There really isn't much of a difference between beyers "semi- open" and "open" headphones. It's a bit of a nothing term. Both are exposed to the air and both leak a significant amount of noise. You will find that the 990's have a much more pronounced bottom end, so much so that they sound like fart cannons (in my opinion). This bottom end, throws everything out of whack, the sound stage seems more muffled and mids and highs a little less crisp / balanced.
With that being said, you may not like the sound that DT-880s produce, so I would recommend auditioning other headphones as well. You should be aware that you will want a really nice source to run these through, otherwise you wont see their full potential. You wont necessarily need an amp as they can be driven by an x-fi xtremegamer (please dont use one though), but a warm sounding amp can provide a welcomed energy to these headphones.
sb x-fi audio [EC00] is the sound card i have (thts wht it says in dxdiag anyway :P) will i need a better sound card to use the 880's , ordered em last night :(
You will definitely want something else, 880's will sound very ordinary through a rubbishy soundcard. An Asus Xonar DX is a much higher quality soundcard that should be able to run 250 OHM beyeres (I can't be certain as I haven't tried the combination), though it doesn't 'perform' as well as the x-fi chip in windows xp. The card you have now isn't actually a true x-fi, in fact it has nothing to do with one. It's a rebranded Audigy 2 SE (which was rubbishy even in the audigy 2 generation)
An Asus Xonar DX/D1 should be priced around £50 though you may even want to step up to an auzentech x-fi prelude ~ £100 which will run 880s quite easily. An amp shouldn't be necessary, but you can always think about adding one down the track.
everything will sound better with an amp, but to be honest what the impedance on this can is really for its the bottom end. the bass will be sloppy unless it's properly amped, although it's sloppy even when properly amped and not modded.
"Everything will sound better with an amp". I'm sorry to have quoted you but I don't agree.
I also wouldn't use the word sloppy, but it does have merit. 880s cop most of their criticism in that they sound a little bland, too formal. Some feel that they don't give enough life to music, but that also one of the reasons why they are regarded so highly. They make you listen to the music and not the headphones. On occasion though, I've found that you can be left wanting a little more bottom end / aggression. This is where an amp makes the most sense.
I guess that's where the worry is. You (#1) are upgrading from HD555's which are very bassy compared to these. So whilst you will almost certainly notice the step up in sound quailty, you might also be left wanting a little more (or a lot) aggression. I run my dt-880s from an auzentech x-fi prelude into a firestone audio cute beyond (with supplier upgrade), and I love the result. I consider this combination a bargain at <$300 US, though I strongly suggest you audition as many amps as you can, and decide based on your likes / price / availability.
don't agree with the amp statement or the sloppy? what i meant by sloppy is that the bass "spreads out" even when it's not suppose to. kind of creates a flop noise instead of a thump, which is why a lot of people have them "darthed". they are pretty neutral so I guess if want something more lively you'd go elsewhere like grado or akg but I don't think they're toooo laid back like the upper sennheisers.
i do think everything would sound better with an amp, even if the difference is negligible. even cheap dollar headphones have power requirements, and most of the time they're actually much less efficient than their more expensive counterparts. i haven't heard anything that sounds worse with an amp, except the amp is badly made.
I don't think I suggested or insinuated that any pair or headphones would sound worse with an amp. Of course all headphones have power requirements, but only the more demanding - require an amp to satisfy these requirements. Based on my experience, Dt880s aren't especially demanding, which goes against popular opinion I know (so often you see the tag "one of the best amplified headphones under $1000" applied to them), but I say this knowing just how capable the soundcard that I have is. It is of a high standard component wise, but it also has a strong output and doesn't seem to run out of current. I find that my DT880s extend quite well unamped, if only lacking a little bottom end impact. Oh and not everyone wants their beyers "darthed", they are fart cannons also :P.
I'm not suggesting that beyers don't benefit from an amp. I'm simply saying that you can get by without an amp with quite pleasing results, providing you have a strong source (not creativ x-fi). For most people it is would be hard to fork out the $450 for the source / headphones let alone the other $300+ for an amp. So I see an amp as a simply an upgrade path that can be added when desired / when the wallet allows
thats true, but since you said you disagreed with "everything sounds better with an amp" i assumed you meant there are cases where there is no benefit/sounds worse.
well if anyone cares i got the dt880s last night and been runnin em with the sound card i have, seems fine to me and i think ill keep this setup. thanks for the help
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Beyerdynamic's
Beyerdynamic DT 880 were the headphones i was about to buy but i can get Beyerdynamic DT 990's which are fully open for just a extra £10.
So i was wondering is semi-open or fully-open better for gaming, and is there any point in getting the 990s?
With that being said, you may not like the sound that DT-880s produce, so I would recommend auditioning other headphones as well. You should be aware that you will want a really nice source to run these through, otherwise you wont see their full potential. You wont necessarily need an amp as they can be driven by an x-fi xtremegamer (please dont use one though), but a warm sounding amp can provide a welcomed energy to these headphones.
What soundcard will you be running these through?
An Asus Xonar DX/D1 should be priced around £50 though you may even want to step up to an auzentech x-fi prelude ~ £100 which will run 880s quite easily. An amp shouldn't be necessary, but you can always think about adding one down the track.
I also wouldn't use the word sloppy, but it does have merit. 880s cop most of their criticism in that they sound a little bland, too formal. Some feel that they don't give enough life to music, but that also one of the reasons why they are regarded so highly. They make you listen to the music and not the headphones. On occasion though, I've found that you can be left wanting a little more bottom end / aggression. This is where an amp makes the most sense.
I guess that's where the worry is. You (#1) are upgrading from HD555's which are very bassy compared to these. So whilst you will almost certainly notice the step up in sound quailty, you might also be left wanting a little more (or a lot) aggression. I run my dt-880s from an auzentech x-fi prelude into a firestone audio cute beyond (with supplier upgrade), and I love the result. I consider this combination a bargain at <$300 US, though I strongly suggest you audition as many amps as you can, and decide based on your likes / price / availability.
i do think everything would sound better with an amp, even if the difference is negligible. even cheap dollar headphones have power requirements, and most of the time they're actually much less efficient than their more expensive counterparts. i haven't heard anything that sounds worse with an amp, except the amp is badly made.
I'm not suggesting that beyers don't benefit from an amp. I'm simply saying that you can get by without an amp with quite pleasing results, providing you have a strong source (not creativ x-fi). For most people it is would be hard to fork out the $450 for the source / headphones let alone the other $300+ for an amp. So I see an amp as a simply an upgrade path that can be added when desired / when the wallet allows
Compared to HD600/650's nothing is laid back : }
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