[Review] Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro

[keanex]

Thanks to Larry at Beyerdynamic for the review sample

Pros: Build quality is phenomenal, comfort is great, bass quantity, instrument separation

Cons: Overly bassy sound that dominates despite good instrument separation

Sound Signature: Bassy with slight lower mid-range recession and mildly emphasized treble

Source: Matrix HPA-3u

Cost: $499

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#Accessories

The DT 1770 Pro include a 3m straight cable or a 5m coiled cable both terminated in a single-ended mini XLR connection. They also include an extra set of leatherette pads that have no indication from Beyerdynamic as potentially sound altering. Lastly they include a semi-hard carrying case.

#Comfort

One thing that has impressed me about Beyerdynamics since my journey in this hobby has been the comfort of the pads. The first time I put on the DT 770 I was in heaven, I almost bought them solely for the comfort, and the DT 1770 Pro are reminiscent. Firm and somewhat plush velour pads surround my ears comfortably and securely. Clamp and downward force from the headband are both moderate as someone with an average sized head, those with smaller heads will likely be just right, and those with larger heads will want to research how these might loosen up. Overall I am pleased with the comfort of the DT 17700 Pro.

#Build

One thing that I have never heard a complaint about with Beyerdynamic is the build quality and that trend continues here. When I removed the DT 1770 Pro from the packaging I was immediately impressed with the hefty weight, metal laden construction, and rock solid feel through and through. There’s no doubt that Beyer built these to last for many years. I haven’t heard a creak or squeak, only a peak in the treble, but I’ll talk about that later. The build is phenomenal here, that’s the point I’m trying to make, they make my HD600 feel cheap by comparison.

#Sound Quality

Quick Look

The DT 1770 Pro are a refined DT 770 from what I remember during my time with the DT 770. They are unashamedly bassy at the sacrifice of midrange presence while having slightly emphasized treble. I hesitate to call them v-shaped though, I’m leaning slightly dark on the sound. Soundstage is overall solid for a closed back, good enough instrument separation to keep the sound from becoming claustrophobic.

I was unable to get the pleather pads on. I can consistently get the velours on, but the pleathers pop off and won’t seat right, as if they’re slightly too small. I did no sound testing on them.

Bass

The sub-bass extends deeply with a sense of rumble, though lacking a visceral response as I’ve heard in other headphones, notably planars. The sub-bass is big, no doubts about that, and it has a respectable quickness, but I find that big droning sub-bass notes are more preferable than quick ones that would be found in a song like James Blake’s Limit to Your Love.

The midbass is prominent and despite taking over the focus of your attention more often than not, it doesn’t actually bloat into the midrange. The midbass and midrange reside as separate entities, one is just more boisterous than the other often taking focus, but both can be heard clearly. My listening notes time and time again said, “bass line takes over the focus of the song, stealing energy from the midrange and treble.”

With that said, the strength of the bass often makes the midrange and treble sound veiled which causes my enjoyment of most music to be dulled greatly.

Midrange & Treble

I find the midrange to be rather clear with a good bit of detail retrieval and neutral to slightly cold tonality. The midrange is good, but it’s overshadowed by the prominence of the overly present bass in every song I’ve heard with it. The slight recession in addition to the tremendous bass causes the midrange to sound like an afterthought, veiled even. I can’t say much vocal performances have been enhanced by this tuning.

The treble is reminiscent of the DT 1990 Pro, but slightly less presence. It’s clean, hints of sibilance and splashy cymbals at times, but it sounds less prominent in part to perhaps slightly less prominence as well as the overwhelming bass.

Soundstage

Good instrument separation keeps the DT 1770 Pro from sounding congested, but it’s definitely an intimate soundstage. Closed in with each instrument having a small space while providing acceptable imaging.

Quick Comparisons

Talos 2

The Talos 2 are harder to drive, which means that users without a powerful amplifier will need to invest into one, especially for those who listed to higher dynamic recording albums. The DT 1770 Pro and the Talos 2 both have a fantastic amount of bass but the Talos 2 wins in texture and impact while the DT 1770 Pro wins in quantity, or at least perceived quality. As a whole the Talos 2 sound more balanced and due to that I find myself enjoying music with them more than the DT 1770 Pro. In most cases I’m going to reach for the Talos 2 over the DT 1770 Pro because the DT 1770 Pro emphasize the bass more than I would like.

