So I went ahead with the 880 hype train and bought a used pair along with an asgard 3 and modius dac stack. I really haven’t burnt in the amp too much yet - in fact I’ve barely used it, mostly because the dt 880 are piercingly bright around the 7-10k region. I honestly can barely listen to them for more than 5-10minutes at a time, and even then I can’t say I enjoy much of what’s coming out of them. I also noticed a tab bit of a disappointing bass response from them as well. I knew they wouldn’t be bass monsters but I guess I just assumed for such a lauded headphone that they’d sound better than they do? I could be doing something wrong, or perhaps I’ve been looking in the wrong direction in regards to my ears’ preferences.
Now, I’m not entirely sure if this is because the asgard 3 is brand new and needs to burned in for awhile, or if I’m just particularly sensitive to the sound sig of these headphones. For background, I’ve really only had the momentum 2s, a pair of bose, and a few other cheaper headphones, as well as an old audio technica open back that I no longer have for comparison’s sake. Needless to say I may be doing something wrong to get the most out of these headphones in this set up, plus I may just not have had enough experience to really know what I’m looking for in a headphone yet.
That being said, I could use some suggestions from some more experienced users here. If you were looking for a headset that had some better bass response and a smoother yet still detailed treble response, especially with my amp/dac setup, what would your recommendations be? I’d love to hear recommendations especially with the amp/dac set up in mind, since I do enjoy the idea of having synergy between everything.
Also, if you think there’s something I can do to fix my set up or if you think the burn in is absolutely necessary to do before calling it quits on the dt880, I’m all ears on that front as well. I’ve considered going with dekoni choice suedes to fix the eq a bit for my preferences, but at another 40 bucks I’m starting to think I may want to just invest a little more money and get something a bit better.
As for other headphones I’ve been looking into: Focal Elex, LCD 2c, Aeon 2c, etc…I’m almost starting to think going closed back would be preferable since I listen quite a bit while my wife has the tv on in the same room and it can get quite cacophonous in that situation (not ideal, but that’s the reality of it). I do want both an open back and closed back down the line, especially a closed back that could potentially be traveled with, so any recommendation or advice would be great. Thanks!
Get a fostex t50rp or t60rp and then send it in to Ryan at modhouse to do the argon conversion for you. Argons are a great choice if you’re looking for a more fun bassy but still detailed headphone, here’s a link to the site:
Side note: from what I’ve heard t60rp argon is more detailed than the t50rp argon, both are pretty bassy.
Only downside to going that route is a 6-8 week lead time and just a lot of waiting overall. If you are less patient and willing to do your own mods, the thieaudio phantom is a good choice (however it is an open back). Not a lot of bass out of the box, but you can mod the crap out of this one (using the phantom thread for reference) and get a sound signature you want.
If you want to go for a closed back and spend a bit more then I’d get the fostex TH-X00 or TR-X00 Ebony or purpleheart. Those babys will give you dat bass and some good detail as well. However the X00 line can only be found secondhand on ebay and such right now. If you wanna spend more and go all out then you could look at the fostex th900 mk.ii (this one is moddable as well, but they super expensive at like 1700 new I think).
That’s all I can think of from the top of my head, good luck with your search!
Edit: Just kidding, the campfire audio cascades are known for being bass canons, so if that might interest you there’s that. Oh and the audioquest nighthawks are known for being pretty bassy as well (however they are open back). Hope this helps!
I remember thinking the Asgard 3 was a bit peaky in high gain mode when I first got it, whereas now I find it an acceptable pairing with the DT 880. Whether that’s actual burn-in or just ‘brain’ burn-in, I can’t say for sure. But all along I’ve preferred the Darkvoice with the DT 880 for exposing a unique ‘tubey’ character like no other combo I’ve tried.
It feels like kind of a meme at this point, but I got the Emotiva Basx a-100, and I’m glad I did, because the 880s give me a headache in five minutes on anything else.
I’ve tried them on my Schiit Magni 3+, a Denon AVR, and the Focusrite Scarlett that I use for my microphone I/O, and the 880s sound terrible on them.
But on the BasX with the jumper bypass, they’re incredibly informative and comfortable for hours. Bass is informative but not much else, and treble is great without the piercing headache from other amplifiers.
It’s not likely to change enough to make a significant difference in your sensitivity to that treble region that is inherently elevated on the 880 along with most Beyers. More than anything, ‘brain burn-in’ may make it more tolerable over time, but if you’re only able to do 5-10 minutes before fatigue it may just not be right for you. Beyers, while great at what they do, are not for everyone.
T50RP can also be pretty sharp/peaky in the treble…getting them Argon modded helps smooth to a degree, and the elevated bass helps with perception of the highs.
Not sure if you got the 880 and A3 at the same time, but that sharpness was likely more associated with the 880, as the A3 should help smooth the treble a bit rather than introduce peaks.
Brain burn-in is important! Going from my thx 789 to A3 with the dt880 600. You can tell the treble is dialed back, but at the same time, the mids became shouty for about a day or so. After a few days, the sound signature settles and you might enjoy them.
