Finally.
Here is a rambling review of sorts. I wrote the first part comparing the two DT 770 Pro 80 vs 250 ohm a a couple days after I got them and had been listening to/testing them. So my thoughts changed on the 250 ohm when I compared it to the 1More Triple Driver Headphones later, as you will read in the second part.
I prefer the 250 ohm over the 80 ohm version. I don’t know why but to me with the 80 ohm all I hear are sharp piercing highs. It sounds as if there is a huge vacuum in the midrange, as if there is hardly anything there. There is bass, a good deal of it in fact, but mostly only the super low range, and it sounds kind of lazy and inaccurate. But again, I am just hearing so much sibilance in the high range, I can’t take it. I also surprisingly have to put my Cowon Plenue D up to between 80-95 volume units. The highest I almost ever put it for my Nighthawk Carbons is between 60-70, any higher would be too much. Now what is surprising with the 250 ohm is that I don’t have to push the volume much higher than the 80 ohm. I would have thought I would need to have almost twice the volume in order to power them. The volume range for the 250 ohm is about 85-100/100. I usually have no desire to go higher than 93 though. I am sure there are some things I am out on with them being 250 ohms, and they probably need more power to sound better, but I still like their sound this way. They are not very sibilant like the 80 ohm version. The highs are still on the edge of piercing, but not quite, so most of the time I am fine with it. I can actually hear the mid-range better with these compared to the 80 ohm. It is still very recessed compared to my Nighthawk Carbons, and my Kph30is, which probably have the mids pushed forward some, but I am okay with that. The 250 ohm just sound a little more balanced than the 80 ohm, much more pleasant, whereas the 80 ohm sound a a little too harsh. I should talk about the low end with the 250 ohm. I wouldn’t say I can hear warm bass like the Kph30is or the Nighthawk Carbons, but the sub-bass is better than them both, and blows the Kph30i’s out of the water. It feels more accurate than the 80 ohm, and tighter. I can legitimately feel the headphones almost getting punched from the sub-bass. I love it.
Soundstage isn’t extraordinary, but still fairly wide. I am comparing them to my Nighthawk Carbons which have silly wide soundstage (in a good way). I can’t imagine a closed back having wider soundstage than what these 250 ohm have. I like it. Definitely enough. The comfort is really nice with these. The pads are so soft, the headband is soft, and while being a little clampy, I can still wear them for hours without discomfort. I can’t change the suspension while they are on my head though, I have to take them off and readjust them, then put them back on. I also noticed something interesting. Despite being a closed back, there are these tiny round holes on the outer cups, one on the back side of the left cup, and one on the front of the right cup. I’m not quite sure what these are for, if anybody knows what they are, please tell me because I have no idea, and I find it odd. I actually don’t mind the coiled cable on the 250 ohm, I think they are still fairly portable with it, it is not as irritating as I thought it would be.
So in conclusion of this comparison, I like the 250 ohm, and I don’t care for the 80 ohm.
One last important thing here though. The one thing that irritated me the most about these headphones had to with the way the swivel for the cups was designed. On the 80 ohm I got, the metal piece inside the headband (the suspension piece I guess) on the left side was somehow catching on the metal headband when it swiveled, and it was wearing and chipping itself and the metal headband when I took the pad on the headband off to examine it. When I would go to put them on my head, it would bulge out under the metal headband, grind against it, and then snap into (more accurately, out of) place with a loud and painful metallic pop. Besides this one issue, they seem pretty durable, but it feels like that could start happening with others after a while of using them. It appeared that the swivel was possibly pointing out away from the cup, and so when it was not on my head, the metal suspension piece was under the metal headband and grinding against it when I tried to rotate it, and when I put it on my head the metal piece popped out from under the metal headband where it should have stayed without pushing or pressure.
My question is this: Has anybody ever had this problem with any DT 770 Pro (or any Beyerdynamic for this matter), or did I just receive a defective one? Maybe the swivel was broken? I just feel scared to get especially to get a used pair because of this.
