Full disclosure: these were loaned to me in exchange for my honest opinion, both objective and subjective, for better or worse! No inducements changed hands and my only incentive was to be able to spend an enjoyable couple of weeks with two of the hottest headphones on the planet. My thanks to John at Alpha-Technologies for the opportunity.
It?s not every day that the Heilbronn heavyweights introduce not one but two entirely new headphones, and this is especially significant when these are direct descendants of two of the company?s most storied models: the legendary DT990 Pro and DT770 Pro.
To be clear, these are not replacing those venerable cans but will be sold alongside them and will somewhat fill the gap in the market between them and the DT1770 and DT1990, which retail at just over three times the price.
The new models have certainly generated significant excitement amongst Headfiers, many of whom have owned or still own one or both of the older models. They remain de facto choices, not least because of their accessible pricing. Of course I will have to make the inevitable comparisons throughout.
Gear used: Win11 PC optimised for audio with JRiver MC26 feeds a Resonessence Concero (used as a S/PDIF Bridge in this case) into a Yulong Sabre D18 DAC via coax. Amp duties were performed by my Cayin iHA-6 headphone amplifier. Cables used were AQ Pearl USB, Lindy Gold 75ohm Coax and bespoke Sommer Stage balanced XLR between DAC and amp in a fully balanced configuration. I used the low impedance single ended output of the Cayin, which can deliver 1.7W into a 65 Ohm load.
The all-new STELLAR.45 drivers of the 700/900 have a nominal impedance of 48 Ohm and sensitivity of 100 dB SPL (1mW/500Hz) with a frequency range of 5Hz ? 40kHz. I reckon one could say that they received sufficient power to maximise their potential. These are easily driven by my ancient LG V20 mobile and I would think by any decent DAP or mobile device. This in itself may be a huge benefit to many. As an aside both headphones sounded truly excellent out of the LG in high impedance mode. I seldom listen to music in bed, but made an exception with the Beyers!
First thing that strikes one upon unboxing (nice enough packaging, nothing flashy ? a neoprene carry bag is included) is that these have had a thorough design refresh and come with 2 detachable cables (THE most requested change by far). Cables are rubberised and one gets a 1.8m and a 3m mini XLR terminated in 3.5mm with a 6.5mm adapter each.
They look clean and sleek, are lightweight and with the new, thicker velour pads, extremely comfortable. I had no issues in this regard at all and for me these are even more comfortable than the older models, which says a lot.
And now to the sound: comments relate to both headphones unless specifically stated. It is immediately apparent that these are tuned very differently to their predecessors and do not exhibit the infamous ?Beyer peak? at 8kHz. They are far more neutrally tuned, W rather than V shaped. All frequencies are properly presented in a faithful reproduction of the source, making these much less forward (or exciting perhaps?) than the older models. The 700 and 900 are actually very similarly voiced.
Bass is, on the whole, very good indeed on both headphones, falling just short of excellent but this is very acceptable performance considering the price. The 700 goes slightly deeper and hits slightly harder, as a closed can should. I preferred the low end detail of the 900 but overall the 700 just hits it out the park when it comes to Rock or bass heavy material. Significantly I could hear no bleed into the mids at all.
Mids are where the real news is though and the news is that there are, indeed, mids! (770 and 990 owners will understand). Midrange is elevated in these two headphones and it?s a beautiful thing how they integrate with the other frequencies in a way that their older cousins, frankly, don?t. Presentation is even handed and smooth. The 700 exhibits none of the weird midrange scoop that the 770 is sometimes guilty of. Vocals, both male and female, are full and realistic.
High frequencies are very well presented with no (ok, very little) added spice up top. I heard no sibilance or harshness unless it was present on the recording. This is a massive departure from the older models, 990 in particular. Very clean and very accurate is what I heard. In fact I?m prepared to say that to my ears, the 700/900 have the best treble response of any of the DT series, which includes 770/990/880/1770 and 1990. A bold statement and YMMV but I?m prepared to stand by it!
Here?s an example: the track ?Rikki Don?t Lose That Number? off Chuck Loeb?s beautiful 2007 album Presence (16/44.1 FLAC) lets one hear exactly what these cans can do: wide and reasonably deep stage, plenty of detail in the finger snaps, shakers and horns. Plucked strings of Loeb?s guitar and the bass are impeccably rendered with the bass beautifully defined. And all held together in a most enjoyable manner.
