[jazzychu]

I purchased this Beyerdynamic DT880-250-05 (07?) three week ago. I have played/burn-in for probably 60 hours now but still have some trouble with the sound.

The most troubling part is the vocal that has ss.. or sh.. sound. For example, to play the first 30 seconds of "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel, a song most people know, I simply can not stand the music, especially when I turn up the volumn a notch, probably still less than 90dB. I normally listen within 80 to 85dB range with headphones, according to my Radioshack meter.

I do not have trouble with other spectrum of the music. However, I would like to hear from other DT880 user's opinion if there's something I can do to improve the situation.

I thought I could do a few things here like:
1. use a different CD (mine is AAD)
2. go back to analogue source (not too viable for finding new music)
3. recable?
4. use a different (or dedicated) amp (mine is Luxman L-450)
5. use a different CD player
6. wait for another 250 hours of burn-in
7. return and get soemthing else

From reading the forum here I understand that the DT880 is considered "bright" by some, but I hope I can control the brightness to an acceptable level. I hope to stay within the Beyer lines for the moment so I do not confuse myself more. I may eventually try those electrostatic type, but I have to wait for my investment to double or my children to leave the house, whichever comes first.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Henmyr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzychu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I purchased this Beyerdynamic DT880-250-05 (07?) three week ago. I have played/burn-in for probably 60 hours now but still have some trouble with the sound. The most troubling part is the vocal that has ss.. or sh.. sound. For example, to play the first 30 seconds of "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel, a song most people know, I simply can not stand the music, especially when I turn up the volumn a notch, probably still less than 90dB. I normally listen within 80 to 85dB range with headphones, according to my Radioshack meter. I do not have trouble with other spectrum of the music. However, I would like to hear from other DT880 user's opinion if there's something I can do to improve the situation. I thought I could do a few things here like: 1. use a different CD (mine is AAD) 2. go back to analogue source (not too viable for finding new music) 3. recable? 4. use a different (or dedicated) amp (mine is Luxman L-450) 5. use a different CD player 6. wait for another 250 hours of burn-in 7. return and get soemthing else From reading the forum here I understand that the DT880 is considered "bright" by some, but I hope I can control the brightness to an acceptable level. I hope to stay within the Beyer lines for the moment so I do not confuse myself more. I may eventually try those electrostatic type, but I have to wait for my investment to double or my children to leave the house, whichever comes first. Thanks for any help.

I have two version of the boxer, one from "Bridge Over troubled water" and one from "The Definitive Simon And Garfunkel". I do not hear a harsh tone at all. No sibilance (the ss and sh..) what so ever. I'm using the Meier Headfive, which is a very warm solid state amp and it does a good work reducing sibilance. For me, the dt880 is very very smooth but at the same time detailed.

A Meier Arietta, Cantate or the Opera might (should) work also.

Also depends on source. Please do post what you are using to power the headphones, source and amp.

EDIT: Oh you did state amp.

EDIT2: I can hear that the song "wants" to produce sibilance but fails. I do see how this song COULD be sibilant with the wrong setup, but xfi > headfive > dt880 do not make it sibilant.

EDIT3: A good tube amp should also reduce the sibilance.

 

[jazzychu]

Mine is from the "collected works".

The sound of Boxer is just an example and I do find others, particular the female vocals, have the same effect.

It is nice though to hear someone to confirm that the headphone itself may be OK, just that I will have to improve on other components along the chain.

Two follow up questions if you don't mind:

1. How is the sound of your other Beyer? When erevything is equal, do you feel the DT880 is brighter?

2. Do you believe the sound will improve after much longer time of burn-in based on your expeirence?

Thanks.

 

[audiomagnate]

The brightness does not go away with "burn-in." It sounds like your have ears that are sensitive in the region where the 880s have a pronounced peak. I had to give up on mine after four or five months.

 

[facelvega]

sounds to me like a case of bad synergy between the headphones and the source/amp, or I guess 4 and 5 of your list, most likely the amp. If you don't want to get a headphone amp and are otherwise happy with your current equipment, then maybe the easiest thing is to return the headphone and try another that might do better with your rig.

