Beyer Dynamic DT100 headphones: Is my set bunk or are they this bad?

[Sheep]

Edit:

The plug takes a lot of oomph to connect right.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

Edit:

The plug takes a lot of oomph to connect right.

SheepStar

Which plug? That headphone has a detachable cable, which end is tight? Beyer make quality products. If the headphone end is tight, I suspect that is intentional to prevent accidental disconnects.

 

[Sheep]

There is only 1 end that is possible to plug into a source. The headphone end has 6 pins.

I haven't spent much time with these headphones, they're for school, but I will say the lack all forms of bass.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

There is only 1 end that is possible to plug into a source. The headphone end has 6 pins.

I haven't spent much time with these headphones, they're for school, but I will say the lack all forms of bass.

SheepStar

Which version of the DT 100 do you have? The DT 100 is available in 16 ohm and 400 ohm versions. If you have the 16 ohm version it can only be used from a power amplifier. If you plug that version into a high impedance source such as a CD player it will sound terrible. You need the 400 ohm version for universal application. I have a feeling you have the 16 ohm version designed for studio use during sessions with musicians listening from a lower amp feed.

 

[Sheep]

Nope, 400ohm.

They're just bass-less.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

Nope, 400ohm.

They're just bass-less.

SheepStar

That's really odd, as closed phones are usually prone to excessive bass.

 

[Sheep]

These are rated to a puny 30Hz. I don't understand... Monitor headphones for recording need to be accurate, but they also need to be able to reproduce the entire sound spectrum. And I'm not a bass head. They don't even hit 30hz. I should run some sweeps and see where they crap out.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

These are rated to a puny 30Hz. I don't understand... Monitor headphones for recording need to be accurate, but they also need to be able to reproduce the entire sound spectrum. And I'm not a bass head. They don't even hit 30hz. I should run some sweeps and see where they crap out.

SheepStar

First of all a response to 30 Hz is excellent performance for headphones. There is very little musical material below 60 Hz unless you are listening to large pipe organs with the 32 ft stops drawn. What is perceived as bass is actually on the 60 to 140Hz range.

Look at this chart of the range of fundamentals of instruments.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/digital-audio/index.htm

Those headphones are from a quality European manufacturer, that makes good studio microphones, as do all good headphone manufacturers.

I'm starting to suspect you have a faulty audio memory recall engendered by listening to poor or improperly set up loudspeakers.

As I view these forums I'm getting the impression a lot of members systems are a long way short of optimal, especially in terms of the settings of subwoofers.

So unless your earphones are faulty, I think you aural benchmarks are adrift and not the headphones.

 

[Sheep]

No, my other 3 pairs of headphones are fine. How could they setup be faulty? I didn't change anything. My HD500s sound better, and have bass. These literally have nothing.

BTW, there is plenty bass below 60Hz in music. Maybe not your music, but there is in my music. I'm going to run some sweeps and see where these crap out.

SheepStar

 

[Sheep]

I just ran a few sweeps.. they start dropping around 45hz. 30hz is almost inaudible.

My HD500s are strong well into the 20Hz range.

"But but.. they are a famous European brand! No, they're fine, you're broken!"

Drum beats sound awful. It's like a satellite speaker trying to produce bass.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

No, my other 3 pairs of headphones are fine. How could they setup be faulty? I didn't change anything. My HD500s sound better, and have bass. These literally have nothing.

BTW, there is plenty bass below 60Hz in music. Maybe not your music, but there is in my music. I'm going to run some sweeps and see where these crap out.

SheepStar

Measure the impedance. It may be they got wrongly labeled at the factory.
Something does not add up here.

I don't think there is much bass in your music below 60 Hz either. Instrument speakers, even those for the bass guitars, have F3 above 60 Hz. Most of them just make 60 Hz if you are lucky!

 

[Sheep]

The low E string on a bass has harmonics in the 40hz range. I play Guitar, don't try to BS me.

Besides, I tested using tones, not music. They do not live up to their specs.

SheepStar

 

[TLS Guy]

The low E string on a bass has harmonics in the 40hz range. I play Guitar, don't try to BS me.

Besides, I tested using tones, not music. They do not live up to their specs.

SheepStar

These are the lowest fundamentals of the bass guitar. Low E on a 4 string bass is usually about 41Hz, and the low B on a 5 string around 31Hz fundamentals.

