Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT880 PRO vs Sennheiser HD650 

Thank you for watching and for the kind words!

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Thank you so much! I always try to be practical with my reviews.

Absolutely right!

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Haha, who are you calling a grown-up? :-P No, seriously, thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it! Glad my videos have been helpful.

Well, I didn't mean to seem glib, but you're obviously mature beyond your years. Like I said, I originally found you by looking for a headphone review, then opened into this fascinating world of your career. Thanks so much for doing these videos. I have NO IDEA where you find the time!

I've had HD598 for some weeks and it feels like a downgrade in sound quality compared to any good IEM. Comfort is pretty great tho.

Hope you'll like them!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thanks for watching! I'm reviewing the 250 Ohm version. I think for the 600 Ohm you'd need a dedicated expensive headphone pre-amp and the 32 Ohm would be for really weak pre-amps (like the ones in laptops, smartphones, etc.).

Thank you!

Yes, naturally I know that and have already replaced the earpads twice. But they are now falling apart in other places too that can't be fixed (like broken plastic etc.).

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer You can buy & replace basically every piece and screw of this Headphone. For some parts you have to be able to solder though. If there are too many damaged parts it can be easier/cheaper to just buy a new one...

Yes the HD600 are great as well and used a lot at composer studios. They do indeed have a more “honest” sound than the HD650.

Yep. I have 6XX as well and it's probably the best value around. I also have HD600 and 660S

Not the same though. Sound signature is shared among the 600 series.

This is 100% correct, the HD 650 and 6xx have both been measured and compared on industry standard measuring equipment - both have identical frequency response, acoustic design and drivers. So although they look slightly different, they are in fact the same headphone for roughly $150 less.

@@ReTr093 No they're not. They measure differently

@@daftbeyer they’re few differences, maybe on the treble, but very similar

Really glad you enjoy my videos. There is an argument to be made for knowing your equipment but that only goes so far. After all you can't correct frequencies you can't hear and if especially the low mids are unbalanced (as they usually are on closed backs), the mixes will either be too muddy or two bright. When I switched from the DT770s to the DT880s I was shocked by how many bad frequencies I had missed and how unbalanced my mixes were - simply because I couldn't hear those on the 770s.

Indeed! There’s always more than one way to get to the desired destination.

It's a personal choice that stems from my time as an assistant when I simply had to work on headphones a lot, especially when sharing a room at times. It was also helpful as a reference when I was working for different composers in different spaces. Speakers are great too and certainly preferred by some but one needs a consistent room that is the proper size and acoustically treated. Otherwise even the best speakers in the world won't be helpful at all. I don't have a treated room right now and since I will be moving to a different space eventually, it doesn't make sense to spend thousands of $$$ into treatment. Aside from that, I prefer the amount of detail I can hear on headphones and it's certainly more cost effective for my business to invest into various pairs of studio headphones that were designed for mixing. It also enables me to work early in the morning or late at night if I need to without bothering anyone. And of course it does help to hear my music on headphones because that's most likely how the audience will eventually consume the media (once it's had its theatrical run etc.).

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer thank you very much for your kind answer! !

My pleasure!

DT990 , too much bass , disgusting treble , medium backward and lack of definition. DT990 = equalizer

I also bought them a couple of days ago. They sound amazing, but they do require some eq'ing lol

DT880 less expensive because no use Super Bass Boost THX 2

I am French I strongly advise against it. Beyerdynamics are no match for the HD650 and HD600. Beyerdynamics uses tricks inside their headphones to linearize the frequency curve , this is the reality.

@@michelmichel2749 There's nothing wrong with that. You can tune headphones using parts of the earcup; it's how they made the 880's so clear and revealing

I have not tried those but if I ever see them in the wild I certainly will.

Have you compared these to the dt 850 or hd 650`s?

They are pricey, though not as pricey as room treatment and a decent pair of speakers. Plus they last forever so it's a good investment in the long run. :-)

The Sennheiser HD6xx are less expensive from Drop.

The 250s (same with all cans I think) have thin wire / coil close to the magnet, giving a good spec with inevitably higher resistance. I don't think the resistance itself makes anything better, it's the proximity of coil to magnet. I used to use 770/250s for years but blew quite a few (thinner wire I guess). Beyer used to have a free new for old replacement deal, and when that stopped they became too expensive. (Now I'm HD650s.)

Let's hope the music tech stores will still exist then. A big chain in LA is actually closing which will make it very hard going forward to audition equipment. It's a very unfortunate side effect of this situation.

So glad you like them!

Yes but the cables often die and it's not that cheap to replace them so often. Plus they're more expensive overall

@@tac2456 Correct. What I did was to bypass the little 'connectors' on the headphone and solder the L and R cables directly to the headphone connector. This works well and bypasses the arguably weakest spot of them.

I’ve done well over 60 productions with these headphones using all kinds of pre-amps. No one ever complained so I think it’s fine.

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer i ment it mostly for music listening, believe me they are underpowered ... but maybe it doesnt matter to u... its ok then.

@@matusjurcik6974 I can't use DT880 Pro without Sonarworks reference for any modern music with bass. I am not a bass head, but when mixing without it, everything end up extremely bass heavy. I am also using Neumann KH310 monitors and I know how much bass is missing there. HD650 are so different, you can use them without any EQ and also even they are 300 ohms, they dont so much power as DT880.

@Tronam The DT-990 is fully open at the back. FALSE Open your headphone.

Huh... a mystery ensues... maybe they changed it over the years?

Ah, I found out - the DT880 PRO series comes with a coiled cable, you seem to have the DT880 EDITION series which comes with a straight cable. Sound-wise, apparently both models are the same. The only other difference is the headband - the PRO is a tighter fit whereas the EDITION has a softer headband.

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Ah, that's probably it, thanks for letting me know :)

DT-880 is a very old product. Beyerdynamic have been producing it since the 80s. There are five (AFAIK) different versions of the DT-880's. Only one of them has a coiled cable (a coiled cable replacement is available on the BD website), iirc. They all sound different, too. There are other videos on YT comparing all of the versions of the DT-880 (here's one: /watch?v=v4FpTCPxdFg)