shomie911
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
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Headphone Faceoff: Beyerdynamic DT880 vs. AKG K260
System
Source: Keces DA-151 (USB DAC)
Amplifier: MisterX SOHA w/ JISBOS and Blackgates (He doesn't make SOHAs, please don't ask him too.)
The SOHA was built with the intention of eliminating the sibilance problem with the DT880s. It worked, and the synergy carries over to the brightness exhibited by the K260s.
Seperate Headphone Reviews:
---------------------------------------
K260 -- Let me start by saying that the K260s have an amazingly natural soundstage, it doesn't sound like normal headphone soundstage (by which I mean that the driver is just farther from your ear.) It's just the soundstage that was recorded. I've noticed with these headphones that they don't add anything. They just play whats given to them. The best way I can describe them is, Grado midrange, with soundstage, and deep bass. Quite a feat if I do say so myself.
With acoustic guitar it's incredibly easy to hear each string as it's struck. There's a lot of seperation between sounds. Even amidst multiple instruments each sound is easily seperated and retains its details.
Imaging is another part of this phone I love, it is very precise and gives an exact point in the soundstage. It isn't hazy like a lot of headphones.
The bass on these headphones goes very low, and has plenty of kick to it all the way down. Bass guitar is detailed and easily distinguished from the rest of the music.
The midrange is amazing, it's luscious yet aggressive, if you don't mind my contradiction. I think this is an AKG strong suit, or atleast out of the vintage AKGs I heard at CanJam,
The highs seem *slightly* recessed, but that is likely because I am used to the forward nature of the DT880s. They are accurate though, and cymbals are very sharp and easily distinquished in a hectic track.
These headphones need a warm amp with slightly rolled off treble, in my opinion, to sound the best. They also need a fair bit of power to get them moving as they are 600 ohm. The refined sound of the bass and midrange is so great that I'm considering 600 ohm DT880s.
(I actually had to wait 30 minutes before I could write the DT880 section of this review because I couldn't get the K260s off my head.
)
---------------------------------------
DT880 -- First off let me say that these headphones are amazingly built. They scream quality and they're built like a tank. I've had them for a long time, a lot longer than the K260s.
Now that I got that out of the way, on to the review.
The DT880s just sound more high-end. The sound is more balanced and the tonality is...right. And while the K260s have a great soundstage, the DT880s have a superior one, hands down.
The K260s have an addictive midrange, the DT880s have addictive bass, mids, and highs. The DT880s are like a finely tuned Porsche, it's good at everything, from that leisurely drive, to the 150 mph explosions of force. The K260s are more like a dragster, it is incredibly aggressive and fast, but it's not suited for everything. Switching to the DT880s reveals a lot of things that I didn't hear on the K260s. I attribute this to the increased soundstage on the DT880s and obviously their higher price.
The bass, isn't overpowering, but when the track calls for it, they can deliver a serious amount of force. The bass goes deep but, maybe because of the more upfront sound of the K260s, it didn't seem to go as deep as the K260s.
The midrange is one of my favorites of any dynamic headphone (barring a few of my high-end favorites, namely the K1000s and R10s). The mids are liquid, but have a certain edge to them that makes them highly entertaining to listen to. They never gain any prominence over any other section of the music though, none of the sound does, as I said before, the DT880s are incredibly balanced and neutral.
The highs are more detailed than the K260s. This may be in part because they are more forward than the K260s even though my amp was specifically designed to tame the DT880s treble. My SOHA is the only amp I've heard so far (and I plugged the DT880s into everything that had a phone output at CanJam) that almost completely gets rid of the sibilance yet doesn't mess with the rest of the highs. It's quite a feat by MisterX.
A little off topic:
I highly recommend him as a builder, he's a very helpful and friendly person and went out of his way on numerous ocassions to help me get the amp of my dreams. He doesn't build SOHAs normally though, it was sort of a one time deal. As far as I know, the only ones he has built is his and mine. Which makes mine quite exclusive doesn't it.
Back on topic:
The DT880s are great headphones but without an amp that tames their sibilance, they aren't nearly as good. With the sibilance issue gone, they are a very easy headphones to love and they sound amazing. I highly recommend them.
---------------------------------------
Conclusion:
Well, that took a while. After everythings said and done, if I had to keep one headphone it would be the DT880s. They just do everything perfectly. The fact that my amp was made specifically for them probably adds to why I love them so much.
The K260s are amazing headphones and I completely understand why people are so interested in vintage AKG headphones. But when directly compared the DT880s sound fuller and warmer. The DT880s also have a more natural tonality in instruments and voices. The K260s exhibit a thin quality to voices. If I leave the K260s on my head long enough the thin sound is easily forgotten. If I didn't have the DT880s to compare I likely wouldn't have heard it.
After hearing the midrange on the K260s I'm very interested in hearing the famed Middle Production K240 Sextetts. I'm probably going to pick those up in the future.
If you gave me either phone I would likely be happy.
---------------------------------------
*Regard everything I said as my opinion and not fact.*
---------------------------------------
Well that was my first real headphone review, hope someone finds it helpful.
