#78

Another happy user (although with the ATH-M70x which are maybe a little less forgiving and flattering on the low end but I love the M50 as well). Use them as a reference headphone for mixing and they’re very nice for that.

#79

I can’t remember if it has been covered in this thread yet but I am having to replace my headphones soon as well. They are DJ-type headphones and have been doing their job ok so far…

BUT: I am wearing spectacles and it gets really, really painful at the top of my ears where the frame touches my head after about 45 minutes to the point that I have to take a break for a while. The pain the pressure of the headphones is inflicting on my skull is all but pleasant and I would like my new headphones to be pleasant to wear despite my glasses. Any recommendations on this where great sound and comfortable wearing are somewhat compatible? Thanks…

:eyeglasses:

#80

Having had this same problem myself, I considered two routes: go with ultra soft over-ears like the Beyerdynamics (990/880/770 doesn’t really matter they all fit more or less the same, choose what suits your need and sound preference - I wear 770s (32 and 80 ohm) and 990s (250ohm) with glasses) or go for IEMs. IEMs can irritate the inside of your ears for some people after extended wearing, but won’t press at all on your outer ear.

I love the Beyerdynamics but you’re going to want to soften the headband pressure by storing them on a stack of books slightly (1-2cm) wider than your head is (as if the books were listening to them!). Over about a week or so they’ll loosen up just enough to not be painfully tight. Do this with care since you can’t tighten them again later (the spring steel will relax permanently) but it really works a treat! In the meantime, wear them at least once a day to get a feel for how tight they are and stop loosening them when you forget to take them off your head! (They really do become that comfortable!)

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#81

Cool recommendations there. I’ll definitely try what you described. Great stuff. Thank you :partying_face:

#82

Do you hear big differences between 32ohm and 80ohm one ?
And if you need to choose between DT770 and 990 ?

#83

Well 990s are open back, so that decision should be obvious - get them if you like open back cans and don’t need to isolate yourself from room noise, don’t get them if… well none of that applies. :slight_smile:

As far as the 32 ohm and 80 ohm, they sound very nearly identical, especially after you listen to either of them for more than a few minutes in a row. The only difference that’s practical between the two is that the 80 ohm comes with the plushy earpads (which I bought for the 32 ohm which comes with hot sticky leather pads that I hated) and the 32 ohm comes with a 1.5 metre cord which is WAY more practical for things like plugging into a laptop or a phone, but much less useful in a studio environment where you want to move around and not be tethered to the interface. For a handy decision chart:

  1. Do you care about how long the cord is? Short: 32 ohm 770. Long: either of the other two (990 is coiled, 770 is straight, both are ~3.3m when stretched, IIRC)
  2. Do you prefer the sound and space of open backed cans (990) or do you like the isolation and pristine solitude of closed back (770)?

If you end up getting the 32 ohm 770s I highly recommend buying the plush earpad replacements and putting them on day 1. But other than the short cord, I see absolutely no reason to care about the impedance for any of these. If you have a good headphone amp, the 80’s will sound as good as the 250s for anybody but nitpicky audiophiles who only listen and don’t bother creating. No cans are perfect, and these come as close to the ideal as any other reasonably priced high end ones.

A final note about the 880’s: they’re just like the 990’s but a little brighter with more sizzle. I personally find the 990’s compare well with mix translations to nearly any stereo or playback system, so I feel confident using them for mixing, but if your ears prefer the 880’s, then drop them in place of the 990’s. To me, the 880’s were ever so slightly fatiguing. I haven’t had that issue with the other two models. The 770s have a slightly more “pop” sound than the 990s but I’ve used them to mix and track when I don’t want to bother my studio mates and you adapt pretty quickly to the subtle differences and so I wouldn’t worry one whit about whether one is ‘better’ - choose them on the other priorities I mentioned and you’ll find a pair that will, after a little bit of listening, become just right for you.

4 Likes
#84

to add on top of @equipoise’s closed vs open

tracking is really a lot easier in closed back imo. Even for DI’d electric guitar or bass, I prefer close back because it takes less volume and less fatiguing to get in the “vibe” for tracking.

I find openback headphones really enjoyable to listen to in general though (senn hd600s in my case). I feel like the space and detail you get makes music really fun. also valuable as a hi-fi, full frequency spectrum mix reference (very much a personal opinion, but not a big fan of making mix decisions for long periods with headphones of any kind, but as a reference great).

2 Likes
#85

Stereo image is another big difference. I find with open backs you get a more natural stereo image than the extremes of closed back.

And the experience when tracking comes down to the space a LOT. One of the nice things about open back is if you’re tracking with other musicians you can hear their audible cues without talkback mics, and you can be more natural in the studio. And the 990’s don’t bleed badly if you’re using directional microphones. BUT! you’re right, some people really prefer tracking with closed backs (or need to, because they’re using wide angle or omni mics or because they’re tracking vocals and need the zone, etc.) So while I wouldn’t simplify it quite so much, it’s definitely the biggest reason to go closed vs. open.

