[Monago]

Hello!

I've been doing a fair amount of research on the DT880 and the hd650 in the past few days, as I've been seriously considering a move upward in the hi-fi world of headphones. My current headphones, the hd595s, sound *brilliant* through my Corda Arietta and HT omega Claro plus soundcard (Same dac chips as the emu 0404). I have no serious complaints about the sound it produces, except that I want to broaden my audio horizons so-to-speak. I can't help but wonder "what if".

So, upon reading through forums and such, the general consensus seems to be that the Arietta would be a fantastic match for a pair of dt880's, and at this point, this seems to be my first consideration for new headphones. *But* (and to the best of the hd595's ability) I've only known headphones that produce music "accurately". Or in other words, headphones that don't color music in any significant way. I'm not against this type of presentation in any way, except that I find myself rather curious.

I've read a lot about how wonderful the hd650 is (When properly amped), and although I appreciate accurate sound reproduction, the HD650 sounds tempting. The darkened, slightly laid back presentation of hd650's seems appealing. However, I believe my amp to be somewhat inadequate to make them sound really great (Or even just great). So I'm torn between the possibility of absolutely loving a pair of hd650's, or just playing it safe, and buying a pair of dt880's to enhance a musical experience that has yet to disappoint me thus far.

Anyway, my point and question is this. Should I buy the dt880's and "play it safe" (Although I hear they sound simply stunning through my amp), or go with the HD650's, and take a chance on something completely new, and possibly spectacular. AND, in potentially going with the HD650's, could my amp run them adequately?

 

[Skorpitarius]

The 650 even with amp can be dull and boring as i've read someone else describe the sound as ... I had a 650 but never got 'round to putting a nice silver-wire cable on it so I dunno how much sonic improvement you could expect, probably not much .
The 650 is elegant and silky sounding however ... which is very desireable in it's own way ... A lot of headphones are harsher sounding and more fatiguing .... the 650 is definetly not fatiguing ... you can listen to that headphone for hours and not want to take it off ....If you listen to a lot of rock music / electronica or hip hop or even jazz fusion with electronic instruments , you probably want to consider a headphone with more heft and balls than the 650 ...
I am definetly not as high level an expert as a lot of people on Head-Fi are but that's my experience and 2 cents .

 

[Monago]

Oh, and I live on the eastern coast of Canada. HD600's and HD650's simply don't exist up here, so trying them out at a local store is out of the question =/.

 

[Monago]

I appreciate the input Skorpitarius. I've gotten that general impression from forum lurking as well. They have their strengths (Like any headphone), but you ultimately have to ask yourself what would appeal most to *you*. I like the idea of an ultra silky smooth sound, but I can't say if I'd like it more than accurate reproduction until I try them >_<.

 

[mrarroyo]

These are two very different headphones, personally I have never cared for the HD650 even after trying it w/ various aftermarket cables (Caradas, Silver Dragon, etc). Personally although I still did not care for the HD600 (owned it twice) that it performed better than the HD650 being more neutral although w/ the famous veil.

The DT880 is a much better sounding headphone and IMO presents the overall spectrum balanced as compared w/ the Senns. I had the opportunity to compare the 2003 version of the DT880 w/ the 2005 version and I preferred the 2003 as being more open, clear, and detailed. YMMV.

 

[mbd2884]

Monago take a look at HeadRoom. Not sure if he ships to Canada or not, I think he will.

HeadRoom provides a 30 day return policy, you don't like return them. Right now I see on their website a free shipping policy. They sell the HD650 and the DT880 at very competitive prices along with great service.

Also I think some of HeadRoom's reviews are the best I've read, beating 99% of the reviews on this forum.

HeadRoom: Stereo Headphones, Amps & DACs, Wireless, Noise Canceling, Ear Canal, Earbud, Audio Cables & Accessories

 

[Miths]

Just a disclaimer before I start - I don't have the trained ears of many head-fi'ers, so these are general "amateur" impressions

.
I also haven't heard the DT880 - or any Beyerdynamics.

