[Magick Man]

Glad I decided to keep the 880. They are so good and for very little money. Man oh man they are getting better and better as I put the hours on them.

I A>B'd them and T1s at the meet this last weekend and came to the same conclusion I had a couple months ago, there is most definitely not a $1000 difference between those cans. Maybe $300, maybe...

 

[emremusic]

How would you compare the value of your D7000 to the 880s?? I'm going to upgrade my headphones, and I've come to 880s and d7000s..
Quote:

I A>B'd them and T1s at the meet this last weekend and came to the same conclusion I had a couple months ago, there is most definitely not a $1000 difference between those cans. Maybe $300, maybe...

 

 

[anson67]

Quote:

I find my 880/600 pairs very well with the Bottlehead Crack. The HP out from the Yulong is fine (so is the EF2a), but the Crack is just on a different level altogether. 
 

I have the same experience.  I still prefer my HD600 with the Crack but this fantastic amp has really tamed the DT880 600ohm for me so that now I'm probably 70/30 on the HD600 where previously I was 90/10 and thinking about selling the 880.  If you're even remotely considering DIY, I highly recommend the Bottlehead Crack!
 

 

[Bojamijams]

Does anyone have tips on how to improve comfort with the headband? I find that it compresses a lot and really starts exerting force on my head after about half an hour. The J$ leather pads probably made this worse with the added weight, but the sound improvement was worth it that I don't want to go back to velour.

 

[jpelg]

Replace the stock headband with a Beyer "Pro" snap-on headband?

 

[Caspr]

 
Quote:

Yes,  your math is basically correct.
But you will need a portable amp that can deliver 1.22 x 2 x 1.414 = 3.45 Volts peak to peak to drive 600 ohm Beyers, so power supply will have to be 4 volts or greater.
Which means your portable headphone amp will probably be running flat out to drive 600 ohm Beyers.   However, some of the iBassos output a fair amount of voltage. D6 maybe?
 
IMHO 80 ohm Beyers would be a better match for a portable amp..
 

 

so if i have an Essence stx it will be able to drive them perfectly? 
 
The maximum output level from the line outputs was 2.16V; from the headphone jack, it depended on the setting chosen: 885mV (0dB, for headphones with impedances below 64 ohms), 3.52V (+12dB for headphones with impedances of 64–300 ohms), and 7.03V (+18dB for headphones with impedances of >300 ohms
 
Taken from http://www.stereophile.com/content/asus-xonar-essence-ststx-soundcards-measurements.
 
 
 
why do people still say that the xonar is too weak to drive the beyers? Or am i misunderstanding something completly here?
 
Just wondering since im getting my 990/600Ohms and have just bought an stx...dont want to spend another ~300 on an amp :/

 

[Heathen999]

Picked up a pair of these out of the for-sale section here on the site about 2 months ago. I must say I am impressed. I just have them paired with FiiO e7/e9 right now, I cant wait to get them paired with a better DAC and tube amp sometime. 
 
I dont think these would be my main choice for music (classic rock / metal), but for gaming and my other music needs these are very nice. I had AKG 701's before these and while I enjoyed those, but they just seemed to be missing something I was needing. 
 
Thanks for all the great info in this thread, or I would not have even considered these. 

 

[Bojamijams]

You would make a serious mistake if you dismissed these for rock/metal.  Thats what my main music taste is and I love them for that (when not using the JH-13's).  But I too use them most for my gaming and love them.
 
Thanks jpelg. I'll look into getting one of those.
 
 

 

[Heathen999]

I am not totally dismissing them for rock/metal as there is a few genre's of metal I prefer them for (mostly funeral doom), but as of right now I prefer my Grado 325is to these for most of my metal listening. Maybe with a better amp this will change. 
 
That is no-way a knock at these, I really, really like them. Overall I am very impressed and I dont ever see myself getting rid of them. They will always have a part in my tastes. Unless I upgrade to something better in the Beyer line down the road. With how much I like these, I dont see that happening anytime soon. My main focus right now is on better equipment to get these to there full potential. 

 

[Chris J]

 
Quote:

Yes,  your math is basically correct.
But you will need a portable amp that can deliver 1.22 x 2 x 1.414 = 3.45 Volts peak to peak to drive 600 ohm Beyers, so power supply will have to be 4 volts or greater.
Which means your portable headphone amp will probably be running flat out to drive 600 ohm Beyers.   However, some of the iBassos output a fair amount of voltage. D6 maybe?
 
IMHO 80 ohm Beyers would be a better match for a portable amp..
 

 

so if i have an Essence stx it will be able to drive them perfectly? 
 
