beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X

I needed some new closed back headphones for vocal recording and mixing since my old 770's had died. For som years I used the audio-technical ATH-M40x.

But MAN, these DT 700 Pro X are just revealing SO MUCH more in the mix that I promise you the ATH-M40x simply didn't. For instance, there was a place in the vocal recording where I hadn't cut off the last part of the part where you hear the "click" from the space key stopping the recording and/or the sound of the mic cable scratching the floor or table og whatever.

The other headphones just didn't reveal this flaw – but it became obvious right away with these DT 700 pro x. It seems to have a far superior separation of frequency areas and sound stage. And this I just one (small) example. I still need to run it though its paces over to the next few weeks (only used it for some days), but so far it has given me some very important info as to where my mixes need to be corrected (or where do to entire re-recordings of parts of tracks).

For casual listening, by the way, they are also super crisp and balanced. So far: highly recommended. Will make changes to this review if anything changes.

So my previous headphone experience is using a set of Pioneer SE-MHR5s for casual listening, and an old set of Sennheiser HD 380 Pros for Mixing. I was very excited to get a new pair of headphones for mixing music, as well as practical use such as voice calls and games.

Sound: This is why I ended up returning the headphones, the high end just sounded harsher than anything I'd experienced before, giving me ear fatigue after only a few minutes of listening. After applying some neutralising EQ I found music more listenable, and almost decided to keep them, but Discord Calls and Games I ended up finding equally unenjoyable, to the point of switching back to my old headphones for those activities. I want to point out that there is a great deal of clarity with these headphones, everything is nicely separated and generally I can tell that the sound quality is very good, but these headphones actively pained me to use so I can't excuse them.

Comfort: I really can't knock the comfort, I'm almost sad to see them go, they're incredibly comfortable and I wore them for a whole day with no ear irritation.

Quality: Solidly built, however they're a little inflexibile which is irritating, great for removable parts though, should become an industry standard practice!

Side Note: As these are quite new headphones, you will have a hard time finding good profiles for EqualizerAPO or Peace EQ, they haven't been made yet it seems.

Overall: Honestly I'm disappointed I have to send these back, they're very comfortable and good quality, but the harshness of the high end and the general heavy-handedness of the bass left me feeling fatigued and depressed about even listening to music, maybe you'll have a better time with them if you're used to high end sound but both of my previous headphones were more bass-oriented and the transition was too much! I'm thinking about making my next pair a set of Audio-Technica M50Xs, as I've heard the bass on those is great and the highs are more muted, which suits me just fine.