Sparky14
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2004
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Amps: Rega Ear vs. Headfive Cans: HD580s vs/ DT880s (2006)
A bit different approach to this review. My current rig was the HD580s, Oehlbach Cable Upgrade, with Rega Ear amplifier. Recent Head-Fi induced purchases are the BeyerDynamic DT880 and Corda Headfive amplifier.
So, I thought I’d pick a few representative musical tracks and give you an AA/BA/BB/AB test. Sources were an old PCD from Panasonic which has great sound for the price, a Toshiba SD-K750 DVD player, and a 4th Gen iPod.
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Female Vocal #1: Rebecca Pidgeon CD: Tough on Crime
Songs: (1) Learn To Pray, (2) Come Back To Sorrento
Ear/HD580s: (1) Very subtle sound to this combo. Instruments remain in the background, hard to localize. (2) Bass is there, but a bit soft. Vocals are very nice, airy. Again, instruments remain in the background.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Instrument location much more prominent. Crossfeed reduces that. Vocals a bit more detailed. (2) Bass is a bit sharper here. Again, vocals have more detail. Best way I can put it, you hear the transitions better. The vocal mix is more obvious.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Vocals brighter, much more up front. Bass is softer, but a bit sharper. Instruments are even more in the background. (2) Outstanding detail to the vocals. Again, the instruments are hard to localize, kept well in the background.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Instruments much more prominent. Bass sharper. (2) Best vocal presentation of the four options. Bass is very detailed, but could use a little boost.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880
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Female Vocal #2: Anggun CD: Open Hearts
Songs: (1) Blue Satellite (2) Pray note: from iPod at 128 mbps AAC
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Instruments very detailed. Vocals a bit too subdued. Nice bass, very sharp transitions. (2) Bass is a bit boomy on the recording, and the HD580 emphasize it too much. Vocals are much better here, more in front of the instruments.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Substantially brighter sound. Instruments much more prominent. Bass sharper. (2) Boomy bass much better here. Great separation in vocals and instruments.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Acoustic guitar sounds perfect. (2) Rega handles the boomy bass very well. Nice detail in electronics. Beautiful sound all around.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Vocals are great, but the guitar is not as prominent as it should be. Something here just isn’t right, not sure what it is. (2) Oh wait, the boomy bass is back, not sharp at all. Bordering on annoying, as the bass is overwhelming all else.
WINNER: Ear/DT880
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Bass: Patrick O’Hearn CD: Trust
Songs: (1) Liberty (2) Trust
(1) Liberty provides a good electronica test, with a very low bass note mid-track.
(2) Trust provides a nice rolling low bass background, with Piano added later.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Outstanding. Dark Sennheiser sound is just what O’Hearn’s music needs. (2) Bass is mucho strong, very deep. Nice detail in the echo sound from the percussion.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Sound is more airy than with the Rega. Instruments are sharper. A bit fatiguing. (2) Bass is a bit sharper here, not as boomy, but not as full either. Can hear more detail in the instruments, but it is a bit harsh on the ears. Just a brighter presentation.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Nice sound, instruments detailed. Bass is strong, although not as sharp. (2) Bass is very strong, but transitions not as detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Great presentation. DT880s bright sound compliments O’Hearns dark sound well, better than I expected. Good impact to the low bass notes in the middle. (2) Any complaints about the bass in the DT880s should end here. Bass line has great impact even at low volume.
WINNER: Ear/HD580s
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Live Concert: Billy Joel CD: 12 Gardens Live
Songs: (1) Vienna (2) Laura
Ear/HD580s: (1) Nice sound, especially in the vocals. Not a great amount of detail in the instruments. (2) Nothing particulary exciting about this presentation. Vocals are fine, instruments have little impact.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Vocals are slightly more up front. Piano is more pronounced. Just a better all around concert sound. (2) The Headfive is really a step up from the Ear here, more punchy, more detailed, more bass.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Vocals brighter, not significant though. Bass is fair. Instruments are way in the background. (2) Outstanding detail to the vocals. Again, the instruments are hard to localize, kept well in the background.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) DT880s improve over the HD580 in detail. Bass seems to be missing something though, could be the recording. (2) Strange, for this track I prefer the HD580s to the DT880s. Small differences.
