[Shadowboxer]

Hi All,
 
After spending HOURS reading threads on this great forum, decided on the DT880's.  Got them, burned them in for 100 hours, and they just didn't do it for me.  They were a bit bright and sterile sounding.
 
Then decided to try the HD650's.
 
Bingo.
 
Much more organic, life-like, and engaging to my ear.  Also found the treble more to my liking.  The music has such...texture.  Now I need to figure out how to mod the cable to a 3 plug and 4 plug XLR (going to be getting a balanced amp, and the two I am thinking of one has a 3 plug, the other a 4 plug).
 
 
 

 

[jonnyhambone]

interesting to hear!  I've been a bit obsessive re: forum reading for new cans as well.  I've been thinking I'll get a pair of BeyerD. 880 (600ohms) with Christmas $$  this year too.  But I don't have a place locally to compare so I've been curious about the Beyer 880 vs. Senn. 650 sound.  I'm currently listening to vinyl on Grado HF-1's or Senn. HD 25-1 ii's thru a Woo Audio 6SE headphone tube amp. and liking this sound sig.   Lots of music styles que'ed up  but more post-punk/heavy rock/vocal folk than anything...
 

 

[Graphicism]

What source and amp did you use with the DT880s?

 

[alv4426]

DT880 are more for you I would say
 
Quote:

interesting to hear!  I've been a bit obsessive re: forum reading for new cans as well.  I've been thinking I'll get a pair of BeyerD. 880 (600ohms) with Christmas $$  this year too.  But I don't have a place locally to compare so I've been curious about the Beyer 880 vs. Senn. 650 sound.  I'm currently listening to vinyl on Grado HF-1's or Senn. HD 25-1 ii's thru a Woo Audio 6SE headphone tube amp. and liking this sound sig.   Lots of music styles que'ed up  but more post-punk/heavy rock/vocal folk than anything...
 

 

 

[jonnyhambone]

what I've been thinking too but feel like I'm making it up a bit as I go...prob. just get some and see if they work for me...our hobby is one of extreme personal preference when it comes down to it. 
 

 

[Gwarmi]

 
600 ohm DT880/DT990 are finicky beasts, few people pair them properly with the right amp, hence why
so many end up on the 2nd hand market.

 

[imackler]

Yeah, out of an E9... Not my cup of a tea. It felt like there was potential there to be something great...w/ the E9, it was just all so blah. The treble was really metallic/harsh. And the mids...where were they? For crying out loud...
 
Quote:

 
600 ohm DT880/DT990 are finicky beasts, few people pair them properly with the right amp, hence why
so many end up on the 2nd hand market.

 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Yeah, out of an E9... Not my cup of a tea. It felt like there was potential there to be something great...w/ the E9, it was just all so blah. The treble was really metallic/harsh. And the mids...where were they? For crying out loud...
 

 
 
Just finished listening to a well known Chesky ~ ''Around midnight"  By Kenny Rankin ~
the DT990 feels a few more rows back from the 325i, but every pause and breath throughout that vocal is performance
is still there - there is if anything a small dips in the mids, but it's not half bad on that track.
 
The big plus point is that the accompanying double bass line pluck is so clean and deep.

 

[NinjaSquirt]

What amp are you going to be using with the Senn HD650?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i personally love my dt 990s with my WA6SE. they sound just as good as hd 650s and love both of them

 

[Shadowboxer]

I tried the DT's with several amps - LDMKIII and HiFiMan EF-5, and E10 (couldn't power the 600 ohm versions) running DacMagic with WireWorld cables out of a MacBook Pro.  Each amp gave them a slightly different flavor, but overall they were similar.
 
First, the Wirewold cables are fantastic cables: open, airy, good timing, yet the openness is not at the expense of it being a "bright" cable.  It's easy to see why they are 5-star rated by "What Hi-Fi?" (which is the only mag I put any weight on thier reviews).
 
One of the things I found tough to sort through on this forum, is all the people that were making comments on 'phones sound yet had never heard them.  I know they are all tying to be helpful, but it makes the research tough.  I also had to keep in mind that everyone hears differently, and their personal tastes are different.  I prefer a silky smooth treble that is not overpowering.  Some may call it 'dark' - I call it just right.  So if someone writes a headphone is 'crisp' sounding, that was typically my cue to be wary based on my personal taste.
 
I feel the HD650's are more open/airy than the DT's (again, my opinon - not saying it's an objective fact), yet with a less aggressive treble.  the HD's sound more cohesive, more musical, and less analytical than the DT's.
 
Also, there is a level of texture with the HD's that to my ear, the DT's never came close to touching.  Some people prefer to 'analyze' thier music and like the analytical sound.  They believe they want to hear it as the sound engineer meant.  There is nothing wrong with that view.  I prefer instead to have a musical sound, that makes it tough to sit still while listening to the music. 
 
Again, I'm not putting down the DT's.  And others may hear them differently than I.  Now I'm thinking of modding the cable on my HD's to try balanced...

 

[Draygonn]

Yeah, out of an E9... Not my cup of a tea. It felt like there was potential there to be something great...w/ the E9, it was just all so blah. The treble was really metallic/harsh. And the mids...where were they? For crying out loud...

Yep, I found a huge difference when moving from an E9 to a WA2. Brought everything together nicely, 880's love the tubes.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

I tried the DT's with several amps - LDMKIII and HiFiMan EF-5, and E10 (couldn't power the 600 ohm versions) running DacMagic with WireWorld cables out of a MacBook Pro.  Each amp gave them a slightly different flavor, but overall they were similar.
 
I feel the HD650's are more open/airy than the DT's (again, my opinon - not saying it's an objective fact), yet with a less aggressive treble.  the HD's sound more cohesive, more musical, and less analytical than the DT's.

I don't have any experience with the EF-5 or E10 but know from direct experience with the LDIII it cannot power the 600 Ohms Beyers... so it looks like you're comparing an under-powered phone to the much easier powered HD650. The 650s are still rated at 300 Ohms but I find them much easier to power and don't seem to scale like the neutral DT880s. That said the HD650s are more musical, they're colored and some people prefer that. The DT880s are for people that want an almost colorless-neutral sound signature, not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[Shadowboxer]

Quote:

I don't have any experience with the EF-5 or E10 but know from direct experience with the LDIII it cannot power the 600 Ohms Beyers... so it looks like you're comparing an under-powered phone to the much easier powered HD650.
 

 
 
Hmmm.....my LD MKIII had no problem powering the 600 Ohm DT's.  In fact, the LD MKIII is rated for cans up to 600 Ohms, and David from LD confimred in an email the MKIII woud have no problem with 600 Ohms. 

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

 
Hmmm.....my LD MKIII had no problem powering the 600 Ohm DT's.  In fact, the LD MKIII is rated for cans up to 600 Ohms, and David from LD confimred in an email the MKIII woud have no problem with 600 Ohms. 

And how do you come to that conclusion? I can tell you in comparison to many other amps I've heard the 880s with the LDIII is not up to the task. I know it's rated upto 600 Ohm as are most amps, even sound cards for that matter but it's little more than marketing.