[lejaz]

Quote:

 
As someone who has purchased multiple $1000+ headphones and has demoed several more, I'm of the opinion that purchasing more expensive gear doesn't typically equate to greater appreciation for one's musical selections.  To me, the whole notion of pursuing "summit-fi" is largely a consumerist rat race.  Attempting to compare the DT250-250 to, say, the HD800 will draw cries of "apples to oranges" largely due to price and partly because of form factor, but to me a headphone is a headphone regardless of these attributes -- the application remains the same. (personal listening devices, both)  Without getting into specifics that may cause a rift, (PM me if elaboration is needed) based on my time with the HD800 I prefer the DT250-250.
 
Point being, don't discount the performance of your current gear based on what could be greener pastures.  If you don't desire more of 'X' or less of 'Y' out of your setup, then just sit back and enjoy the music. 

that's quite a controversial statement, if that's the right word, and quite an endorsement of the dt250! Nice to hear from someone who doesn't always feel the need for more, more, more.  Imo, if you find a set up that draws you into the music and makes you forget the gear, then you're already there. I get to that point a good deal of the time. I think a lot of upgraditus comes from boredom with the music itself... so we need to find the next big shiny toy to keep us occupied. I have no need to upgrade other than out of curiosity as to what a good ortho could do. I like what a modded Fostex t20 was capable of and the Paradox modded T50  is supposedly much better. But that's curiosity, not need.

 

[Curly21029]

Quote:

that's quite a controversial statement, if that's the right word, and quite an endorsement of the dt250!

 
It's stated within the context of my needs.  However, if one sought to listen exclusively to concert hall orchestral then the HD800 has specifically accentuated performance tributes that I believe most would consider desirable .  For me, I simply have zero restrictions on what music I expose myself to and, therefore, cohesion/balance becomes king.  All audio gear presents colorations, but with my current equipment chain punctuated by the DT250-250 they are all but imperceptible.  The burden of "wowing" me is placed solely on the content... just as I want it to be.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

 
As someone who has purchased multiple $1000+ headphones and has demoed several more, I'm of the opinion that purchasing more expensive gear doesn't typically equate to greater appreciation for one's musical selections.  To me, the whole notion of pursuing "summit-fi" is largely a consumerist rat race.  Attempting to compare the DT250-250 to, say, the HD800 will draw cries of "apples to oranges" largely due to price and partly because of form factor, but to me a headphone is a headphone regardless of these attributes -- the application remains the same. (personal listening devices, both)  Without getting into specifics that may cause a rift, (PM me if elaboration is needed) based on my time with the HD800 I prefer the DT250-250.
 
Point being, don't discount the performance of your current gear based on what could be greener pastures.  If you don't desire more of 'X' or less of 'Y' out of your setup, then just sit back and enjoy the music. 

Exactly. Its just like when talking about speakers I would rather listen to a $1500 magnepan mg1.6 vs a $70,000 Wilson Grand Slam. Some cans or speakers just hit the right spot for me that all other factors become trivial. It just becomes all about the music when you get the right sound for you. Don't get me wrong, the dt250-250 is not perfect by any means but compared to anything that I've heard so far as headphones go, they are the best I've heard so far when it comes to the factor of getting a good combination of musicality and minimal Hifi Quality. Almost all other cans have fatal flaws that I cant live with... Ex HE6? Crap compared to the dt250-250, its simple as that for me. When it comes to speakers, there are designs better than the magnepan 1.6 or 1.7 but only a few speakers can do what they do without a high end setup above $20,000 to make them better. The maggies need power but they dont need expensive acoustic panels and ultimate quality equipment to make them sing. Box speakers just seem Boxy in comparison. All the maggies need are good placement. 

 

[donunus]

I havent heard the LCD2 though and feel after all the descriptions that they may be at least as musical as the dt250-250 though. Other than that, I may want to try the paradox but I highly doubt that anything out there can be as much of a good value as these.
 
EDIT: Lejaz, Again the 80 ohm version is like the px100-II and the 250 ohm version more like the hd650 in a quality comparison.

 

[jamescodway]

I'm highly supportive of the 'whatever works for you to remove barriers to the music' p.o.v. This does imply though the necessity of first hand (and ideally extended) auditioning with one's own chain to make a good buying decision. Happily, fellow head-fiers are absolutely invaluable to help generate a short-list and to help shape awareness of key audition/evaluation criteria. I have made my fair share of good and bad buying decisions in the past and I'm a hoarder not a seller (sometimes a donater!) so am acutely aware of the price of errors... !
 
To help fellow head-fiers formulate a good shortlist I would respectfully ask experienced members to exercise caution with their comparisons of 'quality' as the recent part of this thread suggests its highly subjective nature and comparisons could be misconstrued as meaning similar character e.g. dt250/hd650.
 
I Look forward to reading more DT250 chat. Personally I would add the DT250 to many peoples' shortlist, it certainly represents excellent value with the right amp match.
 
