[Chris_Himself]

Do you prefer 880 over 701?

 

[Aquanote]

when I think of what sets the HD 800 apart the most from cheaper headphones its the technological side, not so much the tonality: Details, soundstage, speed, clarity. Considering this I would say that a T90 comes very close to that at a good price. Some say its 98% of what the T1 is
 
Dont be afraid of the Beyerpeak: its easily equalized as the T90 resonds perfect to that.

 

[emertxe]

  Do you prefer 880 over 701?

 
 
As a HD800 owner, I liked HD600, Q701 and DT880 the most from these headphones:
 
Shure 1440, 1840
Beyerdynamic DT880
AKG Q701
HD598, HD600, HD650
Audio-technica M50, AD700, AD800, AD1000
 
I spent the majority of time comparing Q701 and DT880... I must say that it is a difficult decision between these two. It seems that DT880 are tonally closer to perfection but this Beyer's treble emphasis mentioned in the previous post was VERY apparent nearly all the time. And Q701 offered more HD800-like soundstage.
 
Well, I would say that I MAY prefer DT880 as Q701 were really off tonally in a quite a lot of things (vocals, electric guitars, bass drum, symphonic passages most notably) while DT880 were off less often (cymbals and symphonic passages most notably). And yeah, soundstaging of DT880 was really not that bad, especially comparing to other competitors (including HD600)...
 
Sorry if the question was not directed to me!

 

[Chris_Himself]

I prefer 880 over everything EXCEPT HD600. It's neck and neck and I pick HD600 because removable cable for obvious reasons..
 
800 is master race but the treble is kinda mean to my ears after about 6 hours. I have both cans spooning on my rack and I switch off every day haha. I have the old serial too and it's more than perfect for me.

 

[emertxe]

I do like HD600 a lot personally... Though they just lack in soundstage (that's what I find to be the only real dealbreaker for me) =/ Other imperfection to my ears are their rather one-note bass (lack of depth) with a very slight hint of boominess (midbass emphasis) and a bit slower nature (though perfectly acceptable in comparison to HD650 that were really disappointing and worse in every aspect). Comfortwise, I prefer both Q701 and DT880 as HD600 clamp a bit more than I would like though certainly less than HD650 (at least this was true for the particular pairs i got a chance to listen to!

 

[24bitbob]

May I offer you my commiserations.  I own the HD800's and love them.  I'd hate to part with mine.
 
My No 2 favourite headphone, and the one I'd strongly recommend to you is the Shure 1840.  $500?  Hunt high and low on the web; buy a used pair, or stretch that budget.
 
If you go through the Headfi classifieds you'll find things like the Grado PS500.  I have these too (am about to sell mine), but I wouldn't recommend them if you like the HD800's.
 
If the 1840's is a stretch, buy second hand from Head-fi.  You'll get much more for your money.
 
Good luck,
 
Bob

 

[emertxe]

  May I offer you my commiserations.  I own the HD800's and love them.  I'd hate to part with mine.
 
My No 2 favourite headphone, and the one I'd strongly recommend to you is the Shure 1840.  $500?  Hunt high and low on the web; buy a used pair, or stretch that budget.
 
If you go through the Headfi classifieds you'll find things like the Grado PS500.  I have these too (am about to sell mine), but I wouldn't recommend them if you like the HD800's.
 
If the 1840's is a stretch, buy second hand from Head-fi.  You'll get much more for your money.
 
Good luck,
 
Bob

 
1840 significantly lack subbass and sound a little bit "plastic"... I also didnt like female vocals on 1840, a bit unnatural tonality. On the other hand, they are comfortable and airy enough. Not sure if worth the money.

 

[CantScareMe]

Dependant on where you are, the T1's could cost very nearly as much as the HD800's.
 
I wouldn't say it's a downgrade at all. I've auditioned the hd800 many times with my system (in dead silent conditions) and have found the T1's to be superior sound wise. They just sound more real, true, engaging and coherent. 

 

[24bitbob]

Hi again,
 
Some interesting and thoughtful comments in this post.  Whether they help the OP get to an end point I don't know.
 
A couple of further thoughts:
 
I have found the HD800's to be very amplifier dependent, more so than most other headphones I have listened to (though I've never bought really fussy headphones).  Downgrading the HD800's needs to be considered in the context of what is feeding them?  As with everything in HiFi, components need to be matched, not least to the taste of the individual using them.
 
One of the things I enjoy about this hobby is that headphones can be bought and sold (and therefore swapped) at relatively low cost.  If you buy a pair of second hand headphones from the classifieds in Head-fi, 3 months later if you don't like them you can sell them again at pretty much the same price.  In other words, $500 spent, is not $500 down the drain: you pay postage and Paypal fees and you try out things until your heart's content.
 
Go for it.
 
Good luck,
 
Bob