Further Notes:
Dan Patlansky ?Shelter of Bones? (16/44.1 FLAC): Dan?s guitar has all the thickness and grit that we are used to, and bass is meaty! The 700 is more upfront ? Row 3 whereas the 900 is further back in Row 10. The 900 is fast and crisp, the 700 has more weight.
Amorphis ?Northwards? (24/48 FLAC): This is dense and heavy recording but both cans manage to define and unravel the detuned guitars, kick drums punch hard but lack the last bit of visceral oomph that a TH-X00 can deliver. Cymbals attack and decay accurately and I?m delighted to say without sibilance even on the 900. Both cans exhibit excellent technicalities in the high mids.
Santana ?Love Makes the World Go Round? (24/48 FLAC): this track?s multi-layered vocals and big instrumentation allow the 700/900 to show their imaging and staging abilities, one area where I felt they could have done better. The 700 does sound like a closed headphone and whereas width and depth are sufficient, the older DT770 is superior in this regard.
The Pineapple Thief ?Versions of the Truth? (24/48 FLAC): a bit too in your head, again highlighting the fact that the 700 sounds like a closed can, but that said does well enough to not let this detract from the deep, accurate bass and powerful guitars, drums and vocals of this masterpiece of Modern Rock.
The 900 makes a better fist of it, spreading the stage out beyond what the 700 is capable of and presenting a more 3D image whilst forgoing some bass quantity and overall attack. This confirms that these cans have been designed to be professional tools that just happen to sound very good too. They have not been tuned to be ?audiophile? headphones, in the same way that the 770/990 were not designed for home use but just happened to sound incredible when properly driven.
I enjoyed listening to TOOL, Saxon, Joanna Connor, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa, The Berlin Philharmonic and a wide mix of every genre and they both shone with them all.
I feel that it would be difficult for most people to actively dislike the sound of these headphones. They may not excel at any one particular characteristic but taken as a whole, they are uniformly very good where it matters. Even handed, neutral, accurate, clean, comfortable ? pretty much sums it up. At the asking price these are very good value, especially since they will quite likely last forever and if not, every part is replaceable.
It?s not every day that the Heilbronn heavyweights introduce not one but two entirely new headphones, and this is especially significant when these are direct descendants of two of the company?s most storied models: the legendary DT990 Pro and DT770 Pro.
To be clear, these are not replacing those venerable cans but will be sold alongside them and will somewhat fill the gap in the market between them and the DT1770 and DT1990, which retail at just over three times the price.
The new models have certainly generated significant excitement amongst Headfiers, many of whom have owned or still own one or both of the older models. They remain de facto choices, not least because of their accessible pricing. Of course I will have to make the inevitable comparisons throughout.
Gear used: Win11 PC optimised for audio with JRiver MC26 feeds a Resonessence Concero (used as a S/PDIF Bridge in this case) into a Yulong Sabre D18 DAC via coax. Amp duties were performed by my Cayin iHA-6 headphone amplifier. Cables used were AQ Pearl USB, Lindy Gold 75ohm Coax and bespoke Sommer Stage balanced XLR between DAC and amp in a fully balanced configuration. I used the low impedance single ended output of the Cayin, which can deliver 1.7W into a 65 Ohm load.
The all-new STELLAR.45 drivers of the 700/900 have a nominal impedance of 48 Ohm and sensitivity of 100 dB SPL (1mW/500Hz) with a frequency range of 5Hz ? 40kHz. I reckon one could say that they received sufficient power to maximise their potential. These are easily driven by my ancient LG V20 mobile and I would think by any decent DAP or mobile device. This in itself may be a huge benefit to many. As an aside both headphones sounded truly excellent out of the LG in high impedance mode. I seldom listen to music in bed, but made an exception with the Beyers!
First thing that strikes one upon unboxing (nice enough packaging, nothing flashy ? a neoprene carry bag is included) is that these have had a thorough design refresh and come with 2 detachable cables (THE most requested change by far). Cables are rubberised and one gets a 1.8m and a 3m mini XLR terminated in 3.5mm with a 6.5mm adapter each.
