At a recent visit at Beyerdynamic headquarters in Heilbronn, Germany, I was surprised to have been handed an end-level prototype of the DT1770Pro which’s production was to start on the same day of my visit.
With the DT1770 we are looking at a high-end fullsize dynamic headphone monitor for professional use as an improvement over the DT770 for higher demands. The headphones are all black with elegant silver details. Everybody likes Beyerdynamic for their replaceable components and of course the DT 1770 Pro does not make an exception. The steal headband is thickly covered with pleather and features a new design.
The “Black Panther” velours ear pads are made from a new material that is supposed to deal particularly well with sweat although the final unit will additionally include ear pads of the same material as the headband’s cover. The cable connects at the headphone similar to the Audeze LCDs and in hindsight I think the clickable connection might even be the same.
The cups are made of plastic which had me fooled as I was thinking of a light-weight metal. In respect to the Pro-line the fit is comfortable and tight.
Sound impressions
Source: iPhone 6 Plus > ALAC 16 bit 44,1/48 kHz > Chord Hugo > DT 1770 Pro
The DT 1770 Pro is a well-balanced and slightly warm headphone with tight bass and smooth highs, being applicable for both professional and hifi use.
Bass is voluminous but very tight and deep. From what I gathered it seems to be very well tuned and does not bleed into mids. The texture and detail is phenomenal, punch and slam are neither drawing attention in particular. The presentation of the bass is monitor-like due to the quickness, yet it manages to pull the listener into the music and to sound engaging.
Quantity is well below overpowering and could prove to be just the right amount to drown out surrounding noise in an office with 10-20 persons.
My first test track was Gregory Portman’s “Hey Laura” lossless from CD and the voice immediately struck me as authentic and very well separated. Rendering is life-like and the 1770 failed not to portray smallest emotive cues in the performance.
Beyerdynamic told me that treble is elevated with no apparent peaks. In the rather short time I did not find anything to disarm this claim. There might be a slight hint of the acclaimed Beyer-peak but this time you might have to go searching for it a bit more. Clarity, precision and air all managed to impress me.
I was thoroughly impressed with the overall performance of DT 1770 Pro and at the time of auditioning I was not informed about the price. Instead I was asked to make a guess on my own.
Final Thoughts
In my opinion the 1770 pulls both worlds of professionals and hifi enthusiasts together. The high resolution and great separation join in with a very enjoyable tuning that managed to impress my casual audio sidekick (my girlfriend) just alike. To me it was immediately clear that we are looking at a high-performance product, but the lack of expensive exclusive materials – like some rare animal’s skin – made me hope for a competitive price. I was hoping for a price of 600€ and as it turns out my guess was spot on!
Keep your eyes out for the official unveiling at IFA 2015 in September and hopefully for a full review soon.
Technical Specifications
