[amartignano]

At the moment I drive my DT880 with the G&W TW-J1, but I will upgrade next week to the Rudistor NX-01, beacuse the DT880 need more punch in the bass (not more bass, but more dynamic in bass) and more refined highs than the G&W can give, to shine.

I know that tube amps like Earmax Pro sounds wonderful with the DT880.

Andrea

 

[MikeW]

Mine sound wonderful from the rig in my signature. Noticed the biggest differnce with them when I switched source from my X-Fi to my current dac. They went from painfully harsh to just right

Of course I dident realize how harsh they where until I heard them out of the dialogue. Pairing them with FM6 tubes was also pretty sweet. If your looking for a nice combo i'd seriously consider a Used Millet Hybrid built by a good builder + a Non-OS dac. Though im sure many regular oversampling dac's sound wonderful, that is not my experiance with the X-Fi which uses CS4382.

 

[cheechoz]

I listen to them through my PPX3-Slam, with the warmest tubes I can find, most likely RCA's for output.

They also sounded very good out of my Micro Amp, but they were a bit to bright for my taste. I'm sold on the warmth of tubes!

 

[Nik]

Nothing better than EarMax amps for the DT 880 (in my experience).

Best!
Nicola

 

[White Fox]

I use the Corda HA-2 and a Panasonic SL-S120 PCDP. The SL-S120 specifications state that it is down 1.5db at 20kHz, which is not a bad thing given the DT 880s slight brightness in the upper highs. It is pretty smooth sounding for a CDP, just not the most detailed. I have had some decent CDPs in the past and it has held its own over the years. I just have to increase the HA-2s volume higher than with a full-size player.

 

[fjf]

In my corda the volume knob is usually around 12-1, about half-way, and the DT 880 sounds great.

 

[Jeff E]

I decided that my post was too tangential to this thread so I moved it to the Members' Lounge (General Discussion).

 

[Mercuttio]

I run mine out of my PPA. For a while, I was using them STRAIGHT out of my 30 gig color iPod, because that was the only way to remove the awful distortion on certain midrange frequencies. Higher impedance eliminated it for some reason.

At first, I didn't really notice the difference between properly amped and unamped headphones. Over time as my ears became more sensitive, I noticed the difference. If I plug them directly into my iPod nano, sure I have to crank the volume, but that's not the difference. I also have to crank it up a little more than average on a pair of Grados. The DT 880s feel... congested. Everything's sort of close together, and you just don't get that warm open sound. And that sound is TOTALLY where it's at. Yeah, they sound way better than my HD 201s in this state, but it's just not the same as properly amped.

 

[coco]

I am interested in the 880s but the only amp I have is the Go-Vibe v3. If I have Norm set the proper gain, could it drive these phones?

 

[Solude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coco If I have Norm set the proper gain, could it drive these phones?

No added gain is required to drive the Beyer 880.

 

[YngwieJMalmsteen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penguin Growl And has anyone heard the DT880's with the Micro stack?

DT 880 sounds great with the micro stack. The touch of warmth that the crossfeed adds works really nicely with the sound signature of the 880s. The hornet sounds great with the 880, too, a much more upfront and involving sound. Also the new meier corda aria looks like a great deal, others have said that it synergises with 880 well.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coco I am interested in the 880s but the only amp I have is the Go-Vibe v3. If I have Norm set the proper gain, could it drive these phones?

Yes, it drives DT880 reasonably well... dynamics are pretty good IMO. Gain of "5" or so will be all you need, unless your source has a very wimpy output.

 

[coco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Yes, it drives DT880 reasonably well... dynamics are pretty good IMO. Gain of "5" or so will be all you need, unless your source has a very wimpy output.

Would ipod line out > go-vibe > 880s qualify as a wimpy output? I use my 'phones exclusively those this...What do you think? Colin

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coco Would ipod line out > go-vibe > 880s qualify as a wimpy output? I use my 'phones exclusively those this...What do you think? Colin

I use a go-vibe with mine. You could do better of course, but it drives the DT880 just fine in my opinion, with good dynamics. This is primarily why I believe all the talk of needing a pricey, beefy amp is bologna. The iPod is irrelevant to the equation when amped (except for overall sound quality).

Fwiw, I *am* itching for a better amp, but primarily for better SQ rather than more powerful output.

 

[Dentomat]

I drive my 880s with a Sugden Headmaster, the volume set to 10 o´clock. The sound is detailed with a solid foundation and a wide headstage.