beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X
Professional-Standard 48Ω Closed-Back Headphones
MADE IN GERMANY
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X (48 Ω, 3.5mm plug with screw-on ¼″ adapter, 12.4 oz./352 g, an absolute steal at $259). bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used headphones — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new DT 700 PRO X. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new headphones before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
July 2022 beyerdynamic Reviews Headphone Reviews Tube Amp Reviews Audio Reviews All Reviews
Introduction top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
The DT 700 PRO X are superbly-made, exquisitely comfortable professional headphones with clean, clear, open and detailed sound (and great bass) at a giveaway price.
These sound great and are ultra-comfortable to wear all day and all night, whether working on a music or video project, just enjoying music while working on other things all day, and of course for closing your eyes and losing yourself in the music after working all day.
Everyone who's worked in radio or recording knows beyerdynamic microphones and headphones. I've been using them since the 1980s, and they've been around since the 1920s. The vocals on Billy Joel's classic album 52nd street were recorded with a beyerdynamic 250 microphone. For all you know, maybe your favorite recording was made with a beyerdynamic microphone, too!
beyerdynamic was founded in 1924 and has been the top maker of the world's best professional headphones since 1937. AKG and Sennheiser weren't even founded until the 1940s.
This beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X is the newest incarnation of the classic beyerdynamic DT 770 which has been among the world's most popular closed-back dynamic headphone among professional recording engineers at least since I first came across the DT 770 back in the 1980s.
These are exceptionally popular for monitoring live remote recordings, as well as for music lovers who want to hear the sound of the original music hall instead of the noise in their homes. They are also popular for use in the studio on musician's heads; you're always seeing beyerdynamic headphones on artist's heads as they're recording.
These are the genuine MADE IN GERMANY article from the world's oldest and best maker of professional headphones for almost 100 years; these aren't rubbish from China. For the price, I can't see why anyone wouldn't love a set of these. You can spend so much more and get so much less.
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
New compared to DT 770 intro top
Comes in one universal 48 Ω impedance rather than the bewildering array of 32 Ω, 80 Ω, 300 Ω and 600 Ω versions of the DT 770.
New "Stellar.45" drivers.
Comes with two field-replaceable straight mini-XLR cords, 6' (1.8m) and 10' (3m). (The DT 770 had a captive cord.)
Replaceable headband pad.
Good intro top
Clean, clear, open and detailed sound with great bass.
Extremely comfortable for all-day and all-night use.
Superb GERMAN construction quality and durability.
Replaceable cords, earpads and headband pad.
Lightweight and tough.
Stay on your head as you move or walk around.
Trivially easy to drive at 48 Ω. Work just as well plugged into an iPhone as they do with a dedicated amplifier like my Benchmark DAC1 HDR.
Plastic nubs protect your desk, recording console, or delicate furniture when you set them down.
Ready to plug-and-play as soon as you get them.
Give-away price for genuinely professional MADE IN GERMANY headphones that will last a lifetime. These are passive transducers that don't go obsolete, break or wear out. They're not like a TV or computer or bluetooth headphones that will be thrown away in few years. These DT 700 PRO X can last for a lifetime of music production and enjoyment; they're a one-time investment and not simply one of many cameras, cars, phones or TVs you'll buy in a lifetime, making the price essentially a give-away.
MADE IN GERMANY.
Bad intro top
Nothing. Only bad thing is how stupid these make people look who pay two and three times as much for Chinese-made throwaway consumer "audiophile" headphones! These may very well be the headphones used recording your favorite music in the first place.
Missing intro top
They don't fold for storage and travel; these are big-boy headphones.
Thank goodness no expense was wasted on a fancy box, as is typical for overpriced consumer products. Consumers are impressed by fancy boxes with magnetic clasps, silk linings or especially the 5,000-year-old Gyojiwood used to make the vessel in which the STAX OMEGA SR-009 ships, but those fancy boxes mean that money which could have gone into making a better product — didn't. Bless manufacturers of serious products like beyerdynamic and Grado who use plain boxes because pros know the quality is on the inside, not in flashy packaging.
