[derbigpr]

Quote:

My 880's (600 ohms version) were delivered today.  I can't compare them to the 250 ohm version, but I have had a pair of the dt 770's (80 ohms) for several years, and these wipe the floor with them.  They are quite diverse and work well with a lot of types of music.  These are going to be my new mid-fi jack of all trades.  I love my q701's for pop, rock jazz and classical, but for metal, they just have too large a soundstage and every thing feels too distant.  The 880's are much better suited.
 
I also picked up a pair of the 990 pro's.  I was really disappointed by the 990's.  I can honestly confirm what everyone else on this forum probably already knows, the 880's are the best out of the 3 beyer mid-fi cans! 

 
 
Hmmm...having the DT770 80, DT880 600's and DT990 Pro's, I would not agree. I would say that their model ranking is quite precise. DT770 < DT880 < DT990. Despite someones personal preference of a sound signature, in a direct comparison between the DT880 and DT990, it is clear to me that DT990 are technically superior in virtually every way. They have a bigger soundstage, a more airy sound that is fuller at the same time, which leads to having better sound separation. The overall sound resolution on the DT990's also seems slightly better, they sound cleaner and clearer, and are slightly more detailed as well. I never found the DT880's particularly detailed, at least not in a comparison to something like HD650 or K701. DT990's do have more bass and treble than the DT880's, but that's not bad. I think they take the DT880's, keep all the good parts of it, and upgrade them to a higher level, plus add a bit of bass weight and a bit more detail in the highs.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

 
 
Hmmm...having the DT770 80, DT880 600's and DT990 Pro's, I would not agree. I would say that their model ranking is quite precise. DT770 < DT880 < DT990. Despite someones personal preference of a sound signature, in a direct comparison between the DT880 and DT990, it is clear to me that DT990 are technically superior in virtually every way. They have a bigger soundstage, a more airy sound that is fuller at the same time, which leads to having better sound separation. The overall sound resolution on the DT990's also seems slightly better, they sound cleaner and clearer, and are slightly more detailed as well. I never found the DT880's particularly detailed, at least not in a comparison to something like HD650 or K701. DT990's do have more bass and treble than the DT880's, but that's not bad. I think they take the DT880's, keep all the good parts of it, and upgrade them to a higher level, plus add a bit of bass weight and a bit more detail in the highs.

I'm going to have to agree with the other guy on this one. The DT 990s give a false sense of greater detail/resolution due to its relative treble emphasis. The actual resolving capabilities of the two are roughly the same.
 
I do think the DT 770 doesn't compare well to either of them, though.
 
Just my two cents.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

I'm going to have to agree with the other guy on this one. The DT 990s give a false sense of greater detail/resolution due to its relative treble emphasis. The actual resolving capabilities of the two are roughly the same.
 
I do think the DT 770 doesn't compare well to either of them, though.
 
Just my two cents.

 
Well, still the DT990 give out more detail and nuances in a clearer fashion, it doesn't really matter WHY they do it. Of course they do it because of a different frequency response, and of course its a false sense of greater resolution. I do agree that DT770 doesn't really compare. It's clearly a headphone from a league below compared to the other two.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Well, still the DT990 give out more detail and nuances in a clearer fashion, it doesn't really matter WHY they do it. Of course they do it because of a different frequency response, and of course its a false sense of greater resolution.

That's a difference in presentation, not technical superiority.

 

[luiscasgt]

Hi all, I recently got some DT880 600ohm cans and was wondering if anyone has paired this headphones with a Bravo Audio V2 amp?
Also, do you guys know if the Schiit Magni can drive these cans and be enjoyed at their full potential?

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 
 
Hmmm...having the DT770 80, DT880 600's and DT990 Pro's, I would not agree. I would say that their model ranking is quite precise. DT770 < DT880 < DT990. Despite someones personal preference of a sound signature, in a direct comparison between the DT880 and DT990, it is clear to me that DT990 are technically superior in virtually every way. They have a bigger soundstage, a more airy sound that is fuller at the same time, which leads to having better sound separation. The overall sound resolution on the DT990's also seems slightly better, they sound cleaner and clearer, and are slightly more detailed as well. I never found the DT880's particularly detailed, at least not in a comparison to something like HD650 or K701. DT990's do have more bass and treble than the DT880's, but that's not bad. I think they take the DT880's, keep all the good parts of it, and upgrade them to a higher level, plus add a bit of bass weight and a bit more detail in the highs.

