just bought a pair - will post reviews when I get them!

  The DT880 is more "true to life", but the sound of the DT990 is slightly more clear and open, as well as much more "exciting".   The T1 is all these things to an even higher degree (detailed, spacious, exciting because of the detail and accuracy) , but it's way more expensive.

  Do you listen to mostly electronically generated (anything that uses synthetic sounds) or recordings of live music?

I've owned the srh440 and I think they were great.

Bumping, wanting to make a decision in the next day or so

For the headphones you're using you should be worrying more about how easy it will be to solder, rather than the quality of the wire. This is because the headphones' internal wiring is the same cheap-medium quality that the original cable was made of, so a high tier cable won't help.

I'm looking for an upgrade from the DT990 premium, I mostly play games and watch anime/movies on my computer and have a Musiland monitor 03 US DAC and a Fiio E09k amp. I've been looking at the T70, and to a lesser extent at the DT880, since I owned the T1 at one point and loved it (!) but had to...

You could maybe get $10-$20 for the broken headphones on ebay, put that towards some new ones. The materials alone (solder, solder iron) will cost you quite a bit, and then you've got your time, and the high % chance of failure for a novice using a soldering gun on fine wires (I know I wouldn't...

any sort of audio wire should work, I think. Not sure if it has to be the same thickness.

Quote: I stand corrected, it seems. Beats must have expanded its lineup since I last checked.

T70 not smooth enough for you? The only closed cans higher tier than the T70 are in another price bracket altogether, I think. 

The momentum, from what I've heard, has some top notch build quality, with a bassy but still respectable sound.

Well, if it's any comparison, the T1 is often compared to the HD880, and I find the DT990 (250 or 600 ohm, really not much of a difference) to be 90% as good as the T1, and I've owned both.

Let me first start by saying, since you appear new:   Not trying to be mean, but beats have a sort of reputation here as an overpriced headphone with a sound quality warranting 1/4 the price that it is, and although the build quality is actually pretty nice, it distorts the sound to...

Price on the T70 is $280, price on the 880 is $200. I'm using a fiio E09K desktop amp with a musiland monitor 03 US DAC.

I got the etymotic MC5 for $40 new on ebay, and would say it is well worth the price. Especially if you go into loud places. They claim on the website that the mc5 is the most noise-cancelling headphone in the world (it is a canalphone, as in, you'll be sticking them in deep, and the tips are...

Anyone know how the DT880 (250 or 600 ohm) stacks up against the T70 or DT990?

Thanks for the input!

The build quality on the 598 is better.   Namely, they fixed the cracking problem.

Or get some etymotic IEMs - they have a kevlar-reinforced cable, I have accidentally jerked them many times, sometimes with more than 20 lb of force, and the cables are still in tight. Had them for over a year now.

I recommend the DT990 - if you've never heard an open-backed headphone, the soundstage difference is absolutely amazing.

Amateur soldering jobs can have an impact on the sound quality, and a professional recable would cost more than those headphones are worth. You might want to consider a replacement or an upgrade, as it might not be worth your time (valuing your time at around $10 per hour of researching/fiddling...

I'm stuck making a decision between a brand new DT880 premium 250 ohm (new in box) and an "excellent condition" used T70 with the cable re-terminated with cardas 1/4 inch plug.   The price gap only is about $80, with the T70 being more expensive.   I was just wondering about opinions on...

I miss my T1's sound signature, had to sell it. I was wondering if the DT880 premium 250 ohm sounds close to it. The quality I know will take a hit, 900 dollar headphone vs 200 dollar headphone, but the sound signature alone gave me goosebumps even on very lossy tracks (Like the soundtrack of...

The Ultrasones are probably the best in that range you've got there. I've owned cans from Beyer and Ultrasone and I can tell you Ultrasone does a good job with their entry level models (possibly because the s-logic is in all their headphones, all the way up to the $1000+ edition series)  ...