[tpayne]

Thanks for allowing me to post on your site. I love this great site and recently watched Jude's interview on youtube. Great to see all the passion for great sound. I'm new to head-phone audiophile purchases but have always loved good music and can start to afford decent cans. Just bought the Sony PHA-1 amp and plan on buying some Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros. I think I will go with the 600 ohm for optimal sound even though the 250 ohm are a little less expensive. Any thoughts? Will be using my iphone and ipad for music sourcing initially. Thanks, Tom

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for allowing me to post on your site. I love this great site and recently watched Jude's interview on youtube. Great to see all the passion for great sound. I'm new to head-phone audiophile purchases but have always loved good music and can start to afford decent cans. Just bought the Sony PHA-1 amp and plan on buying some Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros. I think I will go with the 600 ohm for optimal sound even though the 250 ohm are a little less expensive. Any thoughts? Will be using my iPhone and iPad for music sourcing initially. Thanks, Tom

Is it the iPhone 4 (LOD analog output) or iPhone 5 (Lightning digital output)?
Can the iPad output a digital audio signal?
 
The DT880 Premium 600-Ohm is only slightly better then the DR880 Pro 250-Ohm.
If you can get a used DT880 Premium 600-Ohm for around $200, then it's worth it.
 
Personally I would not get 600-Ohm headphones for portable audio (iPhone & iPad).
 
The Audio Technica ATH-AD900X is $200 and only 38-Ohm, so they would as least work decently plugged directly into the iPhone or iPad.

 

[tpayne]

I am using i phone 4 and ipad. Since I will be running the signal through a Sony PHA-1 DAC / amplifier I am thinking it would drive the Beyerdynamic DT 880 600 ohm headphones O.K. I was advised the 600 ohm had a better sound even though it takes more power to drive it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am using an iPhone 4 and iPad. Since I will be running the signal through a Sony PHA-1 DAC / amplifier I am thinking it would drive the Beyerdynamic DT 880 600 ohm headphones O.K. I was advised the 600-Ohm had a better sound even though it takes more power to drive it.

You can not connect the Sony's DAC feature to the iPhone 4 (not sure on iPad).
The best connection to use on the iPhone 4 is the LOD analog output port, connected to the line-in port on the Sony, bypassing the Sony's DAC.
 
My $60 Fiio E11 can drive 600-Ohm headphones (volume knob almost maxed out)
 
I would assume the ($400) Sony PHA-1's headphone amplifier can drive 600-Ohm headphones (It better for the price you paid).
 
I do like the sound of my DT880 Premium 600-Ohm headphones.
If your willing to spend the extra $60 (Amazon prices) for the 600-Ohm Premium version, for slightly better audio quality, then go for it (the Premium also offers slightly better comfort over the Pros).
 
Personally I would have spend $150 for the O2 (Objective 2) semi-portable headphone amplifier, over the $400 I'm guessing you spend for the Sony PHA-1.

 

[tpayne]

Thanks for the input. I have a lot to learn!