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.

Comparing this headphone to Philips Fidelio X2HR and Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO.

First impression is that it's a stellar craftmanship, feels high quality and is a step up from the DT770 PRO in terms of build quality.
One thing I absolutely HATED with DT770 PRO was the cord, it's stiff and non-compliant (and too long). The cord(s) coming with DT700 PRO X is much much better, it's fairly soft and very compliant, it also transfers less sound from the cord into the ear cups.
The foam in the ear pads feels more comfortable than DT770 PRO.
I've been wearing the headphones for about an hour now and they still feel comfortable on my head. I use glasses as well and it doesn't feel like the headphones are trying to crush my head.
It feels like the DT700 PRO X has a tiny bit more sound leaking out/in than the DT770 PRO's.

Now when it comes to the actual sound it's a bit of a disappointment for me. I only use headphones for the enjoyment of music and such, I've been very happy with the sound of the DT770 PRO and of course X2HR.
First impression with the sound was that it's very harsh, a lot of treble with very neutral bass. It doesn't sound at all like the DT770 PRO, not even similar. You shouldn't see this headphone as an upgrade to DT770 PRO more than it's visual appearance.
Music that I'm able to enjoy with X2HR are not enjoyable with DT700 PRO X in a lot of cases. It requires a good quality source or it will really reveal how bad the sound is from the source.

I bought these headphones in hope of an upgraded DT770 PRO-experience but it's simply not. The price is not justified if you're going to use these just for enjoying music, buy the DT770 PRO's and modify it with a detachable cable if you can.

Update after three months of daily use:
This is now my daily driver. I never use my X2HR anymore.
The headphones require some burn in for sure, in the beginning the sound was almost terrible (the treble) but now the sound profile has softened a bit and is very pleasant. Bass is spot on and not overpowering, bad quality sources are terrible to listen to with these headphones as they are very detailed. The only negatives I have to comment about these headphones now are that they become uncomfortable after several hours of use (pressure on the ears, I use glasses so I'm prone to ear fatigue when using headphones.) and the high price.