[kman1211]

  Thanks. That sounds VERY intriguing!
 
The 650's veil is upon me... people claim it is lifted after 100, 200 or even 300 hours of break-in, so I'm going to give them their due and break 'em in continuously for the next few days. I will say though -- it's been about 50 hours and they do sound more open already.
 
People are saying things like, " They went from being bass bloated to bass-light and bright, until finally they settled in and now they're perfect." I'm willing to find out if this is true. So far from what I've read the HD 600s sound like they may be just what I'm looking for. That is, until hearing about these Alpha Dogs. And for the work I do, closed phones would be a lot better. Hmmmm...
 
Chasing the Holy Grail of sound is frustrating AND fun! 

 

I was having a problem with a veil on my K712, so I know how that feels. They are still in the process of opening up as they have about 50 hours of use. The veil will probably lift on the HD 650, just give them time.
 
Wouldn't surprise me considering my experience with some of my headphones. My K712 sounded bloated, veiled, and the bass somewhat intruded into the mid-range while also being a bit strident up top. Now the highs are mellowing and the bass doesn't intrude in the midrange anymore. There is a definite increase in clarity and transparency since when I first got them.
 
I am curious to try the Alpha Dogs myself.
 
It is fun trying to chase that Holy Grail of sound, you learn a lot on the journey there. I am fortunate to of heard what I consider the holy grail in headphone audio but sadly it's far out of my reach.

 

[ccash]

  edit: BTW I noticed your location says Socal. I was at the last Head-fi meet in the OC area and that was where I had the chance to demo the Alpha Dog. You should go to T.H.E. Headphonium 2014 it is in the Newport area and Dan from Mr Speakers will be there along with other industry leaders.

 I missed the last one by about a week, so thanks for the heads-up.

 

[ccash]

  I was having a problem with a veil on my K712, so I know how that feels. They are still in the process of opening up as they have about 50 hours of use. The veil will probably lift on the HD 650, just give them time.

I'll stick with them for a while before I declare them not for me. Every time I go back to the 880s, there's this ahhhh openness. I don't know if I could give it up 

. Damn, I may end up with more headphone than I ever intended....

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Going from the 880 to the 650 is a huge mistake. Way too dark. If anything, the 600 would be a much better transition. Not heard the alphas yet. But for the price, they better be a LOT better then the 600

 

[gibby]

Should I get the 250 ohm or 600 ohm? 
 
I may order the DT 880 today.  I don't have an amp yet, but plan to get one.  I will plug them directly into an iPad until I get an amp and a dac for my mac mini.  Looking at Schiit Vali/Modi.

 

[Tequilasunriser]

Just get the 600 ohm version. They're not as hard to drive as people might have led you to believe. Once you get your amp, just about any amp, they'll be adequately powered. Your iPad will be able to do listenable levels too. The increased impedance, and subsequently increased damping factor, will be appreciated if you eventually get into OTL tube amps like the Bottlehead Crack (which I highly recommend for the DT880s).

 

[travisc12]

  Should I get the 250 ohm or 600 ohm? 
 
I may order the DT 880 today.  I don't have an amp yet, but plan to get one.  I will plug them directly into an iPad until I get an amp and a dac for my mac mini.  Looking at Schiit Vali/Modi.

 
This is a pretty great review comparing the (relatively minor) differences between the two, the reviewer just posted it recently: Shoot-Out: Beyer DT880 600 Premium vs 250 Pro... On a Woo Audio WA3 
 
Bottom line is that with proper amplification, the two are very similar.

 

[gibby]

Just get the 600 ohm version. They're not as hard to drive as people might have led you to believe. Once you get your amp, just about any amp, they'll be adequately powered. Your iPad will be able to do listenable levels too. The increased impedance, and subsequently increased damping factor, will be appreciated if you eventually get into OTL tube amps like the Bottlehead Crack (which I highly recommend for the DT880s).

Done.  I went ahead and ordered the modi/magni too.  This will by first amp and dac and higher end HP's.  Woohoo!!!

 

[Tequilasunriser]

Nice. You should love them. I've been through maybe 20 pairs of headphones and all that's left are the DT880s and the Mad Dogs, but I mainly only listen to the DT880s. They're perfect for every genre. 

 

[wahsmoh]

Going from the 880 to the 650 is a huge mistake. Way too dark. If anything, the 600 would be a much better transition. Not heard the alphas yet. But for the price, they better be a LOT better then the 600

880 to Alpha Dog isn't a hard transition to make. Alpha Dogs generally improve upon just about every aspect of the sound except overall soundstage. They take away the treble peak, and improve upon the sub bass of the DT880 but by a substantial amount. DT880 to Alpha Dog was a no brainer for me and for $600 I've nearly reached headphone perfection

 

[genclaymore]

Going from the 880 to the 650 is a huge mistake. Way too dark. If anything, the 600 would be a much better transition. Not heard the alphas yet. But for the price, they better be a LOT better then the 600

I almost made that mistake do to being impatience, but lucky I didn't and went to the T90 as I planned.

 

[weekendtoy]

Currently listening to the Rod Stewart SHM SACD 'Every Picture Tells a Story'.
 
MY DT880' with my Little Dot MKIII never cease to amaze me.  Truely a remarkable value.

 

[Bill-P]

Where did I say frequency response is the only indicator of performance?

Signed,
Confused.

Wait, I have more!

I would like to think that a properly designed headphone amp should be tested with various loads with various amounts of capacitance, inductance and resistance to simulate various headphones before the design is finalized.

The iQube seems to be a flawed design, not too sure why they designed in such an extreme high frequency roll off...

 
Well, even the measurements we have of headphone amps mostly done with resistive load (as is the case with the O2 when its designer published his numbers). But you can see that with a hard load like the UERM, or the IE8, frequency variation is audible.
 
Something like the DT880 600 should have less of a frequency variation, provided the amp can ramp its voltage high enough to accommodate the headphone and still keep that steady.
 
You know what else I have found? Vintage headphone amplifiers actually perform better than current cream of the crop, even though they have noticeably higher output impedance. Still, some headphones are not affected by output impedance (orthos and stats), while some others were created solely for use with high output impedance as a means of frequency control, so...
 
And both the O2 and Leckerton amps were designed with very low output impedance, so the variation we see is clearly with the amp's design, and not with output impedance. Output impedance is only part of the equation.
 
As for the iQube, I think it does have its place, and that it is probably better implemented than the O2 and Leckerton UHA-6S elsewhere. Otherwise it would not be rated higher than both the O2 and the Leckerton.
 
In fact, if transparency and linearity were of high priority, then I would say the Leckerton does a measurably better job than the O2, so the O2 can still be improved upon.
 
But the other point I wanted to make was that... O2 is cheaper than the Leckerton UHA-6S. So... there is still improvement to be found in higher priced components. It's not like the improvements stop after the O2.

 

[TrollDragon]

GMP 8.300 D's with the LittleDot MK IV (modified for a 6SL7GT driver)

 

David Hazeltine Trio's "Impromptu" in Chesky Binaural 24/192.
 
Whoops, wrong thread...

 

[genclaymore]

Seeing you with your Little Dot MK IV Makes me wish mine MKII was here sooner.