[Zombie_X]

Yo,
 
The Auditor does not sound gold at all, in fact it's not even clinical. It's sound is effortless and the music just flows. It's a neutral amp, but not bright or thin. I've heard the DT880 on my Auditor and it sounds really good. The bass on the DT880 is quite tight on the Auditor and the sound seems to have smoothed out. The treble is detailed and extended but not edgy at all.
 
Quote:

I ordered my Auditor today, in silver! I can't wait to have some hours with this amp. I will have to see if I love it so much that I sell my Valhalla, which I really, really like. I know many people have commented on the at times clinical nature of the Auditor, so my concern is that I may need to keep the Valhalla for times when I want more warmth (assuming I find the Auditor cold, which I really don't expect). My Rega CD player has a nice DAC in it that seems to give a slight warmth and I think the 880s are also coloured nicely toward a slight warmth so truthfully I am expecting to really be pleased with the Auditor.
 
Thanks for your thoughts Zombie X, I have read your review of the Auditor which frankly is what really helped me pull the trigger. Your review had depth without getting into hype. I read around the internet and the only people I found who didn't love their Auditor were Sennheiser owners (mostly HD 800) so with the Beyerdynamic signature I have, I am not worried at all. Have any of you who know the DT 880/Auditor combo sound also had the chance to hear the Valhalla/DT 880 sound? If so what are your thoughts? I guess if nobody else has these combinations I'll be able to post my thoughts from A/B. While I am still on the fence when it comes to the notion of burn-in (although reading Graham Slee's take on this I am far closer to accepting the idea) in your experience (anybody) how long a burn-in does the Auditor require and did you find much of a sonic improvement afterward? Cheers.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Hi ZX, good to hear. I tend to prefer accuracy over colouration anyway, so what others call cold or clinical may actually seem "proper" to me. I do like some warmth, but not if it obscures detail in any meaningful way. And thank you liamstrain, I totally agree about just listening. Long ago I learned to not listen to the equipment, or at least try not to do so intentionally, rather I try to just listen to the music. Even if I was to believe in the notion of break-in, which is still hard for me to accept with what people present as evidence, I would still just use my equipment normally and listen to music.
 
If break-in exists or not is for me mostly irrelevant, the equipment will get there or not no matter what so biggie as I see it. Cheers.

 

[Chris J]

Hi ZX, good to hear. I tend to prefer accuracy over colouration anyway, so what others call cold or clinical may actually seem "proper" to me. I do like some warmth, but not if it obscures detail in any meaningful way. And thank you liamstrain, I totally agree about just listening. Long ago I learned to not listen to the equipment, or at least try not to do so intentionally, rather I try to just listen to the music. Even if I was to believe in the notion of break-in, which is still hard for me to accept with what people present as evidence, I would still just use my equipment normally and listen to music.

If break-in exists or not is for me mostly irrelevant, the equipment will get there or not no matter what so biggie as I see it. Cheers.

Just as an experiment, I tried burning in my DT880s, personally I could not hear a difference after burn in. But really, all I could was go by memory when comparing the sound before and after burn in.

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

But really, all I could was go by memory when comparing the sound before and after burn in.

 
 
Which is one of the biggest problems with the whole concept. There may be some audible changes with some headphones and speakers - but not enough to pre-burn before using them... and certainly not enough to change general sound characteristics. 
 
New tubes do require a small amount of time to form the cathode properly - but that's a very very short period of time. Solid state components and *** wires, do not "benefit" from burn in.

 

[FritzS]

Quote:

Yo,
 
The Auditor does not sound gold at all, in fact it's not even clinical. It's sound is effortless and the music just flows. It's a neutral amp, but not bright or thin. I've heard the DT880 on my Auditor and it sounds really good. The bass on the DT880 is quite tight on the Auditor and the sound seems to have smoothed out. The treble is detailed and extended but not edgy at all.
 

 
Has anyone here heared the LPA-2 module from Funk-Tonstudiotechnik?
 
http://www.funk-tonstudiotechnik.de/SYMM-VERST.htm#LPA-2
 
http://www.funk-tonstudiotechnik.de/LPA-2%20englisch.pdf
 
And with PWS-04a.V2 PSU
 
http://www.funk-tonstudiotechnik.de/NETZTEILE.htm#PWS-04a

 

[mayidunk]

Hi all!  Long time lurker, first time posting.
 
