[Yazen]

Hello everyone,
 
Like the title of this thread, I would like to know if there are any sonic differences between the DT 880 Pro and the DT880 Premium.
I've read a few threads, and all seemed inconclusive.
I am most concerned with sonic differences that are not from the additional clamping factor.  I purchased a pair of 880 Pros for $208, which seemed to have hit a low peak.  
 
If anyone has had ample experience with both and would like to share their thoughts on the matter I would highly appreciate it.  Would certainly be nice to know ahead of time before I void my return!

 

[pp312]

The consensus of opinion from those who've heard both is that there's not a huge difference. My advice is that if you got a pair of pros for $208 rejoice in your bargain, forget about what might be marginally better (or might not) and listen to some music. The DT880 Pro is an exceptional headphone for that price and quite a bit above. 

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

The consensus of opinion from those who've heard both is that there's not a huge difference. My advice is that if you got a pair of pros for $208 rejoice in your bargain, forget about what might be marginally better (or might not) and listen to some music. The DT880 Pro is an exceptional headphone for that price and quite a bit above. 

Indeed, the only thing I heard different about the 600 Ohm is it has a touch more Bass and Lower mids, and by a touch I mean A TOUCH. But I owned the dt 880 pro and with a Clean Source and a Warm amp it was heavenly [an cheap] 

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

Indeed, the only thing I heard different about the 600 Ohm is it has a touch more Bass and Lower mids, and by a touch I mean A TOUCH. But I owned the dt 880 pro and with a Clean Source and a Warm amp it was heavenly [an cheap] 

 
Quote:

The consensus of opinion from those who've heard both is that there's not a huge difference. My advice is that if you got a pair of pros for $208 rejoice in your bargain, forget about what might be marginally better (or might not) and listen to some music. The DT880 Pro is an exceptional headphone for that price and quite a bit above. 

I was really looking to upgrade in terms of detail.  I had the MA900, AD900x, and DT 990 Pro.  
I have sold all three and lost roughly 30% of my initial spending money 

 
Basically, I was tired of having 3 headphones, and would prefer a headphone with the best genre bandwidth.  HE-400 looks tempting, but for $208 I was inclined to try the DT880 Pro, as I heard that the HE-400 was more or less a sidegrade.
 
Quote:

Indeed, the only thing I heard different about the 600 Ohm is it has a touch more Bass and Lower mids, and by a touch I mean A TOUCH. But I owned the dt 880 pro and with a Clean Source and a Warm amp it was heavenly [an cheap] 

In detail/texture, or impact?  I could care less about impact 

I really wanted a headphone that was superior to the MA900, AD900x, and DT990 Pro.
 
I was looking into the AD1000x/HE-400/(T50RP Mod) set of headphones.  But then I remembered, I really liked the DT990 Pro on my darker sounding Zune HD.
 
I hope the bass isn't slow and muddy like someone has reviewed on the forum, or the midrange is more recessed.....  I really like having a prominent midrange, or at least flat lol
 
 
 
Thanks for the positive reinforcement guys, I took the savings and put them into a Sen Amperior for $130 XD
 
Not sure whether I want to get a darker sounding headphone or not, the darkest headphone I've tried is the HM5.. (not really dark)
Maybe I need to try the darker side of things, I know I hate too much brightness!

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

 
I was really looking to upgrade in terms of detail.  I had the MA900, AD900x, and DT 990 Pro.  
I have sold all three and lost roughly 30% of my initial spending money 

 
Basically, I was tired of having 3 headphones, and would prefer a headphone with the best genre bandwidth.  HE-400 looks tempting, but for $208 I was inclined to try the DT880 Pro, as I heard that the HE-400 was more or less a sidegrade.
 
In detail/texture, or impact?  I could care less about impact 

I really wanted a headphone that was superior to the MA900, AD900x, and DT990 Pro.
 
I was looking into the AD1000x/HE-400/(T50RP Mod) set of headphones.  But then I remembered, I really liked the DT990 Pro on my darker sounding Zune HD.
 
I hope the bass isn't slow and muddy like someone has reviewed on the forum, or the midrange is more recessed.....  I really like having a prominent midrange, or at least flat lol
 
 
 
Thanks for the positive reinforcement guys, I took the savings and put them into a Sen Amperior for $130 XD
 
Not sure whether I want to get a darker sounding headphone or not, the darkest headphone I've tried is the HM5.. (not really dark)
Maybe I need to try the darker side of things, I know I hate too much brightness!