DT 1990 Pro

The DT 1990 Pro are the way to go unless you need a closed back headphone. I feel that they are superior in every aspect except bass quantity. The DT 1770 Pro are a good option if you need isolation and have the capability of EQing. The DT 1770 Pro are capable of producing similar sound quality, but I couldn’t get them EQd just right to match the DT 1990 Pro. Closed vs open is certainly a factor in that.

B&O Play H6 Gen 2

Build quality and comfort go to the DT 1770 Pro without a doubt, the H6 feel cheaply made by comparison. The H6 have a better sense of air and instrument separation to them, but the DT 1770 Pro have a more visceral bass response and an overall more musical sound. The H6 have an odd midrange that sounds compressed and grainy. The H6 makes a better all-around listener, especially for someone on-the-go, but I find myself more compelled to listen to the DT 1770 Pro.

#Conclusion

The DT 1770 Pro are a headphone that exists in a competitive market at a price point that has many options vying for the attention of potential customers. Unfortunately the DT 1770 Pro miss the mark for me, at least with the stock tuning. The overly prominent bass in conjunction with the recession in the midrange creates a veil over the midrange that distracted me more than anything. To be honest, I am not a fan of them out of the box.

But the DT 1770 Pro respond well to EQ. I performed a quick boost of 1dB to 3dB starting around 750hz through 18khz and the DT 1770 Pro immediately sounded much more engaging and balanced. I quite liked them a lot when I applied a quick EQ through the midrange and the treble and found myself finally engaged into a variety of music.

So where do I stand on the DT 1770 Pro? Well the build quality is superb, comfort is fantastic, isolation is solid, and the driver is pretty clean. My issues entirely stem from the midrange recession in conjunction with the overly prominent bass. If you have been eyeing the DT 1770 Pro and have the ability to EQ them then the DT 1770 Pro are a fine headphone, and quite competitive for the price. If you can not EQ for one reason or another than the DT 1770 Pro are a headphone I would advise to try before you buy.

[Crezo]

How would you say they compare to the 770 pros?

[Lalakai]

good info and I appreciate the comparisons. I’m looking at the 1990’s and the 1770’s, thinking the biggest factor was open compared to closed. As I won’t be using an EQ, it sounds like the 1990’s are a better choice. Thanks for the review.

[Chrono]

Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro Review

Written by Chrono

Introduction

Released in 2016, the DT 1770 Pro serves as the successor to Beyerdynamic’s classic and extremely popular DT 770 Pro. New for the DT 1770 Pro is Beyerdynamic’s 45mm Tesla driver, but like its predecessor, it’s still intended to be a professional monitoring headphone that can also be used for mixing and mastering.

Sources and Music Used in Listening Tests

The Amplifier/DACs used in this review were the SPL Phonitor XE (with built-in DAC), Grace Design SDAC + Topping A90, and the JDS Labs Element II connected via USB to my desktop computer. For the listening tests I used music from a wide variety of genres including Rock, Jazz, Classical, Acoustic, Hip-Hop, and latin. I played tracks from my own FLAC library as well as from Qobuz streaming service played via Roon (exclusive mode).

Packaging and Accessories

Unlike the DT 770, which only included a soft carrying-bag, the DT 1770 Pro includes a rather nice array of accessories.

With the DT 1770 Pro, you’ll receive a Beyerdynamic-branded hardshell carrying case, and even though it’s too large to label it as portable, it should keep your headphones and accessories safe should you find yourself traveling with them. A notable upgrade present on the DT 1770 Pro is that it now features detachable connectors, so it now includes two cables. Both cables have a single-sided 3-pin mini XLR termination on the headphone side and they feature a 3.5mm connector with a thread-on ¼” adapter on the amplifier side; the only difference between them is that one is straight and measures 3m in length, whilst the other one has a coil to it and measures 5m when stretched out. Lastly, the DT 1770 Pro comes packaged with two different sets of pads, and we’ll discuss their differences when we talk about sound.

