Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm & DT770 Pro 250 Ohm

[Asylum Seeker]

Ah the mighty Mt Treble aka bringer of pain.

The thing is that the human ear has a similar response dip after 5kHz so that peak is not as pronounced in final perception as the graph would suggest.

 

[audiofool]

I would say this is a myth. FR differs somewhat. DT880 BE (250 Ohm) with grey pads vs DT880-600

Same rig, same enclosure, same pads so easy to compare.

Thanks, looks like the FR differences are minor, I did notice the distortion plots on your site show differences between the 250 and 600 ohm DT880. Maybe after EQ the differences in distortion are magnified?

 

[solderdude]

Distortion in low frequencies fortunately are not very audible to us mortal beings.
When you EQ down 50Hz to 1kHz and the treble peak you won't even have to push up any frequencies more than a couple of dB at the very lowest frequencies.

 

[audiofool]

Distortion in low frequencies fortunately are not very audible to us mortal beings.
When you EQ down 50Hz to 1kHz and the treble peak you won't even have to push up any frequencies more than a couple of dB at the very lowest frequencies.

I agree that the small differences are probably not audible, though above 1kHz the 600 ohm version still appear lower in distortion but at levels I doubt matter. I also wonder if the 600 ohm version is less durable.

Snagged from Beyer-Dynamics:
It's pretty clear that a higher mass can't move as easily (following an audio signal) as a lower mass. This low mass can easily be accomplished with thinner (lower weight) wire, but the thinner wire has a higher impedance. This means that the DT 770 PRO with 250 ohms sound more natural, but plays (depending on the used headphone amplifier) not as loud as the 80 ohms version.
The transducers of the 80 ohms versions are stronger and more powerful, a bit more low-mid accentuated and therefore this version is ideal for powerful reproducing of low-frequency material f.e. coming from a bass guitar. The 250 ohms version sounds more smooth and voluminous and can be used for mixing situations within the studio to analyse the whole mix.

Beyerdynamic marketing doesn't help:
DT 880 32 Ω, for portable players
DT 880 250 Ω, for home hi-fi systems
DT 880 600 Ω, for high end

 

[solderdude]

I believe most of this is marketing talk. I have compared the 600 Ohm and 250 Ohm (same pads) side by side and one is not 'better' than the other, more detailed/refined or better in the lows to me.
The 600 Ohm versions are just less sensitive. More suited for OTL tube amps. Haven't heard 32 Ohm versions though.
Both are quite good headphones, certainly at this price. Impedance differences are not that big. The 32 Ohm is about 1/10th of the 250 Ohm where the 250 is only about 1/2 that of the 600 Ohm.

Measurements of various DT770's seem to show substantial tonal differences. It would be hard to defend these would only be caused by a slightly different weight of the voicecoil. I suspect there are more differences than that. Pads, internal damping schemes, clamping force, maybe even different formers or small differences in membrane.

Note that my distortion measurements can only be used to detect substantial deviations. But yes there are small differences there. Probably not audible as there are no weird peaks seen.

Power rating of the 32, 250 and 600 Ohm appear to be the same. One could conclude that the 600 Ohm version is not more sensitive to abuse. The slightly thinner wire might be more fragile when large excursions are made. You need quite a bit of voltage to do that with a 600 Ohm driver.

There is a substantial difference between an older and newer DT880 (same imp) and between an old DT990/600 and the current DT990/250.
These differences are unlikely to come from the voicecoil impedance only. The drivers seem to have (silently) changed over the years.

 

[audiofool]

I believe most of this is marketing talk. I have compared the 600 Ohm and 250 Ohm (same pads) side by side and one is not 'better' than the other, more detailed/refined or better in the lows to me.
The 600 Ohm versions are just less sensitive. More suited for OTL tube amps. Haven't heard 32 Ohm versions though.
Both are quite good headphones, certainly at this price. Impedance differences are not that big. The 32 Ohm is about 1/10th of the 250 Ohm where the 250 is only about 1/2 that of the 600 Ohm.

Measurements of various DT770's seem to show substantial tonal differences. It would be hard to defend these would only be caused by a slightly different weight of the voicecoil. I suspect there are more differences than that. Pads, internal damping schemes, clamping force, maybe even different formers or small differences in membrane.

Note that my distortion measurements can only be used to detect substantial deviations. But yes there are small differences there. Probably not audible as there are no weird peaks seen.

Power rating of the 32, 250 and 600 Ohm appear to be the same. One could conclude that the 600 Ohm version is not more sensitive to abuse. The slightly thinner wire might be more fragile when large excursions are made. You need quite a bit of voltage to do that with a 600 Ohm driver.

There is a substantial difference between an older and newer DT880 (same imp) and between an old DT990/600 and the current DT990/250.
These differences are unlikely to come from the voicecoil impedance only. The drivers seem to have (silently) changed over the years.

Thanks solderdude, looks like no disadvantage with the 250 ohm versions. I am leaning towards the PRO version for long term parts support, grey pads and coiled cord.

 

[solderdude]

It does have a higher clamping force than the edition version.

 

[audiofool]

It does have a higher clamping force than the edition version.

I assume since it has a metal headband it could be manually bent and or stretched by fitting them on something a little wider then my head to get them to my preferred clamping force?

 

[solderdude]

Haven't tried but assume you can bend it outwards.

 

[audiofool]

Looks like I can get a better price on the Edition version in 600 ohms. I have enough gain and power to hit 112dB, since I listen at low volume should be fine. Also, here is a link to an article on the different impedances. On the second page there are links to the measurements, the 600 ohm version appears the best to me but I doubt I could tell them apart.
https://www.stereophile.com/content...-dt-880-250-ohm-and-dt-880-600-ohm-headphones

 

[Silvestre]

I have had the 990 in all the impedance versions and there is an increase in refinement and speed in each of them.

The best is the 600 ohm version, which apart from being technically better than the 250 ohm version, has a more relaxed treble..

 

[Mulder]

I have a pair of DT 770 pro (250 ohms) I think they sound very good. I do not know if DT 990 are better, because I do not have them. But as for my 770 pro, in my case there is absolutely no "one note bass problem". I put them on right now to listen, and I would say that one of the benefits of this headphone is that the bass is so clear without being overly exaggerated. But it is possible that the DT 990 is better. I do not rule that out. Normally, open headphones are considered to give a more open sound. So it depends a lot if you need closed headphones so as not to disturb the surroundings or to shut out other sounds. In the latter respect, however, there are much more effective closed headphones.

 

[Cylphio]

Look at this!!! The amiron wireless dust covers lessen the peak at 8,5 khz by 6 db leaving all the other frequencies intact!!! I use them in my dt1990 with a pads. Now I found the peace if mind. I appreciate solderdude work, you are my first reference

 

[krumpol]

I assume since it has a metal headband it could be manually bent and or stretched by fitting them on something a little wider then my head to get them to my preferred clamping force?

I did bend the steel head bow both on my old DT880 and DT990 long ago to loosen the grip, it's easily done just by grabbing the middle of it with both hands and applying a little force.