[Kevin Brown]

I got my brand spankin' new DT880/600's today.
 
And I compared to the 250 ohm model I have.
 
And I also picked up a pair of Revox 3100's from Zombie X not too long ago.  An old version of the DT880/600.
 
Wait for it,
 
wait for it ...
 
The brand new DT880/600's sound amazing similar to the Revox's.  I did not expect that, but maybe I should have.
 
How did those 2 compare to the 250 ohm model?  And keep in mind, I've had the Revox's for a few weeks now and plenty of time to get to know the differences between the 250 ohm model and the Revox's.
 
Here it comes,
 
Zombie X is correct.  They certainly fall within the same sound signature family.  But do they sound the same?  No.  To be honest, it's a toss up right now which one I prefer, but the 250 ohm model has a slightly smoother top end, which I like, but the 600 ohm models have a slightly punchier, more impactful low end, which I like.  For someone as hyper about this stuff as I am, I had to compare and know for myself.  But really, they are very similar sounding.  But they do not sound the same.
 
I'll ask about burn in.  But if the brand new pair sound like the 20 odd (?) year old Revox's, my impression is that Beyer's don't gain much from burn in?
 
The 600 ohm models are a fair amount harder to drive than the 250 ohm model.  I had to change the volume control on the Aune from roughly 12 o'clock for the 250's to 2pm to get a similar volume from the 600's.
 
So there you have it. 

  One person's opinion, anyway !!
 

 

[hudamanium]

Thats a great impression! Thanks. It may be your amp that causes the difference though... I'm pretty torn too between the 2. Personally I cannot hear a difference between them, which matches well with the fact that the graphs between them show a negligible difference. Maybe its a manufacturer thing?

 

[Kevin Brown]

I have the Audio-gd Sparrow, and over the next little while I can compare with that amp too.  But I already know that the Aune puts out more power.  But who knows, maybe the interaction between the amp and headphones will change with a different amp.

 

[psone]

Just in case anyone's looking for a pair, there's a set of 880 250ohm Premiums up on Amazon.com at the moment for $157 there in the second hand section
but listed as like new and fulfilled by Amazon so its probably just a return, either way that's a phenomenal price.
 
happy shopping

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Quote:

RRP doesn't mean much. They were $220 for a long time, now they are $210. It's not a lot off, but since the 600 and 250 sound the same, you're getting hype and sound for only $210 new. There is zero evidence to show that the 600 sounds better than the 250. If you are using your amp at 9 oclock instead of something like 12 oclock, then your amp was made with too high of a gain and you can pay another $50 for phones that suit it.
 

Thank you! Finally someone who understands. Theres so much hatred towards the 250 ohm thats completely unfounded. I think Beyer even made the same note that you made. The difference ohmages are just merely for compatibility with amps. Along with higher ohmages for professional equipment that will destroy the headphones if the impedance is too low. The responses and materials are identical between the ohmages, along with the sound depending on if they're paired correctly. 
 
Its ridiculous how often people read that the more expensive 600 ohm ones are better even though its not true. They then repeat it over threads spreading the misconception. Not to mention confirmation biases from people who have paid extra and want to believe they have it better.

It is true (and it's not "hatred"). I owned the 250ohm and 600ohm at the same time for a few weeks. The 600 ohm sounded better on even a modest amp.

 

[Zombie_X]

I love the 250Ohm DT880, but with the 600Ohm version you are able to pump more power to them with amps which I like. What I mean is that you can dial the volume higher and not have adverse effects.
 
To me the 250Ohm and 600Ohm versions sound very similar but to my ears the 600Ohm models do sound a tiny bit better. Also what so many people fail to take into account with these is what is amping them. This has a lot to do with the perceived difference in sound between the variations in the other Ohm models. I found that the 250Ohm DT880 will sound not as warm on my WA3+ than the 600Ohm model does. This all has to do with matching. (at least i thinks it does 

)
 
Quote:

It is true (and it's not "hatred"). I owned the 250ohm and 600ohm at the same time for a few weeks. The 600 ohm sounded better on even a modest amp.

 

[hudamanium]

I really don't want to go into this again. It might be because of my personality as a medical student. I like numbers, quantitative analysis of things. By this aspect, there is no difference between the models. (ignoring amping etc). Using this logic, it would be unfounded to state that there is a difference between the headphones unless other things come into play (such as amping etc). Also, thinking like someone with a little bit of logic, it does not mean I dismiss claims that the 600 ohm ones are much better, however, as of the current facts it is possible to make the conclusion that the 2 headphones are not different. Perhaps as new evidence comes out, I may reevaluate my position. 
 
Perhaps your 600 ohms does sound better with your system. Thats fine. But that does not indicate that the 2 headphones are fundamentally different in sound. They are not. It might be placebo, might be amping, might be manufacterer differences. etc. As long as it sounds better to you thats great. (after all sound is so subjective and a lot of is different to each person whether its placebo, biases, amping, etc) 
 
Now that does not mean that there are no good reasons to purchase the 600 ohms over the 250 ohms. There are plenty.
 
There really isn't much else to say. There is no real argument to this issue. If you want to use evidence and logical reasoning, at the moment there is only one conclusion you can draw (might change in the future). If you feel like your 600 ohm ones are better with your setup, maybe they are. I am not in a position to tell you any different.  
 

 

[Zombie_X]

I agree with this quite a bit. I kind of arranged my system so it could drive 300-600Ohm headphones as well as lower impedance ones. To me a lot of the sound difference is with the set-up. Like synergy between components. I selected warmer tubes for the tube section in my DAC as well as my WA3+ so that's why it may sound different.
 
