It was extremely hard to choose between DT770 Pro and M4U-1. For those interested in comparing these two great headphones – here are my thoughts, categorized into different aspects.
Aesthetics
The DT770 is designed like a professional studio gear – round and black plastic cups with velour earpads, though looked professional, they are certainly not designed to match your fashion apparel.
The M4U-1, on the other hand, sports different colors to choose from – among them are black, gray, white and red, all in glossy finishing with leather earpads. You could certainly get a hint of Beats as far as design is concerned, but with far superior sound quality, which will be discussed later. In a nutshell, it is designed to look trendy.
As far as looks is concerned, M4U-1 wins.
Accessories
The DT770 Pro comes with a 6.3 mm jack screw-on adapter; while our friends from PSB packed a lot more – cleaning micro-fibre cloth, extra pair of earpads, airline adapter, cable with inline mic for iPod and Blackberry, and a hard case to boot, aside from a 6.3 mm jack adapter.
Accessories wise, M4U-1 wins hands down.
Comfort
DT770 Pro has larger ear cups than M4U-1, which logically provides a better comfort. In reality, yes, DT770 Pro is much comfortable than M4U-1.
I felt the M4U-1’s earpads are a bit too small for my ears as my ears felt squished. Not very uncomfortable, but definitely not comfortable.
DT770 Pro wins this round.
Sound Quality – Highs
Both headphones are really well designed as far as sound quality is concerned. The highs are extends very well and very fine for both, except M4U-1 sounds a tad bit brighter than DT770, which might give a tiny problem when playing noisy rock tracks (e.g. Sister’s Noise by fripSide).
DT770 Pro gives a bit of an edge here.
Sound Quality – Mids (Vocals)
This is when it gets really interesting. DT770 Pro, has a bit of coloring in the mids. Though the mids are considered pretty well (the coloring is much lower than Sony MDR-1R), it gives off a very very subtle plastic-y sound. (resonance at around 2 kHz)
Mids in M4U-1 is engaging, it is almost “penetrating”. The album “Best Audiophile Voices III” and “Eternal Singing Endless Love”, or any vocal track, are best enjoyed with the M4U-1.
M4U-1 completely squashed DT770 in vocals.
Sound Quality – Lows
Though DT770 has a noticeable mid-bass hump, the lows in DT770 have a very nice timbre, felt completely natural and envelops the ears very nicely. Personally I feel the bass in DT770 Pro is a tiny bit too much, some might prefer a lighter bass,
The M4U-1, however, has more of an IEM styled bass – though equally as deep, they are highly controlled and dry. I guess the lack of adequately sized cavity didn’t allow the bass to give a nice and natural bass reverb on the ears.
New age music such as ones from the album “The Sound of Illusion” (by NuSound, the album a different name in different regions) felt very dry on the M4U-1 compared to DT770.
DT770 dominates M4U-1 here, no doubt.
Conclusions
It’s really, really hard to choose between DT770 Pro and M4U-1.
The M4U-1 while delivering impressive vocals, feels more like an IEM more than a pair of full-size headphones in the bass department.
The DT770 Pro’s only major drawback (though not very major if you don’t do ABX comparison) is the mids.
A tie, perhaps?
