[Chris J]

It's just my personal experience with them. I find the HD 650 smoother than the DT 880, but not the HD 600.

No problem, seems we all hear differently.

I am often surprised when someone asserts that the DT880 is brighter than the Q701, personally, I just don't hear it that way.

 

[rovopio]

No problem, seems we all hear differently.

I am often surprised when someone asserts that the DT880 is brighter than the Q701, personally, I just don't hear it that way.

 
probably because of their 6-9khz peaks.
or because they feel like a closed headphone when you wear them...

 

[CADCAM]

   
Wow!
I found the HD600 to be a smoother sounding can than the DT880.
It's just my opinion......YMMV

I have both and would have to agree with you.

 

[Chris J]

   
probably because of their 6-9khz peaks.
or because they feel like a closed headphone when you wear them...

 
probably just a difference in opinion! 

 

[kman1211]

No problem, seems we all hear differently.

I am often surprised when someone asserts that the DT880 is brighter than the Q701, personally, I just don't hear it that way.

I think that is true. People are sensitive to different regions of the sound. Well the DT 880 and Q701 are bright in different ways as they have different emphases in the upper regions with the DT 880 being more of a mid-upper treble emphasis and the Q701 more of a upper midrange and lower treble emphasis so I can easily understand why one will say one is brighter than the other. I do find the DT 880 brighter than the HD 600, it's just I find the HD 600 kind of rough sounding compared to the DT 880. The HD 600 is simply not a good match for my ears I realized, at least on my system, I bet on other amps I would love them. 

 

[xtroria]

It's just that after reading so many reviews saying how DT880 sounds extremely clear and detailed with sparkly highs, I put them on my head with the perception it'll sound more similiar to AKG Q701
 
Pressed play, I heard more bass compared to HD600 which is a welcoming change, but the mid range feels a bit thin. I agree that HD600 can sound a bit rough for some people, but it's just that i happen to like a more forward mid 

 
Originally I bought the DT880 with the thought of comparing it with HD600 and keep the one i like more. After 2 days, I think I'll keep them both as each of them has characters which I like

 

[Chris J]

It's just that after reading so many reviews saying how DT880 sounds extremely clear and detailed with sparkly highs, I put them on my head with the perception it'll sound more similiar to AKG Q701

Pressed play, I heard more bass compared to HD600 which is a welcoming change, but the mid range feels a bit thin. I agree that HD600 can sound a bit rough for some people, but it's just that i happen to like a more forward mid 

Originally I bought the DT880 with the thought of comparing it with HD600 and keep the one i like more. After 2 days, I think I'll keep them both as each of them has characters which I like

The DT880 and Q701 sound qute different, don't they?
I sold my DT880 because I came to same conclusion as you: the midrange felt a bit thin.

 

[Koolpep]

The DT880 and Q701 sound qute different, don't they?
I sold my DT880 because I came to same conclusion as you: the midrange felt a bit thin.

Funny, I am probably as well the odd one out but I sold my DT880 Premium as well as my Q701 both really didn't "talked to me" the way other headphones did. I am though still smitten by the T90 and love it to bits and I also keep my DT770 LE but the 880 nope, wasn't for me (or the music I am listening to).
 
Cheers,
K

 

[i luvmusic 2]

I think depends on the amp too.......

 

[Koolpep]

Yep for sure it depends on the amp. 
 
I have listened to the DT880 with Schiit Asgard, Valhalla, Aune T1 Mk2, Bottlehead Crack (with Speedball), nuforce icon HDP, Audioengine D3 etc.
I came to the conclusion that it's just not the signature I am happy with.
 
Cheers,
K

 

[Chris J]

Yep for sure it depends on the amp. 

I have listened to the DT880 with Schiit Asgard, Valhalla, Aune T1 Mk2, Bottlehead Crack (with Speedball), nuforce icon HDP, Audioengine D3 etc.
I came to the conclusion that it's just not the signature I am happy with.

Cheers,
K

I came to the same conclusion, the DT880 sound signature didn't "talk" to me the way my Stax SRS-2170 or Q701 does.
But, the objective part of my brain still believes the DT880 is a damn good headphone and deserving of it's following.

 

[Koolpep]

I came to the same conclusion, the DT880 sound signature didn't "talk" to me the way my Stax SRS-2170 or Q701 does.
But, the objective part of my brain still believes the DT880 is a damn good headphone and deserving of it's following.

 
100% agree - amazing headphone. build, comfort and sound.

 

[Argyris]

Kind of how I felt about the HP50. Apart from a bit of upper bass/lower midrange bloom, and a lack of upper end air, it was a technically impressive headphone, all the more so because it was closed back. But I found myself just sitting there, not really getting into the music. It reminded me a lot of my experience with the M50 that way. Both eventually moved on.
 
More than anything, it's personal preference. It's one of the reasons I bristle a little bit when somebody who clearly doesn't like the fundamental character of a headphone gets recommendations to try different upstream equipment. No (properly functioning) amp is going to, say, turn a DT880 into a bass monster, or any other similarly extreme transformation, much like putting a different kind of topping on a chocolate cake won't turn it into vanilla if you don't like chocolate. But if you do like chocolate, but want to mellow the flavor out just a bit, you can put vanilla icing on. That's where system management comes in. But some people just don't like chocolate, and at that point it's time to swap cakes.

 

[wahsmoh]

I came to the same conclusion, the DT880 sound signature didn't "talk" to me the way my Stax SRS-2170 or Q701 does.
But, the objective part of my brain still believes the DT880 is a damn good headphone and deserving of it's following.

I agree with this statement. DT880s are good for me to wear when it is raining because they alter the way I perceive the sound and change the mood when I can hear rain coming down in the background. Alpha Dogs are what I wear 90% of the time because they are neutral just like the DT880 but offer more detail retrieval and better imaging. When I say imaging I usually include terms like microdetails, faint resonance of vocals and instruments, capturing the "air" of the studio, and realism. The Alpha Dog is simply better than the DT880 in all of those regards but I think that is the planar vs. dynamic situation because I have yet to find a dynamic that I think is as good as the best planars and electrostats (not a fan of the stock* HD800 either)
 
EDIT: Here is a song that makes most headphones "wash out" or lose focus or details in the lower midrange because of so many sounds filling up the space. It got the best of the DT880 though. Also the quality is not very shabby on Youtube, I am listening to the album in CD format converted to FLAC which makes a big difference
Phoenix
 
EDIT2: another difficult song for headphones to reproduce... tons of energy and sounds moving around(CD quality)
Rage Against the Machine

 

[pp312]

  No (properly functioning) amp is going to, say, turn a DT880 into a bass monster, or any other similarly extreme transformation, much like putting a different kind of topping on a chocolate cake won't turn it into vanilla if you don't like chocolate. But if you do like chocolate, but want to mellow the flavor out just a bit, you can put vanilla icing on. That's where system management comes in. But some people just don't like chocolate, and at that point it's time to swap cakes.

 
That's a most delicious opinion; I'm actually salivating. Also spot on. I do wish more posters recognised this simple fact and stopped making 'subtle change' amp and source solutions to people who clearly just hate the sound of their headphones top to bottom.