[nowickia]

Before going to audition headphones, I spent almost a month on here reading all sorts of the plentiful information. I had narrowed down my choices to the Beyerdynamic dt880 or dt990. I went to audition them, and others, and I'm really not sure what to think.

First, let me explain to you that the only way I could audition them is off my mid-2008 Macbook Pro. So I know an amp would make a different but at least let me explain my results considering the source without an amp.

Note that the EQ was off (flat) and sound enhancement was off in iTunes. All songs were at least 192kbps and some were Apple-Lossless. I tested songs from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Pet Metheny, Dave Matthews Band, Porcupine Tree, Rush, Gustov Holst, some classical piano music, and a few others. (a wide variety)

The store had the following headphones which I tired:
Sennheiser HD595 (200€), HD600(299€), and HD650(399€)
Beyerdynamic DT880 '03 (249€) and DT990 '05 (329€)
AKG k601 (?€) and k701 (299€)
Denon AH-D1001 (149€)

I'm not exactly sure about the prices but I think that's what they were if memory servers me.

Regardless of price though, here is what I determined as far as sound goes.

I first tried the DT990s and immediately could tell they were quite bright. I originally thought that bright wouldn't be much of a problem for me since I have a pair of Klipsch RF-82 tower speakers and reviews always talk about them being bright, which they were initially but mellowed out after breakin. Well maybe it's because these were directly on my head or they weren't broken-in, but they were too bright. Aside from the brightness, I could definitely tell the midrange was recessed. Some types of audio this wasn't noticeable, but others it definitely was.

Next I tried the DT880s. They weren't as bright, but they still were a little "sharp" sometimes. The bass seemed like it went in the next room at first, like I scared it away, but as I'd continue to listen it would creep back in. The midrange on these were quite a bit better.

After listening to both AKGs, I didn't care for either of them. Nothing more to say about them.

The Sennheisers were good. The HD600 seemed to be comparable with the DT880 but a little less bass and a bit darker than either Beyers. Midrange was superb. The HD650 brought the bass back in and seems to sound really good for most of my music. I tried the HD595s and really didn't like them almost immediately.

I hesitated to do it but I also tried out the D1001. I knew it would partially be unfair since it has a much lower impedance. But at a price tag much lower than the rest it was pretty good. The fun of the DT990 was there (filling bass), it didn't seem to suffer as much in the middle range, and the highers weren't nearly as bright. Since I didn't try these nearly as long and didn't cross compare them it is hard to tell their full performance, but if anything they might not be as detailed and the sound stage is probably a little narrower. Ideally I would have wanted to try the Denon AH-D2000 since that would be what I'd go with if I went the Denon route, but they didn't have them.

I was very impressed with the comfort of all the phones. The best was probably the DT880, with a close second by the DT990. None of them were noticeably uncomfortable.

So, now to try an figure this out. I do plan on getting an amp/dac combo, but it won't be anything too fancy. In the future I might use it as just a DAC and buy a better amp in the future. But for now, I was looking at the Hotaudio Mark IV(). It has a PCM2705 DAC and output buffer (150mW@16Ω). Considering that amp, how do you think that would have changed my listening experience? Is the amp too measly to help out the big boys? Considering that amp would I best to go with the Denon D2000?

To be honest, when I came home and put on my Sennheiser HD280 Pros I thought they sounded pretty good. Granted I've been listening to them for years now but I would argue that I like them better than the two Beyers (when all are unamped). They are by no means as accurate as the DT880 but a quite a bit more fun to listen to.

Is it possible I prefer the sounds of a closed headphone since I'm used to it?

The last factor is price. I don't really want to spend much more than $250-300 on headphones. That means I'll probably be buying used in the FS forum.

