[stevej12]

   
I find this very hard to believe. (And I've heard the "fabled brightness" too.)

 
Claritas, these are 250ohm, not 600 ohm. I too didn't expect this, but unless you're listening at insane levels, they actually sound pretty good through the Air's headphone out. 95% of classical music works well: the volume levels are too low for the remainder 5%, but this can be fixed with a 2 notch bump on the db levels through the iTunes EQ. All of pop-rock sounds adequately loud. Do try them out with a Macbook Air at an Apple Store near you.
 
Of course, they do improve with a good dac / amp but that's the case with all headphones. 
 
About the "fabled brightness", I too have heard it on a few pop/rock recordings. But on classical, never. And I almost did not buy these headphones because I'm particularly sensitive to sharpness in the highs. Thankfully a friend insisted I took a pair home overnight for a listen. 

 

[Claritas]

  Claritas, these are 250ohm, not 600 ohm. I too didn't expect this, but unless you're listening at insane levels, they actually sound pretty good through the Air's headphone out. 95% of classical music works well: the volume levels are too low for the remainder 5%, but this can be fixed with a 2 notch bump on the db levels through the iTunes EQ. All of pop-rock sounds adequately loud. Do try them out with a Macbook Air at an Apple Store near you.
 
Of course, they do improve with a good dac / amp but that's the case with all headphones.

 
The big difference in amping isn't usually volume: it's details and thickness. I can get enough volume for my 400 ohm K340 from a laptop, but the sound is pretty two-dimensional. That's as well true for K702, which is only 62 ohms. I'd love to plug and play, but it simply doesn't work for me.
 
You're more than right about improvements! Everything sounds better with a decent amp.

 

[stevej12]

   
The big difference in amping isn't usually volume: it's details and thickness. I can get enough volume for my 400 ohm K340 from a laptop, but the sound is pretty two-dimensional. That's as well true for K702, which is only 62 ohms. I'd love to plug and play, but it simply doesn't work for me.
 
You're more than right about improvements! Everything sounds better with a decent amp.

 
Quite right Claritas. Agree with everything you've said. Having heard it, I agree that the K702 is lifeless, direct from out of a laptop's headphone out; however, the DT 880 Pro (250 ohm) isn't. Incidentally, I'm not the only one who's arrived at this conclusion with the DT 880. 

 

[Claritas]

  Quite right Claritas. Agree with everything you've said. Having heard it, I agree that the K702 is lifeless, direct from out of a laptop's headphone out; however, the DT 880 Pro (250 ohm) isn't. Incidentally, I'm not the only one who's arrived at this conclusion with the DT 880. 

 
I'll see if I can try it at the next meet. Thanks.