Help picking a pair of good closed-backs on a budget!

[NangFTW]

Hi, everyone!

 

Hope you're doing well!

 

After using gaming headsets exclusively since I have been born (using a pair of HyperX Cloud Stingers atm) and loving music since then as well, I want to make the jump to higher end stuff. I used to have big speakers and all that, but I have since moved in an apartment and I can't really use them freely, so I want to get a decent pair of closed-backs (because I like the isolation they offer and the extra bass is fun + I don't live alone and I don't want external sound to get in).

 

The main candidate is the DT 770 Pro (80 ohm), as it seems to be exactly what I am looking for (bassy, comfy and built very well). Another candidate is the M50x, but it just doesn't sing to me as much as the 770's do. 

 

Can you guys recommend any other options that are around the same price as these two that are worth considering? Or should I go ahead and get the DT's and be done with it? I do intend to get an AMP/DAC combo later down the line as well, if I feel like my PC can't drive the DT's well enough. 

 

Thanks!

[BluDYT]

ive been using the 990 pros for awhile id say the 770 pro's are a solid option if you prefer close backed but id recommend getting the 250 ohm version with an amp or amp/dac combo. not much competes at that price point. 

[Holo]

1 hour ago, NangFTW said:

Hi, everyone!

 

Hope you're doing well!

 

After using gaming headsets exclusively since I have been born (using a pair of HyperX Cloud Stingers atm) and loving music since then as well, I want to make the jump to higher end stuff. I used to have big speakers and all that, but I have since moved in an apartment and I can't really use them freely, so I want to get a decent pair of closed-backs (because I like the isolation they offer and the extra bass is fun + I don't live alone and I don't want external sound to get in).

 

The main candidate is the DT 770 Pro (80 ohm), as it seems to be exactly what I am looking for (bassy, comfy and built very well). Another candidate is the M50x, but it just doesn't sing to me as much as the 770's do. 

 

Can you guys recommend any other options that are around the same price as these two that are worth considering? Or should I go ahead and get the DT's and be done with it? I do intend to get an AMP/DAC combo later down the line as well, if I feel like my PC can't drive the DT's well enough. 

 

Thanks!

770 are a good option, 80 ohm version is by far the best choice for a non-professional use, 250 not only has that horrible spiral cable, its very hard to drive so it will cost you a lot more right now to buy a good dac. And you would get very little in return, you probably wouldnt even hear the difference. 

They're a little boring imo, but compared to Stingers it will be a big upgrade.

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, NangFTW said:

Hi, everyone!

 

Hope you're doing well!

 

After using gaming headsets exclusively since I have been born (using a pair of HyperX Cloud Stingers atm) and loving music since then as well, I want to make the jump to higher end stuff. I used to have big speakers and all that, but I have since moved in an apartment and I can't really use them freely, so I want to get a decent pair of closed-backs (because I like the isolation they offer and the extra bass is fun + I don't live alone and I don't want external sound to get in).

 

The main candidate is the DT 770 Pro (80 ohm), as it seems to be exactly what I am looking for (bassy, comfy and built very well). Another candidate is the M50x, but it just doesn't sing to me as much as the 770's do. 

 

Can you guys recommend any other options that are around the same price as these two that are worth considering? Or should I go ahead and get the DT's and be done with it? I do intend to get an AMP/DAC combo later down the line as well, if I feel like my PC can't drive the DT's well enough. 

 

Thanks!

M50X sounds awful for anything got to do with listening to music or gaming. They have absolutely zero soundstage and on top of that a horrible sound signature. The 770 pros would probably be great but I'd get the 250ohm variant and get an amp later on because the 80ohm sounds a bit weird. Although you could definitely take a look at the MH752 from Cooler Master. They are reskinned studio headphones, I would say they sound more balanced than the 770 pros but still plenty of bass. They also have a mic if that is needed.

[Tigerleon]

2 minutes ago, Holo said:

250 not only has that horrible spiral cable,

This is very true. I hated my coiled on my 990 pros. But I'd rather recommend the 250ohms because they sound better amped.

[rice guru]

7 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

This is very true. I hated my coiled on my 990 pros. But I'd rather recommend the 250ohms because they sound better amped.

I for one love coiled cables and wish more headphones have them super convenient. But vs the 250 ohm 80 ohms are loose and uncontrolled. 

[Holo]

12 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

This is very true. I hated my coiled on my 990 pros. But I'd rather recommend the 250ohms because they sound better amped.

I had 770 80 ohm, than i switched to 990 250 cause i prefer open headphones, and my G6 couldnt control them, there was a lot of sybilants and painful spikes in treble. 770s sounded much cleaner and less tiring in long use, just a little boring compared to 990s. From what i read, you need very expensive dac+amp to handle 250 ohm Beyers, couple times more than headphones themselves, so i'd rather buy 80 ohm and plug them to anything really, and if i wanted to spend 3x more on the whole setup, id just go for better headphones.

