With some of the recent topics that have taken place over the last month or so, we find that this year (so far) has already been a big one for the headphone market. New amps that change how we listen to media, packing a huge punch in a small package. Companies that have been stepping up their presence with new exciting products, and of course products that are becoming available at prices nearly anyone could afford while still hovering within the audiophile realm when it comes to quality.
One of these just so happens to be Creative’s Super X-Fi amp. It can breathe new life into your headphones, allowing you to listen to media with a virtual surround experience of up to 7.1 channels, Along with this, they claim it can feed headphones with up to a 600 ohm impedance. There is nothing unusual about this outside of the size of the amp. So we wanted to test this using something specific. We narrowed it down to Beyerdynamic’s DT 880 Premium (600 ohm) headphones. The ProjectorSuperCenter (a certified Beyerdynamic dealer), was nice enough to sponsor this effort so that we can bring the results to you.
There are a number of various DT 880 models, including their Pro and Premium versions, as well as multiple impedances (32, 250 and 600). We chose the Premium 600 ohm model specifically for the purpose of really putting the Creative amp (and others) to the test. That, and we haven’t launched a story on them yet, despite listening to them a few brief times at shows (and really liking them). Now, we have been able to really dig down and spend a lot of time with them, allowing us to find our conclusion, and challenge Creative’s claims as we do it.
Design
These headphones feature a design split between plastic and aluminum all throughout. Despite the usage of plastic in certain areas, they feel incredibly durable and it helps to reduce their overall weight, making them quite light despite their size. These are large, making them a little bulky, yet still comparable to most headphones within the quality range they aim to compete with. However, since they don’t fold in any special ways, they do consume a lot of space when storing them.
Thankfully they do provide the perfect case for them (the same case you find with a few other models like their Amiron). Of course with headphones and the case, now they are even bulkier, but you can feel assured that the won’t get damaged (especially after spending good money on something you come to really like).
Since this is the Special Edition Black version of the DT 880 Premium, they of course feature an all-black design to them, unlike the other models that typically play between black, gray and/or silver.
The foam around each ear as well as under the head band is incredibly soft and feels great on your head. The layer of foam between your ear and the driver is also notably thick enough to be considered soft and comfortable. The latter is important since your ears just barely touch the driver with these (the severity of this depends on the size of your ears of course).
If you find them to be a little tight on your head, you can stretch them out slightly around a box, and let them sit for a day or two. This can sometimes create a natural soft adjustment to the bend without having to force it by hand (which can sometimes cause damage or a greater bend then you were looking for). This may also lessen the amount that your ears touch against the drive if this bothers you.
They are semi open-back, which means sound will leak from the backs of each muff, and it will allow in all of the sound in your environment. So these aren’t the headphones you’d be using in noisy environments like on a bus or the subway. Instead, this style of headphone is meant to be enjoyed in a controlled atmosphere, where you can quietly enjoy what you are listening to. Since they are only “semi” vs a full open-back design, you don’t get as much leakage of what you are listening to, however you still do hear almost everything around you.
Performance
These headphones fall comfortably within our “wow” section of favorite models. Their soundstage made wide thanks to the semi open-back design, and wide frequency range that dances around in your ears.
As mentioned, this is a 600 ohm model, which requires something capable of feeding such an impedance for these to sound right. Without that, your volume is going to be really low. So if you plug this into your smartphone or tablet, you are going to have to crank your volume to the max to get anything decent out of them. However, when you plug them into an amp (either solid state or tube-driven) that is capable of this impedance level, you will get a lot of headroom for your volume and a rich experience, including the deep lows you will miss without the amp.
That being said, despite being 600 ohms, you still do get an incredible amount of volume from modern devices. Using the latest Samsung Galaxy phones, we got enough volume at the device’s max volume level that anyone with sensitive ears would be turning it down slightly. However, the lows are really basic and the focus falls mostly to the mids and highs. Despite that, they still sound fantastic without the amp. That’s a big win for Beyerdynamic.
However, when you include an amp, they explode into the natural state. So much volume, so much range, deep lows and so very quiet and clean. For their price, this is very impressive. These are great for reference listening and studio use, and you easily find yourself once again getting lost in all of your favorite albums that you have already listened to a hundred times, but now it is like listening to them for the first time. Something that always happens when you find a pair of headphones that raises the bar some.
Of course, nothing is perfect. Typically you will find with any well tuned headphones, that you will be hand selecting tracks to match against the strength of that specific model (to maximize your experience). Some things might not shine as much as others. With this, the highs can be incredibly exhausting at times, depending on what you are listening to. These headphones seem to match best with relaxing media, such acoustic tracks, strong vocals, classical, blue, jazz, lounge and so on. Certain instruments pop so well, like pianos and strings. However, some brass instruments can sound superb while others can be a little too bright. Typical rock music can mostly be exhausting after a while, and some of it can become immediately exhausting. So these do not seem to be a good match for those who spend their time listening to hard rock.
