see that you would have a problem with this. This pair is my wife's favourite combo at the moment (I like it a lot too). She listens to music so loud it makes me cringe sometimes and she hasn't yet complained about reaching the rPAC's volume limit.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks chaps. Interestingly the DT770 80 Ohm version through the rPac reached the volume limit very quickly. I bought that model specifically over the 250 Ohm version too, for that reason.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks chaps. Interestingly the DT770 80 Ohm version through the rPac reached the volume limit very quickly. I bought that model specifically over the 250 Ohm version too, for that reason.

My understanding is Beyer did more than reduce the impedance. There may be some controversy about that, or even about whether all AE-32 versions are alike, but I don't know anything more about that - just something to look into.

 

[dalethorn]

Here's a spot of good news for those who took the 32 ohm and portable music player notion seriously. I was initially very disappointed by the DT770-32LE's performance (i.e. sound) with iPod and iPhone, since the bass was too boomy and highs too crispy. Using Foobar2000 on the computer with the Audioengine D1 mini-DAC and a 4 db treble reduction centered at 7 khz, the sound there was ideal. Now I find that the Apple i-device 'Piano' EQ setting matches the desktop signature very closely, and that setting carries through to the usual analog headphone amps. Looking at the shape of that EQ setting in desktop iTunes, I can't imagine how it works the way it does with the DT770-32LE and iPods, but I do know that the actual sound of certain named settings in desktop iTunes doesn't even come close to the sound of the same named settings on the i-devices. So while the 'Piano' EQ setting on desktop iTunes is irrelevant here, that setting on iPod or iPhone does the trick.

 

[dalethorn]

Photos of my new DT770-32 headphone and the box contents:

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Panasonic_Lx7/Headphone_Beyer_Dt770-32_01.jpg

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Panasonic_Lx7/Headphone_Beyer_Dt770-32_01.jpg

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Panasonic_Lx7/Headphone_Beyer_Dt770-32_01.jpg

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Panasonic_Lx7/Headphone_Beyer_Dt770-32_01.jpg

 

[quadpatch]

You seem to have posted the same photo 4 times there. It's a nice photo though! I have taken mine on black as usual and a lot of this nice detail has been hidden. I might do a second run on it.

 

[dalethorn]

You seem to have posted the same photo 4 times there. It's a nice photo though! I have taken mine on black as usual and a lot of this nice detail has been hidden. I might do a second run on it.

EDIT: The first time I posted these (this time with #s 1 to 4 though) the URL's activated automatically, but now it doesn't want to work, and the tags I added didn't work either.

 

[dalethorn]

And now that the nightmare of editing is over on that last post, the final bit of bad news: Using the 32-ohm portable-oriented DT770LE today on walkabout, I was struck with that substantial hollow-cavern sound again. Factors I think that contributed to this are 1) The iPhone can't get the same control of that signature that the desktop can; 2) Wearing glasses, couldn't get as good of a bass seal; 3) Traffic etc. diminishes the apparent bass response; and 4) The dramatic difference between other portables and the DT770. If those factors and the sound were not convincing enough for me, the bulk and appearance would kill it anyway for portable use. Still, my enjoyment of the DT770-32LE as a desktop headphone continues to increase.

BTW, note the '88's on the earcup logo.

 

[Paulq]

Interesting review. Stupid question alert - are these new to market (and hence the reason for the review) or an 'old ' product.

I'd be interested to get hold of a pair (have now seen a few available).

 

[dalethorn]

Interesting review. Stupid question alert - are these new to market (and hence the reason for the review) or an 'old ' product. I'd be interested to get hold of a pair (have now seen a few available).

Old and new I suppose. Based closely on the existing series of DT770, the new 32 ohm Limited Edition (a.k.a. 88th Anniversary Edition) is reported by Headfonia et al to have a smoother less-peaky treble among other things. Beyer mentions some glass filling in the earcups that may also be new and contribute to differences. The earpads are plastic where the other DT770's use velour, also said to change the sound.

 

[Paulq]

I've been a long time fan of Beyer cans and really am tempted by these. I tried the 80 ohm version and liked it but, in owning the Denon AHD7000, didn't really feel I had a slot for the Beyers. Are the 32ohm discernibly different to the 80?

I guess if I were to buy another pair it would be to indulge my occasional bass head tendencies and for that I've always spied the Ultrasone Pro 900; just never taken the plunge with them either.

I wish Beyer would stop making headphones I like .

 

[dalethorn]

I've been a long time fan of Beyer cans and really am tempted by these. I tried the 80 ohm version and liked it but, in owning the Denon AHD7000, didn't really feel I had a slot for the Beyers. Are the 32ohm discernibly different to the 80? I guess if I were to buy another pair it would be to indulge my occasional bass head tendencies and for that I've always spied the Ultrasone Pro 900; just never taken the plunge with them either. I wish Beyer would stop making headphones I like .

I never heard the other series like the higher impedance DT770's, but from much reading, in the past as well as recently, it seems the big change in sound here wasn't the impedance, it was the plastic instead of velour earpads, and all reports are positive. Since I'm a hi-fi person and not a basshead, I am bothered greatly by most emphasized bass, and with headphones like the Philips L1 or v-moda M100, I always use bass reduction EQ. Not necessary with the DT770-32LE - bass is perfect. The treble does have that signature peak though, and I found a simple setting in Foobar to fix it. There is also an Apple app called Accudio Pro by GoldenEars that has a setting for the DT770, and I tried it. It did the same as my setting - tamed the peak around 10 khz and left everything else alone.

I highly recommend the DT770-32LE, if you can still buy one. My first impression of the 'cavernous' sound still applies, so I'd recommend an amp that can rope that in a wee bit. I use the Dragonfly or Audioengine D1, and they make the sound to die for (well, nearly).

 

[Paulq]

I've been a long time fan of Beyer cans and really am tempted by these. I tried the 80 ohm version and liked it but, in owning the Denon AHD7000, didn't really feel I had a slot for the Beyers. Are the 32ohm discernibly different to the 80? I guess if I were to buy another pair it would be to indulge my occasional bass head tendencies and for that I've always spied the Ultrasone Pro 900; just never taken the plunge with them either. I wish Beyer would stop making headphones I like .

I never heard the other series like the higher impedance DT770's, but from much reading, in the past as well as recently, it seems the big change in sound here wasn't the impedance, it was the plastic instead of velour earpads, and all reports are positive. Since I'm a hi-fi person and not a basshead, I am bothered greatly by most emphasized bass, and with headphones like the Philips L1 or v-moda M100, I always use bass reduction EQ. Not necessary with the DT770-32LE - bass is perfect. The treble does have that signature peak though, and I found a simple setting in Foobar to fix it. There is also an Apple app called Accudio Pro by GoldenEars that has a setting for the DT770, and I tried it. It did the same as my setting - tamed the peak around 10 khz and left everything else alone.

I highly recommend the DT770-32LE, if you can still buy one. My first impression of the 'cavernous' sound still applies, so I'd recommend an amp that can rope that in a wee bit. I use the Dragonfly or Audioengine D1, and they make the sound to die for (well, nearly).

Part of the attraction with Beyers for me is actually the velour pads as I find them extremely comfortable. Not sure about the plastic pads at all - do the replacement velour ones fit the LE?