[Kurayamino]

Hey Guys and Girls,
 
First time poster although I've read threads on here before. Seems like the best possible place I could get this advice. I am looking at getting a set of headphones. They would primarily be used on my PC for music and the odd bit of gaming. But I am starting to believe that even spending a decent amount of money on a headset with microphone is some what wasted. It's like they slap a "this is for gaming" label on and up the price for what the product and sound quality actually is. I had a set of PC350 Senn's, they broke after a year. The microphone started clicking and then the next day the sound distorted constantly. I'd rather spend a decent amount of money now on a set of headphones that is going to last me and has decent sound quality to boot. This would obviously mean getting a microphone for the gaming side of things as an addon. 
 
However I am very interested in a set of Beyerdynamics. The overall build quality seems really nice from what I can tell. With them being Beyer as well the sound quality should be unlike anything I have heard before. I have been researching. Originally looking at the 770's but the price difference seemed small for the upgrade. Having looked at the 880DT's I then thought well the 990's are a similar price and technically would be an upgrade. However they seem to have exactly the same specs?! Could anyone confirm this and maybe someone that has tried them both. Are they literally the same headphones inside as well?
 
Thanks for reading and hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction.
 
Lee

 

[BotByte]

Semi open and closed. You can tell by the pictures
 
Also, make sure you know that the 250 and 600 ohm need amps no matter what. The 32ohm version will not need a amp.
 
Pro VS Premium is that the premium is the 2005 update to control the bass better, detail the mids and a little more clarity. But not much of a change if your ears aren't precise.

 

[Kurayamino]

Thank you for the quick reply. So the premium technically is better than the pro? Also I note that looking around the net the 990's seem a bit cheaper.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Thank you for the quick reply. So the premium technically is better than the pro? Also I note that looking around the net the 990's seem a bit cheaper.

I would go 990's if your not afraid of isolation problems. Semi open is usually better sound then closed while also having the sound of open cnas
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Depends what sound you want.
 
The DT880 and DT990 have basically the same specs and have very similar sound stages being semi-open and open. But they sound very different. The DT880 is more of a neutral headphone that is very detailed. The DT990 is a bassier headphone, colored, with recessed mids and the highs become bright because of that.
 
Pro versions of the headphones clamp more, making perceived bass sound more full. Otherwise, they're actually very similar sounding. I've heard a few models. The premiums seem to be a little more refined. But it depends if you think that's worth the cost.
 
Very best,

 

[Kurayamino]

Superb replies guys, thank you I think I am going to go with the more neutral sounding 880's. I knew headphones like this existed by I didn't know all of the headphone amp options etc. It's becoming quite complicated for my small little brain. But my ears are going to enjoy this.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Superb replies guys, thank you I think I am going to go with the more neutral sounding 880's. I knew headphones like this existed by I didn't know all of the headphone amp options etc. It's becoming quite complicated for my small little brain. But my ears are going to enjoy this.

Heya,
 
Remember you'll need an amp for the higher impedance versions of the headphone (250ohm, 600ohm). You could easily accomplish what you need with a FiiO E9 amplifier. Simply output from sound card to the E9. They go for like $100 new on Amazon.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Kurayamino]

Quote:

Superb replies guys, thank you I think I am going to go with the more neutral sounding 880's. I knew headphones like this existed by I didn't know all of the headphone amp options etc. It's becoming quite complicated for my small little brain. But my ears are going to enjoy this.

Going to annoy you now haha. Is it literally a case of plugging the soundcard into the E9 via input then running the headphones out of the front?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Going to annoy you now haha. Is it literally a case of plugging the soundcard into the E9 via input then running the headphones out of the front?

Heya,
 
Yeap. It has a 3.5mm jack input on the back, same as the output from your sound card. Just plug it in. Then turn it on. Plug your headphones into the front of the amp.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Kurayamino]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Yeap. It has a 3.5mm jack input on the back, same as the output from your sound card. Just plug it in. Then turn it on. Plug your headphones into the front of the amp.
 
Very best,
 

Thank your very much for the guidance. Im gunna be very happy not to sure about my bank manager though.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Thank your very much for the guidance. Im gunna be very happy not to sure about my bank manager though.
 

Heya,
 
Let the first thing that is listened to on those headphones be her favorite song, in lossless perfection. Make her close her eyes. Give her a little shoulder rub. Work it. Then they're yours and she won't fuss.

 
Very best,
 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Let the first thing that is listened to on those headphones be her favorite song, in lossless perfection. Make her close her eyes. Give her a little shoulder rub. Work it. Then they're yours and she won't fuss.

 
Very best,
 

I think you're working a little too hard
 
You need to close in on her and give her some puppy dog eyes that have some show of dominance. Then you speak slowly with a warm tone "I'd like to withdraw some funds, pl-ea-se..."
 

 

 

[Kurayamino]

Haha. I'll give that a try

 

[CyBeR]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Remember you'll need an amp for the higher impedance versions of the headphone (250ohm, 600ohm). You could easily accomplish what you need with a FiiO E9 amplifier. Simply output from sound card to the E9. They go for like $100 new on Amazon.
 
Very best,
 

You make it sound like they won't even work without an amp which is patently untrue. I drive them out of my macbook pro all the time without issue. Admittedly my iPhone has some trouble getting good volume though.
 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

You make it sound like they won't even work without an amp which is patently untrue. I drive them out of my macbook pro all the time without issue. Admittedly my iPhone has some trouble getting good volume though.
 

You probably have the 32ohm version or you can't tell that your underpowering your cans