No Bluetooth; just regular wired headphones for serious use.
No iPhone/iPad/iPod remote, but you conceivably could build a cord with one.
No mic for phone calls. No worries, if I get a call on my iPhone the audio comes through the DT 700 PRO X and the iPhone's mic picks up my voice — you just can't talk with your iPhone in your pocket.
No GPS.
No Wi-Fi.
No batteries to charge, replace or change.
No electronics whatsoever; completely passive transducers.
Nothing to go obsolete.
No problems!
beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X. bigger.
Specifications top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Type specifications top
Passive dynamic, around-the-ear, closed-back headphones.
Transducers specifications top
"Stellar.45."
Neodymium ring magnets.
Lightweight copper-clad "high tech" coil wire.
Three-layer diaphragms.
Developed in Heilbronn, Germany.
Earpads specifications top
Soft gray velour fuzz over what feels like soft foam.
Perfect!
Earpiece Pressure specifications top
5.3 Newtons (19.1 ounces), which is on the firm side and works great with their soft earpads.
Spring steel headband.
Cords specifications top
Included cables and ¼″ adapters. bigger.
Two straight cables, one 6' (1.8m) and the other 10" (3m) long.
3.5mm plug with screw-in ¼″ adapter on each.
The other ends have a mini-XLR.
Nice, wiggly cable with firm rubber strain reliefs. While this is fine for pro gear with ¼″ jacks, the strain reliefs are long and firm enough that I'd worry about bending the 3.5mm connector if pulling on a cable.
Impedance specifications top
Rated 48 Ω.
Sensitivity specifications top
100 dB at 1 mW at 500 Hz. (1 mW into 48 Ω is 219.1 mV or -13.19 dBV.)
114 dB at 1 V at 500 Hz.
Distortion at 1 mW specifications top
0.4% at 100 Hz.
0.05% at 500 Hz.
0.04% at 1 kHz.
Power Handling specifications top
100 mW short term (about 2.19 V into 48Ω).
30 mW continuous (about 1.2 V into 48Ω).
Maximum SPL specifications top
100 mW short term computes to 120 dB SPL.
30 mW continuous computes to 110 dB SPL.
Frequency Response specifications top
Rated "5 ~ 40,000 Hz," no decibel tolerance listed.
Isolation specifications top
Rated 20 dB, no other details, but hey, no one else actually rates isolation, so bravo beyerdynamic!
Serial Number specifications top
Laser-engraved on the right inside of the harp:
Laser Engraved Serial Number. bigger.
Weight specifications top
12.415 oz. (352.1 g) actual measured weight without cord.
Rated 12.3 oz. (350 g), sans cable.
Quality specifications top
Designed and MADE IN GERMANY.
Carry Sack specifications top
Included semipadded drawstring sack. bigger.
Model Numbers specifications top
EAN: 4010118737701
Art. Nr.: 737.704.
Included specifications top
Headphones.
Two straight cords with two 3.5mm to screw-on ¼″ adapters.
Drawstring semi-padded carry sack.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
July 2022
$259.
April 2022
$279.
Corrugated Cardboard Box. bigger.
Performance top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
Overall Sound Image & Soundstage Bass
Sensitivity Isolation Leakage Ergonomics
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall performance top
The DT 700 PRO X are superbly-made and marvelously comfortable headphones with clean, clear, open and detailed sound (and solid, taut bass) at a giveaway price.
These have a very accurate sound from top to bottom for professional monitoring, rather than the HiFi sound with sweetly boosted upper treble and bumpily boosted bass to impress the innocent.
You can pay more for different kinds of headphones, but you can't get better.
Sound performance top
As we expect for monitoring headphones, the sound is a bit on the bright and detailed side so we can hear everything.
The low end is much better than expected.
Image & Soundstage performance top
The stereo images are precise. You'll hear exactly what was recorded.
Bass performance top
The DT 700 PRO X have great bass. It's as deep and tight as dynamic headphones go.
It's accurate and not boosted; just what you need for monitoring and enjoying music.
