[Frederose]

A portable amp will almost certainly give you more dynamics, and thus, a better sound. 

 

[thelonious58]

   
 
I presume you mean, why is the 880 preferred as a classical music choice? Answer: for classical a more neutral, even frequency response is preferred. The 990 has a considerably elevated bass and slightly more elevated treble. There's no law that says you can't prefer the 990 for classical, but many hundreds of attentive ears have come to a different conclusion. The 880 is certainly not lacking bass, only a mid-bass hump; the bass is there when called for. As for the treble, for me the 880 would be the perfect classical phone if not for the treble peak, but I compensate quite adequately by using an integrated amp and employing those audiophile anachronisms known as tone controls. Works surprisingly well.
 
Not sure from your post if you've directly compared the 880 with 990. If so, let you ears decide and ignore dissenters.      

I listen mainly to classical music of all genres and was very impressed by the DT990 Pro 250 Ohm apart from what ,for me, were  its two fatal flaws ;
overwhelming bass and recessed midrange; the bass drowned the already recessed mids, but I realised then that I don't like a V or U-shaped signature. To my surprise, I liked the treble!
The 990's soundstage was very impressive, but because of the bass/mids problem I surprisingly enjoyed them most with solo cello or string quartets rather than with full orchestral works.
Having got used to the wide soundstage of the HD598 and the Sony MA900 (the 990 was similar to these in soundstage), I could find it hard to get used to the narrower (but allegedly deeper)
soundstage of the 880s, but I would imagine that the extra detail and refinement would more than compensate for this.

 

[pokk700]

I've never listened to the DT880, but I must say I love my DT990 for classical music.  I'm particularly fond of cello concertos, and the bass of the DT990 really can make that instrument sing.  The sparkly highs are also great unless you're listening to a badly recorded violin piece, in which case they can sound fatiguing.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

  I listen mainly to classical music of all genres and was very impressed by the DT990 Pro 250 Ohm apart from what ,for me, were  its two fatal flaws ;
overwhelming bass and recessed midrange; the bass drowned the already recessed mids, but I realised then that I don't like a V or U-shaped signature. To my surprise, I liked the treble!
The 990's soundstage was very impressive, but because of the bass/mids problem I surprisingly enjoyed them most with solo cello or string quartets rather than with full orchestral works.
Having got used to the wide soundstage of the HD598 and the Sony MA900 (the 990 was similar to these in soundstage), I could find it hard to get used to the narrower (but allegedly deeper)
soundstage of the 880s, but I would imagine that the extra detail and refinement would more than compensate for this.

Well this is the reason why I like the Dt990 so much for Alternative and Classic Rock. 
 
Much like pp312, I think for Classical music the only flaw of the DT880 is its treble peak. In fact, if "reference sound" is your liking, I guess the treble peak is the only problem for the DT880 in every genres. My friends use tube amps to tame the trebles (must have been mullards or tung sols).
 
IMO the MA900's soundstage is only matched by Audio Technica's ATH line in term of width. AKG K701 comes quite close. That's to say there's plenty of choices for classical music IF you want to feel like you're sitting in a opera house.

 

[MorrisL]

  I've never listened to the DT880, but I must say I love my DT990 for classical music.  I'm particularly fond of cello concertos, and the bass of the DT990 really can make that instrument sing.  The sparkly highs are also great unless you're listening to a badly recorded violin piece, in which case they can sound fatiguing.

It doesn't even have to be badly recorded. Violins (especially a solo violin) sound horrendous on DT990, in my experience, as long as they were recorded with a condenser microphone, known to be relatively neutral than other types of mics. Unfortunately, most music is recorded with condenser mics these days, and if generous e.q. wasn't used to tame the highs, violins are always screechy and painful to listen to. I would imagine a ribbon mic (known for its characteristic darkness) would record some great violin music, ideal for the DT990. So, it's a lot more to it than the headphone.

 

[MorrisL]

 
IMO the MA900's soundstage is only matched by Audio Technica's ATH line in term of width. AKG K701 comes quite close. That's to say there's plenty of choices for classical music IF you want to feel like you're sitting in a opera house.