_
System
Source: Keces DA-151 (USB DAC)
Amplifier: MisterX SOHA w/ JISBOS and Blackgates (He doesn't make SOHAs, please don't ask him too.)
The SOHA was built with the intention of eliminating the sibilance problem with the DT880s. It worked, and the synergy carries over to the brightness exhibited by the K260s.
Seperate Headphone Reviews:
---------------------------------------
K260 -- Let me start by saying that the K260s have an amazingly natural soundstage, it doesn't sound like normal headphone soundstage (by which I mean that the driver is just farther from your ear.) It's just the soundstage that was recorded. I've noticed with these headphones that they don't add anything. They just play whats given to them. The best way I can describe them is, Grado midrange, with soundstage, and deep bass. Quite a feat if I do say so myself.
With acoustic guitar it's incredibly easy to hear each string as it's struck. There's a lot of seperation between sounds. Even amidst multiple instruments each sound is easily seperated and retains its details.
Imaging is another part of this phone I love, it is very precise and gives an exact point in the soundstage. It isn't hazy like a lot of headphones.
The bass on these headphones goes very low, and has plenty of kick to it all the way down. Bass guitar is detailed and easily distinguished from the rest of the music.
The midrange is amazing, it's luscious yet aggressive, if you don't mind my contradiction. I think this is an AKG strong suit, or atleast out of the vintage AKGs I heard at CanJam,
The highs seem *slightly* recessed, but that is likely because I am used to the forward nature of the DT880s. They are accurate though, and cymbals are very sharp and easily distinquished in a hectic track.
These headphones need a warm amp with slightly rolled off treble, in my opinion, to sound the best. They also need a fair bit of power to get them moving as they are 600 ohm. The refined sound of the bass and midrange is so great that I'm considering 600 ohm DT880s.
(I actually had to wait 30 minutes before I could write the DT880 section of this review because I couldn't get the K260s off my head.
---------------------------------------
DT880 -- First off let me say that these headphones are amazingly built. They scream quality and they're built like a tank. I've had them for a long time, a lot longer than the K260s.
Now that I got that out of the way, on to the review.
The DT880s just sound more high-end. The sound is more balanced and the tonality is...right. And while the K260s have a great soundstage, the DT880s have a superior one, hands down.
The K260s have an addictive midrange, the DT880s have addictive bass, mids, and highs. The DT880s are like a finely tuned Porsche, it's good at everything, from that leisurely drive, to the 150 mph explosions of force. The K260s are more like a dragster, it is incredibly aggressive and fast, but it's not suited for everything. Switching to the DT880s reveals a lot of things that I didn't hear on the K260s. I attribute this to the increased soundstage on the DT880s and obviously their higher price.
The bass, isn't overpowering, but when the track calls for it, they can deliver a serious amount of force. The bass goes deep but, maybe because of the more upfront sound of the K260s, it didn't seem to go as deep as the K260s.
The midrange is one of my favorites of any dynamic headphone (barring a few of my high-end favorites, namely the K1000s and R10s). The mids are liquid, but have a certain edge to them that makes them highly entertaining to listen to. They never gain any prominence over any other section of the music though, none of the sound does, as I said before, the DT880s are incredibly balanced and neutral.
The highs are more detailed than the K260s. This may be in part because they are more forward than the K260s even though my amp was specifically designed to tame the DT880s treble. My SOHA is the only amp I've heard so far (and I plugged the DT880s into everything that had a phone output at CanJam) that almost completely gets rid of the sibilance yet doesn't mess with the rest of the highs. It's quite a feat by MisterX.
A little off topic:
I highly recommend him as a builder, he's a very helpful and friendly person and went out of his way on numerous ocassions to help me get the amp of my dreams. He doesn't build SOHAs normally though, it was sort of a one time deal. As far as I know, the only ones he has built is his and mine. Which makes mine quite exclusive doesn't it.
Back on topic:
The DT880s are great headphones but without an amp that tames their sibilance, they aren't nearly as good. With the sibilance issue gone, they are a very easy headphones to love and they sound amazing. I highly recommend them.
---------------------------------------
Conclusion:
Well, that took a while. After everythings said and done, if I had to keep one headphone it would be the DT880s. They just do everything perfectly. The fact that my amp was made specifically for them probably adds to why I love them so much.
The K260s are amazing headphones and I completely understand why people are so interested in vintage AKG headphones. But when directly compared the DT880s sound fuller and warmer. The DT880s also have a more natural tonality in instruments and voices. The K260s exhibit a thin quality to voices. If I leave the K260s on my head long enough the thin sound is easily forgotten. If I didn't have the DT880s to compare I likely wouldn't have heard it.
After hearing the midrange on the K260s I'm very interested in hearing the famed Middle Production K240 Sextetts. I'm probably going to pick those up in the future.
If you gave me either phone I would likely be happy.
---------------------------------------
*Regard everything I said as my opinion and not fact.*
---------------------------------------
Well that was my first real headphone review, hope someone finds it helpful.
_
