[Brando]

As the title says, I'm considering taking the next step towards eargasmic bliss with an upgrade courtesy of the US gubment. I have about $400 left plus whatever I can get for my A900's. I did a little reading and it sounds like the Beyer Dynamic DT880's are about as well as I can do in my price range after adding the cost of a nice amp. Is there something better that I don't know about? Should I even bother upgrading? I like my 900's alot but I've got the itch. If by chance anyone has ever heard Athena AS-F2.2 floorstanding speakers, this is my idea of perfect sound. I still don't know how to describe what I like properly so I hope that helps. I game online in fps's but that takes a back seat to great sound in music of all types. Hope that all made sense. Thanks!

 

[Rednamalas1]

I should mention that DT880s are detail-orientated phones, and will be a big difference from A900s. If you're planning to sell your A900s, that should give you enough money to upgrade to AD2000 - one of the best all-rounders I have heard so far. They can be driven without an amp (but benefits from it), and IMO more involving than DT880s.

 

[Brando]

Hmm, well I don't want to lose my bass but I don't want so much that it ruptures my eardrums either. What I like is for the bass to have torque, or muscle if that makes sense. Strong but clear. Textured rather than pounding. Not that I mind feeling the kick of drums. I love it. I just don't like BOOM. I have no idea what I'm saying.

 

[Rednamalas1]

AD2000 is your best bet then, One of the best bass responses that never goes out of control. It's not a bass monster, but great impact and detail in lower end.

 

[synaesthetic]

AD2000s are amazing headphones. I have always been a huge fan of the DT880s but that was when I listened to predominately female vocals, which they are great for, but now that my musical tastes have become much more diverse, the AD2000 are my goal for home cans. =)

I have listened to the AD2000 and I own the AD700 and I will say right now that for gaming very few headphones will top the AD700. The AD2k are more music-focused. The AD700s are are also cheap--once I grab a pair of AD2k's my 700s are likely going to remain on my audio table as my go-to gaming cans.

 

[Brando]

How much bass compared to the 900's?

 

[Rednamalas1]

I would say bit more than A900s, but DEEEEEP. Much better impact, attack and decay.

 

[Brando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would say bit more than A900s, but DEEEEEP. Much better impact, attack and decay.

 

[Caution]

I had a listen to the A900 recently in my rig, and compared them to my DT-880 and I can tell you that the A900 sound very thin compared to the DT-880s. But the DT-880s need a pretty good amp to sound at the best or else they sound lifeless, I'm not too sure how well a ~$350 amp will drive the DT-880s though.

 

[Rednamalas1]

Millet hybrid will drive them fine

and they can be bought for 140-200$

 

[dreamwhisper]

a ~$350 amp drives the DT880's well, just make sure it's a tube amp...
I've had the Corda Aria and Darkvoice 332. Night and day difference when switching to tubes.

If I were you tho, stay with Audio Technicha's just upgrade to AD2000 or something like that.
The ATH W5000 (which I also owned) sound way better than the DT880's, more juicy and rich(especially the mids), and are also not as picky with amps as the DT880.
The DT880 and W5000 are similar in their level of detail, however they are 2 completely different animals.

 

[majkel]

I agree with dreamwhisper. Either you buy the DT880 Pro's, or go to the W5000's. The AD2000's are overrated and sound artificial. The DT880 (Pro)'s are much closer to the musical truth. Mostly probable reason why people prefer the AD2000's to the DT880's is lower impedance of the former, making them easier to drive from anything with a headphone out. Connected to a good desktop headphone amp, the DT880's will show what they can do.

 

[Brando]

Any particular reason nobody is mentioning the dt990 05's? I read up on them a bit and they sound nice but theres way too much info to sift through. Was some kind of problem discovered at some point?

 

[donunus]

dt990 05s are average sounding cans with fatiguing treble

 

[Brando]

I'm so confused at this point. For every post about how great something is, theres another post about whats wrong with it. I need to hear some of these phones for myself I think. Unfortunately Guitar Center doesn't have the ad2000's in stock to try but they had some other nice ones. Maybe I can get them to order them in from another store. Whether they have anything to hook them up to is another question. What are the odds that guitar center has something that plays cd's and can power good phones?