Quick one!

I need some new cans for myself and have always enjoyed working on dt770s - they are comfortable for long periods and I feel I can rely on the sound.

Thing is, I could possibly afford to splash out a little more. Are the dt880s worth the extra?

--------------------
http://www.jeremycorbett.co.uk

770 bright and bassy, wide, pretty hi fi. I don't know the 880 but will probably opt for them if/when the 770 die, as in the summer the 770 can get a tad hot !

I do like the 770 for some jobs as well it is a quality set of headphones, a real robust well built feel about them. A professional tool.

The comparison isn't really fair because the DT880 is beyer's flagship open model, whereas the 770 is their closed model. I'd be interested to know how the 990 compares because SOS listed it in their recent headphone article and yet have never reviewed it.

It's confusing because the model numbers suggest that 990 is 'best' and yet the 880 is the higher priced model (and seems to be equivalent to Sennheiser's HD600). Also, though the 880 is 'semi-open', to all intents and purposes it's a fully open headphone that offers very limited isolation.

When I compared it with the HD600 it had a brighter top end, which was kind of airy but also a bit sibilant (interestingly in a way that reminds me of beyer's MC740 mic). The low end was as impressive as the 600's though I tried the hi-fi 'edition' model that seemed to buzz on low notes so I rejected it. Interestingly I've recently begun to find my 600 a little wooly in the bass, though I still love the overall laid back sound. Whenever I switch to my 770s for location work I'm always shocked by how harsh they are in comparison!

Anyway, to answer your question, the 880 is noticeably better and worth the extra money, but it depends if you need them for tracking too. I prefer the edition version of the 880 because they're far more comfortable to wear than the 'pro'.