Beyerdynamic DT 770 250, 80, or 32

[Michael McAllister]

Appreciate the help thus far, guys.  Many thanks. 

[mr moose]

From that graph I would assume the 770 to be a little brighter and slightly more pronounced in the lower vocal range than the 280's. But keep in mind if there has been a significant time between when that graph was first measured and now they could be a little different.  If I get a chance tomorrow (no promises) I will graph my 280's and we can compare them to that graph.

[Michael McAllister]

From that graph I would assume the 770 to be a little brighter and slightly more pronounced in the lower vocal range than the 280's. But keep in mind if there has been a significant time between when that graph was first measured and now they could be a little different.  If I get a chance tomorrow (no promises) I will graph my 280's and we can compare them to that graph.

 

Okie dokie. 

[mr moose]

Okie dokie. 

I need to wait until the kids go back to school .

I tried to graph it today but the kids couldn't leave me alone for the 30 sec needed to run 3 sweeps so the results are grossly inaccurate. suffice to say I had a 35dB variance as compared to the headroom graph that has a 30dB. Everything else was with predictability, So  I think it's time for a new measurement box B)

 

 

EDIT: the kids nicked off for long enough to run several sweeps and I have updated the graph below.  A much better result with about a 25dB variance. (I left 1/3 octave smoothing on so It's a little hillier than the graph depicts but still not as much as the headroom graph)

[mr moose]

 

Ignore below 50Hz, the cup didn't seal well enough to totally trust it.

[tehsprayer]

If it's because the straight cable being too long you could braid it.

 

[Michael McAllister]

@mr moose  Wow, the HD280s are incredibly neutral.  They're more neutral than I suspected.

 

@tehsprayer  Coiled cables are nice because they allow you to have either a short cable or long cable depending on what you're doing.

[mr moose]

@mr moose  Wow, the HD280s are incredibly neutral.  They're more neutral than I suspected.

 

@tehsprayer  Coiled cables are nice because they allow you to have either a short cable or long cable depending on what you're doing.

IKR, even if you made some horrible assumptions and allowed for my gear to be out by upto 5dB (not bloody likely) and also assumed that I scored a golden pair from the production lottery, they still measure quite well. 

[Michael McAllister]

Those graphs are measurements of one pair of each impedance and cannot account for manufacturing tolerances. Graph two identical-in-model headphones of any type any you could potentially see similar results.

This is one of those rare instances where objective measurements don't necessarily mean anything.

 

 

The main reason they produce something with that high of impedance is for using it with big amps/devices like in radio broadcasting, recording studio, and stuffs. Those big amps/devices usually got relatively high impedance, so to control the damping effect, they use high impedance headphones. 

 

250-300 ohms like Sennheisers are generally fine running on everyday devices (onboards, phones, etc). 600 ohms might be a bit hit and miss. 

 

 

32 ohm is bad, if you plan on getting an amp, get the 250 ohm.

 

 

The 32 ohm version is generally regarded as being worse than the others, but note it is not inherently because of the impedance itself. Differences between the versions are minor at best.

 

@ShearMe It seems you have contradicted yourself a bit.  You say this is one of those instances where impedance doesn't really mean anything.  Last year, you mentioned that the 32 ohm version generally is regarded as sounding worse.  If impedance does not play a role whatsoever, it is logical to presume that the 32 ohm version would sound just as wonderful as its higher impedance counterparts, assuming that the source output impedance is low enough.  Even Tyler has said the 32 ohm version sounds bad compared to the others.

[SSL]

It seems you have contradicted yourself a bit.  You say this is one of those instances where impedance doesn't really mean anything.  Last year, you mentioned that the 32 ohm version generally is regarded as sounding worse.  If impedance does not play a role whatsoever, it is logical to presume that the 32 ohm version would sound just as wonderful as its higher impedance counterparts, assuming that the source output impedance is low enough.  Even Tyler has said the 32 ohm version sounds bad compared to the others.

 

The 32 ohm version sounds worse than the others for reasons other than the impedance. Impedance doesn't really have to do with sound quality. Simple.

[Michael McAllister]

The 32 ohm version sounds worse than the others for reasons other than the impedance. Impedance doesn't really have to do with sound quality. Simple.

 

Such as?

[SSL]

Such as?

 

Anything that isn't impedance, obviously.

