[Murugesh]

I had been looking for an ultimate full-size can in the past 2 months to fulfil my classical music listening quest. Classical music doesn't really mean only classical era music here. I listen to mainly symphonies, concertos, chamber music from both Classical as well as Romantic period. The cans, which I already own are great. I use them often and like them very much. But I haven't got my ultimate can yet. After reading several reviews in the last 2 months, I narrowed down my choices to DT880, HD650 and HD600. I wanted K701 also, but I learnt that it's having a bit bright sounding and forward presentation. My preference is a laid-back, musical can. I don't say K701 is not musical because I haven't even heard it at least once. But the reviews I read so far tells me it's more analytical and not having a laid-back presentation. Also the other factor is COST. I can't afford to have both HD650 and K701 at the same time. So I left K701 and chose DT880 and HD650 for AB comparison. I will keep the winner and return the other. After returning I'm thinking of buying HD600 for another AB comparison with the defending champion.

Okay let's come to the point. Both DT880 and HD650 were compared with no prior burn-in play. Tested them just right out of the box. My setup is
.wav files on Laptop--> Foobar 0.9--> USB-ASIO-->Aurilium-->DT880/HD650


DT880

I took DT880 first and played some tracks from Prokofiev Symphony No.1. It played very nice. I have listened to these tracks several times with my HD595 before so I could easily tell the difference. DT880 sounded much better than HD595. It was smooth, very detailed and laid-back. It's a WOW factor when compared to HD595. Another big advantage is its comfort. It's light weight and VERY comfortable to wear. I listened to the tracks for quite sometime and the sound signature of DT880 got registered in my mind (ears?) seamlessly. I then listened to first movement of Listz's Dante symphony and Rite of the Spring by Stravinsky with DT880. These two pieces have lot of synergy and scope for testing the soundstage, bass etc. DT880 excels in instrument separation and creating the soundstage. Man, this can has lot of details. Wonderful job by Beyer. After repeated intense listening I found two not-so-good things on DT880. 1) The highs are bit over-emphasized and 2) it lacks some bass. Though there seems bass in it, you will feel an emptiness in the low region, whatever track you listen. To me, it looks like the midrange presence is adequate but there is something definitely misssing in bass. On the other hand, the treble is a bit too much for me. Long time listening may cause fatigue.


HD650

When I first saw HD650, like some people I didn't feel that it's a cheap plastic. It looked better than HD600. It covered my ears fully but it's very tighter fit than DT880. It pressed my jaw very tightly and gave an uncomfortable feeling. So I stretched it for sometime and tried it. It's okay now but still not comfortable. After wearing HD650 for sometime, I switched to DT880 and felt it very light and good. Comfortwise, DT880 is superior than HD650.

I used the same tracks which I played with DT880. The very first listen of HD650 clearly showed some differences. I did not hear lot of details that I heard with DT880. There is no troubling treble. I did not feel the separation of instrument as clear as DT880. Above all, more bass !! I could feel the clear difference in the sound signature between these two cans. I heard people saying that DT880 and HD650 sound similar. IMO they are different. HD650 seem to have more power and depth. Bass is deeper than DT880 (infact bass was missing in many places in DT880). HD650's mid range is more exposed and overall sounded brighter than beyer's. Though it's comparatively brighter, it did not produce any disturbing treble/highs. I did not hear any ear piercing high freq. sound from this can. It's bass is sometimes annoying and sometimes pleasing to my ears. Sure it's more refined than DT880's. I felt thunderous beats from bass drums (thanks to Stravinsky) which I never heard this clear with my other cans. It behaves mellowish and smooth for solo music or the music that features few instruments. Large instrument music i.e. symphonies play very modestly in HD650. I did not hear all the details in the music. DT880 did great job in instrument separation and details. HD650 plays very natural and balanced. But I want to hear details too. Where is it? I know you people would say it requires an amp to reveal its full capability. Amp may or may not change this impression..I don't know. But my question is why I should pay another $200 or so for an amp to make this costly phone to sound (marginally?) better. Cable replacement is not an option for me. If a can in this price range doesn't sound well with its original component, then IMHO the product is not good. Instead of spending a total of $700 on HD650 to make it sound better than relatively cheaper DT880, I'll live happily with my KSC-75. This may sound rude but I know I'm not having any offense on people doing upgrades on HD650. If they are happy let them live happily. It all boils down to personal preferences.

Conclusion:

I like DT880 for its clarity. It reproduces sound with great detail. I don't like it for its over emphasis on highs and lack of bass. Due to its lack in bass, sometimes it sounds powerless. I can put some EQ for bass and live with it but the treble makes me uneasy when long time listening. With EQ I couldn't make it sound nicer. I probably will return this can.

IMHO HD650 did not sound very great for the price I paid for it. With this can I miss details in the music. However I will keep it for sometime and see if anything improves after burn-in. Else, I'll return this can too and look for some used HD600 or K701.