WINNER: Tough call, but I really liked Laura on the Headfive/HD580s.
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Classical: Beethoven Symphony #3 Erocia
Ear/HD580s: Not at all impressive. Background noise on the recording is distracting. Instruments not at all impactful.
Headfive/HD580s: Noise level is still high, but the instruments are brighter and more pronounced.
Headfive/DT880s: Astonishingly low noise level – so either the HD580s have a peak at the noise level on the recording or the DT880s are subdued there, but it is significantly better in the DT880s. Low volume passages are easily heard.
Ear/DT880s: Yep, the DT880s noise level is much lower. Sound is a shade darker than the Headfive, not quite as much detail. Still nice though.
WINNER: DT880s for sure, with a slight nod to the Headfive.
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Rock: Queensryche CD: Promised Land
Songs: (1) Disconnected (2) Lady Jane
Ear/DT880s: (1) Nice detail on the vocals, percussion. However, bass is lacking impact. This track has some great low bass, and the DT880s are not quite there. Maybe after the burn in is done (2) Very powerful guitars here. Piano very clean. Sounds great.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Bass has better impact. Guitar transitions sharper. Cymbals bordering on annoying though. (2) Impact is better across the board. More detail on the guitars, although there is more impact in the percussion than in the guitars here.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Excellent bass impact. Vocals seem a but more muted though. (2) Piano not as sharp. However, the vocals and guitars have a staggering impact.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Much better bass with this setup, but I’d like a bit sharper transients with the drums and bass. But the bass is more pronounced. (2) Here I can really notice the oft-mentioned Sennheiser “veil”. First time I really noticed, it just sounds like a layer of detail is muted. I’m not saying it is bad, over the long-term I’d probably find it easier to listen to. But for a simple AB test, it doesn’t sound as good as the DT880.
WINNER: Hmm, surprising results here. Different winners for different tracks. For Disconnected, the great detail of the DT880s/Headfive wins. But for Lady Jane, I’d pick the Ear/HD580s first.
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Male Vocal: Duncan Sheik CD: Phantom Moon
Songs: (1) Mr.Chess (2)Mouth On Fire
Ear/HD580s: (1) Nice. Vocals very well reproduced, but a bit in the background. Can pick out the acoustic guitars and piano easily. (2) Vocals nice, but instruments are a bit lacking in impact.
Ear/DT880s: (1)Much improved detail. The DT880 brightness works well with the acoustic Phantom Moon (2) Acoustic guitars much more prominent, vocals very detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) This combo really shows the details of a great recording. Lush vocals and instruments, fine detail. Hard to improve on this. (2) Beautifully done. Great detail on all levels.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Ugh, the Sennheiser veil is also quite apparent here, especially coming right after the DT880s. (2) Much better here, nice vocals. The instruments come through much better on this more powerful track.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880 in a blowout.
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Power Pop: Jason Falkner CD: Can You Still Feel
Songs: (1) My Lucky Day (2) Honey note: from iPod at 128 mbps AAC
Ear/HD580s: (1) Guitars lacking impact. Bass is ok, not real sharp though. (2) Again, guitars should be more prominent. Vocals nice, but seem too far in background.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Bass is sharper, but a bit lacking in impact. Guitars much better presented. (2) Cymbals seem a bit bright, but the vocals and guitars are much more detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Much improved detail and impact, guitars have the right impact without being overbearing (2) Confirms the previous, this combo really gets Falkner right. Everything sounds just the way it should.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Very nice guitar impact. Bass is a bit much, and not real sharp. (2) Wow, bass is quite boomy and annoying. Vocals are great though.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880 in a blowout.
