DT 990 pro or DT 770 pro

[Im_Ben]

So I'm considering buying one of these two, however, I'm not sure what fits me, or even what's the difference between them. Both of them are 250 ohms.

[minibois]

The DT 990 is open back, the DT 770 is closed back. The DT 880 would be inbetween those (semi open).

 

What is better depends on your use case. The simple difference is:

Open back has a bigger 'sound stage', so in gaming or a movie you can much better hear where a person is walking.

Closed back has less of a soundstage, meaning it is less fit for gaming for example (although this is of course based on personal preference).

 

You have to keep in mind though, that open back headphones leak sound, like.. leak a lot. I have a DT 990 250 Ohm (which I love by the way), but I couldn't use them in public, because you can basically hear everything I am listening to.

 

Otherwise the DT 990 is a super comfortable headphone, just gotta mention though it has a (old) telephone style cable on the 250 Ohm version, which are very compact, but could feel heavy and run awkward on a desk.

[Im_Ben]

1 minute ago, Minibois said:

The DT 990 is open back, the DT 770 is closed back. The DT 880 would be inbetween those (semi open).

 

What is better depends on your use case. The simple difference is:

Open back has a bigger 'sound stage', so in gaming or a movie you can much better hear where a person is walking.

Closed back has less of a soundstage, meaning it is less fit for gaming for example (although this is of course based on personal preference).

 

You have to keep in mind though, that open back headphones leak sound, like.. leak a lot. I have a DT 990 250 Ohm (which I love by the way), but I couldn't use them in public, because you can basically hear everything I am listening to.

 

Otherwise the DT 990 is a super comfortable headphone, just gotta mention though it has a (old) telephone style cable on the 250 Ohm version, which are very compact, but could feel heavy and run awkward on a desk.

Wow, thanks for the info! It actually helped a lot. I currently have a open back headset, and I'm quite happy with that sound stage(only tend to use that headset at home).

 

However, another question is that my current amp/dac isn't quite powerful for it, you got any recommendations for that? I don't want it to be super expensive around 200 - 250 $. 

[minibois]

1 minute ago, Im_Ben said:

Wow, thanks for the info! It actually helped a lot. I currently have a open back headset, and I'm quite happy with that sound stage(only tend to use that headset at home).

 

However, another question is that my current amp/dac isn't quite powerful for it, you got any recommendations for that? I don't want it to be super expensive around 200 - 250 $. 

Um.. Can I say I use these headphones via the 3.5mm port on my monitor, which gets its audio via Displayport on my PC and it works just great?

You would get an amp if you your headphones aren't loud enough, you get a DAC if the signal is distorted. I don't experience either problem, so I don't use a separate DAC/AMP.

 

I would at least first try out the headphones with your current audio solution, but if you need to get a new DAC/AMP, Schiit products generally look like a viable option.

But as I don't have a need for these devices, I have not done too much research.

Be sure to read the sticky topic on DACs/AMPs though:

I am still quite a novice with this audio stuff, so I might not have the correct knowledge to form an educated opinion on it.

[Im_Ben]

1 minute ago, Minibois said:

Um.. Can I say I use these headphones via the 3.5mm port on my monitor, which gets its audio via Displayport on my PC and it works just great?

You would get an amp if you your headphones aren't loud enough, you get a DAC if the signal is distorted. I don't experience either problem, so I don't use a separate DAC/AMP.

 

I would at least first try out the headphones with your current audio solution, but if you need to get a new DAC/AMP, Schiit products generally look like a viable option.

But as I don't have a need for these devices, I have not done too much research.

Be sure to read the sticky topic on DACs/AMPs though:

I am still quite a novice with this audio stuff, so I might not have the correct knowledge to form an educated opinion on it.

Yeah that would probably be smarter, and thanks for the help again. 

[rice guru]

Not only is a one closed back and open back  the dt990 and DT 770 also sound different. While both have a vshaped frequency response. The DT 770 loves midbass and rolls off faster in the highs. Leading to a nice warm fun listening experience for music. While the DT 990 exentuate the mid bass which can be good  and the highs IMO too much. The DT 990 can be piercing ..I had to EQ it for music. But for gaming they are excellent. The highs make footsteps easier to pick out. 

[rice guru]

4 hours ago, Im_Ben said:

Wow, thanks for the info! It actually helped a lot. I currently have a open back headset, and I'm quite happy with that sound stage(only tend to use that headset at home).

 

However, another question is that my current amp/dac isn't quite powerful for it, you got any recommendations for that? I don't want it to be super expensive around 200 - 250 $. 

The dac amp recommendation list leaves out some great amps and dacs. But for dacs you can get grace design sdac, Modi, topping d10 and d30 , Sanskrit 10th. And for amps for around $100 you can get the liquid spark or the JD's labs atom. Both are excellent. The topping DX3 and Aune x1s are also excellent options if you want combo units

[rice guru]

4 hours ago, Minibois said:

Um.. Can I say I use these headphones via the 3.5mm port on my monitor, which gets its audio via Displayport on my PC and it works just great?

You would get an amp if you your headphones aren't loud enough, you get a DAC if the signal is distorted. I don't experience either problem, so I don't use a separate DAC/AMP.

 

I would at least first try out the headphones with your current audio solution, but if you need to get a new DAC/AMP, Schiit products generally look like a viable option.

But as I don't have a need for these devices, I have not done too much research.

Be sure to read the sticky topic on DACs/AMPs though:

I am still quite a novice with this audio stuff, so I might not have the correct knowledge to form an educated opinion on it.

While.you are mostly right some headphones benefit from having a amp more powerful than necessary. My personal experience with the DT 990 when I went from a fiio e10k to a liquid spark proved that for me. Everything sounded clearer and as they should be.  Due to the amp ensuring all the frequencies are properly amped. The bass got tighter and better and the mids got clearer. You also have headphones that just love good amps like the HD 650 and 600. Those scale very well with amps and often are plugged into high end amps even thought they are midrange headphones at best.