"Opening" a BeyerDynamic DT880 cans

[Mackie 0]

My cans setup

 

My cans corner

 

I've just switched from a Sennheiser HD600 to a BeyerDynamic DT880 and the decision was made at a spur of the moment of merely 5-10 minutes. Impulsive? Yes. Regret? No! Here are my opinions after a full run-in of the new cans (>200 hours) and careful scrutinizing in the following order. All opinions are solely mine and biased. Any comparison made was relative to the Senn HD600 cans that I used to own.

 

Album 1: "Day Dreaming" by Keiko Lee

Track 12 - "What A Wonderful World"

The opening vocals struck me as very airy and full of depth while fingering on the piano keys were extremely clear. Body of Keiko's voice had a tad less body than HD600 but still rich. Hear out the guitar's entry (3.00 min) which presented a very rich ambience. This was a tad less apparent on HD600 which I suspect is due to the bloom of its upper bass/lower mid range.

 

Track 7: "Afro Blue"

First impression was the plucking of strings on the double bass that sounded less meaty than HD600 but low notes still carried better attack and snappier via the DT880. Snaring notes and key fingering on the accordion were clear and the sparring session with the double bass (2:25 min) was presented with good separation and articulation; the highs and lows well distinguished simultaneously. HD600 sounded more weighty but thicker than the DT880 which offers a better tonal balance on this track.

 

Album 2: "Golden Pieces" by Tsai Chin

Track 1: "Unforgettable"

I noticed good transients on the opening piano intro but on the flip side, the minor distortion of the piano's leading edge (00:46 min) which was not easily detectable on HD600. This approves of the finer analytical capability of DT880. Throughout the piece, positions of the clarinet, double bass and piano from left to right were easily distinguished. DT880 projects a rather wide soundstage and continues to show no sign of the "headphoney" symptoms - a term I coined out to describe the narrow congestion of sound at the upper-center of the listener's head. Perhaps there's a proper term for it but I await correction for now. Once again, DT880 has shown its forte in the lower bass which is taut and detailed throughout the performance of the double bass.

 

Track 7: "Lovers' Tears"

Forget about sound analysis and try to immerse to the emotional singing. Within a rich ambience, the singer was "perceived" to be on the brink of crying as she wavered around 4:50 min mark. From there, emotions maintained fragility and these subtle details are well captured.

 

Album 3: "Antonio Forcione - Live!" by Antonio Forcione

Track 2: "Acoustic Revenge"

Very analytical on the strumming/plucking of guitar strings and also the palm knocks on the body. Decay in the aftermath of each attack on the strings were apparent and helped to maintain rhythm and pace. This track is superb for "Prat" analysis and DT880 passed with flying colours. HD600 sounded a tad slower and thicker in the lower notes. All else being equal, this track got me tapping my feet before the 3:00 min mark, much faster than HD600. From there, the excruciating strumming pace (4:00 min) was presented naturally and yet maintained a high level of details without any sign of lapsing all the way to the climax (6:30 min).

 

Album 4: "Ballads" by Karrin Allyson

Track 4: "All or Nothing At All"

The drum intro showed much poise and definition. Drum kicks were deep, taut and carried a lot of attack. HD600 gives a fuller lower bass but mildly slower in attack. On a greater negative note, HD600 lacks the final extension in bass.

 

Track 5: "I Wish I Knew"

Highlight is on the interlude between drums, double bass and piano from left to right (2:19 min). Double bass sounded very articulate while the movement on the piano's feet pedals was also captured at the same time. Many a time on lesser cans, the more subtle details may be overwhelmed by the double bass. Cymbals and scratching of top hats carried far and wide beyond the limit of cans and remained clear throughout the imposing double bass. Great soundstaging and imaging experienced.

 

Album 5: "Asian Roots" by TakéDake with Neptune

Track 6: "Japanese Roots"

This all-bamboo ensemble track has lots of percussions and drums with a flute projected smack in the center by the DT880. Timbre was good on DT880 but HD600 had a more likeable "skin effect". The former has better dynamics and imaging though. The strong presence and air surrounding each instrument was a delight to listen through the DT880.