Well the dt 880 600 ohm imo is an upgrade. But I like Bright headphones, and the 600 ohm has apprently a slighty warmer sound sig. Which means a little more lower mids and more Bass texture and punch, Plus it scales a little better than the pro 250. But if you like prominet Mid Range, try the Ath W1000x It's a closed can but it was a perfect compliment to the dt 880 imo, For a closed can it had the dt 880s qualitys but instead of beautiful airy highs, it was mids [I've modded mine so it's even tighter than stock] but the ath AD1000x should be nice to, I like AT's mid sound! 

 

[Brooko]

Well the dt 880 600 ohm imo is an upgrade. But I like Bright headphones, and the 600 ohm has apprently a slighty warmer sound sig. Which means a little more lower mids and more Bass texture and punch, Plus it scales a little better than the pro 250. But if you like prominet Mid Range, try the Ath W1000x It's a closed can but it was a perfect compliment to the dt 880 imo, For a closed can it had the dt 880s qualitys but instead of beautiful airy highs, it was mids [I've modded mine so it's even tighter than stock] but the ath AD1000x should be nice to, I like AT's mid sound! 

In curious - have you actually heard the 600 ohm - and have you directly compared both? I've owned both and compared the two. IMO the 600 sounds virtually same as the 250. If anything, my Pros had slightly more bass (marginal) but I put that down to clamp and maybe pad differences. My 600 might also be very slightly smoother in the highs - but again it's not really noticeable unless you critically listen - and I'd be more inclined to put it down to fit and pads.

Unless you have an OTL tube set-up with a high output resistance, I'd stick with your 250's Yazen.

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

Well the dt 880 600 ohm imo is an upgrade. But I like Bright headphones, and the 600 ohm has apprently a slighty warmer sound sig. Which means a little more lower mids and more Bass texture and punch, Plus it scales a little better than the pro 250. But if you like prominet Mid Range, try the Ath W1000x It's a closed can but it was a perfect compliment to the dt 880 imo, For a closed can it had the dt 880s qualitys but instead of beautiful airy highs, it was mids [I've modded mine so it's even tighter than stock] but the ath AD1000x should be nice to, I like AT's mid sound! 

 
Quote:

In curious - have you actually heard the 600 ohm - and have you directly compared both? I've owned both and compared the two. IMO the 600 sounds virtually same as the 250. If anything, my Pros had slightly more bass (marginal) but I put that down to clamp and maybe pad differences. My 600 might also be very slightly smoother in the highs - but again it's not really noticeable unless you critically listen - and I'd be more inclined to put it down to fit and pads.

Unless you have an OTL tube set-up with a high output resistance, I'd stick with your 250's Yazen.

 
This is what I mean lol!  This is exactly what I am confused 

Every thread regarding this matter has contrasting opinions about the two.
 
 
 
I got a reply back from jupitreas regarding the same topic,

 
jupitreas:
 
Hi, there is a difference between the Pro 250 and the Premium 600 as they use different drivers. The Premium 250 on the other hand, uses the exact same drivers as the Pro 250 and they basically sound the same. The Pro 250 has a bit more clamp and so the sound is a little more forward, but not by much, and you can easily stretch the headband to have the same clamp as the Premium version.

 
I hate to be a burden, but when opinions contrast like this I can't help but feel insecure...

 

[Tiemen]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/506963/dt880-600ohm-bs

 

[pp312]

Quote:

I hate to be a burden, but when opinions contrast like this I can't help but feel insecure...

 
Well, looks like you're headed for a life of insecurity.

 
But seriously, would you expect there not to be contradictions? We all hear differently, have different expectations, different equipment...and we're not even talking about different headphones but variations between the same brand and model! In any case if there were not different opinions there would be no Head-Fi, and none of us wants that.  

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

 
 
This is what I mean lol!  This is exactly what I am confused 

Every thread regarding this matter has contrasting opinions about the two.
 
 
 
I got a reply back from jupitreas regarding the same topic,
 
 
I hate to be a burden, but when opinions contrast like this I can't help but feel insecure...

 
Like I suggested - the differences if any are minimal - and I attribute them more to clamp and pad condition differences.  The reasons I was asking Mshenay if he'd actually heard and compared the two (600 vs 250) were because of his comments such as:
 

• the only thing I heard different about the 600 Ohm is it has a touch more Bass and Lower mids
• and the 600 ohm has apprently a slighty warmer sound sig

 
To me - it sounds as though he owned the 250 ohm, but either hasn't directly compared or heard the 600 ohm - and is probably going on heresay.  Which if true - makes this kind of redundant:
 

• Plus it scales a little better than the pro 250
• Well the dt 880 600 ohm imo is an upgrade

 
@Mshenay - if I've got this wrong - I apologise in advance.  I know our hearing is different - but in direct comparisons - I wouldn't call the 600 ohm an upgrade over the 250 ohm.  And I definitely wouldn't call the 600 ohm warmer .......   I bought my 600 ohm because I had to heard for myself if there was a true sonic difference.  The only reason I sold the 250s and kept the 600s is that most of the time I use my LD MKIV (OTL). 