The only thing with better bass is a completely different kind of headphone: planar magnetic, but pro-grade planar magnetic headphones weigh twice as much and cost five times as much, like the closed-back Audeze LCD-XC.
These are as good as conventional headphones get. We can hear the deepest bass because it's not covered-up by boosted mid-bass.
Sensitivity performance top
At 48 Ω these work great with anything, be it pro gear like my Benchmark DAC1 HDR or my old 2015 iPad Air 2, my 2017 13" MacBook Pro or a new Apple USB-C to 3.5mm Adapter. It's all good; I can go deaf from any of these sources.
With iOS I have the volume set to one-half to three-quarters with just about any music or movie; just perfect.
Isolation performance top
These DT 700 PRO X have about the same isolation as other conventional closed headphones.
No surprises here.
Leakage performance top
These do have some sound leakage.
Someone a couple of feet away may hear them if it's quiet and you're playing them loudly.
Ergonomics performance top
Soft and cozy! These feel sooo good all day and night long!
They also feel great walking around. They are light and have reasonably strong headband pressure so they stay stuck on my head. These would make great wireless headphones, but they're not.
The earpieces are so soft and pliable that they feel prefect with the moderately firm headband pressure.
Be careful: the straight cord has no play, and the mini-XLR connector locks into the earpiece, so if you stand up while the cord is caught on something, you may pull them off your head or break something.
By comparison, some cords are coiled or use non-locking connectors that unplug themselves if you do the same thing. Be careful with these.
Each earpiece extends in clicks for size adjustment. The clicks are perfect: light enough to adjust easily and tight enough to stay put. beyerdynamic has been doing this for nearly a hundred years so they get this right.
They don't fold for travel.
The long mini-XLR connector on the left earpiece can poke your left shoulder depending on your shape and how you are sitting or relaxing.
There are plastic nubs at each earpiece so you won't damage a console or fine furniture when you put them down.
Compared top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
For music enjoyment with the four newest offerings from beyerdymanic: these DT 700 PRO X, the DT 900 PRO X, DT 1990 PRO and the DT 1770 PRO, I prefer the DT 900 PRO X. Remember, as pro headphones, these are all designed to make you work harder to make the music you're creating sound its best.
Versus the Audeze LCD-XC
The American-made Audeze LCD-XC are also professional closed-back headphones for similar applications from recording to music enjoyment. While they both sound similar, these are entirely different kinds of headphones.
These Audeze LCD-XC are much bigger and weigh twice as much. They are so big and heavy that they don't stay on your head if you move; it's easy to move too fast if you suddenly turn around. By comparison, the lightweight DT 700 PRO X just stay stuck on your head because they weigh so little.
While these are both comfortable, the DT 700 PRO X win long term because they are so much lighter.
The DT 700 PRO X have fuzzy velour earpads while the LCD-XC use real leather. Both isolate about as much as the other, while each material feels different. I've always been a leather fan, but I prefer the velour.
Both use locking mini-XLR connectors. The DT 700 PRO X use just one, while the LCD-XC uses two.
The LCD-XC are much clumsier to wear, and even more clumsy to put on and take off.
The LCD-XC have no bumpers, so you have to be careful putting them down as not to damage a console or furniture, while the DT 700 PRO X have protective plastic nubs on the side, making the DT 700 PRO X a breeze to take off.
The LCD-XC cost five or six times as much, but do include a case rather than just a sack.
Plugged into most modern (low source-impedance) sources, the DT 700 PRO X appear a little more sensitive, and they are drawing much less power due to their 48 Ω versus the LCD-XC's 17 Ω impedance.
Plugged into crappy consumer headphone jacks that may have higher source impedances or mediocre classic HiFi gear that may use (gasp) series resistors (think mid-fi gear like classic Pioneer receivers) in place of a dedicated headphone amplifier, the DT 700 PRO X will be much more sensitive than the LCD-XC.
While they both have a similar overall balance (which is great as these are both pro headphones for the same applications), the LCD-XC have deeper bass minus the slight bump around 50 Hz typical of dynamic headphones, the LCD-XC are a little cleaner up top and a little more revealing but no brighter than the DT 700 PRO X.
