SPOTLIGHT ON OUR HEADPHONES: 87 YEARS OF HEADPHONES EXPERTISE
In March we took you on a journey through the product history of our microphones; today we would like to focus on our headphones and headsets. What has happened between the presentation of our first headphones in 1937 and the launch of our anniversary DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition last month?
Our headphones have been at home in many areas for decades: in the professional recording studio, in the living rooms of audiophiles, on the commute to university or work, or in the world of gaming. They are professional tools, indispensable everyday companions and the highest level of listening pleasure while on the go. We’ll take a look back, from then to now, and give you some exciting insights.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DT 48 – the headphones that started it all
The history of our headphones began in 1937 with the introduction of the first beyerdynamic headphones, the first dynamic headphone model DT 48. The type designation “DT” in the name of the headphones stands for “dynamic telephone”. The model was known for its neutral sound, which was produced by the aluminium diaphragms and ferrite ring magnets. The spring steel headphones with metal housing were also considered to be very robust and stable. The DT 48 was part of our product portfolio until the end of 2012 and accompanied sound engineers and reporters for decades.
DT 100 — the first studio classic from beyerdynamic
Nowadays, beyerdynamic headphones have become indispensable in the professional studio sector. Many sound engineers and artists rely on studio headphones such as our classic DT 770 PRO or its open counterpart, the DT 990 PRO, when producing, mixing, mastering or monitoring their sounds. But what did it look like many decades ago?
We first established ourselves in the studio sector in 1965 with the introduction of the DT 100 closed monitoring headphones, which were a must-have in every well-equipped recording studio at the time and are still widely used today.
Hi-fi headphones from beyerdynamic — headphones on the rise
In the 1980s, headphones became increasingly important in our portfolio and heralded a major change in our company. At the beginning of the 1980s, the digitisation of music was progressing rapidly. The CD quickly overtook cassettes and records as the new digital sound carrier. It was on the rise for almost ten years until the MP3 audio compression process came onto the market in 1989. This once again revolutionised the music industry and thus also had a major impact on developments in our sector.
This period could be described as a kind of “technical arms race” in the industry. New materials and substances such as composites, rare earth magnets and magnetisable stainless steels came onto the market, enabling us to develop new headphone systems. Thus, headphones became more and more important. In the 1980s, we presented our first hi-fi headphones with the DT 770, DT 880 and DT 990 models, the last two models of which are still available today as the DT 880 Edition and DT 990 Edition.
The DT 880 made a special name for itself at the time, as it was the first dynamic headphone with electrostatic playback properties. This model achieved a new level of audio quality that was unrivalled at the time.
Further development of our headphones and launch of our PRO classics
In the 1980s, we increasingly focussed on the choice of materials in order to make our headphones as comfortable to wear as possible – which is particularly important for headphones for professional use, as these headphones are often worn for many hours at a time. This resulted in the further development of our first hi-fi models and the presentation of our PRO headphones DT 770 PRO, DT 880 PRO and DT 990 PRO, which were initially considered an insider tip in the industry. Plastic brackets gave way to more stable metal brackets, the contact pressure was increased and a great deal of attention was paid to ensuring that the construction of the PRO models guaranteed increased durability.
Slowly but steadily, the headphones gained a good reputation in the PRO world and established themselves in the market. On the US market, the DT 770 PRO received an enormous boost in popularity thanks to an 80-ohm version produced exclusively for Guitar Center.
Even after more than 30 years, it’s hard to imagine studios and productions all over the world without the DT 770 PRO. For that reason, this classic also has an important role to play in our 100th anniversary celebrations. For our anniversary headphones, DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition, our classic model was combined with the latest technology of our studio headphones, the STELLAR.45 transducer. The result is a headphone that has the proven sound signature of the DT 770 PRO and guarantees studio reference sound on various playback devices thanks to the wide frequency response of the STELLAR.45 driver (48 ohms). Thanks to the detachable cable, the handset also offers plenty of flexibility.
The world’s first headphone MANUFAKTUR
After the introduction of its first hi-fi headphone models, beyerdynamic increasingly shifted its focus to other product groups such as microphones and conference systems. However, headphones returned to centre stage at the turn of the millennium. At the beginning of the 2000s, we worked together with the renowned design and engineering office Busse to give our Edition models a complete facelift.
The headphone series was revised, and our assembly processes were reorganised and optimised in order to create the first headphone MANUFAKTUR in the world in 2005. It was possible to individually select various headphone components, such as ear pads, headbands, plastic housing and the headphone fork, and combine them to create unique headphones. (Our MANUFAKTUR is only available in selected countries.)
Entry into the aviation sector
In 2006, we ventured into the general aviation sector, utilising synergies between our different areas of product expertise. The outstanding DT 770 Edition closed headphones have been combined with a gooseneck microphone for maximum speech intelligibility. This is how beyerdynamic’s first aviation headset, the HS 200, was born. This model and all the subsequent aviation headsets were particularly popular with amateur pilots and flight schools. We have been active in the aviation sector until 2013 and have used the experience and developments gained during this time to conquer another field.
