[saint.panda]

Thank you for all the replies.

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn you may want to ask gerG. I say the Dt880 only because of $ and its intimacy with vocals. But chances are very good that the HD650 has better bass. Coming from a Grado you may find the DT880 dark, as you may also find the HD650. Some are sensitive to a certain treble range on the DT880; I am not. I do not find them bright in the least. I find the K501 has better pristine sounding triangles than the DT880, along with better sounding piano high notes. The cloth cover on the DT880 tends to smear the treble a little, giving it a diffused sound; so no, it may not sound very detailed (not brightness). It needs a robust amp. The K501, while having a wide soundstage, does not convey the seamless soundstage transistion (middle channel information) that the DT880 does. I suggest you listen to both. It'll probably come down to $250 vs $450.

The price arguement is definately striking because it seems that I can only draw the Senn's full potential by upgrading to zu or moon. And hd650 /w cable is simply too expensive, so it'd be either 580/600 + cable or 650 without cable.

I used to have the 580 jubilee (600 equivalent) but at that time I didn' have an amp at all so that doens't really say anything.

Has there been anyone who found the Beyer 880 to be annoyingly bright? (just for reference: I couldn't live with the treble energy on the Sonys but the Grados seem perfectly fine to me. Some peoplec find the Grados to be bright)

Edit: Would the Glimore Lite pair well with the Beyer 880?

Edit: I'd also like to hear the opinion by somebody who really disliked the beyer 880 and why.

Thanks

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally posted by saint.panda Edit: Would the Glimore Lite pair well with the Beyer 880?

Considering it's been compared sonically with the Gilmore v1... yes.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally posted by ReDVsion Considering it's been compared sonically with the Gilmore v1... yes.

I guess that's another reason to go for the Beyer

 

[3lusiv3]

-

 

[JaZZ]

One year or so ago the DT 880 had replaced the HD 600 as my favorite headphone. Beside the greater clarity and the higher resolution as most important factor there was also deeper and cleaner bass. But the downside is a less even frequency response with a slight midrange dip -- or sort of treble plateau, resp. The bass is one of the best ones I've heard, but it's more of the Ety kind, thus rather unspectacular, with less impact but more resolution and evenness instead. In my perception the treble is pronounced, but not in a fatiguing kind (the treble range appears as very even; the 6-kHz peak and the other unevennesses in the HeadRoom graph don't correspond to the listening impression) -- this in contrast to the actually less bright SR-225 --, but very clear and transparent.

After purchase of the HD 650 I soon lost interest in the DT 880. The Senn offered all of its qualities in a more refined manner and with a clearly more neutral sonic balance. The DT 880's only advantage left is the low-frequency extension, or -- in other words -- a (even) flatter bass response. But overall the HD 650 is the better headphone, although slightly on the dark side of neutral.

From my now perspective I wouldn't rate the DT 880 as clearly better than the HD 600. It depends on the weight you give to the single criteria and on your preferred music. Actually both have their greatest strengts with acoustic instruments, thus classic and jazz. The Beyer's higher resolution and greater detail is compensated by the Senn's greater coherency and more even balance.

But even with a Zu Mobius the HD 600 is outclassed by a stock HD 650 IMO. I'd even say the affordable Oehlbach cable makes it an absolute high-end headphone which leaves barely anything to be desired. Or if you want to go cheap, you can combine the Oehlbach with a used HD 600 -- this also makes an excellent headphone. If you want increased detail and transparency as well as wide frequency extension to both extremes, go for the DT 880. You can't go wrong with either. And BTW all offer a quite impressive soundstage.

Grado SR-125. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beyerdynamic DT 880

.

Sennheiser HD 600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sennheiser HD 650

.

 

[saint.panda]

Nevermind, I'm going for the Beyer 880.
Just read through some threads and there doesnn't seem to be anyone who really disliked them. Some even claim that it can compete with the hd650 though losing by a small margin depending on the equipment.
They seem to have a big soundstage, pair well with classical music and jazz. Female vocals are redered beatifully. Not the best for rock, well I don't listen to rock anyway. Also good for electronica, that's another plus. They are relatively cheap and no cable upgrade needed, that's a major plus.
Non-fatiguing and relatively neutral-sounding and comfortable. And they look nice

And they would work with my Glimore Lite.
I guess there's literally nothing holding me back anymore.
I just hope that I'll stick with them a little bit longer....

 

[ReDVsion]

The above points were basically my reasoning for purchasing them as well. Especially their sound quality WITHOUT a cable upgrade - I'm not ready to deal with that crap yet. So really, I just have to have a second pair for more energetic/gritty music, which is my K240S for the time being.

I doubt you'll find them nothing short of enjoyable.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by saint.panda Nevermind, I'm going for the Beyer 880. Just read through some threads and there doesnn't seem to be anyone who really disliked them. Some even claim that it can compete with the hd650 though losing by a small margin depending on the equipment. They seem to have a big soundstage, pair well with classical music and jazz. Female vocals are redered beatifully. Not the best for rock, well I don't listen to rock anyway. Also good for electronica, that's another plus. They are relatively cheap and no cable upgrade needed, that's a major plus. Non-fatiguing and relatively neutral-sounding and comfortable. And they look nice And they would work with my Glimore Lite. I guess there's literally nothing holding me back anymore. I just hope that I'll stick with them a little bit longer....

It sounds like you have done your homework. Your paragraph pretty much sums up what most of us Beyerdynamic DT-880 owners determined to be logical.

Please let us know how it works out for you when you get it.

