[rovopio]

 
I agree with you though Bill that at $250-300 the DT880 is the more well-rounded headphone especially for people who want their first taste of what headphones have to offer. You are right though that the DT880 is more suitable for certain types of music, especially classical and airy vocals like Bjork or Cocteau Twins.
 
Spending $600 is quite a bit of money for a new Head-fier. That would take the AD's out of the picture for most people. Getting the DT880 + a DAC/amp combo is something I lived with for nearly two years and still haven't wanted to sell my DT880s.

 
dt880 is something that people that prefers accuracy and neutrality feels a little fond of, well, maybe until they try T1 according to people's posts. I just bought he-400i. That renders the dt880 moot to be honest. But i'm still holding off on selling my dt880 because, while he-400i does some things better than dt880, and for me personally since i seek more forward mids and he-400i does that better than dt880, the dt880 is moot. Not to mention, at my current situation, I don't really need 3 headphones
 
But the dt880 neutrality, tight controlled bass, and upper treble information is really something that is not easy to be found on a sub-$500 headphone. Well, maybe the hd600. but that's it.
i really need to recoup my loss from getting the he-400i at a premium, so selling my dt880 is a must. But i have a strong feeling that letting it go would be a mistake that i might regret.
Because he-400i noticably lacks air compared to dt880 and so it affects it's timbre and decay, and thus affecting how realistic something sounds. It's not bad, it's just diferent i guess.
 
Though on a different note, i really can't wear dt880 for more than 30 minutes without my inner ear physically hurting. But that's not dt880 fault though. one of my ear just so happen to have high frequency sensitivity. And i don't know why but, maybe peaks at ~9khz hurts me the most. I'm shooting in the dark here but basically, while grado prestige series has more attack, and comparatively brighter, the dt880 hurts my inner ear more. Or maybe because it's semi-open, as my ear are also hurt from listening to Alpha Dogs.
 
idk, basically, dt880 is quite a special headphone. Now if only it has a little more forward or colored midrange, i would personally not need any other headphone on the sub $500 range. (other than my main headphone that only cost $140)...

 

[Me x3]

  Though on a different note, i really can't wear dt880 for more than 30 minutes without my inner ear physically hurting. But that's not dt880 fault though. one of my ear just so happen to have high frequency sensitivity. And i don't know why but, maybe peaks at ~9khz hurts me the most. I'm shooting in the dark here but basically, while grado prestige series has more attack, and comparatively brighter, the dt880 hurts my inner ear more. Or maybe because it's semi-open, as my ear are also hurt from listening to Alpha Dogs.

 
Do you normally listen to music at high volume levels?
 
Recording quality plays an important role here as well.
Most modern pop/mainstream stuff tend to sound over bright through neutralish systems.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

I truly believe that the velour pads steal a lot of information from the 880. I am still on a quest to finding pads with the right balance for me. The velour steals bass and emphasizes treble for me. They still sound great, but can be fatiguing as some describe. I've experimented with sealing the outside of the pads, but then the bass overpowers and looses texture, and treble got muddy. Again, there is a lot coming out of those drivers that is missing. IMHO.

 

[rovopio]

   
Do you normally listen to music at high volume levels?
 
Recording quality plays an important role here as well.
Most modern pop/mainstream stuff tend to sound over bright through neutralish systems.

 
not exactly no. i listen on a lower than average level.

 

[wahsmoh]

   
dt880 is something that people that prefers accuracy and neutrality feels a little fond of, well, maybe until they try T1 according to people's posts. I just bought he-400i. That renders the dt880 moot to be honest. But i'm still holding off on selling my dt880 because, while he-400i does some things better than dt880, and for me personally since i seek more forward mids and he-400i does that better than dt880, the dt880 is moot. Not to mention, at my current situation, I don't really need 3 headphones
 
But the dt880 neutrality, tight controlled bass, and upper treble information is really something that is not easy to be found on a sub-$500 headphone. Well, maybe the hd600. but that's it.
i really need to recoup my loss from getting the he-400i at a premium, so selling my dt880 is a must. But i have a strong feeling that letting it go would be a mistake that i might regret.
Because he-400i noticably lacks air compared to dt880 and so it affects it's timbre and decay, and thus affecting how realistic something sounds. It's not bad, it's just diferent i guess.
 
