Beyerdynamic DT 880

Very linear sound.  Excellent sound location.

Ambient sound is attenuated, but can be still perceived (semi-open design).

How to choose the proper impedance version for your needs.

The Beyerdynamic headphones come in three versions: 32 ohm, 250 ohm and 600 ohm. The lowest value of 32 ohm offers the most flexibility in what devices can drive it. A 32 ohm rating is ideal for such gear as an iPod/iPhone, a computers headphone output, CD player headphone jacks and any small headphone circuit that does not have a lot of power. A 32 ohm load is for the most part very easy to drive as long as it has a high sensitivity rating. But that is a whole other can of worms and we wont scratch that surface today. The middle value is the 250 ohm load. This is a little more difficult to drive but not all that demanding.

Most of the devices listed previously will drive them, but you will find several possible issues. For one, you may find there is not enough gain or volume that you desire. The higher the impedance rating, the less gain or volume control you may have. You may also find that in dynamic musical passages that the sound quality may be lacking. That is because there is not enough power reserves to drive this load. A dedicated headphone amp is not necessarily required but will just depend on whether the piece of gear you are using has enough power. You may also find that the 250 ohm load may draw down the power of your portable battery operated device quicker. This is because of the extra power this load will demand. The last rating is the 600 ohm load. This rating in our opinion requires a more powerful headphone circuit, and a dedicated headphone amp is more ideal. Some Integrated Amplifiers and Home Theater Receivers will divert power from there front left and right amplifier channels to the headphone jack. You will need to check with the manufacturer as to what your device does in this situation. If yours doesn't then we recommend a dedicated Headphone amp. Moon Audio would be happy to advise you on which to get. The 600 ohm version in our opinion is the best sounding of the bunch. The 32 and 250 ohm loads are pretty similar in sound quality but the 250 can sounds better when properly driven.

The Dragon Series V1 comes stock with the 600ohm drivers, the housing, yoke end piece and mounting are all Carbon. All other parts are Black colored. The phones come stock with black Genuine Leather headbands and black Velour ear pads. Leather ear pads are an option. See pricing above. The custom version comes stock with the new Version 2 Black Dragon V2 Headphone cable in either a hardwired or detachable version. The detachable version uses extremely high quality connectors similar to the Sennheiser HD800 headphones but offer a larger cable mounting procedure that allow us to use the Black Dragon V2 Headphone cable.

See DIY Other Connectors page for pictures and details. The Dragon series comes stock with a split entry into each cup. Single entry is not available on this version as it would deteriorate the sound quality.

Transducer type: dynamic

Operating principle: Semi open air

Frequency response: 5-35k

Normal impedance: 32 or 250 or 600 ohms

SPL 1mV: 96db

Nominal THD: <0.2%

Power Handling Cap.: 100mW

Weight without cable: 290g

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