[shomie911]

I have the DT880's and I love them but I've really wanted to try a pair of Sennheiser's out and the HD580's go for fairly low prices so I thought I'd try them first.

But first, will they be better or worse than what I have now? Or are they going to be a complete sidestep in terms of SQ, just offering a different kind of sound?

I listen to Rock/Metal/Hardcore mostly with some Country, Classical, Alternative, and Trance thrown in there.

My source is either the line-out of my Sony CD player, my Gigabeat S60's headphone out (which I happen to prefer over the line-out of my CD player), and my Ipod Nano 1st Gen. and an LOD. The LOD's going to be here in about 7-10 days.

My amp is a new Minibox-E.

So are the HD580's going to offer the same neutral, detailed, and transparent sound I get with the DT880's or will it be signficantly different?

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[HFat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So are the HD580's going to offer the same neutral, detailed, and transparent sound I get with the DT880's or will it be signficantly different?

Different (assuming you hear differences between headphones)... and worse as well IMHO. Not worse in every way but worse if you care about details and transparency.

Go Grado if you didn't already.

EDIT: I've got the older DT880s so what I stated above might not be valid.

 

[shomie911]

Ya I assumed people were going to turf me to some Grado's.

So what do you guys recommend for the best bang for the buck in the Grado line-up for use with an amp? Its performance has to atleast compare or equal that of the DT880's.

Also how much do you think my new LOD is going to improve SQ over my Gigabeat S60's headphone out? Keep in mind that IMO the Gigabeat's headphone out beats my CD players line-out in everything except for micro-details, but it is so minor that factoring in the thin, "flat" sound of the CD player that I prefer the Gigabeat.

 

[HFat]

What do you mean, performance? If you want transparency, I don't think you'll find any Grado or current-production Senn that can touch DT880s (at least the old version). But I haven't head the whole line-up (far from it)...
The thing is, do you really want transparency all the time? Based on your musical tastes stated above, chances are you've got many poor recordings!

I would recommend the cheapest Grados you can get unless you have money to blow.

As to your sources, I don't know what an LOD is and I don't have any experience with Gigabeats, Ipods, or Sony CDPs. Generally, I don't think it matters much unless you obsess about minute differences and start making them up...

 

[shomie911]

By poor recordings do you mean low quality files? All my music is lossless. And so far I haven't heard a recording that was bad from the bands end, except for a few indie bands.

By performance I mean relatively, as in for the things that it does well (up-front sound etc.) add up to the same or better "performance" as the DT880's.

I'm not asking whether they are the same, more whether they (whatever Grado model you decide would suit me the best) offers the around the "same" sonic performance in whatever categories they are proficient at.

This is really hard to explain and I'm not sure if I got my point across. If you don't understand it, I'll try to portray it more clearly.

 

[HFat]

A bad recording is music that's been poorly recorded... not so much at the playing end as, somewhat unsurprisingly, at the recording end. You know, that business with microphones, mixing and stuff.
If you think that there's much well-recorded hardcore around for example, please tell me what I missed.

I wouldn't know how to compare qualities quantitatively, especially when there's a clear winner from the objective point of view... which is the only one from which it makes some sense to be quantitative.
Something that sounds really good has no sound so saying that an "up-front" sound is a good thing is a bit like saying that hardcore is good music. You might enjoy it but people don't usually go looking for hardcore that's on the same level as [insert your classical favourite here].
In other words, no, the point's not getting across.

 

[shooter]

for me HD580s are better than DT880. I do not like 880s '03 - they are "audiophilezers" - so right but so boring. Transparency, great balance yes, but HD580s are more involving while not suffering too much considering transparency, balance and so on.I am not saying about fantastic Grado 325i which are full of body and emotions.
I prefer Bayers DT990s to 880s - meaty sound, wonderful bass, a bit bright but also quite useful as all-arounders. Take what you like more not what is better in sbs opinion.

 

[465]

I definitely love the 880 better (I have the old version). The senn580 emphasizes the lower end, while the 880 (I think) doesn't seem to emphasize any spectrum. For Grado, I auditioned them in a store, from the 60 to the 325; I can't listen to any differences. That might be because I listened them only for about 2 hours. But they definitely don't have soundstage, which makes me feel like being there in the place of recording/ live shows. While for the punch, Beyer has the same punch as Grado, I think. Totally different than senn580, which is more flabby, and I thought that my emu1212m, with an original master amp, and the senn580 was tight, at first. I never know why people say the senn580 is muddy, until I tried them on my old school PC, with a soundblaster live, unamped. Never tried my 880 with my old pc though.

For me, I love the 880. I guess it depends on which spectrum of sound that you want to be emphasized. I don't enjoy rock that much; I love rnb, pop, jpop, kpop, 80s music, etc.

 

[fuzydice]

I've had the HD580 for about 2 years now, and the 05' DT880 since February. Going from the 880 to the 580, I feel like everything above 6kHz is missing, or pushed so hopelessly far behind the mids and sloppy bass that they're essentially gone. Music sounds like a corpse floating in a pool of muddy water, bloated and fat with bass and enveloped in mud. The clarity of the 880s in every respect puts the 580s to shame, but that's just me.

I suggest listening to a pair of 580s before you buy, or go another route

 

[shomie911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzydice /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've had the HD580 for about 2 years now, and the 05' DT880 since February. Going from the 880 to the 580, I feel like everything above 6kHz is missing, or pushed so hopelessly far behind the mids and sloppy bass that they're essentially gone. Music sounds like a corpse floating in a pool of muddy water, bloated and fat with bass and enveloped in mud. The clarity of the 880s in every respect puts the 580s to shame, but that's just me. I suggest listening to a pair of 580s before you buy, or go another route

That's definitely a good reason not to get the HD580's I guess.

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Updated preferences
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What about the K501's? I've heard a lot of people prefer them over the K701's.

Other than that I can't think of any other phones, suggestions?

I've decided that they can't be Grado's or any other uncomfortable headphones as these are going to be my secondary/family use headphones. I want to have a nice alternate pair of phones to use and something that will also keep everyone happy and content whilst keeping them away from my DT880's

(I'd get KSC-75's but they are already spoiled with the DT880's and so am I)

I guess what I am looking for is good phones for the price-range that offer a different sound than the DT880's.

I'd also like to keep these suggestions below $150. After buying my DT880's, E4c's, Minibox-E, then my LOD my wallet has become very light. I'm planning on buying used.

 

[billinkansas]

The K501's are great and you would certainly like them if you like the DT880. That being said, they are DT880ish enough that you may want something different as a contrast.

As for me, I prefer the HD580/600 to the DT880, but I won't go into it because I don't want you to not like your Beyers. A closed-back option along these lines might be the Denon D2000.

Everyone's perception of a "balanced or "neutral" presentation is very different, partly due to the different things we expect from our particular musical taste.

 

[shomie911]

I guess the HD580's are back on the playing field.

It's either going to be the K501's or the HD580's unless I can find HD600's for around $150 or anyone else has something else to submit to the fray.