The Beyerdynamic DT880 Discussion thread

[stang]

Quote:

Now... I'm reluctant to try the DT880/600 because of the fluctuating opinions back and fourth regarding its brightness and ear piercing highs. 
   

haha. I actually consider the DT880 600ohm as a relatively warm sounding headphone. My HF-2? Not even close. Very shrill to my ears (unlistenable after coming from the DT880). 

 

[dukja]

DAC is never intended to "EQ' the sound.  On the other hand, all your gears will EQ the final sound you hear at various degree, but that is not the point of discussion.  Actually most people will hear the difference on headphone first, and then amp, and then DAC.  Certainly, some will claim differently.  To me, the difference on DAC maybe initially subtle but once you get it you will not want to go back to the lesser one.  Soundstage, focusing, clarity, source definition, bass quality seems to be more DAC related.
 
I am not trying to say DAC is your problem.  I just happened to have one incidence that a highly praised DAC put me off so quickly due to the almost "ear piercing" sound: it was a very edgy, digitized, and rough sound.  I have to sell it as quick as I can.  That shows how critical a DAC could be.  DT880 have never sounded "bright" or "ear piercing" to me at all when mated with proper gears.  And I have three of them and have not found one to change my mind yet. 

 
Quote:

I'm just using the Apple Airport Express DAC, which I personally like better than the output of my Ipod Touch 3G.  A proper DAC is definitely next on the list, but dang this is starting to all add up.  I've been told by many to not use a DAC to "eq" the sound as that is not what they typically do well.  Your comment seems to imply otherwise.  I thought part of the whole point of a DAC is to put every part of the audio frequency exactly where it belongs, with very little distortion, and with as much clarity as possible.  I guess I'll need to start the whole DAC research thing. 

 

[shane55]

Quote:

3 x 701 + 601

Ah ha! Thought it was a black 701.  

 

[Stevtt]

I just picked up a pair of these recabled with a Moon Black Dragon and these things are good!

 

[pentosin]

Im finding my DT770 pro 80ohm a little bass heavy, ive been reading throught the entier thread now and i do soooo want the 880/600!
Do you have any input on the 880/600 Essence stx combo? i wont be buying any amp, just stick with my stx.
Not shure when i will be able to afford the 880 tho... hopefully not to long of a wait.
 
Really tempted to go for the full shebang, rewired and customized when i make the jump...
 
Edit: You also made me paranoid so i measured my DT770: 86.1ohm and 86.2/3ohm... phew

 

[maruzen]

i used to "amp" my dt880 with just the asus xonar d2 soundcard, a lesser version of your essence stx, and the sound was pretty acceptable, just a bit less detail and soundstage in my ears compared to amping them up with the little dot mk2 with ef92 driver tubes. so i guess your card will have better results with the dt880 

 
most would suggest a proper desktop amp with tubes. however, my audio-gd solid state amp has better sound with these beyers. YMMV of course!
 
hope you can chime in your impressions with the dt880 and the essence stx!
 
Quote:

Im finding my DT770 pro 80ohm a little bass heavy, ive been reading throught the entier thread now and i do soooo want the 880/600!
Do you have any input on the 880/600 Essence stx combo? i wont be buying any amp, just stick with my stx.
Not shure when i will be able to afford the 880 tho... hopefully not to long of a wait.
 
Really tempted to go for the full shebang, rewired and customized when i make the jump...
 
Edit: You also made me paranoid so i measured my DT770: 86.1ohm and 86.2/3ohm... phew

 

[coryloew]

Thought I'd update again after my listening session last night.  I think I'm finally starting to get it.  The DT880 600ohmer's are definitely more of a "hear it, not feel it" type of can.  I definitely hear all of the bass notes in perfect clarity, there is just no slam or impact to them.  The problem I have been having may have more to do with the type of music that I've been listening to lately.  I've been on more of a metal and rock kick for the last few weeks.  For my ears, these are not good metal cans.  I switched to my lowly Grado SR-60's for a while and my gosh did those sound and feel great.  I've also done the electrical tape mod to the Grado bowl pads, which has slightly more bass than stock.  Typically metal has a lot of distortion and non-stop cymbals, which played through the DT880 cans were proving to have way too much treble, and without any of the low end slam to balance it all.  But, metal NEEDS to be felt in order to be enjoyable!!  So, Grado's it is for my metal and rock sessions.
 
