Beyerdynamic DT150

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by RiddleyWalker, May 18, 2016.

  1. RiddleyWalker

    RiddleyWalker Friend

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    Just picked up a pair for cheap out of curiosity after hearing various good things about them here and there over the years. Haven't had much time with them yet, but so far I like what I'm hearing. I don't really hear it as the "closed HD650" as it was touted as back on Head-Fi, but It's the first Beyer that I haven't hated the treble. Further comparison forthcoming this evening - anybody want to chime in with their thoughts?


    http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BeyerdynamicDT150250Ohm.pdf


    God this thing is ugly...

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    I am thinking of buying one for the bass heavy music that requires a less neutral-ish sound signature.

    Ugly? Who cares? Functional design that works, is good design...
     
  3. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    Also a great defensive weapon against burglars(they won't break) and good for hearing protection. Yeah i've used my pair for that, and still working great(hearing protection that is). These cans are tough as nails.

    And sound nice and neutral till you go down low where it has some nice thump going on. Also scales reasonably well imo.
     
  4. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    If you use the DT48 you might get sued for assault...
     
  5. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    Yeah you're right. I think there's a pattern here though. Supposedly the Red Baron used DT-1's but on his final day he lost them during a barrel roll and they took out a small village. I think nowadays we should count ourselves lucky that modern Beyers only assault the eardrums.
     
  6. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Takato has my old DT48. You should ask him because he might have experience in DT48-self-defence...
     
  7. MikeD

    MikeD Acquaintance

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    Fun fact: The scene in Enter the Dragon where Bruce Lee beats up like 10 guys with a pair of DT150's was cut in the UK. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) thought the scene would be reenacted by impressionable, headphone owning teenagers and would lead to widespread injury and possible fatalities.
     
  8. MikeD

    MikeD Acquaintance

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    Also:
     
  9. Gravity

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    I have owned them for a while and I agree with you. Only Beyerdynamic headphone that I like. It's the best closed headphone I've heard for the price.
     
  10. RiddleyWalker

    RiddleyWalker Friend

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    Got sidetracked last night. Brief initial impressions:



    - Upper bass / low-mid bump, sort of like the HD650 bump moved up a few octaves. Measurement show this around 100-200 Hz. Imparts a sort of “buzzy” sound with certain bass / drums. A bit fatiguing? Slight bleed into mids. Can really thump with the right tracks though, often has more slam than HD650.

    - Overall, midrange not as emphasized (or “creamy”) as HD650; downward slope falls off faster from the bump and makes mid-to-upper mids slightly recessed sounding in comparison. But still a pleasant mostly linear midrange which doesn’t piss me off.

    - Treble is kind of … uhh, thin sounding? Papery? Not sure how to describe. Slight spike around 9-10KHz, but not too bad. I’m treble sensitive but didn’t have issues unless I was listening to a shitty track with sibilance.



    Slightly v-shaped in comparison to HD650 and HE-500. Move the bass hump and treble hump down a few octaves and it sounds similar to ZMF Blackwood.



    - Stock pads are pretty shitty. Maybe it’s just me but had a hard time getting a good seal (would unseal when I moved my head around, causing lots of bass rolloff). Luckily this headphone has a modular design so those bastards just slide right off. So…

    - Enter ZMF pads! I have 3 different pads from Zach (lambskin, cowhide, “protein” leather) and they fit just fine. However, these pads impart different sound signatures, with Protein -> Lambskin -> Cowhide from brightest to darkest (to oversimplify). Noticed immediate improvements over stock pads but further testing is needed.

    - Pretty comfy after pad rolling. Looks like some sort of language lab clunker or Cold War torture device but is surprisingly light. Could wear these alllll night long.

    - I’m using Project Polaris to amp these guys. Had it set at “Low-R” (0.1 ohm output resistance) originally but found the headphones actually MIGHT sound better with 35 or 120 ohm output resistance. [Off topic, I f'ing love this amp's versatility]



    Ultimately will need to pad roll and mess with amp settings some more to see if I can find a combo in the goldilocks zone.



    I will reserve final judgement until I have everything dialed in but so far, I mean the fact that these compete in many ways with the big boys in my collection is pretty f'ing cool. I picked these up used for $100 which makes these the cheapest (real) headphones I’ve had.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2016
  11. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    I've owned my DT150s for around a couple months now. My impressions are mostly similar.The soundstage on these are very good for a closed back and the price. The mid-bass hump is just a little too much IMO. I might order the DT100 velour pads soon. I'll report back if I do.

    I'm really interested to hear your impressions with your pad rolling.

    If anyone has comfort issues with the stock headband, the ZMF pilot pad fits nicely. You may have to unbutton the stock headband to fit it though. Comfort is much improved for me though.
     
  12. RiddleyWalker

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    Pad rolling thoughts so far:
    ZMF Cowhide is a bit too laid-back and dark sounding for this headphone. They do sound very relaxing but lack on impact and bloat that upper bass hump a bit too much to my ears. Certainly not bad sounding, and overall better than stock. But they are much more at home on my HE-500.

    ZMF Protein are where it's at. Slightly tames the bass bump and gives a nice punchy sound. Of course, these are super comfortable as well and quite a bit more breathable than the real leather ones I've tried. Happy to have finally found a headphone that these pair well with!

    $50 might be a bit much to spend on pads for a DT150 (for some people) but I'm pretty damn pleased with the overall result so far. And ZMF / Zach is a great dude and I don't mind plugging his products. More conclusive impressions will come
     
  13. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    I have a pair of Vibros coming in the next week or two with lambskin pads. How easy was it to fit the ZMF pads on the dt150?

    I tried out a pair of angled hm5 pads and they didn't fit very well at all.
     
  14. MikeD

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    Thanks for the details @RiddleyWalker - I have a soft spot for the 150's - The pads are weird, you're right. I found they got better after warming up on your head for 5 minutes. I got rid of the funny pleather headband pad and velcroed an old HD600 headband pad on.
    There are not a great many closed headphones that get past the limitations of the type- The 150 is pretty good though!
     
  15. Gravity

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    I'm gonna try DT100 velour pads on them soon.
     
  16. Mystic

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    Just put an order in for the dt100 velour pads.
     
  17. Bagged Milk

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    According to a head-fi review, these first came out in 1968... Which is damn impressive taking a peek at the measurements, assuming there was no massive changes.
     
  18. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    They were the dt100 at first. I'm not sure when exactly they started the dt150 production. They are supposedly different sounding. I know the dt100 has an impedance of 400 ohm while the dt150 is 250 ohm.
     
  19. MF_Kitten

    MF_Kitten Banned per own request

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    I wanna see someone stuff cotton or polyfill in the cups to eat up some of that mid bass hump. Anyone?
     
  20. tinara

    tinara New

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    Beyerdynamics DT-150 is my day-to-day and go-around headphone since two years. I put Alpha Pads on it mostly for comfort and with a slighlty more homogenous soundstage from the angled pads. The bass bump doesn't bother me same for the high who may sound thin but doesn't roll-off, medium are mostly linear and female vocal are nice (NB. I listen mostly female vocalists). It's the dynamic and the slam of the bass that I enjoy the most on this heaphone. Sometimes, it punches you right in the stomach.

    Happy to see that innerfidelity made some measurement on that headphone ! Last time, I looked about it, I didn't find anything.
     

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