Build and Comfort

The DT 770 was already a pretty well-built headphone, but the DT 1770 Pro definitely kicks it up notch. From the headband, to the yokes and ear cups, the DT 1770 Pro seems to be built entirely out of metal and pleather which makes it feel rugged and significantly more premium than its predecessor. There are very few headphones around the $500 with this level of build quality and sheer toughness, so rest assured that Beyerdynamic’s design here is excellent and should not cause you any issues down the line. Also, it may not be as important as the build itself, but I also really like the headphone’s aesthetic, as its all-matte-black finish feels modern, whilst the metallic-print “DT 1770 Pro” adds a nice, clean touch of contrast.

Admittedly, it may not be quite as good as its predecessor, but I didn’t find the DT 1770 Pro to disappoint in the comfort department. As a result of the all-metal build it weighs 388g, which is a fair bit heavier than the DT 770 Pro, but I personally consider that to still be relatively light, and since it’s well-distributed, I don’t think it’ll be the source of fatigue for most listeners. Compared to the DT 770 Pro, clamp force on the DT 1770 Pro is a bit tighter, but again I didn’t find it to be an issue in any way, and it’s definitely not like the vicious clamp of HD 600-series headphones.

The only comment I have for comfort is that even though their inner diameter is fairly spacious, some listener’s ears might come in contact with the inside of the pads, as well as with the driver, since they’re not particularly deep. This wasn’t a problem I personally ran into, but I could see it as being an issue for some users, so it’s worth keeping in mind.

Sound

As mentioned earlier, the DT 1770 Pro is intended to be a professional monitoring headphone for studio use. Now, I sincerely have no pro-audio experience, so for this review I’ll only be sharing how the DT 1770 Pro performed in my listening experience, which was for personal enjoyment. Additionally, I’ll be drawing some comparisons to the DT 770 Pro, since it’s the headphone it’s intended to be an upgrade on.

First Impressions

I was actually quite surprised when I first listened to the DT 1770 Pro. It’s very different from both the more V-shaped-sounding DT 770 Pro, as well as from the other Beyerdynamic headphones that I’ve listened to, which for me have had a bit too much energy in the treble region. The DT 1770 Pro’s tonal balance overall, then, is one I’d describe as being somewhat dark; it has pretty warm bass along with mids which possess a soft presence, but it still has a bit of low and mid treble hotness.

Bass

The bass on the DT 1770 Pro is a bit of a mixed bag for me. For extension, it’s great as it’s really able to reach far down all the way to 20hz, and it is very good at surfacing the depth and rumble of those low sub bass frequencies. However, the bass response’s tuning leaves me a little disappointed.

I don’t mind the bass having a little added warmth, but the DT 1770 Pro has a really pronounced elevation at around 130hz-150hz, which I feel knocks some of the balance out of the bass region, making it come through as a little bloated and unrefined. When using EQ to turn down those low to mid bass frequencies, I found that the DT 1770 Pro could actually be fairly articulate in the bass region, but that stock tuning made it feel a bit lacking in precision.

Mids

The mids on the DT 1770 Pro I found to be for the most part pretty good. They had a very smooth balance and a natural timbre that accurately represented lower midtones with a solid body. Though, it did sound to me as though the upper-midrange was a little bit recessed.

I traditionally would consider myself as being a little “allergic” to the region between 2K-5K, as I can easily find it to be forward or harsh, but on the DT 1770 Pro I felt as though it could actually use 2dB-3dB more in that region. So, if you’re a mid-centric listener, then you might feel as though the midrange is a little too dark or lacking in the presence that gives definition to vocals, sizzle to cymbals, and buzz to electric guitars.

Highs

The treble region on the DT 1770 Pro is pretty interesting. It’s still got two peaks, but I didn’t find them to be anywhere near as harsh as on any of the other Beyerdynamic headphones I’ve tried.

