[papakoks]

hi guys, need your expertise to help me choose between the two as specified above...will mostly use it with hornet and a CDP or ipod (ALAC files)...type of music is mostly pop, r&b, rock...

 

[immtbiker]

Discussed a lot in this thread:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=155559

 

[rimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papakoks hi guys, need your expertise to help me choose between the two as specified above...will mostly use it with hornet and a CDP or ipod (ALAC files)...type of music is mostly pop, r&b, rock...

Hell, try them! There's no other answer fair to you. We do not hear through your ears so can we comment? Headphones are like food, you do not eat some no matter how well prepared it is.

 

[papakoks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rimmer Hell, try them! There's no other answer fair to you. We do not hear through your ears so can we comment? Headphones are like food, you do not eat some no matter how well prepared it is.

based on your sig, any comments on the HD 595 and DT 880?

 

[papakoks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker Discussed a lot in this thread: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=155559

found my old thread...thanks immtbiker!

 

[rimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papakoks based on your sig, any comments on the HD 595 and DT 880?

To be honest, they are great cans, but I am letting the 880 go, sooner or later. I'm just not happy with them, the sound is somehow unpleasant to me - the treble is quite expressed. I put that idea in some other "880" thread around here with details.

 

[fewtch]

Problems with DT880's treble seems to be common... however, I'm pretty treble sensitive, and don't have any issue with it (particularly after burn in).

I think a lot of people listen to recordings that are thin/bright, and this quality will be exacerbated with the DT880 (and mitigated with HD6x0). In fact I think this is responsible for a large degree of Senn HD6x0 popularity, the number of poor recordings out there. To my ears the Senns are extremely forgiving in the treble, but at the same time have a quality that some people call "veiled."

Anyway, my own solution is to just choose good recordings, and all is well.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papakoks hi guys, need your expertise to help me choose between the two as specified above...will mostly use it with hornet and a CDP or ipod (ALAC files)...type of music is mostly pop, r&b, rock...

DT-880s - $210 from Meier, then you can afford a home amp as well

 

[Cyrilix]

The treble isn't as pronounced as my previous Grados. Sorry, but I just can't understand how people can complain about DT880 treble.

 

[flecom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix The treble isn't as pronounced as my previous Grados. Sorry, but I just can't understand how people can complain about DT880 treble.

I agree, the 880 treble is nothing compared to the overly bright nearly painful treble of the grado line

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix The treble isn't as pronounced as my previous Grados. Sorry, but I just can't understand how people can complain about DT880 treble.

They're very smooth on top compared to Grados, but compared to the Senn HD6x0 lineup they're on the bright side... it's all a matter of degree. I have no problem with the Beyers even coming from years with the HD580/600, but mileage will vary (and apparently does, as those who sell them seem to most often because of the treble).

 

[McRat]

Well coming from SR225 I too noticed a spike on the DT880 somewhere in the treble region, that's emphasizing sibilance and cymbals. 225 is tipped up in a much larger region in the upper midrange and lower treble, but it doesn't sound as disturbing as the one and only distraction in the whole response of the 880. Most classical and jazz is fine, but it doesn't go too well with bright or otherwise bad recordings.

That being said, I do love the 880 and if I had to sell all my phones besides one, 880 would propably be the one. In fact I might just do that and use the money to try and find a cure for that spike!

Though I'll propably end up keeping also the HF-1 for rocking out (and maybe DT531 for those bad recordings

). Both of these do have some extra collectible value too.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by McRat That being said, I do love the 880 and if I had to sell all my phones besides one, 880 would propably be the one. In fact I might just do that and use the money to try and find a cure for that spike!

Reading that brought up the fact that a lot of amps (particularly Headroom's) are tuned for HD6x0, and will probably be too bright with DT880s. Personally I don't even notice the "spike" most of the time, and wouldn't call them bright headphones per-se. They're just intolerant of bright recordings (or poor recordings of any kind really). It's hard to fault a high-end headphone for not sounding good with low end recordings.

 

[McRat]

A little offtopic: I think it's much easier to go from 225 to 880 than the other way around. After hours of listening to the 880, the 225 does seem way too bright and aggressive and it's almost unlisteneable at first. After a few songs the sound is fine again, but the other way around the 880 sounds good right from the first notes.

Are there any conclusions to be drawn from this? At least the ears adjust pretty well to most peaks and valleys in the frequency response, especially when there's nothing else to compare to. I think I have noticed this even more with speakers. Frequency range anomalies don't sound unnatural after a while, but crossover and phase distortion among others do suck the life out of the music.

[flamesuit on]
Other possible conclusion could be, that the 880 has a more natural and neutral frequency response than the 225, thus making the auto-adjustment easier on the ears.
[/flamesuit off]

 

[fewtch]

I have the same problem with the DT880 and HD580, except it's a case of HD580 sounding too dark, underdetailed and even unnatural. But going from HD580 to DT880 is very easy.

BTW, I don't have this problem with DT880 and AKG K501... I can go back and forth between the two headphones happily, which IMO makes them a natural pairup. They're different sounding enough also that I like them with different music. It's an awesome combo (if you can take K501s bass lightness, which some people cannot).

P.S. I think the DT880 probably is more natural/neutral than the SR-225... the Grado SR series is not known for its neutrality. Not to say that they're bad headphones, I've even been thinking of trading my HD580s for an SR225.