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nelson
5275
May 21, 2014
Hey everyone, We’re happy to report that all of the orders have been shipped out quite a few days ahead of schedule! Thanks again for the support guys. Make sure to share your experience with the Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium Headphones on Massdrop. If there’s anything else we can do to make your Massdrop experience better, feel free to email us at support@massdrop.com.
Silverstrike
154
Jun 28, 2014
nelsonCan Massdrop get the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 600 ohm version? We already got DT 770 and DT 880. I am really waiting for the DT 990. It's almost 4th of July, I bet this sale can happen.
deniall83
12
Jun 28, 2014
SilverstrikeDT990 600 ohm happened not long ago. I bought a pair. I'm probably going to sell them though.
Silverstrike
154
Jun 29, 2014
deniall83Why would you want to sell DT 990s? And please can anyone tell me what you think about the DT 880s? I have already bought the Q701s and I heard they are both analytical except the DTs have a bit more bass but less soundstage and separation. Is it worth picking this up? And will this work with the Schmitt Vali AMP? The tube amp should bring some warmth to the sound.
deniall83
12
Jun 30, 2014
SilverstrikeThe DT990 have slightly recessed mids which I don't like. I like the DT880's the most as they are the most balanced in the range until you hit the T90/T5p/T1.
Silverstrikehow about the Telsa.... Honestly I wish they would wait 6 months. I am broke from buying headphones and IEMs, and amps and dacs. and I just got into this damn hobby 6 months ago.
SilverstrikeI can't speak from personal experience, but the word on the street (over at head-fi) is these have a pretty noticeable treble spike. I was looking at the X1s or 880s for a new set of gaming headhones and ultimately settled on the X1s based on the supposedly smoother frequency response (ie no spikes). but if I had the cash I would still get these.
QuickSkope
3
Jul 1, 2014
SilverstrikeVali is a GREAT amp for these. My personal favourite for the DT880s. Also the DT880s are the shit, though they do leak sound, so keep that in mind. Not as much as open headphones, but they're about 75% open, 25% closed.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 1, 2014
QuickSkopeThanks QuickSkope.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 1, 2014
GunshotsByComputerHey, i got into this like 4 months back, comrade! Did'nt know i had the potential to be an audiophile.
Before this, i was mildly into Audio Tech but listened to lot of Electronic\Trance, Dub Step, Jazz and some old Rock. I currently have Bose Triport Around Ear Headphones for Home Audio\Gaming and Bowers & Wilkins C5 IEMs for the on-the-go music.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 1, 2014
QuickSkopeTruth be told, after buying the AKG Q701s, i need to buy the Schitt Vali + Modi stack. If i buy this headphone, no matter how tempting, i will seriously go broke.
Ah, desire is a sin.. indeed.
Genkishi569
42
Jul 1, 2014
GunshotsByComputerThere's one thing I realized with audiophilia. Once you get into it, it's hard to be a music lover who just listens to the nuance of the music. The perverted (not in the normal meaning of pervert, look up the other definition) thing is, you end up listening for the colourations of the sound, and it bothers you until you can't listen to the music no more. You listen in specific parts that are pleasing, but not the whole. New toys are good and all, but if it's no longer for the sake of music then you've just smashed the point of getting better quality sound sources. This turns music into a means for enjoying sound and not music itself. This is my word of caution, I don't say this jokingly. Never lose sight of what matters, and that's the music.
