Who needs a Beyerdynamic DT880?
If you are looking to build a neutral rig for critical listening, the usual price-performance king is the Sennheiser HD600. Of course, you could also go with a T90 or a Stax, but then you would be paying more for the privilege. The 600 ohm DT 880 hovers around the same price range as a HD600, and can often be found for cheaper.
Why do I call this "endgame for some"?
If you are looking to build a really transparent, neutral setup, of course you can spend thousands of dollars, but you don't have to. The transparent setup that makes the most sense from the price-performance perspective is ODAC > O2 > HD600. The 600 ohm DT880 offers a viable alternative, especially since Beyerdynamic retail prices tend to fluctuate much more wildly than Sennheiser, therfore if you time your purchase right you can get a critical listening setup for less, which is not too shabby.
And what you get will be very close to something that is 3 or 4 x the price. There's a reason the 600 ohm 880 gets compared so often to electrostatic s especially Stax, in reviews.
Who needs 600 ohm headphones?
Well, not folks who want to run their headphones using their phone, that's for sure. High impedance headphones make the most sense for folks who can power them appropriately. Now you don't need the power output of a nuclear reactor to run 600 ohm DT880s at top efficiency, but you don't want to pair them with something with anemic output either. With high impedance headphones you don't have to worry about damping factor that much either, no matter what you plug them into.
How bright are they? How fatiguing is the treble?
Brightness and easy fatigability are the two most common criticisms leveled against Beyerdynamic headphones. All Beyers sound a little bright. The most neutral of their product range is probably the 600 ohm DT880, followed by the T90. What you are getting with the 880 is a relatively neutral pair of headphones that veers modestly towards brightness. Unlike the DT990, the treble is not super forward at all. And it is not bright like the Grado SR60 is, so it is not really hugely fatiguing.
How does the soundstage of the DT880 compare to the AKG K701?
Of the two, the K701 has wider soundstage. Technically Beyer calls the 880 "semi closed". IMO that's, well, neither here nor there - either a headphone is open or it is not. The 880 is open. Maybe not as much as the 990, but its soundstage behaves like those of open headphones.
How does the Beyerdynamic DT770 compare to the 880?
I keep hearing about how DT770 bass is huge compared to 880. To some degree, this is true. But not so much for the 600 ohm versions as for the rest. Having heard both, I will tell you that the comparisons by many are not accurate.
Why do I say this? Here is a graph comparing the 600 ohm 770 (in blue) with the 880 (red) and 990 (green). You will see that the 880 and 990 follow a very similar FR, except for the 100-700 Hz bump that the 990 has, as well as the high frequency peak. This is what gives the 600Hz 990 the "V" prominent sound that is characteristic.
Now look at the 770 bass, particularly the sub-bass, in comparison to the 880. Yes, it is weaker. The closed cups increases resonance and boominess, but the 600 Hz 770 is not as bassy as its lower impedance siblings.
Now check out this graph of the 32 ohm 770 (in blue) vs the 32 ohm 880 (in red). This is the "bass heavy" 770 that folks talk about all the time.
And finally, here is the graph of the 600 ohm 770 vs the 32 ohm 770. You can see that they have very different lower end profiles.
What do they sound like?
Lots of reviews out there, so I won't get into minute details. In sum, if I had to describe 880s in one word I would call them "clean". They are not warm at all, and not colored. They work great for critical listening, and can bring out flaws of inferior recordings just like HD600s can.
If you are looking to build a neutral rig for critical listening, the usual price-performance king is the Sennheiser HD600. Of course, you could also go with a T90 or a Stax, but then you would be paying more for the privilege. The 600 ohm DT 880 hovers around the same price range as a HD600, and can often be found for cheaper.
Why do I call this "endgame for some"?
If you are looking to build a really transparent, neutral setup, of course you can spend thousands of dollars, but you don't have to. The transparent setup that makes the most sense from the price-performance perspective is ODAC > O2 > HD600. The 600 ohm DT880 offers a viable alternative, especially since Beyerdynamic retail prices tend to fluctuate much more wildly than Sennheiser, therfore if you time your purchase right you can get a critical listening setup for less, which is not too shabby.
And what you get will be very close to something that is 3 or 4 x the price. There's a reason the 600 ohm 880 gets compared so often to electrostatic s especially Stax, in reviews.
Who needs 600 ohm headphones?
Well, not folks who want to run their headphones using their phone, that's for sure. High impedance headphones make the most sense for folks who can power them appropriately. Now you don't need the power output of a nuclear reactor to run 600 ohm DT880s at top efficiency, but you don't want to pair them with something with anemic output either. With high impedance headphones you don't have to worry about damping factor that much either, no matter what you plug them into.
How bright are they? How fatiguing is the treble?
Brightness and easy fatigability are the two most common criticisms leveled against Beyerdynamic headphones. All Beyers sound a little bright. The most neutral of their product range is probably the 600 ohm DT880, followed by the T90. What you are getting with the 880 is a relatively neutral pair of headphones that veers modestly towards brightness. Unlike the DT990, the treble is not super forward at all. And it is not bright like the Grado SR60 is, so it is not really hugely fatiguing.
How does the soundstage of the DT880 compare to the AKG K701?
Of the two, the K701 has wider soundstage. Technically Beyer calls the 880 "semi closed". IMO that's, well, neither here nor there - either a headphone is open or it is not. The 880 is open. Maybe not as much as the 990, but its soundstage behaves like those of open headphones.
How does the Beyerdynamic DT770 compare to the 880?
I keep hearing about how DT770 bass is huge compared to 880. To some degree, this is true. But not so much for the 600 ohm versions as for the rest. Having heard both, I will tell you that the comparisons by many are not accurate.
Why do I say this? Here is a graph comparing the 600 ohm 770 (in blue) with the 880 (red) and 990 (green). You will see that the 880 and 990 follow a very similar FR, except for the 100-700 Hz bump that the 990 has, as well as the high frequency peak. This is what gives the 600Hz 990 the "V" prominent sound that is characteristic.
Now look at the 770 bass, particularly the sub-bass, in comparison to the 880. Yes, it is weaker. The closed cups increases resonance and boominess, but the 600 Hz 770 is not as bassy as its lower impedance siblings.
Now check out this graph of the 32 ohm 770 (in blue) vs the 32 ohm 880 (in red). This is the "bass heavy" 770 that folks talk about all the time.
And finally, here is the graph of the 600 ohm 770 vs the 32 ohm 770. You can see that they have very different lower end profiles.
What do they sound like?
Lots of reviews out there, so I won't get into minute details. In sum, if I had to describe 880s in one word I would call them "clean". They are not warm at all, and not colored. They work great for critical listening, and can bring out flaws of inferior recordings just like HD600s can.
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