However, I have always been surprised to see how high the F3 point for most instruments speakers is. On recordings the bass guitar can be recorded without the limitation of the speakers.

Beyer do not state the how many db down these headphones are at 30 db. They obviously start to roll off at 45 Hz from your observation. If they are second order roll off, which is quite likely for closed phones, then they will be 6db down at 34 Hz and 12 db down at 22.5 Hz.

If that is not sufficient for your requirements then you need to use something else. I personally use Sennheiser headphones, and have for many years.

 

[annunaki]

Depending upon how the recording is done, there can be much low frequency information below 60hz in modern rock recordings. Metallica's Lars Ulrich tuned the Tama kick drums for the "...And Justice for All" album down in the 40hz range. There is a serious amount of lower end bass there. Not to mention it was a fairly decent recording to boot with good dynamic range. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but it prove's Sheep's point.

Tool has a lot of content below 60hz on nearly all of their albums. Danny Carrey (drummer) uses a truely impressive kit that allows for some impressive low end, especially on the "Undertow" and "10,000 Days" albums. Many of their songs bass sections are played in the Low "E" key as well.

Korn is another rock band known for their low tuned kick drums and bass. I am sure there are many others.

I have a couple Jazz albums that have a lot of low end below 60hz as well. Burt Conrad AllStars "A Soulful Journey", Fourplay "Between The Sheets" & Boney James (unsure of album) are just a few that come to mind.

I have the Sennheiser HD212 (not an extremely linear headphone, I know) but they easily play into the 30hz range.

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/05180#

 

[TLS Guy]

Depending upon how the recording is done, there can be much low frequency information below 60hz in modern rock recordings. Metallica's Lars Ulrich tuned the Tama kick drums for the "...And Justice for All" album down in the 40hz range. There is a serious amount of lower end bass there. Not to mention it was a fairly decent recording to boot with good dynamic range. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but it prove's Sheep's point.

Tool has a lot of content below 60hz on nearly all of their albums. Danny Carrey (drummer) uses a truely impressive kit that allows for some impressive low end, especially on the "Undertow" and "10,000 Days" albums. Many of their songs bass sections are played in the Low "E" key as well.

Korn is another rock band known for their low tuned kick drums and bass. I am sure there are many others.



I have a couple Jazz albums that have a lot of low end below 60hz as well. Burt Conrad AllStars "A Soulful Journey", Fourplay "Between The Sheets" & Boney James (unsure of album) are just a few that come to mind.

Yes, but by his own observation his headphones are going into the 40 Hz range.

 

[Sheep]

Depending upon how the recording is done, there can be much low frequency information below 60hz in modern rock recordings. Metallica's Lars Ulrich tuned the Tama kick drums for the "...And Justice for All" album down in the 40hz range. There is a serious amount of lower end bass there. Not to mention it was a fairly decent recording to boot with good dynamic range. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but it prove's Sheep's point.

Tool has a lot of content below 60hz on nearly all of their albums. Danny Carrey (drummer) uses a truely impressive kit that allows for some impressive low end, especially on the "Undertow" and "10,000 Days" albums. Many of their songs bass sections are played in the Low "E" key as well.

Korn is another rock band known for their low tuned kick drums and bass. I am sure there are many others.

I have a couple Jazz albums that have a lot of low end below 60hz as well. Burt Conrad AllStars "A Soulful Journey", Fourplay "Between The Sheets" & Boney James (unsure of album) are just a few that come to mind.

I have the Sennheiser HD212 (not an extremely linear headphone, I know) but they easily play into the 30hz range.

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/05180#

I have a friend with the HD212s... by far, one of the bassiest set of cans out there. Check them out on www.headphone.com

TLS Guy,

I used sine waves to determine when the headphones crapped out. Annunaki is pointing out that a monitor headphones should reproduce the entire sound spectrum that you mix in. BTW, today was my first day of school in Recording Arts.

SheepStar

 

[annunaki]

I have a friend with the HD212s... by far, one of the bassiest set of cans out there. Check them out on www.headphone.com

TLS Guy,

I used sine waves to determine when the headphones crapped out. Annunaki is pointing out that a monitor headphones should reproduce the entire sound spectrum that you mix in. BTW, today was my first day of school in Recording Arts.

SheepStar

Sheep,

They are bassy. I have to turn the bass down on them a bit though.

Monitor headphones should have full spectrum reproduction but have linear response.