Now, switching to less head-banging genres is a completely different story.  Acoustic guitar, classical guitar, female vocals, celtic, etc. are all ridiculously incredible sounding with the DT880's...in fact putting the Grado SR-60's to shame.  These genres of music don't typically require that slamming lower-end feel.  I'm no longer noticing highs that are too high with these other genres.  As well, the odd time that there actually is a bass note in these types of genres, it is given to me in perfect accuracy.  Maybe this is a good thing in the end.  Interesting.  I thought the DT880's would do every style of music better than my Grados.  Guess not.  Wait a minute...I'm getting sucked in to this whole head-fi thing.  Before you know it, I'll be posting my multiple cans, multiple DACs, multiple sources, etc. that are in my arsenal. 
 
Anyway, thought I'd update so that I'm not giving a false impression of my overall setup.  To reiterate, these cans are absolutely superb!!

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

The DT880 600ohmer's are definitely more of a "hear it, not feel it" type of can.  I definitely hear all of the bass notes in perfect clarity, there is just no slam or impact to them. 

Hence NoXter's "closed back" mod (see sig).

 

[dlaloum]

 
Hi Folks

 

I have a set of early/mid 80's Revox 3100 headphones (DT880pro OEM) on their way to  me from flee bay.

 

They definitely need new pads... so my question is... which of the available pads will sound most "original" and which will sound best .... (and why)... I was once familiar with them as I used to sell them new in those days..... but my sonic memory isn't up to a 25 year break!

 

 

From what I can find online and on Head-Fi - the options are:

• Beyer Grey Velour 880/990
• Beyer Black Velour 880/990
• Beyer Black pleather 770
• Beyer Black pleather aeronautical
• Jmoney Leather
• German Maestro 41-6051 pleather
• no name from http://stores.ebay.com.au/15shopgoods

 

Also some notes:

Reviews of the aeronautical have stated poor SQ results - the JMoney have good results, they are similar in materials but the JMoney pads are thinner (thickness) and perforated at the back (these were all with current/recent DT880's - not from 1980's)

 

Photos of the German Maestro pads are not definite as to whether the back surface is porous (similar to perforated) - although they do show a single perforation on the bottom (may be semi sealed with the one perforation?)

 

The China based ebay store seems to be advertising leather or pleather http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350323949159&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2358wt_1027

Back side is not shown so it is not clear whether the back surface is perforated.

 

The original Beyer velour pads are perforated on the rear.

 

The perforations seem to be important to sound quality... at least with recent generation DT880's

 

I have no idea whether the original DT880pro's had perforated or sealed pads (maybe someone could check?)

 

Any advice would be much appreciated - I would like to start out listening to these babies in as original a form as possible.... then I may consider modding if and only if I am dissatisfied... (I remember them being fantastic - and in many ways on a par to the Quad Electrostatic speakers I used to sell - and that I later owned for 15 years)

 

thank you

 

[Ultrainferno]

Does anyone have any experience with the DT880/990~600 and the Darkvoice 3322?
Would that be agood match?
 
Thanks!

 

[Sganzerla]

 Now after more than 200 hours I think the mids are opening a bit and sounding a little less fuzzy - I tought burn in wasn't an issue, but...
 Right now, trough Starving Student, I'm pretty confident this headphone is nothing like K701 (the same tought I had when got it right out of the box).

 

[Zombie_X]

Hey guys,
 
I was slapping on a new cable on my friends DT880/600Ohm and noticed his does not have the resistors, though the multimeter measure's 611Ohms on both drivers. I also noticed it sounds slightly different from mine.
 
Mine has a wider soundstage with smother highs and fuller mids. Bass is about the same between both models. The treble on his is slightly more pronounced as well.
 
EDIT: I also noticed it had 32Ohms stamped on the cable entry jacket on the left headphone, but it's not 32Ohms. Lots of mistakes from beyer as this one is also a Manufaktur version as well.
 
Here's a picture of his driver.
 

 

[apatN]

Indeed a bit different. Considering that the drivers are the same Beyer must have messed up with QC.
 
I think the difference between your DT880 and your friends is burn-in. Also, those things are not resistors but diodes.

 

[dukja]

Could any of DT880/600ohm owner either share or point us to the photo of driver with diode/resistor (whatever that is

) and we can tell the difference?
 
Thanks!

 

[shane55]

Quote:

Indeed a bit different. Considering that the drivers are the same Beyer must have messed up with QC.
 
I think the difference between your DT880 and your friends is burn-in. Also, those things are not resistors but diodes.

Hmmm....
So then, why (other than QC issues) would one have the diodes and others not?