[zychan1]

Hi guys,
 
I'm currently running a laptop --> DACMagic 2 --> LD MKV --> Beyer DT880 600 ohms (from the '80s!) rig. I love the clarity and soundstaging on this rig but upgraditisis has hit again At the moment I'm looking to upgrade my 'phones and then possibly my DAC in the second half of the year before finally moving on to a good tube amp. Am currently looking at:
 
Sennheiser HD650
AKG K702
Beyerdynamic DT990 Manufaktur 600 ohms
Beyerdynamic DT880 Manufaktur 600 ohms 
 
and anything around the 300 euros price range. While I love my current DT880 it could really use a bit more bass quantity and separation to make it more "fun" and resolving. Any suggestions/comparisons/advice will be very helpful. Many thanks!
 

 

[Drake22]

To be fair you wouldn't really get much more bass from the mentioned cans over the dt880, except for dt990. But to me dt990 600 ohm version is a ruined headphone, it just has a ridiculous amount of sibilance and I really hate it and regardless, I wouldn't call it an upgrade going from 880 to 990. More of a downgrade or a sidegrade at best.
 
K702 can't be called a fun headphone either, it's like the most neutral and boring can I've heard, and it certainly has less bass than dt880.
 
HD650 is a safe bet, and would have the bass on par with dt990, which is more than 880.
 
But what I would recommend, especially with tube amp, is some WOODIES For example, a used W1000X is almost in the price range, and I think is worth looking into  
 
Anyway, what kind of music do you listen to?

 

[zychan1]

The tube amp won't come probably until early next year, but I'm certainly interested in Woodies too if people can recommend some in this range (used doesn't matter!)
 
I listen to all sorts of music, but mostly Indie/Rock/Pop, a bit of Rap and R&B and a bit of Classical.
 
Bear in mind that mine is a very very old DT880 though, so I would expect Beyerdynamic to have improved on them already. Shame that I don't have a modern version to compare it with :S

 

[ACDOAN]

I have almost the same question. Eventhough I never tried the Grado and the Beyer D for personal taste reason. I want to avoid the up front or in your face type of sound and " extended HF" ( some call it harsh ).
 
As my personal experience with speakers, these type of sound signatures give me a temporary feeling of fun, dynamic but after an hour or so, listerner fatigue will be inevitable.
 
So what's next ? HD800, perharps. Diana Krall, Steve R Vaughan, Neil young, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton are my kind of music. 

 

[zychan1]

Hey ACDOAN I noticed you have both the AKG 702 and Senn HD650 in your sig. Mind doing a comparison of both of them?

 

[Drake22]

ACDOAN, for blues Grado definitely should be considered, I would really recommend GS1000 and HF2

 

[ACDOAN]

Quote:

Hey ACDOAN I noticed you have both the AKG 702 and Senn HD650 in your sig. Mind doing a comparison of both of them?

Frankly, I am a newbie here and most of my cans have been purchased within a 2 months period so  I have not yet have all of them burned-in properly yet.
 
In short, I love the HD 650 for Diana Krall, Norah Jomes type of music. IMHO, the Senn sig is a bit " serious" not fun type of sounds. I do not feel the veil sig of the Senn with the HD650 though ( the HD595 is not my cup of tea, on the contrary) : Open midrange, a bit roll-off in HF and I cannot complaint abt the bass since I m not a bassed head.
 
I love the AKG  702  in a diference way, NeilYoung, Steve R Vaughn Eric Clapton are the kind of music I love the AKG 702 for. At first, the AKG was kind of thin on the treble and the mid is kind of recess but it get better now after some hours on them.
 
If you like the sound of the old Martin Logan such as Re-Quest/ SL3 you are going to like the AKG 702. If you like the Aerius I, you will love the HD 650. Not an all a round kind of cans or a type for fun. Some call them boring but what I am looking for is a lust mid-range, smooth and liquid HF, some bass but not on the heavy side and they both provide me what I am looking for.
Pick your own poison !
 
Pio Elite A 35r as my head amp ( direct mode), Pio BDP51 FD ( bluray player with Wolfson Dacs) and Silver Streak cable. YMMV.

 

[zychan1]

ACDOAN does that mean you'll call the HD650 more boring than the K702? Seems most head-fi'ers find the K702 to be the most neutral sounding amongst the lot. I'm wondering how the Beyers will compare against the HD650 if anybody can offer up some impressions
 
Quote:

Frankly, I am a newbie here and most of my cans have been purchased within a 2 months period so  I have not yet have all of them burned-in properly yet.
 