Genkishi569
42
Jul 1, 2014
GunshotsByComputerI have the treble cannon-ish Beyerdynamic DT990 (250ohms). They're pretty good for me, great for games, movies, and tv shows. The in-your face presentation really makes a lot of sense as well as the clear lack of detail which should reflect real life better (you can't hear everything so don't try that hard). The treble doesn't bother me for music listening though. If I'm correct different ohmage versions of the beyerdynamic dt990 have different tuning. 32 ohms = +6db [somewhere] bass section and treble sections, 250 ohms = +4db bass and treble, 600 ohms = +2db bass and treble. I dunno about the DT880s though
Genkishi569
42
Jul 1, 2014
QuickSkopeI use the O2 amp since it's really colorless (I love the non-addition of colouration. It does the job and that's all I need). I love that I don't have to bother with amp swapping. Setting up is a chore for me. Previous facts aside, I'm planning to upgrade to the WA7 a few months from now even though it doesn't follow the Headphone ohmage/8 = ohmage of amp for best performance because my FAD Heaven VI's are about 16 ohms @ 1 KHz, and can go up to 90 ohms at higher frequencies. Yes, balanced armatures actually benefit from amping. Dynamic in-ears don't...they'll blow your ears off for no observable improvement save the higher volume from your usual listening volume. I know...cause I made the rookie mistake.
Genkishi569
42
Jul 1, 2014
SilverstrikeWe all have the capability to be audiophiles. What's difficult is when you're dealt that cruel hand of fate. When you realize...you no longer love the music, you only love the sound. When this day comes, music will just become a barrier to your enjoyment of sound. I once fell into this hole, and it wasn't pretty facing the truth. I turned away from the hobby, no PASSION, for awhile and directed my efforts to literary enrichment that I might not fuss about the sound "too much." It's helped, but I'm still not fully recovered. Keep this in mind, and you can enjoy this passion without EVER falling into that damnable ditch.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 1, 2014
Genkishi569Wow, thats deep bro.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 1, 2014
Genkishi569Actually, I am beginning to understand what you mean. I too indulge on over expensive gadgets thinking it will somehow revolutionize the way I experience things. Most often it does not and I am left unsatisfied. And it's not just that, I will often tweak with video settings, audio formats rather than watching the movie or experiment and listen to different Audio bit rates or sources just to hear one album .
To be happy, I pursue perfection. The pursuit of perfection makes me unhappy.
Erix
134
Jul 1, 2014
SilverstrikeI think the secret of ultimate sonic happiness is the ability to do both. That is, sometimes you listen to music just for the sake of listening, wherein you're content knowing that the audio presentation is better than it would of otherwise been had you not been an audiophile. Other times, you derive pleasure from listening critically and comparing different configurations of your equipment for different source material.
To use a driving analogy, sometimes you enjoy a drive for the scenery, and other times you enjoy a drive for the car you're sitting behind the wheel of.
Genkishi569
42
Jul 2, 2014
ErixExactly. Be content with the sound sigs you have, and music will ease its way like it should always be doing. These two skills are the most difficult to put in check and balance. My 2 rules are 1.) Audition (or research) your gear to the point that when you buy them, you won't fuss over the SQ. (an informed purchase is the best kind) 2.) Commit yourself to stay with the same gear for a few years before upgrading (I don't believe in break-in, but I do believe in "learning to love" the sound sig. Just in-case it turns out to be tough love).
Genkishi569
42
Jul 2, 2014
SilverstrikeYeah, that's the main point. Contentment has a really big role in enjoying audio since you don't get that scratchy feeling that says it's never good enough, and end up upgrading weeks after your first purchase. Stick with your Q701s for awhile (a year at least), plug them in un-amped into your pc listen for awhile. Plug them in your amp. Savour the change in sound signature until it sets as your default (a little radical, but it's really effective). Why did I recommend this? It's a process of "upgrading" your sound [isn't it] w/o spending extra cash. Plus, you can do this again and again to get that "new sound" high. It helps you develop a real relationship with your first real rig so that instead of looking forward for better sound. You remember that feeling your first rig gave you. Like the statement, "It's not like how mom used to make it :/" as opposed to "Meh...it could be better." However, I do not discount that the desire for improvement is necessary for progress, just don't let it go out of hand.
Casanova
3
Jul 2, 2014
Genkishi569That and when you are devastated to find out most of the music you like is in shitty quality that sounds horrible with high end gear.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 2, 2014
ErixThats a really nice and beautiful analogy. Sir, if you were a real templar, i would have conferred knighthood on you.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 2, 2014
Genkishi569Sounds like a plan Genkishi. Really appreciate your advice. I think i will do just that.