Since I don’t have live mics in my studio, I use open backs whenever I can so I can stay “present” in the space while working. But my B cans are the 770’s and I use them for guest artists who are used to closed backs, or when I want to go bumble off and jam to something in a corner while others are using the main system, etc.

As for mixing with headphones, having a wide variety of references is essential. But I remain adamant that you can definitely get a good mix (professional, proper, however you define good) with open-back headphones as your main reference provided a) you get to know them and how they translate and b) you do the usual mix engineer duties of checking your mix frequently on other sources. But that applies to monitors as well (the NS10s and auratones are notoriously less accurate than a good set of headphones today, and many amazing mixes were made on them) and many country chart-toppers were primarily mixed in mono from a single speaker! So, what you mix on almost doesn’t matter as long as it can tell you enough of the truth and you’ve adapted your ears and mixing sense to whatever bits of the truth it’s not telling you. :slight_smile:

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#86

for sure, 100%. Probably should have just left that comment out of my post as it was off-topic and definitely a personal thing–I have a lot of trouble getting “sucked in” on headphones and I end up spending a lot of time making adjustments to things that aren’t like “priority” to helping achieve balance in a mix. Much better at staying “zoomed-out” on near-fields.

3 Likes
#87

Thanks for your replies. Actually owning the DT770 80 ohm and I was thinking that DT990 could solve my problems. he best would be to test it of course !

#88

I’ve got a pair of DT1770 Pros which I think are 250 ohm. They didn’t agree with the ALM HPO very much - too little control over volume (tiny tweak would produce huge volume change). So I went back to the Erica Pico Output which is much better.

Don’t know if that’s the case with all high impedance headphones, or just some weird result due to my set up, but be worth testing if you can :slight_smile:

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#89

Thank you, it’s really a strange behavior from the HPO. I sold my pico output for it ^^
And the 32ohm version of the DT990 in silver is really…how to say…ugly for me !

#90

this is a super specific question, so not sure if anyone will be able to help.

I have been using AKG K240 Studios for ~15 years and mine are still going strong, but they’re not as comfortable as they used to be. I think the pads are wearing out and maybe my ears have grown or something, but in any case I need more depth as my ears touch the inside of the cans and they get uncomfortable pretty quickly.

has anyone replaced the pads on these or similar headphones with good results?

also, as I want to get a set of closed-backs for tracking - has anyone used both K240s and DT770s? curious if the Beyerdynamics cans are deeper or if I might have similar issues.

#91

So I’m considering the DT 770’s that would be connected to the ALM HPO too. I’m using a 64ohm set of headphones now, but am nervous that if I opt for the 250ohm 770’s that the HPO might be finicky about volume, what are the opinions on the difference between the 80ohm’s and 250ohm’s?

Somebody mentioned plushy earpads versus leathery ones, which earpads come with the 770’s?

edit: Did the equivalent of RTFM and looked up the difference between low and high impedance designs. Sometimes lazy gets the best of me.

#92

DT 770 pro 80ohm and HPO are perfect and I’m at half way for the amplification level on the HPO ( and my mixer isn’t at it’s max ) !

1 Like
#93

yes. i used a K240 600ohm from the 90s (?) daily for two years, and the pads went very flat, with the ears touching the inside as you describe. I replaced the pads with replacement ones for whatever “K240” model was current at the time and it worked alright (replacement was straightforward although it’s a tight fit). I also replaced the foam discs while i was at it. It felt as new. I gave those headphones back to their original owner which has not complained since.
Then i moved on to the DT770 which i have for ~9 years and had to replace the pads once (a third pair of pads is due in a few weeks i think, as they are becoming a bit flat again). That’s with daily use. The clamp force has obviously loosened over time but they still seal as intended. I prefer the DT770 (or mine, as each pair i tried seemed to sound a bit different) over the K240 which i find way too bright (although less harsh than the MDR7506).

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#94

my dt770 250 ohm pair sounds great and gets plenty loud when plugged into the hpo.

@unity2k my 250 pair came with the fuzzy pads

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#95

As I posted just above (In search of new headphones) (and at the risk of repeating myself from there, :slight_smile: ), I’ve heavily auditioned all three 770’s and the 250 Ohm 880 / 990. I recommend the 80 Ohm 770s as they sound nearly identical to the 250 and are compatible with more gear, unless you need a short cord or can take advantage of the open back sound. I see no reason to get the 250 Ohm 770’s, honestly. There’s so little difference in the sound that it’s not worth the lower sensitivity, IMO, but if you do end up with a pair of 250’s they’ll probably work fine in nearly all cases except things that have very low power or really mismatched output impedance.

As for the pads, all models except the 32 ohm 770’s have the soft fuzzy pads. You can easily swap the black leather pads on the 32 ohm with the fuzzy ones - they are interchangeable.

1 Like
#96

I’ve had my Sony MDR-7506 since ages, and I’m happy about them, but they are bigger than my Norns :smile:
[silly request follows] Can you recommend something somewhat similar (in price too!) but a little smaller?

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#97

At the other end of the spectrum from most of this thread, can anyone recommend good earphones, ideally wireless. I find the Apple ones don’t fit my ears, and i think I’d rather some cable to tie the two ends together.