[erasmus]

how bad is it really?

how big would the difference be if i simply turned up the volume on my source (crappy sound card) vs getting a proper amp (or perhaps amp+usbdac combo)?

is it really worth the money, if it meant getting the dt880s later?

i've only used low impedance phones so far (er-4p, px100)

 

[ManAtWork]

Huge difference. The better quality of the amplifier, the better sound you can hear. You can try a cheaper but good enough portable headphone amplifier if having budget constraint. The difference is easily be heard even between a $200 amplifier with a $500 amplifier.

 

[skeptic]

Even unamped - I far preferred the 880's to iem's like the etymotic er-6i.

That said, amping them is a night and day difference in clarity, detail, separation, sound stage, and particularly in bringing out that solid & controlled bottom end.

 

[Caution]

the difference is quite big like the others have mentioned before. If you drive them unamped they are very flat and boring. But when you amp them correctly they become very enjoyable and an accurate headphone. However these are pretty picky with amps from my experience, they mate the best with tubes.

 

[majkel]

There will be no "night and day" difference when switching from a decent DAP to entry-to-mid level desktop rig with the DT880's. The only problem is their high impedance which limits the maximum volume, but there is no doubt regarding SQ - DT880 Pro's sound great from Teclast T39 or iRiver E10, probably some others, too, but you need to upload the DAP with high quality lossy or lossless files. The DT880's sound bad when you feed them with bad sound, no matter it's portable or desktop rig. They are easier to drive than the 62 ohm K701's.

 

[nickchen]

They definetely need an amp.

But it doesn't need to be a 500$ big balls amp. I've plugged several versions of DT880 into several amps and did not manage to find a "unlistenable" combination. Such things tend to get exagerated at headfi IMO.

 

[majkel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif They definetely need an amp.

Have you tried them with the aforementioned players? Upload some FLAC files to the T39 and enjoy. Sure, it's better to feed them via an amp but on the other hand the V39 sounds better from the DT880's than any portable headphones, unless you need very loud playback.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majkel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you tried them with the aforementioned players?

How could I, I don't own these players.

At least out of my players, I experienced them as boring, flat and silent. The DT880 isn't suited for ultra low listening volumes anyway, but maybe that's just me.

 

[tfarney]

You cannot play headphones unamped, period, and the quality of sound you'll get from DT880s, or any other phone, depends on the quality and power of the amp built into your PC. You haven't told us what it is, yet people are telling you there will be a huge night and day difference between the source you have not specified and an amp they have not named. Put on your hip boots, wade out of here and go use your ears.

Buy the Beyers. What a good start that will be. Listen to them awhile through your PC. Do they sound a lot better than your old phones? Was it worth the money? Yes? Keep them. No? Return them. Next, go to a store and plug them into the best receivers and integrated amps. If you hear a big enough difference between your PC's sound and the average Yamaha (just an example) receiver, then you can start shopping for a headphone amp. It might even sound better than the Yamaha.

Tim

PS - And if you do decide you need an amp, go look at the NuForce Icon thread. I haven't heard it so I can't recommend it personally, but it looks to provide a very respectable headphone amp, DAC, and excellent desktop speaker amp...all for $250.

 

[Navyblue]

With my AKG K501 (more power hungry than 250 ohms DT880) plugged into my Sound Blaster Digital Music SX, I wouldn't call it unlistenable. Sure the sound stage and instrument separation isn't as good as it can be, it is on par (probably an understatement) with my ER-4P out of my Sony NWZ-A816, which sounds great.

Though the result would greatly depend on your sound card.

 

[denl82]

I experienced somewhat big changes with the dt880s amped and unamped, but that's probably because I was looking for the changes. What I did hear was unamped, the highs were a lot more harsh and the soundstage more upfront. When amped, the highs softened up, and the soundstage turned into what it is famous to be=] If someone who wasn't accustomed to a-b'ing audiophile headphones(someone who likes their ibuds) listened to the dt880 unamped and amped, they for sure would still enjoy the dt880s unamped

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tfarney /img/forum/go_quote.gif You cannot play headphones unamped, period, and the quality of sound you'll get from DT880s, or any other phone, depends on the quality and power of the amp built into your PC. You haven't told us what it is, yet people are telling you there will be a huge night and day difference between the source you have not specified and an amp they have not named. Put on your hip boots, wade out of here and go use your ears. Buy the Beyers. What a good start that will be. Listen to them awhile through your PC. Do they sound a lot better than your old phones? Was it worth the money? Yes? Keep them. No? Return them. Next, go to a store and plug them into the best receivers and integrated amps. If you hear a big enough difference between your PC's sound and the average Yamaha (just an example) receiver, then you can start shopping for a headphone amp. It might even sound better than the Yamaha. Tim PS - And if you do decide you need an amp, go look at the NuForce Icon thread. I haven't heard it so I can't recommend it personally, but it looks to provide a very respectable headphone amp, DAC, and excellent desktop speaker amp...all for $250.

I think your initial somewhat snarky paragraph mischaracterizes a lot of what has been said in this thread, and since I was the one who used the phrase "night and day difference," I will go ahead and respond.

I (and others) have noted that even without any amplification, the 880's trump many lesser headphones (I specifically named the ety er6i's). In fact, I found this to be true straight out of an ipod. Out of an X-fi soundcard, they were better, and out of the HP jack on a entry level yamaha integrated from 1999, they were even better.

However, my entry level tube amp (Woo 3 - which was and is, I'll note, clearly "named" in my signature, along with the specific tubes used in it) did yield a night and day improvement to my ears in many different aspects of the sound. I spent days researching this purchase and had read many many comments to the effect that the 880's respond well to OTL tube amps, and my experience is that this is in fact true.

I don't disagree that the OP may find these phones quite enjoyable straight out of his soundcard - and also that that is an entirely reasonable way to start out. But if he finds them a little muddy, wonders what all this sound stage hype is about, and is unimpressed by the bass response, there is a very simple reason for it - they will not be driven to their full potential straight out of a soundcard. Nuff said.

 

[sonic32]

Yes it's true, the DT-880's will scale up in performance quite significantly with the proper amplification...but wait...there is more! That being said, they sound very nice plugged straight into my computer soundcard. As for volume, I have way more than needed, so unless your looking to become deaf soon you will be fine and when you can afford to upgrade your amp and source the phones will just sound better and better.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

I think your initial somewhat snarky paragraph mischaracterizes a lot of what has been said in this thread, and since I was the one who used the phrase "night and day difference," I will go ahead and respond.

Perhaps I misunderstand the meaning of "snarky." The initial paragraph of my response was not meant to be sarcastic in the slightest and it was not meant to characterize a lot of what had been said here. It was meant to warn the OP against taking seriously the absurdity of a couple of posts that presumed to predict a huge upgrade from the headphone jack of a component that had not been identified to an amp that had not been named. It was a fair warning, and said exactly what it intended without irony, sarcasm or snarkiness. Though I'll admit the hip boots line was a bit cute.

Tim