Overall Thoughts: I’m anxious to see how the Headfive and DT880 sound after they have broken in completely. Out of the box, I find the Headfive to be a nice upgrade from the Ear. A slightly brighter sound with a bit more impact. I can’t knock the Ear though, it is a very nice amp as well. However, the crossfeed on the Headfive is nice, as I couldn’t stand to listen to the Beatles on the Ear. The Headfive crossfeed does a very nice job of blending that annoying Beatles stereo mix.
The DT880s are a certainly different beast than the HD580. The only time I prefer the HD580 is on a high quality bass track. Less than stellar bass recordings sound boomy. Other than that, the DT880s brighter presentation and great detail on the midrange and upper register are fantastic.
Here’s my general impressions…..
Rega Ear:
Strengths: High gain on this amp, could power very hard to drive headphones. Sound is very subdued, just a bit darker than the Headfive.
Weaknesses: High gain rules out very efficient headphones. I could not use this amp from the Toshiba to Grado SR60s, the volume is just way too high even at low levels.
Headfive:
Strengths: Outstanding sound for the price. Great impact and clarity.
Weaknesses: Very few. About my only complain is that it makes a poor source recording obvious, but I guess that isn’t really a complaint more than just realism.
HD580s:
Strengths: Subtle presentation. Not at all fatiguing. Nice bass for the price.
Weaknesses: Bass can be very boomy from poor recordings. Not as comfortable as I thought once I got the DT880s.
DT880s (2006):
Strengths: Great detail, vocals. Very comfortable. Great at low volumes.
Weaknesses: A bit more fatiguing than HD580, but not bad by any means. Looooong cord, I keep running over with my chair. I’d better be ready to recable.
Side Review: Headfive vs. iPod amp: I thought I’d see how the iPod handled the DT880s, as in the past I found the iPod straight into the HD580 unbearable. The iPod to DT880s does pretty well, certainly a viable option for travel. However, I then put the Headfive in between, and the Headfive is just a great improvement.
A bit different approach to this review. My current rig was the HD580s, Oehlbach Cable Upgrade, with Rega Ear amplifier. Recent Head-Fi induced purchases are the BeyerDynamic DT880 and Corda Headfive amplifier.
So, I thought I’d pick a few representative musical tracks and give you an AA/BA/BB/AB test. Sources were an old PCD from Panasonic which has great sound for the price, a Toshiba SD-K750 DVD player, and a 4th Gen iPod.
================================================== =
Female Vocal #1: Rebecca Pidgeon CD: Tough on Crime
Songs: (1) Learn To Pray, (2) Come Back To Sorrento
Ear/HD580s: (1) Very subtle sound to this combo. Instruments remain in the background, hard to localize. (2) Bass is there, but a bit soft. Vocals are very nice, airy. Again, instruments remain in the background.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Instrument location much more prominent. Crossfeed reduces that. Vocals a bit more detailed. (2) Bass is a bit sharper here. Again, vocals have more detail. Best way I can put it, you hear the transitions better. The vocal mix is more obvious.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Vocals brighter, much more up front. Bass is softer, but a bit sharper. Instruments are even more in the background. (2) Outstanding detail to the vocals. Again, the instruments are hard to localize, kept well in the background.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Instruments much more prominent. Bass sharper. (2) Best vocal presentation of the four options. Bass is very detailed, but could use a little boost.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880
================================================== =
Female Vocal #2: Anggun CD: Open Hearts
Songs: (1) Blue Satellite (2) Pray note: from iPod at 128 mbps AAC
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Instruments very detailed. Vocals a bit too subdued. Nice bass, very sharp transitions. (2) Bass is a bit boomy on the recording, and the HD580 emphasize it too much. Vocals are much better here, more in front of the instruments.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Substantially brighter sound. Instruments much more prominent. Bass sharper. (2) Boomy bass much better here. Great separation in vocals and instruments.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Acoustic guitar sounds perfect. (2) Rega handles the boomy bass very well. Nice detail in electronics. Beautiful sound all around.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Vocals are great, but the guitar is not as prominent as it should be. Something here just isn’t right, not sure what it is. (2) Oh wait, the boomy bass is back, not sharp at all. Bordering on annoying, as the bass is overwhelming all else.
