[Brooko]

I am a current owner of the DT880 and HD600.  Former owner of the K701, K702, Q701, K612 - and also the SRH1840.
 
For timbre and naturalness - and my personal favourite for classical - the HD600 does tick the OP's boxes.  It would be my recommendation without hesitation.  If you can find one cheap enough - the SRH1840 would be my second choice (although it is brighter than the HD600).
 
Based on your description ......
(Very rich sound ( especially bass), NO dry sound (live acoustic), Between Bright and Dark sounding, but a bit more towards dark.)
.....  if you were going AKG, I'd recommend the K612 - cheaper and very good for classical.  Not as detailed as the HD600 or SRH1840 though.
 
As much as I love the DT880 though - for the tastes you mentioned above, and the fact that you're driving them from an STX - I think the DT880 might end up a little bright and dry for you.  From an OTL tube amp, it's a different proposition.
 
So in short - get the HD600 - hands down the best for classical (and your stated tastes) than any of the above I mentioned.

 

[FancyDan]

I honestly just think the HD600s are some of the best headphones for any genre of music I've ever used. They're probably my favorite headphone made under 1000 dollars, but that's just me and I certainly haven't tried them all. 

 

[pp312]

  So in short - get the HD600 - hands down the best for classical (and your stated tastes) than any of the above I mentioned.

 
'Hands down'? I think that would be overstating the case slightly. We're running a very tight race here--there's barely a nose in it.

 

[Brooko]

   
'Hands down'? I think that would be overstating the case slightly. We're running a very tight race here--there's barely a nose in it.

Yep - I stand by that, Paul
 
Here's what he asked for,and remember, his amp is an STX - not an OTL tube or warmish SS that'll mellow some of the top end of the DT880.
 

• Very rich sound - especially bass
  I love the DT880 signature - but I would personally not call it "rich" - especially out of an STX.  And especially compared to the HD600.
• No dry sound - especially live acoustic
  Comparing the DT880 and HD600 - which would you say has the drier sound?
• Between bright and dark sounding - but more toward dark
  Again - comparing the two - which stands out to you (HD600 vs DT880) as being the brighter vs the darker.

 
I'm not saying the DT880 is not suited to classical - I love mine (I'm wearing it now) ...... but for the OP's stated preference - I don't think I've overstated the differences - not even in the slightest actually.
 
If he'd stated he wanted a very neutral detailed sound with energy and preferred a brighter than darker presentation - which one do you think I'd have recommended then ..... (DT880) 

 

 

[cswann1]

Agreed, under $1000 the HD600 holds it own with anything and imho it's probably THE best way a headphone audio enthusiast can spend 3 Franklins.
 
They're not particularly picky about amplification but scale extremely well if you decide to invest in some of the more high-end amps.  It's not at all uncommon to go to a HeadFi meet and see a pair of HD600's plugged into a $2000 amp.

 

[pp312]

@Brooko: Point taken. However, if you simply take the title of this thread, I don't believe there's a better phone for classical than the DT880, amps aside, and that's from someone who's owned both 600 & 650. I would even go so far as to say I've been shocked at the sheer naturallness and amount of detail I've heard from the 880 compared to the 650.
 
To be honest I never got on with the 600. I found it overly forward in the lower treble, making strings rather harsh. I'd like to hear another one, but as I'm perfectly happy with the 880 that probably won't happen. Other people love them, so clearly they suit many palettes, but not mine.
 
The caveat emptor with the 880 is always: damp that treble. I just use the tone control of an integrated amp, but of course with a dedicated HP amp it's a little more difficult. The point is, the treble peak is at a point where it's very easy to address (which isn't true of, say, the K701/2). Strange thing is, I hardly notice the treble peak now and often listen flat. It's certainly one of the more benign peaks around and really the phone's only fault, all else being in such balance and with so little colouration. Despite the OPs stated preferences, I would still urge him not to buy until he auditions the 880.
 
P.S. My experience is with the 250ohm Pro only. I've never heard the 600 or any Premium models.

 

[Makiah S]

Still Im with brooko. However if the op has a $500limit the dt880 schit vali combo out of his STX would b very nice. However. If he dun wan n amp. The Senns r nice n warm

 

[Dillan]

Love Sennheiser for classical!  Anything with good imaging and soundstage is going to be what you are looking for.  Beyerdynamic make good headphones and its been recommended a lot in this thread, but I have owned and listened to many of both manufacturers and for that genre specifically.. I have to recommend Sennheiser.  If your budget is $500 (or maybe stretched a little more) then perhaps the HD650's with a good amp combo.
 
Some even mentioned the HD800's.  While I do think the Sennheiser HD 800's are the best in the world for classical music due to their incredible imaging and sound stage - I do not think that you would want to go this route.  First off the headphones themselves are way past the budget you posted and they also need an amp that could drive them and sound well.  It is very picky with amps and spending anything less than a thousand dollars on the amp alone would be holding the 800's back. 

You could get a beautiful sounding system for $500 and if I had to recommend a headphone it would probably be the HD600's or if you wanted to spend a little more you could even get the fun sounding HE-400's from hifiman.  Recently spent a lot of time with them and classical sounds pretty great through them and also they more than fit the bill in the bass department you were talking about.  (probably more than anything else in that price range) especially in terms of quality. 

