[waspus]

As a total newcomer to this forum I am afraid my first post is a request for help.


I have Beyerdynamic DT880's driven by Naim Headline, Hicap from a Supercapped CDX via a NAC82. Although very 'nice' they lack the involvement of the same music heard through the speakers (SBL + NAP 250).
I do appreciate that the physical bass presentation must be different but the excitement is just not there.
What has surprised me most is that the subtler details such as vocalist breathing, fingers sliding on instrument strings and the like seem muffled and muddy (relatively).

Am I looking for too much?

Can someone please offer some constructive suggestions???

Thank you.

 

[fewtch]

What kind of presentation gets you involved? If it's tied up in the bass, you probably need some cans with both great quantity and more slam in the lower registers.

I'm surprised as well by your "muffled and muddy" conclusion... is that compared to speakers, or to other headphones? I find the DT880 to be pretty involving, but I like that kind of light, airy presentation the best.

 

[waspus]

Thanks for the reply.
My comparison is with my speakers , not other headphones (I haven't decided what to buy yet hence the post).
Music wise the whole range is there - yesterday for example was Legends of the Fall (James Horner), Midnight Oil, Haley Westerner, Frank Sinatra, Billie Myers, Lawrence Juber.

Best regards

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by waspus As a total newcomer to this forum I am afraid my first post is a request for help. I have Beyerdynamic DT880's driven by Naim Headline, Hicap from a Supercapped CDX via a NAC82. Although very 'nice' they lack the involvement of the same music heard through the speakers (SBL + NAP 250). I do appreciate that the physical bass presentation must be different but the excitement is just not there. What has surprised me most is that the subtler details such as vocalist breathing, fingers sliding on instrument strings and the like seem muffled and muddy (relatively). Am I looking for too much? Can someone please offer some constructive suggestions??? Thank you.

If you can't hear details with headphones then it is something in your signal path that is bad.

Speakers give a bigger soundstage and tone images pinpointed in space if the system is good. You can point to a horn blare or a violin, in front of you.

Headphones have a much smaller soundstage but should also image well with greater detail and clarity than speakers - not less as you describe. I listen to headphones for intensive involvement (mainly classical music) and use my speaker system for videos.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by waspus Thanks for the reply. My comparison is with my speakers , not other headphones (I haven't decided what to buy yet hence the post). Music wise the whole range is there - yesterday for example was Legends of the Fall (James Horner), Midnight Oil, Haley Westerner, Frank Sinatra, Billie Myers, Lawrence Juber. Best regards

I have the opposite problem.

I have an excellent speaker system in a horrible room. In our old house my main speakers did the pinpoint imaging routine, sounded great!!(used to kid that I could make out the color of the dresses on the back-up singers!)In this house the speaker system is great for DVDs, and the CDs that are too poorly recorded to be listenable on my cans, but for critical music listening, the 'phones(MS-1s)now are king!!

I think I tend tend to agree that there may be something amiss in your headphone system. When it comes to retreival af detail, the cans "should" outdo the speakers. Especially with as good a system as you have already!!

Nope: You're not looking for too much!!

You mentioned also the lack of excitment. Perhaps a more "fun" set of cans may be more to your liking?

I'd be sure the total 'phone system was working properly(wires, ins and outs, proper settings...like that) before thinking of changing cans, though.

 

[PaulRivers]

This may be totally irrelevant, as I haven't tried the 880's, but the other day I tried the AKG 240s's at Guitar Center, and compared to my current headphones (250-80's), I thought they were much more "involving" - I think I tend to focus on the vocals in music.

 

[GreatDane]

"something in your signal path that is bad."-drarthurwells

This may be the case...my 880 give me goosebumps.

"vocalist breathing, fingers sliding on instrument strings and the like" - waspus...more gossebumps here too.

 

[bluebeard]

Hi Waspus,

I'm afraid that what you're describing is just the presentation of Naim stuff vs headphones. I also run a full naim rig (see my profile) which is not dissimilar to yours and I further have the DT880s. Having tried a headline (not the headline2) in my setup, I also felt, that whilst "nice" it lacked the visceral nature of the speaker setup, to the extent that when I listen to Cans at home I run them through my second system (not Naim). Cans, in my opinion, irrespective of their setup can not do PRAT as well as a full Naim and speaker setup.

The issue with detail, however, is not a fault of the DT880s and may be something to do with cabling, possibly your Hi-cap connection (try either input 2 or 3, depending on which one it's plugged into) or the SLIC itself. How is the 82 powered, by supercap or hi-cap(s)? you could try swapping them around with the headline hi-cap to see if the problem isn't in the ps. Could be time for a recapping!

You may wish to try other headphones with a more forward presentation, such as the Grados (225, 325i, RS2) or the Alessandros (MS2) but IIRC they don't match well with the Headline Mk1. Audio Technicas may also be worth a try (A900, AD900, A1000 etc).

Regards,

Giles

 

[bluebeard]

Double post