 

Album 6: "The Velvet Rope" by Janet Jackson

Track 4: "Got It Till It's Gone"

Upper bass was fuller on HD600 which gave a more weighty sound to this genre. DT880 sounded drier and I preferred the former for its ability to impart the head-nodding impulse of the listener. The background deep sync roll was more apparent on the latter and in this respect, the DT880 has better clarity on the lower bass region. Overall, I prefer HD600 over the DT880 when hip-hop and rap music rule the house.

 

Album 7: "XLO-Test and Burn-In CD"

Track 18: "Weinberger - Polka and Fugue" on Reference Recording

Very good soundstaging and depth with fine presence on each instrument group of the full orchestra. The Fugue (2:18 min) presentation of all the instruments taking their turns on center-stage was so ever articulate and well defined. Entry of the pipe organ (5:38) did not result in congestion and the deep organ roll maintained a good separation from the strings which sounded clear and above the low drones of the organ all the way to the climax (7:28). On the DT880, grit and dynamics were very well handled throughout and showed no sign of saturation or fatigue despite the explosive climax on this track.

 

Summary

Overall, the DT880 is superior in all sonic areas relative to the HD600 but not to a very large degree. The former's forte is in its speed and handling of the lower bass which is really deep for a pair of cans. I relate this depth similar to my Krell KSA-150 power amp that is well known for its bass slam. The latter's richer upper bass/lower mid range is pivotal to its favour. Those who listen to "black"music and favour rich vocals (especially male) may choose the HD600 over DT880. However, some audiophiles will consider this signature as colouration. Once again, to each its own. In my case, the improvement in almost the entire sonic range plus the perception of speed and control are more than enough to prompt me into the BeyerDynamic household.

 

Tweaks:

 

I taped a piece of wooden cone (Audio Industries - Adelphi) to the exterior circumaural driver of DT880 on each side for some tests and I discovered the following results.

 

With the cones in place to dampen resonance, imaging is sharper and this comes as a surprise as the improvement wrought is very obvious. Vocals are more forward and personal while instruments sounded more detailed and rounder. However, all these came at the expense of air and soundstaging. To put an analogy to this result, I would say the tweaks place me closer to the stage with instruments and singer sounding more direct. Hence, the slight loss in width and air. Personally, I prefer these tweaks to be used when listening to vocals, jazz, pop and small scale classical works. For large scale orchestral music, off goes these tweaks.

 

A compromise that I currently favour is to place each piece of the aforementioned cones on my MF X-PSU and MF-X-cans V1 head amp. This configuration gives a good balance of soundstaging and sharper imaging albeit to a lesser degree as the first tweak.

 

Latest Update:

I discovered the type of double side tapes used for the cones do contribute to the resultant sound. The earlier process was employed with the conventional thin double side tape which (in my personal taste) compromises a bit on the soundstaging for large scale orchestral music. I've pared this compromise by the use of the rather "spongy" 3M double side tape which lessens the interaction between the cones and cans' surface. This gives me a good balance between improved imaging and wide soundstaging.

 

System used in review:

Pioneer PD9700 cd player resting on Black Diamond Racing cones type 4;

Musical Fidelity X-24K dac with Belden 1694a digital cord;

Musical Fidelity X-PSU;

Musical Fidelity X-Cans V1 head amp connected via Ecosse-The Composer/Kimber Kable Silver Streak;

Mission Isoplat mdf board coupled with Soundcare Superspikes 2.

 

P.S. regarding the tweaks, Northern Oak was the first person to experience it....with my cans and also his K501.

 

** Latest news ** The consumer versions of DT770 and DT990 are available now.

Edited May 19, 2003 by Mackie

[Mackie 0]

I shall include the images of my setup later.

[ablaze 0]

I think we should have a sticky compiling all our "local" reviews what do you all think?

[Blues 0]

hey.. nice review macke!!

have been looking forward for something like this. I like the sound of hd600 and so I heard the dt880 can knock it off in a few areas...

but reading your review.. hm, can I safely say both are good in their own regard? some tracks you seem to prefer hd600... while the rest are dominated by the dt880

hm

[evil-zen 0]

good review but unfortunately i haven't heard any of the tracks you listed. How about some basic comparisons like treble, midrange, bass and soundstage?

