[carloskleiber]

so the DT880 appears to be an obvious choice here. However i'm aware of 770s' "inactive" sound. my k240s used to make me cry, 770s' never

 

[d-cee]

another vote for the DT880 but again, it's not a huge departure from the K701

ever consider electrostats...?

 

[carloskleiber]

if only i have anything to drive electrostatics...
i'm actually considering the k340s, if i can find a pair in good condition

 

[s.a.b.]

I own both the 880 ('03) and 990 ('06) and listen to lot or classical as well as rock and jazz. I use Benchmark DAC1 as both source and amp and I don't see why the 990s shouldn't be considered.

As the measurements indicate the 990s have more bass and a bit more treble than the 880s, but at least with the DAC1 the bass is never overwhelming or untextured, even on what I consider to be the bass heavy CDs I own (e.g. the remastered Joni Mitchell HEJIRA with Jaco). On classical the 990s sound more upfront than the 880s which doesn't bother me.

 

[skai]

dt880 is a good choice for classical