Though on a different note, i really can't wear dt880 for more than 30 minutes without my inner ear physically hurting. But that's not dt880 fault though. one of my ear just so happen to have high frequency sensitivity. And i don't know why but, maybe peaks at ~9khz hurts me the most. I'm shooting in the dark here but basically, while grado prestige series has more attack, and comparatively brighter, the dt880 hurts my inner ear more. Or maybe because it's semi-open, as my ear are also hurt from listening to Alpha Dogs.
 
idk, basically, dt880 is quite a special headphone. Now if only it has a little more forward or colored midrange, i would personally not need any other headphone on the sub $500 range. (other than my main headphone that only cost $140)...

I agree a slightly more forward midrange and some LCD2 bass is what the DT880 needs

 
 
That's why the Alpha Dog was a comfortable middle ground between the two for me

 

[Mr Head P Hones]

Wow I got these in today the 250ohm  premium . They are great using my ipod line out with a Fiio E12.  very clear bass is good and not over powering. can so40me one recommend a good desk amp for these. Also I have tried the ATH M50x, The AKG K612
Sony MDR IR, Shure srh840.  These are the best  

 

[Mr Rick]

  Wow I got these in today the 250ohm  premium . They are great using my ipod line out with a Fiio E12.  very clear bass is good and not over powering. can so40me one recommend a good desk amp for these. Also I have tried the ATH M50x, The AKG K612
Sony MDR IR, Shure srh840.  These are the best  

I've got the 880 / 600s in the mail.  I'll be using the Schiit Valhalla 2
 
 
http://www.audiobot9000.com/beyerdynamic/h/dt-880-250-ohms

 

[rovopio]

 
I agree a slightly more forward midrange and some LCD2 bass is what the DT880 needs

 
 
That's why the Alpha Dog was a comfortable middle ground between the two for me

 
yeah, i don't think i can wear closed headphone due to my condition, and so i opted to bought he-400i.
Which, up until this moment, i think is a big mistake, due to excessive clamp force. Where excessive is an understatement at this point.

 

[wahsmoh]

   
yeah, i don't think i can wear closed headphone due to my condition, and so i opted to bought he-400i.
Which, up until this moment, i think is a big mistake, due to excessive clamp force. Where excessive is an understatement at this point.

Ouch. I think the DT880 surely passes the test for you though. I forget I am wearing it many times which makes it great for gaming. The Alpha Dog never gives me the sense I am not physically wearing headphones because of the enormous pads that reach to part of my jaw. But it never causes discomfort and I can comfortably wear these for hours like resting on a leather couch

 

[rovopio]

 
Ouch. I think the DT880 surely passes the test for you though. I forget I am wearing it many times which makes it great for gaming. The Alpha Dog never gives me the sense I am not physically wearing headphones because of the enormous pads that reach to part of my jaw. But it never causes discomfort and I can comfortably wear these for hours like resting on a leather couch

 
yeah i have vestibular neurinitis, basically what it does is, my inner ear couldn't stand peaky trebles. like dt880 9khz spike gives me pain on my inner ear. And personally, i want a little more forward midrange. So i went on a journey to find a different headphone on the $400-$500 range. Settled on he-400i because hd650 is too thick for me,  and Alpha Dogs, while perfect, being closed, hurts my inner ear as well.
 
But the clamp force is figuratively like it's trying to kill me. and i wish it's an exaggeration, but it's not. It's literally made me nauseous and gave me headache.
I have zero problem with the weight, but something is a little off with my unit that instead of alleviating the clamp force, the metal headband suspension instead, double the clamp force push to my head.
 
it's ******* strong. i don't know... i have average asian head size, maybe if i have European head size, it will be more comfortable?
i don't know. But then again, Hifiman is chinese company, so that logic doesn't actually make sense on second thought.
 
maybe my unit just a little off..

 

[Chris J]

Wow I got these in today the 250ohm  premium . They are great using my ipod line out with a Fiio E12.  very clear bass is good and not over powering. can so40me one recommend a good desk amp for these. Also I have tried the ATH M50x, The AKG K612
Sony MDR IR, Shure srh840.  These are the best  

The Matrix M Stage is a great desktop headphone amplifier for the DT880.
Just replace the stock Op Amp with an LM4562.
I never liked it with the stock Op Amp.
Or for a taste of tubes try something like the La Figaro 336C.

