A classic almost right up there with the 600/650, a more entry level headphone that will grow as you do and reward you as you move up the ladder. A brighter neutral forward signature on the 880 and a brighter v shape on the 990, wide stage with sharp placement, good punch and impact, great resolution for the money, fairly macrodynamic, solid timbre
Amp picky and can scale very very far for what it is, loves quality tube amps
Admin note: added to include all lower end beyer headphones
Is the 880 600ohm worth it if I already own a T1.2? Ive always wondered, a hfg reviewer said it has better bass extension (x = doubt) and more forward midrange.
Unless you are looking for a different tuning, are a big beyer fanboy, and don’t mind taking a technical step back
I’d disagree with both of that tbh, I would find them to be fairly similar in bass extension, the t1 actually has more bass prominence. Regarding midrange to me the 1.2 has a more forward midrange and the 880 actually has a more dialed back midrange. I do think the 880 might be a bit more forward for really upper midrange or lower treble, but in the meat of the midrange and low midrange the 1.2 has more forwardness. Overall the 1.2 is a few steps ahead of the 880 when it comes to overall technical ability anyways, so I don’t really know if that’s worth the difference in signature. I do think the 880 is more neutral overall, but the 1.2 is more enjoyable
I love beyer!
I’ve tried these out to find a complement to the T1.2, but they ran a bit short.
990 250ohm too sharp, not a 1990
1990 too clinical
1770 and 177x clinical, cant get the headband/pads to seal properly
T90 hi hats physically hurt me, but if they didnt this would have been it
Never heard but I assume portable Tp series are a downgrade.
If the 880 really had more bass extension/prominence that would have been it, I like the forward lower treble but reading that im not sure about them anymore, they may hit the jackpot though.
guess the options left are that, T1.1 and T1.3 lol
The T1.2 has a “surrounding” sound field that no other headphone from any brand that I’ve tried comes even remotely close, its like instead of a wall of sound its a pool of sound where I get hit by very strong 3d dynamics from all directions. Maybe an hd800(s) can deliver an upgrade to that?
This is why I keep my t1.2nd around. I am a beyer fan as you 
I’ve been mulling over getting an 880 600ohm for quite a few months.
I like headphones that are open to modding but not too pricey that I am put off. I am also very curious to hear something of the Beyerdynamic house sound as I have not had the chance and I think I might enjoy it for some types of music, particularly orchestral classical.
It feels like the 880 might be the best way to scratch this itch?
I’d honestly go for it, I think it’s a great way to try out and see what they have to offer. The 880 600 ohm is the most balanced out of all the beyers imo, and can scale very far with nicer amplification which is good later on. I think it does fairly well with orchestral imo
I think you are right about going for them. It’s hard to go wrong with them at the current price point. Your opinion on them being the most balanced interests me as Beyers often seem to be presented as being relatively extreme in their sound, making it harder to choose.
Thanks.
I guess extreme when you compare it to other cans yes, but imo it’s really not super intense or anything. It is a neutral brighter signature that is forward, spacious, detailed, and impactful. That might not be for everyone, but I don’t personally find it unpleasant as long as you have a decent amp for it. It can sound pretty bad with the wrong amp, but with a good one it’s pretty enjoyable imo
That has been my impression from things I have seen or read. I felt like the extremeness had to be at least partly exaggerated or fewer people would enjoy them. At the moment I have an Emotiva A-100, a Gustard H16 and an RHNP to try them with.
The RNHP might be a tad sharp for it, the H16 should pair quite nicely
I normally like warmer sounding headphones. The DT880 600 ohm is one of the few exceptions to that. I personally preferred mine on tubes, but of all the solid state amps I had, I think the Lake People G111 was actually my favorite one.
On the more upper entry level side of things, I really like either the lake people g103s for something neutral but emphasizes the strengths of the headphone, or a schiit asgard 3 to chill it out, warm it up and add more body and richness, and smooth the treble a bit. Both offer great resolution, control, dynamics, and spatial recreation, just depends on what flavor you want to go for. More options come up if you step into midrange amps
I could see that it can sound a bit raw with that pairing, although I think it’s still pretty enjoyable depending on what dac you use though. The pairing lacks oomph compared to other options though
I agree with you . I only wish I had my V281 when I owned my DT880…and had it balanced modded. That actually has me wondering how the DT1990 would fare on the V281. The only time I’ve heard the DT1990 was on my old Asgard 2 back in the day…so it didn’t sound all that good.
That had to have been pretty bright with an Asgard 2 lol. The violectric stuff is an ideal match tho
It was really bad, lol. The worst part though was that the mids almost sounded completely sucked out. The Asgard 3 was such a big jump forward from the Asgard 2, it can’t be overstated.
The Asgard 3 was what really changed my mind on schiit amps lol, really didn’t like any of them before things like the Asgard or magni 3+ came out, but the A3 really is damn impressive for the money
I agree, though I haven’t heard the Mjolnir at all. I’ve heard many say it is good, but definitely not worth the money. The Asgard 3 and Lyr 3 are the only Schiit Amps I have liked enough to recommend…though the Lyr 3 only at a used price. It isn’t worth the retail asking price imo.
At the moment I’m running everything from a JNOG1 and I feel that might feel sharp. I’d love to get an R2R but at the moment my only option, being in the EU and price-wise, is the Audio GD R2R 11 (unless the promised low end Soekris should make an appearance) and I have my doubts about it.
At this price point I’d avoid the r2r out there because I don’t think they make sense for your setup (soekris is not a good match for the neve, personally think audio gd stuff isn’t that great and it also wouldn’t solve the sharpness problem). Personally I think if you wanted to change to something that you could tune to be a bit less sharp and edgy, I’d consider something like an allo revolution dac + a Shanti lps (a nirvana smps is also good but if you can go for the Shanti it’s worth). Actually somewhat tunable in signature so you can tailor it more to your liking if you want. I have a thread for it on here with more info
But I really might suggest waiting and saving up for something like a bifrost 2 or denafrips ares ii, imo it’s a significant jump above most of the sub 500 DACs and has great synergy with the neve. The JNOG is a solid dac from the times I’ve demoed it (although did feel that sharpness at times) so it’s not something you would want to change right away imo