Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro - 600 ohms

 
880s are part of the classic trio , 6XX-7XX and of course the 880s , I have all those headphones , my all time favourite might be the 650s but I have tons and tons of respect for the 880s 
Here I have a pretty rare 880 , this is a PRO-600 which is pretty hard to get nowadays , I am quite lucky to have these classics , there are many Mid-Fi open dynamics but ..., I will name some I hate ...ma900s (These are so harsh and grainy that they abuse my ears) , X1s (Too bassy with very poor transition into the lower mids) , AT Air's have a good extension in the highs (UT) but the HE-300s destroy those in terms of upper treble extension and fidelity , 598s (They sound like a toy in comparison) - I own the 598s BTW 
 
880s like all Beyer are underpriced and don't get much attention on Head-Fi , I think the 880s are probably the closest to the HD800s when it comes to impulse response , the 880s for a dynamic provide stunning performance , they are grain-free in the highs like all Beyers , from the linear and clean presentation to the fantastic bass extension which is almost flat and goes down low without any distortion ,  the 880s perform like a star 
 
Since this review is a tribute I have compared the 880s to all my headphones - 
 
1) 880 vs 650 
 

 
Probably the most classic dynamic headphones ever made , both these are part of the classic trio ..now I love the mids and the bass extension of the 650s but I think the 880s are very close , I don't think the mids are lacking on the 880s , whereas I think they are amazingly coherent and smooth , after a lot of deep listens and testing I can vouch for the 880s mids , they are beautiful with the right music and can sound incredibly involving and tasty , the 880s have more sub-bass whereas the 650s have more mid-bass , typical of a Senn and Beyer  house sound , both the 650s and 880s are HiFi , tonal balance and accuracy is world class 
 
2) 880 vs 702 
 

 
702s are again a classic and as much as I love them I don't love them like the 880s , the 702s are having the same robust bass of the 880s which go down low when you want them too , I like them a lot , they lack the punch but they are superbly well textured and extended , they also have a wider presentation than the 880s , 880s are subtle and smoother in the treble , the 702s are more grainy in some areas too but I think its a fine phone and deserves to be in the classic trio , world class dynamics 
 
3) 880 vs 770
 

 
Now you can call me a Beyer fanboy , the 770s are excellent to begin with so what do you get with the 880 , well less sub-bass , more Soundstage and better mid-range , that's about it 
880s are more airy and resolving but the 770s are incredible for the price , again like all Beyer even they are underpriced 
 
4) 880 vs 598 
 

 
Haha ..598 is a joke , flabby bass , decent resolution ..598 are better than the ma900s but not even close to the 880s , 598s are strictly Mid-Fi 
 
5) 880 vs Open HM5 
 

 
My Modded HM5s are "Excelente" ! but not as "Excelente" ! as the world class 880  , the 880s are significantly cleaner and less grainy , the HM5s have a very tight and robust bass , probably too tight so it lacks the texture quality , 880s will have a much more fuller and bodied sound , HM5s are great but not as great as the 880 
 
6) 880 vs Modded ZX700 
 

 
Haha ..No comparison , let's proceed 
 
7) 880 vs HFI-450
 

 
This is again wasting time but the HFI-450s are rolled off in the highs by 6 db from flat and have a peak at 8-10Khz but they are not grainy and I like them , 880s are much better 
 
8) 880 vs D340
 

 
D340 sounds like its trying to destroy your ear with grain , the 880s are cleaner and more cohesive , although I got a stellar deal on the Denon's , can't complain 
 
9) 880 vs HE-300 
 

 
Now this is interesting , the HE-300 have a magic treble which is so unreal and smooth that it really kills the competition in that area , the HE-300 has a extension which is warm and so detailed its crazy , very smooth and clean , the 880s have the same detail but not the same warmth in the extension , mids , bass the 880s destroy the HE-300s 
 
10) 880 vs Modded K240
 

 
240s have a nice clear sound , with the Modded EDT-990V they sound very similar to the 880s but they just don't have the bass and quality is not exactly like a 880 , still pretty good though , I like to call mine the AKG 880  
 
11) 880 vs DT150 
 

 
Let me tell ya , this was tough ...both the 150s and 880s are stunning , the 150s have a nice warm sound , like the 6XX to me , bass wise the 880s will give you a better sub-bass which will be more bodied than than 150s , the 150s have great , great clarity for a closed headphone , like all Beyer even they are grain-free in the highs and are very easy to listen to . The 880s and 150s both are excellent , I highly recommend both of these ..legendary headphones 
 
Story of getting the 880 PRO-600
 
So I always wanted the 880s even before I got the 650s (My first HiFi headphone) in my country it was close to impossible to find the 880s , saved up money ...after 4 months of getting the 650s decided to order the 880s from Amazon.com via international shipping , well good news was that I got a good price , bad news was it was backorder-ed and waiting was 3 months , haha yes , waited 2 months then got a E-Mail from Amazon saying that they couldn't process my order , they will have to cancel it 
So I never got the 880s until one fine evening of Feb 2014 where I saw a classified ad of the 880-600 Ohm , the guy uploaded a stock picture from the website , it was of the premium so it all looked good ....well he sent me a picture and to my surprise it was the PRO and was 600 , I knew that moment that I will get it , since I was concerned I made a post about it in Feb - http://www.head-fi.org/t/707023/please-help-fake-880-pro-600 ..LOL that excitement period 
Now I know the main people at Beyer India so they hook me up with anything Beyer , they also sent me free set of earpads and a new headband to make my 880s brand new again , so a big thumbs up to Beyer 
 
Here are some old pictures before I got the spares from Beyer , this was around March 2014 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
They look like this now , this remained constant after I got the spares on 12th April 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
So this is it I guess , my humble tribute to this excellent world-class headphone which is highly underpriced and underrated here in the community , Beyer made this 2 decades ago and the design is still state of the art , this is engineering at its best , from the high tech DT-48 made in the 30s to the t1s ,Beyer has always made stuff which was incredibly amazing and underpriced , these classic DT models are worth owning , they truly are stunning , thank you for reading ! 
 
Video Review on YouTube -