Based on threads I read here, and other places, I decided to get a pair (set?) of DT880/600s.  I've had them since the beginning of the year.  This afternoon, I decided to read through this thread from beginning to end.  I just now finished reading it. 
 
Anyway, I love my DT880s!  Far from being sterile/cold/too neutral/too edgy/too much treble/not enough bass/not forward enough/etc., etc., etc., I actually find that these cans, more than others I've heard, actually reflect the music as accurately as they can.  I always find that, if the sound isn't in the song, then the DT880s won't make it magically appear! 
 
I listen to them using the headphone jack in my Kyocera R-461 receiver.  I believe this receiver is reputed to have one of the better headphone amps ever designed into a receiver.  At times, I also plug them into the headphone jack on my Onkyo C-S5VL CD player (not sure of it's pedigree).  In either case, these cans sound excellent!
 
I like listening to classical, jazz, fusion, choral, and rock music of various types and styles.  I find (at least to my old ears) that these cans consistently reflect the sound that's in the music.  Listening to bass heavy music, the bass is there, and it's solid!  Listening to well recorded organ music, these cans actually seem to play the fundamental pedal notes with ease!  They go low.  Listening to jazz, ride cymbal taps sound clean, bell hits are punchy and full, the sound of mallets hitting the bars on a Vibrophone have that characteristic soft impact.  Listening to selections from Steely Dan, the sound is solid, and punchy; with definite impact in the transients.  Same with rock.  Humble Pie never rocked the Fillmore as good as they do through these cans!
 
To me, if a recording is less than good, these cans will show it loud and clear!  However, if you have a good recording, these cans will showcase that recording's strengths!  On good clean recordings, they really show their stuff.
 
In the end, they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm more than happy with them!

 

[Sonic Defender]

Hi mayidunk, glad your posting, and I agree with you. The 880s punch through the whole price/performance aspect of equipment and provide exceptional performance, at least in my opinion. At a recent meet I found the 880s held their own against the T1 quite well, albeit with limited listening. I am very much looking forward to having them really come alive with the Auditor, however the Valhalla is no slouch at all I should add. I am selling my Valhalla after the Auditor arrives and I will miss it very, very much. I just can't justify keeping both amps when one is quite excellent and deserves to be enjoyed by somebody who will use it (meaning the Valhalla).
 
Nice to hear that you are enjoying your 880s. Hopefully you keep posting here, cheers.

 

[mayidunk]

Thanks for the warm welcome!  Yeah, I just wanted to relate my experience with these excellent headphones.  I should be around from time to time.

 

[Zombie_X]

Sonic Defender, so you bought an Auditor?That's great man! Did my review influence you at all? 

 
Quote:

Hi mayidunk, glad your posting, and I agree with you. The 880s punch through the whole price/performance aspect of equipment and provide exceptional performance, at least in my opinion. At a recent meet I found the 880s held their own against the T1 quite well, albeit with limited listening. I am very much looking forward to having them really come alive with the Auditor, however the Valhalla is no slouch at all I should add. I am selling my Valhalla after the Auditor arrives and I will miss it very, very much. I just can't justify keeping both amps when one is quite excellent and deserves to be enjoyed by somebody who will use it (meaning the Valhalla).
 
Nice to hear that you are enjoying your 880s. Hopefully you keep posting here, cheers.

 

[flyfish2002]

I wanted to come back and give my thoughts re:  the DT880 600 ohm and the Rudistor RPX-33.  Just yesterday, I received my Moon Audio Silver Dragon V3 cable back, this time re-terminated with Drew's nifty adapter and accompanied by two eight inch "tails" - one for the SR-71B and one for the RPX-33. 
 
Well, first let's put to rest whether or not the RPX-33 can drive the DT880 600 ohms - the answer is a resounding yes and to distortion-free levels beyond which I would ever listen. 
 
After a bit of listening last evening and today in my home office, I can offer a few preliminary thoughts.  The sound of the RPX-33/DT 880 600 ohm combo is more warm than neutral, but not syrupy or muddled.  Bass is prominent, controlled and well-placed, but not DJ-like (we would never ask that of our beloved DT880s, though, would we?).  The mids/vocals are clean, detailed and clear, but not sufficiently forward enough for me.  This is a minor quibble, but a fact.    Treble is excellent, crisp and extended, with very good, but not excellent decay. 
 
