(WTF?) Beyerdynamic DT880 [250ohm]

Discussion in 'Audio Science' started by Lyander, Jul 22, 2019.

  1. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    Okay I don't know what the ever loving hell is going on here.

    Set 1
    [​IMG]

    Set 2
    [​IMG]

    First set of measurements I took in May of this year, latter set earlier today. Both are averages of multiple positions on the EARS rig, and both use the same MiniDSP stock HEQ curve— I junked the custom one I was working on because I was losing the forest for the trees and spending too much time fixating on individual frequencies, felt it'd be more beneficial to practise taking consistent measurements for the meantime. Results in latter case are repeatable.

    I know I've said before that I've seldom thought the DT880s fatiguing, but I was perfectly happy to accept the notion that my ears might have gotten royally bjork-ed; the first set of measurements would support that theory with its broad, 7dB over 1kHz ~8.5kHz spike. On the other hand the latter set looks closer to what I'd have guessed if I didn't know offhand that Beyer had a reputation for treble spikes— subjective impressions listening now are bloomy bass and nice, level midrange with crappy extension on either extremity, actually kinda dull at the uppermost octave, no notable sibilance, at least relative to the HP-3 or TH-X00EB.

    I do believe that burn in could explain this, but if that's the case then y'all better be running your DT880s 24/7 for at least a full year before expecting any changes because I'm the fourth owner of this particular set and these might have been around since before I even got into audio.

    Notable is the fact that Set 2 has the weird 4kHz dip that definitely looks like a measurement artifact.

    P.S.
    Yes this is my second thread today, sorry, just figured it'd make more sense than packaging both sets of measurements together.
     
  2. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,999
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tempe, Arizona
    You sure you didn’t apply my mods to that DT880? ;)
     
  3. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    I wish that were the case! Haha, if anything I expect more treble since the pads are worn to hell and there are holes in the front dampening, gah.

    P.S
    Not worth talking elsewhere but since I had other headphones on loan to calibrate I confirmed that there's a definite channel imbalance with the HP-3s that isn't the cable or pads' fault. about 1-2dB throughout, surprisingly very noticeable in certain contexts. Thought it was either my hearing or my upstream gear at first, measurements verified it. I'm glad it was "just" the headphones but at the same time kicking myself for just chalking it up to my hearing for so long. Have to open these up now, hopefully it's just back dampening damaged or something and not driver effery. That'd probably explain one channel having slightly more bass than the other, but maybe not the difference at 3kHz

    (Thankfully, no weird JIS screws like the TH-X00 >_>; ).

    EDIT: getting other headphones in to test it might not actually be the headphones at fault. I was hesitant to talk about it because I knew how much of a PITA it was to get consistent measurements with thick pads, looks like I should have held off a bit longer.

    Still doesn't necessarily explain why I hear things slightly off-center in mono, probably just my ears then.


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2019
  4. Craigo

    Craigo MOT: Mage Audio

    Joined:
    May 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    With Beyers the headband extension length also can affect results quite a bit. This actually causes larger differences than positioning, IME, though usually bass is also affected, and that doesn’t much seem to be the case here.
     
  5. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    Because of how the cable's single-entry and runs through the headband? I can see how that might happen, but damn if that's the case because for something like that to affect FR this much can only be poor design.

    I've got small ears but an average-sized head I think, I'm 4 and 2 notches on the Klipsch HP-3, 5 clicks on either side of an HD650 with no headband pad (long since gone), which I think is typical. DT880 I just checked and there are 3 dots on either side, so I'm maybe on the 4th adjustment peg? They stretch out much more so I'm thinking that isn't the case. Also, these measurements are on MiniDSP EARS where I don't think I had to extend them any because of how narrow the jig is.

    Curiouser and curiouser. Too lazy atm but will try grab a few more measurements tomorrow.

    I'm also just now noticing the DT880 displays the same exact ~1.5~2dB elevation in Right channel relative to Left that concerned me on the Klipsch, just less evident in the sub bass from about 200Hz down. Probably measurement error or something that needs fixing in the EARS.
     
  6. Craigo

    Craigo MOT: Mage Audio

    Joined:
    May 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    I’m in the same boat- small ears and average head, and I also use the miniDSP.

    Extension can affect angle of pressure on the Beyer pads and cause them to leak unevenly. This is just my experience, and the only variable I can think of. Measuring at 4-6 dots yields different results than 2-4, more so than when I’m measuring other phones. The Beyer pads on your DT880s are softer than the ones on my DT770s, so I don’t know how much that would affect it. Either way they are both really squishy.

    Also, headband pressure tends to be unbalanced from left to right (even right out of the box), compounding the angle/headband extension issue.

    Ultimately I find Beyers infuriating to measure.
     
  7. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    I'll chalk it up to this then, but the fact that my recent measurements all consistently show no mid-treble peak confuses the ever-loving fajitas outta me. Going through my treble pain test tracks the upper registers are still decidedly metallic, just lacking in extension and air. That's more 10kHz+ than 8.5kHz but I'm kinda reaching at this point.

    moral of the story, fuhgeddabout the Beyers and Klipsches for baseline measurements, get something that's less finicky like IEMs. I'm taking that advice to heart now, haha.
     
  8. Craigo

    Craigo MOT: Mage Audio

    Joined:
    May 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Hey boss, just noticed your sidebar note says no front foam on the first set of measurements. No such note on the second set. If that’s the case...
     
  9. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    I'm honestly one of the most forgetful people I know (unless I'm forgetting some people...), but thankfully nah, I'm not quite that far gone— they have no foam now either, it's worn clean through :p

    [​IMG]

    Just didn't take note of that in the new set, haha. I've been meaning to buy new pads, but that's not really very cheap and I don't use the Beyers often enough to justify the purchase
     
  10. Craigo

    Craigo MOT: Mage Audio

    Joined:
    May 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Well dang I got nothin then.

    Cheers
     
  11. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    Likewise, hah.

    Imagine if the Beyers were just so atypical that removing front foam actually kicked the treble spike into nonexistence. IIRC orthos behave that way, too much front dampening actually elevates highs and pushes midrange down? I've not used these much at all the past two years almost, just busted them out for measurements, but memory says these don't sound very different from before.

    Thanks!
     
  12. Craigo

    Craigo MOT: Mage Audio

    Joined:
    May 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Man I wish it were that easy!
     

Share This Page