Beyerdynamic: DT880 Premium - 600ohm - review

[quadpatch]

I bought these headphones a couple of weeks ago and just finished writing something about them. I preferred the DT880 over the AKG Q701, which to me was a bit bass-light and on the bright side. Here's a link for more in-depth opinions...

http://noblehifi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/beyerdynamic-dt880-premium-600ohm-review.html

And a sneak peak pic...

 

[gbhsi1]

great review quadpatch

 

[quadpatch]

Thanks gbhsi1, glad you enjoyed it .

 

[pauln]

Weird. When I click on the link above it comes up with a totally blank white page.

Thinking about getting those or Senn HD650 soon so was interested in your thoughts. Oh well.

 

[quadpatch]

Weird. When I click on the link above it comes up with a totally blank white page.

Thinking about getting those or Senn HD650 soon so was interested in your thoughts. Oh well.

Really? I can't see any probe with it here. Works OK on my PC and tablet... hmmm. I posted it on Head-fi too if you wanna check it out there.

 

[neilmistry]

Good review. I own a pair and absolutely love them - I use them with a Beresford Caiman DAC (with built in headphone amp) and a Logitech Squeezebox Classic.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Excellent Review :clap:

I have never auditioned a pair of DT880 and so far I am very happy with my AKG Q701 and Senn HD800.

 

[quadpatch]

Thanks very much guys .

Inter_Voice: I have tried the Sennheiser HD800 a couple times, from memory the DT880 is quite a similar presentation. I can't say too much more than that without being able to compare them directly. I did really want the HD800 until I heard the Grado PS1000. Because it will be a very long time until I can afford that the Denon AH-D7000 gets me close enough to that for now, and now the DT880 gets me pretty close to the HD800 so I'm fairly happy with my options at the moment too.

 

[dalethorn]

On head-fi, the guy from headphones dot com just rated the 880 as an A-plus for value in his 50 headphone comparison.

 

[quadpatch]

Oh wow, that's veey cool. Have you heard them before? If so I'm curious how you would compare these and the Sennheiser HD800.

 

[Paulq]

Thanks very much guys .

Inter_Voice: I have tried the Sennheiser HD800 a couple times, from memory the DT880 is quite a similar presentation. I can't say too much more than that without being able to compare them directly. I did really want the HD800 until I heard the Grado PS1000. Because it will be a very long time until I can afford that the Denon AH-D7000 gets me close enough to that for now, and now the DT880 gets me pretty close to the HD800 so I'm fairly happy with my options at the moment too.

Quadpatch,

First, great review as you know I am a Beyer fan at heart. From the above I've read that you feel that the Grado PS1000 is 'better' than the AHD7000 - have I got that right? Having only heard the Sr80i's I can't comment on other Grado models but many have suggested that they can sound a tad harsh - not something you can say about the 7k's.

How would you describe these Grados? (All, apologies for the slight digression).

 

[quadpatch]

Hey thanks Paul, didn't you have the Beyer DT990? I still wanna try that one. Just before I get into your question I just want to mention the Denons. Did you get the D2000 after the D7000 because you knew they were disappearing? I was very close to doing that myself .

OK, yes you're right to think something is up with that comment about the Grado. Grados from the SR60 to the RS1 are renowned for having upper mid-range punch, but the PS (and GS models I think) are a different story.

Unfortunately I just found something else that is like the Denon D7000 but more interesting - the Fostex TH900. In both cases you are looking at a ton more money though. The Fostex is £1500 and the Grado is even more!

 

[Paulq]

Hi Quadpatch

Hmm a bit of a confession to make as I have gone a bit mad lately. I actually sold the DT990's (with almost immediate regret) on the basis that I had the Nirvana of closed backs in the AHD7000s and I wanted to save up and get the Audeze LCD2's as the same in open backs. I haven't yet managed to do that and miss the Beyers for a number of reasons.

in terms of the Denons you are spot on - I have both. The 7ks are the first cans I reach for but there's something about the D2ks that I can't let go of. Ridiculous as it sounds sometimes I prefer them to the 7ks. That's my excuse anyway

 

[dalethorn]

Oh wow, that's veey cool. Have you heard them before? If so I'm curious how you would compare these and the Sennheiser HD800.

Never heard most Beyers. Just the DT48 series, DT480, DT1350, and the small plastic DTX300p and DTX501p. I looked at the measurements of the T1 and T70 and was scared of the huge peak around 9 khz. The T90 looked promising, but too much money for something that physically large unless it would replace my Shure 1840.

 

[quadpatch]

That's more Beyers than I have heard . I just checked out and read parts of that 'Battle of the Flagships'. Wow, what an article!! I'm left a bit overwhelmed by it and will have to save it and come back to it several times I think. There is so much information there but it is very well presented!

I see that the DT880 gets very high up that list, of course much of that is it's very reasonable price! I see he puts it right next to the Shure 1840, he must have had so much fun positioning all those headphones there . I also see that the Fostex was close to the DT880, but he says that the Denon D7000 offers considerably better value, mine was bought at 1/3 the cost of the TH900!!

In case anyone else is curious... (if you are going to read this, get comfy with a nice cup of tea ).

http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-50-headphones-compared

 

[dalethorn]

The 50 headphone review looks impressive and more or less official, but reading closer I see what the limitations are. The acknowledgements to head-fi, Innerfidelity et al are a clue, then when you see the summaries of many of those they read like a copy and paste of Innerfidelity's or certain head-fi guys' conclusions on the same items. So it's a great resource insofar as consolidating a lot of that info in one place, but not original. This is what I would do if I were selling headphones.

 

[quadpatch]

It does look extremely well crafted and a massive amount of time spent on its presentation. It's either a huge love for headphones or a cheeky bit of marketting. Do you think that he doesn't actually own all those headphones. I think he is saying that he personally bought every single headphone and in some cases several times.

I haven't read enough to know about copy and pasted info but the first one (worst) endeared me to it early because I also dislike that one (ATH-W5000).

 

[dalethorn]

The main guys there made sure to clarify the advertising point, giving him full due for a personal review not tied to sales, at least not directly. My sense of it is that post would be a strong feature wherever they put it, so they're going to have to spend some serious time absorbing all of it and deciding how to take best advantage of it. They have a potential goldmine in this guy, and he's only 29(!) years old, so sky's the limit, eh? The only downside is, page #1 is 99 percent information-dense, then the next 5000 pages (by this time next month) will add essentially nothing. Too bad that moderators can't go back (I don't think) and insert a post #2 (bumping all the other posts down one position), which would say "We've carefully examined the next 500 or so pages and this single post (#2) contains the only useful information from those pages." - So call me cynical, but I like to serve my customers with documents that are info-dense so they don't get bored and cause trouble.

Edit: By the time I was 29 I probably bought at least 100 headphones, and some other expensive gear. But I never put so much money into one amp or music server setup etc. like that $40000 system of his. In the 1980's I purchased about $250k USD of computer gear, which brought in some great business and consulting fees, but I could never see putting that kind of money into a pile of electronic stuff just to sit at home while I'm spending most of my time working. That David guy is definitely in the right job.

 

[quadpatch]

Good points indeed. I must say it sent a shiver down my spine when I saw the cost of some of those bits of equipment!!