Silverstrike
154
Jul 2, 2014
CasanovaYeah thats a real shocker, huh? All in the name of science (or audiophile music).
Genkishi569
42
Jul 2, 2014
CasanovaI can live with shitty recording quality. I've heard some of the best performances with the shittiest audio engineering, but, to me, it all comes down to the music. I believe a modern example would be the recent band MAGIC! and their debut album Don't Kill the Magic. The music was great, rhythmically inspired, and very distinct [but still had character] from the more standard genres (Reggae-ish pop as opposed to Pop-ish reggae), but I digress. The mastering was mediocre, at best. Extreme emphasis on the drums, and specifically the drums (Luckily the audio engineer didn't smash the vocals) that it put almost everything else behind (extremely recessed as you might say). However, the drums and the vocals were sufficient to the enjoyment of the music (at least he remembered a key rule in mastering. Get the most crucial parts out there), and I can gladly vouch for the album as a VERY worthwhile listen. It's not all hi-res audio and great mastering you have to look out for. A talented audio engineer recording musicians who seem to have better things to do than play music is, in my opinion, much more unforgivable than a great band that recruited a sad excuse for an "engineer." (where'd those 4 years in university go, hmmm?). Haim is another case-in-point for the latter. Modern audiophile culture has put too much credit to technology and too little to the performers, in my opinion. I could say that audiophile culture is a microcosm of the feared domination of technology over man that is, ironically, brought about by man.... :/
Genkishi569
42
Jul 2, 2014
Erix[wanted to continue this, but had to leave] Definitely a great analogy, but unlike driving which relies on the two different senses of sight and feeling that enables the ease of combining both leisures. Audio tends to blur the boundaries between critical listening and musical enjoyment because the ears can only do one thing at a time for one general stimulus. But men can dream, and we all want to wish it was that easy, eh?
adamweld
12
Jul 3, 2014
Genkishi569Genkishi, I definitely feel what you are saying about music enjoyment vs. listening to specific sounds. I think I can understand how easy it is to fall down the metaphorical well of buying new audiophile equipment to fuel not one's love for music, but rather to hear specific sounds. I also think I have the solution to that problem. Here's how you break from the pattern: listen to something completely new. Not a song, not even an album, but a completely new genre and artist. You have to put enough time in that you will have a good appreciation of this new kind of music. It's best to do this chronologically. I have no idea what kinds of music you listen to normally, or if you are still looking to get away from the downwards cycle that you were commenting about earlier, but you probably know who Kendrick Lamar is even if you don't often listen to hip hop. You've probably heard a of his songs, maybe his Good Kid Maad City album. IMO, Kendrick is the perfect artist to get into and to change your appreciation of music in general. Not only are his songs technically great, catchy, and fun to listen to, but if you really listen to his lyrics, you will start to understand a lot more about his upbringing and life story. If you are interested in jumping down this rabbit hole, I'm happy to provide you with places to start from. His earlier albums Overly Dedicated and Section.80 are both masterpieces, more 'chill' than his newer tracks, but well worth a full listen (or two). With hip hop, when listening to a new artist, you will have to concentrate to catch all of the lyrics, but you will gain a lot more from the songs if you do concentrate. So do me a favor, listen to the below tracks, and let me know what you think: Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst Fuck Your Ethnicity Ab-Souls Outro She Needs Me
Enjoy!
Silverstrike
154
Jul 3, 2014
Genkishi569Want to say this here and now.
You write beautifully. Its almost like reading works of hemmingway. The solemn writing with deep thought.
Genkishi569
42
Jul 4, 2014
adamweldI "had" those albums and tracks, but the hard drive that had them...uh...died[?] (still finding ways to revive it. More than 3/4s of my collection was in there.). Anyways, thanks for the recommendation. I'll use youtube to look them up.
