The Beyerdynamic DT880 Appreciation / Discussion thread - Page 162

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooko 

I had both - and they are virtually identical to my ears.  If you want to add euphonic warmth to the mid-range, either EQ or go tubes.  Love my 880s with the LD MKIV.  Ironic thing is that I could have kept the 250ohm - but I had to try the 600's to see if there was a difference.

 

Might be slightly smoother top end on the 600s - but I realise that is probably placebo rather than fact . 

I had both, but the 600 ohm was used and the pads were a bit flat. Don't know if that affected anything but I actually preferred the 250 ohm, though there wasn't a heap of difference. Even Tyll Hertsen said he thought the difference could very well be placebo--or wishful thinking perhaps, in many cases. There's also expectation bias and group pressure. When a number of people say the 600 ohm sounds better, hey, you want to be with the "in" crowd, right? And this is to ignore the factor of amp matching. Maybe the 600 ohm matches certain amps better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooko 

Mine was 250 Pro (purchased new in 2011) vs current 600 ohm Premium purchased 2nd hand - but is definitely later model (so post 2005).

 

I was expecting big differences - but there really wasn't.  I also find that when people make the comparisons, they're going from auditory memory (never accurate), unlikely to be volume matched, and in Yokken's case (above), he was commenting that the Lyr used with the 600ohm "could be" making the difference.

 

It's a tube amp - of course it's going to be different.  Hence warmth/smoothness comments.  Would have been interesting if he'd been able to compare the two side by side with same amp and volume matched .....

 

The problem is that it's not easy to make a side by side comparison with everything matched - so we make generalisations that the 600 is vastly superior ..... when in reality ....... 

 

I seem to remember there being debates in the past about the 600 vs others.

 

Anywhere - in my limited experience - there is not a huge difference.  Anyone buying should just get the impedance value to match their source.

I fully understand your skepticism. I'm basing my thoughts purely from my memory, and there's a few variables that changed. But I still think people should opt for the 600ohm if they have an amp. Even an E17 or E11 should be able to drive them decently, at least to the same level (volume *and* dynamics) that they'd drive a 250ohm to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yokken 

 

I fully understand your skepticism. I'm basing my thoughts purely from my memory, and there's a few variables that changed. But I still think people should opt for the 600ohm if they have an amp. Even an E17 or E11 should be able to drive them decently, at least to the same level (volume *and* dynamics) that they'd drive a 250ohm to.

I know this is the 880 thread, but thought I'd post this here anyway, since it concerns the differences between the 250 pro and 600 premium.

I am currently doing an A/B test on the DT 990 250 pro and 600 ohm premium.  Running from the headphone out on an X-fi Platinum to the Aux in on an E17.  I could use the DAC on the E17, but my (uneducated) guess is that the DAC in the X-fi is better.  New to this sort of testing, so any suggestions would be appreciated.  Using all 320 MP3 or FLAC for my test tracks.  Both sets have been burned in for about the same amount of hours.   

A few things:

1) I don't notice the clamping being much tighter on the Pro-- slightly, but not enough that I'd think it impacts the bass, yet the bass does seem a bit stronger on the Pro. 

2) Normalizing the volume is a bit tricky-- the Pros output louder at the same volume setting.  

3) I am going back and forth on the coiled vs. straight cord.  

4) In a blind test, with the volume differences controlled for, I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the sound on the two versions.  Maybe a bit more precision to the sound of the Premiums.  At this point I can't decide which set I'll be selling-- not sure if a cheap tube amp would be worth messing around with, or how much of a difference it would make. 

Thanks to everyone who suggested the 990-- originally I was planning to buy the 770, but based on all of the recommendations on this board I opted for the 990, my first pair of open headphones (other than a cheap pair of Icemat gaming cans) and I enjoy the expansiveness.  

I am really curious to hear the 880 for comparison.   

