Beyerdynamic DT 240 PRO Studio Headphones Review

The Beyerdynamic DT 240 PRO studio headphones bring us an over-ear, closed-back design with some very powerful and clear sound at an affordable price. We were given a pair by Beyer to complete this honest and fair review today, and after much use, testing and inspection of the 240 PRO’s, we were very happy with how they came out. Of course, Beyer’s entire DT series of studio headphones are very popular among audiophiles and musicians alike for a reason. Especially in this price-point however, studio headphones that are worth the buy can be few and far between. Let’s get into the details.

Features of the DT 240 PRO

Studio-grade sound
Compact, over-ear, closed-back design
Noise isolating design
Lightweight ergonomic, adjustable headband
Soft ear pads
Studio and mobile use
Metal headband, aluminum yokes
Reinforced, interchanged cables
Swiveling ear cups
Frequency response: 5 to 35 kHz
Impedance: 34 ohms
Maximum SPL: 119 dB
Weight: 196 grams (6.9 ounces)

Quality of the DT 240 PRO’s build

When first unboxing the DT 240 PRO, we were very happy with the build. First noticeable were the ear cups, coming in with a very soft, leather-like feel that was very comfortable when first wearing them. To be honest, we were almost taken back by how small the ear cups were — they aren’t nearly as large as some over-ear studio headphones in the market, to the point where we almost had to double-check the box that these weren’t on-ears. This is where their term ‘compact’ comes in to play, and in our opinion think it’s a great feature unless you’re somebody who likes those huge ear cups (a la the 770 PRO).

The smaller ear cups still provide that over-ear and private sound, however, so don’t let it fool you (great especially for recording). The reason being is they really hug your head tight which in our opinion aids in the noise isolation capabilities of these. As we type this and wear the headphones, we’re also monitoring our interface and playing the music aloud with some monitor speakers and we can’t hear a thing (even our typing). So unless you’re somebody who loves huge ear cups, the compact design of these are great — the DT 240 PRO‘s feel comfortable and tight on our heads overall, with great noise isolation on top of it.

The ear cups also swivel, so if you’re DJ’ing, podcasting or even recording and for whatever reason need to speak to somebody or listen outside of your audio, you’re good to go here without having to take the headphones off completely. The cable is also interchangeable, so you can easily replace it if it ever breaks, or perhaps want to replace it with a longer one. This cable at 1.2 that comes in the box isn’t the longest out there — right now we’re sitting back in our chair and it just reaches out audio interface underneath our monitor as it becomes a straight line. This is however without stretching the cable, so it’ll more than double that distance (3m) if you can get it stretched and fixated properly. It should suit most recording environments fine, unless you like to record a long ways a way from your computer and don’t have a separate interface for your booth. Even better, Beyerdynamic gives us a choice to hook up the cable in either ear for more versatility when adapting to your particular preferences.

Lastly, the headband here is great since it is not only made of the same soft material as the ear cups but can adjusted however large your noggin is. A lot of headphones in this $100 or less price-range tend to sacrifice builds when it comes to the actual headband material (yes, some have even leather ear cups but once you adjust the headband it’s just simply plastic), but Beyer here is different and made these out of aluminum — we’re very happy with this, since headbands have indeed been the first parts of headphones to break before (in our experience, at least).

Sound quality of the DT 240 PRO

For a headphone this high of quality at such a low price, they must at least sacrifice audio quality, right? No, to put it simply. “Studio headphones” is such a watered down term that it’s even hard for us to define it to our readers — so how do I know which pair of headphones is actually for my studio, or which are just marketed this phrase since it’s become to widely recognized as synonymous with, “it’s a good pair of headphones, trust us!”? It’s all in the sound.

First and foremost, let’s get technical here to see why the DT 240 PRO‘s standout from other “studio” headphones. The frequency response literally goes down 5 Hz, which is the lowest we’ve seen in headphones of any price-range. Knowing that human ears can only hear from 20 to 20 kHz, the fact that the DT 240 PRO’s also go up to 30 kHz gives us a frequency range that we won’t even be able to completely hear. This gives us confidence and backed-up security that we’ll be attaining the whole spectrum of sound clearly, and that’s of course one of the most important features of ‘studio’ headphones, especially when we’re recording or mixing in a serious environment.

When testing the sound of these headphones, we were very happy with how flat it came out. We used these for about a week straight with many different genres to get a good feel for them. To be clear, this is not an audio solution for those who want more bass than normal, and if that’s your preference, you’re completely free to want that; however, we wouldn’t recommend the DT 240 PRO since we think the lows, mids and highs are all equal. It’s subjective to even say that, but with out hours of research and experience when it comes reviewing headphones, these pass the test for “flat sound“.

We don’t think it would be fair to call these ‘warm’ — again, no bass embellishment here. The “crisp” or “bright” feel as many Beyer headphones are known for however caught our ears here, but nothing too magnified to where we felt fatigue after long use. The best word we can probably use is “neutral”, and we’re quite happy with the result considering other headphones in this price-point try to get away with that feel but aren’t successful. All in all, the sound is very balanced in these, and although aren’t thousand-dollar monitoring headphones, can get the job done and completely blows many studio headphones at $100 or less out of the water.

What’s in the box?

1 pair of DT 240 PRO
1 coiled cable (1.25m or 3m stretched)
1 soft bag
1 1/4″ adapter

Concluding the DT 240 PRO review

When we say the term ‘studio headphones‘, this is what we mean — comfortable and higher-quality than average ear cups and headbands, a sturdy overall build to last as a long-term investment, and of course, flat, neutral and balanced sound. Of course, our review here is definitely subjective and limited to our own human ears, but with hundreds of hours of headphone reviews under our belts, it’s easy for to us identify a true ‘studio headphone’ and a knock-off from a random brand on Amazon. Beyer is one of the biggest and baddest brands in headphone history, so the name alone gives us confidence in our buy. With that being said, just the name isn’t safe to recommend a pair, and being able to use these hands on show that they aren’t messing around even with budget-friendly studio headphones. The technical specs back that up even further.

Especially for those on a budget, the Beyerdynamic DT 240 PRO are beautiful in many different aspects, which in our opinion what makes these the victor over many in this price range — the sum of its parts create a very effective whole here today.