But thats just my opinion, i also had pretty much every gaming headset to about 200$ and i would never decide to stay with MH752, its subjective after all.

[Tigerleon]

7 hours ago, Holo said:

and my G6 couldnt control them, there was a lot of sybilants and painful spikes in treble

It is the opposite. The G6 can fully control them but you are sensitive to treble which the 990 pros do. Unamped they sound sloppy and has no definition in the treble at all.

[Holo]

36 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

It is the opposite. The G6 can fully control them but you are sensitive to treble which the 990 pros do. Unamped they sound sloppy and has no definition in the treble at all.

Nope, if that was the case then they wouldnt sound as harsh with on board audio. I had them for over a year and i've tried them with 2 different motherboards, they were just as piercing and "sssss-ing" as they were plugged to G6, in fact the only real difference it made is that they got louder and had more bass.

I dont know much about it so i will trust what everyone who knows their stuff says - with 250 Beterdynamics its not enough to power them, you need high quality amp and dac too, most people say you should use one with lamps. And they start from 2x the price of headphones.

[Tigerleon]

33 minutes ago, Holo said:

they were just as piercing and "sssss-ing" as they were plugged to G6

They always do that. You might have the wrong settings on but beyerdynamics always have piercing treble when amped. As I said, if they aren't amped properly you don't get the whole frequency range making the sound sloppy. I have the ALC1220 Realtek DAC on my mobo. It sounds absolutely undefined and sloppy with my 990 pros whilst plugged into my AE-9 they sound great but still that piercing treble that you might want to EQ down a bit. If you look at tests on the 990 pros you can obviously see the spike in the treble area. 

[Holo]

31 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

They always do that. You might have the wrong settings on but beyerdynamics always have piercing treble when amped. As I said, if they aren't amped properly you don't get the whole frequency range making the sound sloppy. I have the ALC1220 Realtek DAC on my mobo. It sounds absolutely undefined and sloppy with my 990 pros whilst plugged into my AE-9 they sound great but still that piercing treble that you might want to EQ down a bit. If you look at tests on the 990 pros you can obviously see the spike in the treble area. 

I know how it looks. I've heard all about it many, many times. 

This is what i've read on multiple forums and heard in many videos while looking for a way to make them sound better. You need to plug them to something good, No Creative card is gonna do that.

 

Anyway, no point in talking about that longer, OP have to decide for himself, to me it doesn't make sense, buying 150$ 250 ohm 770s and then 300$ amp just to make them usable. I would buy 80 ohm version, or something different.

[rice guru]

43 minutes ago, Holo said:

I know how it looks. I've heard all about it many, many times. 

This is what i've read on multiple forums and heard in many videos while looking for a way to make them sound better. You need to plug them to something good, No Creative card is gonna do that.

 

Anyway, no point in talking about that longer, OP have to decide for himself, to me it doesn't make sense, buying 150$ 250 ohm 770s and then 300$ amp just to make them usable. I would buy 80 ohm version, or something different.

All you need a amp to make them usable lol. And it only takes a $100 amp at most to get them to reach basically full potential.

[NangFTW]

Oh boy, I did not expect to come back to so many replies, thanks a lot to everyone for their advice and recommendations!

 

Right now, I am trying to decide if it should get the 80 ohm 770's and just plug them directly in my mobo (ASRock B450 Pro4) or if I should get the 250 ohm variant and add something like an FiiO E10K next month. I am leaning towards the 2nd option because the 80 and 250 ohm variants barely differ in price and most people are saying that the 250 sounds better, even though it needs to be amped. Either way, getting the E10K or something similar would also mean futureproofing for future headphones, as I do want to get a good pair of open-backs as well in the not too distant future, especially because I never owned a pair of open-backs and I wanna see what all the fuss is about for myself!

 

Question is: is there a better option than the E10K in the same price range?

[rice guru]

10 minutes ago, NangFTW said:

Oh boy, I did not expect to come back to so many replies, thanks a lot to everyone for their advice and recommendations!

 

Right now, I am trying to decide if it should get the 80 ohm 770's and just plug them directly in my mobo (ASRock B450 Pro4) or if I should get the 250 ohm variant and add something like an FiiO E10K next month. I am leaning towards the 2nd option because the 80 and 250 ohm variants barely differ in price and most people are saying that the 250 sounds better, even though it needs to be amped. Either way, getting the E10K or something similar would also mean futureproofing for future headphones, as I do want to get a good pair of open-backs as well in the not too distant future, especially because I never owned a pair of open-backs and I wanna see what all the fuss is about for myself!

