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HEADPHONES - Favorite for sound and comfort while writing with libraries & editing for long hours - Sennheiser HD280, Beyerdynamic DT770 & others?

Hey! Hope it's ok if I necro this thread to post a headphone related question. I ordered DT770 Pro headphones yesterday and I expect I'll want to lower the clamping force of them (if I decide to keep them in the first place). I just stumbled over this video:



This is pretty much what I tried with my Superlux HD681 headphones (before seeing that video), and it unfortunately killed them. I don't quite understand why. I didn't expect this to harm the sound at all, but somehow it must have fucked up the wiring that is going through the headstrap.

I already found some interesting modding videos for the 770pro, like replacing the fixed cable with a cable jack to be able to switch out the cable easily, or plug in a combination of headset mic and headphone cable (eventually I'll want to turn this into a gaming headset by adding a microphone). But I haven't found a guide on how to lower the clamping force of these specific headphones.

"Why don't you wait till you have tried them first?"

Every headphone I've ever worn has had too much clamping force for my taste, and this one isn't famous for being light as a feather on your head, so it seems very likely it's going to be an issue.

I've never tried the DT770, but I've owned the DT990 for a couple of years. The 250 ohm Pro version.

The clamping is not too hard IMO. Much less than my HD280. Also the full ear padding is super comfortable which AFAIK is the same on the DT770.

The most comfortable headphones I've ever tried are the HD600. My wife owns a pair of those and is in love. She is extremely sensitive about clamping and weight. Although those are open headphones and I'm guessing you're looking for closed ones. Not sure if Sennheiser has similar headphones but closed.
 
The most comfortable headphones I've ever tried are the HD600. My wife owns a pair of those and is in love. She is extremely sensitive about clamping and weight. Although those are open headphones and I'm guessing you're looking for closed ones. Not sure if Sennheiser has similar headphones but closed.
Thanks a lot for the recommendation! I wanted to give the 770 pro a shot first but if those don't work for me I might try the HD600. I'd prefer closed back, but it's not a total dealbreaker if they are open. The HD600's cost of almost 3 times the DT770 would make me think twice though. ^_^
 
Thanks a lot for the recommendation! I wanted to give the 770 pro a shot first but if those don't work for me I might try the HD600. I'd prefer closed back, but it's not a total dealbreaker if they are open. The HD600's cost of almost 3 times the DT770 would make me think twice though. ^_^
Also open back but the AKG k701 are the least "clampy" and most comfortable of my many headphones, and still a very solid choice sonically.
 
Thanks a lot for the recommendation! I wanted to give the 770 pro a shot first but if those don't work for me I might try the HD600. I'd prefer closed back, but it's not a total dealbreaker if they are open. The HD600's cost of almost 3 times the DT770 would make me think twice though. ^_^

You cant rely on these headphones solely. The DT770, you are going for. Speaking from 3 years experience. They are good, but they also cheat. they will not reveal too much bass, too little bass, and ...theres some high end stuff they completely miss. They dont have a clue about disturbing plucking noises in pianos etc.

I have compensated them, with two other headphones, one that boosts low, and another that boosts high. You will find a hell a lot of surprises. In conclusion, the DT770 are okay, but you better get add ons.


Or maybe you can boost that stuff. Fish it out. I dont know. These are good headphones, but they have faults.
 
I get annoyed easily with things on my ears, including my own glasses. Never seemed to be bothered by the AKG 240 MKII at all.

I also have a pair of Audio Technica M40x and those are okay for a long time, but I think after 4+ hours it seems to get worn down.

I wear headphones all day for music/podcasts while at work.
 
Great thread

Funny though,

I've owned AKG K701, DT-770, ATH-M50x, and ATH-M40x

Even had a Schiit headphone amp

I sold them all

I now use Sennheiser HD-280 Pro
 
I have a pair of K361s, Dt-770 80 Ohms and HD58x. I've had the HD600. I will say for mixing and mastering I prefer the HD58x over all headphones including the HD600's I had. They are absolutely phenomenal. I paid $119 for them and feel like I stole them. They smoke the HD600's in both terms of sound quality and comfort. Just finished an EP with them and it cut my time referencing in half.
 