Gaming
The gaming market had already developed considerably by this time, from the first Playstation in 1994, to CD-ROMs and CDs as storage media, to the establishment of online games in the 2000s. In 2007, we entered the video games market with our first gaming headset. We presented the MMX 300 gaming headset (1st generation), which was based on the development experience of our aviation headsets, at the Leipzig Games Convention, where it impressed with its extremely precise and spatial sound. It was possible to locate opponents in the game environment at an early stage, which of course brings clear advantages in the course of the game. The MMX 300 was the most expensive gaming headset on the market at the time and opened up an upward price trend. Many excellent reviews gave the MMX 300 an outstanding start – and even today the headset in its 2nd generation is still regarded as a real benchmark in gaming.
High-end sound with our Tesla system
Around the same time we entered the gaming segment, a new field for luxury headphones gradually opened up on the audio market. After carefully observing this development, thoroughly sounding out the market and taking the corresponding technological development steps, we presented our answer to this demand at the IFA in Berlin in September 2009: the T1 high-end headphones (1st generation).
To provide the ultimate high-end sound with our T1, we developed the all-metal Tesla system, which ensures transparent, spatial and distortion-free sound. The magnet used in our Tesla driver system is significantly larger than in other headphones and is not located inside the voice coil, but in a ring shape around it. It also has a particularly strong magnetic field (magnetic flux density), which is measured in Tesla units and is well above the one Tesla mark for our headphones with Tesla systems. In addition, our technology enables a more powerful and distortion-free reproduction as well as better detail resolution. Thus, our high-end headphones were able to deliver even better performance on MP3 players than other comparable models at the time. The closed counterpart to the T1, the T5, was added to our high-end range in 2010 and impressed with its high-end sound on portable devices.
In the years that followed, our development department worked steadily on further developing the Tesla system with the aim of making high-end Tesla sound possible for smaller headphone models as well. This engineering skill and development spirit resulted in three different sizes of Tesla driver – 45 mm, 35 mm and 11 mm -, which found their place in our headphones.
The T 51 i, which we presented in beyerdynamic’s 90th anniversary year, impressed specialised press and customers alike as mobile headphones in the higher price segment. The “T” in the name stands for our Tesla technology, which also ensures balanced sound on the move. The functional, somewhat technical design of the headphones is very reminiscent of the beginnings of our headphone history and harkens back to our first model, the DT 48.
The concept of true-to-life, distortion-free and transparent sound was soon reflected in an even more miniaturised form in our first high-end XELENTO in-ear headphone series. The magnet was shrunk by a factor of 16 compared to the T1 transducer, making all other components equally delicate and requiring the utmost sensitivity in the production of these systems. In 2022, the 2nd generation of XELENTO in-ears was successfully launched on the market.
At the same time, we endeavoured to bring high-end sound to the market with wireless headphones. We wanted to realise the high-quality sound of our wired models without a cable, and we succeeded with the Bluetoothâtransmission range of the Amiron wireless. This model also features our impressive Tesla technology. The remarkable spatiality and presence of the Amiron wireless immerses the user in the audio world of their choice.
High-end in the studio sector as well
This development was just too good to be reserved for the high-end sector: Our Tesla system was used for the first time in our high-end studio headphones with the DT 1770 PRO and DT 1990 PRO models. The studio headphones are impressive thanks to their excellent spatiality and detailed treble reproduction, immediately revealing any weak points in the mix. “Made in Germany” is of course also standard practice for these high-end models, which are industry-leading in their choice of materials and quality of workmanship.
The new driver: STELLAR.45
In 2021, we expanded our PRO series with the PRO X models DT 700 PRO X and DT 900 PRO X, which were equipped with the newly developed STELLAR.45 driver. The origin of the new driver lies in the system of our classic DT 770 PRO, DT 990 PRO and DT 880 PRO studio headphones. The design of the magnet pot and the voice coil have been optimised compared to the earlier drivers. The result was a driver that converts electrical signals into sound signals as efficiently as our Tesla sound transducer. This means that the transducer is able to produce almost identical volumes given the same input. The unique thing about our STELLAR.45 driver is that it guarantees high-performance playback even on mobile devices thanks to its 48 ohms. This system is right in line with the spirit of the times, because now a studio can be anywhere. And on a side note, the number 48 has a special meaning for us, as it marked the beginning of our journey into the world of headphones.
Want to find out more about the STELLAR.45 in our PRO X headphones? Then you’ll find a lot of interesting information in the article The new beyerdynamic driver in our PRO X headphones.
Our anniversary headphone DT 770 PRO X
As already mentioned, we are celebrating our anniversary with a special edition, the DT 770 PRO X Limited Edition. The German-made headphones extend the standard-setting features of the DT 770 PRO with the latest driver technology, a detachable cable and specifically improved wearing characteristics. In terms of visuals, this special edition pays homage to our classic DT 770 PRO studio speaker. An anniversary emblem embossed in silver refers to the 100-year history of our company.
Outlook
Behind us lies a moving and eventful headphone history, and we also have a lot planned for the future. We are looking forward to new products and technologies, to the further development of existing products and the creation of new ones. As a company, we are constantly changing, in search of the perfect sound and the best possible speech intelligibility. We look forward to you continuing this exciting journey with us and enjoying our products.