[White Lotus]

What??? The 600 Ohm version... DT880 are more comfy???

 
Ignore me, was a late night. For some silly reason I thought we were talking about the HD600.
 

 

[xkonfuzed]

Hey fellow DT880 owners 

 been a long time since i posted here.. anyway i was in Germany for the past month and got to audition some really good mid-fi headphones, here are some of the headphones i have tried and thought that they compared to the Beyers.
 
(Source is an iPod Touch 4th Gen connected to a FiiO E11)
 
1: AKG K551same as a k550, but with a detachable cable). My first impressions upon listening to this headphone is that they sound very similar to the DT880's. The overall sound signature is close to that of the Beyers, but this headphones has its problems. The first being that it has a lot more subbass than midbass, which kind of ruins it for me. This may appeal to some but not to me. Another problem was the weak lower midrange. I have found that the upper mids on this headphone are much better than the lower mids for some reason. And finally, my last complaint is that the treble is not as clean as the dt880. The Beyer's treble is very clear, clean, smooth and has superb extension. The K551's treble was splashy and somewhat uncontrolled, which made it fatiguing. Even with these flaws, dont think that its a bad headphone, because IMO this does way more good than bad, What i did like was the clarity, air, and openness of it. Honestly this sounds very much like an open headphone, but without any of the drawbacks (leakage, poor isolation, etc..). The soundstage is extremely impressive for a closed back headphone. Anyway this is a fantastic headphone if you're looking for a closed-back version of the dt880. 
 

 

 
 
 
2: Phillips Fidelio X1: Man this headphone is good! I think that it compliments the DT880's very well. My first impressions of these were that they sounded thick, meaty, and authoritative without sacrificing the clarity. This headphone has surprisingly good timbre, and did very well on acoustic tracks. The fun factor on this headphones is excellent.. But most impressive of al was the X1's ability to handle bass. Everything about the bass is fantastic. The slam, the rumble, and the extension were all superb, especially since this is an open back headphone. That said the bass can get slightly loose sometimes.  In some way then this is kind of like a smoother version of the DT990. The mids are slightly better on the X1's, but the dt990 definitely has the X1 on the ropes in terms of treble. You simply cannot beat the treble of a Beyerdynamic headphone. 

 

 
3: Sennheiser HD598: This headphone is kind of in a weird position, because it cant compete with classic mid-fi cans (K701, DT880, HD6x), but its still better than cans in low-fi, so where does this belong? I don't know. But i do know this, the HD598 sounds (and looks) fantastic. It retains the same 'Sennheiser house sound' that many people love. Although i do find the treble on this model to be less smoother than both the HD600 and HD650. This headphone sounds very good with classical and jazz, but as an all-arounder i would rather spend my money somewhere else. 

 
will post some more impressions of different headphones later

 

[MrEleventy]

@konfuzed : Concur on the k550 findings. They're pretty close but different. Always wanted to try the 598 but I hate the looks of it.

My line up has made quite a shake up. Gone is the 880s and the t90s. Taking their place is/was the he-500(gone already), q701(ditto), k550, d2000 and T1(returns!).

 

[xkonfuzed]

@konfuzed : Concur on the k550 findings. They're pretty close but different. Always wanted to try the 598 but I hate the looks of it.

My line up has made quite a shake up. Gone is the 880s and the t90s. Taking their place is/was the he-500(gone already), q701(ditto), k550, d2000 and T1(returns!).

Glad to see the T1's are back! Its a shame i didn't get to audition the T1's

 the only Tesla headphone i found in stores was the dt1350 (which i will post impressions about later). The nearest distributor for Beyerdynamic's Tesla line was 50 kilometers away from me. 
 
May i ask why you sold the he-500's? Many people praise them as cheap (well not really

) summit-fi headphones..

