beyerdynamic DT 70 IE

beyerdynamic’s first ever in‑ear range comes in multiple flavours, including an explicitly studio‑focused model, the DT 70 IE.

Like full‑sized headphones, in‑ear monitors can be designed using several different technologies, all of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. Balanced‑armature drivers are now very popular, and can achieve impressive technical specifications when multiple drivers are used to handle different regions of the frequency spectrum. The flip side of this is that crossover artefacts can introduce a slightly unnatural quality to the sound. Elsewhere, manufacturers such as Audeze have experimented with planar magnetic drivers, to good effect.

Given beyerdynamic’s heritage as one of the world’s oldest manufacturers of dynamic microphones and headphones, it’s no surprise to see that they have kept faith with the more traditional moving‑coil driver in their first‑ever range of IEMs. But that’s not to say that they aren’t innovating. The DT 70 range uses a new TESLA.11 driver that achieves a total harmonic distortion figure of less than 0.2% at 1kHz, which is impressive, and beyerdynamic are also offering what is outwardly the same model in four variants, with different ‘voicings’ intended for different applications. The DT 71 IEs are tagged ‘drum & bass’, the DT 72 IEs ‘guitar & voice’ and the DT 73 IEs ‘classic instruments & keys’, whilst the DT 70 IEs are said to be intended for studio uses such as mixing and critical listening. Appropriately enough, the DT 70s were supplied for review.

Moderation In...