Are new headphones getting better, and if so, how much?

[hirsch]

If you've heard the older DT880 how do they compare to the 2006 version?

The older DT-880 always seemed to have a "dry" spot in the midrange that turned me off from the headphone. The 2006 DT-880 seems to have fixed that. The result is a very involving headphone with nice detail. My early impression is that this is a very nice all-around headphone. This headphone could be the first Beyer that I actually buy.

[Guest sacd lover]

I really liked the old 880 .... until I went on a streak listening to music with lots of treble. The new 880 with the supposedly less treble dominant sound has me wondering. I hope I can auditiion one at the Cinci meet. I think Mikey01 bought one. Way to go Mikey ....

[thrice]

If you've heard the older DT880 how do they compare to the 2006 version?

Unfortunately I have no experience with the old DT880. I did hear it once a few month ago for about 1 min. Not enough time to really gather any impressions.

[tkam]

Hirsch, how about the bass? I always felt the old version of the DT880 was a little thin and lacked impact.

[thrice]

I thought the newer 880 had good impact and the bass was fine. Perhaps not the deepest bass out there, but it's no slouch. Overall I felt the tonal balance was good. I've tended to feel that the K701 is just a bit too bass heavy. The DT880 seemed more natural.

[Chrysanthemum]

Just maybe I could have a Senn HD700 for the meet. OOooops! I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

[Luco]

Spill the beans.

[aerius]

It's just like the 650, but with a silver grill and slightly brighter sound.

[Luco]

Silver? No, it has to be artificial diamond, to give the sound that sparkling edge.

[Dusty Chalk]

He meant silver-colored grill. Everyone knows that the HDx00 series is carbon-fiber-based.

[aerius]

See I have a slightly different take on this, I'm concerned that with the growth of the hobby and the industry that we could actually see a decrease in quality. Once the market is large enough the manufacturers won't really have any incentive for creating new ground breaking (or even just great) headphones. They'll just be happy churning out large quantities of average quality phones to the masses.

I think you've hit upon something here. To me it seems like manufacturers are trying to make 'phones which won't offend people instead of trying to building something that'll make people go "holy crap that's awesome!" It's like they're playing it safe instead of making something like the PS-1 or K1000 which have a seriously polarizing love it or hate it effect. Instead of going for the homerun, they're hitting grounders for singles.

[tiberian]

I think you've hit upon something here. To me it seems like manufacturers are trying to make 'phones which won't offend people instead of trying to building something that'll make people go "holy crap that's awesome!" It's like they're playing it safe instead of making something like the PS-1 or K1000 which have a seriously polarizing love it or hate it effect. Instead of going for the homerun, they're hitting grounders for singles.

interesting, can you describe the sound that umm...will not offend people? like that watered down k701-ish sound?

[Aliacha]

With the amount of money they stand to make on lower-end headphones, the amount of time and money it costs to make a new 'statement' headphone just isn't worth it profit-wise. The only ones able to make mainly high-end headphones are smaller companies like Grado and some IEM companies that usually cater to professional musicians.

[aerius]

interesting, can you describe the sound that umm...will not offend people? like that watered down k701-ish sound?

More or less, think of a K701/HD650 mix and that's about what I'm thinking of. Something that manages to make everything sound kinda the same, crap recordings are made listenable and good to great recordings have the life sucked out of them and don't get to shine.