[windrider]

When updating my imac's OS and thus rendering itunes unusable for a couple of mins, just out of curiousity i plugged my dt880 (250ohms) into the ipod classic and see how they would sound.

I was expecting a thin, shrill and blurred/harsh sound but i was VERY SURPRISED to smooth, well defined pretty-warm sound and lots of tight and punchy bass, yet still has the crystal sounding airiness that dt880s have. And this is only at 70% of the ipod max volume, but yet already was already a very listenable volume. Totally taken aback by this!

People who own both, do plug them in and see how they are if only for the heck of it =).

 

[Fixcinater]

My (supposedly very hard to drive) K240s sound pretty darn good out of my 5G 30gig.

Not horrible or unlistenable, by any stretch of the imagination, as some would have you think here on this board.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Thats one thing that gets me about headroom,in nearly every headphone write up it states that these will sound better out of an amp.
And this isn't always the case.
And besides i personally dont know anybody that uses or has ever used one anyway!
The last thing i want to be doing is carrying around stuff that isn't practical.
Just a dap,or hi-md with Hd202 or one of many other cans i own and i'm completely happy

 

[aaron313]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thats one thing that gets me about headroom,in nearly every headphone write up it states that these will sound better out of an amp. And this isn't always the case. And besides i personally dont know anybody that uses or has ever used one anyway! The last thing i want to be doing is carrying around stuff that isn't practical. Just a dap,or hi-md with Hd202 or one of many other cans i own and i'm completely happy

If you're happy without an amp, that's fine, as your wallet stays safe. But to suggest that headphones will not sound better out of an amp is... silly.

 

[Tridacnid]

On the other hand, Beyerfan, we aren't the most common, us headphone crazies.

Although I am surprised and somewhat happy to hear that a sextett can be driven well, not just mediocrely, by a DAP. Makes me even more excited to hear mine (they're shipping).

 

[kg21]

Almost every headphone should sound better with an amp, even crappy headphones may sound better. How much better and if that improvement is worth it is up to you. Some people can't hear a difference, some people can hear it and don't care, and some people can tell very easily. I mean some people say apple earbuds sound great and theres nothing wrong with that, just don't go around saying all other headphones/amps/dacs/etc. are worthless because earbuds are fine for you (no one in this thread is saying that, but some people troll).

 

[Currawong]

I think it's all relative. An iPod can drive a lot of things without them sounding crap, but it wont demonstrate the phone's potential. I don't think even my amp and DAC demonstrate the potential of mine. It's only if you listen to a seriously high-end system with your favourite music that you realise what you're missing out on. However, if you're enjoying listening, that's the most important thing. I enjoy listening to music in my car, and it's got a crap stereo.

 

[windrider]

Well, i'm not saying that and ipod classic drives the dt880 better than an amp, but i was just surprised at how much better it sounded than i thought it would, surprisingly not harsh and with a fair amount of body straight out of ipod classic headphone jack. Of course it sounds better with an amp but the improvements were of a smaller extent than i thought.

I guess the ipod classic headphone jack was much better than i thought it was. Or the zero amp is just too cheap an amp to make a bigger difference, or just doesnt have good enough synergy with the dt880s. It could be some or all of the above.

 

[tjumper78]

i think beyers are not as difficult to drive as a lot of people claim.
i mean my dt990 does sound beautiful when driven by desktop amps, but it also sounds pretty good when its driven by headsix portable amp which is not really the top of the line product.
i tried plugging it into my ipod classic directly after reading the OP, and it was not too shabby either at 80~85% volume level.

 

[orkney]

It's nice to hear. I'm listening to my HD650s right now driven by my old and long since outdated Porta-Corda II through a 5.5 iPod and I was surprised by the pleasant, musical sound.

But "pleasant" sound gets old pretty fast and what I'm getting right now wouldn't have me excited to rush back for a long listening session. It works fine, sounds decent, and costs very little and to say those things in no way invalidates the sometimes significant contributions of a well-matched amp. I'm not getting nearly as much of the music, but I am getting music -- as did you, by the sounds of it.

best,

o

 

[Nihility]

the most i would ever have for an amp or dac is a portable one, honestly i move way too much when listening to music, nor would i care enough to get into big amps, i just dont care to spend that much money for such a small difference in sound - i honestly love high quality sound, music, gaming, etc, but i'm not one to spend TONS of money to get the super high end of anything really, i'm quite happy with my beyer 770 pros for what ill ever need for bass heavy music, and i hopy my akg's that are coming do a good job being a great open can', i may add a cable to the beyers eventually, and a port-amp at some point, but never much more than that.


then again others have huge setups with amps the size of a sofa

not to mention im going to college next year

 

[Mike Wazowski]

I plug my AKG K701s straight into 5G iPod, for now. While it is obvious how the sound could be still better (fuller, etc.), it is surprisingly good the way it is right now. Similarly to the OP's experience with DT880s, I only have to set the volume to about 55%, that's plenty. The difference from lesser phones is huge, I can't enjoy those anymore...

 

[synaesthetic]

Listening to my AD700s with an amp and without an amp directly out of my sound card or iPod, there are only very subtle differences. The AD700 doesn't change all that much with the amp, but it does change, and the change is for the better. After having listened to them amped, I would not listen to them unamped unless I had to.

My ER-4P, amusingly enough, benefit far more from amplification than the Audio-Technicas do. The difference is mostly apparent in the bass; out of my portable amp, the ER-4P feel like they have a lot more substantial of a bottom end, with even more clarity in the highs than normal. The portable amp does have a P-to-S switch though, so this helps a lot with the ER-4P. Without the P-to-S switch engaged the difference isn't quite as apparent.

Not to mention the iPod's volume control is not as easy to manipulate as reaching into my purse and twisting a knob.

 

[shigzeo]

yeah my dt880 sound great from just about any portable. particularly with the d2 and the full sized ipods. beyer are quite easy to drive though. however, with a real amp, they will get great bass layering that is not even present with the ipod. but i enjoy them completely without an amp.

 

[aaron313]

I've said it before. HD650s sound decent directly out of laptop. See my sig: I prefer that setup by, oh, an immeasurable margin.