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

 
Well, looks like you're headed for a life of insecurity.

 
But seriously, would you expect there not to be contradictions? We all hear differently, have different expectations, different equipment...and we're not even talking about different headphones but variations between the same brand and model! In any case if there were not different opinions there would be no Head-Fi, and none of us wants that.  

haha!  Usually there is a consensus of opinions.  There may be a few extremities here and there, but in the end one could get a good idea of what to expect.  

Quote:

 
Like I suggested - the differences if any are minimal - and I attribute them more to clamp and pad condition differences.  The reasons I was asking Mshenay if he'd actually heard and compared the two (600 vs 250) were because of his comments such as:
 
 
To me - it sounds as though he owned the 250 ohm, but either hasn't directly compared or heard the 600 ohm - and is probably going on heresay.  Which if true - makes this kind of redundant:
 
 
@Mshenay - if I've got this wrong - I apologise in advance.  I know our hearing is different - but in direct comparisons - I wouldn't call the 600 ohm an upgrade over the 250 ohm.  And I definitely wouldn't call the 600 ohm warmer .......   I bought my 600 ohm because I had to heard for myself if there was a true sonic difference.  The only reason I sold the 250s and kept the 600s is that most of the time I use my LD MKIV (OTL). 

Thanks!  I feel a lot more confident with my purchase 

I was going to get the LD MKIV off massdrop, opted for the Aune T1 instead.  Probably should have gotten the LD MKIV and paired it with my Musiland 02, but the Aune T1 went for $130 incl shipping.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

 
Like I suggested - the differences if any are minimal - and I attribute them more to clamp and pad condition differences.  The reasons I was asking Mshenay if he'd actually heard and compared the two (600 vs 250) were because of his comments such as:
 
 
To me - it sounds as though he owned the 250 ohm, but either hasn't directly compared or heard the 600 ohm - and is probably going on heresay.  Which if true - makes this kind of redundant:
 
 
@Mshenay - if I've got this wrong - I apologise in advance.  I know our hearing is different - but in direct comparisons - I wouldn't call the 600 ohm an upgrade over the 250 ohm.  And I definitely wouldn't call the 600 ohm warmer .......   I bought my 600 ohm because I had to heard for myself if there was a true sonic difference.  The only reason I sold the 250s and kept the 600s is that most of the time I use my LD MKIV (OTL). 

Yeaper it was only speculations, and there was still a grain of truth in what I said. I'd like to use an OTL tube like the MKIV, and the amp paired with the 600 ohm can should result in more warmth
 
but yea... I never heard the 600 ohm, but the combination of can and powerful amp should be better than what the 250 ohm variant can options 
 
BUT Brooko is right, he's got the experince xD 

 

[Brooko]

Funny thing is that the 250ohm also sounded fantastic out of the Little Dot.  If I had to repurchase again - I think I'd probably go back to the 250 ohm Pros - simply because of the price.  That way you also get the advantage of better performance with a portable amp if necessary.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

Funny thing is that the 250ohm also sounded fantastic out of the Little Dot.  If I had to repurchase again - I think I'd probably go back to the 250 ohm Pros - simply because of the price.  That way you also get the advantage of better performance with a portable amp if necessary.

I'm sure, the 880 pro was my favorite can, and... how does the 250 compare to the 600 ohm out of the MKIV. And I can pick up on the marginal differances [I do quite a bit of Eq'ing n modding to my cans <3] 

 

[jupitreas]

To clarify on my PM to Yazen - yes, there is a difference between the 250 Ohm and 600 Ohm versions but it is not a huge difference. As has been mentioned in this thread already, the 600 is a little softer in the treble and might have a touch more lower-mid and upper-bass weight, but the difference is marginal. It all really depends on what kind of amp you have - the 600 really needs a good amp, while the 250 still needs an amp to sound best, but doesn't really need it to sound decent (they can be driven out of a computer sound card, I've done it before).
 
BTW - the DT880 is not really an upgrade over the DT990 in terms of resolution. They have the same amount (although the DT990 being brighter is more in your face with the detail) and the big difference is really in sound signature, not resolution, clarity etc.
 
In summary - the DT880 Pro 250 and the DT880 Premium 250 sound the same - they have the same drivers and the only difference between them is in the clamp. You can adjust the clamp by bending the metal headband so this is really not a difference at all. The Premium 600 sounds a little different as it uses different drivers, but the difference is not huge. Personally, I'd go for the 250 Ohm version due to them being more universal and compatible with a larger amount of amps and sources.