Best
 
James

 

[Deep Funk]

If the funds permit this headphone is on the short list. Don's impressions are good enough for me...

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

If the funds permit this headphone is on the short list. Don's impressions are good enough for me...

 I look forward to your impressions if you ever get them, since we share a similar taste in gear I think....at least we both like the 240DF and the dt48. One reason I got rid of the dt250/80ohm was because I preferred the DF, but the 250ohm version is supposed to be a different animal.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

EDIT: Lejaz, Again the 80 ohm version is like the px100-II and the 250 ohm version more like the hd650 in a quality comparison.

 
You'd really say the difference between the two is that broad?
 
...I was just going to chime in and say that the DT250-80 sounds sublime running out of the AudioQuest Dragonfly - an uncanny synergy, but - well, might need to get the 250-250s as well
 
[edit] Just ordered from Amazon for delivery on Christmas Eve... Fingers crossed, this'll be a good Christmas present to me

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

 
You'd really say the difference between the two is that broad?
 
...I was just going to chime in and say that the DT250-80 sounds sublime running out of the AudioQuest Dragonfly - an uncanny synergy, but - well, might need to get the 250-250s as well
 
[edit] Just ordered from Amazon for delivery on Christmas Eve... Fingers crossed, this'll be a good Christmas present to me

Hopefully you'll post a review and comparison of the two versions. I purchased the 80 ohm version a while back because a couple of forum members claimed there were only minor differences. 

 

[donunus]

Quote:

I'm highly supportive of the 'whatever works for you to remove barriers to the music' p.o.v. This does imply though the necessity of first hand (and ideally extended) auditioning with one's own chain to make a good buying decision. Happily, fellow head-fiers are absolutely invaluable to help generate a short-list and to help shape awareness of key audition/evaluation criteria. I have made my fair share of good and bad buying decisions in the past and I'm a hoarder not a seller (sometimes a donater!) so am acutely aware of the price of errors... !
 
To help fellow head-fiers formulate a good shortlist I would respectfully ask experienced members to exercise caution with their comparisons of 'quality' as the recent part of this thread suggests its highly subjective nature and comparisons could be misconstrued as meaning similar character e.g. dt250/hd650.
 
I Look forward to reading more DT250 chat. Personally I would add the DT250 to many peoples' shortlist, it certainly represents excellent value with the right amp match.
 
Best
 
James

The dt250 and the hd650 do have similarities too by the way, in fact no other closed headphone I have heard sounds closer to the hd600 and 650 than the dt250 series (80 and 250 ohm). The 250 ohm being somewhere in between the 600 and 650 in character with a slight beyer touch and the 80 ohm being warmer and fatter sounding than the hd650 while still being close enough in character for me to say that these closed cans are very surprising in their similarity with the senn sound.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

,but the 250ohm version is supposed to be a different animal.

differences of tonality between both are slightly bigger than hd600 and 650 but just like the senns share the same house sound. However, the dt250-250 has cleaner and less distorted/less muddy bass vs the 80 ohm version. The magnitude of the difference in the bass distortion between the two is like comparing the px100-II and the hd650. I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

 

[Acquiesce]

Now I'm really curious how these compare to the new DT770 Limited Edition...

 

[donunus]

I am wondering about those myself

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

differences of tonality between both are slightly bigger than hd600 and 650 but just like the senns share the same house sound. However, the dt250-250 has cleaner and less distorted/less muddy bass vs the 80 ohm version. The magnitude of the difference in the bass distortion between the two is like comparing the px100-II and the hd650. I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

Thanks....that concurs more with what I read before purchasing the 80 ohm version. The difference is mainly noticeable in the bass. One guy I PM'd compared the dt250 (80ohm, I think) to the sound of the monitors at the BBC, and I think that's what sold me, since I wanted a flat studio monitor. I thought they compared very favorably to the DF in terms of 'neutrality'. At the time, I actually preferred the bass of the dt250 over the weaker DF bass, just for the 'fun' factor.

 

[Curly21029]

Quote:

 
You'd really say the difference between the two is that broad?
 
...I was just going to chime in and say that the DT250-80 sounds sublime running out of the AudioQuest Dragonfly - an uncanny synergy, but - well, might need to get the 250-250s as well
 
[edit] Just ordered from Amazon for delivery on Christmas Eve... Fingers crossed, this'll be a good Christmas present to me

 
Advice from a fellow D-Fly owner: pair a dedicated amp with the DT250-250.  Running directly out of the AQ isn't necessarily bad, but you'll be missing quite a lot.  Volume level is more than adequate, but the overall presentation comparatively leans toward loose/indistinct/thin and closed-in.  Adding my workhorse PPAv2 into the mix anchored everything far better than I had originally thought possible. (that is, after I swapped out the cheap-o Hosa interconnect that made the bass too dispersed)
 
Concerning the 80Ω version, I'd like to give it a listen but simply have no ambition to purchase another headphone.