[Mach3]

   
hahaha lol

 
I noticed that the DT 880 was ranked higher in the battleship, er, battle of the flagships comparison...but I like the HD 700 much more than the DT 880. Still not close to endgame for me, though...

 
That's because David was factoring the price of the HD700 and DT880 at the time of the review. HD700 was $1000 where as the DT880 was somewhere between $330-400 for the 600ohm version.
I totally agree with David, the HD700 was not worth the original asking price. They are great headphone at the current price, but there are others that are better IMO. Example used HE-500 or TH-600. One is neutral the other is fun. I got my HD700 brand new from a2a store in Australia when they had the new year sale for 450 USD (not B-Stock).

 

[Music Alchemist]

  That's because David was factoring the price of the HD700 and DT880 at the time of the review. HD700 was $1000 where as the DT880 was somewhere between $330-400 for the 600ohm version.
I totally agree with David, the HD700 was not worth the original asking price. They are great headphone at the current price, but there are others that are better IMO. Example used HE-500 or TH-600. One is neutral the other is fun. I got my HD700 brand new from a2a store in Australia when they had the new year sale for 450 USD (not B-Stock).

 
No, the DT 880 was ranked higher in order of sound quality, not just value.
 
I'm trying to figure out how to get an EL-8 now. lol

 

[money4me247]

i wld do your own listening tests rather than trusting another reviewer as amazing as david's review is. everyone ends up finding they have different preferences. there is no universal rank list.

 

[GoldfishX]

What I have found, both for better and for worse, is that the price of the headphone matters less in the long run when you start taking the WHOLE chain into consideration. A $300 difference in headphone price is slight, compared to the source, DAC (no, I don't consider the DAC a "source"), amping and powering/wiring that also must be taken into consideration. I worry a lot of people, both in this thread and on this site in general, fall into the trap that *poof* I bought a hi-end headphone, all my music magically sounds better.

 

[GoldfishX]

Also, with all due respect to Hifiman, there is always going to be something new coming out, warranting "one last comparison". What's here is more than informative and it gives a lot of us newbs a starting point. I am actually more interested in how the HE-1000 compares to the newer planars that have come out since the review (the Oppo units, LCD-X, Abyss), but I do also have my doubts it is worth twice what an HD800 retails for or 4x what an HE-500 does or equal to what an SR-009 can go for. Makers of newer headphones at premium prices should probably read this thread carefully and price accordingly (I'm in the overpriced camp for the HE-1000, if you can't tell...I like Hifiman for their value and quality, not their quality alone). Although I seriously doubt it will be the new Edition 10...What an overpriced POS that thing is.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  i wld do your own listening tests rather than trusting another reviewer as amazing as david's review is. everyone ends up finding they have different preferences. there is no universal rank list.

 
That's exactly what I found after listening to both the DT 880 and HD 700. The DT 880 sounded too gentle and boring with non-acoustic music. The HD 700 still has many flaws, but I like it much more...though not enough to hold onto at this price level.

 

[paradoxper]

Thanks again for all of your efforts, David! Enjoy retirement. 

 

[Rhamnetin]

  Also, with all due respect to Hifiman, there is always going to be something new coming out, warranting "one last comparison". What's here is more than informative and it gives a lot of us newbs a starting point. I am actually more interested in how the HE-1000 compares to the newer planars that have come out since the review (the Oppo units, LCD-X, Abyss), but I do also have my doubts it is worth twice what an HD800 retails for or 4x what an HE-500 does or equal to what an SR-009 can go for. Makers of newer headphones at premium prices should probably read this thread carefully and price accordingly (I'm in the overpriced camp for the HE-1000, if you can't tell...I like Hifiman for their value and quality, not their quality alone). Although I seriously doubt it will be the new Edition 10...What an overpriced POS that thing is.

 
Well for what it's worth, I did listen to the HE-6 and HD 800 side by side on the same setup at last year's NY audio show (and I spent a lot of time at that booth lol), and the two definitely struck me as if they were on the same level.  I heard the HE1000 a few weeks ago, and while I couldn't do a side by side comparison, it did seem like it was on a higher level in terms of overall detail and transparency.  I really, really want to do a side by side comparison between the HE1000 and SR-009, because again I heard both of them at different times.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Well for what it's worth, I did listen to the HE-6 and HD 800 side by side on the same setup at last year's NY audio show (and I spent a lot of time at that booth lol), and the two definitely struck me as if they were on the same level.  I heard the HE1000 a few weeks ago, and while I couldn't do a side by side comparison, it did seem like it was on a higher level in terms of overall detail and transparency.  I really, really want to do a side by side comparison between the HE1000 and SR-009, because again I heard both of them at different times.

 
SR-009 vs Abyss vs HE-1000 would be the ultimate showdown for me. I'd pay for tickets to see that go down.

 

[GoldfishX]

And then next year, when the HE-2500 and the LCD-5200 come out and Stax has rumors of the Omega 3 and Company X has the HP-666 planar/electrostat hybrid debuting for $4000, we'll see the exact same comparison requests. That is why I say, what's here is amazing. Circa 2013. Let it RIP.

 

[wink]

Quote:moneyforme247

 everyone ends up finding they have different preferences. there is no universal rank list.

I find that my ranking works perfectly for me...  

 

[catspaw]

  And then next year, when the HE-2500 and the LCD-5200 come out and Stax has rumors of the Omega 3 and Company X has the HP-666 planar/electrostat hybrid debuting for $4000, we'll see the exact same comparison requests. That is why I say, what's here is amazing. Circa 2013. Let it RIP.

Yeah.. But then again there is a physical limit to how good headphones can actually get. If not due to hardware, due to human hearing .

 

[wink]

It can only really gat as good as life, or the source material allows you.

 

[lamode]

  It can only really gat as good as life, or the source material allows you.

 
+1
 
When the playback system is good enough, the recording quality is often the limiting factor. (And MANY recordings are destroyed by poor engineering).

 

[Music Alchemist]

  When the playback system is good enough, the recording quality is often the limiting factor. (And MANY recordings are destroyed by poor engineering).

 
It's always great when you find a headphone that sounds more realistic than you expected, though! (Especially when it's one that is far more affordable than others.) In the past, I thought certain recordings were the problem, but then, when I heard them on better gear, I couldn't believe how much better it sounded. I have no idea when my playback system will be good enough. All I know is that after hearing a few mid-range / high-end headphones, they are nowhere near good enough to my standard of absolute perfection. lol