[mattyb]

Hey guys!

I just placed my order over at headphones.com.au and they told me the Meire Audio Cordia Aretta headphone amp will not drive the DT880's properly.. is this really true? I thought they would from what I've read

They reckon it won't even drive the DT770's properly. I really don't want to have to get a pair of sennheiser 555/595's instead! help =( They said the volume won't be very loud either. Headphonic | Australian Headphone Specialists: Buy Etymotic, Alessandro, Audio Technica, Ultimate Ears, Talisman, Meier Audio and more are experts too

The most I can spend is $850 aus dollars on headphones & amp combined. I had my HEART set on the beyer 880's because they received the best reviews, and I believe they would be perfect for me in producing dance music and playing games.

Need suggestions plz.. I'm lost now.

Thanks,

Matty B.

 

[mattyb]

Also, if this is the case, then what is the point in me buying that amp? unless it'd still be worthwhile getting a pair of sennheiser 595's and driving them off that amp? but people said the 595's change the sound too much, which I don't want because I want an accurate sounding mix.

Would probably be alright for games though

 

[olblueyez]

I don't own either but that sounds like bunk to me.

 

[ericj]

I don't buy amps, I build them - the only problems i see are:

1: Too expensive for what you get. see above.

2: Gain of 3. This is a design issue that has nothing at all to do with (1). They could easily build it with more gain, but they didn't. This is probably what the salesmen are referring to as the problem.

 

[mattyb]

Hmm, would I be better off maybe getting a more expensive amp in the mean time, and just drop back from the 880's and get a pair of the 770 pro's and get some 880's later ? =)

My question now though is that.. what would be better for the best sound result with the high end headphones.. a $600 headphone amp, or a $600 amp/5.1 reciever unit.

The amp I could get would be this one:

Talisman:
T-31H

Talisman: T-31H | Headphonic: Australian Headphone Specialists: Buy Etymotic, Alessandro, Audio Technica, Ultimate Ears, Talisman, Meier Audio and more

 

[zyxwvutsr]

Your arietta would not have a problem driving the dt880s.
I have the headfive, which is essentially the same as an arietta. It drives my AKG K501 just fine; I've never had to turn the volume above 25% (10 o'clock position) unless I'm listening to classical in which case I listen at the 12 o'clock position. Source is an alienDAC at full volume. From my experience, the K501 is definitely harder to drive than the dt880.

 

[fuzydice]

Is it possible to get a tube amp? The DT880 sounds really good with tubes (speaking from experience here, going from some SS amps to a LittleDot mkIII). The 880's are fantastic headphones, btw

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattyb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey guys! I just placed my order over at headphones.com.au and they told me the Meire Audio Cordia Aretta headphone amp will not drive the DT880's properly.. is this really true? I thought they would from what I've read They reckon it won't even drive the DT770's properly. I really don't want to have to get a pair of sennheiser 555/595's instead! help =( They said the volume won't be very loud either. Headphonic | Australian Headphone Specialists: Buy Etymotic, Alessandro, Audio Technica, Ultimate Ears, Talisman, Meier Audio and more are experts too The most I can spend is $850 aus dollars on headphones & amp combined. I had my HEART set on the beyer 880's because they received the best reviews, and I believe they would be perfect for me in producing dance music and playing games. Need suggestions plz.. I'm lost now. Thanks, Matty B.

they're wrong. the arietta is more than enough to drive the dt880/dt770.

 

[wae5]

While listening to the DT880 I must turn up the gain to get a level that's similar to my other phones. For a phone that doesn’t have this problem consider the Audio Technica AD700. Someone here said they preferred the AD700 to the DT880 and when I directly compared them I had to agree he is right.

 

[Caution]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Someone here said they preferred the AD700 to the DT880 and when I directly compared them I had to agree he is right.

I've heard the AD700, and imo it's not even in the same league as the 880s... When amped correctly that is... The 880's are very picky with amps from experience, they sound flat, boring, veiled and unengaging, when amped insufficiently that is. I wouldn't dare to skimp out on an amp If I were you. Try to import your goods or check the used forums for Aussie sales (I just sold my 880s yesterday for $210 AUD, what a bargain!) You save a crap load of $$ that way, as Headphonic can't compete with the international market no matter how hard they try, and it's not their fault either ): which is very unfortunate for both the Aussie headphone community and for Marcus himself, but Props to Marcus.

If I were you I would believe in What Marcus says, he knows what he is talking about after all he does own the only Headphone store Australia has to offer.

 

[fhuang]

i don't have an aretta but i do have a headfive. can it drive dt880 or dt770? yes. it's just a matter of, how good. all i can say it ain't bad. by the way, opera is on sale. maybe you can take a look?

 

[denl82]

I've had the headfive with both the dt770/80 and dt880 in the past. As mentioned, the headfive is the same as the Arietta AFAIK. I don't remember where I had to place the volume pot when I used the dt770's, but with the dt880's, the volume pot was around 12 o'clock to get the best volume:quality ratio, to get the best sized soundstage, bass, and details, without ruining my ears from excessive volumes. In general, I say both headphones sounded nice with the headfive. Could it have been better with higher-end amps? Probably. But did I feel that I was missing out on quality? Nope=]

 

[wae5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caution /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've heard the AD700, and imo it's not even in the same league as the 880s... When amped correctly that is... The 880's are very picky with amps from experience, they sound flat, boring, veiled and unengaging, when amped insufficiently that is. I wouldn't dare to skimp out on an amp If I were you. Try to import your goods or check the used forums for Aussie sales (I just sold my 880s yesterday for $210 AUD, what a bargain!) You save a crap load of $$ that way, as Headphonic can't compete with the international market no matter how hard they try, and it's not their fault either ): which is very unfortunate for both the Aussie headphone community and for Marcus himself, but Props to Marcus. If I were you I would believe in What Marcus says, he knows what he is talking about after all he does own the only Headphone store Australia has to offer.

I thought so too until I tried it. If you check my profile you'll see I have decent amps so I doubt this is the problem. In any case, unlike you, I'm keeping my DT880 and will end by saying I think the AD700 is one of the most under rated phones.