Here is what I wrote after trying out the 1More Triple Drivers for a few days after I got them, and comparing them to the 250 ohm DT 770 Pros.
When I got the 1More Triple Drivers I was immediately impressed by the box design and all of the accessories. Very good craftmanship. I love how portable these things are, Easily fold up nice case, etc.
I don’t get why so many people don’t like their design. I think they look really cool. I will say however that these are not that comfortable for my ears over longer periods of times. After about 1 hour the inside is pushing on my ears, and they hurt because the pad is so easily pushed in and compresses so much. These also make my ears sweat some and it gets left all over the pads, even in very mild weather, after only 20 minutes. That doesn’t bother me a lot, because I work out a lot so I’m almost sweating all day. But I do want to see if there are any leather cleaning wipes or something that can prevent the sweat from drying on the pads. I’m still trying to figure out a position on my ears that hurts the least. So comfort is not all that great. I will say it is okay, tolerable. Better of course than my Kph30is. The build quality looks very nice and professional, metal upon metal, leather, and more leather and metal. Another feature I love about these that I was really looking for is how sound leakage at blasting volumes is practically non-existent. When I walk around my house, my family is always telling me to turn off my headphones, whether I am using my Nighthawks, or the Koss. I still sometimes got told the same thing with even the DT 770 Pro, but I have yet to hear this complaint with the Triple Drivers.
Here I come to what made me fall in love with these. The sound. What. In. The. World?! I have never heard anything like this before. I have heard things on these that I never did before. The treble is perfect and accurate, and it sounds like it is pushed in front of me. The treble on the DT 770 Pro sounds quite sibilant to me compared to these, on these it sounds more accurate and not as piercing and sharp. The mids are recessed a good deal, but I don’t think that is why you get these headphones. The sub bass is just so fun and exciting, it is very similar to the DT 770 Pro is performance, maybe slightly less accurate, but there is more of it, and it is so exciting. If you want pinpoint accurate treble, these are amazing. If you want those sub bass wub wubs, you want these. They do both at the same time. Imaging is spectacular yet somehow a little different, I can hear if vocals are slightly off to the right or left, which I couldn’t hear really on the DT 770 Pro. So the highs are in front, perfect accuracy, and then the sub bass comes in from out wide, like a theater or something. Imaging is amazing through all ranges, even if the mids are recessed. I tested the imaging with Yosi Horikawa’s Letter through just a phone, and I could not only hear the pencil going across, but even going backwards when the strokes actually did. I was amazed. The soundstage I guess I sort of already described. The highs are in front, close and perfect, not harsh at all, and the low end sounds pretty wide. It is so unique. One thing I found these headphones are amazing at are for watching movies. If you have a movie that has very good sound mixing, these will immerse you in it. I watched some scenes from some movies such as Dunkirk and Baby Driver, and imaging was so good, I almost jumped out of my chair many times when there was action. In the opening scene of Dunkirk, when the bullets all of the sudden came whizzing by, it sounded so real, I could feel the fear that the soldiers felt running.
As far as different music genres go, I think the DT 770 Pro are probably better for jazzy stuff, folk, and anything where the midrange is important, since these have a little more midrange than the Triple Drivers, they are ever so slightly warmer. But for hard rock and orchestral especially where the highs and lows are important, I prefer the Triple Drivers. Basically anything where the highs and lows are what you really want to focus on. I found this to be especially true with electronic, EDM, Dubstep, etc.
It was as if these were designed specifically for that. Another nice thing about these is that my Plenue D doesn’t have to go up to full power, I was only at about 60-70/100, compared to full power for quiet songs on the DT 770 Pro.
In conclusion, I like almost everything about the Triple Drivers more than the DT 770 Pro except for one thing: Comfort. If the Triple Drivers had the same comfort as the DT 770 Pro, I would be sold on them without any doubt in my mind. I think I will get the Triple Drivers, but I don’t any way of beating the comfort of the 770s. I may get them sometime in the future just for the comfort factor. I’m still just concerned about that headband issue with the swiveling though.
I rambled way too much with this, sorry. I can’t seem to explain things quickly unlike some people.