First, there is a small rise at around 6K of about 2dB, which introduces some minor glare in the lower treble. Then, there is a prominent peak at around 8.5K which, despite adding sibilance to consonant sounds, didn’t come through as overly sharp. If anything, I personally found the background sizzle and the unnatural, glassy edge that the 8.5K peak added to overtones to be more of an issue than the sibilance itself. One last thing I would like to note for the highs is that I wish they had had a little better extension into the upper treble, as I felt like they weren’t quite as airy as on the DT 770 Pro, which in turn made the DT 1770 Pro feel a little more closed-in.

Resolution

Resolution, unfortunately, is an area where I think that the DT 1770 Pro really falters. It’s not just that I don’t find it to have the detail retrieval capabilities that I would expect from a headphone at its price range as it’s handily outperformed by the likes of the Focal Elex and HiFiMan Ananda, but also that it doesn’t convey the same sense of clarity that you got with the original DT 770 Pro.

Comparing the two side-by-side, both and without the EQ, the DT 1770 Pro hasn’t been able to reproduce tracks as cleanly in my experience. In the bass region, it’s not as tight as the DT 770 Pro, and it feels a tiny “slower.” Then, in mid and treble range, vocal and instrument tones sound, to me, as though they had a slightly cleaner and more cohesive structure on the DT 770 Pro. Mind you, I wouldn’t describe it as being a grainy-sounding headphone, as I still found that for internal resolution it was comparable to an HD 600 and HiFiMan Sundara. However, both of those come in at around half the DT 1770 Pro’s price (depending on where you look), and the DT 770 Pro is available at roughly a quarter of the price.

Soundstage, Imaging, and Layering

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Beyerdynamic headphones is that they tend to possess good spatial qualities, and that remains true with the DT 1770 Pro.

It may not improve upon the DT 770 Pro, but it still has a pretty decently-sized soundstage which conveys a sense of distance that is surprisingly good when considering how small the ear cup enclosure is, and how close the driver is to the user’s ears; I even find that it outperforms some open-backs I’ve listened to.

Additionally, the DT 1770 Pro’s imaging is pristine, and it’s very capable when pinpointing the positioning and directionality of sound. Then, for instrument separation they’re not quite on par with the likes of the HD 600 or Sundara, but the DT 1770 Pro still did a fair job at keeping tracks from feeling cluttered or instrument lines from becoming indistinct.

Dynamics

Dynamics is a category where I found the DT 1770 Pro to perform quite a bit better than its predecessor. The DT 1770 Pro conveys a very good sense of punch and slam, with low notes that hit with authority and deliver a satisfying, physical impact. In the upper registers, the DT 1770 Pro aptly reproduces the strike and attack of instruments like pianos, guitars, snares and xylophones, giving them more weight and making the listening experience on the DT 1770 Pro engaging.

Sound Isolation

The DT 1770 Pro offers outstanding exterior sound attenuation, and it easily eclipses the performances offered by the DT 770 Pro. It may be because of the clamp, but generally I feel like the DT 1770 Pro consistently seals a lot better than the DT 770 Pro. As a result, I find it has some of the best passive noise isolation I’ve tried on a headphone, matching that of my ZMF Vérité Closed. Also very important, the DT 1770 Pro is just as good at keeping sound in and from leaking. Of course these aren’t portable headphones so bothering people near you isn’t a problem, but it’s good to know that if you plan on using them while talking online, then your audio won’t leak into the microphone.

Pads and EQ

As I mentioned earlier, the DT 1770 Pro includes two different sets of pads, one being made of velour and the other one being made of pleather. In my experience, I actually found both to be almost identical, with the only noticeable differences that I heard being that the pleather pads seem to slightly emphasize both the bump in the midbass, and the 8.5K peak. Worthy of notice is that the pleather pads actually provided better sound isolation, and the velour pads were already very good at that.