 

[hottyson]

BTW I don’t know if are a memeber of team Basshead. You will probably already get very good results with the Gilmore Lite headphone amp that you already own. But if you ever want to experience some incredible bass, try to listen to them through a Marantz receiver that has Bass, Midrange, and Treble tone controls. If you turn up the Bass tone control in such a Marantz receiver, you will be astounded by the sheer bass impact that the Beyerdynamic DT-880 can deliver. (Be careful not to blow out your headphone drivers. The Marantz seems to have an unlimited source of wattage.)
In such a setup the sound would be only a bid less refined than a good dedicated headphone amp. If you want to give yourself a lobotomy

you could try this with the Beyerdynamic DT-770

.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally posted by hottyson BTW I don’t know if are a memeber of team Basshead. You will probably already get very good results with the Gilmore Lite headphone amp that you already own. But if you ever want to experience some incredible bass, try to listen to them through a Marantz receiver that has Bass, Midrange, and Treble tone controls. If you turn up the Bass tone control in such a Marantz receiver, you will be astounded by the sheer bass impact that the Beyerdynamic DT-880 can deliver. (Be careful not to blow out your headphone drivers. The Marantz seems to have an unlimited source of wattage.) In such a setup the sound would be only a bid less refined than a good dedicated headphone amp. If you want to give yourself a lobotomy you could try this with the Beyerdynamic DT-770 .

hi hottyson,
unfortunately I don't have a marantz receiver but maybe I get to try one someday. I'll definately try the bass thing

But first of all I need to get some Beyer 880....

 

[DouglasB]

I have compared the DT880 phones with the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 phones (without upgrade cables) in my system all at the same time out of a HeadRoom Max.

My initial impression was that the DT880s has a sonic signature similar to the Sennheiser phones but brighter, which I liked. The Sennheiser HD600 is just a little too rolled off in the treble, and the HD650 even more so.

Someone posted that the DT880 is like the “brighter brother” of the Sennheiser 600 and 650 phones, but their overall sonic performance is nowhere near the Sennheisers.

I listen to classical music and jazz, and even with a lot of break-in the 880s are not even close to the Sennheisers in timbre discrimination between similar instruments and voices. Timbre accuracy was mediocre, but the 880s had deeper bass than the 600s although not the 650s. Low level detail was well below the Sennheisers, despite the brighter treble, which in many audio components can initially fool you into thinking that there is good detail. Resolution, meaning a lack of congestion especially in complex music, was a lot worse in the 880s than the Sennheiser phones. All these performance advantages were better with the HD650s than with the HD600s.

The fabric of the DT880s was irritating to my ears, while the fabric of the Sennheisers was not. I like to listen to headphones while lying down on a pillow. The round shape of the DT880s makes this position uncomfortable, while the oval shape of the Sennheisers was much better, which is probably why they chose this shape.

Hope my review helps

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally posted by DouglasB I have compared the DT880 phones with the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 phones (without upgrade cables) in my system all at the same time out of a HeadRoom Max. My initial impression was that the DT880s has a sonic signature similar to the Sennheiser phones but brighter, which I liked. The Sennheiser HD600 is just a little too rolled off in the treble, and the HD650 even more so. Someone posted that the DT880 is like the “brighter brother” of the Sennheiser 600 and 650 phones, but their overall sonic performance is nowhere near the Sennheisers. I listen to classical music and jazz, and even with a lot of break-in the 880s are not even close to the Sennheisers in timbre discrimination between similar instruments and voices. Timbre accuracy was mediocre, but the 880s had deeper bass than the 600s although not the 650s. Low level detail was well below the Sennheisers, despite the brighter treble, which in many audio components can initially fool you into thinking that there is good detail. Resolution, meaning a lack of congestion especially in complex music, was a lot worse in the 880s than the Sennheiser phones. All these performance advantages were better with the HD650s than with the HD600s. The fabric of the DT880s was irritating to my ears, while the fabric of the Sennheisers was not. I like to listen to headphones while lying down on a pillow. The round shape of the DT880s makes this position uncomfortable, while the oval shape of the Sennheisers was much better, which is probably why they chose this shape. Hope my review helps

Thank you for your impressions.
However, other than the HD650 do you think the HD600 is better than the Beyer 880? And what kind of source / amp did you use?
Thanks.
Has anyone had similar experiences?

 

[DouglasB]

saint-panda,

Sorry to take so long to get back to you, but the new system deleted my old password, and there is no search function.

As a source I am using an NAD 541. Though it is a relative budget cd player, it has been praised by reviewers as having particularly excellent tonality in The Absolute Sound (USA) and Gramophone (UK). My amplifier is the HeadRoom Max.

In my post, I hope I made it clear that the Sennheiser HD600 is better than the DT880 with the HD650 being even more so.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DouglasB saint-panda, Sorry to take so long to get back to you, but the new system deleted my old password, and there is no search function. As a source I am using an NAD 541. Though it is a relative budget cd player, it has been praised by reviewers as having particularly excellent tonality in The Absolute Sound (USA) and Gramophone (UK). My amplifier is the HeadRoom Max. In my post, I hope I made it clear that the Sennheiser HD600 is better than the DT880 with the HD650 being even more so.

Hi DouglasB,
thanks for the info. Your source and amp are definately up to par. At least, I wish I had a headroom max

I think I'll still take the plunge and if I dont like them,I'll just resell them. It's hard to find a place in Munich to actually audition them with the proper setup.

 

[wallijonn]

Personally, I found the soundstage on the DT880 to be much better (wider, deeper and higher) than on the HD600. Through gerG's Headroom Max I thought the HD600 had a 120 degree soundstage while the DT880 had a 180 degree soundstage.