cmk

Thanks to tbln, I've found my cable of choice to match up with the PA2V2 with the Kimber. Was mighty impressed with the Zu, unfortunately it was priced to match as well. Canare cables will sound nice and round, not offensive in any particular way. The downside is that they tend to lack in refinement, but should balance out cans which are tilted too much to the treble. Cardas has very nice mids, and overall will sound very pleasant. Bass does not extend very deep. For those going to LHS, try to look for a shielded cable with higher guage (higher number is a thinner cable) and high purity copper/silver. This should match the amp well.

Wah liow! At that price, sign me up for one too! Wait, I need to re-evaluate both cans first...hold on a sec.

AhDU I think you need to be very clear about which year the 990 comes from. AFAIK, the 990 was launched in Germany in late 2005, only arrived on our shores in 2006, so it could be (most likely is) a case of mistaken identity.

An interesting new development has come up...I now have a set of the new DT990 for home trial. While I did listen to them straight out of the box and it didn't impress, the 990s are now more run-in and the sound has become more balanced. Stay tuned as these 2 go head to head in a final show down.

The problem with the imbalance channel has disappeared, think I also re-positioned the cans over my ears for better centering. I do not feel the music more fatiguing with the detail retrieval, in fact, I'm quite used to it. I suppose it really depends on which headphone you are using with it. I find the K501 a good match with it, as well as the 880. Also the bass seems to extend deeper than before, but the centre image is still in the middle of my head. I suppose a change of mini-mini cable is needed to tighten things up.

When's my turn?

If my ears can "tar han" that kind of punishment, any other CD after that would sound good - LOL. Seriously, I use that and even Michael's Dangerous CD as test discs. You'll be surprised how good they can sound if setup properly and I play them back on my main rig, so the headphone should not be too far off.

Since nobody really answered your question, I'll give some suggestion. Actually its quite simple, just pick a CD or two, which has lots of treble and bass then put the CD on repeat. Let it play through the 990 for a few hours, then change to something else, maybe with lots of percussion and do the same thing. Your headphones should run in very quick. The alternative is to get the XLO, Chesky or similar burn in CD and play those test sweep tones, repeatedly. I find this boring, but its supposed to work.

"There's a hole in the bucket" Harry Belafonte & Odetta from the "Live at Carnegie Hall" album.

ygpm

afbug/fongalv Any recommendations for a better IC? If I want to choose my cable and/or DIY one, does someone like LHS carry those 1/8" plugs? Ok, I tried out both direct AC and with batteries, its clearly batteries which have lower noise and they sound louder too, don't ask me why. The channel imbalance I hear is despite turning up the vol. I have it at around 2 o'clock and its there on the MS Pro, but its not apparent on any of my other cans. I did try it out with the 990Pro, K501 and 880, all sounded good. Shipping took 10 days exactly.

I think this is a bit system dependent. I'm using it with the MS Pros on my iRiver IP400 and it sounds v good. The soundstage expands quite a bit and the music has more body. So far only complaint is that it doesn't extend very deep into the bass, but I'm splitting hairs here and comparing it with my home rig. For a mobile amp, its great. I'll need more time to try it out on my other cans, but so far so good. The mids are especially nice. The sound appears to be tilted to the right channel, mmm... not so good here. The MS Pros are balanced to w/i 0.5db for both channels, so it can't be the cans. I'm beginning to suspect the cheap mini-mini cable. It could be just a thing with running-in, its fine on another song. The highs are quite crisp, v nice. I'll report back when I've spent more time playing around with this cute thing. On another vocal piece its seems to be fine, vocals are centered, but the lower mids are a bit too full, giving a rounded presentation, and consequently the image is blurred. Again, here this is in comparison with the home rig. As a portable amp, I think it does everything asked of it quite well.

Why do you want to send a cheque to the US? If it is drawn on a Singapore bank, whoever gets your cheque will have to wait for the bank to send it back to Singapore to clear before he can get any funds. If it is drawn on a US bank, then that's fine. Better way to send money is Paypal, or Western Union, or TT. Most economical way is to use SingPost.

Ok question answered, quite obvious actually.

Yes of course its the 250ohm stock model, there is a hint of tube noise when I turn up the vol with the 880, but not with the other cans I have. Asked TS about it and he said he will modify the design by adding a choke(?), I'm not technically inclined, so no idea what this does. He also mentioned using low noise tubes, which I have a few lying around somewhere, so it should not be a problem.

Cost is US$56 w/o the adaptor.

I just received a new PA2V2 from Gary, arrived in a nicely packaged small bubble wrap envelope, incredibly small. Went and got myself one of those multivoltage adaptors and plugged in the power supply, was fortunate to have plugged in the negative tip correctly and powered up the unit. It works fine and sounds, Large, shall we say. Much bigger than the size of the unit itself. Now I was wondering about those of you who own one, does it sound better with the AC plugged in, or better battery powered? I'll go home tonite and try out myself, but just wanted to find out others' opinion.

Thanks all for the advice, think I'll stick with the 250ohm version. My concern with the high impedence cans was that if I needed to raise the vol too much, it would also amplify any noise in the amp's circuit, incl tube noise.

Not sure if you got it correct, but the lower the impedence, the less you need to turn up the volume to get the same loudness.

