Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X LE Headphones — A Mix Real-World Review

New York, NY (November 19 2024)—Way back in 1937, 13 years after its founding, beyerdynamic introduced the first dynamic headphones, and since that time has continued to develop and refine headphone technology. In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the company has produced the DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition, a closed-back, dynamic headphone with a nominal impedance of 48 ohms. The DT 770 PRO X LE is intended for use in audio production, podcasting and streaming—just about any application requiring high-quality headphone reproduction.

Construction of the DT 770 PRO X LE is well-done, with a sturdy metal headband/yoke assembly securely holding the earcups. Cushy, gray velour pads surround the ears and gently hold the earcups in place. The top portion of the metal frame is covered with a padded, snap-on headband that is easy to remove or replace should the need arise. The cable mates to the left earpiece using a locking mini-XLR connector, while the other end is terminated with a 3.5mm TRS that accepts a screw-on ¼-inch adapter.

The DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition comes with a two-year limited warranty and ships in a reusable cardboard box containing the headphones, detachable cable (straight, 3 meters), ¼-inch adapter and a drawstring bag.

The system employs beyerdynamic’s Stellar.45 dynamic driver, which boasts a frequency range of 5 Hz to 40 kHz and is capable of producing SPLs as high as 112 dB. I brought the DT 770 PRO X LE on the road for a series of shows, using them at FOH with a variety of digital mixing consoles—all of which had no problem driving them to sufficient volume levels.

The earcups offer moderate isolation from external sound (ambient isolation is spec’d at 16 dBA), sufficient that I could hear sounds soloed in the cans while working shows with SPLs in the low-to-mid- 90dB range (A-weighted). The sound of the DT 770 PRO X LE would best be described as natural and uncolored. If you’re looking for headphones that hype the bottom and top, look elsewhere.

The midrange and top end in particular are crystal clear, providing plenty of detail while not being fatiguing. Some people might find the bottom end to be lacking, but I did not feel that to be the case, and I found that the lows remained tight and clean even when played loud through the DT 770 PRO X LE.

The DT 770 PRO X LE is very comfortable even while wearing glasses for long sessions—which can be problematic with headphones that push too forcefully against the side of the head. At its smallest setting, the headband was still a hair too big for my taste; I would have preferred if I could adjust it to a slightly smaller size. Regardless, they stayed in place even when I used them for sessions while playing drums.

The DT 770 PRO X LE is not a compact headphone and doesn’t collapse for transport as do many other headphones. This is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, they occupied more space in my suitcase or work box, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t worry about the metal headband breaking due to constant flexing—and over a career of touring with headphones, I’ve found that the point of failure is almost always a collapsible plastic headband.

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I also used the DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition in the studio for recording and mixing. When recording lead vocals, they isolated the cue mix well enough that leakage into a vocal microphone wasn’t an issue, even when the singer moved one earcup slightly to the side of their ear.

Mixing on headphones is not my favorite pastime, but I used the DT 770 PRO X LE to mix a few songs with good results. My mixes translated very well across a variety of playback systems, though on a few occasions, I found the bass to be a tad loud on the other systems when compared to listening on the DT 770 PRO X LE. Most often, the big decisions—vocal levels, amount of reverb and delay, balance between instruments—were spot-on.

beyerdynamic has done a great job with the DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition headphones. They offer accurate, transparent reproduction, plenty of detail, and play louder without distortion than you’ll ever need. Their transparency makes them an excellent reference headphone, and they’re reasonably priced. Any engineer would be happy to have a pair.