They look clean and sleek, are lightweight and with the new, thicker velour pads, extremely comfortable. I had no issues in this regard at all and for me these are even more comfortable than the older models, which says a lot.
And now to the sound: comments relate to both headphones unless specifically stated. It is immediately apparent that these are tuned very differently to their predecessors and do not exhibit the infamous ?Beyer peak? at 8kHz. They are far more neutrally tuned, W rather than V shaped. All frequencies are properly presented in a faithful reproduction of the source, making these much less forward (or exciting perhaps?) than the older models. The 700 and 900 are actually very similarly voiced.
Bass is, on the whole, very good indeed on both headphones, falling just short of excellent but this is very acceptable performance considering the price. The 700 goes slightly deeper and hits slightly harder, as a closed can should. I preferred the low end detail of the 900 but overall the 700 just hits it out the park when it comes to Rock or bass heavy material. Significantly I could hear no bleed into the mids at all.
Mids are where the real news is though and the news is that there are, indeed, mids! (770 and 990 owners will understand). Midrange is elevated in these two headphones and it?s a beautiful thing how they integrate with the other frequencies in a way that their older cousins, frankly, don?t. Presentation is even handed and smooth. The 700 exhibits none of the weird midrange scoop that the 770 is sometimes guilty of. Vocals, both male and female, are full and realistic.
High frequencies are very well presented with no (ok, very little) added spice up top. I heard no sibilance or harshness unless it was present on the recording. This is a massive departure from the older models, 990 in particular. Very clean and very accurate is what I heard. In fact I?m prepared to say that to my ears, the 700/900 have the best treble response of any of the DT series, which includes 770/990/880/1770 and 1990. A bold statement and YMMV but I?m prepared to stand by it!
Here?s an example: the track ?Rikki Don?t Lose That Number? off Chuck Loeb?s beautiful 2007 album Presence (16/44.1 FLAC) lets one hear exactly what these cans can do: wide and reasonably deep stage, plenty of detail in the finger snaps, shakers and horns. Plucked strings of Loeb?s guitar and the bass are impeccably rendered with the bass beautifully defined. And all held together in a most enjoyable manner.
Further Notes:
Dan Patlansky ?Shelter of Bones? (16/44.1 FLAC): Dan?s guitar has all the thickness and grit that we are used to, and bass is meaty! The 700 is more upfront ? Row 3 whereas the 900 is further back in Row 10. The 900 is fast and crisp, the 700 has more weight.
Amorphis ?Northwards? (24/48 FLAC): This is dense and heavy recording but both cans manage to define and unravel the detuned guitars, kick drums punch hard but lack the last bit of visceral oomph that a TH-X00 can deliver. Cymbals attack and decay accurately and I?m delighted to say without sibilance even on the 900. Both cans exhibit excellent technicalities in the high mids.
Santana ?Love Makes the World Go Round? (24/48 FLAC): this track?s multi-layered vocals and big instrumentation allow the 700/900 to show their imaging and staging abilities, one area where I felt they could have done better. The 700 does sound like a closed headphone and whereas width and depth are sufficient, the older DT770 is superior in this regard.
The Pineapple Thief ?Versions of the Truth? (24/48 FLAC): a bit too in your head, again highlighting the fact that the 700 sounds like a closed can, but that said does well enough to not let this detract from the deep, accurate bass and powerful guitars, drums and vocals of this masterpiece of Modern Rock.
The 900 makes a better fist of it, spreading the stage out beyond what the 700 is capable of and presenting a more 3D image whilst forgoing some bass quantity and overall attack. This confirms that these cans have been designed to be professional tools that just happen to sound very good too. They have not been tuned to be ?audiophile? headphones, in the same way that the 770/990 were not designed for home use but just happened to sound incredible when properly driven.
I enjoyed listening to TOOL, Saxon, Joanna Connor, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa, The Berlin Philharmonic and a wide mix of every genre and they both shone with them all.
I feel that it would be difficult for most people to actively dislike the sound of these headphones. They may not excel at any one particular characteristic but taken as a whole, they are uniformly very good where it matters. Even handed, neutral, accurate, clean, comfortable ? pretty much sums it up. At the asking price these are very good value, especially since they will quite likely last forever and if not, every part is replaceable.