[creatip123]

@ShearMe It seems you have contradicted yourself a bit.  You say this is one of those instances where impedance doesn't really mean anything.  Last year, you mentioned that the 32 ohm version generally is regarded as sounding worse.  If impedance does not play a role whatsoever, it is logical to presume that the 32 ohm version would sound just as wonderful as its higher impedance counterparts, assuming that the source output impedance is low enough.  Even Tyler has said the 32 ohm version sounds bad compared to the others.

 

It's more likely that the cause is because they're a different thing. 

 

To make various impedance rating voice coils, it's not as simple as adding something or substracting something out of it. They might have to use different diameter of voice coil, different number of coil, might be even different kind/material of coil altogether. Even after doing that, the voice coil gotta interact with the driver's membrane (the thin material that moves and produce sounds). Assuming the membrane stays the same, it's only natural that different voice coils interact differently with the membrane. I'm not in the headphone production line, and they sure aren't going to disclose their production secret to public, so I don't know for sure. It's just an educated guess. 

 

To recap, it's not the difference in impedance that make a version better or worse, but various other factors that change when they make different impedance version. 

[Michael McAllister]

Anything that isn't impedance, obviously.

 

The 32 ohm version sounds worse than the others because of reasons? :huh:

[Michael McAllister]

It's more likely that the cause is because they're a different thing. 

 

To make various impedance rating voice coils, it's not as simple as adding something or substracting something out of it. They might have to use different diameter of voice coil, different number of coil, might be even different kind/material of coil altogether. Even after doing that, the voice coil gotta interact with the driver's membrane (the thin material that moves and produce sounds). Assuming the membrane stays the same, it's only natural that different voice coils interact differently with the membrane. I'm not in the headphone production line, and they sure aren't going to disclose their production secret to public, so I don't know for sure. It's just an educated guess. 

 

To recap, it's not the difference in impedance that make a version better or worse, but various other factors that change when they make different impedance version. 

 

I appreciate your attempt to give a logical explanation.  Thanks. 

[SSL]

The 32 ohm version sounds worse than the others because of reasons? :huh:

 

Earpad material, amount, type, and placement of damping material, etc.

 

[Michael McAllister]

Earpad material, amount, type, and placement of damping material, etc.

 

 

Well, you can eliminate one thing off that list.  We know what type of earpads are used.  All three versions use the thick velour padding.  The others are unknown (to us).

[SSL]

Well, you can eliminate one thing off that list.  We know what type of earpads are used.  All three versions use the thick velour padding.  The others are unknown (to us).

 

Last I checked the 32 ohm came with leatherette pads. And that was 10 seconds ago.

[Michael McAllister]

Last I checked the 32 ohm came with leatherette pads. And that was 10 seconds ago.

 

*checks north-america.beyerdynamic.com*

 

I sit corrected then.  Ew.  Why the hell especially at that asking price? 

[SSL]

*checks north-america.beyerdynamic.com*

 

I sit corrected then.  Ew.  Why the hell especially at that asking price? 

 

Bass and isolation.

 

[Michael McAllister]

Bass and isolation.

 

 

I've tried the DT 770 250 and bass and isolation weren't an issue.  Weird.

[SSL]

I've tried the DT 770 250 and bass and isolation weren't an issue.  Weird.

 

Moar bass, moar isolation.

[ShearMe]

@ShearMe It seems you have contradicted yourself a bit. You say this is one of those instances where impedance doesn't really mean anything. Last year, you mentioned that the 32 ohm version generally is regarded as sounding worse. If impedance does not play a role whatsoever, it is logical to presume that the 32 ohm version would sound just as wonderful as its higher impedance counterparts, assuming that the source output impedance is low enough. Even Tyler has said the 32 ohm version sounds bad compared to the others.

I didn't contradict myself - last year's statement's final part started that the reason the 32 ohm version might be worse likely has nothing to do with the impedance.

[Michael McAllister]

I didn't contradict myself - last year's statement's final part started that the reason the 32 ohm version might be worse likely has nothing to do with the impedance.

 

Given the 32 ohm version is leatherette, you could be right.

[ShearMe]

Given the 32 ohm version is leatherette, you could be right.

 

Other reasons as well - like creatip suggested, the driver design could be more different than purely a variation of impedance. One example I can easily think of - there may be more mechanical damping to account for potential bad sources, but that comes at the cost of hindering a driver's performance from an ideal source.