Beyerdynamic DT 860

Isolation (1.25)

Before continuing onward here, it’s worthy of note that open-backed headphones like the Beyerdynamic DT 860s by their very design do not isolate well, and that’s no accident. With closed-back headphones, it’s possible to get tiny echoes from sound reflecting off the back of the casing, but with open headphones, this not only cannot happen, but you also gain a wide-open soundstage that doesn’t make you feel like your ears are underwater.

Consequently, the Beyerdynamic DT 860s do not isolate you from the outside world. Observe: these cans only blocked out a little bit of high-frequency sound.

Comparisons

See how the Beyerdynamic DT 860 compares:

Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO Compare

Monster Beats Pro Compare

Sennheiser PXC 250-II Compare

Etymotic Research mc5 Compare

Click here for more information on our isolation test.

Leakage (2.91)

With open backs also come big leakage. Though this result isn’t too surprising, be aware that if you have someone next to you, they will probably hear what you’re listening to pretty well.

Click here for more information on our leakage test.

Maximum Usable Volume (8.71)

The Beyerdynamic DT 860s have a maximum usable volume of 114.5dB before it outputs more than 3% total distortion. While it’s nice that they can do that in theory, we strongly advise you NOT to test this out for yourself, as you will damage your hearing. Really, if you’re going to be using these at home, like you should be, you will never need to push these cans to that volume.