mini review: beyerdynamic dt880

i loves me my dt770s. they're great, and they're my first hifi cans, so all comparisons are consciously or unconsciously made to them.

via work i scored the opportunity to borrow some dt880s, in temporary trade for my k701s. i've been thinking for a while of getting some dt880s, then no-buy month struck and kind of stuck. try-before-i-buy is nice, and since i'm shaving my head anyhow in a week or two, i have no fear of lice (but while i'm rhyming, i should claim to like the rice (it's my only vice (i eat it without spice (at nearly any price (as long as its genes are unspliced))))))))).

i side-by-sided the 880s and 701s on my lavry, and side-by-sided the 770s and 880s on my headroom microstack.

one thing that really surprised me is how much better the 880s sound on the lavry than the microstack. now, that shouldn't surprise me, that's why the lavry cost more than the microstack, but nonetheless, i was not expecting so big a difference. honestly, it may have been the home vs. work listening conditions, but i don't think so. i can't quantify the differences, sadly, it just seemed to me that for the same music, the lavry made the 880s sound *better* than the microstack.

the 880s have more midrange and upper-bass than the 770s, and more bass overall than the 701s. compared to the 701s, the bass seems uncontrolled and a bit flabby. in fact, the 880s sound overall "warmer" than the 701s, and that's really my first experience of "warmth" in head-fi. that surprised me also, since the 880s were, by all accounts, comparable in sound to the 701s. i did not find this to be so.

the response curve of the 770s is a big valley, with humps at the bass and the treble. the 880s sound very different. the 770s have a big punch in the bass attack, the 880s are smoother. the 701s have amazing sound-space and instrument separation, the 880s do not have as much separation, but they still have a fair amount -- perhaps not more than the 770s. they are eminently more comfy than the 701s: cushy and light.

so, were i to get a pair of the 880s (and i think i shall not, the 990s now interest me more) they would not replace the 701s for analytical enjoyment of classical music. they might replace them for rock (green day's "american idiot" sounded so great on them i got to really focus on how intensely i dislike the lyrics and production) or for casual listening to classical -- background cans. they're certainly good at that, since they just melt onto the head.

overall, i like them at least as much as the 701s, but aside from the comfort, they're not different/better enough to warrant getting a pair for myself. i really do like they beyer "house sound", which perhaps is not actually a sound (since the 770s response curve is so monumentally different than the 880s) but more of a comfort philosphy. both 880s and 770s sound good at low levels, not entirely so much the 701s.

it'll be interesting to hear what hte owner of the 880s thinks of my 701s.