In short, I love the HD 650 for Diana Krall, Norah Jomes type of music. IMHO, the Senn sig is a bit " serious" not fun type of sounds. I do not feel the veil sig of the Senn with the HD650 though ( the HD595 is not my cup of tea, on the contrary) : Open midrange, a bit roll-off in HF and I cannot complaint abt the bass since I m not a bassed head.
 
I love the AKG  702  in a diference way, NeilYoung, Steve R Vaughn Eric Clapton are the kind of music I love the AKG 702 for. At first, the AKG was kind of thin on the treble and the mid is kind of recess but it get better now after some hours on them.
 
If you like the sound of the old Martin Logan such as Re-Quest/ SL3 you are going to like the AKG 702. If you like the Aerius I, you will love the HD 650. Not an all a round kind of cans or a type for fun. Some call them boring but what I am looking for is a lust mid-range, smooth and liquid HF, some bass but not on the heavy side and they both provide me what I am looking for.
Pick your own poison !
 
Pio Elite A 35r as my head amp ( direct mode), Pio BDP51 FD ( bluray player with Wolfson Dacs) and Silver Streak cable. YMMV.

 

 

[idletime1213]

I find the HD 650 to be more engaging. The K701 was too sterile. The HD 650 is laidback, but I don't find it boring. I guess if you find stuff like jazz, blues boring, then it might be boring for you.
 
 

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 Seems most head-fi'ers find the K702 to be the most neutral sounding amongst the lot.  

 

 Or, alternatively, you could have been reading the wrong threads.  

 

[REB]

I compared the old dt880 to the new dt880 2003 and liked the old one (much) better, although the 2003 version was somewhat clearer. I imagine a dt880/600hms could be an upgrade. Personally, i prefer the vintage dt990/600ohms nover just about any other beyer (except the t1 perhaps, but haven't heard that), because it is musical, resolving, detailed and has that bass oomph you want without bleeding into the higher frequencies. With a powerful amp the old dt990 is incredible.
 
But if you ask me where to go for more bass (but good bass, not just quantitatively more) and you want more fun and better resolving, there is but one answer: the fabulous ath ad2000. It's got bass in spades, is very resolving, improbably musical and ueberseductive. And it performs well if you feed it nice amounts of current (something your ld should be able to do).

 

[zychan1]

Idletime you've just mentioned "engaging" and "laidback" in the same sentence to describe the HD650. Care to elaborate more?
 
Quote:

I find the HD 650 to be more engaging. The K701 was too sterile. The HD 650 is laidback, but I don't find it boring. I guess if you find stuff like jazz, blues boring, then it might be boring for you.
 
 

 

[zychan1]

Hi Remco, thanks for your quick reply! I was wondering where you could find the ATH-AD2000 in Europe. It'll be well out of my price range if I were to ship it in from Japan I think.
 
Quote:

I compared the old dt880 to the new dt880 2003 and liked the old one (much) better, although the 2003 version was somewhat clearer. I imagine a dt880/600hms could be an upgrade. Personally, i prefer the vintage dt990/600ohms nover just about any other beyer (except the t1 perhaps, but haven't heard that), because it is musical, resolving, detailed and has that bass oomph you want without bleeding into the higher frequencies. With a powerful amp the old dt990 is incredible.
 
But if you ask me where to go for more bass (but good bass, not just quantitatively more) and you want more fun and better resolving, there is but one answer: the fabulous ath ad2000. It's got bass in spades, is very resolving, improbably musical and ueberseductive. And it performs well if you feed it nice amounts of current (something your ld should be able to do).

 

[REB]

Not sure about that tbh. I bought it second-hand here at Head-fi. They do come up frequently. It would take some waiting on your part though...

 
Quote:

Hi Remco, thanks for your quick reply! I was wondering where you could find the ATH-AD2000 in Europe. It'll be well out of my price range if I were to ship it in from Japan I think.
 

 

 

[idletime1213]

Quote:

Idletime you've just mentioned "engaging" and "laidback" in the same sentence to describe the HD650. Care to elaborate more?
 

 

Well, here's the definition I got through the net:
 
engaging [ɪnˈgeɪdʒɪŋ]
adj pleasing, charming, or winning engagingly  adv
engagingness  n
 
What does this have to do with my perception of the HD650? First of all, I listen extensively to jazz, acoustic music, mood music, blues, old 70's stuff. The HD 650 do these genres excellently, and for that I find them pleasing and engaging. They make me smile and I always enjoy listening to my music with them. In that regard, no I do not find them boring. They are laidback, that is true, but they do rock adequately for me. Take note that rock is not their strongest point, but they will do nicely with bands like Radiohead, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Decemberists and similar bands. What they lack is speed, for which I use a different set of headphones when I want that. If I ever want to listen to fast sub genres of rock or metal (which I also do, but not as much), I reach for my AD2000, which also engages me in other (different) ways.