joelongwood
Keeper of the 'Phones
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
- Posts
- 4,649
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- 14
Disclaimer:
****My ears are 54(soon to be 55) years old, so PLEASE take this into account when reading this, as all these impressions are based on what those 54 year old ears hear.****
OK, this will be brief........gotta get back to shoveling TWO FEET of snow! Geeeez!
In A/B comparisons between these two excellent headphones, using Sony C333ES with RKV (CD3000s plugged into the Impedanzer), this is what I'm hearing so far, with the Beyers not broken in yet.
The Beyers are definitely more detailed, but not as silky smooth as the Sonys, particularly throughout the upper midrange. They hide nothing.......all is revealed. The DT-880s also give a more upfront presentation.......close to a Grado sound, with a much wider soundstage. As Greg pointed out, sibilance can rear its ugly head with the DT-880s..........I've never heard it on the CD3000s. Perhaps this upfront presentation, detailed sound, and occasional sibilance can be laid at the doorstep of the 5 kHz peak that Greg found? Sounds logical.
But, as Greg also stated, I believe the sibilance is source dependent, as it only appeared occasionally on certain cuts, and NEVER on the vinyl copy.
My first impression was that the DT-880 soundstage was much larger than the CD3000. Upon further listening, I found them to be extremely close, with the nod going to the Beyers.......at times. Other times I found the Sonys to have the larger stage. The ambience of the recording studio and the decay of sounds is captured with more authority by the Sonys. Yet, at times, I hear the instruments extending further out from left to right with the Beyers. This soundstage thing is just too close to call.
Oh yeah.....I don't know where the idea that these were "semi-closed" came from. They sound pretty damned open to me. My wife is constantly giving me the dreaded, "Turn it down!" I never hear that with the CD3000s.
My listening consisted of some Simon and Garfunkel, the new Johnny Cash, and some early Arlo Guthrie that I copied from vinyl.
I focused mainly on the vocals and the guitars.
Cash's voice had more depth with the Sonys, but more detail with the Beyers. I could hear his lips smacking, and the quiver in his ancient voice was incredible. The Sonys tended to gloss this over ever so slightly, and he seemed to step back a few feet on the stage.
Guitars sounded fantastic on both, but they sounded particularly realistic on the Beyers. Cymbals also sounded more metallic on the Beyers. The Sonys seemed to miss that last bit of sparkle.
As I get time, I'll try and add to this. Any comments are more than welcome. Thanks for reading.
Back to shoveling! At least I get to listen in peace out there.......no "Turn it down!"
****My ears are 54(soon to be 55) years old, so PLEASE take this into account when reading this, as all these impressions are based on what those 54 year old ears hear.****
OK, this will be brief........gotta get back to shoveling TWO FEET of snow! Geeeez!
In A/B comparisons between these two excellent headphones, using Sony C333ES with RKV (CD3000s plugged into the Impedanzer), this is what I'm hearing so far, with the Beyers not broken in yet.
The Beyers are definitely more detailed, but not as silky smooth as the Sonys, particularly throughout the upper midrange. They hide nothing.......all is revealed. The DT-880s also give a more upfront presentation.......close to a Grado sound, with a much wider soundstage. As Greg pointed out, sibilance can rear its ugly head with the DT-880s..........I've never heard it on the CD3000s. Perhaps this upfront presentation, detailed sound, and occasional sibilance can be laid at the doorstep of the 5 kHz peak that Greg found? Sounds logical.
But, as Greg also stated, I believe the sibilance is source dependent, as it only appeared occasionally on certain cuts, and NEVER on the vinyl copy.
My first impression was that the DT-880 soundstage was much larger than the CD3000. Upon further listening, I found them to be extremely close, with the nod going to the Beyers.......at times. Other times I found the Sonys to have the larger stage. The ambience of the recording studio and the decay of sounds is captured with more authority by the Sonys. Yet, at times, I hear the instruments extending further out from left to right with the Beyers. This soundstage thing is just too close to call.
Oh yeah.....I don't know where the idea that these were "semi-closed" came from. They sound pretty damned open to me. My wife is constantly giving me the dreaded, "Turn it down!" I never hear that with the CD3000s.
My listening consisted of some Simon and Garfunkel, the new Johnny Cash, and some early Arlo Guthrie that I copied from vinyl.
I focused mainly on the vocals and the guitars.
Cash's voice had more depth with the Sonys, but more detail with the Beyers. I could hear his lips smacking, and the quiver in his ancient voice was incredible. The Sonys tended to gloss this over ever so slightly, and he seemed to step back a few feet on the stage.
Guitars sounded fantastic on both, but they sounded particularly realistic on the Beyers. Cymbals also sounded more metallic on the Beyers. The Sonys seemed to miss that last bit of sparkle.
As I get time, I'll try and add to this. Any comments are more than welcome. Thanks for reading.
Back to shoveling! At least I get to listen in peace out there.......no "Turn it down!"