I'm surprised you took the time to get this far. Now if you'd like to offer any advice I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[vvanrij]

Well to be honest, after listening to good quality headphones for some years now, I can tell you that there is few usefullness in going to a store and checking all headphones they have on a apple. Different headphones have different specialities, and require different gear. Thats the reason why alot of people stick around on this forum, even after they think they have found their dream headphone. Maybe you should first determine for yourself how important some characteristics of headphone are to you. How long do you think you gonna wear them each day (comfort), what kind of music do you listen to, how much are you willing to spend (not just on the headphone, but also on source / amp / cables etc.), and if you have alot of money you can just buy multiple good models from different brands after some tips from headfi-'ers which is what I did, but you could also try to visit people who already have a good setup and get some idea's. Or go to a meeting. Hope this helps abit, good luck!

-Victor

 

[nowickia]

Thanks....what's so difficult is I read over and over how headphones are such a personal choice and amp choice is quite dependent on the phone too. It seems like there's a lot of buying risk in this business. If only I didn't have school to pay for

.

 

[vvanrij]

I totally understand what you mean. One thing to remeber is that this is a costly busines, but you have you to make a choice to what you want to spend. Most of the people here that have found that 'amazing headphone and amp that totally suits them' have had 5-10 or even more headphones/amps before that. Also don't get to easily impressed with the reviews here, most of them are like 'wow its amazing its the best in the world', or 'its amazingly clear that its better than the ....' while its actually a barely noticable difference. Also the selling rates on headphones and amps (if you take proper care of them) are very high, so you will get alot of refund for your mistakes. If you would make a post with your

-Money you want to spend
-Music you listen too
-Characterstics you find important (comfort/sq/bass/neutrality etc.)
-How far you willing to go (source / amp / cables)

alot of people will respond, and then you will have to filter out the responses to usefull ones and non-usefull ones haha, life's tough. I will help you as much as I can, and most of the people here will.

Greetings,

Victor

 

[Richter Di]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well to be honest, after listening to good quality headphones for some years now, I can tell you that there is few usefullness in going to a store and checking all headphones they have on a apple. Different headphones have different specialities, and require different gear. ... -Victor

Let me build on that. Headphone evaluation needs a lot of experience. A lot of factors are influencing the actual impression. If you want to test headphones buy yourself at least a little "Move" from Jan Meier so that the songs coming from your Mac Book are converted by a decent DAC and the headphones are controlled to a certain extend by the headphone amp of the Move.
Never ever use something like MP3 and buy yourself for testing purpose only the Ultimate Demonstration Disc to assess different qualities of the headphones. This CD is a very powerfull tool.
One issue with headphones you listen to at shops is that they are seldomly broken in. Meeting headfi people is often more usefull regarding this.

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowickia /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't really want to spend much more than $250-300 on headphones.

What is your budget for headphones + amp or headphones + amp + DAC?

 

[vvanrij]

And I'm afread alot of the headphones in store's get treated the same way the speakers do (anybody else out there strated when seeing all the tweeters punched in??...). Let check how loud this headphone can go..... arggggh....

 

[vvanrij]

lol more people online, even in germany, wie gehts es dir meine deutsche freund? I'm at 1/4 of my sambuca bottle and at this time every headphone sounds better than a rs10/o2, its still the best solution!

 

[nowickia]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Victor, I took your suggestion and made another post.
check here.

 

[vvanrij]

Yes I read it, its a good post!, this way people can really help you in a usefull way. I'm not going to give my personal recommendations yet, I'm gonna give it some time to think about it, and give you a usefull suggestion. Btw who is Jack?

Greetings,

Victor

 

[nowickia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes I read it, its a good post!, this way people can really help you in a usefull way. I'm not going to give my personal recommendations yet, I'm gonna give it some time to think about it, and give you a usefull suggestion. Btw who is Jack? Greetings, Victor

Thanks.

Ha, the Jack line is from the movie Fight Club. Aside from the obvious fighting and mental illness themes the movie is full of great quotes.

 

[vvanrij]

Yeah its a great movie! Great acting too, I love it!

