Beyerdynamic DT 770 vs Ultrasone Pro 550 vs Audio-Technica ATH M50? - Page 5

32 ohm is the weakest. It's easier to drive, but won't produce the clarity or bass response of the higher ohm versions. The resistance of the lower impedance headphone is lower and therefore easier to drive t produce sound. The higher the impedance, the stronger the resistance and therefore the more power that is necessary to shake the diaphragm and produce the quality sound. To better understand this, read this.

So basically the higher the ohm rating, the better quality the sound will be if amplified correctly.

For some reason the 80 ohm version produces more bass than the other versions. I can't tell you why.

The DT770 32 ohm sounds like the 250/600 versions more than it does the 80 ohm version. The 80 ohm version sounds different from the rest and I'm sure others will agree. It's bassier than the others. The 32 ohm version has very light impact bass. The bass is more controlled and tight, but won't have the impact that the 80 ohm version has.

The 250 ohm version is an improvement over the 32 ohm version, but isn't quite the beast that the 600 ohm version is. The clamping force on the 250ohm version also feels tighter than the others which may lead it to sound like they have a smaller soundstage. These were less comfortable than the other versions. A lot of people actually really quite hate the 250ohm version.

The 600 ohm version is the big daddy. The power hungry monster that will unleash a roar when fed. It has smoother treble that doesn't distort other frequencies. The soundstage is arguably better on this version than all the others and and the bass is fuller and better in almost ever way to the 250 ohm version.

Forgot to add that the higher up in ohmage you go, the faster the bass can thump. This is especially apparent in the 600ohm version.
Edited by Simca - 11/4/11 at 8:13pm

some people believe in breaking in headphones with some white or pink noise or some other variant, from my opinion just playing the headphones with the music you listen to will do just fine to "break them in", i cant say i believe in having them playing constantly for a x amount of hours, but thats just me.

Out of the 3 you've listed, I would go with the DT770's as they are more balanced compared to the other two. However, if you really want the clarity for gaming and general use, the DT880's aren't much more.

Though the 880s probably don't have as much bass as the others quantity-wise. Quality-wise (in terms of details and quickness), I don't see those 3 pairs coming close. I've had the M50 myself and while it was good for the money and has good impact, it just lacks the details in comparison.

Mainly degree of damping and output impedance matching.

Subjective:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/513393/guid...90-models-more

Objective:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content...ohm-headphones

Although the Innerfidelity link discusses it with the DT880, I have little doubt it applies to the others as well.