 

Question is: is there a better option than the E10K in the same price range?

Yes the ifi hip dac , fx audio dac x6, micca origen g2, and the creative sound blaster g5/g6 I consider all better than the fiio e10k

[Holo]

11 hours ago, NangFTW said:

Oh boy, I did not expect to come back to so many replies, thanks a lot to everyone for their advice and recommendations!

 

Right now, I am trying to decide if it should get the 80 ohm 770's and just plug them directly in my mobo (ASRock B450 Pro4) or if I should get the 250 ohm variant and add something like an FiiO E10K next month. I am leaning towards the 2nd option because the 80 and 250 ohm variants barely differ in price and most people are saying that the 250 sounds better, even though it needs to be amped. Either way, getting the E10K or something similar would also mean futureproofing for future headphones, as I do want to get a good pair of open-backs as well in the not too distant future, especially because I never owned a pair of open-backs and I wanna see what all the fuss is about for myself!

 

Question is: is there a better option than the E10K in the same price range?

In that case i'd suggest going for something else, open-back right now, you can get 58x for 129$ on sale and thats easily the best deal on the market.

I had E10k for a moment with 990 250 ohm, on low gain they sound exactly like plugged to mobo, on high gain it just made them muddy and boomy. Buying this with 770 250 would be a waste of money.

[Holo]

17 hours ago, rice guru said:

All you need a amp to make them usable lol. And it only takes a $100 amp at most to get them to reach basically full potential.

Thats what A LOT of people say and i'm willing to believe them, that you need very expensive setup to properly drive 250 ohm beyerdynamics.

770 80 ohm with mobo or G6 sounded much better (at least not as piercing and cleaner with less sybilants) than 990s 250 ohm, i had them compared side by side.

[NangFTW]

I'd rather get a pair of closed-backs first, as they will be the main pair I use day to day, due to the noisy environment I live in. The open-backs will come later, as secondary headphones that I'll use now and then when I'm able to. 

 

Regarding the amp for the 250's, I must say that I am quite confused now, as I see many conflicting opinions. Some people say that they are fine on something like an E10K or a hip-dac, some people say that they are really hard to drive and sound like garbage if not hooked up to an expensive amp. Don't know if I should take the risk and see for myself or just order the 80 ohm version to play it safe.

 

I have read that plenty of people say that the 250 has better, tighter subbass, which I am after, this being why I am gravitating towards it much more than the 80 ohm...

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, Holo said:

Thats what A LOT of people say and i'm willing to believe them, that you need very expensive setup to properly drive 250 ohm beyerdynamics.

770 80 ohm with mobo or G6 sounded much better (at least not as piercing and cleaner with less sybilants) than 990s 250 ohm, i had them compared side by side.

I own a 600 ohm 770  and several levels of amp a $800 liquid platinum, $200 Asgard, $100 liquid spark and I will say it doesn't need my $800 amp to do what it needs to do my $100 amp can do basically most of what it needs without missing out on much. The 770 is literally a less sibilant less piercing headphone than a 990 both headphones literally sound different and measurements will even tell you so. 

[rice guru]

49 minutes ago, NangFTW said:

I'd rather get a pair of closed-backs first, as they will be the main pair I use day to day, due to the noisy environment I live in. The open-backs will come later, as secondary headphones that I'll use now and then when I'm able to. 

 

Regarding the amp for the 250's, I must say that I am quite confused now, as I see many conflicting opinions. Some people say that they are fine on something like an E10K or a hip-dac, some people say that they are really hard to drive and sound like garbage if not hooked up to an expensive amp. Don't know if I should take the risk and see for myself or just order the 80 ohm version to play it safe.

 

I have read that plenty of people say that the 250 has better, tighter subbass, which I am after, this being why I am gravitating towards it much more than the 80 ohm...

The e10k will sound mostly fine but sits not a good amp for it. It sounds clinical lacks any impact. I never reccomend getting a 770 that's 80 ohm or 32 ohm personally cause I think both headphones sound bad. Only the higher impedance (250,600 ohm models) of the 770,880,990 are worth the cost.but a nice amp that pairs well is generally reccomended. The liquid spark has been my go to for these for a long time as it generally pairs well with Beyer due to the sound signature combo thatbwitha cheap dac like a apple USBC dongle dac or a CX pro 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPZxaeF your pretty much good. 

[NangFTW]

Unfortunately, I am unable to find the Liquid Spark anywhere near me.

 

However, I think I will end up getting something like a Sound Blaster G6/X3, the DAC X6 or maybe the FiiO K5 Pro, as all of them are reasonably priced and people seem to be pleased with them. 

 

Thanks a lot for the recommendations!