 

[kwlinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowickia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Before going to audition headphones, I spent almost a month on here reading all sorts of the plentiful information. I had narrowed down my choices to the Beyerdynamic dt880 or dt990. I went to audition them, and others, and I'm really not sure what to think. First, let me explain to you that the only way I could audition them is off my mid-2008 Macbook Pro. So I know an amp would make a different but at least let me explain my results considering the source without an amp. Note that the EQ was off (flat) and sound enhancement was off in iTunes. All songs were at least 192kbps and some were Apple-Lossless. I tested songs from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Pet Metheny, Dave Matthews Band, Porcupine Tree, Rush, Gustov Holst, some classical piano music, and a few others. (a wide variety) The store had the following headphones which I tired: Sennheiser HD595 (200€), HD600(299€), and HD650(399€) Beyerdynamic DT880 '03 (249€) and DT990 '05 (329€) AKG k601 (?€) and k701 (299€) Denon AH-D1001 (149€) I'm not exactly sure about the prices but I think that's what they were if memory servers me. Regardless of price though, here is what I determined as far as sound goes. I first tried the DT990s and immediately could tell they were quite bright. I originally thought that bright wouldn't be much of a problem for me since I have a pair of Klipsch RF-82 tower speakers and reviews always talk about them being bright, which they were initially but mellowed out after breakin. Well maybe it's because these were directly on my head or they weren't broken-in, but they were too bright. Aside from the brightness, I could definitely tell the midrange was recessed. Some types of audio this wasn't noticeable, but others it definitely was. Next I tried the DT880s. They weren't as bright, but they still were a little "sharp" sometimes. The bass seemed like it went in the next room at first, like I scared it away, but as I'd continue to listen it would creep back in. The midrange on these were quite a bit better. After listening to both AKGs, I didn't care for either of them. Nothing more to say about them. The Sennheisers were good. The HD600 seemed to be comparable with the DT880 but a little less bass and a bit darker than either Beyers. Midrange was superb. The HD650 brought the bass back in and seems to sound really good for most of my music. I tried the HD595s and really didn't like them almost immediately. I hesitated to do it but I also tried out the D1001. I knew it would partially be unfair since it has a much lower impedance. But at a price tag much lower than the rest it was pretty good. The fun of the DT990 was there (filling bass), it didn't seem to suffer as much in the middle range, and the highers weren't nearly as bright. Since I didn't try these nearly as long and didn't cross compare them it is hard to tell their full performance, but if anything they might not be as detailed and the sound stage is probably a little narrower. Ideally I would have wanted to try the Denon AH-D2000 since that would be what I'd go with if I went the Denon route, but they didn't have them. I was very impressed with the comfort of all the phones. The best was probably the DT880, with a close second by the DT990. None of them were noticeably uncomfortable. So, now to try an figure this out. I do plan on getting an amp/dac combo, but it won't be anything too fancy. In the future I might use it as just a DAC and buy a better amp in the future. But for now, I was looking at the Hotaudio Mark IV(). It has a PCM2705 DAC and output buffer (150mW@16Ω). Considering that amp, how do you think that would have changed my listening experience? Is the amp too measly to help out the big boys? Considering that amp would I best to go with the Denon D2000? To be honest, when I came home and put on my Sennheiser HD280 Pros I thought they sounded pretty good. Granted I've been listening to them for years now but I would argue that I like them better than the two Beyers (when all are unamped). They are by no means as accurate as the DT880 but a quite a bit more fun to listen to. Is it possible I prefer the sounds of a closed headphone since I'm used to it? The last factor is price. I don't really want to spend much more than $250-300 on headphones. That means I'll probably be buying used in the FS forum. I'm surprised you took the time to get this far. Now if you'd like to offer any advice I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Based on the music you mention, I think the Beyer DT-880 250's would be perfect. I listen to a lot of the same music and I am very happy with them. I am not that familiar with the Denon's, but the others all need an amp to bring out their best. In addition, the AGK K701's need several hundred hours of burn-in, so I doubt you heard them at their potential.

It sounds like you are at a crossroads -- better sound and an amp to get to the next level. When I first bought DT-880's all I had was an old Headroom Total Airhead -- much better than no amp, but did not begin to bring out their potential. I eventually bought an Opera, but there are many less expensive amps that would work. If you like the Beyer sound, and are going to get and amp/dac you might try one of the Meier Audio amps, an XXS, Corda 2Move or 3Move to get started. They are great for the money and have a synergy with Beyer headphones.