I mainly chose the 600Ohm models because my WA3+ has too much gain for me and I'd like to have more control over the volume. Makes sense, no? Not only that but I like how the 600Ohm drivers are pretty much immune to blow out and also that they get no hiss from amps and so gain a quieter background.
 
I also don't want to get into this again either. No sense in bickering over a negligible difference in sound. 
 
Quote:

I really don't want to go into this again. It might be because of my personality as a medical student. I like numbers, quantitative analysis of things. By this aspect, there is no difference between the models. (ignoring amping etc). Using this logic, it would be unfounded to state that there is a difference between the headphones unless other things come into play (such as amping etc). Also, thinking like someone with a little bit of logic, it does not mean I dismiss claims that the 600 ohm ones are much better, however, as of the current facts it is possible to make the conclusion that the 2 headphones are not different. Perhaps as new evidence comes out, I may reevaluate my position. 
 
Perhaps your 600 ohms does sound better with your system. Thats fine. But that does not indicate that the 2 headphones are fundamentally different in sound. They are not. It might be placebo, might be amping, might be manufacterer differences. etc. As long as it sounds better to you thats great. (after all sound is so subjective and a lot of is different to each person whether its placebo, biases, amping, etc) 
 
Now that does not mean that there are no good reasons to purchase the 600 ohms over the 250 ohms. There are plenty.
 
There really isn't much else to say. There is no real argument to this issue. If you want to use evidence and logical reasoning, at the moment there is only one conclusion you can draw (might change in the future). If you feel like your 600 ohm ones are better with your setup, maybe they are. I am not in a position to tell you any different.  
 

 

[ericj]

Quote:

I really don't want to go into this again. It might be because of my personality as a medical student. I like numbers, quantitative analysis of things. By this aspect, there is no difference between the models. (ignoring amping etc). Using this logic, it would be unfounded to state that there is a difference between the headphones unless other things come into play (such as amping etc). Also, thinking like someone with a little bit of logic, it does not mean I dismiss claims that the 600 ohm ones are much better, however, as of the current facts it is possible to make the conclusion that the 2 headphones are not different. Perhaps as new evidence comes out, I may reevaluate my position.
 

 
Wait, wait, wait.
 
Where is the evidence that they sound the same?
 
Please excuse me if i'm just late to the thread - but my understanding is that they sound very similar in that they were designed to have the same overall sound signature, but the different versions of the driver are physically different and can't possibly be exactly the same.
 
The higher impedance versions have many more windings of much thinner wire than the lower impedance versions, and there is no way that this hasn't resulted in a different impedance curve.

 

[Kevin Brown]

Quote:

 
Wait, wait, wait.
 
Where is the evidence that they sound the same?
 
Please excuse me if i'm just late to the thread - but my understanding is that they sound very similar in that they were designed to have the same overall sound signature, but the different versions of the driver are physically different and can't possibly be exactly the same.
 
The higher impedance versions have many more windings of much thinner wire than the lower impedance versions, and there is no way that this hasn't resulted in a different impedance curve.

Bingo.  Physically, they are different.  So there is certainly cause that they will sound different.  Let me borrow from Hud's viewpoint.  I can understand theoretically why they might sound the same, but because I'm an engineer, I have to test that.  So I buy both.  I listen to both.  They do not sound the same.  And I'm certain I could identify each one in a double blind A/B/X statistically valid test too.  

  Some of us have compared, and some of us are just arguing from a theoretical standpoint.
 
Personally, I'm gravitating to the smoother (on my system) treble of the DT880/250's rather than the tighter bass of the 600 ohm model.  So it's not just a case of increased expectations of the higher priced model sounding "better" either.

 

[ericj]

I only have the DT880-S from 1980, and it has way less bass than any other full-size beyer I've heard. I like it.
 
They also made a DT880-M, and a version with no letter suffix. I never learned the differences, but i have pictures of each.

 

[hudamanium]

Quote:

Quote:

I really don't want to go into this again. It might be because of my personality as a medical student. I like numbers, quantitative analysis of things. By this aspect, there is no difference between the models. (ignoring amping etc). Using this logic, it would be unfounded to state that there is a difference between the headphones unless other things come into play (such as amping etc). Also, thinking like someone with a little bit of logic, it does not mean I dismiss claims that the 600 ohm ones are much better, however, as of the current facts it is possible to make the conclusion that the 2 headphones are not different. Perhaps as new evidence comes out, I may reevaluate my position.
 

 
Wait, wait, wait.
 
Where is the evidence that they sound the same?
 
Please excuse me if i'm just late to the thread - but my understanding is that they sound very similar in that they were designed to have the same overall sound signature, but the different versions of the driver are physically different and can't possibly be exactly the same.
 
The higher impedance versions have many more windings of much thinner wire than the lower impedance versions, and there is no way that this hasn't resulted in a different impedance curve.

A little bit late response, but you can look at ealier posts in this thread.
 
Couple things. Graphs show neglible differences. Especially graphs that normalize with many of the same headphones. Also, the drivers have been confirmed to be the same (at least with the newer Beyer DT880s). I think thats brought up previously in this thread also. Check out the charts and graphs, you will be surprised. I was in the same position as you, but after researching a lot on these (and trying them out from the 32 --> 600) I can say almost for a fact that they are the same. If there is a difference, these 3 impedences are like 99% the same. 
 
People who say they are different are ignoring experimental and theoretical data. They're merely going by their ears. I find that its largely hype etc that boosts the 600 ohm ones into "audiophile quality." We all know how this website is so prone to hype, confirmation bias, etc which is why I rely on numbers so much. If you think they sound better, they will sound better!