I got my DT770 pros today and I... kind of hate them? The clamping force is way too high for my taste. The earpads are too small for my gigantic ears. The sound feels lacking in bass. I hate how much they isolate against sound from the outside, because it makes my own voice sound weird to me and I was planning on using them as a gaming headset eventually. I thought my old gaming headphones that I'm used to were closed back, but I think they must have the characteristics of (half) open backs in comparison real closed backs. When it gets warmer they'll probably make me sweat like crazy which eventually seems to lead to ear pain for me.
But on the plus side I'm hearing new details in things that I mixed and feel like I'd have made better mixing decisions in some areas with the DT770pros because they make the difference in quality between my mixes and professional mixes more obvious.


You cant rely on these headphones solely. The DT770, you are going for. Speaking from 3 years experience. They are good, but they also cheat. they will not reveal too much bass, too little bass, and ...theres some high end stuff they completely miss. They dont have a clue about disturbing plucking noises in pianos etc.

I have compensated them, with two other headphones, one that boosts low, and another that boosts high. You will find a hell a lot of surprises. In conclusion, the DT770 are okay, but you better get add ons.


Or maybe you can boost that stuff. Fish it out. I dont know. These are good headphones, but they have faults.

From what I read about them before I bought them, I thought you must be exaggerating regarding the lack of bass, but now that I have them... bloody hell, I totally see what you mean! I couldn't believe it, but on one of my old mixing experiments the fundamental frequency of the bass synth was basically gone on the dt770 while I could still clearly hear it on both my consumer-grade headphones and 2.1 speakers.

By the way, you should check out this 3 part video series. I think it might answer some of your questions about mono compatible "wide lowend" in mixes, if you're still looking for solutions for that. It was quite the revelation for me (highly recommended to everyone here who hasn't seen it yet!):








I have a pair of K361s, Dt-770 80 Ohms and HD58x. I've had the HD600. I will say for mixing and mastering I prefer the HD58x over all headphones including the HD600's I had. They are absolutely phenomenal. I paid $119 for them and feel like I stole them. They smoke the HD600's in both terms of sound quality and comfort. Just finished an EP with them and it cut my time referencing in half.

HD58x are the massdrop ones, right? Is there a good way to order them to Germany? I read it's not worth it because of import taxes. And given that I just received a totally unexpected 28 Euro UPS invoice for a free spare that I got (valued at 29$ normally) I'm scared of getting crazy high surprise invoices for import fees. Also returns seem unviable if importing stuff. So I'd rather order from Thomann or a similar store.

Do you think the Dt770 reveal anything that the HD58x don't? Why do you keep both?

How is the size of the HD58x earpads compared to the Dt770? My ears are so big, in the Dt770 they lightly touch the pads at the top and bottom, and they touch the foam cover of the drivers. Do the HD58x and HD600 have more space in these directions?
 
The bass on the DT-770s are non-existent in comparison with the 58x. The 58x are from Massdrop. Thomann has the 650 though at a decent price which I would go with. I keep both because the DT-770s are great for tracking whereas the 58x are not. DT-770s are not as detailed as the 58x and I wouldn't even consider mixing with them. I need to hear the low end in the mix. They are well built though and great for composing or listening to music. If you found the clamping force on the DT-770s don't even consider the Sennheiser 600 series because I have a small head and small ears and I had to send back the HD600 because they were too tight. I find the DT-770s really too large. If you find the DT-770s too tight I'd recommend looking into a nice pair of IEMs.
 
I couldn't say, but I have AKG 701, Sennheiser 6XX (650) and Ollo S4 open-backed headphones, and the K371 are surprisingly close in terms of detail and balance.
I've read the K371s are sonically incredible, but the build quality isn't that great.

How are yours holding up?
 
I got my DT770 pros today and I... kind of hate them? The clamping force is way too high for my taste. The earpads are too small for my gigantic ears. The sound feels lacking in bass. I hate how much they isolate against sound from the outside, because it makes my own voice sound weird to me and I was planning on using them as a gaming headset eventually. I thought my old gaming headphones that I'm used to were closed back, but I think they must have the characteristics of (half) open backs in comparison real closed backs. When it gets warmer they'll probably make me sweat like crazy which eventually seems to lead to ear pain for me.
But on the plus side I'm hearing new details in things that I mixed and feel like I'd have made better mixing decisions in some areas with the DT770pros because they make the difference in quality between my mixes and professional mixes more obvious.




