Beyerdynamic DT880 has been on the market for a very long time and used to be regarded as one of the best high end headphones before the introduction of the $1000 high end headphones. (Before end of 2009 to early 2010) For the years of their services to the audiophile community, there are several changes have been made to the designs and even sounds in certain version.
SPECS
Transducer type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dynamic
Operating principle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Semi-open
Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 - 35,000 Hz
Nominal impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ω / 250 Ω / 600 Ω
Nominal SPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 dB
T.H.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . < 0.2%
Power handling capacity. . . . . . . . . . 100 mW
Sound coupling to the ear . . . . . . . . Circumaural
Nominal headband pressure . . . . . . . approx. 2.8 N
Cable length and type . . . . . . . . . . . 3 m / straight cable
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gold-plated 1/8" mini stereo
jack plug (3.5 mm)
and 1/4" adapter (6.35 mm)
Weight without cable. . . . . . . . . . . . 290 g
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| The Differences between PRO and Premium is the model numbering for DT880 PRO is printed on the housing while Premium version is on a piece of metal plates as pictured above |
The latest version is the 2005 edition which has been split into two different usages. The first one is for Studio use hence the name of DT880PRO and the second DT880 is design for use for the majority consumer thus given the name of DT880 Premium Headphone. Both the headphones are catering towards different market and therefore there are some differences in sounds between them. Both have the same impedance option of 32ohm, 250ohm, 600ohm. It is said that the 600ohm version have the smoothest sound especially on their treble quality while the 32ohm designs are for portable use. Mine is the 250ohm version where it is in between in which it is still easy to drive but yet still requires certain amount of amplification to improve the sound qualities.
Compared to other 300ohm headphone, the 250ohm version are still fairly easy to drive but will still requires the users to find a synergy match between the headphone and headphone amp just like any headphone out there. But I still suggest you to get a powerful amp instead of a weaker portable amplifier because you don’t want to risk having your ears damaged. Basically the loudness is there but because weaker amplifier can’t produce enough voltage to drive it properly, the users will push the volume more than usual to get the details out thus damaging their ears without them knowing it. With a good high end amplifier such as SPL Auditor, the improvements are very significant and overall tones have been smooth out.
Sound
Beyerdynamic higher end series are famous for their treble details and this headphone is no exception. The extra brightness from this headphone helps it boost the details making this headphone to have an amazing details and clarity for you to enjoy the most of whatever your music is able to provide.
The quality of the treble is still on par with other headphone of this price range but with a different tone to it. The treble of DT880 could have been rather short in decay at time and certain time it just works well enough for the cymbal crash. When the cymbal crashes are too fast or too congested, they will sound sizzly but it is unlike the sizzly sound that you heard on Shroom EB. The sizzly cymbal crashes sounded coming from a slightly further in distance and well separated from the other instruments and are of a higher quality than the Shroom. But the shorter decay can give an impression of dryness at times.
There are many different negative views on the mids part such as recessed, thin, dry and so on. Although I don’t really find it to be recessed but it does sound a bit thin and dry in the midrange. This is most noticeable at the time the audiences are clapping or when the artist snaps their fingers or even the roaring of a thunder. The short decay makes it hard to produce those sounds thus giving it an incomplete sound. However, the dry mids does not interfere much with day to day music listening because I still find it to works quite find even compared to other mids centric headphone. So it is more of a preference and maybe even the system they are matching with. I’m certain I don’t have issue with the mids whether it is vocal, piano, strings instruments or any other things that falls in the midrange frequency.
The bass is fast and highly define. With this headphone you won’t hear as much rumbling lows or even having a punch that can hit your face. However with the lost in the quantity of the bass department, you are compensated with better bass definition thus rendering it to have a bass quality that is so fast and so tight that some people may find it to be an ideal bass. The bass speed is very fast and you won’t be complaining much about the speed or slower bass as shown in the JH16PRO as long as your source could keep up with the speed. For me who is a bass addict, I will still try to match it with components that can enhance the bass so that it can give a better feel to the bass. Having a right combo can give it quite a good amount of kick though it may not be able to help out much in the roll of on the lows. The strange thing is that the unit that I’ve tested when I take an audition in Jaben has more bass than my units. I’m not sure it is because I’ve burn in differently or mine have been burn in much longer or it maybe a placebo effects. So the bass part you should put it into possibly of having bass light or slightly more bass body versions like how some people have different opinion on the bass part of the DT880. Mine are surely on the lighter side.
The overall tone is more on the neutral side with a slight hint of brightness which gives the high amount of details that you get with this headphone. I believe the rather thin and lacks of body on both the mids and bass is the cause of the impression of this headphone sounded bright. However sometimes they can be rather warm sounding with certain songs and sound system. So what you really get here is a neutral headphone that can be both warm and bright sounding depending on the setup and the songs that you are playing. But do note that for the majority of the time the DT880 will be bright sounding and only small chances that they will sound a bit warm.
Besides that, the driver is fast and at the same time retains a very good smooth and fluid sound. But the smoothness is still not the level that could be achieved by the JH16PRO or the super smooth Crossroads HR-1. Pairing it with SPL Auditor does provide it with smoothness in sound that is not too far away from the other two headphones.
The soundstage is typical for a headphone. It is not very wide but there is good sense of depth, width and height which gives it a proper rounded soundstage. The soundstage could be improved further with DAC or headphone amps that have a wider soundstage. But the changes are still going to have its limits because the DT880 is like how it is design, a semi open designs for a semi open soundstage.
Besides soundstage, the isolation is also semi open. You get a small isolation from your environment but still open enough for you to hear someone is talking to you or are walking towards you. This design is ideal for those who seek to isolate a bit of their surroundings but still requiring the users to be aware of it.
If clarity and full soundstage are what you are looking for, the DT880 might be a good choice for you. You could hear every pluck on the string instruments and every vibration of wind instruments with great clarity and the rounded soundstage helps give you a more proper visual of the acoustic in the songs. It is also fast enough for electronica, fast rock, metals and many more.
Nowadays the competition maybe high in this price range but I would say that DT880 is still worth carrying its price tag in todays mid end headphone. Yes, it is not high end but mid because of the introduction of the $1000 headphone. If they were not introduced, I believed the DT880 will still be one of the crowd favorites as a high end headphone among the few top headphone competitors.
Price: US$359/ MYR1300
Source: Govibe DAC, Hifiman HM602, iPod Classic
Amplifier: SPL Auditor, JDS Labs cMoyBB, Hippo Amp
Headphones: JH16PRO, Crossroads HR1, Shure SE535, Superlux HD668B, Crossroads Woody 2
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