 

[Allucid]

I find mine to be really smooth but accurate, not honey-sounding like the alpha dogs, but still good. Ever since listening to an AK240 and LCDX my DT880s sound a bit veiled. What they need is a really good amp.

People have this misconception that if you buy the headphone, it instantly sounds better than your old headphone. It is in a way, yeah... But you could amp the Schiit out your current mid fi headphone to the point where it sounds like a $1000 one, and customise the sound doing so. Then, later on you have the best amp setup for any headphone and can get the best sound out of it instantly.

In the grand scheme of things, a headphone is a tire. It can be changed, but the amp is the engine, and a good engine lasts you a long time.

 

[Shaffer]

I find mine to be really smooth but accurate, not honey-sounding like the alpha dogs, but still good. Ever since listening to an AK240 and LCDX my DT880s sound a bit veiled. What they need is a really good amp.

People have this misconception that if you buy the headphone, it instantly sounds better than your old headphone. It is in a way, yeah... But you could amp the Schiit out your current mid fi headphone to the point where it sounds like a $1000 one, and customise the sound doing so. Then, later on you have the best amp setup for any headphone and can get the best sound out of it instantly.

In the grand scheme of things, a headphone is a tire. It can be changed, but the amp is the engine, and a good engine lasts you a long time.

Couldn't agree more.

I come from the home high-performance sector of the market, where the electronics often outweigh the perceived sonic value of the transducers. The headphone gear is a part of my main system, so the ratio of headphone to front end (digital and analog, respectively) is around 1:5 to 1:10. In all honesty, I'm very happy with all the cans I own and feel no need to shoot for a flagship. It seems like a relatively small percentage of quality headphone owners are maxing-out their cans. Unfortunately.

 

[Allucid]

I find mine to be really smooth but accurate, not honey-sounding like the alpha dogs, but still good. Ever since listening to an AK240 and LCDX my DT880s sound a bit veiled. What they need is a really good amp.

People have this misconception that if you buy the headphone, it instantly sounds better than your old headphone. It is in a way, yeah... But you could amp the Schiit out your current mid fi headphone to the point where it sounds like a $1000 one, and customise the sound doing so. Then, later on you have the best amp setup for any headphone and can get the best sound out of it instantly.

In the grand scheme of things, a headphone is a tire. It can be changed, but the amp is the engine, and a good engine lasts you a long time.

Couldn't agree more.

I come from the home high-performance sector of the market, where the electronics often outweigh the perceived sonic value of the transducers. The headphone gear is a part of my main system, so the ratio of headphone to front end (digital and analog, respectively) is around 1:5 to 1:10. In all honesty, I'm very happy with all the cans I own and feel no need to shoot for a flagship. It seems like a relatively small percentage of quality headphone owners are maxing-out their cans. Unfortunately.

I'm going to drop $800 on the best DAC and amp I can find, and a DAC signal cleaner just to be sure. I'll keep my DT880 (I actually found it better than any other Beyer besides the T1) and sit on it for a bit, then go for something like the Audeze. The LC2... Holy crap. I can't imagine the sound of it out of a good amp. But the Beyer sound is so good, and the T1 spoiled it in favour of neutrality. Hopefully this new stack can smash any flagship so I can stop spending money on audio, haha.

 

[wahsmoh]

I'm going to drop $800 on the best DAC and amp I can find, and a DAC signal cleaner just to be sure. I'll keep my DT880 (I actually found it better than any other Beyer besides the T1) and sit on it for a bit, then go for something like the Audeze. The LC2... Holy crap. I can't imagine the sound of it out of a good amp. But the Beyer sound is so good, and the T1 spoiled it in favour of neutrality. Hopefully this new stack can smash any flagship so I can stop spending money on audio, haha.

What I've learned is that with most tracks from this genre (rock, pop, 80s synthpop, gospel, classical) the DT880s are more than worthy in the presence of the Alpha Dog if not equal. It's just when I play music like DnB, hip-hop, EDM, dubstep, reggae, and anything that needs a serious kick in the bass department the DT880 becomes noticeably sluggish by comparison. The DT880 still has great extension and texture it just lacks impact and control that planars in general deliver.