Good luck with whatever you go with. 

Also.. I mostly spoke about headphones here, but having the right amplification is key too.  You spoke about a sound card, so just make sure that the headphone you choose has a low enough impedance to be driven thoroughly by your sound card if you choose not to get an amp outside of that.  And lastly.. I spoke about the HE-400's and these planar magnetic headphones usually need good power behind them to drive them well so I would definitely recommend something strong for those.
 
I am a fan of classical as well and have a lot of experience with many different headphone manufacturers.  If I were to just name one company for that specific genre it would honestly have to be Sennheiser.   
 
Good luck again!

 

[Brooko]

  @Brooko: Point taken. However, if you simply take the title of this thread, I don't believe there's a better phone for classical than the DT880, amps aside, and that's from someone who's owned both 600 & 650. I would even go so far as to say I've been shocked at the sheer naturallness and amount of detail I've heard from the 880 compared to the 650.
 
To be honest I never got on with the 600. I found it overly forward in the lower treble, making strings rather harsh. I'd like to hear another one, but as I'm perfectly happy with the 880 that probably won't happen. Other people love them, so clearly they suit many palettes, but not mine.
 
The caveat emptor with the 880 is always: damp that treble. I just use the tone control of an integrated amp, but of course with a dedicated HP amp it's a little more difficult. The point is, the treble peak is at a point where it's very easy to address (which isn't true of, say, the K701/2). Strange thing is, I hardly notice the treble peak now and often listen flat. It's certainly one of the more benign peaks around and really the phone's only fault, all else being in such balance and with so little colouration. Despite the OPs stated preferences, I would still urge him not to buy until he auditions the 880.
 
P.S. My experience is with the 250ohm Pro only. I've never heard the 600 or any Premium models.

 
Paul 

 
I agree on the EQing - but disagree on the harshness of the strings (HD600).  I think that's personal preference though 

 
I like and use both - depends on my mood and what I'm listening to.  I find the DT880 are great for detail, and very neutral.  But for me, I find that they can't match the HD600's rendering of timbre and natural tone though.  It's why I love the HD600 particularly with symphonies and string based compositions.
 
Both headphones punch way above their price point - at least one of the two will always be compulsory in my stable.
 
I even liked the DT880 so much (now I've had 3 of them) that they've replaced my RS1s (recently sold and shipping out soon).  The interesting comparison for me next will be with the HD700 which I will be picking up in about 4 weeks.

 

[Canadian411]

You guys are completely blowing his $500 limit with those HD800s.

 


I used to buy entry level headphones, or mid-hifi headphones like HD600, HD650, beyer premium DT770/880/990 etc. And in the long run you will end up saving money by just getting the top ones out there.

With $500 budget save another $500 you can probably get the used one ..

 

[cswann1]

I am sooooo grateful that I don't have ego invested in my headphone gear.  You should see the motley collection of stuff that comprises my Stax rig that I set up for the Austin meet this weekend.  I explained to several folks what all the boxes where and what roll they played to make some sound come out of those butt-ugly 404's.  So I'm not one to buy a product because it's the current top of the line or better looking or even better sounding necessarily. For me it all depends on how much I enjoy it relative to how much it cost me.  I enjoy my  $150 HD580's so much that a $1500 headphone had better come with 19 year old Japanese twins who suffer from Nymphomania Chronica or I ain't buyin.

 

[liamstrain]

For the purpose and taste described, the Sennheiser 600 seems the best if not also providing a budget for a dedicated amp - which would extend options to the Hifiman HE-500 (used). 
 
I love my Beyer 880s, but they don't seem to mesh with the stated preferences. The 650's are too congested for me (and for classical music, imo). The 600 will run fine off his equipment, and scale nicely up if he ever gets into amps. 
 
I don't see any reason to get the Senn 800. Frankly, that's a headphone that has not lived up to its price. And people tend to forget, the 600 was the 800 a few years ago. Calling it mid-tier is a matter of when you bought it. It's an extremely capable headphone. 

 

[husthn]

I would rather recommend you to get HiFiman HE500, if your budget is ok.

because ortho headphones will play a great job on listening to classic music for its high resolution.

 

[Makiah S]

  I would rather recommend you to get HiFiman HE500, if your budget is ok.

because ortho headphones will play a great job on listening to classic music for its high resolution.

I recommend that you do NOT get the HE 500 because it is an ORTHO, and it will need a more powerful amp than what you have
 
but yet the HD 600 and DT 880 are on par, both depend on what you want. 

 

[cswann1]

 
I don't see any reason to get the Senn 800. Frankly, that's a headphone that has not lived up to its price.

 
What manner of delusion do you suffer from?  
 
A LOT of people who are very serious about headphone audio, from the enthusiast audiophile consumer to the professional journalist all agree that it's probably the finest dynamic headphone so far created by the hand of man.  If a steaming pile of canine doodoo like the Grado PS1000 can get people to enthusiastically part with $1700 then I for one think the HD800 is a steal by that standard.  I personally am not that into headphone audio to justify that expense, but having heard the HD800 I can see how those that are really into headphone audio would.