If you do decide to keep the DT880, try any other sources or amps you have handy to see if it sounds better to you on a different rig. Of course most people don't hear a lot of sibilance with them, so I hope that some small change would cure this for you.

 

[jazzychu]

I knew I should have added one more option: Have my hearing checked by a doctor. My expierence is the hearing do change with age. I appreciate the bass more now and I started listening more classical music too.

I will try to find a decent amp in my area to test the DT880. Unfortunately nowaday most stores are heavy in stocking all those HDTV instead of audio equipements.

 

[nelamvr6]

I have owned two pairs of 880's in the past few months, one pair of 250 Ohms and my current 600 Ohm models, and I have not yet encountered similar symptoms.

I tend to agree with facelvega, it may very well be a case of a poor match, or these cans may simply not be your perfect match.

I would also tend to suspect that you could do better amp wise, perhaps an upgrade in this area of your setup is warranted. And BTW this will likely benefit you no matter which set of cans you finally end up with.

But I don't think I could in good conscious recommend you spend good money on an amp upgrade if you don't see any promise in these cans. Your last post makes me think that you may be changing your mind. At this point the best course of action may be to try to live with them a spell, see what happens.

But remember, life is too short. If these cans aren't the perfect match, there's no harm in continuing the quest. The good news is that you won't likely have too much trouble selling these if you decide to.

Good luck!

 

[Henmyr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzychu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mine is from the "collected works". The sound of Boxer is just an example and I do find others, particular the female vocals, have the same effect. It is nice though to hear someone to confirm that the headphone itself may be OK, just that I will have to improve on other components along the chain. Two follow up questions if you don't mind: 1. How is the sound of your other Beyer? When erevything is equal, do you feel the DT880 is brighter? 2. Do you believe the sound will improve after much longer time of burn-in based on your expeirence? Thanks.

1. The DT990 is MUCH more prone to sibilance and the heights is MUCH more pronounced. DT880 has never been harsh to me, but DT990 has.

DT880 has a darker tone than DT990.

2. I can't really tell how burn in have affected my dt880. I was the second owner, but the first owner didn't listen to them much at all.

 

[HFat]

Try EQ or get other headphones.

Maybe the pads will change enough over time to fix your issue but it's impossible to tell unless you can quantify it.

You could also simply wait until you get used to the sound. There's no need to get your hearing checked.

 

[shomie911]

I haven't really noticed any sibilance with my DT880's.

It may have to do with the volume you listen at. 80-85 decibels is supposedly harmful over months of usage and may be causing extra sibilance.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't really noticed any sibilance with my DT880's. It may have to do with the volume you listen at. 80-85 decibels is supposedly harmful over months of usage and may be causing extra sibilance.

2x. Keep it down at the 75db for a while, and soon you will notice how loud 80Db is. More louder you listen, more prominent are the spikes in frequency responses, like the treble spike in DT880 which you noticed already.

 

[iancraig10]

I feel the same about the Beyer top end. One way of 'helping' is to put a 120 ohm resistor in line at the output. It's subtle, but does help a bit. I found that putting one in line with a Senn 595 made it sound a bit weightier which is maybe what you are looking for in the Beyers.

Jan Meier used to sell little devices for this very thing.

Ian

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try EQ or get other headphones.

Headfi heresy! Change your cables, get a tube amp, anything but using EQ to tame that nasty spike at 8K.

 

[vcoheda]

a recabling job will soften the brightness of the DT880s - that has been my experience with 2 sets that i have owned. however, a new cable will soften it not remove it, so that is something to be aware of.

 

[BushGuy]

You know by now:
a) the current 600 ohm version is a better choice
b) you should be able to achieve happiness by burn-in of 150 hours (take a look at tips page on Jan Meier site)
c) a tubed amp is a better choice for them (an ASL MG Head OTL MkIII is one of those that work well and is of low cost - replace the stock tubes)
d) stick to the Velour earpads that come on them
e) dt990/600, and Darths are also nice