 
If you took the 880 and added bass and treble you might end up with something like the 990, but that wouldn't make it a better headphone. A "better" headphone, in the strict, non-subjective sense, is one that more accurately reproduces the original sound--without false emphasis. Of course you'll get a punchier, more dynamic sound from a phone with exaggerated bass, just as you'll get more apparent detail with one that has a treble emphasis, but by true hi-fi  standards that's not better but worse. Of course that doesn't mean you're not allowed to prefer the 990, and many do, but to claim it's technically superior because its bass and treble emphasis gives it greater punch or makes it sound "airier" or more detailed is off the mark.

 

[shane55]

Quote:

 
If you took the 880 and added bass and treble you might end up with something like the 990, but that wouldn't make it a better headphone. A "better" headphone, in the strict, non-subjective sense, is one that more accurately reproduces the original sound--without false emphasis. Of course you'll get a punchier, more dynamic sound from a phone with exaggerated bass, just as you'll get more apparent detail with one that has a treble emphasis, but by true hi-fi  standards that's not better but worse. Of course that doesn't mean you're not allowed to prefer the 990, and many do, but to claim it's technically superior because its bass and treble emphasis gives it greater punch or makes it sound "airier" or more detailed is off the mark.

 
I couldn't agree more.
Greater emphasis on the highs from the 880 would blow me out of the water... the 880 has got quite enough, thank you. I rarely wear my 880's any more, and had been thinking of selling them, mainly because of how overly bright they are.
Fortunately I purchased a DAC with filters that make the 880 sound better than I could have imagined (other than by EQ). It has a couple with a nice roll-off in the highs, starting at about 2-3k. 

 

[GaryPham]

Quote:

Hi all, I recently got some DT880 600ohm cans and was wondering if anyone has paired this headphones with a Bravo Audio V2 amp?
Also, do you guys know if the Schiit Magni can drive these cans and be enjoyed at their full potential?

 
I'm currently running my DT880s 600ohm with Magni Modi setup and couldn't be happier.  The Magni has more than enough power (the knob is usually at around 40% for good listening levels).

 

[jrhill]

Shane,
    You can easily roll off the tops of your 880's by adding a simple Zobel filter (R-C network) directly across the socket or across the headphone terminals inside each cup.
If you use the same resistance as the 'phones, just select cap for the frequency attenuation that suits your hearing - fairly straight forward, maybe not audiophile correct but quite effective - not sure of the effects with a 32 Ohm version as the halving of the impedance at higher freq may produce trouble with some amps..

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

 
I couldn't agree more.
Greater emphasis on the highs from the 880 would blow me out of the water... the 880 has got quite enough, thank you. I rarely wear my 880's any more, and had been thinking of selling them, mainly because of how overly bright they are.
Fortunately I purchased a DAC with filters that make the 880 sound better than I could have imagined (other than by EQ). It has a couple with a nice roll-off in the highs, starting at about 2-3k. 

 
 
The funny thing is, DT880's sound more bright than DT990's. 990's sound smoother and fuller  IMHO.  Vocals sound fuller, especially male ones, there's more meat to the sound, and it definitely doesn't sound brighter than DT880. It's weird, but the highs on 990's are not higher in volume, they're just more present...or to put it better, more separated from rest of the sound than on the DT880's, so they're easier to hear and they seem more detailed.  They don't seem more detailed because the headphone sounds brighter. If any of the two sounds bright and thin, its the DT880 (even though I don't find it thin and bright, but thinner and brighter than DT990 definitely).  Those frequency graphs where DT990's has a peak at 10k higher than the DT880 don't show the full picture. Anyway, up there at 10k there aren't any real solid sounds anyway, its just details that add to the overall sense of clarity of the sound.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

The funny thing is, DT880's sound more bright than DT990's. 990's sound smoother and fuller  IMHO.  Vocals sound fuller, especially male ones, there's more meat to the sound, and it definitely doesn't sound brighter than DT880. It's weird, but the highs on 990's are not higher in volume, they're just more present...or to put it better, more separate from rest of the sound than on the DT880's, where everything is less separated. 

