beyerdynamic DT 860

The beyerdynamic DT 860 is a quite comfortable, if rather oversize pair of headphones with a lively, bright sound. We usually tend to shy away from headphones with a bright presentation, but these cans do manage to stay just this side of what we would consider 'too bright'. Listeners who are interested in clarity of the mids/highs, excellent soundstage "airiness" and great treble range detail resolution are likely to be pleased with these cans. Folks who watch movies will certainly get all the dialogue detail recovery needed for excellent speech intelligibility. The DT860 is also a very efficient headphone and surprisingly good-sounding directly out of a portable audio player without requiring the use of a dedicated portable headphone amp. So, if you’re interested in full-sized cans but don’t want the added travail of a head-amp when using a portable audio player device, these may be just about right for your needs. They are a somewhat dry-sounding headphone, however, and those looking for a bass-rich, liquid, punchy, or ultra-seamless sound should likely look elsewhere.

The DT860 are a fairly large pair of headphones with a perfectly round earpad that is covered with a cozy velour material. The 'single-sided' exit cable is attached to the left earcup and is terminated with a 1/8" inch (3.5mm) mini-plug; a screw-on, full-size ¼ inch adaptor is also provided in the package. The earcups swivel freely and allow the headphones to lay flat or fold up into the headband to conserve space for packing or storage, a handy plus! A 2 year manufacturer's product warranty remains standard with all beyerdynamic headphones.