The LCD-XC do sound a little better, but are far less fun to use and cost five or six times as much.
Consider the LCD-XC if cost doesn't matter (it shouldn't; either of these headphones should last a lifetime) and if you're working or listening in one place, but if you're moving around or taking them on and off all day or using these for talent or outfitting for throwing around a studio, these DT 700 PRO X are a much better idea.
Versus the DT 770
The previous DT 770 has been the pro standard since at least the 1980s and sell for even less than this new DT 700 PRO X model, with the same MADE IN GERMANY quality.
They are very similar, without the new features of the DT 700 PRO X.
If price matters, get the DT 770 which sell for much less because they've been in the catalog for so long.
User's Guide top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Amplification
Go right ahead and use a dedicated headphone amplifier if you insist (I love my Benchmark DAC1 HDR), but honestly, they also sound fantastic plugged right into an iPad, iPhone, iPod or with Apple's Lightning to 3.5mm adapter or Apple's USB-C to 3.5mm Adapter.
The DT 700 PRO X plugged into a portable device sounds so much better than dinkier "portable" headphones plugged into a portable. When you own these DT 700 PRO X, use them.
While Apple's devices and their Lightning adapters and USB-C to 3.5mm adapters have excellent low-source-impedance headphone outputs and sound great with these, I can't vouch for off-brands like Android, Samsung, HTC or other iPhone copies.
Levels
Probably because the DT 700 PRO X have such smooth and clean sound as well as practically unlimited output levels, it's tempting to play them way too loud. They sound awesome played at full concert level all day long.
It's easy to damage your hearing. If your ears start ringing or buzzing, even long after you've been listening, cool it for a while.
Cables
The DT 700 PRO X comes with two swell cables.
I wouldn't waste money on any different cables. Accessory cables are a big money-maker for people selling them, but don't give any better sound than what's already included. You're much better off saving your money to buy more music, or a serious American-made headphone amplifier, than wasting it on snake oil or cables.
If two cables sound different, then at least one of them is defective.
Phone Calls
It has no mic, but your iPhone's mic will pick up your voice as it usually does with its own mic and route the received sound to your DT 700 PRO X.
It works fine for phone calls so long as you keep your iPhone close. Don't put your phone in your pocket, because the other side will no longer hear you.
Recommendations top
Introduction New Good Bad Missing
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
The DT 700 PRO X feel great and sound great with every kind of audio equipment from pro recording and broadcast gear to iOS devices.
These are easy headphones to love; just throw then around and they sound great on everything.
For music enjoyment with the four newest offerings from beyerdymanic: these DT 700 PRO X, the DT 900 PRO X, DT 1990 PRO and the DT 1770 PRO, I prefer the DT 900 PRO X. Remember, as pro headphones, these are all designed to make you work harder to make the music you're creating sound its best.
These DT 700 PRO X are especially good for office use because their closed-back design means your neighbors won't have to share your taste in music. They isolate you from office noise, and better than active noise cancellation headphones you still can hear it if someone tries to talk to you.
These are very inexpensive for professional MADE IN GERMANY corded headphones from the people who invented headphones. These can't go obsolete and should last a lifetime. I still have expensive headphones I bought in the 1970s and 1980s that work just as well today as when they were new! The DT-990 I bought in 1986 are still working great.
These have nothing to go obsolete: no internal batteries to try to replace, no electronics (these are completely passive) and no Bluetooth that might not be compatible with new versions in a few years. These are simple passive headphones that should last you for decades and decades of pleasure, just like a pair of passive loudspeakers. Heck, my 1979 sealed-box B&W 801F and 1984 electrostatic Quad ESL-63 are still my favorite loudspeakers today and I've owned them for many, many decades and never needed service on either. In the scope of how long you'll be loving these DT 700 PRO X, the price is nothing, and if you don't love them, send them back within 30 days for a full refund.
I'd get mine at Amazon, who usually offer a 30-day 100% cash-back return if you don't LOVE them after enjoying them with your own music. You also can get them at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used headphones — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new DT 700 PRO X. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new headphones before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken Rockwell.
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