Now for EQ, whilst it’s peaky treble and somewhat dark bass and mids combo can be a little awkward, I didn’t find that the DT 1770 Pro had me reaching out for EQ as desperately as I would with other Beyerdynamic headphones. Still, for my tastes, I found that it could use some tweaking to bring it closer to my personal preference. If you’d like to try out my EQ preset, these are the settings I used:

Velour Pads

Peak at 150hz, -4dB Q of 1.41

Peak at 3000hz, +3dB Q of 1.41

Peak at 6000hz, -2dB Q of 3

Peak at 8500hz, -5dB Q of 4

Pleather Pads

Peak at 150hz, -6dB Q of 1.41

Peak at 3000hz, +3dB Q of 1.41

Peak at 6000hz, -2dB Q of 3

Peak at 8500hz, -8dB Q of 4

Conclusion

Sincerely, I don’t think the DT 1770 Pro is a bad closed-back headphone. It has some of the best build quality I’ve seen, very good comfort, and a tuning that I think many listeners will find enjoyable or agreeable. However, at $599 it’s too tall an order for what it offers when compared to other headphones in the market, as well as its own predecessor.

If you’re not particularly into the DT 770 Pro’s V-shaped tuning and don’t use EQ, or alternatively, if you really like the build and aesthetic of the DT 1770 Pro, those are the only scenarios in which I’d recommend choosing the newer model over the original; but even then, I’d highly advise looking for them on sale, as they do occasionally go down to around the much more appropriate $400 range.

[prfallon69]

Great review @Chrono as always. Top writing from a top chap.

[SenyorC]

Good review @chrono!

In a world of coincidences, I recorded and wrote a DT1770 review over the weekend and then woke up to yours this morning

[Chrono]

Thank for checking out my review @SenyorC!

Indeed an interesting coincidence! I look forward to checking out your review and getting the perspective of someone who can use it in professional audio applications

[Chrono]

Thanks for taking the time to have a read, and I greatly appreciate the kind words!

[SenyorC]

As always, this review is available on my blog (in English and Spanish), the link can be found in my profile. It is also available, in Spanish only, on YouTube here: Ep…34 - DT1770 Pro - vs DT1990 Pro & Custom Studio

The Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro have been loaned to me by a friend (and follower of the channel) who actually owns 3 sets of these headphones for a radio studio. I actually had all three sets in my posession for a while before I sent them on to him and did try them out briefly (about a year ago) but didn’t really do any in depth listening or comparisons at the time, so he has kindly sent them my way again to dive a little deeper.

Intro…

The Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro is a closed back headphone that is stated (by Beyerdynamic) to be a studio reference headphones for mixing, mastering and monitoring. The headphones we released a few years ago and were supposedly the upgrade of the original DT770, a very well known set of headphones.

The current price of these headphones is around 400€, which is not a premium price but is not on the cheaper end of the bracket either.

As you may know if you follow the channel and blog, one of my main sets of headphones is the DT1990 Pro. The 1990 is basically an open back version of these headphones, at least on paper and in looks, and has a love or hate following by most people in the headphone world.

I did a review of the DT1990 Pro on the blog here: Review - DT1990 Pro. Unfortunately I didn’t make a video at the time, so there is no version to watch on YouTube, however, I will be making some comparisons (as is expected) throughout this review).

Another Beyerdynamic headphone I own and has seen a lot of use (and still does) is the Custom Studio. While the Custom Studio is a much cheaper alternative to the DT1770 Pro, coming in at around 130€, it is another closed back set that is aimed at mixdowns, mastering or recording sessions (again, according to Beyerdynamic). I will also make some brief comparisons to this cheaper alternative to see what differences there are, other than price of course. You can see the full review of the Custom Studio here: Review - Beyerdynamic Custom Studio.

Presentation…

The DT1770 Pro comes in a large box, with a flap that opens to reveal some details about the quality of the evolution in their Tesla 2.0 drivers. There are plenty of photos of the product and details all over the packaging but the interesting part is inside.

Inside the box we receive a large semi-rigid carrying case containing the headphones, two cables and two sets of pads (one pleather and one velour). There isn’t much else we could ask for.

The DT1990 Pro actually arrived with the exact same contents, except that the pad types are different. The Custom Studio (I’ll refer to them as CS from now on) are obviously not on a par, including nothing except for a carrying bag (other than the headphones and cable of course).

Build and aesthetics…

First let’s get the comparisons out of the way. The CS are built well, with plenty of metal, but the DT1770 and DT1990 are in a totally different league.

If we look at the DT1770 and the DT1990 side by side, they are identical except for the openings on the outer cups of the DT1990.