I had the HD595 for around a year (unamped, though since then I've obviously tried them in my current DAC and amp setup as well) before I bought first the K601 a few months back and then the HD650 around a month ago, and to my ears the HD595 is not able to compete with either of them.

Compared to both of them the HD595 lacks fine details as well as precision in the sound stage, just as the bass can get a bit muddy at times. I also find the HD595 rather unexciting compared to the others even though it isn't as relaxed and leaned back as the the HD650.

Otherwise the K601 and HD650 are like night and day (if anything I would actually say that the K601 and the HD595 sound slightly more alike than the HD595 and the HD650), with the K601 being bright and airy, forward and with a very smooth midrange and wide soundstage, but on the negative side a tendency to occasional sharp highs and sibilance (my ears are rather sensitive to those highs though), while the HD650 is relaxed, dark and warm and with significantly more weight and authority in the bass than both the HD595 and the K601, along with rolled off highs that I personally find extremely pleasant but which I'm sure other would consider not extending far enough.

As for the amping "issue" - ie. that the HD650 in particular doesn't really come into its own unless you've got a very good amp, well I can't disprove that as the system in my sig is the best I've tried, but I can certainly say that even when I tried the HD650 straight out of my iPod the other day, they were easily recognizable as the same excellent headphones I've been listening to out of my amp, except that the iPod didn't have enough power to drive them quite to my usual fairly high listening volume.

 

[gilency]

I was really not impressed with the HD650 even with good headroom's micro amps. I did not like the 600 or the 595's either.
I got to compare back to back the AKG 701 vs the DT880's playing the same music with the same amplifier and I liked the DT880's. Problem is, none of them sounded as good as the Stax.
My 0.02's

 

[pataburd]

I'm with the good Uncle here, and endorse the DT880 (NOTE: I use the 2003 version). I've owned the HD650 a half dozen times, with three different aftermarket cables (Cardas, Headphile and RAL--with the RAL being my resounding favorite) and probably 5 or 6 different amps, but they never really did anything for me. I will say, though, that the Darkvoice 337 amp got me close to liking them. (Even with the DV337, I ultimately preferred the DT880, with stock cable, just the same.) The DT880 become, to me, almost the ideal headphones with the Bada PH-12.

 

[logwed]

Ok, not to hijack the thread, but I felt that this didn't warrant a whole new thread. Is the Dt990 not well-respected, or inferior to the DT880, because on Amazon it is significantly cheaper new. Amazon.com: dt880

 

[bellbrass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by logwed /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, not to hijack the thread, but I felt that this didn't warrant a whole new thread. Is the Dt990 not well-respected, or inferior to the DT880, because on Amazon it is significantly cheaper new. Amazon.com: dt880

I wondered about that as well....I thought the DT-990 was supposed to be an upgrade from the 880s.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Call me a fanboi, but I'd highly consider getting the DT880/600ohm version if you have a decent amp. Better than my '03 DT880's tbh and only $20 extra over the '05 DT880's new via Moon Audio. The 600 ohm = the most balanced sounding of all the DT880's.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bellbrass /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wondered about that as well....I thought the DT-990 was supposed to be an upgrade from the 880s.

remember, higher model numbering != better model, particularly with German made headphones (Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic).

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Call me a fanboi, but I'd highly consider getting the DT880/600ohm version if you have a decent amp. Better than my '03 DT880's tbh and only $20 extra over the '05 DT880's new via Moon Audio. The 600 ohm = the most balanced sounding of all the DT880's.

I have listened to both versions and was not impressed the sound difference was worth it.

 

[scytheavatar]

What type of music do you listen to? The DT880's greatest strength is in classical music; outside of it you might find the DT880 to be too polite and maybe even borderline analytical. As for the HD650 it is at its best for Jazz, although if you like that HD595 I think you will love the HD650 cause it is an upgrade in many ways. You can also experiment with the mid range Denons/Grados/ATHs/AKGs to see if you like any of them more than the Senns.