If you don’t like Mt. Beyer (as we call it), the peak around 7k-10k region, you could roll some Dekoni Suedes on to them. That will darken the headphone and bring up the bass a bit. Even the Dekoni velours will bring that peak down just a bit and sweeten the sound a little more. I would suggest one or both of the pad swaps or balance mod them and get a different amp. Very few amps out there can properly power that headphone single-ended outside of something like an Emotiva BassX a100 with the jumpers installed to really unlock the headphone out.
I really wouldn’t agree with this at all, sure it will smooth out the headphone immensely and give you plenty of headroom, but it will come at a significant cost of sound quality in comparison of other amps at the same or higher price imo. Amp wise, if someone really wanted to chill them out in the treble a significant amount without sacrificing technicalities generally a quality otl can do a good job with that imo, you really don’t need anywhere near the power of a basx a100 to power 880s well at all, you just need quality power to do so (and in the case of the otl messing around with some damping factor and output impedance for changing response). I mean hell I can run the 880 600 off an rnhp more than fine given the dac has enough gain, which according to rough math may be around the 50mw range at 600 ohms, and it sounds fantastic given you aren’t asking them to be driven at ear splitting levels (for reference with that same rough math the basx can give around 600 ish mw at 600 ohms, similar to a lake people g111 in raw power for an 880 600). There is def something to be said about having good headroom and power, but if that comes at the cost of sound quality personally I don’t know if that trade is worth making (with the right amp you can have both though, there are plenty of both tube and ss that can push watts in the 600 ohm range, it just depends on how the amp was designed and what it was designed to drive)
Edit: @23is1 to actually contribute to the question, personally I would see if you can stand them for a few days, make sure your asgard is in high gain, try to get a feel for them, since your other headphones are pretty warmer more relaxed leaning from memory, so it will be pretty different coming from them going to the beyers. This being said, the beyers are neutral brighter by nature, and are also a bit more forward as well, for some that are treble sensitive, their treble will just not fly on any amp and it just isn’t the right headphone for them, so you could try some different pads or some slight mods, but if the treble is that bad, I’d say they just aren’t headphones for you (but I’d still try and give them some chance to get acclimated to them, so you can get some more valuable information on your experience with them and apply that towards looking for a new headphone)
If you can’t really listen to the 880 you’re missing out on adding the experience of its other aspects to your mental database. You might want to try a a ply or two of toilet paper in each ear cup as a very temporary fix to see if that tames the spike enough to let you hear its other aspects. (Problem is this will also cut out a broader swath of treble detail resolution, so take that into account.) Even better would be most any kind of EQ app, doesn’t have to be fancy. If you like its other qualities you can try the Dekoni pads. If not, the search begins for a replacement headphone, but at least you’d have a read on the 880/600 and to some degree 600 Ohms in general.
It definitely feels like a catch-22 for my ears. I’m a lot more sensitive to that particular peak than I thought I would be, and yet I can tell there are some amazing details in these headphones that trounce my old momentum 2s. Especially with certain classical pieces they really can be awesomely bone chilling in their presentation.
I love the idea of collecting a few great headphones, even if I don’t always use all of them, more for the journey than anything else. So part of me is thinking of keeping them and pad swapping for the time being, and then maybe collecting a few choice 100-200 dollar headphones until I’m ready to make a larger leap in the budget. Although if you guys think it would be worth going to an elex or something of the like I’m interested in hearing that perspective too.
If anyone has experience with the aeon 2c, lcd 2c and the elex, are there certain treble peaks that you think could be too much for my preferences on those? I think I’ll pick up the suede pads just in case for now, just to give it an honest shot before moving forward, but I am really curious about these three that are within a comfortable budget if bought used.
Elex is pretty smooth, with no peaks if I remember correctly. But also a huge jump in price lol. Around that same price I really like the 58x, it might be what ur looking for with really detailed but SMOOTH treble and decent bass. Not a bass Canon either but I’m sure it’s better than that of the Beyer. Like I REALLY like it for that price
I do think Id likely get more out of a tube amp than a solid state since I’ve somehow become so sensitive to higher frequencies with age. Sibilance of any kind is like nails on a chalkboard to me,which I didn’t realize until I got the 880s,but perhaps the asgard 3 didn’t help as much as I was expecting in that regard. However moving forward I think I may just bite the bullet and try buying and returning headphones with good return policies until I find a good match for the asgard. It feels a little shady but I don’t have anywhere close by to test headphones and I don’t see any other method to actually gauge my ear preference. I’d love to do the bottle head Crack build though, so that is likely the next step when I invest in a new amp!
This cannot be stated enough about the DT 880 they’re extremely pad sensitive, zeos does a great video on DT 880 pad swapping and would 100% be useful see below
Interesting, didn’t even have Audio Technica on my radar but this sounds promising from the little I’ve researched on it so far. Thanks for the heads up!
