[Hadden]

I see the somewhat pronounced treble on the 880s in the headroom graph and I worry I won't get along with them since I tend to be over-sensitive to a tilted treble. I have a pair on order and now I am paranoid I may have pulled the trigger too soon after doing a search and seeing the general consensus is that they have extra energy up top. Then again Jan describes them as more relaxed in the treble, and others have said they are laid-back and rolled off, relative to grados and others. Maybe I should get the 531s instead?

 

[pbirkett]

I've had the Beyer DT531, DT770, DT880, DT931 and DT990, so I think I may be able to help

The Beyer DT880 is clearly less bright than the DT931, which has FAR too much treble for my liking. The DT770 and DT990 both sound darker than the DT880, but despite this, both the DT770 and DT990 have a more strident extreme treble / upper midrange and can sound harsher depending on the material.

I personally, on my mid-fi system, did find the DT880 to be a little shrill, but thats partly due to its fairly reserved bass. However, the quality of the treble was generally smooth and good.

The Beyer DT531 is less bright to my ears, and also more balanced. I personally think the DT880 needs an extremely good rig to produce results that the 531's can manage on lesser setups. The DT531 has better bass, is more balanced, and grooves a lot better on my mid-fi setup.

Finally, I find the DT531 more comfortable as it is lighter, the DT880 can feel somewhat heavy and the headband burned my scalp (along with the DT770 and 990).

 

[Tim D]

My personal opinion on DT880 brightness vs say something like Senns, is that the DT880 caters towards much lower listening volumes. This is just IMO. I have SennHD580 as well and have heard Senns many times before under some of the best setups and still believe they are better suited towards "live" volumes of listening.

Also at meets and such you are also sometimes required to turn up the volume against background noise and chatter, which again caters towards better impressions towards Senns vs Beyers.

At the quiet of my own home listening at lower volumes is where I enjoy my Beyers. But yes without a doubt subjectively or objectively they are naturally brighter than something like Senns, however both subjectively and objectively according to fletcher munson curves your listening volume has a direct correlation with the level of brightness you will hear.

 

[AdamZuf]

you can listen to the beyers at low volume only if your rig can supply the bass to them. otherwize..you're not left with much bass
the treble on the beyers is much more pronounced then senns (i moved to the DT880 after the HD600). but it's smoother and more musical, to my ears. they are much more hi-fi in these registers. (well.. with all others too, with my music)
with the senns, trebles and especially snares sting my ears. i'm sensitive too. with the DT880, all is good and smooth. it's not a question of which is brighter, but which does it better, from my experience. the CD3000 are also brighter then senns - yet the treble is very enjoying.
the DT880 are supposed to be more smooth with their treble then grados.
they have just a bit too much treble - but it's very nice to feel it. i listen to music from the trebles down with the beyers. i re-discovered the treble. great headphones - go for it. i wanted to sell mine..and it's damn hard.

 

[wallijonn]

You'll just have to test them out for yourself. Personally I do not find the DT880 to be bright; whereas I do not like the CD3000 brightness, finding it to be much brighter than the DT880. It all depends on your sensitivity - some are sensitive to a certain portion of the sprectrum, and they may find it bright, and others like me, find it to be slightly dark; whereas I am sensitive to the portion in the CD3000. Obviously not everyone finds the CD3000 bright, whereas I do. My reference headphone is my modified AKG K501, mainly because I can not tolerate the HD600 veil / curtain. (Some people may find the Senn HD600 bright, whereas I find it dark).

Part of that has to do with age and hearing. I wonder if adding a resistor would flatten out the high end (a la DT931).

If you are into rock, do not buy the DT880, as I find that the "missing" treble tends to make one want to crank up the volume, which produces clean too-high SPLs. Part of the "missing treble" could be a slightly recessed upper midrange which tends to give "life" to rock guitars, but which lends itself quite well to female vocals.

I just hope that you have a return if not pleased guarantee.

 

[AdamZuf]

i second walli. for myself, unlike walli, i find my DT880 clearly brighter then the CD3000. maybe it also got to do with the specific pairs i've got and the gear that feeds them...to unknown degree

 

[Hadden]

wallijonn,

I think it's true each of us tend to be sensitive to different parts of the frequency spectrum. Like AdamZuf I found the treble on the Senns (the 580 not the 600) to have a piercing character I could not live with. It probably was a particular quality of the highs combined with some over-emphasise I get with my particular ears. I suppose if I had my hearing tested I could probably figure out what the ideal phones would be for me by looking at the graphs of headphones -- ignoring all other factors.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

I recently traded my HD600's to a member on here for his Dt880's, altough the HD600's may not have been broken in as much as they should have been for an accurate comparison when A to B'ing them on my equipment I felt the Dt880's had superior sound. This was confirmed by two other "Golden eared" colleagues of mine. Keep in mind this was on my equipment, and may not be indicative of your results. I found that the Dt880's had an incredible sound stage, in such a way that they are able to reproduce the dynamics of a recording studio. A good example of this staging is No Doubt - Underneath it all (Acoustic). One is able to hear the studio dynamics very well. I also found that the "Brightness" some might equate with the Dt880's as opposed to Senn 580/600 may be due to the more realistic sounding treble produced by the Dt880's. I have seen many live performances of many genres, and I feel that the Dt880's were able to reproduce the sound in a much more realistic manner. Cymbals were sharp, high pitched guitar riffs sound more real. I found that the Senn Hd600's had a "Warm", "Relaxed" sound with little "Attack" in the bass and mid bass. They are very condusive to jazz, classical, and traditional country. However, when the recording became more "Complex" and featured more instuments, that warm, relaxed sound became a hindrance, and prevented me from enjoying the music. The song "Norah Jones- Don't know why" sound superior on the HD600's to my ears, but not because it is how Norah sounds in person, but becuase that warmth sounds more inviting, and comfortable.

Just my 1 cent.

tre

 

[sacd lover]

I like grados, the dt880 and the sony 3k's. The dt 880'ds are more refined than the sr series grados and have a less prominent treble than the 3k's. The 880's are very detailed and linear sounding but I dont find them bright on my setup. I rate them my 2nd favorite headphone behind the 3k's. The dt 880's are demanding of what you pair them with so poor sources and /or underpowered amps will make you wonder why people rate them highly.

 

[wallijonn]

Hadden,

I see that you have a Rotel, Meta and AKG501.

I think the DT880 will compliment that setup quite well. You should immediately notice that the DT880 does not sound as discrete left / right as the K501, instead giving a pananormic sound quality, with a seamless transition from left to right, possessing greater height and depth, more dynamic headroom, but still possessing many of the neutral qualities of the K501. It'll be interesting to see what you think of specific instruments (pianos, flutes, snares, high hats, cymbals, oboes and clarinets in particular). I think that you'll have fun comparing the two, analytically. (I also thought that the K501 was slightly dark). It'll be interesting to also see what you think of the bass on the DT880, as I find that it mimicks the K501 closely.

In my estimation, if you like the K501, as I do, you'll love the DT880. It possesses many of the qualities of the K501, only more so. And as a side note, I find wax buildup causes brightness to be heard in headphones, while an extreme buildup may cause a perception of flabby bass.