LaoMao 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2004 Just got my DT440 from Mackie last Saturday.... Thanks Mackie ! Too busy to do anything to it... Until today ! Plug the headphone into my tube/mosfet hybrid headphone amp, and power it up, The immediate impression is not bad ! Anyway, let's run in the phone for a while... So I have the Gypsy CD borrowed from the Esplanade library, set in repeat mode in my modified Marantz CD67 CD player, and set off for work, Came home 6 hours later, and start listening... The first impression on the DT440 is Eeeee..... The midrange sounds real familiar to me.... Yes it's the midrange on my KEF LS3/5a ! if not the bass is a little too heavy, the balance is really close to LS3/5a with a slightly roll-off uper range which make the LS3/5a famous ! Curious enough, I start connect other of my phones onto the amp, The AKG 271, immediately shows a much cleaner bottom end, and cleaner than the DT440 in othr part of the audio spectrum . But the DT440 is still new... I really hope the bass reduce a little after the run-in period... Next up is the AKG K501, this is by far the cans I loved the most... The wearing comfort is unquestionable.... Obviously, the signature of AKGs on the lower octave is beautiful. Correctly balance, tuneful and Clean ! Very very clean indeed. The midrange of K501 is also a little lower coloured than the K271Studio. Next up is the sennheiser HD570, I was shocked when first switch to the HD570. It sounded horrible to my ear... The bass not only too much is way too muddy, it totally lacks the cleaniness of any AKGs I owned, inclusive of a very cheap K66. The midrange lacks resolution and refinement as compare to either DT440 or K271S or K501, I switch to another pair of Senn, the HD560 Ovation II. The short-coming is again very appearent to this back dated design, it's more open than the HD570... But the upper range is not natural enough, and it emphasis some upper range make some instrument sounds real metallic. Not my cup of tea... I have a pair of HD497 and had decided to give it a short... The HD497, used to sound quite comfortable on either my discman or MP3 players. The impression remains quite close, on contrary to the AKGs, it still sounded much coloured. and somehow, the refinement put it off from the comparism, anyway the price difference is too much to ask from this very nice cans for walkies .... But wait, I went back to the HD570 again... Oh ! boy, it's even worse than the HD497 ! Among all cans I owned todate, the DT440 is not among the best I love the most, but it's still new, and the first impression after 6 hours of play suggests it still have someheadroom for run-in improvement, let see how thing go a week later. The wearing comfort is the other complaint, not in the class of AKG again, not even the K271S. The AKGs are way more comfortable.... BUt most importantly, it has the legendary midrange on the LS3/5a loudspeaker, if this is the direction you are heading towards, I think, one should give this very listenable cans a try ! Thumbs UP for Beyerdynamic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2004 (edited) What makes the new Beyer Premium series DT440/660/860 stands out from the other makes by the same manufacturer is the impedance (32ohm) and sonically, the mid range which is warmer and fuller relatively. As with the usual Beyer cans, they require much run-in time with DT880 having surprised me to require 500 hours. Some owners only discover the change in sonic characteristics months later. Regarding DT440, U should notice a significant improvement around the 200-hour mark and more so after 500-hour. The higher audio spectrum should open up and leave a tighter sound in the mid-bass region thereafter. Edited December 10, 2004 by Mackie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaoMao 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2004 Woa ! The mid bass is already very tight and punchy now ! Honestly beside the excessive mid bass it has now, I'm already quite happy with it.. Thanks again Mackie ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2004 No problem. I reckon once the upper spectrum opens up, U will find the mid bass less excessive due to better tonal balance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tropicalrips 0 Report post Posted December 23, 2004 mackie, i see that the new DT660 is a closed design, most of the Beyers are open design, how does this (660) compare to the rest? does it still hav the "Beyer sound" i had the chance to audition the DT860 when it first arrive at Hung Bros, but it was a brief audition, just remember it sounded similar to the HD600 but both were new out of the box, the new Beyers feels a lot more "solid" in terms of built quality while the HD600 feels very "plastic" i'm considering an upgrade from my DT331 after i modded the cables...the new cables giv the cans a better soundstage and the bass is more evident, starting to enjoy Beyer more the DT860 may be overkill for me, so i'm looking more at 440 & 660 hav u a-b these 2 headphones? maybe u can do a review of the 3 new cans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted December 24, 2004 (edited) It seems a lot of members are not aware of this section: http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=191 Anyhow, the following link was my impressions of DT660/860 with a few comments on the difference in sonic signature of the other Beyer models. http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?show...c=2147&hl=dt660 Personally, I'm impressed with the higher than normal standard of DT440 albeit lowest model in the Premium series. It has all the traits of its brethren with slightly lesser bass extension than 860 and yet matches the lower-mid bass punch of the close design 660. 860 has greatest refinement of the lot but 440 is definitely now far behind. Considering the pricing of these 3 models, the 440 simply makes the value-for-money factor of 660 and 860 debatable. Edited December 24, 2004 by Mackie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted December 24, 2004 Just in case U're not aware, Beyer Premium series are not available to local retailers except for the few sets introduced to Hung Bro. Even then, I think only 860 is available. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
