Beyerdynamic DTX 910 Review

The Beyerdynamic DTX 910 is a mid-size budget hifi headphone made almost entirely from plastic.  Being one of the manufacturer’s cheapest over-ear and open-back headphones (at $99), how does it stack up to other headphones?

Beyerdynamic DTX 910 Review

These headphones come packaged with copious amounts of cardboard.  There’s a stereo adapter in the box, if you require a 1/4” connection.  Apart from the headphones, that’s all folks.

Comfort isn’t bad with these headphones.  I was expecting worse, but once I adjusted for my giant head, I found them pretty pleasing to wear.  There’s some thick padding on the earcups and headband, which goes along way in the Comfort Department.

The build quality may be an area of concern, though, because the all-plastic design feels flimsy and doesn’t engender a whole lot of confidence.  This is exacerbated by the lack of metal in the extenders, and while I’d love to trust in Beyerdynamic’s commitment to quality, this headphone feels just south of solid.

Specs

As you can see from the specs, she’s easy to drive with just 32 ohms of impedance – so trust that it’ll work just fine with your phone or your computer.  The frequency range of the 910 seems decent.  15-23000 hertz should give us a lick of bass without getting too crazy.

Finally, the Sound Pressure Level is 98 decibels – which could be louder, but this is an open-back headphone, so I’ll let it slide.

Low End

The low end detail isn’t bad at all, with drums and other instruments of mass percussion actually showing some character for once.  Males vocals don’t get lost in a soup of low-frequency noise, either, so that’s good.

If you’re looking for a punchy bass in the low end, these may not be the headphones you seek.  While there’s some detail in there – and it’s fairly good detail – it just lacks that real “oomph” we see on other headphones.

Mids

The midrange on the DTX 910 is decent.  Not something to write home about, but still good.  For a $99 headphone, it’s about what I expect.  There’s a little more room in there, and some better clarity and separation thanks to the open-back design, but the driver may have problems resolving all the midrange detail in certain tracks.

High End

I’m a huge fan of the highs on the DTX 910.  There isn’t a ton of detail in there, but the detail that is there remains well-controlled.  There’s no piercing or screeching on the highest highs, but instead there’s a slightly relaxed feel to the whole high end.

Soundstage

Soundstage is actually quite wonderful on these headphones.  For most music – from Vivaldi to Blink 182 to the Black Eyed Peas – there’s a real sense of space and placement in the track.  If this headphone sucks (or is just so-so) at everything else, it totally kicks ass when it comes to soundstage.

Budget Hifi

If this headphone has a thing it is all about, it’s hifi performance on a budget.  I think Beyerdynamic goes so far as to market it as such, claiming “hifi sound at a lower price” or something along those lines.

And when you take the sum total of this headphone – a fairly decent frequency range with a low impedance and good detail – you pretty much get exactly that.

Overall Impressions

If it weren’t for the build I would be sold.  But I also tend to abuse my headphones, and maybe that’s the real reason why I don’t want to recommend this headphone.  I can already see myself getting besotted one night and accidentally stepping on it, or getting the cable wrapped around something and ripping the headphone from my head, only to see it crash into the floor.

But fragility (or suspected fragility) aside, there’s a lot going for these babies.  Low-cost, low-weight, with a sound that truly gets close to high fidelity?  Oh yes.

Recommendations

If you’re seeking that luxury headphone, obviously you don’t want this.  And if you’re looking for something to replace those supercool neon Beats by Dre that just broke, these aren’t for you, either.

But let’s say you’re on a budget – maybe you’re a college student or a working stiff, or maybe your headphone budget has been severely reduced by the old ball-and-chain.  And let’s say you care about music – you’re into high fidelity recordings or hearing every nuance in a track, or you’re trying to discover that exact moment where Billy Corgan’s voice goes right from nasal to downright whiny.  These headphones, for the price, do a great job.  Are there better options out there?  Sure, but you’re going to pay out the nose for ’em, and ain’t nobody got time for that.

Head over to Audio 46 to grab them at the lowest price. They are also available at a competitive price on Amazon.