[MaZa]

Ok, here they are. Damn, what a nice leather case! I was always under impression that old DT880 has coiled cable, but this is straight! Oh well, its better this way. Coiled cable sucks anyway.

First impression: "GOOD GOD! What a sibilance!" And this is coming from Grado fan! Well, it goes away it seems. Been listening for 30 minutes now and no longer notice it that much. Soundstage is very good, nothing breathtaking but i havent listened any soundstage happy music yet, nor any binaural clips.

Also, what a great detail. Following the second guitar in Ensiferum is easier and noticed that its bit more complicated than it first seemed.

Bass. Very tight, and there is enough of it. Impact is similar to my SR225 in my opinion, not as prominent but similar. Not ear punching (Grados are not like this either), but satisfying tapping. Sine wave testing was deep, and some bass-testing songs which i have sounded very good. I feared that these would be too flat, but no problems so far. Speed is also good, probaply because of good detail i think. Hate Eternal's drum mayhem is clear and riffs are not buried under them. Nice.


These were first impressions. I keep listening to them and post more impressions as time passes. I try some bass EQing too.

 

[Davesrose]

I hope these cans work out for your ambient/classical selections Maza......but your first impressions seem to indicate headphone amp/ source upgraditis is about to hit!!!

I think my holiday upgraditis is now done, and it's great! A good CD transport was the last little puzzle peice for me: my HD650s are great for every music genre now

Detail, PRAT, bass slam, and soundstage......all there in one headphone now. It is possible! Just how much money to spend

 

[MaZa]

These headphones seem as good as it is. Amp is definetly in my to buy list, but volume is not a problem luckily. Harder to drive than Grado (all volume sliders are at 20%), but with these all sliders are at 40%. And even there, i can blow my ears off if i need, so voltage isnt an issue. Elite Pro is REALLY surprising me.

 

[mADmAN]

880s???

werent u itching for the 990 '05??

wat made u change to the 880s man?

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mADmAN /img/forum/go_quote.gif 880s??? werent u itching for the 990 '05?? wat made u change to the 880s man?

Price / Value. DT990 05 costs about 250-280€, where old DT880 costs 180-200€. But im glad i got these instead. These have all the bass i need. EQ response isnt stellar, but enough. I can get some very good pumping bass out of these.

 

[GreatDane]

Congrats MaZa. My '03 880's is my most revealing monitor. I don't find them to be sibilant at all. I don't use a traditional EQ but I get good results with boosting bass with a processor. They handle this very well.

 

[SptsNaz]

I'm guessing these will improve quite noticeably with an amp. Always wanted to hear these but the sibilance part scares me away

 

[MaZa]

Yeah, i no longer hear any sibilance. It was just straight out of the box experience. Now they are pure detailed high frequency bliss. I gotta admit, the bass on these is actually great! (in quality sense, not power) Traditional EQ works better than Bassboost in my X-Fi settings.

NP: Fear Factory - 12-0-0 (Where Evil Dwells)

 

[MaZa]

Some tightness is actually lost when i do EQing. Hate Eternal - I, Monarch turned muddy quite fast when i tweaked. But really, this album doesnt need any EQ. Double Bass drum is already loud.

 

[zombieDave]

Congrats on the purchase! I'm sure you realize now that the initial not-so-positive impressions were prob due to the DT's being so unlike the other sets of cans in your collection so it was a new sound for your ears. Oh yeah, if you believe in burn-in (I do), there will be a noticeable change around the 40-hour mark where everything smoothens out quite nicely. For me it was dramatic!

zD

BTW, your avatar really scares me. It makes me feel like I have to agree with everything you post because that . . . thing . . . is typing it.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombieDave /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats on the purchase! I'm sure you realize now that the initial not-so-positive impressions were prob due to the DT's being so unlike the other sets of cans in your collection so it was a new sound for your ears. Oh yeah, if you believe in burn-in (I do), there will be a noticeable change around the 40-hour mark where everything smoothens out quite nicely. For me it was dramatic! zD BTW, your avatar really scares me. It makes me feel like I have to agree with everything you post because that . . . thing . . . is typing it.

Iscariah? Well he is one of the saner looking people who compose my fav music.

Yeah, believe in burnin, but only few ten hours max. Not a believer of those 300hour burnin stuff.

This certainly is different, though brightness is very similar to Grado, only more extended. Lets see how it changes after few days of playing. So far, im very positively impressed. I fear for my Grados though. Seems like there is nothing SR225 can do so remarkably better which these cannot. Upper-mid and high energy is there (not so much as Grado, but close enough) with all its sharpness, bass is tight and adjustable enough, and soundstage is great... I love these already.

NP: Burzum - Dunkelheit

*edit* I'll try to do direct comparison to SR225 in next week, when these are fully burned in.

 

[fjf]

Sybilance disappears with time. And the bass is there. Just listen. It may not be the main tone, and it may not kick you in the stomach. But it is a very detailed bass, in the right amount.

 

[shigzeo]

you have very much bought what i think is one of the great stays here in modern middle-price headphones. i love it far more than my hd600, more than the akg701, more than grado's that i had heard (not a grado fan though) etc etc. i have mine from a heed which is beautiful as they really get a gut up on the bass and sort of 3d staging where instruments begin to come from behind on certain tracks... however, im trance and depeche mode, not thing!

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

however, im trance and depeche mode, not thing!

Quote:

you have very much bought what i think is one of the great stays here in modern middle-price headphones. i love it far more than my hd600, more than the akg701, more than grado's that i had heard (not a grado fan though) etc etc. i have mine from a heed which is beautiful as they really get a gut up on the bass and sort of 3d staging where instruments begin to come from behind on certain tracks...

Yeah, this is really awesome headphone. They do not have that aggressive bite of Grado, but in the other hand they sound so natural and still have enough energy for headbanging.
And i have never heard cymbals this great from any headphone. My SR225 has the energy and bite, where my ex-HD595 had neither, but this baby has both energy, bite AND sparkle. Highs extension is simply great!

 

[keanej6]

dang i can't decide on the old dt 880s or the new dt 990s either.