Thanks for reading up to the end. I'm not an expert of headphone. I wrote the good and bad things about these cans based on only my ears' judgement.

 

[jpelg]

Terrific review, Murugesh!

You qualified your preferences up front, stated your method of comparison, noted the strengths & weaknesses of each headphone in a very clear fashion, and made a reasonable conclusion. All in an easy to read, relatively short format. What more could we want?

I look forward to reading more of your posts.

 

[Murugesh]

Thanks for the encouraging words jpelg.

By the way, do you believe in burn-in?

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murugesh Thanks for the encouraging words jpelg.

You are welcome. Quote:

By the way, do you believe in burn-in?

Let's leave this nice thread on a positive note, ok?

 

[chesebert]

sounds like HD650 was poorly amped..

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert sounds like HD650 was poorly amped..

I find the DT880(250ohms) to be even less efficient than the Sennheisers (300ohms). So both headphones would have been equally disadvantaged.

I think he still managed to get the gist of what each headphone is about signature-wise.

 

[m_memmory]

I thought that was a great review - you laid out exactly what you hear and what you thought about what you hear - which is, IMO, the best way to review. Forget what others tell you they should sound like and go with what your ears tell you sounds best (and if it's worth it to you for the price you paid)

I can't comment on the differences I perceive with the two headphones mentioned to tell you what I think as I've never heard the HD650 and only have the older version (05 model I think it might be) of the DT880.

Hope you find the headphone that does everything that your looking for.

 

[Daroid]

Very nice impressions and well written!

Yes, that is also my impression of the new -funny-smell- HD650 right out of the box. I think it does change by burn-in, albeit it will always be a darker sounding headphone compared to many other headphones. I have been very dissatisfied with the HD650 when it was new, going back the the HD25-1 because it sounded more detailed

, but this did change after some weeks.

But no matter which headphone you choose, you'll notice an increase in sound quality with another source, not that the aurelium is bad. It seems fine, but probably not enough power (here, mostly voltage) to drive high impedances loads.

 

[bludo]

Thanks for the review. It seemed very honest.
I'm looking forward for your reviews.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert sounds like HD650 was poorly amped..

You win the prize for the usual 650 amp excuse - I believe both headphones were equally amped.

Nice review!

 

[Murugesh]

Same setup was used for testing both headphones. Actually HD650 sounded louder than DT880. I had to turn the volume down to about -9db while testing HD650. Since DT880 has lesser impedance (250 ohms) I expected that I may need to decrease the volume for DT880 but it happened the other way around.

 

[augustwest]

"But my question is why I should pay another $200 or so for an amp to make this costly phone to sound (marginally?) better."

The answer to this question is an important one, it is because many of the faults that you have found with both headphones will be resolved with proper amplification. Amplification has little to do with volume, and almost everything to do with sound quality. With a amp the 880's will have more bass and the 650's will have more delineation between the instruments.

When you are testing two "top of the line" headphones, and this goes for the AKG 701's too, you are wasting your money to think you will get anywhere near the kind of performance they are capable of by driving them from your laptop without an amp. I don't doubt your sincerity in your conclusions expressed in your review, however, you are doing a dis-service to the headphones in question and fooling yourself at the same time. My advice is to save your money and buy the best amp/headphone combination you can afford and enjoy them knowing they will provide the best possible sound quality that they are capable of for the money you have to spend.

happy listening!


- augustwest

 

[Redo]

My DT880's unamped is pretty silly sounding compared to when I use my MicroAMP. You definatly need a decent amp to bring these headphones to life. Then a good CDP or DAC to bring clarity and seperation to the music. Otherwise, you're really listening to AM when you could be hearing FM

As for the bass, it's pretty cheap sounding without an amp. The high end gets veeeery tinny sounding too.

 

[Gradofan2]

As you know from reading all the other threads on the Senns... and... as you suggested... if you aren't going to invest in all the tweaks, and the complementary setup... don't invest in the Senns - they will disappoint every time.

But... if you're willing to do so... they will excel - with dynamics, details, extension, soundstage - "the whole 9 yards."

They're a "high maintenance mistress!" But "ya has ta pay ta play!"

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gradofan2 As you know from reading all the other threads on the Senns... and... as you suggested... if you aren't going to invest in all the tweaks, and the complementary setup... don't invest in the Senns - they will disappoint every time. But... if you're willing to do so... they will excel - with dynamics, details, extension, soundstage - "the whole 9 yards." They're a "high maintenance mistress!" But "ya has ta pay ta play!"

I've heard it with all the tweaks and guess what? It still sounds like a Senn HD650. Some things improve but overall the signature doesn't change. That pretty much goes with all headphones and speakers.

The electrical signal can only change so much. The physical drivers remain the same and affect the sound more.