The maximum output level from the line outputs was 2.16V; from the headphone jack, it depended on the setting chosen: 885mV (0dB, for headphones with impedances below 64 ohms), 3.52V (+12dB for headphones with impedances of 64–300 ohms), and 7.03V (+18dB for headphones with impedances of >300 ohms
 
Taken from http://www.stereophile.com/content/asus-xonar-essence-ststx-soundcards-measurements.
 
 
 
why do people still say that the xonar is too weak to drive the beyers? Or am i misunderstanding something completly here?
 
Just wondering since im getting my 990/600Ohms and have just bought an stx...dont want to spend another ~300 on an amp :/

Hmmmmm, sounds like it should work if you set the gain to 18 dB.
600 ohm Beyers need a lot of voltage, not a lot of current.
They really aren't that hard to drive with a dedicated amp, which you could argue that the STX is.

 

[Caspr]

 
Quote:

Yes,  your math is basically correct.
But you will need a portable amp that can deliver 1.22 x 2 x 1.414 = 3.45 Volts peak to peak to drive 600 ohm Beyers, so power supply will have to be 4 volts or greater.
Which means your portable headphone amp will probably be running flat out to drive 600 ohm Beyers.   However, some of the iBassos output a fair amount of voltage. D6 maybe?
 
IMHO 80 ohm Beyers would be a better match for a portable amp..
 

 

so if i have an Essence stx it will be able to drive them perfectly? 
 
The maximum output level from the line outputs was 2.16V; from the headphone jack, it depended on the setting chosen: 885mV (0dB, for headphones with impedances below 64 ohms), 3.52V (+12dB for headphones with impedances of 64–300 ohms), and 7.03V (+18dB for headphones with impedances of >300 ohms
 
Taken from http://www.stereophile.com/content/asus-xonar-essence-ststx-soundcards-measurements.
 
 
 
why do people still say that the xonar is too weak to drive the beyers? Or am i misunderstanding something completly here?
 
Just wondering since im getting my 990/600Ohms and have just bought an stx...dont want to spend another ~300 on an amp :/

Hmmmmm, sounds like it should work if you set the gain to 18 dB.
600 ohm Beyers need a lot of voltage, not a lot of current.
They really aren't that hard to drive with a dedicated amp, which you could argue that the STX is.

Got the 990's today and im amazed! I can only compare them to my AD700 but the bass...my god, like night and day. And they arent that bad for gaming either.

Downside is i now realize how bad my music collection is...i can hear every hiss and whatnot :/

On another side: do i have to expect them to change alot after burn-in?(If there is any not sure about the whole burn-in matter)

 

[Chris J]

Just my opinion, but I have a pair of DT880s, I did not hear any change after burn-in.
Frankly, I did not expect to hear a difference either.
 
So the DT990 works great with your STX? 

 

[ALTANertive]

I also have an STX and was using that to drive the 880 600ohms.  They were adequate, but at the same time it always felt like something was a little lacking.
I acquired a LaFigaro/Darkvoice 336 a few months ago and personally I think there is a difference.  I wouldn't call it significant, but definitely noticeable.  It just felt like there was more substance.
 
With my 880's I thought burning them in reduced the sibilance and tightened up the bass.
 
My friend had a pair of 990 600 ohms.  Definitely prefer the 880's to them.  The sibilance in those hurt my ears.

 

[Chris J]

 
Quote:

I also have an STX and was using that to drive the 880 600ohms.  They were adequate, but at the same time it always felt like something was a little lacking.
I acquired a LaFigaro/Darkvoice 336 a few months ago and personally I think there is a difference.  I wouldn't call it significant, but definitely noticeable.  It just felt like there was more substance.
 
With my 880's I thought burning them in reduced the sibilance and tightened up the bass.
 
My friend had a pair of 990 600 ohms.  Definitely prefer the 880's to them.  The sibilance in those hurt my ears.

 
Massive +1 for the 600 ohm DT880s and the L/F 336C.
Have you tried rolling the tubes?
Presently using a Sylvania 6SN7 Chrome Dome and a Svetlana 6C13H power tube.

 

[ALTANertive]

 
Quote:

 
 
Massive +1 for the 600 ohm DT880s and the L/F 336C.
Have you tried rolling the tubes?
Presently using a Sylvania 6SN7 Chrome Dome and a Svetlana 6C13H power tube.

 
Yea, I'm currently using an RCA 6AS7G grey plate and a Ken Rad VT231.
I'm noticing some slight crackle on the left channel from the 6AS7G though, so I'm not sure if it's a sub-par tube or whats going on.
I'm considering picking up a Tung Sol 5998(?)