The headphones are almost all metal, you really have to search to find any visible plastic parts. I believe I said in my review of the DT1990 that these headphones seem to be built to be abused, they are literally the most robust headphones I have ever held. All of the parts (at least all of the ones I know of) are also replaceable, so they really are built to withstand studio use.

The included accessories are just as robust also. The cables are well built, the connectors are of good quality, the pads are very comfortable (at least the velour ones) and even the carrying case is of a good quality.

Of course, all this robustness does come with an increase in weight. They are not ridiculously heavy but they are certainly no lightweight. Luckily the comfort of the headband, and the headphones in general, counteracts the weight and I do not find them to be tiring for long sessions.

The aesthetics are nothing special but there is some beauty in their simpleness which, along with the good build quality, makes them look like a set of headphones that are not cheap.

Sound…

When I reviewed the DT1990, I did it more from a tool point of view, as they are headphones that I have used a lot for mixing and working on music. In the case of the DT1770, I haven’t really had a chance to work on any music so I haven’t put them through their paces as a tool, I have used them more for listening. As I have said on other occasions, I believe that almost any headphones (within reason) can be used for music production, as long as you get to know them and learn how they translate on other systems. In the case of the DT1770, I haven’t had the time to do this, so I will not go into their performance as a studio tool, I will just stick to my impressions of sound as a listener.

As mentioned, there are two sets of pads included with both the DT1990 and the DT1770. In the case of the DT1990, I have always used the “Analytical” set as I prefer the overall sound. In the case of the DT1770, I briefly tried both the pleather and the velour pads and opted for the velour set which is what I have used throughout my time with these headphones. There are differences between these pads and the pleather version but again, due to lack of time and the fact that a lot of my listening time has been done while working, I have stayed only with the velour option.

The bass extension of these headphones down into the sub-bass frequencies is very good. Even the lowest notes are presented and I don’t get the feeling that there is any information missing down there, as far as quantity is concerned.

The same goes for the remaining bass frequencies, there is plenty of presence and they are not shy on bass quantity at any time. But… I find the bass to be a little loose and undefined at times. In fact, I find them to be a little loose and undefined most of the time when listening to songs with detailed bass. In comparison, I find the bass on the DT1990 Pro to have much better definition and while the extension may not go quite as low, the bass frequencies in general are much more coherent.

The bass of the CS is obviously dependent upon the position of the bass slider, going from rolled off to very present, but even when in the “bassiest” position, swapping over to the DT1770 appeared to be more present. I don’t think it is a case of the DT1770 having more bass but more of a bass that is more noticeable, the bass sort of jumps out at you.

A good way to explain the “bass jumping out at you” would be if we tie this in to the lower mids and how it transitions. There is what seems to be like a large dip around 200Hz which sort of separates the low frequencies from the mids. This causes a sensation that anything below that point is coming from one source and anything above it is coming from another.

My main experience in the audio world has been working with live event set ups, some touring rigs and others permanent installations. One of the main “tricks” of getting a system to sound correct is the set up of the crossovers, especially between the subwoofers and mid drivers. This is obviously an important part of any speaker and room set up but the point I am trying to make is that, in order to get a smooth response and transition between speakers/subs, you need to place the subs correctly, and you need to set the crossover at a point that is beneficial to both the sub and the speaker, at a frequency point that is below positional hearing and close enough to not leave out any frequencies in the transition.

The reason I am saying this is that the DT1770 leaves me with the impression in the lower end that someone has purchased a set of speakers and a subwoofer and just randomly hooked them up to a crossover, making no attempt to set it. It is as though the subwoofer is set to low pass at 180Hz and the mid drivers are set to high pass at 220Hz. This is obviously not the case as these headphones only use one driver, so there is no crossover point, but that gap at 200Hz leaves me with the sensation that we have a subwoofer and a mains speaker that just don’t play well together.

After that gap, there is a rise that avoids all of this having a negative effect on the lower end of deep male vocals but it does play havoc with the tonality of my favourite instrument, the bass guitar!

Another problem I find is that as the mids start to approach the higher end, there is another roll off that creates a dip around 3kHz and removes a lot of presence from voices and other instruments that need that frequency range to bring them to life. If we add this dip to the large boost that is somewhere around the 80 to 100Hz mark, it gives a very dark overall signature.