What I hear between them completely contradicts this, but I'll chalk that up to different hearing.
 
Beyerdynamics sound very weird to me anyway.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

 
 
The funny thing is, DT880's sound more bright than DT990's. 990's sound smoother and fuller  IMHO.  Vocals sound fuller, especially male ones, there's more meat to the sound, and it definitely doesn't sound brighter than DT880. It's weird, but the highs on 990's are not higher in volume, they're just more present...or to put it better, more separated from rest of the sound than on the DT880's, so they're easier to hear and they seem more detailed.  They don't seem more detailed because the headphone sounds brighter. If any of the two sounds bright and thin, its the DT880 (even though I don't find it thin and bright, but thinner and brighter than DT990 definitely).  Those frequency graphs where DT990's has a peak at 10k higher than the DT880 don't show the full picture. Anyway, up there at 10k there aren't any real solid sounds anyway, its just details that add to the overall sense of clarity of the sound.

Doesn't match my experience with DT990 at all, I do agree that all Beyers are somewhat bright, with DT880 600 Ohm is probably the smoothest out of the bunch.
But anyhow this is DT880 thread why DT990 came up?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Doesn't match my experience with DT990 at all, I do agree that all Beyers are somewhat bright, with DT880 600 Ohm is probably the smoothest out of the bunch.
But anyhow this is DT880 thread why DT990 came up?

It seems that our fellow here wants to rewrite the three old kings as HD 650, K701 and DT 990 instead of HD 650, K701 and DT 880 as we all know it to be.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

It seems that our fellow here wants to rewrite the three old kings as HD 650, K701 and DT 990 instead of HD 650, K701 and DT 880 as we all know it to be.

 
 
Own all 4 of them, and yes, I'd say that DT990's is more fitting for the company than the DT880. Just because its a fully opened headphone. DT880's doesn't really compare with K701 and HD650 in terms of soundstage and sound openness. I like the headphone, its one of my favorite all rounders, but I truly think that DT990 is a better headphone. It might be due to my personal taste, but I still haven't found a single song that I'd rather listen to on the DT880 than on the DT990. Slightly more bass than DT990 have, and it really is slightly more, doesn't mess with the sound at all.  Again, its better separated from the rest of the sound than on the DT880.  I'm talking about the DT990 Pro 250 Ohm btw.

 

[MrEleventy]

The funny thing is, DT880's sound more bright than DT990's. 990's sound smoother and fuller  IMHO.  Vocals sound fuller, especially male ones, there's more meat to the sound, and it definitely doesn't sound brighter than DT880. It's weird, but the highs on 990's are not higher in volume, they're just more present...or to put it better, more separated from rest of the sound than on the DT880's, so they're easier to hear and they seem more detailed.  They don't seem more detailed because the headphone sounds brighter. If any of the two sounds bright and thin, its the DT880 (even though I don't find it thin and bright, but thinner and brighter than DT990 definitely).  Those frequency graphs where DT990's has a peak at 10k higher than the DT880 don't show the full picture. Anyway, up there at 10k there aren't any real solid sounds anyway, its just details that add to the overall sense of clarity of the sound.

Having owned and heard DT880 & 990s, both 600 ohms, I'll have to disagree as well. When ABing, I can't volume match the 990s to the 880s. I had to listen first on the 990s and then pot up 880s. Otherwise, the treble spike would drive and ice pick into my ears. And because I had to match the 990s where the spike doesn't hit as often, the 880s had "closer" mids and lower lows and highs. They just sounded better overall on the 880s and I didn't have to worry about that nasty icepick. In the end, 990s got sold off. The bass was definitely fun to listen to but I couldn't take the highs. There's entire albums that I had to avoid when I had them on.