[audiophonicshz]

Hello everyone, I just got a pair of lightly used (burned in) 880's 2005 250ohm from a seller on ebay. Thanks to all the comments and suggestions here I am happy to say that I am very happy with my new 880's. I think of myself as a casual audiophile, my home setup includes a paradigm studio surround sound system, hsu vtf subwoofer, ascend bookshelf surrounds. As for earphone/headphones I've owned usual sony earbuds, the mdr-e888, sennheiser cx400 and cx 500. I've tried the sennheiser 595's and 650's, along with the sony 7506 and 7509 in stores so I have a decent idea of what headphones, closed and open, are capable of.

That said, I put on the 880's and listened to flacs of 2 of my personal favs, pixies and nirvana, and away I went. Amped with the fiio e5 and fed through my creative extigy (I know not the best setup), I can say that the 880 is one of the most dynamic headphones I've ever used. Coming from my cx500's as my portable set driven by my zen vision m (bit bass heavy,siblant), I can tell you that the 880 has quite a "flat" frequency response. I expected this from a high quality full size. The highs are airy and well controlled with just a hint of siblance. Mids are warm and not recessed at all. I was thoroughly overwhelmed at the presence of bass. Some reviews have said that the bass is recessed and/or not full. I would have to disagree, obviously I'm not expecting sub 30 hz from a pair of phones as, as many audio enthusiasts will know, bass that low is felt (in the gut) more than it is really heard. Having a full size setup at home has allowed me to compare what is or isn't lacking from the 880. The bass in the 880 is very well controlled and listening to "come as you are" the opening bass riff is very very well presented. Too bad foobar2000 won't show my the sub 50hz frequencies in the visualization, so I could verify which sub 50hz frequencies come through, though I would say the phones can do a healthy 35 with stark rolloff at or about 28hz or so. I'm going to do more testing with some flac organ music I have. The phones are also very revealing but that says more of the great high frequency upper harmonic response.

Now on to some notes. The semi open nature of these phones means that the highs are not represented as accurately as, say, some of the better open headphones such as the 650 or my paradigms. I simply attribute this to the inherent design. Highs need space to be correctly represented, closed headphones for example, will always compress highs slightly since I would imagine that those frequencies would naturally reverberate within the cans and against your ears and change, relative to the original recording. This is also a reason why lows are often so great in closed phones, like the 7509, which I think are some darn good cans, though I'd really like a pair of denon d2000s

. Take the reverse of that theory for open headphones such as the Senn 650's which have very nice highs w/sorta anemic low notes. All in all I really like the semi open design, build quality, clarity and overall even frequency response of the dt 880's. I am very happy with my purchase.

Now onto my need for new earpads. Since I bought these phones used, I can forsee my need for new earpads soon and I would like to know if anyone knows of a place in the US that I can get the velour dt 880 (2005) earpads. Will earpads for the dt 990 pro work? I found some here Replacement Ear Pads for DT-990 Pro Headphones - beyerdynamic Products and I'd like to hear any suggestions. I searched the forum and really couldn't find any real response besides buying them at the beyer website from germany. I priced out a set of pads and it would cost me 52 euros which is like 70 dollars

Too much. Any help finding a set of 880 velour pads would be greatly appreciated!

Well I hope everyone enjoyed my little review and my take on audio. Look foward to many years on this forum. audiophonicshz signing out-

 

[csommers]

I feel ya on the ear pads, they are pretty spendy. I bought my 880s off ecclesand and he included the original pads plus some 770s? I think.
I've tried both and I prefer the original 880 pads, as the 770 pads IMHO provide more bass, almost too much.
If you find a place that sells the original 880 pads for cheap let me know

 

[audiophonicshz]

Hi teambeyer. I found a source for the earpads in the US. Call Beyerdynamic US at Phone 800-293-4463. They have the pads for 25.50 plus 7 dollars flat rate shipping. I got 2 pair and a leather headband. Had no idea it was so cheap in the US. I thought I had to order from beyer de.

Heads up to everyone in the states.