[pwrusr]

I'm sure a few of you remember me from about two weeks ago on the DT770/80 I found them to be WAY too bass heavy and somewhat lacking in detail. so I went with the DT880's since I liked the highs of the DT770.

so onto what I think of them as far as fresh out of the box sound:

everyone who's ever tried a pair of beyres on knows how comfy they are so I won't go into detail there. just to add that I liked the comfort of the DT770's so much I didn't want to leave the beyer camp.

First off they sound a tad "eh" lifeless. the bass is there just not quite what I was hoping for. I'm hopeingthat it wakes up so to speak after some burn in time.

This is exactly what I was looking for from the mids up:
Mids are FANTASTIC! voices come through with such detail and clearity

Highs are mainly harsh with peaky recordings. Otherwise what the sound engineer heard is what you hear. That being said the highs are fine to my ears.

They actually block a little bit of sound. by little I mean 5dBish of outside noise. not much but for open headphones they surprized me

I think these are keepers. I also think I might need a deadicated amp (suggestions?)

Edited to add a picture I took of them:

my current setup is as follows:
gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 onboard sound -> Logitech THX Z-5300e headphone output -> beyer DT880 post '04 model

my only consern is - even if it is ironic - will the bass wake up after a nice bit of burn in time?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwrusr /img/forum/go_quote.gif my only consern is - even if it is ironic - will the bass wake up after a nice bit of burn in time?

It does get better at around 300 hours

But decent amplification and just plain getting used to their sound makes up the most of it. Do not directly compare them to other headphones, they will always sound bass anemic this way.
It was reported that leather pads add some punch, unfortunately they are not available for separate ordering, only with Manufakture custom headset.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwrusr /img/forum/go_quote.gif my current setup is as follows: gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 onboard sound -> Logitech THX Z-5300e headphone output -> beyer DT880 post '04 model my only consern is - even if it is ironic - will the bass wake up after a nice bit of burn in time?

Oh my goodness, this is the funniest thing I've seen all day!

This is pretty much as bad as you can get in terms of sources for these theadphones. Trust me, your headphones are not reaching their full potential, not even by a long shot.

First things first, bypass the Logitech speakers. Go directly into the onboard sound card. Next, get a dedicated DAC or better sound card ASAP. Onboard sound is usually very bad. Then, after you upgrade your source, start looking at amps. I say this only because the amp will *kinda* be wasted on the source. Garbage in -> Garbage out.

After you do all this upgrding, you should like these headphones much more. Who knows, now that I know what you have been driving the DT770pro with, there's a very good chance you may have liked them when they are at their full potential.....

By the way, I just can't see how the bass of the DT770pro could be "Too" much, and the bass of the DT880 is not enough. They are really close.

 

[pwrusr]

I thought that compareing the freq responce to my senn 280's and t770's that the bass would fall right in the middle between the two with the DT880's

I found them to be just a bit better then the senns however.

but that's beside the problem. towert, I'm glad I made your day

and I'm very aware of my problem with not having a nice amp. I've been tring to save up for a newer car, however the audiophile bug bit me a few weeks ago. so I figured I can spend a little bit now and wait to get a amp a bit later (if I get that new job, alot sooner

). But for now I just threw in a old sound card I've had sitting for a few years. it's a old creative ensoniq card that has a built in amp of sorts. that is I can switch between line out and speaker out by setting jumpers on it. now if only I can get some drivers for this thing...

As for the bass you're probably right. With a good amp I'm sure they'd be alot closer.

 

[pwrusr]

Well scratch that sound card, apperently it doesn't like my mobo (or vice versa)

Also note my other setup is:
sony DVD player that was noted back in the late 90's to have a awsome audio output quality -> Denon AVR1601 -> cans or speakers

I did try the dt770's on this setup however I felt the same here too. only with no EQ to numb the mind blowing bass

I'm going to let those 880's burn in for a week or two and see how they sound then...

 

[Slaughter]

YOu could always try the 990's which have more mids than 770, less than 880, and less bass than 770, more than 880. A happy medium maybe?

 

[Towert7]

Actually the amp is not your worry now, it's the source (there is a differenc between the two). Think of the amp as just an improvement of the source, and in some ways it's nice when the amp is transparent. If you are using a very bad source, which that soundcard is, it doesn't matter how much you spend on the amp....... your soundcard will be the limiting factor.

If you are on a tight budget, and since you are in need of both an amp and source, I would recommend you try and find an Amp / DAC combo. You connect the digital output of your computer to the DAC, and you plug your headphones into the amp. They are all in one solutions, and probably your best bet for the price (killing two birds with one stone).
Mier audio has one, as does headphone.com (microDAC and Microamp combo). I'm sure there are others out there as well.

Even your DVD player and denon reciver will sound mediocre in comparison to a nice dedicated headphone amp and DAC. (Unless of course the DVD player went for 8000$+ new...)