WINNER: Ear/DT880
================================================== =
Bass: Patrick O’Hearn CD: Trust
Songs: (1) Liberty (2) Trust
(1) Liberty provides a good electronica test, with a very low bass note mid-track.
(2) Trust provides a nice rolling low bass background, with Piano added later.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Outstanding. Dark Sennheiser sound is just what O’Hearn’s music needs. (2) Bass is mucho strong, very deep. Nice detail in the echo sound from the percussion.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Sound is more airy than with the Rega. Instruments are sharper. A bit fatiguing. (2) Bass is a bit sharper here, not as boomy, but not as full either. Can hear more detail in the instruments, but it is a bit harsh on the ears. Just a brighter presentation.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Nice sound, instruments detailed. Bass is strong, although not as sharp. (2) Bass is very strong, but transitions not as detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Great presentation. DT880s bright sound compliments O’Hearns dark sound well, better than I expected. Good impact to the low bass notes in the middle. (2) Any complaints about the bass in the DT880s should end here. Bass line has great impact even at low volume.
WINNER: Ear/HD580s
================================================== =
Live Concert: Billy Joel CD: 12 Gardens Live
Songs: (1) Vienna (2) Laura
Ear/HD580s: (1) Nice sound, especially in the vocals. Not a great amount of detail in the instruments. (2) Nothing particulary exciting about this presentation. Vocals are fine, instruments have little impact.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Vocals are slightly more up front. Piano is more pronounced. Just a better all around concert sound. (2) The Headfive is really a step up from the Ear here, more punchy, more detailed, more bass.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Vocals brighter, not significant though. Bass is fair. Instruments are way in the background. (2) Outstanding detail to the vocals. Again, the instruments are hard to localize, kept well in the background.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) DT880s improve over the HD580 in detail. Bass seems to be missing something though, could be the recording. (2) Strange, for this track I prefer the HD580s to the DT880s. Small differences.
WINNER: Tough call, but I really liked Laura on the Headfive/HD580s.
================================================== =
Classical: Beethoven Symphony #3 Erocia
Ear/HD580s: Not at all impressive. Background noise on the recording is distracting. Instruments not at all impactful.
Headfive/HD580s: Noise level is still high, but the instruments are brighter and more pronounced.
Headfive/DT880s: Astonishingly low noise level – so either the HD580s have a peak at the noise level on the recording or the DT880s are subdued there, but it is significantly better in the DT880s. Low volume passages are easily heard.
Ear/DT880s: Yep, the DT880s noise level is much lower. Sound is a shade darker than the Headfive, not quite as much detail. Still nice though.
WINNER: DT880s for sure, with a slight nod to the Headfive.
================================================== =
Rock: Queensryche CD: Promised Land
Songs: (1) Disconnected (2) Lady Jane
Ear/DT880s: (1) Nice detail on the vocals, percussion. However, bass is lacking impact. This track has some great low bass, and the DT880s are not quite there. Maybe after the burn in is done (2) Very powerful guitars here. Piano very clean. Sounds great.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Bass has better impact. Guitar transitions sharper. Cymbals bordering on annoying though. (2) Impact is better across the board. More detail on the guitars, although there is more impact in the percussion than in the guitars here.
Ear/HD580s: (1) Excellent bass impact. Vocals seem a but more muted though. (2) Piano not as sharp. However, the vocals and guitars have a staggering impact.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Much better bass with this setup, but I’d like a bit sharper transients with the drums and bass. But the bass is more pronounced. (2) Here I can really notice the oft-mentioned Sennheiser “veil”. First time I really noticed, it just sounds like a layer of detail is muted. I’m not saying it is bad, over the long-term I’d probably find it easier to listen to. But for a simple AB test, it doesn’t sound as good as the DT880.
