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Hello, i'm looking to replace my Sennheiser HD25 headphones for my digital piano. They are "on-ear" headphones and hurt quite a bit after hours of playing. Wich one would be better for this purpose, the closedback Beyerdynamic DT770's or the open DT990's?

Tim

I just purchased some Sennheiser Open Backed (HD598s) ones after using a no name brand close back phones for the last 4 months. The difference is amazing. Part of it comes from the open back which lets you hear the room around you, makes it so much more like just sitting at the piano playing. Not identical - I'm getting some high harmonics from the speakers which aren't picked up by the headphones and some room resonances from the speakers (which of course no longer happen).

The downside with open backed is that there are not completely quiet for someone in the same room - its very much like the sound of someone in a crowd playing their mobile phone with earbuds - you can hear a quiet but very tinny version of their music. But the external sound is no more than that - and I think the noise of the keys would be not be much less. But if you can live with that slight downside then I would recommend open backed

Generally, if you need it so that no one can hear you, get closed back. If it's ok for some sound to leak out, then get open back because you'll get a more realistic sound stage.

I think that the slightly cheaper, Audio Technica ATH-M50X sound much better than the Beyerdynamic model for piano - but there are so many different opinions on headphones.

I happen to like the closed back for playing the piano, because it makes the sound more immediate as opposed to the sound coming from a stage setting where open back would usually be better.

Go to massdrop.com. They often have great buys on headphones.

a few years ago I tried the DT990 and the DT880. I ended up getting the DT880 because I did not like how the 990 accentuated bass and treble. 880 is more neutral.

As for the openness: I live alone, so no one is bothered by it. Definitely sth. to consider though, because your music / external sounds WILL be audible. I could hear my MP7-SEs action when I played it.

It's always open-back for me.
Closed-back is for bass-heads. Pianists are not bass-heads.
Also, closed-back phones are often head-clamps. If your head is made of concrete, great. If not, avoid the head-clamp pain. Get open-back phones.
Just my two cents.

At http://graphs.headphone.com/ you can compare frequency response and other parameters. It might be helpful to some.

I have never tried DT990. I have DT770 - and love them. I prefer closed-back because I often play piano with kids/family around and do not want the sound to escape - and I want better isolation from the outer sounds. It works great for that purpose.

Osho

same as Osho.
Children and wife so closed DT770.
Very good sound far better than ES8 speakers.
Bass could be annoying.

I gave the DT770 a short try-out at Guitar Center a couple of months ago.

They are VERY comfortable. But I could not try them with a piano.
I only had the PRESS HERE button for listening to the canned s**t music that they pipe in. So I can't comment on the sound quality.

I was tempted to buy ... but I tend to prefer open phones.

You seem to require closed phones ... so I'd say go for it. (But they're cheaper online that at the store.)

I now use the Sennheiser HD25 and they isolate pretty much everything. When my wife wants my attention she starts waving until I see it and then I have to remove my headphones to talk to her. I would like it that I can hear everything else in the room. I just don't know how much she would like to hear my piano playing leaking from the headphones when she is watching TV.

Yes, the HD25 is known as the marriage saver.

hahaha I had to laugh so hard reading this!
MacMacMac you comments are hilarious :P

I'm on the lookout for new headphones as well. One thing I do want them to have, is a pair of velours ear cushions. Indispensable !

DT770 Pro 250 Ohm aren’t good with digital pianos, I’ve tried them, they change the sound too much in a bad way. Don’t know about 990.

Get the 990 at least.
Having both dt770 and 990.
Thing is you can renew the velours in under 10 minutes with some practice.
DT770 lack mid bass.
DT990 have a whole different level of dimension and feel. Its better suited for piano.

I'm looking at the Beyerdynamic Studio Custom, 80ohm impedance. Don't think you should go any higher than 80 when using the headphone out on a digital piano...

+1 on the DT990. I have all 3, including the DT1990. It's a toss up between the 990 and 1990 for piano, the 1990 are more even but the 990 just have this wild crazy presence.

990 is best value

You're making me doubt.
The DT990 Pro is a bit cheaper than the Beyerdynamic Studio custom (based on the DT770).
But is 250ohm not too much for plugging into a digital piano ? Don't you need an extra amp to drive a headphone with that kind of impedance ?

Nah not at all. On my digital it gets louder than I want