Got a pair today in the mail, god I'm loving them, It's probably not an adequate amp, but they get more loud that I could wish for on the Audioengine D1, hell they even sound good straight out of my computer, they even get loud enough for me out of the iPod

Probably I just like to listen in a lower level, idk

I know this is brought up a lot but for those of you that have the 250 pro's did you notice your headband to have less clamping force after stretching it out? How would a stretched out Pro compare to the Premium headband? The reason I'm asking this is because I like the look of the Pro's much better than the Premiums, but I'm also afraid of the tight clamping. To go even further is the Premium stretchable as well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by yokken 

 

I fully understand your skepticism. I'm basing my thoughts purely from my memory, and there's a few variables that changed. But I still think people should opt for the 600ohm if they have an amp.

Even if there's a $100 price difference between 600 ohm Premium and 250 ohm Pro, as there often is? 

I know people have commented on the bass on the DT880. But, THIS BASS IS FANTASTIC!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 

 

Even if there's a $100 price difference between 600 ohm Premium and 250 ohm Pro, as there often is? 

There is often a price difference, but I've seen the 600ohm at the same price as the 250ohm (Premium) or very close in the past 2-3 months. They're easy to find at $349, but the real deal is finding them for $249. You can easily do that on the forums, and Amazon's had some real nice prices recently. If people can't wait, the 250ohm will probably be easier to find for a lower price. But if you do a little digging you can easily find the 600ohm for not much more than the 250.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yokken 

 

There is often a price difference, but I've seen the 600ohm at the same price as the 250ohm (Premium)

I was actually thinking of the Pro, which I have. It's consistently and universally easy to get cheap, and must represent one of the great bargains in headphones. The coiled cord is no trouble, and if the clamping is too tight (it's pretty benign really) you can bend the headband out. Voila! you have a Premium phone for rather less money in most cases.  

I personally love the straight cable and the clamp is perfect on the Premiums. So if you can find them for the same price I'd definitely go for them. Even for $50 more I'd go for the 600ohm. They are capable of much more than the 250ohm, which sounded close to the same on my Lyr as they did on my E17.

Also, I've been sick for the past week so I've spent no more than 2 hours a day with my DT880s. I mostly used them for movies on my iPad and that's it. My right ear was fairly plugged for the majority of the time. But I'm listening to them now through my Lyr, and I remember how beautiful they are. There is so much more depth to my music. My Audioengine A2s have done a great job at satisfying me during the interim, but there's a whole new world of fidelity and detail with the DT880s that cannot be quantified unless you hear it for yourself. WOULD LISTEN AGAIN A+++

I have to make a new post for this. Anyone who is into electronic music -- you must hear this song with the DT880s. I haven't listened to it since I got my new setup. It is fantastic. Remember to pick 720p :)

How do the earcup adjustments feel on your DT880s guys? I'm the third owner of my pair (I got them from free), and the bails (I think that's how you call them) where really loose and slid really easily, I tried to tighten the screws but nothing, in the end I just added some pieces of paper on the inside and that tightened everything

Any other advice guys?

Nope. My 250ohm 880s were a lottt more firm and harder to switch, but better. A lot of times when I pick these up by one side off my bed or something, the side I'm holding will go up to like the 2nd notch. I usually put mine at 6, sometimes 7 notches. Not the worst thing in the world. I thought it was just from my previous owner but he was pretty careful with these. Oh well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yokken 

Nope. My 250ohm 880s were a lottt more firm and harder to switch, but better. A lot of times when I pick these up by one side off my bed or something, the side I'm holding will go up to like the 2nd notch. I usually put mine at 6, sometimes 7 notches. Not the worst thing in the world. I thought it was just from my previous owner but he was pretty careful with these. Oh well.

well mine where completley loose . But I talked to the guy who gave me these and he said they where like this when he bought them off of the other guy, but well I don't really worry, the paper really did the trick for me hahaha

I'm listening these right now out of my iPod, kill me if you want, but I think this is more than listenable