WINNER: Hmm, surprising results here. Different winners for different tracks. For Disconnected, the great detail of the DT880s/Headfive wins. But for Lady Jane, I’d pick the Ear/HD580s first.
================================================== =
Male Vocal: Duncan Sheik CD: Phantom Moon
Songs: (1) Mr.Chess (2)Mouth On Fire
Ear/HD580s: (1) Nice. Vocals very well reproduced, but a bit in the background. Can pick out the acoustic guitars and piano easily. (2) Vocals nice, but instruments are a bit lacking in impact.
Ear/DT880s: (1)Much improved detail. The DT880 brightness works well with the acoustic Phantom Moon (2) Acoustic guitars much more prominent, vocals very detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) This combo really shows the details of a great recording. Lush vocals and instruments, fine detail. Hard to improve on this. (2) Beautifully done. Great detail on all levels.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Ugh, the Sennheiser veil is also quite apparent here, especially coming right after the DT880s. (2) Much better here, nice vocals. The instruments come through much better on this more powerful track.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880 in a blowout.
================================================== =
Power Pop: Jason Falkner CD: Can You Still Feel
Songs: (1) My Lucky Day (2) Honey note: from iPod at 128 mbps AAC
Ear/HD580s: (1) Guitars lacking impact. Bass is ok, not real sharp though. (2) Again, guitars should be more prominent. Vocals nice, but seem too far in background.
Ear/DT880s: (1) Bass is sharper, but a bit lacking in impact. Guitars much better presented. (2) Cymbals seem a bit bright, but the vocals and guitars are much more detailed.
Headfive/DT880s: (1) Much improved detail and impact, guitars have the right impact without being overbearing (2) Confirms the previous, this combo really gets Falkner right. Everything sounds just the way it should.
Headfive/HD580s: (1) Very nice guitar impact. Bass is a bit much, and not real sharp. (2) Wow, bass is quite boomy and annoying. Vocals are great though.
WINNER: Headfive/DT880 in a blowout.
Overall Thoughts: I’m anxious to see how the Headfive and DT880 sound after they have broken in completely. Out of the box, I find the Headfive to be a nice upgrade from the Ear. A slightly brighter sound with a bit more impact. I can’t knock the Ear though, it is a very nice amp as well. However, the crossfeed on the Headfive is nice, as I couldn’t stand to listen to the Beatles on the Ear. The Headfive crossfeed does a very nice job of blending that annoying Beatles stereo mix.
The DT880s are a certainly different beast than the HD580. The only time I prefer the HD580 is on a high quality bass track. Less than stellar bass recordings sound boomy. Other than that, the DT880s brighter presentation and great detail on the midrange and upper register are fantastic.
Here’s my general impressions…..
Rega Ear:
Strengths: High gain on this amp, could power very hard to drive headphones. Sound is very subdued, just a bit darker than the Headfive.
Weaknesses: High gain rules out very efficient headphones. I could not use this amp from the Toshiba to Grado SR60s, the volume is just way too high even at low levels.
Headfive:
Strengths: Outstanding sound for the price. Great impact and clarity.
Weaknesses: Very few. About my only complain is that it makes a poor source recording obvious, but I guess that isn’t really a complaint more than just realism.
HD580s:
Strengths: Subtle presentation. Not at all fatiguing. Nice bass for the price.
Weaknesses: Bass can be very boomy from poor recordings. Not as comfortable as I thought once I got the DT880s.
DT880s (2006):
Strengths: Great detail, vocals. Very comfortable. Great at low volumes.
Weaknesses: A bit more fatiguing than HD580, but not bad by any means. Looooong cord, I keep running over with my chair. I’d better be ready to recable.
Side Review: Headfive vs. iPod amp: I thought I’d see how the iPod handled the DT880s, as in the past I found the iPod straight into the HD580 unbearable. The iPod to DT880s does pretty well, certainly a viable option for travel. However, I then put the Headfive in between, and the Headfive is just a great improvement.