Or go for the leather options: 32ohms Headband - Beige leather Ear pad - Beige leather Housing - Black Mounting - Grey End piece - Grey Aluring - Gold Yoke - Champagne Check it out here under Manufacture.

Thanks squalle, I'm just wondering about the Beyer Manufacture options: 32ohms Aluring - Red Yoke - Blue Housing - Black Mounting - Grey End piece - Grey Headband - leatherette Ear pad - velour silver

Your wife is very supportive.

I had been waiting a good 2 weeks or so for the DT990 to arrive at Jaben so I could go down and have a listen. Messaged him numerous times, and each time I got the same reply - no yet. I think he kinda got tired of seeing my message, until he didn't reply, so I called, and sure enough, it was the same reply. Then last Friday, Wilson messaged me saying that it will be in after 4pm. I called just to make sure it was in, not another disappointing no-show, and it arrived as he said. Wait, but this is about the 880, not the 990. Well when I arrived, I say a couple of boxes of the 990 and the 880 lined up on the floor. Fresh out of the box, I took the 990 and hooked it up to the Diva amp to have a listen. I had a brief listen before at AA, so my expectations were high. The sound of the 990 was a bit bass heavy and the treble was tilted up, similar to my old 990pro before modification. Then I switched over to the 880 just to see how it sounded like and I was very surprised. Gone was the thinness of the 880, replaced with a fuller, deeper sounding can. All the shortcomings of the old model were addressed with this new iteration. It was quick and fast through the mids and highs, light footed, and the bass extended lower than before. Then the ever friendly Wilson suggested that I take home the 880. Mmm...this gets even better. So the 880 went into the nice black leatherette bag and home it went. I plugged it into the Diva again back home and then took some other music to see what would happen, whether the same magic would still be there. Putting some rock music on, Avril Lagvene, sounded downright harsh, the electric guitars put out some unearthly brightness that I couldn't last very long. So I left that CD in repeat mode and went about my other business. Coming back to the CD after that breakin, I was surprised at the change that took place. It was less bright, still bright, but bearable nonetheless, and this after only 3 hours of continuous music. In fact, I heard things I didn't hear before, a testament to the 880's resolving power. Playing my favourite cello test CD, Zuill Bailey, the cello's colors were well defined, especially when the music extended to the mids, the harmonic structure of the notes were especially clear. The instrument's body was evident with this close miked recording. Compared to my 990Pro, the 990p gave a closer rendering of the music, while the 880 was slightly more laid back. On jazz and vocals, where the mids are most important, this is where the 880s shine. Stacy Kent singing "So Nice" with Jim Tomlinson on Brazilian Sketches is sooo nice, seductive. Also Linda Rondstadt's "Round Midnight" sound just lush, with clear separation of the instruments, and a big soundstage. On Diana Krall's "Girl in the other room" the high resolution recording comes through crystal clear without any smearing of the music. Less you get the idea the 880 is a detail freak, its not just that, it brings out the detail without sounding harsh. Liquid is the correct word. With the song "Temptation", the drum strikes have impact, the double bass notes are there and they don't cloud the other instruments, just provide foundation and tempo. The electric guitar shimers in the background, without drawing attention to itself. On to some large orchestral pieces. I switched to an old 1970 recording of Kyung Wha Chung performing Tchaikovsky's violin concerto with Andre Previn, LSO. This is a classic because it was recorded when Ms Chung was still a young prodigy and she tackles this piece with such maturity it raised her to the status of first rank virtuoso. With the 880, fortunately or not, the recording shows its age with tape hiss apparent in the background, so you can sure every little mote will be reveiled. Those familar with this piece will know it takes tremendous skill to perform, and KWC's brushes of the bow across the strings is well highlighted, from the lightest draw to its end. As the orchestra comes in after her cadenza, the full width, height and power is shown in its glory. There is no compression of the soundstage, or the strikes of the timpani. In summary, the 880 presents a very balanced, musical, intimate, tonally accurate picture of the music. The highs are pristine, occassionally has some rough edges, but the mids are really excellent, liquid and effortless. The bass has just enough depth and impact to reinforce the music's foundation. The soundstage is not front row, perhaps row 8-10, close enough to get in all the details. Dynamics are v good, not the best, but close. Overall a v good all round headphone with all kinds of music. Since I didn't get to listen extensively to the 990 after burn in, pls take the above comments about the 990's sound as inconclusive and have a listen for yourself. Now my problem is, do I pass it back to Jaben or keep it?

Hi charismatic Yup, I think you are spot on about the 701. I didn't listen to the 601, so no comment. The 880 is well, interesting. I took it back and tried it out on rock, sounded bright. After burning in (I set the CD on replay) and went for tennis, it sounds much better. Still trying out with other types of music, before I go back to rock/pop. Also noted that the soundstage appears to be smaller with performers in a tightly packed circle, although you can distinguish each one separately. Still needs more burning in.

Taping on this interesting thread started by Wenjia, I think someone should do a proper comparison of their sonics in a controlled environment, in particular, I'm interested to know how the following phones compare : a) AKG K701 Beyer DT880/990 (2006 models) c) Senn HD600/650 (stock/w cable mods) Anyone want to provide samples for a shoot out?