Beyerdynamic
76 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2022
> reviews / mini reviews
A rapid-ire round-up of studio essentials (and not so essentials)
mini reviews
Web polar.uk.com, beyerdynamic.com
Gear Closed-back headphones
Beyerdynamic’s DT 1770 closed back
headphones are some of the best we’ve ever
tested and have become something of a
reference point on our test bench. However, at
around £400, they might be a stretch for many
producers. Then there are the cheaper £100-ish
DT 770 Pros which, to our ears, don’t deliver the
accuracy of their more expensive older siblings.
However, now we have the new £219 DT 700 Pro
X on test here. They’re not only bridging the gap
between both existing models price-wise, but
also promising to up the ante in terms of sound
quality. So will these more reasonably priced
phones bridge the sound gap as well as illing
the price void ?
Anyone familiar with Beyerdynamic
headphones will be comfortably at home here –
the velour-style ear pads are present and
correct and slip around your head in an almost
cosy fashion. The large drivers and relatively low
weight mean they it snugly and won’t weigh a
long mixing session down, although they can
get a tad warm. The headband is quite tight but
you get a good level of sound isolation – as their
closed back design should. It also makes closed-
back phones better for mixing with. (There is a
similarly-designed new open back set, the DT
900 Pro X, which we’ll look at next month.)
Specs-wise, the frequencies are covered too –
from 5Hz all the way to a massive 40kHz – and a
48ohm impedance means that they will deliver
decent volumes from as wide a range of devices.
The all-important sound quality should, of
course, be an accurate one for their intended
tasks of mixing and mastering, and it doesn’t
disappoint with a non coloured and controlled
response across the wide range.
The stereo width is pretty amazing too; you
usually get this kind of extra space from a more
open back design so it’s great to hear it in a
more measured mixing environment.
Overall we’d put the 700 Pro Xs right up there
with the 1770s soundwise, which, along with
Beyerdynamic’s design and expertise, you’d
probably expect.
But at just a shade over £200 you’re getting
the comfort, sound and 1770 quality for just over
half the price, so they have to come highly
recommended. We talked about ‘bridges’ earlier,
and the DT 700 Pro Xs could be your ‘bridge’ to
better monitoring. Ho ho.
n 9 / 1 0 n
Beyerdynamic
DT 700 Pro X
£219
Web nanoleaf.me
Gear ‘Smarter’ Decor
We’ve published many features over the years
about how productive your studio should feel,
and an often undervalued aspect of your music
creation ‘space’ is simply how welcoming it is.
The thinking is: it’s no good if your studio looks
like a place where you write emails, otherwise
that’s what you’ll end up doing in it.
With that in mind, we’re big fans of cool
studio gadgets, great-looking gizmos and
lashing lights and Nanoleaf’s ‘Smart Decor’
seems to encompass all three. You create
diferent shaped lights from individual units and
you end up with a wall-mounted light panel
which can be controlled with an app or change
colour in time with your music.
With millions of colours possible, you can
create amazing indoor light shows. Your inished
panel can even – via the app – mimic the colours
on your computer monitor, an enhancing
experience for a game player or ilm watcher,
apparently. (Not so much, we bet, an Ableton
Live user – “nice grey wall you have there!”).
The Lines are easy to construct into a custom
shape (several are suggested, which are worth
copying or you’ll just end up with triangles, like
we did) and it’s easy to assemble in 30 minutes.
(And slightly less easy to disassemble when you
undoubtedly change your mind over your target
shape.) Once up and running, the lights give out
a surprising amount of fun and luminescence.
We found the music reaction time to be a little
delayed, probably because of Bluetooth, but
better in response to your voice (which can
control the lights via Siri and more).
Of course it’s arguable whether Lines will aid
creativity – in fact you could say they ofer more
of a distraction – but set on something soothing,
they’ll add a chilled vibe to your studio space or
just some nice decoration.
We also found that having a damn great wall
of colour dancing along with our freshly-created
music makes it sound more ‘pro’ – like we’re on
tour, perhaps. So EDM producers might think
they’re in a club and stoners might think they’ve
simply gone to heaven.
Lines might be pricey, and your sensible self
will say the cash is better spent on an audio
interface, but your fun side might just ask,
‘where have these been all my life?’.
n 7 / 1 0 n
Nanoleaf
Lines
£179.99
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