[Mackie 0]

I should have included a summary.....added as deemed appropriate.

[jtfoo 0]

I gotta agree that the DT880 has superd bass defination. On a noisy rock tract, I can follow the bass line very closely. While on my other cans, the bass are line one lump with no definition.

 

Very much like to see how a pic of your cone tweak on your DT880.

[Mackie 0]

good review but unfortunately i haven't heard any of the tracks you listed. How about some basic comparisons like treble, midrange, bass and soundstage?

Hi evil-zen:

 

It was a long review and perhaps a fresh round of perusal will answer all of your concerns. My review was written based on what I can deduce from the sound of DT880 that I currently own and any comparison to the HD600 was based on memory as I no longer have the latter. My intention is not to make a direct comparison but to highlight the strength and weakness (if any...kekeke) of the DT880. Any comparison made to the HD600 is pivotal to the decisive switch to the Beyer camp. This key point was highlighted in the prelude ie. opening sentence.

 

I don't define treble, bass and mid range generally as it's too vast and inaccurate. My usage of lower bass, upper bass, lower mids, upper mids etc are to specifically pin-pont a frequency range for better understanding. As for soundstaging, this area was constantly mentioned and some were left out as the track concerned was not known to exhibit a strength in this area. The various tracks were selected to test the cans' performance in different sonic area of worthy consideration. Thanks for your interest.

Edited April 28, 2003 by Mackie

[Rameish 0]

I would add that the Beyer 880 corrects to a geater or lesser extent the flaws of the Senn HD-600. In my short listening of this can I can tell you it has more grit. Trumpets (which should have bite and attack) are somewhat coated with honey in the Senn. However, being a Grado fanatic, this is what you would expect LOL. My least favourite of the Beyer cans are the 770. I like the DT-150 best (very balanced), DT=990 (on the dark side), DT-831 (on the bright side).

I only had limited exposure with the 880 unlike the other Beyer cans above.

[ting 0]

Agree with Rameish about the grit, I like some honey on my violin and lesser sibilance on female vocal

[Northern Oak 0]

Here's my 2 cents worth on Mackie's wooden cone tweak:

 

The imaging and focus is denfinitely much better than before and that's why I am getting a set of the cones as well. In my technical opinion, this tweak really work because:

 

1. The cones are meant to dampen resonances.

2. Resonances create a sense of multiple point sources for the original sound.

3. Multiple point sources create a sensation of a wider soundstage as the multiple point sources are spread over a wider region.

4. This multiple point sources also create the aural effect of airy music.

5. Multiple point sources also cause the de-focusing of the sound image, making it sound more two dimensional/flat.

 

Another thing to note is that all users should refrain from testing DT880 if they are short of cash because the DT880 can infect all users with the highly infectious disease called "up-gradetits". A syndrome usually found in audiophiles and headphone-philes.

[Mackie 0]

From someone capable of designing a chip, U'd expect no less a technical explanation of how the wooden cones work. Well said Northern Oak!

 

Just remember, the law of resonance applies to all areas in hifi...be it home theatre, 2-channel speakers and cans setups. For the first two systems, the room modes (resonance again) will play a huge part in sound improvement.

 

I always like to pursue this course with cones and coins before looking into changes of body parts.

[Mackie 0]

Agree with Rameish about the grit, I like some honey on my violin and lesser sibilance on female vocal

ting:

 

I think U've misunderstood Rameish's comment. He meant to say DT880 has more grit and presented the bite and attack of trumpets accurately whereas the HD600 seems to coat it with honey and thus, sweeter but with less vibrance.

 

If U like your mids-highs to carry more sweetness at the expense of bass slam and attack, HD600 is definitely for U. No doubt about it as the Senn excels in this sonic area.

 

[Rameish 0]

Mackie,

 

spot on :-)

[Mackie 0]

Dear all,

 

My usb port has collapsed and failed to fulfill my promise to provide pictures. No worries matey! Got a new card and port should be operational; images will be available soon.