[cazhpfan]

Quote:

I own both.  Do you want closed or open?  880 is semi-open (really, it's open) and 660 is closed.  Want privacy for yourself and others, buy closed.  Want a more expansive soundstage and don't mind hearing others and them hearing your music, buy open.

Frankly, I'm leaning towards a more open soundstage. The phones will probably be used at home only. I guess DT880 is the more likely choice.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Wow, there's a couple of big assumptiopns here. I don't think "most of us here" do anything the same except listen to headphones. Foobar? I don't even listen to music from a computer. As for loving any headphone he decides on, that's preposterous. Eni Meni Mini Mo...nope, doesn't work. You'd be flat out to pick the right one even after long auditions. As for this subsequent statement: "Thing is you can get a pretty accurate idea of a headphone from reviews", I say no, no, and no. I couldn't count the number of phones I've owned that sound nothing like the reviews, which is something I'm still trying to account for. You must listen, and on familiar material. There's just no substitute

 
Maybe you misunderstood my post.
 
Those of whom listen to music from there computer will likely use Foobar.
 
I also believe he will enjoy whatever aforementioned headphone he decides upon as we've mentioned quite a few good ones. Even if he decides on the HD600 only to find the DT880 a smidge more to his liking, the experience of deciphering the difference is half of the learning/listening curve.
 
You said it yourself; "You'd be flat out to pick the right one even after long auditions"

 

[calaf]

just remember that with the DT880 you need, really need, an amp

 

[pp312]

I'll offer a tip, and the only way I've found to properly choose phones. Buy used on Ebay or the For Sales here. That way you can audition to your heart's content in the only suitable auditioning location: your home. If you don't like the phone, re-sell it. If there's a slight loss, suck it up. Sometimes there's a slight profit. I have found no other foolproof way of picking the best headphone for me. That way you can mitigate the effect of reviewers, whose opinions only apply to their own tastes with their own equipment and with the musical genres they happen to prefer. You might think, "Oh that sound like a lot of trouble," but it's a lot less trouble than buying phone after phone (new) based on reviews and finding you hate them all.
 
Reviews are useful to narrow down choices to some degree, of course. If 4 reviewers say that Phone A  is unbearably bright, it possibly is, but I wouldn't take the word of less than 4. And of course, it would appear that many phones get modified by the manufacturers over time, so unless a review is very recent treat it with a grain of salt. That's my experience for what it's worth.

 

[Lorspeaker]

i am using the software "audirvarna"  on my macAir...at least 4gb ram on board recommended.
The improved clarity is like a gear-upgrade.
http://audirvana.com/
 
udac-2 ....hmmm wasnt really impressed with it..
i would go with the nuforce HD/or HDP ( if u dun mind the power adaptor )
or a v convenient n portable dacportLX...this cigar has more than enough power for the 880.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

I'll offer a tip, and the only way I've found to properly choose phones. Buy used on Ebay or the For Sales here. That way you can audition to your heart's content in the only suitable auditioning location: your home. If you don't like the phone, re-sell it. If there's a slight loss, suck it up. Sometimes there's a slight profit. I have found no other foolproof way of picking the best headphone for me. That way you can mitigate the effect of reviewers, whose opinions only apply to their own tastes with their own equipment and with the musical genres they happen to prefer. You might think, "Oh that sound like a lot of trouble," but it's a lot less trouble than buying phone after phone (new) based on reviews and finding you hate them all.
 
Reviews are useful to narrow down choices to some degree, of course. If 4 reviewers say that Phone A  is unbearably bright, it possibly is, but I wouldn't take the word of less than 4. And of course, it would appear that many phones get modified by the manufacturers over time, so unless a review is very recent treat it with a grain of salt. That's my experience for what it's worth.

 
An hour ago it was ludicrous to think reviews could be helpful and to buy the phone to listen to at home and now it's exactly what you're saying. Looking to pick a fight?
 
And by the way here in America we can buy a headphone online, listen to it, and send it back without it costing a penny.

 

[Lorspeaker]

before i came to headfi, i had only one cheapbeyer...
its just a "headphone" to me...n it stayed with me for ten years.
then i came to headfi...to look for THE headphone for classicals..sounds familiar ?
 
then i realised i need a dac...an amp...cables...
then the struggle between closed n open...
then the allure of new cans...
the nagging mystery with what the classic cans like hd600 k701 sound like...

 
its a curse the threadstarter has chosen...reviews or no reviews..
he is doomed to own 3 cans by the end of 2013.
 
 

 

[-xX-Mew-Xx-]

I have the Sennheiser HD598 and they work for almost any genre! Especially classical! Everytime i decide to listen to some classical with the 598's i get little grin on my face

 

[complin]

Yes have to agree a review is only a guide and as everyones hearing is different!
However; a review will give you a good idea of the general attributes of headphone fer example
Does it have hot treble
Is the bass overwhelming
Is the soundstage wide or narrow
Do voices sound nasal
I suggest you make a short list of those you fancy listening too, get together some music you are familiar with and locate some dealers in your area.  Only YOU can say if whatever headphone is what  floats your boat 

Alternatively there may be some headfiers in your area if you ask that might let you listen to the headphones you are interested in or if there is a meet in your area then pop along and listen.
 
For me the source is king (garbage in- garbage out) so what you feed your headphone has a great impact on the end result.  You need to factor this into your expectations and budget for your setup.  Personally I would go for second hand stuff in good condition either from fellow headfiers or other trusted sources as you will be able to get a much better bang for your buck.
  
 
Quote:

Wow, there's a couple of big assumptiopns here. I don't think "most of us here" do anything the same except listen to headphones. Foobar? I don't even listen to music from a computer. As for loving any headphone he decides on, that's preposterous. Eni Meni Mini Mo...nope, doesn't work. You'd be flat out to pick the right one even after long auditions. As for this subsequent statement: "Thing is you can get a pretty accurate idea of a headphone from reviews", I say no, no, and no. I couldn't count the number of phones I've owned that sound nothing like the reviews, which is something I'm still trying to account for. You must listen, and on familiar material. There's just no substitute

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 
An hour ago it was ludicrous to think reviews could be helpful and to buy the phone to listen to at home and now it's exactly what you're saying. Looking to pick a fight?
 
And by the way here in America we can buy a headphone online, listen to it, and send it back without it costing a penny.

 
 
Read my posts again. You were suggesting flying blind and relying solely on reviews. You were also suggesting that whatever phone the guy picked he'd be happy with it. To me that's ludicrous. Unless one is absurdly easy to please (and most people in that category don't come to Head-Fi), the chances of picking a truly satisfying headphone by your she-loves-me/she-loves-me-not method are virtually nil. I'm saying reviews can be useful for reducing the choices but only where there's a preponderate of opinion--that is, where a number of trusted reviewers agree on specific characteristics. There's no contradiction.
 
Lucky you in the US of A. In most of the rest of the world that choice doesn't exist: we buy the headphone or we don't get to hear it. Hence we must rely on our saviour, Ebay.   

 

[pp312]

Quote:

For me the source is king (garbage in- garbage out) so what you feed your headphone has a great impact on the end result.  

 
No doubt it will, but it won't have as great an impact as the headphone itself. The 'source is king' theory is a throwback to the Linn Sondek days of the 70s, when it was thought a good enough source could overcome any deficiency further down the line. Fortunately as the years passed the basic lunacy of this theory became apparent and the speaker (or headphones in our case) regained the ascendancy.
 
Personally I've found that a good neutral headphone will make even low bitrate MP3s quite listenable, which is not to suggest that we should all regress to low bitrate MP3s.

 

[complin]

Absolutely not a throwback to the Linn Sondek days of the 70's, simply logical and from 40 years experience in music and audio. 
Reproducing classical and other music where real instruments are used, as opposed to electronic or sampled sounds are notoriously difficult to reproduce correctly due to their harmonic and dynamic content. For example the piano is one instrument which is very difficult to reproduce well.
If this is compressed as in your mp3 example or not well reproduced by the source then much of the realism, emotion and enjoyment is simply lost.
I'm not suggesting that one needs to spend megabucks to achieve this but careful consideration needs to be given to the source.  IMHO many DAC's these days still suffer from a digital and artificial sound, lots of brightness and somewhat artificial detail.  If you regularly attend live music such as recitals and symphony concerts you immediately know if it comes close to the real thing.  The same criticism attaches to some recordings as well which major on giving a hifi wow type of sound rather than the more holistic natural sound of Decca and DG in the 60's and 70's.  
 
Quote:

 
No doubt it will, but it won't have as great an impact as the headphone itself. The 'source is king' theory is a throwback to the Linn Sondek days of the 70s, when it was thought a good enough source could overcome any deficiency further down the line. Fortunately as the years passed the basic lunacy of this theory became apparent and the speaker (or headphones in our case) regained the ascendancy.
 
Personally I've found that a good neutral headphone will make even low bitrate MP3s quite listenable, which is not to suggest that we should all regress to low bitrate MP3s.

 

[auftakt]

RE: trusting reviews only. The points made so far only address the sound. Auditioning is also important in terms of comfort! Nobody's head is the same! For example, all of the reviews I read regarding the German Maestro GMP 450 Pro said they were super comfortable to wear -- light as a feather. Well, I went to the shop to try these out and as it turns out my head is far too tall for them. They would not expand to match my head properly which put an unnecessary amount of pressure on my head right above my ears. Extremely uncomfortable. Had I trusted reviews alone and bought them without auditioning, I'd be stuck with a $350 headphone that is torture to wear. 
 
Food for thought. 

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Read my posts again. You were suggesting flying blind and relying solely on reviews. You were also suggesting that whatever phone the guy picked he'd be happy with it. To me that's ludicrous. Unless one is absurdly easy to please (and most people in that category don't come to Head-Fi), the chances of picking a truly satisfying headphone by your she-loves-me/she-loves-me-not method are virtually nil. I'm saying reviews can be useful for reducing the choices but only where there's a preponderate of opinion--that is, where a number of trusted reviewers agree on specific characteristics. There's no contradiction.
 
Lucky you in the US of A. In most of the rest of the world that choice doesn't exist: we buy the headphone or we don't get to hear it. Hence we must rely on our saviour, Ebay.   

 
 
Not solely on reviews but to take our suggestions which are based on knowledge with that particular headphone. Okay, so we all hear differently but we also share many similarities and that is because we can get a good understanding of the headphone from the owners. Generally people don't buy the HD600 to listen to techno, likewise a D5000 wouldn't be suggested for acoustic.
 
I can't say I agree with buying a phone just to listen too and return it, I've never done that. I've bought primarily on reviews and enjoyed the phone I received, however the option to return is always there.
 
I used to live in the UK and they have statutory rights, is there nothing similar in Aus?

 

[bbophead]

Quote:

Quote:

I own both.  Do you want closed or open?  880 is semi-open (really, it's open) and 660 is closed.  Want privacy for yourself and others, buy closed.  Want a more expansive soundstage and don't mind hearing others and them hearing your music, buy open.

Frankly, I'm leaning towards a more open soundstage. The phones will probably be used at home only. I guess DT880 is the more likely choice.

If you go with an 880, get the 32 ohm or the 250 ohm.  They are more compatible with low power amps.