Now when you factor in specific amps, you get different experiences, but overall a fantastic result. We used both the Dragonfly Black as well as their Red edition USB DACs for example, and the headphones sounded good on both. The red obviously offered more volume over the black, but both brought out a lot of volume and range.
Connecting the DT 880’s to Creative’s Super X-Fi amp, delivered even more volume. It could more than supply sound to these headphones, meaning Creative wasn’t bragging for nothing. Also, the Super X-Fi mode sounds fantastic. The soundstage is exactly what you want with the 880’s! So much range and accurate lows that help better define and separate each virtual channel. Speech also seems to be a lot more accurate since the processing of Super X-Fi mode causes reverb within dialogue, and this can be distracting at times with certain headphone models. Thus far, this is our favorite model paired with the Super X-Fi amp–at least based on what we have on-site. Over-all, Creative’s TEAK headphones takes the ultimate prize I think, but we don’t have the ability to do a side by side comparison with those (also, they are 5x the price).
Surprisingly, with as much we have covered from Beyerdynamic, and how many models we have lying around, we don’t have Beydynamic’s own headphone amp to test things with. However, we do have others like the Little Dot MKII Tube Amp, which seems to get the job done just fine. Pairing it with the little dot really bring something out of these headphones. So many tracks send you into your own world, like a fine sleep you don’t want to wake from. Although yet still not everything sounds that amazing, as certain things feel like they are missing a tad bit of lows for some reason (ie, Crosby Stills and Nash – Deja Vu from their CSN 2012 album sounds superb, but it is still missing a little something on the low-end), but then you can switch to another and just melt right into the seat your are planted in. Acoustics and vocals are even better than before using the tube amp. The lows popped better than they had with the others, bringing warm/deep bass that really helps you to appreciate the accuracy and range within those frequencies.
Some of our favorite sources we tested against these headphones and the various amps paired with them include:
- Marian Hill – Breathe Into Me (and Brian McKnight, great for lows) (FLAC)
- Chris Jones – Roadhouses & Automobiles (FLAC)
- Blacktop Mojo – Where The Wind Blows (FLAC)
- Rebecca Pidgeon – Spanish Harlem (FLAC)
- Aurora – Runaway (FLAC)
- Evanescence – My Immortal (FLAC)
- Gary Numan – And It All Began with You (FLAC)
- Eagles – Hotel California (AC3 5.1 format) (Super X-Fi test)
- Haunted Mansion [Walt Disney World] (AC3 5.1 format) (Super X-Fi test)
- Multiple DTS and Dolby tests (via Blu-ray demos) (Super X-Fi test)
- House of Flying Daggers (2004) – Beans and Drums – Test Scene (Super X-Fi test)
- Multiple movie trailers (Super X-Fi test)
We could go on and on all day with a list like that. It also helps to find music that was recorded using Beyerdynamic models, so that you can get more of a feel for what the engineer was listening for. Like the following video with Janet Devlin and her enchanting voice:
Or this video featuring the amazing Aurora (another enchanting voice):
So not only are these a wonderful match for the Creative Super X-Fi amp (both normal and virtual surround), but they sound good with just about every other amp as well for a normal listening experience. Especially when you factor in a strong tube amp that can really highlight those warm lows.
Finally, to wrap this up, we had to highlight the fact that the price for these headphones seems to have fallen over time. Where it lies now (around $199) makes it a great buy for those looking to enrich their headphone listening experience with (as long as they plan to use them in a quiet environment). This makes it hard for competing brands since a lot of headphones near the $200 mark don’t quite touch these.
Our Conclusion
We stepped away from this both impressed with Creative for delivering on their brag that their amp can support headphones up to 600 ohms, as well as Beyerdynamic for making a pair of headphones sound so good within their price range. These headphones bring so much to the table when you pair them with the right music and amp, and they do so well with the Super X-Fi mode (no wonder Creative already has a profile in their app for them). You easily become obsessed with losing yourself into your library of content as you carefully seek out the tracks that bring out the most in these headphones. They are very comfortable, especially if you break them in (for larger heads). The only drag is that they don’t sound perfect with *every* track you listen to, since a lot of rock (and a few others) can sound a little too harsh within the higher frequencies. Also, you get some creaking in the cushions around the ears when you move your head around–although I’m sure this should go away as you break them in. Overall, these headphones are fantastic.
| Buy from Amazon | |
Our Rating | Average Price* $199 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
Video:
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- OPERATING PRINCIPLE: Semi-Open
- TRANSMISSION TYPE: Wired
- REMOTE: Without Remote
- WEIGHT HEADPHONES WITHOUT CABLE: 290 g
- HEADPHONE FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5 Hz – 35,000 Hz
- NOMINAL SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL: 96 dB
- SOUND COUPLING TO THE EAR: Circumaural (around the ear)
- CABLE & PLUG: Stereo jack plug 3.5 mm (1/8″) & ¼“ adapter (6.35 mm)
Co-Authors: James Hrenak, Jasper Muller
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