I use mine w/ my vintage Kenwood KA-8006 integrated amplifier, 70WPC (conservative estimate), [1974].
My DT880 / 600 ohm literally “dance” w/ that amplifier. The amount of detail and clarity must be heard to be believed.
The Beyerdynamic DT880 Discussion thread
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My DT880 / 600 ohm literally “dance” w/ that amplifier. The amount of detail and clarity must be heard to be believed.
Thank you very much. Just to aks, Magni gets really hot fast. Should I be concerned?
I've finished with the DT 880 and for me the fact that it has a sensitivity like some heavy duty planar magnetic makes it less useful to me than it would have been otherwise. It was a curiosity purchase that's too bright. I don't have a standalone DAC to try with my Denon hifi amplifier to see for myself. It's interesting that people use power amplifiers with headphones - I'd like to see some technical evaluation (translated into layman's terms) of the use of power amplifiers rather than headphone amplifiers.
I can’t even put it into layman’s terms because, like math back in my school days, I’m tech info/ learning challenged. So I’m a subjective audiophile. Everything I evaluate I do by ear/ listening. Also, I listen to CDs and I use EQ [horror of horrors the purists will hate me.] The only DAC I have is the internal one in my CD player. The other thing about a good vintage amplifier/ receiver is, the headphone input has internal resistors to protect your headphones, but you get the whole amp itself, same as what goes out to the speakers. There’s no separate little inner HP amp compartment. This applies to vintage amps/ receivers up to 1978/79. My amp came out in 1974 [I was with my older brother when he bought it].
Another thing that I always try to remember is that all music is recorded/ produced differently. As an example, some recordings will bring out sibilance in an headphone like the DT880/ 600 ohm which is why I EQ my music. A small adjustment is all that’s needed.
Here’s a YouTube video about listening to headphone using vintage amps. The video was made by an Head-fi member. He mentions a couple of things I wrote.
It is perhaps slightly counter-intuitive but many audiophiles are subjective audiophiles. Many Beyerdynamics seem to require EQ which is one aspect I'd prefer to be otherwise. I put a single ply of toilet paper to modify my DT 880 to reduce the treble. There may be some benefit of a high power amplifier and discrete components of high quality that gives a beautiful 'synergy' to hard to drive headphones. Thanks for the video.
alphaman
Formerly known as headfone
Okay ... finally got around to trying the dekoni Elite Choice Suede on my dt-880 (250)... as Z Reviews gave the Elite Choice Suede the HIGHEST rating for his evaluations of various dekoni. He also claimed them to be superior to OEM pads.
I have no idea what Z Reviews ear-brain system processes ... but I immediately HATED the Elite Choice Suede upon first listen ... sound became muddy and over-bassy on first listen. Kept them on ... maybe it's that Grado effect (hard and bright immediately after switching from most other cans like hd600 or beyer ... but leave them on for a bit and my brain likes what it hears). This was certainly NOT the case with the dekoni.
Believe it not, the original "OEM" pads are not genuine Beyer OEM ... they are cheaper Chinese eBay replacements ... and I don't remember exactly what OEMs sounded like but not far from the Chinese "OEMs".
The dekoni are NOT cheap and they are way over-packaged--you're paying for a glossy box, graphics, presentation and the "dekoni" brand name.... oooh .... ahhhh ... . HUGELY DISAPPOINTED.
I have no idea what Z Reviews ear-brain system processes ... but I immediately HATED the Elite Choice Suede upon first listen ... sound became muddy and over-bassy on first listen. Kept them on ... maybe it's that Grado effect (hard and bright immediately after switching from most other cans like hd600 or beyer ... but leave them on for a bit and my brain likes what it hears). This was certainly NOT the case with the dekoni.
Believe it not, the original "OEM" pads are not genuine Beyer OEM ... they are cheaper Chinese eBay replacements ... and I don't remember exactly what OEMs sounded like but not far from the Chinese "OEMs".
The dekoni are NOT cheap and they are way over-packaged--you're paying for a glossy box, graphics, presentation and the "dekoni" brand name.... oooh .... ahhhh ... . HUGELY DISAPPOINTED.
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I purchased the sheepskin earpads for my Senns HD600/ 650 & like them [also they’ll last longer than the original velour pads]. But I realize that people have different tastes and your point is as valid as mine. My main reason for replying to your post is about my opinion on Z reviews : this guy makes a living off of his YouTube videos/ podcasts. You’ll notice that he’s more of an entertainer than anything else. He seldomly explains anything in great technical depth or details. I assume he receives many audio items from companies in order to promote them since he has a large following. The guy is allowed to do what he wants, I just personally wouldn’t rely on his videos for valid/ constructive information which is why I’ve stopped watching them.
