Digital Trends

Sony Altus MDR-D777LP December 26th, 2006 | by Brandon King

Testing and Use

To test the sound quality, we used a battery of DVD-A recordings played through a SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite using only stereo tracks, and compared this to CD and MP3s ripped at 320kbps and 192kbps. Our music choices included a selection of MP3s ranging from jazz to rock and techno, as well as the following:

- The Crystal Method’s Legion of Boom on DVD-A, CD, and MP3
- Mahler’s “Symphony No.10” on DVD-A and MP3
- Overtures and preludes by Wagner on DVD-A
- Bjork’s Vespertine on DVD-A, CD, and MP3

We were pleasantly surprised by the sound quality and smoothness of higher bit rate recordings. The DVD-A of Crystal Method sounds crystal clear and was a vast improvement over the MP3 transcoding and the CD tracks. Mahler was smooth and soothing, but a little distant and flat-sounding. Crescendos lacked a little punch, and violins were slightly muted, but flutes sounded very “sweet.” Mid-highs suffered some loss of presence, but highs and mids were good. No distortion was heard in the highs or lows, which is a good sign that the expanded range is doing its thing (if you can’t represent 20 kHz accurately, what are the chances inaudible frequencies are clean?). Overall, the sound stage was a little flat, but did pop into 3D at appropriate points.

MP3 playback was generally very good across all music types, with a better showing for jazz and alternative/rock. The slightly odd sound signature made techno hit-or-miss, depending on vocals and the spread of the sound spectrum emphasized. But overall, when listening to MP3s, there were no significant low points we could pick out. Also, we had no trouble driving the Altus headphones with an iPod, so no worries about bringing along a portable amplifier when you’re on the go.

When doing a direct A/B comparison with our only 10/10 scoring headphone, the Sennheiser HD580, there was really no competition. Though the Altus headphones are very good for a consumer-level headphone, the Sennheisers blew them out of the water with energy, soundstage, power, and precision that wasn’t even close to comparable. For instance, we could hear the conductor tapping and pages turning with the Sennheisers. On Sony’s Altus, this sounded like momentary static. Compared to the Bose Triport, the Altus headphones did an excellent job of highlighting the classic Bose dilemma — no highs or lows. While the Altus headphones are not the most spectacular headphones we’ve auditioned, they clearly trounced their primary competition.