 

[MrEleventy]

The treble was too smooth for my liking and they were heavier than expected. Spec sheet say they're similar in weight to the t1s but that was a lie! lol

 

[kman1211]

I may be a bit weird in this aspect but some reason with the HD 598 compared to the HD 600 or HD 650, they sound like a different brand of headphones to me. Almost all the lower-end models of Senns sound relatively the same to me in terms of character, yet I find the HD 600 and HD 650 sound profoundly different in their character, it's like a different brand to me so to speak. I found the HD 800 and HD 700 like a different brand as welI. I found this rather interesting.
 
You should listen to the Beyerdynamic DT 150 sometime, I can tell it's a wonderful compliment to the DT 880. It's almost like a mix of the DT 880 and HD 600/650 but still clearly a Beyer while also being in the same league as the DT 880.

 

[xkonfuzed]

  I may be a bit weird in this aspect but some reason with the HD 598 compared to the HD 600 or HD 650, they sound like a different brand of headphones to me. Almost all the lower-end models of Senns sound relatively the same to me in terms of character, yet I find the HD 600 and HD 650 sound profoundly different in their character, it's like a different brand to me so to speak. I found the HD 800 and HD 700 like a different brand as welI. I found this rather interesting.
 
You should listen to the Beyerdynamic DT 150 sometime, I can tell it's a wonderful compliment to the DT 880. It's almost like a mix of the DT 880 and HD 600/650 but still clearly a Beyer while also being in the same league as the DT 880.

I just looked up the dt150, and i've seen this headphone a lot! I didn't know it was a Beyer until now. I see it used a lot in radio stations and by TV camera men for filming. 
 
Interesting observation, i've also heard that the DT250 sounds like a closed-back version of the HD600.

 

[kman1211]

  I just looked up the dt150, and i've seen this headphone a lot! I didn't know it was a Beyer until now. I see it used a lot in radio stations and by TV camera men for filming. 
 
Interesting observation, i've also heard that the DT250 sounds like a closed-back version of the HD600.

Many of those were likely the DT 100. The DT 100/108/109 and DT 150/190 are all quite common among the broadcast and tv industry. I need to see how well they scale up when I get my new amp though. I haven't heard the DT 250 before.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

I got this today and i would say keep your DT880's.

 

[Rem0o]

  I got this today and i would say keep your DT880's.
 

Nah, keep both 

 

[MrEleventy]

Nah, keep both 

I'd rather have the money.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

Luckily i did not fall in the T1 bucket......

 

[ccash]

  I got this today and i would say keep your DT880's.

You probably know this, but there is a consensus among HD650 fans that they need time to break in and burn in. Some people say it's because the pads wear in a little and it changes the sound for the better. Others say the components are seating and the bass will tighten up and they'll become less muddy. The general time line seems to be 50, 100, and/or 200 hours, with 200 being the "magic" number. I noticed a little difference after 200 hours but could never be sure why.
 
That said, I agree with the above poster that it's fun (and a nice luxury) to have both.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

Will i'am keeping all three of them Q701,HD 650 and DT880 none of these are going away for now.

 I have a habit of switching headphones while i'am listening. 

 

[pp312]

 

  I got this today and i would say keep your DT880's.

You probably know this, but there is a consensus among HD650 fans that they need time to break in and burn in. Some people say it's because the pads wear in a little and it changes the sound for the better. Others say the components are seating and the bass will tighten up and they'll become less muddy. The general time line seems to be 50, 100, and/or 200 hours, with 200 being the "magic" number. I noticed a little difference after 200 hours but could never be sure why.
 

 
The 650s certainly take time to burn in (I've owned them) and so do the 880s. I bought a second pair of 880 Pros as backup after using the first pair for 9 months or so and the sound is quite different--quite a lot sharper and brighter. Anyone who says burn in doesn't exist is crazy in my opinion. It doesn't happen with every phone, and it doesn't always happen to the same degree or in the same time frame, but it does happen and it is real. I've been in hi-fi for 50 years and it's one of the few things I'm certain of.