DT880. Nice alternative to 650/340/SA5000?

[kool bubba ice]

thank you..

 

[plaidplatypus]

I found the DT880 to show lots of detail. They remind me of studio monitors, good ones. I sold mine to help buy a better stax amp.

 

[Asr]

They're going to be most similar to your SA5000. The DT880 has bad sibilance (I burned in mine for over 700 hours, so if it was ever going to go away it would've by that point) and are great detail-oriented cans. Very flat mids, an interesting spike around the female vocal range though. And good bass quality - the best thing I remember about it in fact. Gets lots of bass texture. Probably best to try and audition it if you can. Personally I don't think it'd be worth it for you, since you already have an SA5000 that beats it in the detail aspect and has better speed to boot.

 

[GAD]

I've owned DT880s, Senn HT580s and HT650s. I like the Senn sound a lot better. The DT880s were too... boring to me. Don't get me wrong - they're great cans, and if they were my only cans I'd be a happy man. The HD650s just have something more, especially when you start getting into better amps and sources.


GAD

 

[vcoheda]

have you heard the K701. they are somewhat similar to them, except with better highs, a more focused (or narrower) sound stage and less but still present bass. also a recabling job will for the most part tame the highs of their sibilance, but a hint of brightness will remain nonetheless - can't have the sparkily highs without it.

in terms of quality, i think they are on par with my other headphones and have some very positive attributes. worth checking out. as always, an audition if possible would be helpful over just an outright blind purchase. but they are very different from the HD650. i have not heard the other headphones you mention. hope this helps.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif They're going to be most similar to your SA5000. The DT880 has bad sibilance (I burned in mine for over 700 hours, so if it was ever going to go away it would've by that point) and are great detail-oriented cans. Very flat mids, an interesting spike around the female vocal range though. And good bass quality - the best thing I remember about it in fact. Gets lots of bass texture. Probably best to try and audition it if you can. Personally I don't think it'd be worth it for you, since you already have an SA5000 that beats it in the detail aspect and has better speed to boot.

Thank you.. I might Go Grado 325i/RS-2 then.. Looking for something different..

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif have you heard the K701. they are somewhat similar to them, except with better highs, a more focused (or narrower) sound stage and less but still present bass. also a recabling job will for the most part tame the highs of their sibilance, but a hint of brightness will remain nonetheless - can't have the sparkily highs without it. in terms of quality, i think they are on par with my other headphones and have some very positive attributes. worth checking out. as always, an audition if possible would be helpful over just an outright blind purchase. but they are very different from the HD650. i have not heard the other headphones you mention. hope this helps.

Yes, I had the 701's.. They just sounded lifeless with my DAC1 so I sold them.. They sounded magical when I listened to them on Steves GS-1. I might re buy them & balance them.. but I'm still considering saving up for the Balanced Desktop since I heard it betters the DAC1 driving headphones balanced..

 

[vcoheda]

save up for a balanced amp. you will get more by improving your current setup than expanding it, imo.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, I had the 701's.. They just sounded lifeless with my DAC1 so I sold them.. They sounded magical when I listened to them on Steves GS-1. I might re buy them & balance them.. but I'm still considering saving up for the Balanced Desktop since I heard it betters the DAC1 driving headphones balanced..

You have to take into account the entire system when listening to anything - the "magic" as you put it was the combined effect of K701, GS-1, and Arcam CD73, and my Signal Cable ICs as well. K701 and GS-1 alone aren't going to create a great sound together without the right source backing them up.

And even when put up with a much higher-end source, the K701 and GS-1 aren't necessarily going to create a great sound. As soon as I switched from Arcam DiVA CD73 ($750 SRP) to FMJ CD33 ($2.5K SRP originally) I was less than impressed, I found it boring and wanted more lushness. The K701 and GS-1 hadn't changed - as soon as I made that CDP change I was less than pleased from the change in sound. I eventually came to like that sound but at first I really did not. The pursuit of neutrality, accuracy, etc, comes at a high cost - oh it's easy to get, but the expense is musicality and involvement. CDP choice is extremely important with a HeadAmp amp in the system, and I just simply got lucky when I picked up the GS-1 to go with the Arcam CD73.

So you shouldn't think the K701 and GS-1 are automatically paired well together in all scenarios. If I were you, personally I'd be wary of DAC1 with K701. Popular opinion on the DAC1 seems to agree it has a neutral, cool sound, a contrast from what you heard from my system.

 

[ast]

I have SA5000 and HD650. I think RS-1 would be a good compliment since it is different from both.

I wouldn't recommend K701. Had it for a while just can't accept its presentation of female vocal -- somewhat sound hollow and fake to me. But I know people swear by it.