The Beyerdynamic DT880 Discussion thread

[Vkamicht]

My 880/600s came in today.

Not a crazy difference quality wise vs. my HD600. Mostly just in the sound signature. I feel the DT 880 has a much more linear sound signature, with only one really noticable peak in the 13000hz range (whereas my HD600 had a few in the treble area). Also I finally understand what "smooth" sounds like, I think. I almost feel like this is unrelated to the frequency response and is just a characteristic of the drivers... it's really hard to describe but "smooth" seems to fit it.

It does not sound more or less distant than the HD600 which is good! Fun and involving sound, maybe just a TINY little less bass but not by much. It's weird though, some songs sound like they have less bass, some sound like they have more. Will have to compare directly some more to be sure what's going on here.

Comfort is better but has its own issues. There's no clamp (YAY less headaches) but the pads are thinner and I can feel the inner cloth touch my ear. I'll have to look into alternate pads as someone mentioned in another thread, maybe there are some thicker ones.

My resonance peak has moved from 5300 hz (HD600) to 5700 hz (DT880)

Overall though I think they are very very nice and I'll know for sure whether I am sending them back to Headroom or not within a week

EDIT: Just had a "big grin" moment while listening. Had one of these with the HD600 though, but it's a good sign. Never had one with the K702, lol.

 

[dukja]

Just try to provide another data point on comparison of DT880/600 and HD600. With my system (from past to now), HD600 has never sounded to my desire in comparison with DT880. The sound field was too close and "hot" with my music genre (new age, instrument, soundtrack). DT880 vs HD600 is like Antarctica vs Equator to me. DT880/600 is just much cleaner/clearer, more focused, and better coherent in soundstage to me. I have tried HD600 several times in my past systems and eventually let it go. Not trying to criticize HD600. This is just my experience.

 

[evanft]

Good lord, mono and jazz recordings sound so much better on these than my SR-80s. I don't know if my Darkvoice 336i is up to task when it comes to powering them. I have to turn it about 30-40 degrees higher when using the DT 880s.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif If this is anything to go by...Do eit!!!! this impression is from a classically trained person, that being the DT880/600 is has the best and most accurate timbre he's heard: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/bey...ps1000-454208/

You're almost as bad as me and my DT48. & a Motown studio engineer, claims that the music he heard live in the studio was identical to what he heard on his DT48, minus the spatial differences. In the end it doesn't mean much, just like the clasically trained member and the DT880 getting the timbre right. I'm sure you will find engineers who are not so impressed by the DT48 accuracy and vise versa.. In the end, it's one mans opinion. It's good marketing to entice a person who is on the fense about the DT880 600ohm. I'm sure you, me, Peter, and ACIX would argue which phone is more accurate. DT880 600ohm, DT48, 750, 702.. But in the end, you have 4 people who are biased towards their headphones of choice.

 

[igotyofire]

I got my dt880s 600ohm 1st, then the HD600 few weeks later, still having trouble figuring out my thoughts, i will probably speak fruther on this after much more use of both headphones. intially they stood no contest but their sound is growing on me a bit, i think in the future im going to conclude each phone is better for different listening uses.

 

[nickchen]

It's been a while ago that I listened to a HD600, out of memory I'd say the DT880'600 beats it technically (but not by much) and provides a more emotional sound. The HD600 is still king of musical bandwidth though.

 

[apatN]

I sold my HD600s in favour of the DT880 03. The HD600s are very nice and don't really do anything wrong BUT the DT880s provided me with lower bass and a more exciting treble. I agree with nickchen saying that they are 'technically better'.

 

[Ninkul]

Just arrived, and they're doing alright. I dont think my amp goes well with them, I feel they're quite warm and well.. the amp is known to be warm. I think these are going to be keepers though

. I'll probably get used to the sound signiature of these since i'm coming from K701s

 

[dukja]

I used to have K702 and have constantly switched between it and DT880/250. After listening K702 for some time, I would dislike DT880's sound for a while and vice versa. This lasted until I got DT880/600 and Phoenix. After that, I am 100% sure I like DT880/600 a lot more than K702 and sold K702. DT880/600 with proper amp sounds fully bodied, rich, but still clear and clean at the same time with coherent sound field.

 

[apatN]

^ I still want to hear what they are capable of when balanced. I have a high quality DAC that should feed any balanced amp without problems. Unfortunately they are all so expensive so for a future update I want either a MS-PRO or a HE-5.

 

[dukja]

One quick hint: if you have a means to get it re-cabled (even the cheap mogami wire), you will be very surprised how much the sound would change: even smoother, "heavier", and more impact.

 

[apatN]

Mine are already Mogamid.

I bought this pair broken and had to order some new drivers and decided to use Mogami for cable. I would not know about difference in sound but it sounds good.

 

[Vkamicht]

More impressions.

I am not sure if the DT 880 could be called colored but that may be how they sound to me compared to HD600. It's weird, because I still feel like the frequency response is flatter (when I do a sine sweep it seems that way) yet they are much more fun to listen to. "Emotional" is a good word, the HD600 seems more dead in comparison. However they can be a bit fatiguing because of this. Voices are much more forward on DT880. They still physically hurts my ears

but I really like it. I'll give my ears a month or so to get used to it and if it still is a pain to wear for more than 45 minutes I'll look into aftermarket pads.

 

[igotyofire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vkamicht /img/forum/go_quote.gif More impressions. I am not sure if the DT 880 could be called colored but that may be how they sound to me compared to HD600. It's weird, because I still feel like the frequency response is flatter (when I do a sine sweep it seems that way) yet they are much more fun to listen to. "Emotional" is a good word, the HD600 seems more dead in comparison. However they can be a bit fatiguing because of this. Voices are much more forward on DT880. They still physically hurts my ears but I really like it. I'll give my ears a month or so to get used to it and if it still is a pain to wear for more than 45 minutes I'll look into aftermarket pads.

hah i completely disagree, the dt880 600ohm is much more laid back then the hd600 and the senn is lil bit more forward which makes it musically more enjoying. But not better for accurate & true sound reproduction. I bet the HD600 fanboys are loving the dt880 confusion in this appreciation thread

 

[nickchen]

These are mine. I put them into modified Superlux / DT770'2003 housings (just an experiment that worked out better than expected). I'll introduce that project more detailled later, but I ended up with warmer and more forward mids, and a much stronger bass (but not of the overwhelming DT770/990 sort).

Really astonishing how mich different housings affect the sound, moving the systems testwize back into their DT880'2005 housings put everthing back to the audiophile "gentle & smooth" territory which I personally don't need, that is covered already by my other cans.