[paspro]

My first ever beyerdynamic headphones arrived today, the DT880s, and although it is still early, I have to say that just out of the box I am extremely surprised by the quality of the sound they produce. Coupled to my Creek Audio headphone amplifier, they are simply superb!

In comparison to my HD650s which sound laid back and even sleepy with some types of music, the DT880s are really engaging with a smooth and sweet sound, deep controlled bass and better highs.

In comparison to my RS1, the DT880s have a much larger soundstage and smoother, more elegant sound. For orchestral music one can easily tell where the sound is coming from while their sound has more "volume" and clarity.

Playing a Dolby Headphone soundtrack was another revelation! The virtual surround effect is better to that of my HD650s and the cinema experience is more closely approximated.

The build quality of the DT880s is something that rarely one finds these days, in stark contrast to the poor materials and machining of the Grado headphones. The headphones came with a straight rather than a coiled cable and a 5m extension cable for long distances from the amplifier, packaged in a beautiful aluminium box.

beyerdynamic gained a new fan!

(enough said ... going back to enjoy listening ...)

 

[Duncan]

Feel the BeyerDynamic love

I also prefer my nearly acquired DT880s over the RS1, for much the same reasons as you say.

Seeing that you live so close to me (assuming you're near to London Town at least) maybe we can have a micro meet some time... i'm curious to know what this cable I have has done to the sound

 

[mrkangpae]

Odd... is the DT880 cable straight now? When did beyer decide to change this?

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Feel the BeyerDynamic love

Hey that's my line!

I feel the beyer love, but not from the 880's. But as a Beyer fan, I say that if you feel the love, you gotta testify!

 

[spike33]

if im not mistaken, theres a coiled and straight version for dt880. straight is the newer?

 

[fln]

paspro:
Could you tell me, please, what is the "Dolby Headphone soundtrack", where does it come from and where it can be acquired?
I'd like to test it with my HD580. Thanks for your answer.

 

[paspro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Feel the BeyerDynamic love I also prefer my nearly acquired DT880s over the RS1, for much the same reasons as you say. Seeing that you live so close to me (assuming you're near to London Town at least) maybe we can have a micro meet some time... i'm curious to know what this cable I have has done to the sound

The more I listen the more my love increases!

I am now listening to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte opera and I hear new sounds I could not hear before! What is going on here?

I live in central London and I would also be curious to see how your cable can further improve this amazing sound...

(... going back to listening mode ...)

 

[paspro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spike33 if im not mistaken, theres a coiled and straight version for dt880. straight is the newer?

Hmmm.. the box says that it has a coiled cable but the headphones inside the box have a straight one which I prefer because it can be easily extended without feeling any force on the attachment point. My guess is that beyerdynamic responded to complaints about the coiled cable and replaced it with a straight one.

 

[paspro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fln paspro: Could you tell me, please, what is the "Dolby Headphone soundtrack", where does it come from and where it can be acquired? I'd like to test it with my HD580. Thanks for your answer.

Dolby Headphone is a technology created by Dolby Labs which attempts to create the impression of surround sound through regular stereo headphones. This technology processes the 5.1 surround channels and converts them to a regular stereo stream which when heard through headphones creates the impression of surround sound. Many software DVD players today come equiped with the capability to convert a 5.1 soundtrack to a Dolby Headphone soundtrack in real time during playback (e.g. PowerDVD, WinDVD etc). There are also hardware processors which perform the same operation when connected to a DVD player using an optical cable.

However, the Dolby Headphone is essentially a stereo stream and therefore it is possible to have a DVD disk with such an audio stream recorded and available to the user as another audio format together with a Dolby Digital and DTS surround stream. I happen to have one such DVD disk, the movie "Pearl Harbour - 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition" which contains a Dolby Headphone soundtrack i.e. processed surround soundtrack from Dolby using their own professional equipment. As such, the quality of this soundtrack is superior to what commercial software/hardware solutions can accomplish in real time and therefore I consider it to be an excellent test for finding out how capable a set of headphones are as far as soundstage and imaging is concerned.

 

[Geek]

The DT880 are an awesome headphone. I find that they do the highs wonderfully, and the sound is on the intimate side of neutral, but not overly so. The bass is very deep but not as controlled as HD650 bass, and the mids are a tad dry. It's a very nice headphone, though, and well worth three times its current market price at least!

Cheers,
Geek

 

[1UP]

Just for my information, Paspro, where'd you get your DT880s with a straight cable?

 

[pbirkett]

Looking back at some of the high end headphones I had, if you can call them that, I think the DT880 on balance is the best of the ones I heard, better than the HD580 and HD650, and better than the CD3000.

Definitely sounded very sweet when I had them.

My only criticism is that they were not quite hard hitting enough for the music I listen to, but to be fair thats not much of a criticism and the music I listen to does tend to lend itself to hifi gear thats not quite as "hifi" as that anyway

 

[Dr.Vencman]

My Beyers were also with a straight cable. Got them from Meier Audio. Just finished watching Kill Bill Vol. 2 with these headphones and they were just amazing. Bill has a deep voice!
The soundtrack to Final Fantasy was also amazing. Big soundstage.

 

[Bill Ward]

Count me in for the DT880 lovefest. I got these last fall, largely motivated by curiosity about the Beyer house sound. Initially I was using them with a JMT PPA, and the sound was good but somewhat dry. Then I bought an Eddie Current HD300 tube amp, plugged in the Beyers and sat in open-mouthed amazement at the difference I was hearing. This is a headphone that really sings with the right tube amp. If you have the chance, try the combination.

Incidentally, mine also came from TVJ with a straight cable. Which cable seems to have a life of its own when it comes to developing tangles. Acts like it's twisted inside the sheathing. My only complaint.

BW

 

[dogday]

Quote:

But as a Beyer fan, I say that if you feel the love, you gotta testify!

HALLELUJAH!