Looking at your inventory (the all-Grado line-up), it looks like you like your music nice and bright. Does any of them sound brighter than the 990? Kinda hard to believe there's a demand for such bright signatures.
 
MA900 is not mentioned as a classical music master too often. Does it take classical music to a higher lever, as compared to the DT990pro? I keep thinking about buying a pair, but I'm afraid it's redundant, with the 990 I already have. HE500 or LCD2 might be the only real upgrade. 

 

[pokk700]

  It doesn't even have to be badly recorded. Violins (especially a solo violin) sound horrendous on DT990, in my experience, as long as they were recorded with a condenser microphone, known to be relatively neutral than other types of mics. Unfortunately, most music is recorded with condenser mics these days, and if generous e.q. wasn't used to tame the highs, violins are always screechy and painful to listen to. I would imagine a ribbon mic (known for its characteristic darkness) would record some great violin music, ideal for the DT990. So, it's a lot more to it than the headphone.

Hmm, I guess everyone's ears and preferences are different.  I recently listened to the Bach Violin Concertos (probably my favorite violin pieces) and I thought the DT990 performed quite well.  Also consider that the DT990 is pretty amp picky, so depending on what setup you have, its highs may be more or less pronounced.  This may not be entirely relevant, but my DT990 sounds awful straight out of my laptop and the highs are what you describe- squeaky and horrendous.

 

[Shaffer]

Hmm, I guess everyone's ears and preferences are different.  I recently listened to the Bach Violin Concertos (probably my favorite violin pieces) and I thought the DT990 performed quite well.  Also consider that the DT990 is pretty amp picky, so depending on what setup you have, its highs may be more or less pronounced.  This may not be entirely relevant, but my DT990 sounds awful straight out of my laptop and the highs are what you describe- squeaky and horrendous.

Agree 100% and I'll add source material into the equation. I've been trying to explain this to folks for over a year. It's like pissing into the wind. lol

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

  Looking at your inventory (the all-Grado line-up), it looks like you like your music nice and bright. Does any of them sound brighter than the 990? Kinda hard to believe there's a demand for such bright signatures.
 
MA900 is not mentioned as a classical music master too often. Does it take classical music to a higher lever, as compared to the DT990pro? I keep thinking about buying a pair, but I'm afraid it's redundant, with the 990 I already have. HE500 or LCD2 might be the only real upgrade. 

Bright trebles is not the only thing that Grados are know for. They have sweet mids as well - which can be detrimental to Classical lovers. I don't know about others, but I like my Classical cans to be refined and balanced, with the bass bumped up a little bit - just a little, so that Wagner can impress me.
So far I can tell that the MS Pro, to my ears, is better for Classical than both the DT990 and the DT880. THe Pro's mids are not as forwards as on other Grados, but most importantly the trebles of the MS Pro doesn't hurt my ears as much as the DT880's. However in comparison to the ATH and the MA900, the Pro's sound stage is not that great. I like it because it has the "Grado musicality" that I've grown to love. 
 
If you like the DT880 enough, tube amp can be a solution. 
 
Yep the MA900 is IMO quite warm and leans towards relaxing Pop music (I was commenting on its soundstage). It is different to the DT990 as their sound sig is different enough to justify owning both. But if your sole purpose is to have a good pair of headphones for Classical, don't go for the MA900. If you can go up to the LCD2, try the AKG K1000 as well. However as they are discontinued, your journey might be long.

 

[MorrisL]

  Bright trebles is not the only thing that Grados are know for. They have sweet mids as well - which can be detrimental to Classical lovers. I don't know about others, but I like my Classical cans to be refined and balanced, with the bass bumped up a little bit - just a little, so that Wagner can impress me.
So far I can tell that the MS Pro, to my ears, is better for Classical than both the DT990 and the DT880. THe Pro's mids are not as forwards as on other Grados, but most importantly the trebles of the MS Pro doesn't hurt my ears as much as the DT880's. However in comparison to the ATH and the MA900, the Pro's sound stage is not that great. I like it because it has the "Grado musicality" that I've grown to love. 
 
If you like the DT880 enough, tube amp can be a solution. 
 
