[Chris J]

I also have a pair of 600 Ohm DT880s.

I can use them with my little FiiO E17 headphone amp, but I need to turn the volume up.
I guess you need to turn the volume fairly high on the laptop to use your DT880s?

As a rule of thumb, you need to turn the volume up higher with the 600 Ohm versions and turn the volume down lower with the 32 Ohm versions.
This is because the 600 Ohm versions need a bit more voltage (but a bit less current)
And the 32 Ohm versions need a bit less voltage and a bit more current to drive.

When we turn the volume up and down we are actually increasing and decreasing the amount of voltage outputted by the headphone amp.
Current is proportional to impedance, the higher the impedance the lower the current required by the phones.
The lower the impedance, the more current required by the phones.

But current is also proportional to voltage, as we turn the volume up, either phones will pull more current.

BTW, I've also tried my 600 Ohm DT880s with my iPad.
The volume never gets too loud, but the 'phones sound good with an iPad.
I certainly wouldn't recommend buying 600 Ohm 'phones for an IPad, but they do work.
Truth is, I wouldn't buy good headphones for an iPod or iPad anyway!

 

[jay628]

does the 880 250 ohm pairs well with the schiit magni?

 

[devhen]

Four Tet's latest album "Beautiful Rewind" sounds bloody brilliant on the 880s. Highly recommended if you're into that genre.

 

[L0rd Log1c]

  does the 880 250 ohm pairs well with the schiit magni?

I have read several opinions in this thread that say they pair well. It is the reason I ordered them with my 600 Ohms. But don't take my word on it, the forum search function should point to some threads made by people asking the very same question. The ones answering are some experienced members.

 

[Sonic Defender]

The 880s 600ohm version are not very sensitive, and this in combination with their impedance makes them somewhat difficult to drive. My experience was that with my Auditor that provides plenty of voltage I had to turn the volume up significantly, virtually full for older quiet recordings and certainly well past the mid-point for even hot mastered, modern recordings. Ultimately that was a reason I let my 880s go as I did not feel comfortable having to have the amp at that level constantly. I do know that I listen to music louder than most people I have met, but with my much more sensitive D7000 I find even the mid point to be very loud.
 
Here is a link to an old thread that I think is quite useful http://www.head-fi.org/t/17179/please-explain-headphone-sensitivity

 

[jay628]

does the magni amp consider "warm"? I just bought a dt 880 250 ohm, the retailer said it was the 2005 edition, what does that mean? 

 

[MrEleventy]

does the 880 250 ohm pairs well with the schiit magni?

does the magni amp consider "warm"? I just bought a dt 880 250 ohm, the retailer said it was the 2005 edition, what does that mean? 

No, the Magni isn't close to being warm. When I had the Magni I didn't like the pairing with any of my Beyer cans because they were a little to bright and cold for my taste.

I also have a pair of 600 Ohm DT880s.

I can use them with my little FiiO E17 headphone amp, but I need to turn the volume up.
I guess you need to turn the volume fairly high on the laptop to use your DT880s?

As a rule of thumb, you need to turn the volume up higher with the 600 Ohm versions and turn the volume down lower with the 32 Ohm versions.
This is because the 600 Ohm versions need a bit more voltage (but a bit less current)
And the 32 Ohm versions need a bit less voltage and a bit more current to drive.

When we turn the volume up and down we are actually increasing and decreasing the amount of voltage outputted by the headphone amp.
Current is proportional to impedance, the higher the impedance the lower the current required by the phones.
The lower the impedance, the more current required by the phones.

But current is also proportional to voltage, as we turn the volume up, either phones will pull more current.

BTW, I've also tried my 600 Ohm DT880s with my iPad.
The volume never gets too loud, but the 'phones sound good with an iPad.
I certainly wouldn't recommend buying 600 Ohm 'phones for an IPad, but they do work.
Truth is, I wouldn't buy good headphones for an iPod or iPad anyway!

I tried it directly out of my Galaxy S3, It was just acceptably loud enough maxed out and that was in a quiet room. Any kind of external noise can disrupt your listening. Definitely not recommended unless you live out in the country by yourself.

 

[musicmaker]

I was fortunate to get a pair of j$ pads brand new. Just put them on my DT880/250 ohm version. Never knew pad rolling can make such a big positive difference. The stock velours are very good but the new leather pads are fantastic. Seems to have smoothened the treble a tad and brought out that great bass while still keeping that comfort and detailed sound. I'll be keeping these for a long time...

 

[cakebreaker]

  does the 880 250 ohm pairs well with the schiit magni?

 I think it will work better with Vali. A few more $$ and you're in heaven Think about it!

 

[dahoo]

  does the 880 250 ohm pairs well with the schiit magni?

 
Magni to me is anything but warm so it doesn't pair well with dt880, even though magni has enough voltage to drive it. 
I am using beyerdynamic A1 to drive dt880 600ohm and it adds juice in dt880's mid range and punch to the bass.

 

[knightboy140]

  I was fortunate to get a pair of j$ pads brand new. Just put them on my DT880/250 ohm version. Never knew pad rolling can make such a big positive difference. The stock velours are very good but the new leather pads are fantastic. Seems to have smoothened the treble a tad and brought out that great bass while still keeping that comfort and detailed sound. I'll be keeping these for a long time...

where exactly can I order J$ pads?

 

[TrollDragon]

  where exactly can I order J$ pads?

You can't anymore... In going back through the threads, there was some really poor quality workmanship and horrendous customer support shenanigans. 
You might find a used pair though...

 

[MrEleventy]

where exactly can I order J$ pads?

I have a pair. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Makiah S]

  So, I'm pretty much an audio noob who just bought his first set of headphones and I seem to have either misunderstood something or I've been scammed.

The thing is, I bought a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ohm headphones and ordered a Schiit Magni + Modi at the same time. Now the headphones arrived a few days ago while the company that imports the Schiit stuff is still processing my order, so I thought my 600Ohm headphones would be useless until then.

Of course I couldn't resist trying them on and just plugging them into my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad E520) just to see what would happen if I tried listening to stuff without an amp and how impedance would effect the experience. Now, from what I read online (mainly here) about 600Ohm impedance I expected to hear nothing or a very soft sound at best, but to my surprise they worked just fine... Even when plugged into my old MP3-Player the only complaint I have is that the sound is a bit distorted, I believe some cheap Sennheiser headphones I have sound less loud than the DT880's do at full volume.

I immediately thought they send me the wrong version of the DT880's, but the box says '600 Ohm' everywhere. There is even a big silver "600 Ω VERSION AUDIOPHILE MODEL' sticker on the box. Then I checked the headphone-jack and there is definitively '600 Ω' engraved in there.
 
Someone thought it might be because the DT880 are fairly sensitive (96dB SPL), even though they have a high impedance. he said this causes them to only need around 0.4mW or 0.489V to drive them to 90dB or 12.58mW and 2.74V to drive them to 105dB, which isn't that much. Could this really be the answer?

tl;dr: My 600 Ohm DT880's sound just fine even when plugged into my laptop audio-port or old-as-F Sony MP3-player.

So now my question: Is this very strange and have I been cheated somehow or am I just a huge noob who doesn't get impedance?

Thank you in advance for putting up with my audio-noobness.

 
 

I have a pair. PM me if you're interested.

You have my pair and your already RE selling them :O... truth b told I might buy them back off you, for my D2k 

 

[MrEleventy]

You have my pair and your already RE selling them :O... truth b told I might buy them back off you, for my D2k 

Yeah, lol. For me, it's not as comfy as the velours. They feel smaller and it gets hot so I end up taking breaks more frequently.