From what I read about them before I bought them, I thought you must be exaggerating regarding the lack of bass, but now that I have them... bloody hell, I totally see what you mean! I couldn't believe it, but on one of my old mixing experiments the fundamental frequency of the bass synth was basically gone on the dt770 while I could still clearly hear it on both my consumer-grade headphones and 2.1 speakers.

By the way, you should check out this 3 part video series. I think it might answer some of your questions about mono compatible "wide lowend" in mixes, if you're still looking for solutions for that. It was quite the revelation for me (highly recommended to everyone here who hasn't seen it yet!):










HD58x are the massdrop ones, right? Is there a good way to order them to Germany? I read it's not worth it because of import taxes. And given that I just received a totally unexpected 28 Euro UPS invoice for a free spare that I got (valued at 29$ normally) I'm scared of getting crazy high surprise invoices for import fees. Also returns seem unviable if importing stuff. So I'd rather order from Thomann or a similar store.

Do you think the Dt770 reveal anything that the HD58x don't? Why do you keep both?

How is the size of the HD58x earpads compared to the Dt770? My ears are so big, in the Dt770 they lightly touch the pads at the top and bottom, and they touch the foam cover of the drivers. Do the HD58x and HD600 have more space in these directions?

I couldn't stand my DT770s, so much they turned me off anything from the DT series.

I'm interested in the HD series, but concerned they will be similar to the DTs and disappointing.
 
From what I read about them before I bought them, I thought you must be exaggerating regarding the lack of bass, but now that I have them... bloody hell, I totally see what you mean! I couldn't believe it, but on one of my old mixing experiments the fundamental frequency of the bass synth was basically gone on the dt770 while I could still clearly hear it on both my consumer-grade headphones and 2.1 speakers.

By the way, you should check out this 3 part video series. I think it might answer some of your questions about mono compatible "wide lowend" in mixes, if you're still looking for solutions for that. It was quite the revelation for me (highly recommended to everyone here who hasn't seen it yet!):






Thanks.

The more you use them, the more you realise its like a broken torch in the dark forest. I still use them, but theres no way to solely rely on them. They do a terrible job in certain high frequency too. Like said, still use them, but with 2 add on headphones, to check highs and lows. You can fu.k up a mix badly if you think these headphones are enough.

About wider low end, will take a look. Thanks. I recognise two of those vids. Was actually referring to a ready wide low end, that has been phase checked but "ready widened" - or "ready mixed". so I dont need to deal with that sh.t. Anyway its a different topic. And moer complicated than that.
 
No issues with the build here but I only use them for edrums/guitar tracking as I write and mix with Slate VSX exclusively now.
Most of my work will be tracking guitars and bass.

But now adding piano and orchestral.

Thinking about the K371s and possibly the HD6xx.

Glad you like the Slate system - I don't do Slate.
 
Most of my work will be tracking guitars and bass.

But now adding piano and orchestral.

Thinking about the K371s and possibly the HD6xx.

Glad you like the Slate system - I don't do Slate.
Dude get the HD6xx. Trust me. The K371s are not that great. Good for casual listening outside the house perhaps drinking a coffee in a cafe but not very useful for mixing. The highs aren't that great.
 
Dude get the HD6xx. Trust me. The K371s are not that great. Good for casual listening outside the house perhaps drinking a coffee in a cafe but not very useful for mixing. The highs aren't that great.
Appreciate the input, but I need closed back.

I just tried the K371s and I liked them.

This is mostly for tracking and composing.

Especially guitar and bass.

I mix in mono.
All my work is mono.

I even A/Bd them against many others including the DT770, I prefer them over all the others.

That may change, I have 45 days to return them and I can get them now.

The HD6xx would be a crapshoot.

I don't have patience for that any more.
 
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I just got the hd600 and found them a bit tight. But I just clamped them on their own box overnight to loosen them a bit.
 
Dude get the HD6xx. Trust me. The K371s are not that great. Good for casual listening outside the house perhaps drinking a coffee in a cafe but not very useful for mixing. The highs aren't that great.
So you're that guy. If you're going to listen to music in a coffeehouse, get something less conspicuous like iSines- unless you really want to be seen, I guess :P

Personally speaking, I love my Hifiman Devas. I had a pair of 6xxs that I sold thinking I didn't need headphones (woulda kept them otherwise), but I like these even more. Can wear them for hours (like the 6xxs) and the soundstage is great. They are open back, though, so I don't know if the OP would want them.
 
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