Beyerdynamic DT880 (600ohm)

[quadpatch]

I just got these headphones today and I'm really enjoying them! A much more friendly signature to get used to than the AKG 701 and more lively than the Sennheiser HD650. I was worried that they would struggle to satisfy my bass-head needs coming from the Denon D7000 and VModa M80 (my current faves), but I loved them straight away. Yes less bassy but again it's pretty easy and quick to get used to.

I'm testing them in the office at the moment so not ideal but not terrible either, they leak but not as much as the Grados or AKGs I've owned before. Almost as comfy as the Denon D2000-7000 but don't get as hot because of the fabric as opposed to leather and semi-open construction.

I'm running them from the Yulong U100 DAC/amp at the moment and I think it works pretty well with that but I am eager to see how it goes with the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2D as it should give me some more warmth. The volume on the Yulong is at about 60%, the VModa M80's take less than 10% to sound loud, I have never had the Yulong up this high before, I expect that will be similar with the other DAC/amps, perhaps some of them will not cope with these headphones.

I tried running the headphones directly off my Samsung Galaxy S phone and it sounded good but way too quiet, about 50% of a reasonable level. I will steal the iPhone 4 off the wife tonight and test but I doubt it will be good enough. These phones take some driving, I knew that when I bought them and I am happy with that.

I guess the DT990 has been replaced by the T90? Just like the T70 replaced the DT770. If this logic is right (and I'm not sure it is, perhaps they are slightly higher models) then I wonder if we will see a T80 soon. Also I wonder if they will make 600ohm versions of these new Tesla models any more. Anyway, I am really happy with the DT880 600ohm and I just wanted to share my experience so far. I am going to write a full review for these headphones after my current batch of DACs (Yulong U100, Arcam rPAC, Audinst HUD-Mini), but I will come back and report a little on how they do in a less noisy environment soon.

Have a great long weekend everyone

 

[neilmistry]

I absolutely love mine! Since the birth of my son about a year ago, loud listening sessions are rare, so heaphone listening is the way I enjoy music at home now.

I have my DT880's hooked up to my Squeezebox Classic and Beresford Caiman DAC/Heaphone Amp. I always discover something new in my music with these headphones. Initially I thought they were a bit bass-light (I'm a fan or electronic music) but I think the bass weight is spot on - certainly deep enough but not at the expense of the rest of the sound. 8)

 

[quadpatch]

Hey Neil! Yeah that's very much my thoughts so far. A bit bass-light at first but I love what that does to the rest of the frequencies, the soundstage and detail is stunning. Saying that I am not about to throw away my Denons (even if I never listen to them again, after all they're a museum piece now ).

I've now listened to them a bit at home and wow, I love them even more. I'm really glad I went for these over the DT990 but I will be tempted to try those one day.

The Arcam rPAC only has just enough volume to play these headphones loud, it wont do ear bleeding volumes and so might become an issue with some tracks (like a lot of classical stuff).

OK this might shock some people... I plugged it into the iPhone 4 and it drove the DT880's well, very well actually. Almost as loud as the Arcam rPAC (90-95%!). I'm not saying it sounded as good as the rPAC, just almost as loud and perfectly listenable. This is amazing! I had always noticed more headroom with other headphones on the iPhone, but to drive 600ohms seems almost ridiculous! You should know that I'm not an Apple fanboy at all but danm that thing is a good music player!

I'm listening to the DT880's through the Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2D at the moment and loving every minute of it. This DAC doesn't sound anywhere near as warm here as it did with the Denon's and VModa's but I am feeling a nice sense of it so perhaps this is the exact presentation that the DAC was made for, it is a bit tube like and I have heard the DT880's like that. I'm getting tons of detail and a really three dimentional soundstage. Tomorrow I will be trying it on the Yulong D100 mkII...

I'm looking forward to getting some photos of these things for the review. I think they are prettier than the AKG Q701's too. I really like the metal grills, should make a good macro shot. I might have some time tomorrow to take that so if it comes out nice I will post it here.