Incredible sounds with great comfort

If you are here looking at the Beyerdynamic DT 880, you already know what you are getting yourself into. I'm going to cut straight to the chase and talk about the outstanding characteristics of this headphone. Comfort level is 9 - the soft pads are very comfortable, clamp pressure is OK, not too tight and definitely not too light so it stays on your head (depends how big your head is). Sound quality is 9+ in a heart beat. Here is where I have to lay out the different parts of the sound spectrum. Highs (treble) is on the bright side for sure, but even that is relative to the source you are feeding to these headphones. Everything you read about the high frequencies is true, they are not "dark" sounding headphones. I would say the highs are clear, pristine, lots of detail especially in cymbal hits, trumpet stabs, female voices, high pitch wind or string instruments, kissing of guitar strings, distortion guitars in high registers, etc., so it has a snappy fast feel to the sound. Some people interpret this snappy feel as "exciting". That is pretty accurate. The caveat to this is that if you have music that is mostly high frequencies, then these headphones would probably sound harsh, ringing, or what people say "sibilant". There is a peak at about 7k so female voices or those S's jump out a little. The mid range is liquid smooth and pretty spot on, as flat as you should naturally get which translates to perhaps a kind of sonic politeness. Compare this to say a Sennhesier HD650, where the mids are more pronounced, you might feel the DT 880 mids sound little flat but that's exactly what it is. The sound is not colored. This is not a V shape graph, there is no dip in the middle or a "hole" in the mid frequencies nor is there an artificial bump to make the mid range sound "forward". You can hear voices and mid frequencies played at exactly where they are intended to be placed. Now let's focus on the Bass - this is where lots of people get it wrong because the consensus is that the DT 880 is lean on the bass. Not true at all! I find the bass to be full, detailed with lots of control. Not boomy. Definitely not like Skullcandy or Beats where the bass frequencies are totally exaggerated, completely washing out all other useful frequencies. If all you want to hear is bass, well, you need to go see a specialist. The natural world doesn't only generate bass frequencies, thanks very much. With that said, the low end is powerful and plentiful. The intro to Coldplay's Adventure of a Lifetime just blew me away! Talking about the bass. The sound stage is pretty good. Not wide like you're in outta space but definitely not claustrophobic like a pair of Grado's. There is enough room or "air" between instruments and you will experience a natural way of listening to music. You can further modify the sound via amplifiers or EQs to your liking, but either way you will get addicted to these headphones straight out of the box.Read full review

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