Beyerdynamic DT770, DT880, DT990 Headphones with the Axe FXIII

trancegodz

Fractal Fanatic
I’ve read here on the forum some good reviews on Beyerdynamic headphones. I just bought three pairs of Beyerdynamic headphones to test out with my Axe FXIII. They should be here tomorrow.

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, 250 ohm, closed back
Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, 250 ohm, half open back
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro, 250 ohm, open back

I am looking for something that I could dial in presets on and it works well on FRFR powered PA speakers like QSC, JBL, Electro Voice, etc. I have been using studio monitors to dial in my presets. I thought maybe going back and forth between the studio monitors and a good set of headphones when dialing in presets might be a good option.

I’ve looked at the frequency charts for dozens of brands and models of headphones and powered PA speakers. None I’ve found so far are completely flat, but some are a lot closer than others.

I tried two sets of old headphones I had with the Axe FXIII and one sounded pretty good and the other sounded absolutely terrible.

Here are charts for the frequency ranges for each of them, plus for the Sennheiser HD 650.

Comparing all 4 Frequency Responses.png
 
Last edited:
I bought the DT770's from Sweetwater. They seemed to not be able to handle bass IMHO. The rep suggested a pair of Shure's that saved me about $200 and give me what I was looking for for the low end.

Just my --two cents--.......errr, ehhh, two hundred dollars.
 
Thanks for sharing. I have two DT770 in 80 ohm and 250 ohm. I use them interchangeably with the Axe FXIII without noticing any discernible difference (likely just me who's not so discerning). When used with my UAD Apollo X interface with 2 headphones out, there is clearly a difference in volume, not so much in quality.

I think you will be happy with your purchase.
 
I bought the DT770's from Sweetwater. They seemed to not be able to handle bass IMHO. The rep suggested a pair of Shure's that saved me about $200 and give me what I was looking for for the low end.

Just my --two cents--.......errr, ehhh, two hundred dollars.

I can attest to that. But I feel that the DT770 is really balanced so does not accentuate the bass frequency as much compared to other headphones. And there are certainly other headphones with better bass response (and cost less). I used them mainly for tracking (closed-backs). For mixing with headphones, I prefer semi-open designs. But when I need to mix the bass, I just turn on my studio monitors anyway for greater accuracy.

For Axe FXIII use, the DT770s are good enough. But it might seemed to be lacking in the bass department, for example if you do lots of low-end 'chugging', I suppose.
 
This is the site I used for the frequency charts. You can choose the manufacturer, then the model of headphones, and get a report for a newbie, or a pro report with a lot more info.

https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/param6.php#gsc.tab=0

I am also going to look at the frequency charts for my studio monitors and FRFR powered PA cabs. Knowing what frequencies all of these are boosting or cutting, and knowing the same for the headphones I'm using should help me create better presets that will sound good on different systems.

I'm going to add a parametric eq block into all my presets that compensates for whatever I am playing through. For instance of the powered PA cabs I am playing through boost the lows at a certain frequency by 4db, I'll put a 4db cut at that frequency in the PEQ. If the PA cabs cut a mid frequency by 2db I'll boost that mid frequency by +2db, and the same for highs. It seems logical and that it should work well.
 
I have the DT990 and the Sennheiser 650. I enjoy the sound of the 990s a lot when playing guitar, and I think the sound transfers OK.

The 650s have a tighter, punchier response, and the sound quality is better overall, but for guitar playing I prefer the 990s as they are more comfortable and less warm to wear.
 
I have the DT770 250 ohm and I use QSC K10.2 for my PA (paired with the KS112 subs for live). I find that for the most part I can dial in tones on the headphones and it translates pretty well to my QSCs. That said final tweaks are done on the QSCs but it gets me about 90% there. What you will notice and this may be true for all headphones is that things like delay are far more pronounced in the headphones. So you may dial it back in the cans and then find it’s not enough on your FRFRs. But yes I would endorse the DTs.
 
I love the DT880 headphones I have used for several years. Patches made using my 2 CLRs convey very well when listening w/the headphones. They are also very comfortable...I can wear them for hours w/o fatigue.
 
What you will notice and this may be true for all headphones is that things like delay are far more pronounced in the headphones. So you may dial it back in the cans and then find it’s not enough on your FRFRs. But yes I would endorse the DTs.
Very true - I even think this is true for dialing in sounds with studio monitors. Delays have to be ridiculously loud in monitors and especially headphones to even be noticeably in a full band mix PA
 
I own the DT770 Pro (250 Ohm) and the DT990 (250 Ohm) and use them with my AX8 and a separate headphone amp.
DT770:
  • more balanced tone, full guitar tone and good and mixing -> probably closer to your FRFR requirement
  • closed headphones lead to ear fatigue earlier

DT990:
  • a little bit more scooped sound, better for casual listening to music
  • open design, better for longer practice sessions without ear fatigue
 
I have the DT990 and the Focal Listen. I found the DT990 sounds better with an external headphone amp because I was able to get more of the atmosphere from the reverb. The Focal Listen sounds great but much more mid rangey.
 
I use the DT 880s for most music listening - very comfortable and sound great. They are a bit hyped in the high end perhaps, but I think I like that. For listening to the Axe-Fx directly, I've been using the Blue MoFi/MixFi (w/ headphone amp off) and that's been great as well.
 
I tried a bunch of headphones over the last couple years. My two favorites were the Sennheiser HD-6xx (same as the HD-650) and the Beyer DT-880.

The DT-880 is a good fairly neutral headphone but it's pretty light in the bass and has a boosted treble which can be fatiguing and mids were a tiny bit too scooped for guitar. The HD-6xx is also fairly neutral and is even a bit lighter in the bass but has a warmer treble and a flatter and more natural midrange. I also tried the DT-770 which does have a better/flatter bass from being closed back, but I found the mids to be more scooped than the 880 and the treble boosted even more. I have heard the 990 is similar in terms of boosted bass/treble and scooped mids.

I ultimately sold everything except the Sennheiser because the neutral mids sounded really nice with the Fractal for guitar and the warmer treble is less fatiguing to play through with distortion. I have tinnitus and hearing damage from being a drummer for too many years in rock bands without adequate hearing protection, so I'm sensitive and tend to avoid anything that sounds harsh.

Also, the Axe 3 could easily drive both headphones (300 ohm Sennheiser and 250 ohm Beyer). I don't think I brought the headphone knob up past 10:00 much if at all.
 
I have the DT770 Pro 80 ohm version and that chart makes perfect sense. I think they’re comfortable and sound fine listening to music at lower volumes, but that top end bump makes them pretty harsh at louder volumes and impossible to dial in guitar tones without using aggressive high cuts. The chart also shows a cut in the lower mids which also makes sense. The headphones feel pretty hyped to me, so I stopped using them. I’m curious to hear how the 250 ohm versions you’re getting sound. Definitely following this thread.
 
I got the headphones in today and tried them all side by side. I made sure to set my cab block full range with no low or high cuts for an honest comparison. I listened to music first and liked them all, but I liked the DT880 Pro and DT990 Pro best for listening to music. I couldn't decide which of those two I liked more.

With the Axe FXIII I liked the DT990 Pro best, followed closely by the DT880 Pro. The DT990 sounded fuller and I liked the upper bass and lower midrange better. I will do more detailed testing and listening tonight, but that was my immediate impressions.

All three models were 250 ohms and the Axe FXIII drove all of them easily. I had the output 1 volume on the Axe FXIII turned slightly less than half way up and they were all really loud and clear.

Here is what Beyer says about the differences of the three models:

Beyer Headphone Notes.png
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom