Custom Beyers are calling me: advice requested from all Beyer experts!

[xenithon]

Hi all. I have slowly but surely been drawn toward getting a pair of custom Beyer Manufacture headphones. The temptation has always been there, but the recent spate of threads about them are seriously tempting my willpower

I thus wanted to ask for your advice/suggestions on which to go for. Apologies in advance for the somewhat lengthy post, but I want to put as much info out there as possible – I have realized that choosing cans is rarely a matter of “which is best” but “which is best, in this system, for this type of music”.

So, firstly, the contenders:
- DT880/250-ohm
- DT990/250-ohm
- DT880/600-ohm
- DT990/600-ohm

Next, the associated equipment:
- FLAC library to Edirol UA-1EX
- Optical digital out from Edirol to Musiland MD10 DAC
- Analog out from MD10 DAC to either ASL MG Head DT OTL Mk III or my soon-to-arrive Gilmore Lite LE with DPS
- Cables include glass optical cable to DAC; Zu Gede II and Grover S interconnects

Music listened to: almost anything and everything. If I had to pick a few categories:
- Female vocal. This includes Celtic (Loreena McKennit, Sinead O’Connor); Jazz and Blues (Diana Krall, Katie Melua, Norah Jones); Light classical/operatic (Sarah Brightman, Hayley Westenra)
- Male vocal, such as: Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Eros Ramazotti)
- Rock/Contemporary such as Cranberries, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Coldplay
- World music & new age like Adiemus, Vangelis, Cesaria Evoria, Enya

Sonic characteristics I enjoy:
- Detail
- Airiness and openness
- Taut, punchy bass (no boom/overhang)
- Intimate sound (in particular voices)
- Wide(ish) soundstage, but not to the point of sounding thin/empty
- Musical and fun (prefer a little coloration and sparkle over ultra accurate and sterile)

My thoughts on other cans I have listened too, for reference:
- ATH-W5000: nice, but sounded thin and fatiguing after time (though was not a good fit at all).
- ATH-W11JPN: one of my favorites. Very musical and fun; warm sounding; though lacking some air and detail.
- Denon AH-D5000: nice and extremely punchy, but excessive bass for my liking, which often drowned out the midrange and detail.
- AKG K701: sterile
- Grado RS1: I really enjoyed the sound, but the (dis)comfort was intolerable (ear burn)
- Grado GS1000: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (in other words, boring)
- HD650 with Equinox Cable: really enjoy, and it is one of my keepers. A little distant and dark though (looking for a good partner to this)

So, with all that out of the way, what suggestions would you have for the headphone choice? It is very much a two-pronged question: first being a choice of DT880 vs. DT990, and second a choice of impedance and whether my two amps would be sufficient for 600 ohms (which I believe would be superior if amped properly).

Cheers and thanks in advance for any assistance!
X

PS. I kindly request not to suggest other headphones other than the 4 in question, thanks!

 

[Shahter]

Sorry , I"am not an expert , but auditioned almost to all headphones that you mentioned except of DT990 600 ohm and DT880 600ohm.

From your music preferences I"am 99.9% sure that your choise is DT880 , so now the question is which impedance ... And I"ll bet for 600 ohm with leather pads !

 

[xenithon]

Hi there and thanks for the opinion. I will definitely be going with leather pads either way. From what I have been reading the DT880 is more detailed, accurate, tighter but less impactful bass; the DT990 is more fun and fuzzy, less detailed, a lot more bass output.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenithon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sonic characteristics I enjoy: - Detail - Airiness and openness - Taut, punchy bass (no boom/overhang) - Intimate sound (in particular voices) - Wide(ish) soundstage, but not to the point of sounding thin/empty - Musical and fun (prefer a little coloration and sparkle over ultra accurate and sterile)

Sounds like W5000, although you owned and didn't like one. May be different source and amp are in order.

 

[Shahter]

Yep ..

The bass and some energy was the things that I missed with DT880 . But I like more heavy/electronic music. As example , with Dire Straits or some guitar/acoustic stuff DT880 was really grate.

 

[cooperpwc]

You will bw happy with the tight bass of the DT880/600s with leather earpads, I believe. You love of detail and airiness with a widish soundstage that isn't too thin describes them to a T. Shouldn't be any lack of fun if you go 600 ohm and leather. But tubes definitely also help.
Never heard the DT990s though.

 

[xenithon]

Andrew - I actually considered buying the W5000 again, but just could not get past the fact that I lived with them for a good few months, with various sources, amps, and DACs, and could never get them to sound right without funkiness like EQing and elastic band mods. It was just a little too sibilant and thin for my taste.

Cooper - I am leaning toward the DT880 too, just wondering if it would be over analytical and lacking punch in comparison to the DT990. As long as it is not as distant/sterile/unengaging as the K701 I'll be happy

 

[Andrew_WOT]

DT880 are drier and more analytical than W5000. W5000 sound lively and fuller in comparison. Not sure how things change with 600Ohm and leather pads. I'll probably can answer at least leather pads question next week. But in the end W5000 are still more refined cans (I guess they must be for 3x the price).
May be the bad seal was your problem. Not like I discourage you from Beyers, they are terrific cans, esp for their price. But if money is not object I would give AT another try first, they are really a step up from Beyers and scale tremendously with proper setup.

 

[xenithon]

Thanks Andrew, but I reckon I had enough time with the W5000 to know that they just weren't for me. I got the seal right with modding/elastic bands and it just wasn't to my exact taste, so do not want to go down that (much more expensive) route again. As mentioned in the initial post, I want to only focus on the 4 headphones for now

Cheers,
X

 

[cooperpwc]

I found even the 600 ohm DT880s to be sterile with velour pads but not with leather. It's quite a remarkable acoustic effect. I describe the difference as like listening in a desert versus listening in a concert hall.
The 600 ohms just seems to make the low end that much smoother. If you have the juice to drive 'em, you gotta go there.

 

[xenithon]

Hmmm...mighty interesting indeed!

In terms of detail, I have read that the DT990/600 is very different to the 250 in that it is more refined, cleaner. It's bass is also meant to be tauter but still heavy-handed. I enjoy the bass of the HD650 with Equinox, and even a little less would be fine. I do not enjoy overpowering bass, like what I heard with the Denon D5000.

DT880/600 is looking more and more appealing....the only niggle I come across in various threads is that the DT990 has that fun, toe-tapping factor which the DT880 doesn't....though as you mentioned perhaps the leather will take care of that?

 

[cooperpwc]

In fairness, I can't make a comparison. The DT990s may well be more "fun" in the toe-tapping sense. Even likely so. In my personal setup, I find the DT880/600s to be plenty warm and bassy. When I am listening to music, I enjoy most of all the details in the soundstage which is where the DT880s just shine. So that's my definition of fun.

 

[xenithon]

I just re-read Skylab's comparison of the DT990 to the D5000 - he said the DT990 has similar bass, perhaps a little more robust but less refined, and more recessed mids. I found the D5000 to have too much bass and not enough mids, so I think the DT990 (even 600 ohm) would not be for me. DT880/600/leather is now top of the list for sure.

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, Xenithon, based on your post, the answer for you for SURE is DT880/600. No doubt. Hint: order leather pads, but also order "spare" velour pads, so you can experiment with that. I *much* prefer the leather pads on my DT880's, and I think you will too based on your finding the W5000 too thin. I use the DT880/600 with the ASL MG OTL mk III quite a bit, and find it a particularly synergysitc combo.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hint: order leather pads, but also order "spare" velour pads, so you can experiment with that.

X2. In fact, order some spare leathers. You can never have too many (and you just might order Darths someday and wish you had them.)