In themidrange, while the details are decent and well presented, the overall signature detracts from their presence, leaving me feeling that not only do I much prefer the DT1990, but that the CS is also more preferable to me personally. While the CS does not have the speed and detail that the DT1770 does in the midrange, due to it being a more neutral signature, I find I appreciate the midrange more.

Moving into the high frequencies, there are the typical Beyerdynamic peaks, however, these do not come across as harshly as on the DT1990, especially the infamous 8.5kHz peak. With the DT1990, when I am purely listening to music, I have a rather large reduction of that peak by using EQ (I don’t reduce it when using them for mixing, but you can read more about that in the DT1990 review). In the case of the DT1770, I don’t feel the need to reduce the peak, in fact, it is nice to see some light in a very dark room.

I say this because as soon as we pass that peak, the treble starts to roll off pretty quickly, adding even more to the dark sound signature that are these headphones. I personally find that there is much more extension in the DT1990, offering much more air and brightness, adding a sense of breathability that I just don’t find on the DT1770. Even the CS seems to have more extension in the treble area, or at least not such a pronounced roll off (which could all stem from the issues we find at the bottom of the frequency range).

The soundstage is at least decent, not amazing but respectable for a closed back. There is a little bit off to the sides where the pencil that is writing “Letter” seems to get stuck but the image placement across the majority of the soundstage is pretty good.

As far as detail, speed and definition, I think that I have already mentioned the problem. I feel that the driver is capable of all of these but suffers greatly from the overall tuning of the headphone. In fact, I believe that the DT1990 uses exactly the same driver (I could be wrong, please correct me if I am) and is capable of great detail and speed.

Conclusion…

As I said at the beginning, the person who loaned me these headphones uses the for a radio studio, to monitor what is going on and to hold conversations with guests etc. I can understand that these headphones work very well for that situation, when almost everything is mid frequency focused, eliminating that bass that seems to interfere. With just spoken voices, there is plenty of clarity and everything is very intelligible.

However, when using these for listening to music, there are too many things getting in the way of enjoyment. I find it hard to focus on the midrange, due to the bass attracting too much attention to itself and then not being very good at what it does. I would say that people who enjoy lots of bass may enjoy these headphones but anyone who is looking at spending 400€ on a set of headphones should really be expecting better performance no matter how much bass boost they want. The bass is just not that great.

The treble is also not a strong part, again lacking detail and definition, although I feel that it is all due to the general sound signature and tuning of the headphones, not because the drivers aren’t capable. If these were mine (which they aren’t and I have no plan on getting a set), it would be interesting to experiment a driver swap with the DT1990 and see the result. If they are exactly the same drivers, that would certainly open these up to some open back modding which could give some very surprising results.

I can’t come to a conclusion about using these in a studio because I haven’t tried them in that situation, however, based on my listening experiences, I would much rather mix and master on the DT1990. If they were to be used solely for self monitoring while singing to avoid bleed into the mic, then I would just save money and grab a set of Custom Studio (or K371 or various other models that will work fine for less money).

As far as for listening purposes, I would certainly not swap my DT1990 Pro for these (even if I do have to reduce that Beyerdynamic peak) and would opt for the Hifiman Sundara or HD6-- series for more enjoyment at a better price point. In fact, even though the Custom Studio are not the most detailed of headphones and have various weak points, as far as overall tonality and sound signature, I prefer them to the DT1770 Pro.

My apologies to the person who very kindly loaned these to me, but look on the bright side, at least you don’t listen to music through them

[prfallon69]

Really great review and comparison piece @SenyorC.

[Audio_ForLife]

Senyor, @Resolve , or @Chrono , can any one of you try and put your impression/review of DT1770 Pro, with first layer of dampening filter (big black foamy cloth) removed? Personally, i like the way Resolve review stuff, I very much rely on his review. I hope resolve review it

FYI, few 1770 owner says 1770 Pro with removed dampening sounds lot more open and clear. Source: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/beyerdynamic-dt-1770-mod-thread.796360