Yep the MA900 is IMO quite warm and leans towards relaxing Pop music (I was commenting on its soundstage). It is different to the DT990 as their sound sig is different enough to justify owning both. But if your sole purpose is to have a good pair of headphones for Classical, don't go for the MA900. If you can go up to the LCD2, try the AKG K1000 as well. However as they are discontinued, your journey might be long.

Thanks for your response.
 
The journey indeed seems to be unusually long and all I wanted was a headphone I could use to enjoy my classical music collection. But it's fun looking, anyway.
 
Just like you, I enjoy some nice bass with my classical and that's why the usual classical choice (DT880, K701, HD600) is just not doing it for me. But unlike you, I also seem to have strongly negative reaction to bright headphones (fatigue kills the enjoyable experience very fast). That's why, having auditioned LCD2, I thought it might be a good choice, because it simply has phenomenal bass, without harsh treble. I need to do further research to find out if HE500 (if I were to stick to planar technology) might be a better choice at half the cost of LCD2.

 

[MorrisL]

  Hmm, I guess everyone's ears and preferences are different.  I recently listened to the Bach Violin Concertos (probably my favorite violin pieces) and I thought the DT990 performed quite well.  Also consider that the DT990 is pretty amp picky, so depending on what setup you have, its highs may be more or less pronounced.  This may not be entirely relevant, but my DT990 sounds awful straight out of my laptop and the highs are what you describe- squeaky and horrendous.

Recently, Shaffer and I had a heated (although admirably civil) debate over this, and he suggested exactly what you're suggesting here. But notice that even by your own admission, going between various amps will only make the highs on the 990 "more or less pronounced." So, there's really no denying that the 990 is a bright headphone and trying out different amps is actually a workaround to deal with a problem. The highs on an HD650, I imagine, won't bother you no matter what amp you try it with.
 
I looked a little deeper into this and made an elaborate experiment that you guys might find interesting. I've got a violin at home and I took it out and recorded a passage through a Rode NT1a condenser microphone. The music was incredibly harsh on the DT 990, but on a low-key PX 100 ii (known for its HD650-like signature), it was nice and sweet. I even tried it with my $120 JVC HA200 clip-ons, which aren't particularly warm, and it didn't sound bright at all.
 
I also recorded the same passage through a warm Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon microphone, and the sound on DT990 was decent, although still a little too bright for my taste.
 
The thing is the upper two strings on the violin sit comfortably on that 8K peak on the DT990, and it makes violin music especially unlistenable to me. If it wasn't for that peak, I'd build a shrine around my DT990. They are amazing headphones in every other way.

 

[Shaffer]

Recently, Shaffer and I had a heated (although admirably civil) debate over this, and he suggested exactly what you're suggesting here. But notice that even by your own admission, going between various amps will only make the highs on the 990 "more or less pronounced." So, there's really no denying that the 990 is a bright headphone and trying out different amps is actually a workaround to deal with a problem. The highs on an HD650, I imagine, won't bother you no matter what amp you try it with.

As I've told you several times, the DT990 can go from sounding overly bright to slightly warm, depending on what it's fed with. Using quality gear is not a work-around; it's a necessity with these headphones. FWIW, I own HD600. All things being equal, again, using high quality equipment and source material, the 600s actually sound a bit brighter, overall.

 

[Youth]

Well if you don't like either DT880 or DT990 then try T90 or T1

 

[MorrisL]

As I've told you several times, the DT990 can go from sounding overly bright to slightly warm, depending on what it's fed with. Using quality gear is not a work-around; it's a necessity with these headphones. FWIW, I own HD600. All things being equal, again, using high quality equipment and source material, the 600s actually sound a bit brighter, overall.

If what you say there about the HD600 also rings true to at least a few others who have experience with both headphones, that would be an incredibly useful revelation to me and I imagine many others. Haven't heard the HD600 myself, so for the time being I am going to have to rely on user feedback such as yours. These threads will be here forever; I'm sure other folks will jump in.

 

[pokk700]

Well if the 8k peak is you only real gripe with the 990, you could always try some eq. I personally don't use this as I was experiencing some distortion problems even after taking precautions to prevent clipping, but I'm sure with a proper eq and not a crappy 10 band graphic you could tame it to your liking.