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TrollDragon
Headphoneus Supremus
I've watched a few of his videos just for the entertainment factor, but that bouncing head cam is just too annoying...
alphaman
Formerly known as headfone
I watch Z Reviews for entertainment -- way better than most movies and tv IMO. There are ways to use YouTube influencers to make better decisions. Subscribe but don't Patreon. Do use AdBlock and never click their affiliate links.
And ... yeah ... take what he (or any other SM influencer) says with a grain of salt.
Z Reviews is known for hiding his face ... he may not want to show his face because body language and facial expression give a LOT away.
Believe it or not this dekoni is the FIRST purchase I've made because Z and others have recommend dekoni -- I usually go the opposite way and get the cheap third-party stuff from Ali or eBay.
That said I'm not a cheapskate: I purch'd the Senn IE900's partly because influencers like Z claim they are meh. I really like the IE900s!!
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alphaman
Formerly known as headfone
On none of my original cans --that were purch'd over 2 years ago-- do I replace pads with either OEM or boutique third-party (Dekoni) ... so, for my old Grado's, hd600s, hd650s, akg 701s, dt-990, dt-911, etc ... I always go the cheap eBay/Chinese route.
Many years ago, I did experiment with Comply foam tips for my IEMs, which were very good .... but then I simply switched to cheap silicone tips.
Back to beyer ... last year I did purch the dt-1990, which come with two sets of OEM pads. I suppose I could use the 2nd set for my dt-880s .... but I HATE pad swapping on beyer's because they are not easy to slip on!! So I can give Z some credit for making a whole 1.25 hr video on pad-swapping with beyer's. No that guy WORKS for a living!!
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arielext
Headphoneus Supremus
Z listens quite loud and prefers bass over almost anything.
Magicman74
500+ Head-Fier
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You're totally correct, I even asked him what he was smoking? The Choice Suede suck ass on the 880s. It's SO bad, But if you want to stick with Dekoni the Velour are the way to go. They are best on both the DT990 and 880. The only one he got right was the leather on the 770s.
These: https://dekoniaudio.com/product/elite-velour-ear-pads-for-beyerdynamic-headphones/ Ebay them tho, Cheaper
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alphaman
Formerly known as headfone
Like I said ... I haven't heard/worn the 880s with OEM pads for YEARS ... just the cheap Chinese ebay jobs ... I'm sure the OEMs are the best.
Back to dekoni ... well they may be better in one dept.: COMFORT. Couldn't stand them long enough to continue wearing them so I don't know about long-term comfort. But the Chinese "OEMs" do become a bit painful after an hour or so.
One thing about the 880 that Z seems to be correct about is their power requirement. I have the 250-ohm (when I purchd, back in 2006, there was no 600 ohm) ... but even at 250 ohm, I can finally find a use for the S.M.S.L SP200 Headphone Amp THX AAA 888 (that I gave up on immediately -- my ancient diy Tangent PPA v2 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better). So ... yeah ... even the 250-ohm likes more power.
Hence, Z and DMS may be onto something for their high-power 880 sound-of-the-gods claim.
Back to dekoni ... well they may be better in one dept.: COMFORT. Couldn't stand them long enough to continue wearing them so I don't know about long-term comfort. But the Chinese "OEMs" do become a bit painful after an hour or so.
One thing about the 880 that Z seems to be correct about is their power requirement. I have the 250-ohm (when I purchd, back in 2006, there was no 600 ohm) ... but even at 250 ohm, I can finally find a use for the S.M.S.L SP200 Headphone Amp THX AAA 888 (that I gave up on immediately -- my ancient diy Tangent PPA v2 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better). So ... yeah ... even the 250-ohm likes more power.
Hence, Z and DMS may be onto something for their high-power 880 sound-of-the-gods claim.
That's interesting, so OEM is not quite accurate here. I noticed that earpads for Sennheiser's HD580/600/650/660S line changed quite recently to stiffer circular section than the previous more bevelled compliant ones.
What's an SM influencer ? I quite like Z review's long videos for their style and entertainment. He gives the big picture rather than micro detail and technical analysis/measurements. It's a useful piece of the jigsaw that can be correlated with other sites reviewing the same equipment.
I was interested in Dekoni earpads but after some research many views seemed to indicate they changed the sound always from the OEM version. And that they were a good purchase provided you wanted this altered sound (perhaps more bass/less treble making a 'darker' headphone). So there's a choice between durability/memory foam with altered FR and disposability with optimal FR.
alphaman
Formerly known as headfone
As I noted earlier ... that dekoni packaging is ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC and only attracts weakest minds, mesmerized by TikTok and Instragram influencers ... glossy packaging, magnetic box lid, PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT....
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