For a home office rig, it is a significant step-up from the SR-71B I was using for both portable and office use.  This is not a criticism of the SR-71B - I love that portable amp and the RSA sound, but for goodness sake, it is a portable amp.  I will continue to enjoy the SR-71B with both the ER-4Ps for portable use and the DT 880 for time in working in hotels (I travel for work a bit).   
 
I will update after a few more days.
 
Brent

 

[Nightelf]

Just ordered DT880 600 Ohms.
I hope I will have them soon.
And it will sound good with Little Dot II 

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

The 880s punch through the whole price/performance aspect of equipment and provide exceptional performance, at least in my opinion. At a recent meet I found the 880s held their own against the T1 quite well

 
indeed - quite a few people find that the T1 and other new offerings of the sort have not significantly pushed the price/performance ratio in the right direction compared to the DT880-250 or DT880-600
 
Quote:

let's put to rest whether or not the RPX-33 can drive the DT880 600 ohms - the answer is a resounding yes and to distortion-free levels beyond which I would ever listen

 
no offense, Brent - that's merely necessary but insufficient criteria - what matters isn't just avoiding distortion, but how an amp complements the profile of the DT880 - many head-fiers feel that the right match is an amp that warms up the sound a tad, and makes the highs less sharp, which is why tube amps are often recommended for the DT880s... this is not to take anything away from your rudistor's class-A performance, of course.

 

[Huckie R]

Hi everybody
I have recently checked out another interesting small head amp called Funk LAP. It sounded so clinically clean I was having an impression I am looking at the music through microscope. No coloration and "warmth" at all, but since I do mastering a lot I appreciate it' s transparency. German stuff, I guess, had a look at the parameters and it is flat from few Hz up to like 1 MHz. I do not have experience with Valhalla or Auditor, but this one quite impressed me. 

 

[flyfish2002]

Thanks, Melomaniac.
 
I specifically posted the phrase you hightlighted because it was an unknown for me. As we all know, 600 ohm headphones can be a challenge to drive - personal sonic preferences aside.  I did not have a 1/4" plug on the DT880 cable and no one on Head Fi had any experience with that particular combo - you can check out my other posts inquiring.    While Rudi and John at Rudistor assured me via e-mail that the RPX-33 would drive any 600ohm headphone, I remained a skeptical consumer. 
 
Before I could comment on the sound & musicality, I had to put to bed the above issue - which I did.
 
I do feel, though, that the balance of my comments in the post do speak to my personal thoughts on the musicality of the DT800 600ohm/RPX-33 combo.  And you are correct. others prefer a tube amp with the DT880s.  I personally (and others) find the RPX-33 to be a warmer SS amp and thus fits the bill for some of us.
 
Beauty of our hobby - in my big rig, I love Purist ICs with my all tube system.  Others would not touch Purist with a ten foot pole.

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

As we all know, 600 ohm headphones can be a challenge to drive - personal sonic preferences aside.  I did not have a 1/4" plug on the DT880 cable and no one on Head Fi had any experience with that particular combo - you can check out my other posts inquiring.    While Rudi and John at Rudistor assured me via e-mail that the RPX-33 would drive any 600ohm headphone, I remained a skeptical consumer.

 
ah, I see, thanks, completely agree - our own ears are always where the buck stops. and I also agree that there are of course good (class-A) solid state amps that do as well, at least, as good tube amps, and I will try to listen to the RPX-33 when there is an opportunity. speaking of which - I had the pleasure of listening to the entire Schiit line-up yesterday at THE Show, with Beyers and with Audezes, very nice - including the forthcoming Mjolnir and Gungnir (in unfinished housing), another illustration of different amp topologies.
 
the Headroom table also had a few Beyers (a DT990 and a T1 if I remember correctly) but I didn't listed as much - they were along a busy corridor, and I saw with some surprise that a lot of the tunes they offered on their Dell laptops were in 320k instead of full WAV/AIFF format, so I didn't expect to try any discerning listening. (for that, the Eddie Current table, with not one but two Stax - 009 and 007 - as well as another Audeze was the best destination), but I digress...