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif It does get better at around 300 hours But decent amplification and just plain getting used to their sound makes up the most of it. Do not directly compare them to other headphones, they will always sound bass anemic this way. It was reported that leather pads add some punch, unfortunately they are not available for separate ordering, only with Manufakture custom headset.

Be realistic: the guy is driving them ampless. I'm surprised that he finds the sound satisfying at all in the current setup.

-Matt

 

[Jaska]

Everything Towert7 has said here, X2.

It seems fairly obvious that you'd benefit hugely from something like a Meier-Audio Porta Corda III-USB, since you seem to be using your computer as your primary source.

The Premium line beyers are pretty hard to drive, so in my opinion they never sound their best without the amplification that only a dedicated headphone amp can provide. I recently owned the DT 770 Pro/80, and found that it sounded worlds better via my Hornet switched to Hi gain.

I think the bottom line is that you have a world-class set of headphones there, so it will be well worth it to get the rest of your set-up on par with them in order to benefit from them fully. If you're not ready to spend on upgrades yet, or if you don't know what to buy, maybe you could take the DT 880s with you to some good audio retailers and try them for yourself with some other equipment, or find a fellow Head-Fier in your area who might let you try an amp/DAC or two and see what you like.

 

[denl82]

Congrats on your new can. The road to upgrading will be a pleasurable one, as your dt880 blossoms with each step up!

 

[pwrusr]

Slaughter, I don't like the idea of swaping headphones just yet. it's too soon for one thing. they are still being broken in after all. and add to that the fact that the source and amp are, um, how can I say this nicely... $**7 yeah that's the word

Towert7, I'm well aware of the fact. I'm currently researching what to get next (thanks head-fi

). I'm looking at some inexpensive (sub $300) amps and DAC combos. I'd love to have a tube amp but that plus the cost of a good source is likely going to be out of reach for a little while.

crazyfrenchman27, my setup isn't THAT bad, but compared to most of the setup's I've seen here... no need to say anymore

Jaska, I have to aggree, they are truely world class headphones. after just a bit of burn in time (overnight plus a few hours) they seem to be improving. again my source + amp are laughable by most. however this is what I may have to use for the time being untill I can get a better amp at least. The onboard audio actually isn't all that bad, just a "tad" low in volume when running right into the headphones. in other words music is just a wisper which is the ONLY reason I'm using the logitechs to power them.

denl82, I'm sure it will be a great jurny into the world of head-fi. I'm just hopeing I won't turn into Jahn

All that being said, I'm keeping the DT880's. yeah they are a touch lacking in the lows department. For electronic music it's not as in your fase and bomb droping as the 770s by ANY streach. But the bass is still there and it's very accurate. The mids and highs are exactly what I wanted as well very detailed and very well balenced. it's a very open sounding pair of cans. awsome soundstage.

Correction on the point of the headphones connected to the sound card. I found that I can connect them to it and still get a decent amount of volume out of them. much more detail that was being masked by the logitech's onboard amp. I figured as much to be honest with you. however the bass is not there at all. again I figured as much seeing that the soundcards output is likely designed for headphones with a better efficiency. the extra uph of the logitech's amp helps lows out a nice bit. but they are still struggleing with driving them. I have to have the volume set to at least 50% to get a playable volume out of it.

I've learned a good bit just toying around with what I have.
-The 880's are very unforgiving as to what is being used to drive them.
-My computer needs a upgrade soon

-I also need a amp soon, DUH

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwrusr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've learned a good bit just toying around with what I have. -The 880's are very unforgiving as to what is being used to drive them. -My computer needs a upgrade soon -I also need a amp soon, DUH

Spot on! Also, be thankful, because there is so much equipment out there for tuning how much bass you want in headphones. The hard part is just finding what to get. So, basically, if you find you need a little more bass, all you have to do is find a source/amp with more bass. Some of them even make it very easy for you to customize to adjust the sound. Some of the Soild State devices let you change out the opamp for a different sound, and some of the tube devices make it very easy for you to swap out tubes.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Spot on! Also, be thankful, because there is so much equipment out there for tuning how much bass you want in headphones. The hard part is just finding what to get. So, basically, if you find you need a little more bass, all you have to do is find a source/amp with more bass. Some of them even make it very easy for you to customize to adjust the sound. Some of the Soild State devices let you change out the opamp for a different sound, and some of the tube devices make it very easy for you to swap out tubes.

...or simply use an EQ after source issues are fixed...

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...or simply use an EQ after source issues are fixed...

Ah yea, that's possible too.

 

[procreate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif It was reported that leather pads add some punch, unfortunately they are not available for separate ordering, only with Manufakture custom headset.

If the leather is also called "softskin", you might want to check http://www.thomann.de/ and search on DT880.