I listen by album so...I tend to only know the tracks that move me very, very much. If you want to know what exactly I listen to it's: Mando genres (anything from this area, I don't care what it been categorized into. I simply love the way their language works, and the nasality of their traditional music); Cinematic Orchestras Includes tonnes of movie OSTs. I love the way they allow to re-envision the movie or imagine it at least based on the title. However, my biggest weakness are albums that convey wholesome literary meaning. I ,especially. love the ones whose themes refer to a coming-of-age, and the development process within it. I believe We Caught the Castle's Time to Grow encapsulates a very relatable meaning with the progression of each song in the album. Each song (listened to from start to finish) gives you a sense of chronology by shifting from perspective to perspective say from a loved one to the persona him/herself (No, I won't imply the gender of the persona). What sets it apart is that the rhythm changes slowly from angsty and aggressive to something more mellow as you listen on.
Another personal favourite of mine is Damon Albarn's Everyday Robots. The theme is pretty much already in the title, but the satirical nature by which he uses both everyday life and existing musical forms [Like the Chorus format]. In every song, he posits excellent questions against the establishment, and even the anti-establishment. Sometimes by mere form while being layered by a theme of love as the entry point (if you ever get any further than that. He's a tricky one, he is.). Sometimes, he just spells it out for you as bluntly as possible by describing exactly what he sees in everyday life with a different vocabulary, but the same essential meaning because I think, he is attempting to elicit a response by using the unfamiliar (since we tend to ignore the familiar despite being unable to fully understand what the familiar is. e.g. we are everyday humans, but we, now, act like a robots therefore he says everyday robots). I am a serious sucker for this stuff.
Lastly, I am inexplicably and completely drawn to what I call "Transparent music" (not transparent recordings) within the ambient genre. Olafur Arnald's For Now I Am Winter is one album that is simply stunning. The track For Now I Am Winter is a good example. Listening to the decaying notes of violins, and the ambient sounds of a sad, silent winter, and, occasionally, Olafur's dejectedly smooth yet somehow abrasive voice between long intervals repeat the same lines. Really transports you to a lonely winter setting where you simply walk and walk and walk through the emptiness, but oddly enough you seem to enjoy this serene environment in your mind's eye. You feel as if someone else is there with you, but simply couldn't care less. The last vestiges of what was human civilization simply echo hollow in your journey. This is winter. You make out a wry smile. You walk until the end of the journey, but does it really end? Do you really want it to end? You realize that the winter is calm. It soothes. It lulls your senses to sleep. It is only you and winter, and, like a child with its mother, you feel safe wrapped in its shawl of snow. You want to be with it. You want to be like it. But it doesn't last. For now that you have embraced the never ending journey you are slapped by the fleeting nature of time and its product. You remember... are forced remember that you live in a tropical country [this is me], and you never got the least bit close to winter, and now you wish it was winter again.
In my opinion, he really transports you into His version of home, Iceland, he presents Iceland's vast expanse of snow as both cold and lonely, yet warm and serene. Simply breathtaking. The pinnacle of forgetting. There is no headphone. There is no artist. There is no recording. There is no music. There is no US. There are no societies. There is no globe. There is no universe. There is only you and winter.
P.S. I went overboard again. Anyway my album recommendations are: We Caught the Castle - Time to Grow Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots Olafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter
Genkishi569
42
Jul 4, 2014
SilverstrikeThanks, but I don't think I'm that good. I'm just a fellow enthusiast with more words to say than the normal one. I have a hard time simply telling someone advice without investing any effort into making that advice concrete, doable, and understandable. I want to cover as many aspects as possible to maximize the amount of help I can give at a limited window of time
freeprices
1
Jul 5, 2014
adamweldThanks for writing this. If you're open minded, you might also like ariel pink.
Start off with "fright night" "gettin high in the morning" and "interesting results"
freeprices
1
Jul 5, 2014
Genkishi569Good stuff! thanks for the reccomendations
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